Go Time!

This morning was frost free. The first one in our backyard. I'm sure there will be more, but intermittent is ok, I've been fine with the occasional frost, peas broccoli, lettuce, spinach, radishes can take it. This afternoon they're going in. I also noticed I have pea shoots peaking out of the soil where I planted them on st. patty's day. I will be interested to see if the month early planting helped or if the cold temps kept them back. Time will tell.



Oh and my potatoes came from Irish Eyes Garden Seed. I have some cutting to do as I got a bunch of lunkers...no big deal. Not surprising since Purple vikings are notorious for their prodigious proportions.

ho humm

We've had a spat of bitter cold nights (mid teens) that slowed down any progress I might have made outside.

Inside however.


lettuce is up and running, broccoli, beets, spinach, are poking through in greater numbers now, and two of the leeks have come up.

in the flower side, the cosmos are out in force, a couple petunias have sprouted their tiny leaves, the hollyhock is up and some of the globe amaranth are starting to show. Notice the pots are still empty, tree company refuses to ship yet.

I planted a flat of nantes carrots last night, I have terrible luck getting them to grow in situ, the only carrots that have grown with any degree of success were transplanted so, against my promise to myself that I would not do it again this year...

I can fit 4 flats on the table in the front window, I thought that would be sufficient, but by my calculations I probably will need another 4, but where to put them?

Practice in practice pt 1d...enough already!

This last bed group sums up my rotation plans I'll be testing the limits of earliness, but I have blocked together what historically has been finished around the same time (peas, staggered radish plantings, and lettuce) knowing that when they come out first, they can be replaced by the curcubits which need more of a head start, and then when the second part of the early planting (beets, onions, broccoli) come out the more vigorous, "lets take over this place" curcurbits don't dominate the scene.

Nasturtiums of course being what I think much of last years surviving curcurbits owe their life to. The bugs pretty much left the squash and cukes alone because of them (the increased wasp population probably helped matters as well.)

So thats it, in terms of years, the beds follow the 1,2,3,4 numbering. I'm wary about having short periods between solanacea crops, but time will tell. I really should have 6 beds.

Practice in Practice pt 1c

Here it is, bed number 3. Pretty simple. Two things will depend on its sucess, the ability to get the spuds in early, and immediately replace the first of the potatoes which will be harvested "new" with the shelling beans. The potatoes for storage, even though they are coming out more than a week later, should still be out in time for a decent green bean crop...should be.

By the way, with the exception of onion sets and a couple odds and ends I have my seed orders in. Given the rise in demand I thought it best to start early and make sure I get the types I want.

parctice in practice pt.1b

Ok, bed module 1 is out of the way...onward.


Remember that the first module included some pretty hungry feeders, so other than the dowsing of compost in between, the first crop to follow is primarily a recharger, and opportunity to produce enough peas at a time to make for a good amount of stored (frozen) peas.

Following that (mid may hopefully) in goes the corn, beans for soups, and Cosmos. I haven't seen anything about Cosmos in a companion relationship other than as an attractant, but Jeavons recommended it with corn so I'll take his word for it. In addition, they look great and it goes with another part of this year's plan: grow some manner of flower along side the food crops.

Its my way of acknowledging to some of the other members of the family that I know this isn't your favorite thing in the world. Thank you.

Putting Practice into Practice

In keeping with last year's Theory and Practice series of posts I took what Jeavons had written and tried it in my particular spot of land. Results varied but I think the overall principles I learned are sound. I decided to once again document my plan for all the world to see, and lay out the results.

I tried to follow the sample layout as closely as possible, this time I have taken my favorites, added a few newbies and come up with a list, arranging them by companion guidelines at a spacing density as recommended in "How to grow..." The entire list does not exist in any one place, but in planning I came upon a theory of my own...or at least a method. Rob over at Onestraw described a great rotation system based on keeping plant families together using a six bed rotation model. I don't have the kind of space he does, so my beds have to be more diverse, but that doesn't mean it can't follow the same kind of orderly system.

As discussed in the previous post, nutrient cycling based on plant rotation is not much of a concern. Like a lot of people by now I dump compost on the bed wherever and whenever possible. I'm a firm believer. Crop rotation will be to satisfy disease avoidance. That being said I get considerably more freedom to plan and plant what I choose (within reason).

