I have been doing a lot of research on growing asparagus and I just wanted to share what I've been learning. I use my blog as my resource for information, so it will be helpful for me to have the info here. Plus, I hope others may find it useful at one point or another, as well.
Last year, I planted 25 crowns of Purple Passion Asparagus in our garden. We love asparagus and tend to eat it every other day when its in season. I want to eventually have enough to not only eat fresh as often as we like, but also to blanch and freeze so that we can enjoy our own home-grown asparagus in the fall and winter months.
Find a Source
The first step in growing asparagus is to find a good source for crowns. I ordered my crowns from Fedco. You'll need to decide what variety you are interested in. There are many to choose from. I chose an all male variety, as I have read they are most productive since they're not wasting energy producing seeds like females.
Planting Asparagus
Plant asparagus during the dormant period - for me that meant early spring. To plant the crowns, you need to dig a trench about a foot deep and about a foot wide. Make sure you also amend your soil, if necessary. Remember, asparagus is a perennial, so you'll want a good, nourishing soil to grow it in. You should add some good compost as you are planting the crowns, too. I also added some manure as I was planting mine.
You will want to space the crowns about 18 inches apart and then cover with a few inches of soil. As your plants sprout and grow, you should fill in the trench with more soil so as to provide a good, strong growing base.
What to Plant (and Not to Plant) Near Asparagus
Good companions for asparagus are: basil, parsley, and tomatoes. Bad companions for asparagus are: onions, chives, garlic, and leeks.
Harvesting Asparagus
I have read mixed things about when to take your first harvest after planting crowns. Definitely do not harvest any asparagus spears the first year you plant the crowns. Just let them grow. I think asparagus is actually quite pretty. I never realized how pretty the asparagus ferns could be. The ferns get quite tall - like 5 or 6 feet - so make sure you also take this into consideration when you are planting your crowns.
Some sources say that you should not harvest the second year, either. And some sources recommend leaving them alone a third year, even. Many sources say you can harvest the second year, but only a light harvest. I've decided not to harvest mine yet this year. I will harvest some next year, but only a light harvest. I figure I will harvest 2 or 3 stalks per crown next year and leave the rest to grow into ferns, as I want my crowns to really get established and growing strong.
Harvest asparagus when the spears are between 6 and 8 inches long and the tips are still tightly closed. Cut off the spears just below the surface of the soil using a sharp trowel/shovel. You'll want to leave the very thin spears to grow into ferns and nourish your roots.
You can extend the harvest of your asparagus by allowing 3 or 4 spears per crown to grow into ferns. By doing this, your crowns are always producing enough energy and food via photosynthesis. This will extend your harvest by weeks. Once the diameter an the spears is thinner than a pencil, its time to stop harvesting and let them grow into ferns.
After 4 years of good growth, your plants should be producing strong for about 8 weeks.
Diseases and Pests
Asparagus is susceptible to asparagus rust, which looks like orange/yellow spots on the foliage. Make sure you are selecting varieties that are resistant.
Another common issue are asparagus beetles. They usually appear later in the season and eat the ferns. This will weaken the crowns. Hand-pick off the beetles and squash them, or try applying soap spray directly on the beetles. After the first frost, remove the dead ferns and destroy so as to eliminate a place for the beetles to over-winter. A good defense against asparagus beetles is to plant tomatoes, basil, and parsley next to your asparagus plants. They will deter one another's pests.
To make a soap spray, mix 1 teaspoon Dr. Bronners soap in 1 quart of water. Shake it up and spray.
Cutting The Ferns As You Prepare For Winter
Asparagus fronds should not be cut until very late in the fall. By this time, the ferns should be dry and brittle. You want to leave the ferns as long as possible, as the roots need the top growth to enable them to make spears the following spring.
After you cut the ferns back, you will want to spread a layer of compost or manure over the asparagus bed. Then top with a thick layer of straw.
This post is shared at: Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Organic Orcharding - Spring To-Dos
We inherited an established, overgrown, diseased, buggy home orchard when we bought our house. There were probably about 30-35 different fruit trees on the property - mostly apples and pears, with a couple edible crabapples, a couple peach, and a cherry. We've since removed some of the way overgrown, beyond-saving trees. We had a couple enormous trees that were very sick, with rotted limbs throughout more than a third of the tree. We decided they weren't worth the effort, so we've cut them down. We still have another really large apple tree to cut down... if it ever stops raining this week, we'll take care of it then. Otherwise, it will be taken care of soon. We've also removed some other trees that were too diseased to save or just haven't been fruiting for the last 3 years. We're now down to about 22 fruit trees, I believe.
