Row Covers Work

Row covers work against the frost and freezing temps we have had recently. I just picked peas again yesterday and had enough for dinner. I had covered the plants with the row covers a couple of weeks ago just in time to beat our first frost here in Northern Arizona. The peas were actually still blooming! Yea!!!

I've taken them off now though. It is time for me to change my season too. I don't garden in the winter, at least not in the outdoors. This is the time to take a breather and relax before I start planning for the planting in the Spring. I have to finish putting the gardens to bed by removing the plants and composting them.  I need to do a soil test and disconnect the irrigation systems yet as well.  Then, after a few weeks off for the Holidays, I'll be ready to settle in with the new seed catalogs that start arriving soon after Thanksgiving.  Oh what fun!

Speaking of fun and the Holidays, while you are catching your breath from all the gardening chores, why not go visit our Holiday Recipe Exchange.  Leave your comments and share your recipes too. (That soup recipe is where I put those fresh peas I picked yesterday.)

Have a Great Day!

Arlene Kaye

Gardening Books

    There are literally hundreds of great books on the topic of organic gardening.  We have placed a number of them in our new store. Out of the fifty or so Gardening Books that I personally own, the one I most frequently use and that has the most wear and tear is The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith.

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith.

    The first 175 pages cover all the things you need to know to get your garden started.  For example, he talks about the advantages of growing your garden in a wide and deep raised bed.  I can tell you from my experience he is right on the mark with that idea.  I have done both deep wide beds and traditional in the ground gardening.  The raised beds heat up faster for one thing and the beds don't get all compacted from walking on them.  I do mine about 4 feet wide at the outside and 18 inches deep.  It is easier to tend to and easier to harvest from.  He tells you how to build it with clear easy instructions.

    Another thing I like about this book is the coverage of the topic of "planning your garden".  He talks about crop rotation, he talks about spacing, and he talks about companion planting. He tells you how to jump start your garden and how to make it self sufficient.  Then he tell you how to prepare the gardens for winter so they will be ready for your next planting.

   He has a great section on pest control  and keeping your soil healthy, including how to make your own compost.  All the pest control methods are organic, of course.

   He has taken the time to devote the balance of the book to discussing the individual vegetables with all the little details like temperature and water requirements.  He tells you what PH level the plant needs and most importantly, what plants each plant likes to be planted next to and which ones to NEVER plant together.

   All in all, this is an excellent gardening book that I am sure you will refer to many, many times.  May you always have fun in your garden and may you always have a bountiful harvest!

Using Floating Row Covers

I use AG-19 floating row covers in my garden both in the Spring and in the Fall.  Here are some tips to get the most from them in your garden.


 Since this is the end of October, I will start with the Fall applications.  If your temperatures are dropping in the overnight like ours are, you might want to consider getting the row covers back out and covering those peppers and tomatoes.  Gently lay the cover over the plants, securing them anyway you can to keep them from blowing away.  Tie them to the garden fencing if possible or to a tomato stake that is supporting your plants. This will help extend the garden season by as much as a few weeks depending on the weather. 


 I also use the floating row covers in the Spring.  I use nine gauge wire to make hoops as a support system to keep the row cover up off the plants, creating a tunnel effect. This is done after I have planted the seed or set out the transplants.  The benefits of using the row cover in this manner are many, among which is warmer temps to help the seedlings sprout and grow.  The additional benefit of reducing insect damage and keeping the mice and birds from eating the garden vegetables as soon as they come up is even better.

The row cover I use allows for 85% of the sun and light to come through so the vegetable seeds will grow.  I use a soakerhose system for irrigation so I don't have to water by hand but the row cover allows for water to come through anyway so you can water by hand if need be.  I leave the covers on until the first blooms appear and then remove them, making sure they are dry before I fold them to use again later in the season.
Helpful tip:  If you store your row covers in a container of some sort, mark the outside of the container with the garden section that the covers were used in.  That will save time the next time you use them because you won't have to keep dragging the covers out one by one and finding they are too short or too long for the row you're wanting to use it on.

Keeping Your Soil Healthy

    Dirt is dirt, right?  Well, yes and no.  Dirt is dirt that doesn't have much natural live organic activity.  You don't want to plant your precious vegetable seeds into dirt.  What you need is soil, which is dirt that does have healthy organic life.  There are ways to make dirt into soil and it really comes down to keeping your soil healthy from the onset of use.

     To begin with, soil is a composition of weather-beaten rock, minerals, decayed plant materials and other organic ingredients. All this takes a long time to develop naturally but can be damaged by our action or neglect in a single season. If you are lucky enough to have good growing soil, nurture it by learning how to take care of it and keep it alive. There are a myriad of excellent organic gardening books available.

     As plants grow, they take nutrients from the soil by using their roots and change those nutrients to usable materials to grow new roots, leaves, flowers and fruit or vegetables.  All serious gardeners are custodians of the soil, taking the time to replace the nutrients as they are used up by the vegetation they have grown.