Therefore I've divided my plans into "Bed Modules," groups of plants with known complimentary properties and seasonal requirements. As it stands I believe I have four beds planned. Currently I have been alloted two officially, and two unofficially. Were I to have six I could put comfrey and other compost crops in rotation. Back to the modules. Each one has its own specific single year succession and place in the overall rotation.

Since I've already written quite a bit I'll just introduce one bed module. This one is probably the simplest as it goes pretty much unchanged throughout the season, until the middle zone gets replaced in the fall by something else. The onions (leeks actually) and carrots go in the ground first to get a head start. As things warm up, the tomatoes and peppers go in before the petunias which will try to take of the place if not kept in check. Note that orientation matters with north being at the top of the diagram.

So thats bed module #1

Theory and Practice: a map after the fact

I actually intended to do something like this when I first started, but I think its more relevant now that I have changed from the original plan.

Here is how things started, by the book, and I am intentionally leaving the exact square footages of the crops out. If you want those numbers, buy the book.

(click for a larger view)

Then phase two came along and This is essentially how things stand now.


So thats where I am at now, and you can kind of see with the late summer crops where things will be this winter. If all goes according to plan, the remaining warm weather crops in the lower bed will get swapped out with cold weather veggies to overwinter, before the cycle starts again with minor changes (most notably a change of bed locations).

My new goal is to come up with a reliable rotational system that keeps each plot continually productive. It is going to be an evolutionary process to achieve a real sense of flow with the seasons. And of course ideally I'd like to add another bed or two into the rotation.

Theory and Practice: onion edition

The onion tops had bent over and are now showing signs of withering, so out they came, apparently I have to dry them off for about 2 weeks before braiding them and putting them in storage but I can't say they lived to my expectations. I don't fault the method for this, I'm sure it has more to do with the clay they were planted in than its companions or spacing. I ended up with just a touch over 4 lbs from 5 square feet, some formed what I would call decent size but a lot were no bigger than a large shallot. I have family a couple towns over in what is locally called "onion country" so I will consult with some of the locals there about variety, planting times etc. Things I should have done this year basically.

Got the first cucumber a 4 oz curved specimem. The variety is not known to be curved and in the past, curvy cukes were a bad sign, but so far the babies that are following it all seem straight. No word on taste yet. I'm leaving that to the expert, my wife.

And of course another yellow squash, 11 oz, bringing the zucchini/squash total to 2lbs 5 oz. With more likely a few days away.


My total just a touch below 23 lbs, not what I had expected, but I don't think I was being realistic in the beginning. After all prior to trying the grow biointesive method I had never done a succession, never grown most of the things I have this year.

Theory and Practice: Gardening in 2nd Gear

Well it would appear that some of the longer season hot weather veggies (zone 1) I think I referred to them originally, are starting to produce.

Below are the Brandywine tomatoes (in front of the wire fence, behind it are the spuds) and in the bottom right, a borage plant that volunteered in the perfect spot.


The cherry tomato plant in a hanging basket is aiming for a big crop! So far 100% of the flowers have fruited.



And what would summer be without summer squash? This one has early and prolific right in the name, so I think I should probably start planning on gifts. The green variety has been producing plenty of male flowers, so any day now it ought to start getting down to business as well.


And I know this is a longshot give the sub par (even for this site) picture quality, but can anyone help me I.D. this bugger? It was not in the least bit shy, and had black spots on a red shell (and no not a ladybug)

Theory and Practice: success(ion)

well, out came the bok choy, chinese cabbage, peas, lettuce, and radishes. The carrots, beets broccoli shouldn't be too far behind, and the onions are starting to swell nicely. In went green snap beans and corn. I know its a bit late, but this is going to be sweet corn, not dent, so I can likely get it finished before the end of the season.

Since it is way to late to start the popcorn, that will have to wait until next year. I'm gonna give the potatoes more time in the ground and fill the holes as I harvest those with more beans. Once I have a big enough area I will start the fall crops that should have gone into the above bed in the potato bed. Its amazing how fast the seasons go when you are planning and planting. Got some more seed today from SESE, I plan to start leeks and overwinter them under (hopefully) a hoop house.

By the way, I had a taste of the Kimchi and it is getting nice and sour, not as hot as I'd like, but then again I didn't pulverize the dried cayenne, I just sliced it up in strips.

Theory and Practice: coloring outside the lines

I don't know about any of you, but I was never happy with the drawings in the coloring books unless I had added some extras, its just my nature, I have to add something. Couple in my aforementioned and oft repeated tendency to worry, and it means I can't stick to a garden plan I know was not specifically designed for my spot. So here it is, my decision to go off the map, specifically the garden map in "How to grow...".