It has been my goal to revive the orchard using organic and sustainable methods. This is no small task, but I believe it can be done. I learn many new things each year, but I am making good progress. I am hopeful that we'll actually be able to harvest some decent fruit this year... although we'll see what impact the cold, rainy weather has on the trees in the next week or so. That cold and rain could not have come at a worse time for a home orchard... so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the bees were still able to pollinate and things weren't disrupted too much.
Anyway, I wanted to share my progress and the methods by which I'm achieving success so as to encourage others to either tackle some old, overgrown fruit trees, or maybe to switch over to more sustainable methods of home orcharding.
I wanted to start off with a few things to do in the spring. I took care of most of these items quite a few weeks ago, but it's still not too late for you to attempt any of these ideas.
Feed the trees.
Spring is the time you want to encourage strong, rapid growth of your fruit trees. Early spring is the best time to do this by feeding the trees. I have chosen to use chicken manure compost, which is higher in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than other manures, therefore you don't need to use as much. When spreading the manure around the trees, you'll want to focus on the area where the feeder roots (the smaller, fibrous roots that actually absorb the nutrients from the soil) are growing. This will be dependent upon the size of your tree. But basically, the larger roots of a tree are towards its center. The feeder roots extend out from the larger roots, generally to the edge of the canopy. This is the area you want to focus on when feeding your trees.
Neem oil.
Neem oil is a great, safe insect-control oil spray. It makes a great dormant oil spray, too. I sprayed my trees with neem oil at the half-inch green tip stage, as well as another spray when the buds were just turning pink (before blossoming). I will also be spraying this week after all petals have fallen. One more spray about 10 days later will do the trick in deterring scab and rust fungal diseases.
Trap pests.
Overwintered pests begin to emerge in the early spring. A very effective and safe way to rid your orchard of (most) pests is to trap them by using sticky traps. These traps will monitor the presence of different pests - codling moth, sawflies, apple maggot, tarnished plant bugs, etc. I have been using a combination of white sticky traps and red spheres in our orchard for the past two years with great effectiveness. Of course, the traps don't catch everything, but they really do make a good dent in the pest population and improve your fruit crop substantially.
White Sticky Traps
Place white sticky traps at about eye level in your trees to trap lots of European apple sawflies. You may not catch them all, but you'll catch enough to improve your apple crop. You will want to remove the blossoms within about 12 inches of the white sticky trap.
Place white sticky traps at knee level to catch lots of tarnished plant bugs. You will want to hang these at the beginning of silver tip.
Only set out a few cards initially in order to monitor. Set out more when control is required. For a trap-out hang 1 trap per dwarf tree, 2 per semi-dwarf tree and 3 to 4 per standard tree.
Make Your Own White Sticky Traps
Of course, you can purchase white sticky traps, but you'll spend about $3-4 per trap. Or, you can make your own traps for less than 50 cents per trap.
You'll need the following materials:
White posterboard
Quart-size plastic Ziploc freezer bags
Pants hangers (with the clips)
Cut your white posterboard so that it fits inside the Ziploc bag, approximately 6"x8". Slide the white posterboard into the bag and zip it closed. Coat the plastic bag with a sticky material. Some options are Tanglefoot, Stikem, or even petroleum jelly.
Clip the sticky bags into the clips on the pants hanger. Hang in the tree.
When your sticky substance becomes covered with bugs, simply slide off the plastic bag and discard it. Put on a new bag and coating, and you're back in business, using the same piece of cardboard.
It has been my goal to revive the orchard using organic and sustainable methods. This is no small task, but I believe it can be done. I learn many new things each year, but I am making good progress. I am hopeful that we'll actually be able to harvest some decent fruit this year... although we'll see what impact the cold, rainy weather has on the trees in the next week or so. That cold and rain could not have come at a worse time for a home orchard... so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the bees were still able to pollinate and things weren't disrupted too much.
Anyway, I wanted to share my progress and the methods by which I'm achieving success so as to encourage others to either tackle some old, overgrown fruit trees, or maybe to switch over to more sustainable methods of home orcharding.
I wanted to start off with a few things to do in the spring. I took care of most of these items quite a few weeks ago, but it's still not too late for you to attempt any of these ideas.
