I got a question about planting to ensure continuous supplies of veggies, here is the lowdown on that topic.
First, to really be able to live off of your garden requires either lots of land (like the pioneers), lots of skill and sunshine (like PTF) or both. But for the rest of us I think a well planned garden might be able to produce good weekly yields from as little as about 100 square feet (what I'm working with).
There are two kinds of things that produce edibles and for the sake of clarity I'm going to use tomato terminology. Fruit and vegetable plants are either determinate or non-determinate.
Determinate plants give you all they've got at once, or you take all the plant has at once as in the case of head lettuce, cabbage etc. If you are going to be canning or doing any kind of preserving, these are your friend because most canning recipes call for using large quantities of fresh produce. Determinate varieties ensure that if you plant a large amount at one time you will harvest a very large amount at one time.
Non-determinate plants will stagger production, or allow you to harvest a few leaves, fruit or one plant at a time without worrying too much about the rest of the crop going bad, as I do with potatoes, onions, or leaf lettuce.
Then there is another type which doesn't quite fit what I would consider either, and the only one I can think of like that is broccoli, cut the main head and it will regrow more "side shoots" but they will not be as large as the initial offering.
The first thing that should be very evident is the planning required, a level of planning that keeps me awake at night. If you wanted to be absolutely scientific about it I'm sure there would be ways to ensure that even with small plots, you are taking in produce daily, but I have yet to achieve that. The other thing to consider is the days to maturity variable. I might be a cynic but I don't put much stock in those numbers except as a rough guideline to tell me roughly when they will be ready. Unless you have perfect soil, perfect sun exposure, and perfect weather I wouldn't bet the microfarm on those numbers.
What the numbers can help with is to provide a way to minimize wasted space in the garden, and by that I mean if you are trying to get a somewhat continuous harvest of green beans you could plant an early bush variety like "provider" at the same time as a slightly longer maturing bush variety. The alternative is to plant a second "provider" crop a week or two later. The disadvantage there is if you are planting closely, the later crop might not get the same sun access from the other group getting a head start, and second (perhaps the most irritating to me) there is a bare spot in the garden in the interim. Bare soil gets easily compacted by rainwater (a big problem for me lately) and it also is an invitation for weeds.
Non-determinate varieties deliver over a wider range of time and usually once they reach the days to maturity number they will produce until they die or have a serious disagreement with the weather. I've noticed non-determinate fruits and veggies usually grow on vines, which is nice because it means you can grow them upwards and save valuable horizontal space. The disadvantage of this is that with non-determinate varieties you usually only get a few fruits at a time, so if its something like green beans or peas, where you will be eating more than 2 or three per serving, plant a lot of vines.
There are of course charts and recommendations for time between plantings
of determinate varieties like corn, lettuce etc. but again, (and please don't think this is a cop out) I think its just better to pull out a calendar and a seed catalog, and mark your estimated planting times and harvest times based on the dtm#, take copious notes of when you planted and harvested, and then try again next year. And if you mark the estimated first frost date of the year on the calendar and count backwards to your harvest times, you might find you can squeeze in another crop of something else? Our ancestors did this their whole lives, they grew up doing it, so it came naturally. We just need to remember what is actually possible.
I referenced green beans a lot because so far I have had the most success with getting a large and somewhat steady supply of it. At least until now when 3 weeks of cold and wet has interrupted my plans. Live and learn.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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.
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.
An oldie but a goodie
Still trying to use potatoes and running out of ideas, I cant believe it took me this long to use the caribes for what in my opinion, a vocation they were born for. Creamy mashed goodness. Add in some milk, sour cream and a few chives from the backyard. Perfect.
I also made some blueberry ice cream, but that disappeared before I could photograph it. Didn't see any at the farmer's market, but in wegmans I was just about to grab a carton when the stockgirl walked by and said: "locals are on the other side, they're better, trust me."
I didn't sample the others but lets put it this way, 6 full tummies agree the local berries were good.
In other news, brown bat number 8 decided to take up residence just outside the men's room at my work.
Bruce was evicted moments after.
I also made some blueberry ice cream, but that disappeared before I could photograph it. Didn't see any at the farmer's market, but in wegmans I was just about to grab a carton when the stockgirl walked by and said: "locals are on the other side, they're better, trust me."
I didn't sample the others but lets put it this way, 6 full tummies agree the local berries were good.
In other news, brown bat number 8 decided to take up residence just outside the men's room at my work.
Bruce was evicted moments after.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Growing Flax for Fiber: part1
Fiber crops for self sufficiency
The first step of course is planting, something I got to later than I should have. Once I decided to grow flax it was well into May, and I really should have sown in early April. But I got the seed from Bountiful Gardens and it arrived promptly. Like most plants the recommendation is for loamy rich dark perfect well drained soil. I have none of that so I worked a little compost into the clay and planted. When growing for fiber the recommendation is to plant closely to prevent branching, mine was about 1.5-2” centers and it seemed to work. Yesterday Aug 18th I pulled (not cut) the flax. The imperative is to pull it out because maximum fiber length is key. Most sources I could find say to harvest just after flowering, when the base of the stalks starts to yellow. Just after flowering the stalks were still green on mine, so I used that as an indicator, not flower timing, and it would appear that the seed was starting to set by the time the base was yellowing, as you can see in the picture below.