Its not that I haven't been happy with the results thus far, its just that there are some timing considerations. Mainly the schedule of some of the successions. My "growing season" (as traditionally defined) is shorter than what is perscribed in the book, and I thought that by picking the earliest varieties I could rush some of the successions. Despite the advertisement of some seed packets not every variety of seed is on target for the number of days to maturity. In the future (and thats what this is all about isn't it?) I'm going to start some spring plantings earlier (beets, broccoli, and heck I'll even try transplanting carrots again).

So back to the here and now. What to do? I have an open spot where the radishes were, the lettuce is starting to get bitter, the cabbage is almost ready (kimchi here I come). That leaves broccoli, peas, carrots, and onions with what I estimate is a good bit of time left. Now according to the plan, I am supposed to follow this crop with a block of early corn and a block of bush beans. One of the sections of the book describes intercropping exactly those two plants so I had planed on one large mixed block. After perusing some sources I was able to confirm that with the exception of onions, the rest of the stragglers are indifferent to corn and beans (some being actually on good terms). Since the onions don't get along well with beans I'll start with corn in that area. The result will be two groups of corn and beans, one going in soon, and one in a couple weeks when the others are done. The corn seedlings wont immediately shade out the stragglers, and having two groups of corn means we stretch the harvest. And when the first of the corn comes out it will give shade for the lettuce and spinach which is going to follow it before winter.

As for the other bed (zone 2 I think I called it) a longer season corn is going to follow the potatoes...which have already started to flower. Potatoes get along well with corn and beans so I am going to thin them a few weeks after they stop flowering and use the earlies for salt potatoes, then give the remaining ones the space to grow larger tubers, though not too much longer. Corn and beans go in sparsely in the holes, and I dont want to dig too late and disturb the corn's roots, nor do I want the spuds competing with the corn. After the spuds come out I haven't decided if I want to fill with more corn and beans or something else. Its a popcorn variety and despite the fact that green beans are probably the number one consumed vegetable in the household and I do intend to can a good deal of them, the variety I am using is known for being prolific.

So there we have it, I'd like to hear some thoughts from people. If someone feels I'm making a huge mistake here, please, stop me.

Early crops

Well it would appear the early crops of cabbage, peas, onions, lettuce, radishes, and beets are fast approaching harvest time...or at least I think they are. I have picked some lettuce and radishes already, and I have grown peas before, but the others I am guessing at. According to the Jeavons book, I should start the beans and early corn for transplant in about two weeks. I'm guessing I should go by feel on this one as I think we are probably going to be a tad later than that. I'm not really concerned about getting the same crops back in the ground in time before a frost after that because I will be using tunnels come late fall. (Introduced to me courtesy of another book: Four Season Gardening which is definitely a gem).
Anyway, here is the garden as it stands today.

And by the way the paw paw showed its first bud yesterday! I bought two varieties, "sunflower" and "wells" this one is the wells. I have no other reference for bare root trees except for the DOA ones we got for free on arbor day a couple years back, but I'm impressed that they didn't take long to break dormancy and make me nervous for two long. heh.

Theory and practice part 5: fear and trepidation

Following the schedule jeavons outlines, I transplanted a TON of stuff this week, peas (a labor of love to be sure) lettuce, (I jumped the gun on the broccoli and cabbage but they seem fine), onions, carrots, beets and radishes. The radishes were direct seeded, but the carrots and beets were transplants. Here's where my objection comes in. At this point in the schedule, they are still tiny. I wouldn't dare put them in anything less than perfect soil. Actually did dare, I put them in anyway. only time will tell if they make it.

The book is a still a fantastic resource, but I think it really needs some disclaimers about the expected conditions for the "sample" beds.

who knows, I could be wrong.

Theory and practice part 4

Here it is, my first critique, thought, ammendment, whatever to the schedule in the Jeavons book. Peas.

I started the peas last week in flats and they are sprouting up now. Peas are very cold tolerant, given that we have had such little frost this spring, (I spotted one patch yesterday for the first time in weeks, but it was not widespread)...wouldnt it make more sense just to direct seed them in the bed? So I ask all you experienced pea growers, is there a minimum temp these little guys need to germinate? is that why they were started in beds? I direct seeded last year but it was too late in the season for them to really thrive.