    For soil to be healthy, it should contain a balanced mix of air, water, nutrients and organic matter. There are a couple things we can do to protect this mixture.

   Adding organic matter on a regular basis is probably one of the most important things we can do. Adding compost, cover crops (Managing Cover Crops Profitably is an excellent book on cover crops) and animal
manure can:

• increase the soil's capability to hold nutrients.
• make food available to plants over a longer period of time.
• lessen the amount of nutrients lost by erosion or leaching.
• provide micro-nutrients that are needed by plants in small amounts.
• release nutrients already in the soil by increasing the action of  beneficial microorganisms

• increase the water-holding capacity for sandy soils.
• increase the drainage of clay soils.
• save money.

     Adding organic fertilizer to our lawns and gardens at the right time and in the right amounts helps replenish the nutrients our gardening plants have used. Do not apply fertilizer to lawns until we get a good soaking rain, and for  safest, long-lasting results use organic fertilizers. The wet soil puts the nutrients into a solution and helps distribute the nutrients to the plant roots to be absorbed.  If you use organic compost, apply no more than 1" over the top of the lawn or as a side dressing to your vegetable plants. Too much can over feed your plants resulting in poorer fruit or vegetable production.

    Install a good water irrigation system, drip watering system, or soaker hose system to water your lawn or garden on a more consistent basis. This will help prevent over watering which can be as damaging as under watering. The roots of plants require oxygen and any soil that is waterlogged will be lacking oxygen. By insuring that the proper amount of water is applied, you can insure that the tilth of the garden will remain open and porous, thus allowing for better drainage and better nutrient uptake by the plants.

You can also keep you soil healthy by not letting it become compacted.  A few simple guidelines to help prevent compaction are:

•  Don't use a garden tiller when the soil is wet.  This causes clumping and ruins the composition of the soil. Once this starts happening, it takes a long time to get the soil back to good health.  You can tell if it is too wet to till (or even to dig by hand) if you squeeze a handful and it forms a ball of mud in your hands.  If it is crumbly, then you can go ahead and work it.
• I feel that tilling is best done in the Fall.  You can clear your garden beds of plant debris and put it in the composter.  If you choose instead to shred the debris with a garden shredder, you can work it back into the soil immediately, saving you time and energy as well as giving the soil some much needed food for the winter. Your soil will be ready to plant earlier in the Spring since your basic soil preparation is done. Sowing a cover crop in the Fall, like winter rye, is another way to keep your soil healthy. This "green manure" as it is often referred to, gives valuable nutrients and organic matter to the soil when it is tilled under in the Spring.
• Finally, do a soil test every couple of years as a minimum.  I suggest contacting the local college or university  agriculture department or your state agriculture department for a complete laboratory test periodically in addition to testing with a soil test kit on your own.
• Remember, only use organic fertilizers or soil amendments to "grow" your soil. If you keep your soil healthy, it will keep you healthy!  Happy Gardening!

Growing Your Own Plants From Seed

I know it is early November but I am already planning the vegetable garden for next spring. It is a quiet time now and we have a bit of reprieve from the hustle and bustle of working in the gardens outdoors. It is a good time to reflect on the harvest from this year and determine what I can do better next year. I've saved some seed from the heritage type vegetables and thought maybe you would like to know how to utilize the seed you may have saved (or bought) to get an early start on your garden for the upcoming spring. Feel free to print this and keep it handy for reference.

You'll save money and get a real sense of satisfaction at the same time if you grow your garden plants from seed. Seeing healthy seedlings sprout from your soil is exciting. To ensure you don't lose the seeds you've gone to so much trouble to save and sow, here are some tips to consider.

Prepare small pots or cell packs, as they are sometimes called, with a good quality potting mix. (I like the clear dome style trays because they diffuse the light for proper germination and I don't have to search for something to make a cover that fits.) You can make your own mix if you prefer, using equal parts of coarse river sand, garden soil and vermiculite. Vermiculite is especially good because the tiny roots of your seedlings can penetrate the soft, water-holding grains and so when they are transplanted, they take their moisture with them. This helps to prevent transplant shock.

Make rows or indentions for the seed by pressing a pencil or piece of dowel into the mixture. Sprinkle the seed in and cover lightly with sand. Using warm water, gently water well with a spray bottle. Keep covered and damp until the seeds have sprouted. I place planted trays under flourescent lights in the house so the seeds will have sufficient heat and light to germinate. You can put specially designed heatmats (NOT a heating pad) under the trays to help maintain an even temperature. Remove the cover when the very first seedling appears. If you wait until all the seeds have sprouted, you'll end up killing the first ones that came up because they will overheat. Be sure to keep the seedlings damp while they are continuing to grow but don't over water. If they are too wet, they may not grow at all.