The inclusion of the toe was entirely intentional, to show the amount of flax produced from 1 full packet of seed. I totally meant to do that.
next time I'll talk about ripping, retting, scutching, and what the heck they mean.
Monday, August 18, 2008
close to home
cnn reports that on the tug hill plateau here in NY not everyone appreciates the wind farm.
This is eerily similar to a conversation I had with my father not long ago. He lives farther out in the country (albeit 5 minutes from the city I grew up in) but it definitely has a more rural feel. Anyway, aside from always lamenting the arrival of new neighbors and the slow evolution to a more suburban setting he has been an opponent of the windfarm that went up on the ridge some 5 miles away, on the grounds that it spoils the view. I always counter with the notion of acid rain or fallout from nine mile point as being the alternatives. No dice. Anyway, when his neighbor put in a home scale turbine he was furious, the noise being of primary concern. Personally, I live in a more urban/suburban setting, noise unfortunately is a part of my life, and I could just as easily adapt to that, but he has been "in the country" for almost 17 years now, so this is a big change. Like the man in the article he has also grown up with a sense of respect for the land and tried to pass that value on. The part I found ironic was that the son was protesting the windfarm on the grounds that it spoils the natural beauty. Most of my readers are probably thinking "that windfarm might be the only thing that saves it." But we have to understand that no solution is perfect, has absolutely zero impact, and is universally acceptable to everyone, because not everyone places value on the same things. Ask this man if he cares about the health of the land and I'm sure he will say "of course I do" but there may be other factors he values more.
noise is energy, energy that could be put to better use, so as turbines become more efficient, and quieter I imagine this will be less of an issue, but there is still the visual impact, and well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some see independence and a bright future, others see the spoiling of natural scenery. Progress does not come without cost, the difference now is that the cost is no longer being hidden to society. If we want to dance, we will need to pay the piper, we can't keep letting our children or our mother pay the tab. I suppose it is the same with home gardens. Neighborhood covenants and traditionally minded neighbors concerned with maintaining property value (one of the last remaining legal forms of segregation) will always oppose widescale and visible gardens, chicken coops, etc on the grounds that they are an eyesore. Personally I feel that endless undifferentiated monocultural lawns are an obscenity, and likely no covenant board would ever tolerate my kicking and screaming for change. Is there a compromise? Is there a way to appeal to more traditionally minded folks that what is being introduced in the form of a windfarm over the hill, or a garden in the yard is not the destruction of something dear but an evolution into something more valuable? Will we one day see a time when the annual yield of a home orchard or garden is included in the for sale listing? When smart home shoppers will prefer homes where the soil is well cared for and trees are productive?
The entire "green" movement is not intrinsically a shift in purchasing habits (despite its marketing of such). It is a shift of values, and an accounting of the full cost of our choices. When we make that clear, we will no longer find ourselves swimming against the current.
This is eerily similar to a conversation I had with my father not long ago. He lives farther out in the country (albeit 5 minutes from the city I grew up in) but it definitely has a more rural feel. Anyway, aside from always lamenting the arrival of new neighbors and the slow evolution to a more suburban setting he has been an opponent of the windfarm that went up on the ridge some 5 miles away, on the grounds that it spoils the view. I always counter with the notion of acid rain or fallout from nine mile point as being the alternatives. No dice. Anyway, when his neighbor put in a home scale turbine he was furious, the noise being of primary concern. Personally, I live in a more urban/suburban setting, noise unfortunately is a part of my life, and I could just as easily adapt to that, but he has been "in the country" for almost 17 years now, so this is a big change. Like the man in the article he has also grown up with a sense of respect for the land and tried to pass that value on. The part I found ironic was that the son was protesting the windfarm on the grounds that it spoils the natural beauty. Most of my readers are probably thinking "that windfarm might be the only thing that saves it." But we have to understand that no solution is perfect, has absolutely zero impact, and is universally acceptable to everyone, because not everyone places value on the same things. Ask this man if he cares about the health of the land and I'm sure he will say "of course I do" but there may be other factors he values more.
noise is energy, energy that could be put to better use, so as turbines become more efficient, and quieter I imagine this will be less of an issue, but there is still the visual impact, and well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some see independence and a bright future, others see the spoiling of natural scenery. Progress does not come without cost, the difference now is that the cost is no longer being hidden to society. If we want to dance, we will need to pay the piper, we can't keep letting our children or our mother pay the tab. I suppose it is the same with home gardens. Neighborhood covenants and traditionally minded neighbors concerned with maintaining property value (one of the last remaining legal forms of segregation) will always oppose widescale and visible gardens, chicken coops, etc on the grounds that they are an eyesore. Personally I feel that endless undifferentiated monocultural lawns are an obscenity, and likely no covenant board would ever tolerate my kicking and screaming for change. Is there a compromise? Is there a way to appeal to more traditionally minded folks that what is being introduced in the form of a windfarm over the hill, or a garden in the yard is not the destruction of something dear but an evolution into something more valuable? Will we one day see a time when the annual yield of a home orchard or garden is included in the for sale listing? When smart home shoppers will prefer homes where the soil is well cared for and trees are productive?
