Starting Again

I have decided to be a little more serious about my seedlings this year and I am trying some new techniques.

Some (mainly cabbages and peppers) in peat pots from Jiffy, herbs and some alliums in proper start pots, and tomatoes and lemon grass in flower pots.

I got a seedling heat mat and set them all on a glass table top with the mat on it so it would warm them all some.  It really seems to be working well.  I am a little concerned with peat pots drying out too much and some of the peppers (seems like the hotter varieties, like Scotch Bonnet) are slower to germinate, but all in all its a success so far.

Here we have a rare (but increasingly common) Garden Monkey enjoying a popsicle as we check our seedlings in the morning.  He helped plant them and we enjoy checking them together.

Disappointment

I look at so many gardening/urban farming blogs lately, and they seem to be leaning to this sort of false, almost (and in some cases blatantly) commercial, non-offensive feel.  Most are well written, some are well illustrated, but they never seem to deal with the difficult questions lately.

One blog wrote about keeping chickens in a suburban environment.  Cool.  But then the story involves the chickens being attacked by a neighbor's dogs after the dogs dug under the fence.  The writer discusses caring for the chickens afterward, re-establishing the pecking order, etc.  Fine.  But nowhere does he discuss dealing with the neighbors, nowhere does he discuss even talking to them about paying the (exorbitant for chickens) vet bills, plans for controlling future intrusions etc.  So I write a comment asking some of the tough, real world questions.  The comments on that blog are moderated.  My question is not posted or addressed.  More comments have been added since and added, so the comment was read, but evidently you can't get an answer and can only be posted if you post a fawning comment.  It makes me ill.

Of course, there are still some (Hi Phelan!) who are fearless and will address questions.

Not sure if I should post a link.

If you want it I will post it.  Just leave a comment.

Good News In Russia For The Pavlovsk Station

About two years ago the Pavlovsk Experiment Station of the Vavilov Research Institute was in grave danger of being plowed under by a housing development. The Station's acreage holds valuable varieties of berries and fruits and the Station is important to the maintenance of genetic diversity. I try and follow up on these sorts of things, especially if I encourage people to sign a petition like the Drummondville, Quebec petition a couple of days ago.

I ran across this today:


14.05.2011 Санкт-Петербург


AN ORDER OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 
April 17, 2012 The Russian government issued an order № 521-р sanctioning a conveyance of land plots           with a total area of 195079m2 714286m2 (Pavlovsk town) for use by the Pavlovsk Experiment station of        VIR to conserve collections of plant genetic resources under conditions precluding their inappropriate use, including housing construction. However, the Federal Property Management Agency and Ministry of Agriculture of Russia should ensure control that these areas are being used for conservation of plant genetic resources. In addition St.-Petersburg Government is recommended to make amendments to relevant regulations assigning these lands to areas for the purpose of agriculture.


 Here is a Vavilov site.

Going Backwards

A couple in Quebec have completely converted their entire front yard to a gorgeous, well planned and maintained vegetable garden. The municipality, Drummondville, limits the area that can be dedicated to veggies in a front yard to 30%, so the municipality is going after them. As I read the article I see that Drummondville is going to limit it soon to ZERO percent in the front.

Nothing like going backwards. :(

The Garden

The Article

Give it the good fight Michel Beauchamp and Josée Landry!

Asian Winged Bean Seedling

Tried Asian Winged Beans this year. They were slow to germinate. The advice on the pack said to soak the seed for two hours and plant them. So I did and they didn't come up for WEEKS. I thought I got bad seed and figured that the seeds had rotted by then, but just as I was about to dig them up they finally came up. I looked elsewhere on line and it seems you are supposed to soak them for 24 hours, not 2. Anyways, here is what the seedlings look like:

This is from about two weeks ago, I will have to get a more detailed and updated picture soon.

2012 Garden Update

Some friends asked how the garden was doing and I realized how long it had been since I posted. This has been a busy year. I added a rain collection system.

I got the barrel from a local food distributor for twenty dollars, got some base and block from the local hardware spot, and the rain barrel installation kit from Rain Brothers. The kit had a great video on Youtube and after some investigation I decided it was the way to go. My wife knew I wanted to upgrade from my compost pile, so for my birthday I got a:

Already used a batch of it as mulch for my potatoes. It seems to really be working great. I love the fact that the heat kills the seeds. Some other pictures to entertain:

Sometimes Words Fail Me...Well Not This Time

This is absolutely ridiculous.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012640/Woman-faces-jail-growing-vegetables-yard.html

I have been an urban planner (AICP, the whole nine yards). I am a gardener. I am appalled by the Oak Park position. I am even more appalled to see a member of what is supposed to be a forward looking ("planning", duh) profession act in this fashion. I understand that he could be under duress, but if not, he needs to have his credentials renewed.

Looking Good In Mid June

The garden is looking good.

How Its Going So Far in 2011

The garden is looking pretty well. I was able to get some more cages so I actually have 54 inch cages for all sixteen tomatoes, and the continuing attempt to go vertical will include some added trellises

The garden has had a few rough days on the last few with some strong storms coming through but we managed to avoid the hail.

I will add more picture of the other beds and hopefully the trellises tomorrow night.

Wow...Where Did A Month Go?

Sorry for the lack of posts. With Spring upon us yard/garden work ruled the time I had available. That combined with a passing the family really absorbed every shred of time I had. More posts soon.

Taking A Break On A Busy Day

Having a busy day. My wife is away caring for her ailing mother (any prayers or positive vibes appreciated) and we dearly miss her, but she is where she needs to be.