There are some variations on the above tips. You could use a cardboard egg carton (no styrofoam) and sow one seed in each segment. Then, when they are large enough to transplant into a larger container, cut the segments apart with a craft knife and plant the whole thing. The cardboard will soon rot away and in any case, the roots can penetrate it while it is damp. I use the small peat pots for this and plant everything into the garden so I don't disturb the delicate roots. Almost any seed can be sown in this manner, but it is especially good for vegetables if you want to get a jumpstart on the garden. One caveat. Not all vegetables (corn for example) transplant well. The garden books or the seed pack will tell you if the seed is best planted directly into the garden or if it should be started indoors. For a terrific book on this subject,you might want to check out The Vegetable Gardner's Bible by Edward C. Smith.

If you have saved seedling containers from previous purchases, you can re-use them. I recommend washing them in hot soapy water first and let them dry in the sun to sterilize them. It is easier to transplant from the sectioned containers since the plant roots aren't all tangled together.

You can use seed sprouting to get your plants started as well. This is particularly helpful for larger perennials and trees that take a long time to germinate. Soak the seeds in hand-hot water for 3-4 hours. Once it has started to swell, place it gently in a clear plastic bag with some barely damp sphagnum moss. Seal the bag and leave in filtered light until you see the roots growing. Transplant into a 3" pot and allow to grow until the size dictates an even larger container. Some seeds, such as beans and peas, require darkness to germinate. These can be placed in a cupboard. (It is best to only sprout beans and peas a day or two before you plan to plant them into the garden. The full-sized plants do not transplant well.) Delicate seeds can also be sprouted on a damp paper towel that has been sealed in a plastic bag. Be sure to keep them out of direct sunlight so you don't cook them! As soon as they have sprouted, transplant into growing medium and keep covered and warm until the first seedlings appear as above. I use the small peat pots for this so I don't have to handle the plants any more often than necessary.

Purchased seeds are usually sprinkled with fungicide, so if you are growing your own, watch to make sure no mold develops. If it does and the seed is too small to wipe the mold off, you may have to start over. Mold only develops if there is too much moisture in the bag.

Next time we'll talk about plant rotation and planning the garden bed. Until then, have fun thinking about your next garden!

Arlene Kaye

Harvesting & Freezing Vegetables

This has been a busy week harvesting the vegetables. Peas, broccoli, carrots, lima beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and French Horticulture beans all came ready at once. Baskets of vegetables lined the kitchen and down the hall. Tired, sore muscles begged for Aspercreme (terrific odorless creme)! Once the organic produce is in the house, we had to process it for winter storage. Time to get out the cutting boards and kitchen knives and start to trim, peel and chop. Once the veggies are cleaned and ready, we use a large stock pot with a strainer insert to blanch them. (Our preferred method of food storage is to freeze it.) A good canning/freezing cookbook will have all the blanching times in it for each vegetable. After blanching, you have to cool the produce immediately. We use ice water. Be sure to make enough ice cubes ahead of time so you can save money by not having to buy the ice. We use large clean bathtowels on the counter to drain the produce once they are removed from the ice water and paper towels to pat them dry (we prefer Bounty). They don't have to be totally DRY but they freeze better without the excess moisture. We use a Foodsaver Professional III model vacuum sealer to package all our vegetables . They last a lot longer than using other methods of freezing. We still are using produce from three years ago with no freezer burn.

This next week will find us rototilling the gardens in preparation for winter. That's all for now. May you have a bountiful harvest!

Composting

It is an ongoing process to produce enough organic compost for the six raised garden beds we have planted. Today we emptied another of our four composters and the results are fabulous! We have rich, black earth that has recycled from plant life such as grass clippings and plant trimmings, mixed with sand, chicken manure, and horse manure. It takes us less than 30 days to create this high quality organic fertilizer for our gardens in our compost bins. We use frame mounted compost drums that are easy to rotate with a hand crank. This keeps rodents out, prevents the nutrients from leaching out of the compost during rains, reduces the odor of the decomposing matter, and reduces time and labor involved in turning the compost pile. In case you want to make your own compost, this is how we do it.
It is important to maintain the right mixture ratio of carbon to nitrogen (30:1). This helps speed the decomposition process. Now, in case you're wondering, the carbon is the dried, brown stuff such as dead leaves, dried plants, wood ashes, straw, hay, sawdust and so on. The nitrogen comes from the green grass clippings, green plant trimmings (like when you prune your flowers), salad scraps, coffee grounds (go figure!), eggshells, and animal manures. Note that on the animal manures, it is advised to NOT use domestic pet waste to avoid the possibility of diseases. We personally only use horse manure and chicken manure. An old timer told us that the horse manure keeps the deer and elk out of the garden whereas the steer manure draws these animals into the garden. It seems to work since we don't have any problems with these creatures and yet neighbors who use steer manure can't seem to grow a garden without it being devoured by the wildlife. The chicken manure provides a more neutral pH level of 7.0.
Before I forget, DO NOT use ANY meat or dairy related materials or other fats, any pesticide treated plants or grass trimmings, any diseased plants, sawdust from pressure treated wood, charcoal or coal ash. Also avoid using any plant life that has gone to seed without first being sure to remove all seeds. (This helps with weed control) Well, that does it for today. Till next time, Happy Gardening!