The entire "green" movement is not intrinsically a shift in purchasing habits (despite its marketing of such). It is a shift of values, and an accounting of the full cost of our choices. When we make that clear, we will no longer find ourselves swimming against the current.
evening
I managed to have a decent digital camera in hand friday evening while I was out in the garden,
My actual reason for being out there was to apply about 3 wheelbarrow loads of compost to the area the potatoes were occupying. This is now holding the fall crops and about 15 sq feet of green beans. The "provider" variety is fast enough I think I can get a crop out of them and still have time to get lettuce and spinach sprouted before I have to put up plastic to keep the cold out. You can see the dark is of course compost, and the brownish is the "wonderful" clay soil that we are blessed with here in Syracuse.
Katydids can either be a nuisance or a boon depending on the variety, but I've seen two of these this year, and so far, neither really cared about the foliage, so I think they may be of the predatory variety, in which case...please make yourself at home.
Cicadas on the other hand are completely benign, as long as you don't mind the constant chirping hiss on a summer evening. 120 db at close range, these suckers really hum. This is not actually the bug itself, just the shell of the last nymph phase, they are everywhere this time of year.
these baby's are soooo sweet, its hard keeping enough ripe one on the vine, which I moved over next to the brandywines, in the hopes that some of their ethylene will start ripening the other tomatoes.
This is a bottle gourd flower, you don't see many unless you're out at dusk. They're a night bloomer, an uncommon but not unheard of practice in the plant kingdom. and the flowers, much like the rest of the plant are covered in a soft fine hair. Much nicer than your average squash leaf. This one is a male by the way.
This is an immature female:
In Other News:
A sad day as natural farming legend Masanobu Fukuoka died at 95. Domo arigato gozaimashita Fukuoka sensei.
Looks like my frontyard orchard will be at the forefront of the next emergence in home food production.
And just in case you thought it was going to be all high quality pictures from here on out...
The swiss chard plants that had gone to seed well, finally produced mature seed. A lot of it.
Want some?
And speaking of seed, the fennel flowers that are mostly pods now have started to dry into seed. When I cut the stem I could smell the liquorice, and having sampled a few, these do not disappoint. I'm going to be setting aside more for a special winter project.
And remember the sweetpea flowers of which there were two, well apparently there were three, I'm wondering if maybe this was a sign to not give up on them yet. I might just plant these next year to see if my luck improves.
I got another 2 cukes totaling 1lb 1 oz bringing my total to 38 lbs. More yellow squash (prolific indeed) is about two days away. Still no sign of the brandywines grrrrr.
And someone want to tell me what the hell this is doing in my yard in the middle of august!?
My actual reason for being out there was to apply about 3 wheelbarrow loads of compost to the area the potatoes were occupying. This is now holding the fall crops and about 15 sq feet of green beans. The "provider" variety is fast enough I think I can get a crop out of them and still have time to get lettuce and spinach sprouted before I have to put up plastic to keep the cold out. You can see the dark is of course compost, and the brownish is the "wonderful" clay soil that we are blessed with here in Syracuse.
Katydids can either be a nuisance or a boon depending on the variety, but I've seen two of these this year, and so far, neither really cared about the foliage, so I think they may be of the predatory variety, in which case...please make yourself at home.
Cicadas on the other hand are completely benign, as long as you don't mind the constant chirping hiss on a summer evening. 120 db at close range, these suckers really hum. This is not actually the bug itself, just the shell of the last nymph phase, they are everywhere this time of year.
these baby's are soooo sweet, its hard keeping enough ripe one on the vine, which I moved over next to the brandywines, in the hopes that some of their ethylene will start ripening the other tomatoes.
This is a bottle gourd flower, you don't see many unless you're out at dusk. They're a night bloomer, an uncommon but not unheard of practice in the plant kingdom. and the flowers, much like the rest of the plant are covered in a soft fine hair. Much nicer than your average squash leaf. This one is a male by the way.
This is an immature female:
In Other News:
A sad day as natural farming legend Masanobu Fukuoka died at 95. Domo arigato gozaimashita Fukuoka sensei.
Looks like my frontyard orchard will be at the forefront of the next emergence in home food production.
And just in case you thought it was going to be all high quality pictures from here on out...
The swiss chard plants that had gone to seed well, finally produced mature seed. A lot of it.
Want some?
And speaking of seed, the fennel flowers that are mostly pods now have started to dry into seed. When I cut the stem I could smell the liquorice, and having sampled a few, these do not disappoint. I'm going to be setting aside more for a special winter project.