In her absence and considering the weather (which is verging on perfect) I am doing all the yard prep I can.

Finished my compost area:



I have been weeding around the edges, getting ready to put some mulch down, got the front yard aerated and power raked, fertilized the flower beds, trimmed blackberries, etc, etc, etc, and its not even 1 pm.

More to go. Plus, I have a great helper:

Unhappy With My Mycorrhiza

So I am going through one of my favorite nurseries and I spot something I have wanted to try for a couple of years at a price that, while not comfortable, is in my range, so I purchase it.

I have wanted to try Mycorrhiza for quit some time. Its a fungus that occurs in undisturbed soils that has a synergistic relationship with plants. I have seen it used on some garden shows to revive difficult or over worked soil. Another property it is supposed to add to the soil is greater moisture capture.

So, there it is on the shelf. I look it over for a second and it also has some material to support the fungus, it has some 3-3-3 fertilizer combined in and touts its moisture retention ability. The fertilizer is not organic, which I would normally avoid, but my excitement at having the mycorrhiza overwhelms me and I decide to go for it. I look on top and it has an expiration date, which encourages me that there is in fact, something living inside. I read almost every detail on the container. But I missed one key sentence in the fine print.

I get home and sprinkle some on my main beds. I mix it in. I am excited to think about this fungus starting to grow in my beds. Then I don't go out for a few days because of rain.

Then one of my daughters asked why one of my beds looked white. This is what I find:



That one portion of sentence I somehow missed?...", and water-storing polymer crystals that help reduce plant waterings."

I was, and am, so mad about this I cannot even accurately express this. Of course, really, I am mad at myself for missing that one little piece of information in a bit of fine print.

Organizing The Seeds

This winter I made some seed orders. As soon as I got done ordering seeds a gracious family member and a friend dropped off a bunch of seeds. Seriously, I could plant half of Iowa. What was interesting were the variety of seeds and the variety of providers. Seeds Savers, Ferry Morse, Burpee, Park, Henry Fields, Pinetree Garden, Select, Freedom, Lake Valley, Totally Tomatoes, Thompson Morgan, etc, etc, etc. And of course, saved seed of my own, and some from friends digital and other wise. Had to set down and organize them in some fashion. I had a better system, but the big influx of seed sent me back to square one. So I broke them down into the following categories:

1) Empty Packs - Packs that I kept that are empty but had useful information.

2) Started - Seeds that I have done all the starts for this year.

3) Not Planting - Packs of items I don't have room for in the garden, I don't want to plant this year, or otherwise are not using now.

4) Ready for direct sow - Put all the seeds I will direct sow in one bunch ready to go outside.

I need to return to a more complete system though.

Turning Beds, Finding Worms

Went out and turned the beds to keep the composting going. I turned some grass and leaves into the beds last fall and have turned them every chance I got, even through the winter. When I turned them this time I found what I wanted to find:



So many worms, I actually even turned over a ball of worms about the size of a baseball. Exactly what I was looking for!

Seedlings Going Strong

The seedlings are doing well with a few exceptions, but nothing too harsh.

I think I have to many tomatoes. Actually, is that possible?

Volunteer Madness

We have VOLUNTEER MADNESS going on. Carrots, onions, and sunflowers. And its the second week in April.

Can I bring my self to till these in? They are in the totally wrong place, but, geez, what does a plant have to do to get some respect around here?

Pepper List for 2011

I am a huge fan of peppers. I use six types in my chili. I use them every chance I can. I love the heat. I love the sweet. But mostly the heat!

Peppers
Anaheim
Cayenne
Zavory
Marconi
Poblano
Serrano
Jalapeno
Giant Jalapeno
Tennessee Cheese

No Thai peppers this year. I should grow them, they just didn't taste good last year. And I am soooo tired of seeing "Ancho" peppers, and "Chipotle" peppers on seed packets I could scream. Those are semi-prepared versions of Poblano and Jalapeno peppers.

Tomato List for 2011

I got my seedlings started this last weekend. I will have to throw up pics of the setup I am using this year. Here are the tomatoes I have started (or ordered from seedsavers.org, marked with a *) so far:

Tomatoes
Brandywine (Sudduth)*
Roma (Martino)
Aunt Rubys' German Green
Black from Tula
Blondekompfchen
Cherokee Purple*
Dr Wyche's Yellow
Razzleberry
Super Sweet 100
Brown Cherry
Costoluto Genovese
Beam's Yellow Pear
Gold Medal*
Stupice*
Green Zebra

Yummy!

Soil Erosion

This makes me want to scream and cry, to wail and gnash teeth.

It does not (should not) matter your persuasion. You should care about productive farmland. Soil. Dirt. The origin of renewable wealth. The origin of your dinner. And NOBODY in power seems to care. You can't just order more soil from China, or Bangladesh, or Indonesia. There is only X amount and only X amount can be created yearly.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/soil-erosion-ewg-losing-ground-report_n_848096.html

Shocking Cost Increases!

Went to the local mega store yesterday because I saw the garden section start to fill in. I was APPALLED at the prices on edible seedlings. $2 to $3 for A cabbage seedling? $3 to $5 for A tomato seedling? Seedlings were averaging around $4 a plant. That would be hundreds of dollars for a garden the size of mine. That is pretty unbelievable.

Also, the potting soil prices. Wow. I have to find somewhere else to get this stuff. Almost $7 a bag for anything decent. Again, appalling. Maybe I need to go further out to the rural areas and get out of the suburbs. At least I have the compost going.