Theory and Practice Part 3: Throw diversity at the problem

I found the second chapter of Gaia’s Garden particularly inspiring. The author retells a story about a group of permaculturists who were working with a relatively ingenious self watering bed setup adjacent to a wetland. Unsurprisingly they ran into roadblocks along the way in the form of local wildlife who found their garden particularly tasty. After giving up on trying to thwart the varmints, they found that the next year predatory species and other forms of competition were keeping the offenders in check. In other words, nature will balance the scales if given the opportunity. In theory then all we gardeners have to do is sit back and things will eventually take care of themselves right? Right?

The difference between myself and the above intrepid horticulturalists is one of diversity. Quite simply, there is no way I (nor most on a suburban lot) ever hope to approach the level of biological diversity present in the wetland example, nor even the average field/ forest boundary. Nor can most of us living on an 1/8th of an acre city lot afford the space to spare for the “wild” zones prescribed in permaculture landscaping. The only thing that comes close to being a zone five on my lot is the space behind the shed. So how do I cram the necessary number of species into my lot to never concern myself with pests again? Well, unfortunately I don’t believe that is an option, however I believe I can come close.

Anyone who has picked up a gardening book has heard of companion plants. I’m not going to go into adjacent plants providing enhancement to the soil, what I want to focus on is the ability certain crops have to attract certain animals, be they the “trap crops” which divert the attention of garden freeloaders, or nursery crops to shelter and attract beneficial predators. While it is impossible for the average enthusiast to know what every plant attracts or repels, I don’t think that is a problem. Simply increasing the number of plant species in any given area increases the chances of reducing the size of the bulls eye on your favorite vegetables. It’s a game of sheer statistical chance. If you plant it, they will come. So what do I plant?

Taking a cue from every permaculture reference out there, perennials, you cant beat the maintenance factor, and self seeding annuals aren’t far behind. I don’t need to plant borage near my tomato plants anymore, I did it once, and each year it comes back in such numbers that I continually thin it for weeks. The nice thing is, a lot of common herbs are perennial and hardy to most zones in the US. So I got seeds for all my favorite kitchen herbs, tea herbs, flowers, and some I hadn’t heard of and started growing them right around Christmas.

To date I have started
Hyssop, Lavender, St. John’s Wort, Valerian, mint, Creeping thyme, feverfew, chamomile, lemon balm, bee balm, wormwood, 3 kinds of basil, anise, angelica, bee balm, coneflower, red leaf plantain, black cohosh, garlic chives, common sage, rosemary, hollyhock, zinnias, morning glory, nasturtiums and I’m probably forgetting something. That’s 27 by my count. 26 Extra species this year who are doing nothing but looking nice, attracting bugs, and providing the occasional leaf for seasoning or tea. Ideally I’d like to have 2 species of non harvested plant for each one that is harvested. All of these are going in a section of the yard adjacent to the small pond we put in last year. Before the end of this year hopefully I will have some kind of cattails or lilies for even more diversity.

Over the centuries humanity has bred into our agricultural stocks desirable traits for our own consumption. This does not necessarily make them ideally suited to grow in the wild, but I believe by simply adding a touch of the wild in an area near our prized plants, we reintroduce the biological support systems which in turn reduce our dependency on “imported controls” to pest populations. Permaculture design does this by progressively wilder zones, but ultimately I think the real benefit there is diversity. I do not believe it is necessary to target specific pest populations if one has enough diversity present in the local flora. After 3 years of disappointing curcurbit experiences due to cucumber beetles I am going to try to not try this year. I’m not going to bother trying the “plant X to control Y” method, especially in light of its questionable effectiveness thus far. I’m going to throw a whole bundle of stuff at the wall and hope that something sticks, and if not, add even more next year.

Theory and Practice: pt 2

growing times and seedling starting

Despite what some see as being too rigid (and for the advanced and intuitive gardener this is likely true.) Jeavons offers a wonderful schedule of seed starting and transplanting wherein you simply plug in your frost dates in the appropriate blanks and count backwards or forwards x number of weeks for each crop and task. Orderly and foolproof, exactly what I need, given my proclivities for disorderly foolishness.