And remember the sweetpea flowers of which there were two, well apparently there were three, I'm wondering if maybe this was a sign to not give up on them yet. I might just plant these next year to see if my luck improves.
I got another 2 cukes totaling 1lb 1 oz bringing my total to 38 lbs. More yellow squash (prolific indeed) is about two days away. Still no sign of the brandywines grrrrr.
And someone want to tell me what the hell this is doing in my yard in the middle of august!?
Friday, August 15, 2008
sychnronicity?
Ok this one has been gnawing on my cerebrum for a while. The friend from CT who unloaded the yellow squash on us last weekend, he and his wife started the garden this year and without any kind of communication on the matter between us, they picked the almost all of the same things to grow as we did...almost exactly. The varieties may be different but even the oddball stuff like bottle gourds we both planted!?
weird moment. Anyway it rained again last night, and most of the seeds still have not sprouted for the fall crops, big shocker. Someone on the freedomgardeners forum in Canada is having the same problem, says the jet stream shifted further to the south. Instantly my brain went to "Day After Tomorrow" funny out overreactors do that sort of thing.
weird moment. Anyway it rained again last night, and most of the seeds still have not sprouted for the fall crops, big shocker. Someone on the freedomgardeners forum in Canada is having the same problem, says the jet stream shifted further to the south. Instantly my brain went to "Day After Tomorrow" funny out overreactors do that sort of thing.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
uuuugh.
nothing new to report really, brought in another yellow squash at 12 oz. some of the greenbeans left from the providers at just a touch over 4 oz. Brings the total up a pound to 37. Those will be coming out as they are spent at this point. I've got enough time in the year to pop some more right back in the same spot. The corn isnt big enough to block them out, which worries me, Its been so dark and rainy the corn seems to be in a holding pattern. This does not feel like august, more like september. No signs of ripening from the brandywines, I am going to set the cherry tomato basked in their midst to see if that can jump start the process.
The green beans I started more than two weeks ago have yet to show more than a few seedlings. This cold and wet weather is doing more than wrecking my mood. Its august for crying out loud.
I've finally got a cantaloupe growing and a bottle gourd female flower, but at this rate there will be frost before they are ready!
The green beans I started more than two weeks ago have yet to show more than a few seedlings. This cold and wet weather is doing more than wrecking my mood. Its august for crying out loud.
I've finally got a cantaloupe growing and a bottle gourd female flower, but at this rate there will be frost before they are ready!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
oh by the way
I made the prediction here that I had 3 more pounds of spuds in the ground. Try 4.5lbs bringing my total to 36! I might make fifty yet!
odds and ends...
That stack is 5 high so...you do the math
hey remember that basil I started in the aerogarden back in december?
I've got three bottle gourd vines and so far only one has made a female flower....grrr.
I don't have an ID on this little white bugger who was climbing up the potted cucumber, anyone got a guess?
What do you do with an abundance of summer squash, potatoes and pizza dough?
I threw on some rosemary and basil (from the garden of course) and voila!
It tastes just like it smells...delicious!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
One man's Trash
Is another man's brick walkway....
File this one under my ongoing campaign to be rid of the need for a mower. My neighbors up the street have apparently done away with a rather large brick paved patio. The remains of which were unceremoniously dumped curbside. While a good 50 percent were smashed or degraded beyond usefulness, I did manage to score about 2 loads worth in the back of our Saturn Vue. I didn't count, and I forgot to take a picture this morning since I was hauling well after sundown, but I would guess its somewhere on the order of 250 ish red zigzag paver bricks.
So now we at least have a great start on the walkway through the middle of the backyard to the garden.
price...free
File this one under my ongoing campaign to be rid of the need for a mower. My neighbors up the street have apparently done away with a rather large brick paved patio. The remains of which were unceremoniously dumped curbside. While a good 50 percent were smashed or degraded beyond usefulness, I did manage to score about 2 loads worth in the back of our Saturn Vue. I didn't count, and I forgot to take a picture this morning since I was hauling well after sundown, but I would guess its somewhere on the order of 250 ish red zigzag paver bricks.
So now we at least have a great start on the walkway through the middle of the backyard to the garden.
price...free
Book Review: Lessons In Nature
First of all a thanks is due to Gardening in Converse for his prior review of this book which enticed me to read. I will attempt to offer my own thoughts without duplicating his.
Malcom Beck (the author) has lived at the forefront of the organic movement for most of his life. This book is as much a memoir of trial and error as it is a series of short vignettes on a variety of garden oriented subjects. In that regard it bears similarity to another work "The One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. The similarity does not end there, in fact barring a likely language barrier I think the two men might find decades of common ground on which to discuss. I would even go so far as to say that as Fukuoka is to Buddhist farming, Beck is to "western faith" gardening. While Beck makes no mention of the specifics of his particular faith, evident in some of his axioms are the need for trust in the providence of and thanks for the blessings of God. I would safely assume that he probably speaks from a Christian perspective given some other clues.