Feed the trees.
Spring is the time you want to encourage strong, rapid growth of your fruit trees. Early spring is the best time to do this by feeding the trees. I have chosen to use chicken manure compost, which is higher in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than other manures, therefore you don't need to use as much. When spreading the manure around the trees, you'll want to focus on the area where the feeder roots (the smaller, fibrous roots that actually absorb the nutrients from the soil) are growing. This will be dependent upon the size of your tree. But basically, the larger roots of a tree are towards its center. The feeder roots extend out from the larger roots, generally to the edge of the canopy. This is the area you want to focus on when feeding your trees.
Neem oil.
Neem oil is a great, safe insect-control oil spray. It makes a great dormant oil spray, too. I sprayed my trees with neem oil at the half-inch green tip stage, as well as another spray when the buds were just turning pink (before blossoming). I will also be spraying this week after all petals have fallen. One more spray about 10 days later will do the trick in deterring scab and rust fungal diseases.
Trap pests.
Overwintered pests begin to emerge in the early spring. A very effective and safe way to rid your orchard of (most) pests is to trap them by using sticky traps. These traps will monitor the presence of different pests - codling moth, sawflies, apple maggot, tarnished plant bugs, etc. I have been using a combination of white sticky traps and red spheres in our orchard for the past two years with great effectiveness. Of course, the traps don't catch everything, but they really do make a good dent in the pest population and improve your fruit crop substantially.
White Sticky Traps
Place white sticky traps at about eye level in your trees to trap lots of European apple sawflies. You may not catch them all, but you'll catch enough to improve your apple crop. You will want to remove the blossoms within about 12 inches of the white sticky trap.
Place white sticky traps at knee level to catch lots of tarnished plant bugs. You will want to hang these at the beginning of silver tip.
Only set out a few cards initially in order to monitor. Set out more when control is required. For a trap-out hang 1 trap per dwarf tree, 2 per semi-dwarf tree and 3 to 4 per standard tree.
Make Your Own White Sticky Traps
Of course, you can purchase white sticky traps, but you'll spend about $3-4 per trap. Or, you can make your own traps for less than 50 cents per trap.
You'll need the following materials:
White posterboard
Quart-size plastic Ziploc freezer bags
Pants hangers (with the clips)
Cut your white posterboard so that it fits inside the Ziploc bag, approximately 6"x8". Slide the white posterboard into the bag and zip it closed. Coat the plastic bag with a sticky material. Some options are Tanglefoot, Stikem, or even petroleum jelly.
Clip the sticky bags into the clips on the pants hanger. Hang in the tree.
When your sticky substance becomes covered with bugs, simply slide off the plastic bag and discard it. Put on a new bag and coating, and you're back in business, using the same piece of cardboard.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Organic Gardening - Soil Testing
This is the perfect time to get your soil tested for your vegetable gardens. It generally takes about 3-4 weeks to get your results. So you'll want to get your soil samples in very soon in order to have time to address any soil deficiencies or adjust pH prior to planting. Of course you can also amend the soil after planting, as well. I briefly mentioned the importance of soil testing in a past post on gardening basics, but I thought I'd provide a little more information on the topic.
Why have a soil test?
The basis for nutrient-dense, healthy vegetables and fruits is a good, fertile, nutrient-dense soil. If you're lacking nutrients and minerals in your soil, you're lacking them in your food. Contrary to what many people believe, vegetables and fruits are not created equal. You need to have your soil tested so that you are aware of any problems or deficiencies in your soil.
What is a soil test?
A soil test will tell you what your pH is, as well as the levels for nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, lime, and magnesium. You can also pay extra for mineral testing, which I would recommend. Your test results should also provide recommendations for addressing any deficiencies. Test results can be difficult to interpret. MSU has some great information explaining how to interpret your results.
How often do I need to test my soil?
It is recommended to have your soil tested at least every 3 years. However, if you test your soil now and find out you are lacking many nutrients and minerals, I'd suggest having a test done in the fall or again next spring to see if you were successful in amending the soil.
Who does the testing?
Your university extension office is probably your best bet. For Michigan, contact the MSUE office for your county. For Genesee County, you need to pick up a soil test box from the MSUE office, take your samples, and mail it in to the MSU Crop & Soil Sciences Testing Lab. You can see the fee schedule here.
How do I take a soil sample?