The fun begins 6 weeks before the last frost date (which I fudged slightly to better align with the phase of the moon, hey, couldn’t hurt) Job 1 happens March 19th. Not surprisingly it is starting seed of some of the cold weather crops in zone 3 (broccoli, beets, lettuce, etc.) So lets focus on zone 3 for a moment. Given the schedule outlined in terms of weeks, and when it is recommended to plant the next crop in succession, The first crop in zone 3 gets roughly 55 days in the ground. Seems a bit short but I managed to gather together everything I needed thanks to the wonder of heirloom seeds. I realize that the 55 days to maturity means from date of germination, so technically I could get longer maturing varieties, since I will be starting the seed long before it actually goes in the ground, but because of the aforementioned less than six month growing season, I am trying to “rush” the first succession in this zone to give plenty of time for the other two. Particularly the final succession of cold season produce to plant longer maturing varieties I chose for their reputation to do well into winter months or their reputation for “keeping.” More on that later. Based on my experience with this first year I may try longer maturing varieties in subsequent years.

Here’s what goes into flats on the 19th (I am omitting quantities, if you want those, buy the book, its worth it.)

Broccoli: Green Goliath (purchased from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange)
Cabbage toraziroh 45 day, blues Chinese (hyb) 52 days Both purchased from Fedco, toraziroh is a bok choy type and given its quick growth, I can stagger the plantings to stretch the harvest and still get them mature and out of the ground in time for the second succession. I tried to keep to non-hybrid seed, but the blues Chinese seemed like such a good fit, and it was hard to find a fast maturing head cabbage.
Beets dolce di Chioggia 52 days (SESE)
Lettuce tom thumb 46 days fedco, arugula 40 days (SESE) green leaf salad bowl 50 days (victory seed co)
Amaranth (love lies bleeding (fedco) this is technically not part of the 100 sq feed going into the bed, but since it contributes to the overall diversity of the local ecosystem I felt I should include it.

Next week’s job is easy ( I hope) prick out the lettuce seedlings into new flats. Not sure how necessary this is, but I’ll follow the directions anyway.

The difference between theory and practice

As my regular readers (s) know, I am abandoning the “amateur” method of one spot, one crop whole season gardening for a more extensive succession based plan outlined in Jeavons’ How to grow more… book. The following series I shall dub “Theory and Practice,” will deal with my effort to mimic as exactly as possible the 100 sq ft garden Jevons offers as the introduction to the growbiointensive plan. Jeavons dictates that this plan should be adequate for areas with a 6 month growing season. Since I am not blessed with such the succession timings will be one of the items which will need to be accommodated. I will leave that subject for further installments.

First I intend to deal with the physical layout of the ideal as proposed in the book, and the modified plan I will require to accommodate the physical considerations of our small backyard space. Since copying the page from the book would be a bad thing from a legal perspective I will do my best to relay the gist of it.

His diagram outlines a 5x20 ft area with what are not named as such but I will call succession zones. The first zone, contains for the most part either long season or indeterminate producers like pumpkins, tomatoes, cucurbits, peppers, etc. As indicated in the planting schedule, this zone is not immediately planted, as many of the crops require warmer soil temperatures, and when combined with the expected days to maturity, the result is no time left for subsequent planting in theory. Given my previous experience with peppers and tomatoes, I see no reason why this sector will not be productive well into fall. By and large this is the only zone of the garden I have familiarity with.

The second succession zone is composed of two separate crops, first potatoes planted in spring and harvested at roughly 65 days, and second a main crop of corn to make the most use of the warmer longer days. I call this succession zone 2 (as in two crops).

The third zone seems to be a yo-yo of sorts, and the most interesting in my opinion. Starting with cold hardy salad vegetables and greens (if you have never had fresh peas in a salad you are missing out) and going to an early crop of corn immediately after, then returning back to greens, legumes, brassicas in the fall. This will be Zone 3 (as in 3 plantings)

As indicated before all this lies in a single 5x20 raised bed, certainly the most flexible layout but unfortunately not suited for my case. In planning I quickly found that I could not evenly divide the zones into two beds without splitting the crops and interfering with what I believe was an attempt by the author to ensure that even the border crops in each of the zones are somewhat complementary. Unfortunately the size constraint mandates that I make do with what I have been allotted, and therefore the first zone (long season, will be split into two identical segments, each having half the allotted number of plants. The original plans do not indicate equal size of the zones, so I will make the 3 zones of size equal to the largest zone, in this case zone 2 (the tomato -> corn zone). Since that means extra space in the other zone I will make the plantings larger rather than add additional types. Where appropriate I will try to estimate what the harvest totals would be using the original sized plantings. If you are curious click on the image of the backyard to see the two roughly trapezoidal bed areas, each of roughly 60 feet so as to allow for equal size in each zone.

In the next part I'll go over the schedule and variety of plantings.