At the risk of venturing into rarely walked territory in the sustainability arena I'd like for a moment to explore perhaps how where I believe his faith has informed his technique. His respect for (though begrudging at time) pests from both the plant and animal kingdom resonates clearly the idea expressed in the Genesis account that all of creation is good and there for to some degree necessary. "bad bugs" seemed predisposed to select and feed upon weak plants. Disease, infestation and weeds while detrimental to the short term goal of this season's harvest are necessary to the long term survival of the plant species. Certain weeds prefer and even correct certain soils. Insect pests exist to such that when their numbers are kept in check by other natural factors, they are only capable of suppressing plants which are ill suited to pass on their genes to the next generation. As was made famous in the song there is a time for every purpose. Beck displays a rare patience when discussing the notion of cover crops, if I'm not mistaken growing green manures for seven seasons to improve deficient soil before planting a single carrot.
And just as Fukuoka and Beck might come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, their conclusions are nearly identical. Both have observed over many years that the system which closest duplicates natural conditions is the system which shines brightest. Corrections to any system should only be aimed a restoring a balance rather and completely eliminating or creating an abundance of certain factors. Corrections to the system should be as closest to natural conditions as possible, i.e. using rock phosphate instead of refined "super-phosphate" or adding a large number of predatory insects to correct for a large number of pest insects rather than spraying a pesticide.
Beck advises and I'm sure Fukuoka would agree that when intervention is required as in the case of applying acetic acid to prevent root suckers in a vineyard, that the proposed solution have a very specific intended effect, be composed of simple and organic components, and should not incur a long term effect on the system. Long term solutions to any problem for both men lie almost exclusively in the improvement of the soil.
In summary this is not a book full of "new information" Anyone interested in the subject by now knows that compost is necessary, that organic methods are intrinsically more successful in the long term, that patience and careful observation are what truly builds great gardens. We have all learned this by now, but after reading "Lessons in Nature" I feel I now understand it.
I can definitely without caveat recommend this book, there are a few tips and trick, but the real value lies in the message. Borrow it or buy it, either way...read it.
Malcom Beck (the author) has lived at the forefront of the organic movement for most of his life. This book is as much a memoir of trial and error as it is a series of short vignettes on a variety of garden oriented subjects. In that regard it bears similarity to another work "The One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. The similarity does not end there, in fact barring a likely language barrier I think the two men might find decades of common ground on which to discuss. I would even go so far as to say that as Fukuoka is to Buddhist farming, Beck is to "western faith" gardening. While Beck makes no mention of the specifics of his particular faith, evident in some of his axioms are the need for trust in the providence of and thanks for the blessings of God. I would safely assume that he probably speaks from a Christian perspective given some other clues.
At the risk of venturing into rarely walked territory in the sustainability arena I'd like for a moment to explore perhaps how where I believe his faith has informed his technique. His respect for (though begrudging at time) pests from both the plant and animal kingdom resonates clearly the idea expressed in the Genesis account that all of creation is good and there for to some degree necessary. "bad bugs" seemed predisposed to select and feed upon weak plants. Disease, infestation and weeds while detrimental to the short term goal of this season's harvest are necessary to the long term survival of the plant species. Certain weeds prefer and even correct certain soils. Insect pests exist to such that when their numbers are kept in check by other natural factors, they are only capable of suppressing plants which are ill suited to pass on their genes to the next generation. As was made famous in the song there is a time for every purpose. Beck displays a rare patience when discussing the notion of cover crops, if I'm not mistaken growing green manures for seven seasons to improve deficient soil before planting a single carrot.
And just as Fukuoka and Beck might come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, their conclusions are nearly identical. Both have observed over many years that the system which closest duplicates natural conditions is the system which shines brightest. Corrections to any system should only be aimed a restoring a balance rather and completely eliminating or creating an abundance of certain factors. Corrections to the system should be as closest to natural conditions as possible, i.e. using rock phosphate instead of refined "super-phosphate" or adding a large number of predatory insects to correct for a large number of pest insects rather than spraying a pesticide.
Beck advises and I'm sure Fukuoka would agree that when intervention is required as in the case of applying acetic acid to prevent root suckers in a vineyard, that the proposed solution have a very specific intended effect, be composed of simple and organic components, and should not incur a long term effect on the system. Long term solutions to any problem for both men lie almost exclusively in the improvement of the soil.
In summary this is not a book full of "new information" Anyone interested in the subject by now knows that compost is necessary, that organic methods are intrinsically more successful in the long term, that patience and careful observation are what truly builds great gardens. We have all learned this by now, but after reading "Lessons in Nature" I feel I now understand it.
I can definitely without caveat recommend this book, there are a few tips and trick, but the real value lies in the message. Borrow it or buy it, either way...read it.
Call to action
Today is going to be a big posting day, but I thought I should get this out there as soon as possible.
Surprise, the current administration is looking to gut protection for endangered species.
Call your senators, congressmen, media, everyone.
Surprise, the current administration is looking to gut protection for endangered species.
Call your senators, congressmen, media, everyone.
Monday, August 11, 2008
More props
At the risk of becoming some kind of advertisement I feel it necessary to pat another company on the back. Miller Nurseries, find their site here. The person who answered the phone was not some untrained receptionist but was actually quite familiar with the problem I have been having with my male kiwi vine, and even though I did not have any sales receipt or my customer number on hand, she was able to find my information and verify that the vine was in fact purchased this spring so its still guaranteed, no further questions asked, their shipping another dormant vine next spring.
The pawpaw trees I got from them and the female vine are doing well by the way, so I have no problems whatsoever feeling confident that when its time to start the fruit orchard next spring, I will be calling them.
The pawpaw trees I got from them and the female vine are doing well by the way, so I have no problems whatsoever feeling confident that when its time to start the fruit orchard next spring, I will be calling them.
Where credit is due
If any of my readers are in the upstate NY area you are probably familiar with the megagrocery store Wegmans. I have several friends who have worked there for a number of years, and I know that unlike other grocery chains, they treat their employees well. I normally am quite cynical when it comes to giving the thumbs up to big businesses like this but well...they really get it, or at least it seems like they do. The organic produce section is almost a full third of the total and seems to get bigger each week at my location (dewitt). Some veggies you can only get organic. When you walk through the front door the local crops are right in front of you (and you cant get anywhere else in the store without walking past the local veggie racks). They have a huge chart on the wall with what vegetables are in season, and they post pictures of the farms they buy from right above the vegetables.
If I were better at planning and had more time I wouldn't need grocery stores, but lets face it, I'm not. So when I have to pick up a green pepper and some celery to complete an otherwise homegrown potato salad...I'm happy to report that its still local.
even the cherry tomato (the first of the season) Yesterday two more ripened (which my friend loved...but still no brandywines.)
Look what happens when your mammoth sunflowers are grown to close to your lemon queens, next year you get this.
Glamor shot, another 7 ounces of the most gorgeous cuke I have ever seen. I will be a shame to eat this one...no it wont, I've got three more on the way.
And on saturday I was a participant in a crop swap, and I didn't know it before hand. Some friends of my wife who live in CT met us at a halfway point (Albany) for a picnic. They (who has noticed similar problems with tomatoes being slow to ripen) had what he thought was a mix of zucchini and summer squash seedlings given to him. Turns out they were all yellow summer squash! He is swimming in them, so he cut about 10 lbs from his garden and gave them to me.
Desperate to start chipping at the mountain of yellow on the counter I pulled together this experiment, which I'm happy to say was great!
I worked in aMom&Pop pizza operation all through high school and college, so I consider myself fairly adept at the art. This one was a combination of one side just shrooms (for my wife who was not willing to be part of the experiment) and the other side with the rest of the green pepper, a little bit of our backyard onions, some rosemary and chunks of yellow squash.
It was fantastic, I've got some leftover dough and I'm cursing the brandywines right now because there is nothing better than pizza with slices of fresh tomato on top. Oh well.
If anyone has any favorite vegetarian recipes that use summer squash, please hit me up! I still have a mountain of it and so far only a few people at work have volunteered to take some. Abundance is killer isnt it.
Speaking of killer, the aforementioned killer in the previous post is a potato berry. Full to the brim of solanum, the thing that puts the deadly in deadly nightshade. In other words, eat the spud, not the bud.
If I were better at planning and had more time I wouldn't need grocery stores, but lets face it, I'm not. So when I have to pick up a green pepper and some celery to complete an otherwise homegrown potato salad...I'm happy to report that its still local.
even the cherry tomato (the first of the season) Yesterday two more ripened (which my friend loved...but still no brandywines.)
Look what happens when your mammoth sunflowers are grown to close to your lemon queens, next year you get this.
Glamor shot, another 7 ounces of the most gorgeous cuke I have ever seen. I will be a shame to eat this one...no it wont, I've got three more on the way.
And on saturday I was a participant in a crop swap, and I didn't know it before hand. Some friends of my wife who live in CT met us at a halfway point (Albany) for a picnic. They (who has noticed similar problems with tomatoes being slow to ripen) had what he thought was a mix of zucchini and summer squash seedlings given to him. Turns out they were all yellow summer squash! He is swimming in them, so he cut about 10 lbs from his garden and gave them to me.
Desperate to start chipping at the mountain of yellow on the counter I pulled together this experiment, which I'm happy to say was great!
I worked in aMom&Pop pizza operation all through high school and college, so I consider myself fairly adept at the art. This one was a combination of one side just shrooms (for my wife who was not willing to be part of the experiment) and the other side with the rest of the green pepper, a little bit of our backyard onions, some rosemary and chunks of yellow squash.
It was fantastic, I've got some leftover dough and I'm cursing the brandywines right now because there is nothing better than pizza with slices of fresh tomato on top. Oh well.
If anyone has any favorite vegetarian recipes that use summer squash, please hit me up! I still have a mountain of it and so far only a few people at work have volunteered to take some. Abundance is killer isnt it.
Speaking of killer, the aforementioned killer in the previous post is a potato berry. Full to the brim of solanum, the thing that puts the deadly in deadly nightshade. In other words, eat the spud, not the bud.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Cookin and keepin
I didn't get a shot of the plate before hand but dinner consisted of stuffed zucchini and green beans from the garden (steamed just a touch). Here is what's left, I was nervous about how it would be received. My wife likes them, I used to make it all the time before we got kids, but the kids was the variable. One just turned one year old and I guess I shouldn't have worried because he eats everything under the sun and seems to love squash and sweet potatoes, so when he barely took time to breathe between bites I shouldn't have been surprised. Our daughter will be turning 9 in two weeks and the last time I made eggplant it did not go well, but I was relieved to hear that she loved it.
After dinner I put some of the glut of potatoes to use. The old standbye, your favorite and mine, potato and leek soup. This picture was taken before I finished filling the jars, 5 in total but when you factor in the large headspace it probably came closer to 4 quarts. Since this is a low acid food and I have no pressure canner, this is going in the freezer, hence the large headspace. Both came from the same cookbook, which I'll have to see if I can find a link to. I must have close to a dozen cookbooks, but this one gets used more than all others.
I first started cooking around the time I "fell off the chuckwagon" (has it been almost 12 years now?) Anyway, its not something I have always been good at, but after growing a lot of my ingredients now I am really getting the sense of accomplishment from it.
After dinner I put some of the glut of potatoes to use. The old standbye, your favorite and mine, potato and leek soup. This picture was taken before I finished filling the jars, 5 in total but when you factor in the large headspace it probably came closer to 4 quarts. Since this is a low acid food and I have no pressure canner, this is going in the freezer, hence the large headspace. Both came from the same cookbook, which I'll have to see if I can find a link to. I must have close to a dozen cookbooks, but this one gets used more than all others.
I first started cooking around the time I "fell off the chuckwagon" (has it been almost 12 years now?) Anyway, its not something I have always been good at, but after growing a lot of my ingredients now I am really getting the sense of accomplishment from it.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
score one for the good guys
Even if you hadn't read any of my previous postings I'll bet you could probably guess I was grinning with glee when I read that the many headed beast of mammon, monsanto will be dropping its recombinant bovine growth hormone division that produces the "miracle" drug prosilac.
Aww, poor monsanto can't turn a profit when even slightly less evil companies like wal-mart wont sell rgbh milk. Whats the matter monsanto, didn't buying forcing other companies to not use the "rgbh free" label not help. Could it possibly be that :gasp: a rapidly increasing public knowledge of the true hazards of GMO pharming might in some way lead to a rightful distrust of your product?
Go figure.
Aww, poor monsanto can't turn a profit when even slightly less evil companies like wal-mart wont sell rgbh milk. Whats the matter monsanto, didn't buying forcing other companies to not use the "rgbh free" label not help. Could it possibly be that :gasp: a rapidly increasing public knowledge of the true hazards of GMO pharming might in some way lead to a rightful distrust of your product?
Go figure.
Hypothesis and a game
While fussing with the tomatoes I noticed a rather horrid thing
my theory is, that with the insane amount of rain that has fallen on my plains this is a really exaggerated case of cracking. Any more experienced tomato growers care to chime in? Too much rain and they crack, too little and the blossom end rots...sheesh there is no pleasing tomatoes.
And secondly...one is killer tasty, and the other just killer...chose wisely...
my theory is, that with the insane amount of rain that has fallen on my plains this is a really exaggerated case of cracking. Any more experienced tomato growers care to chime in? Too much rain and they crack, too little and the blossom end rots...sheesh there is no pleasing tomatoes.
And secondly...one is killer tasty, and the other just killer...chose wisely...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
They taunt me
The brandywines are getting big and heavy, but not yet ripe! I am not going to be swimming in them, the excessive rain caused a good deal of flower drop, but I do have about 8 on the vines right now in various stages...but NONE RIPE!
Zuchinni on the other hand...
thats 1 lb 4 oz today for a total zucchini tally of 3 lbs 9 oz and 9 lbs for the day when I add in the cucumber, some early beans, and 7 lbs of potatoes. The other cucumbers all seem straight, so my initial worries about soil fertility seemed premature. And by the way
The first of the cherry tomatoes is getting ripe! at last!
And now I broke the 30 pound mark coming in at 31 lbs. I have probably 3 more lbs of potatoes in the ground still. The melons and winter squash are not fairing well, will I make it to the 50 mark? who knows.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Book Review: One Circle
Having tore through "the basics" like "How to Grow..." "Lessons in Nature, and "Gaia's Garden" I think I have a pretty good handle on the theory at this point. I have been really looking for some texts of the nuts and bolts of subsistence growing. I found it in One Circle: How to Grow a Complete diet in less than 1000 square feet" by Dave Duhon and Cindy Gephard. You can get it here from ecology action.
Make no mistake this is a no holds barred exercise in fine details. If you ever wondered whether someone had taken the time to compile and tabulate the facts and figures to properly calculate the required nutrient intake for a given individual, and then determine how much and of what type of crop to grow to meet those needs, let me end the suspense...Someone did and it is documented down to the finest detail. Which likely explains why this book will never be on a best seller list.
That is not an indictment of the efforts of the authors, just that most people will start looking at this and their eyes will glaze over. Most people will look at the fact that the crops grown to satisfy the nutrient and area efficiency requirements of meeting "on as little land as possible" number as few as 8. Add in the fact that, barring potatoes and wheat, most people do not consider the vegetables grown as anything more than a condiment at best or a punchline of a joke at worst. This is therefore, not a book for most people.
Documented carefully within its pages are a slough of tables (and slide rules) to calculate the nutritional needs for any given person, and planting recommendations accordingly. There are also examples so that people like me who don't plan on doing the calculations can use samples to satisfy their curiosity.
So if its not for most people then what is the upside? There are a couple of fantastic essays from a number of people, some excellent growing guides for the crops that are recommended, and while the content of the main segment of the book is quite heavy, it is an excellent explanation of why some crops are less efficient than others if one is growing for sustenance.
If I could have picked a different title it would be "Forget Tomatoes: using biointensive methods to grow crops which will technically provide you with all of your vegan diet using the absolutely smallest amount of space possible." It answered a question for me, what a diet using only the land I own would look like.
In the end I have give this work a thumbs up with a caveat...If you dig textbooks about nutrition and agriculture, pick it up. If not, ask to borrow it from a friend and just read the essays.
Make no mistake this is a no holds barred exercise in fine details. If you ever wondered whether someone had taken the time to compile and tabulate the facts and figures to properly calculate the required nutrient intake for a given individual, and then determine how much and of what type of crop to grow to meet those needs, let me end the suspense...Someone did and it is documented down to the finest detail. Which likely explains why this book will never be on a best seller list.
That is not an indictment of the efforts of the authors, just that most people will start looking at this and their eyes will glaze over. Most people will look at the fact that the crops grown to satisfy the nutrient and area efficiency requirements of meeting "on as little land as possible" number as few as 8. Add in the fact that, barring potatoes and wheat, most people do not consider the vegetables grown as anything more than a condiment at best or a punchline of a joke at worst. This is therefore, not a book for most people.
Documented carefully within its pages are a slough of tables (and slide rules) to calculate the nutritional needs for any given person, and planting recommendations accordingly. There are also examples so that people like me who don't plan on doing the calculations can use samples to satisfy their curiosity.
So if its not for most people then what is the upside? There are a couple of fantastic essays from a number of people, some excellent growing guides for the crops that are recommended, and while the content of the main segment of the book is quite heavy, it is an excellent explanation of why some crops are less efficient than others if one is growing for sustenance.
If I could have picked a different title it would be "Forget Tomatoes: using biointensive methods to grow crops which will technically provide you with all of your vegan diet using the absolutely smallest amount of space possible." It answered a question for me, what a diet using only the land I own would look like.
In the end I have give this work a thumbs up with a caveat...If you dig textbooks about nutrition and agriculture, pick it up. If not, ask to borrow it from a friend and just read the essays.
Scratch that!
this weekend I was going to dig out the rest of the potatoes this weekend but it rained, hard, again.
the cherry tomato plant in the hanging basket has some yellowing leaves, too much water probably. I started some beets, turnips beans and leeks for the fall. They along with some others will be occupying the bed the potatoes vacate. The healthier better tilth soil of the two beds. No signs of ripening yet from either the cherry tomatoes or the brandywines. Anticipation is killer isn't it.
In other news, the grape vine (lakemont) which was growing strong appears to have weakened growth at the tip and there looks to be some very light brown streaking at the last inch of it. I topped it off right above a node, if its a disease, hopefully I got the infected part of it and it can continue to grow from the node. The Male Kiwi is being ridiculously sluggish. I know its position is not the greatest but it will have to do, I may give it some worm tea and see how it reacts. Hopefully I can give it another couple inches before fall and let it get established.
I've seen more than a few japanese beetles out and about, and managed to "get" all of them, I hope they aren't somehow involved in all this.
the cherry tomato plant in the hanging basket has some yellowing leaves, too much water probably. I started some beets, turnips beans and leeks for the fall. They along with some others will be occupying the bed the potatoes vacate. The healthier better tilth soil of the two beds. No signs of ripening yet from either the cherry tomatoes or the brandywines. Anticipation is killer isn't it.
In other news, the grape vine (lakemont) which was growing strong appears to have weakened growth at the tip and there looks to be some very light brown streaking at the last inch of it. I topped it off right above a node, if its a disease, hopefully I got the infected part of it and it can continue to grow from the node. The Male Kiwi is being ridiculously sluggish. I know its position is not the greatest but it will have to do, I may give it some worm tea and see how it reacts. Hopefully I can give it another couple inches before fall and let it get established.
I've seen more than a few japanese beetles out and about, and managed to "get" all of them, I hope they aren't somehow involved in all this.
Friday, August 1, 2008
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