There should be instructions included in your test box, but here are the instructions that I was provided by MSUE - its really a very simple process:
1. Decide whether you want to test soil for the lawn, trees and shrubs, flower garden, or vegetable. If growing more than one item (vegetable and flower) together, use the plant code of what you are planting the most of. Soil sample information form will be included with soil box. Use a spade or trowel and a clean plastic pail to obtain the sample.
2. Collect 10-15 representative soil samples from one type of landscape area – such as your lawn, flower garden, around trees or shrubs, or vegetable garden. Dig to the depth of the plant roots (3” deep for lawn; 6” deep or more for flowers, vegetables; and 8” deep for trees).
3. Mix the samples together in a plastic pail (do not use a metal pail).
4. If the soil is wet, it will be necessary to air dry the soil. Do not use artificial heat (radiators, ovens, etc.) to force-dry the sample and do not mail wet or damp soil.
5. Place 2-3 cups of the well-mixed soil into the soil box.
6. Mail in your sample to the address included in your test box.
This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday on Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
2011 Veggie Garden - Heirloom Tomato and Pepper Transplants
Ok, so yesterday I told you I was going to order all of my vegetable transplants from my CSA Farmer's Market. Well, I changed my mind... at least partially. I will still definitely be ordering some transplants from the CSA, but I decided last night to put in an order for live plants through Seed Savers Exchange after seeing their offerings. Just like I did last year, I'm only going to grow heirloom tomatoes and peppers. I just think the taste and quality are far superior to any non-heirlooms I've ever tasted or grown. I know my CSA will offer Brandywine tomato transplants, so I'll definitely pick up a couple of those plants, as well as a few other varieties, I'm sure. But my mouth seriously started watering when I was reading the descriptions on the Seed Savers site. And I knew I had to order some...
Gold Medal Tomato
Amish Paste Tomato
Italian Tomato
King of the North Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Sweet Chocolate Pepper
Tolli's Sweet Pepper
This is posted as part of Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
2011 Veggie Garden
As I have in years past, I ordered all of my seeds from Fedco. I'm trying out quite a few new varieties this year. Here are the choices I went with for the 2011 season.
Beets - Chioggia and Touchstone Gold
Cucumber - Marketmore 76 Slicing
Green Beans - Provider
Leeks - Lincoln
Lettuce - Blushed Butter Oaks and Black Seeded Simpson
Melon - Halona Muskmelon and Dark Star Watermelon
Peas - Progress #9 Shell and Blizzard Snow Pea
Pumpkins - Baby Pam
Shell Beans - King of the Early
Spinach - Space
Summer Squash - Gentry
Zucchini - Costata Romanesca
This post is shared as part of the Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Organic Gardening - Some Basics
It's that time of year again... time to start planning your gardens! I love this time of year! Actually, I've had my garden mostly planned now for some time (though I haven't submitted my seed order quite yet), but most people start planning now so they have time to order seeds and get your cold-weather seedlings started in mid-to-late March. I started my own seedlings two years ago for the first time. We put in some grow lights and set up some tables with heating pads under some of the flats. It was a lot of work, though, and I did not do it again last year. I keep debating whether I want to start some this year, or not. I'm leaning more towards not.
So anyway, I'm hoping to get my seeds ordered in the next week or two. Once I do, I'll post what we've decided to grow this year. For now, I just wanted to post some basic things that I heard at our local WAPF chapter meeting on Tuesday. The topic this month was Organic Gardening and we heard from one of the local organic farmers. I've heard most of these tips before... and actually do most of them already. But I figure they're always good reminders... and I did learn a few things, too. I'll just include some highlights below.
Garden Planning. You will need to consider many factors when you begin thinking about your vegetable garden... what you want to grow, how much of each veggie or fruit you want to grow (enough to eat fresh, enough to preserve, enough to share with others, etc.), your soil type and test results, how you will lay out your garden, whether you will use raised beds, how you will work your soil (tiller, by hand, etc.), how you will deal with weeds (if using mulch, where will you get it?), how you will build soil fertility (blended organic fertilizers, minerals, foliar feeds), whether you will use manure or compost, whether you will be away during times of harvest, etc.
Ordering Seeds. You want to order your seeds from a good, respectable source. Some of the companies we discussed on Tuesday were: Fedco, High Mowing, Seeds of Change, Baker Creek, Johnny's, Seed Savers Exchange, Territorial, Turtle Tree. There are lots of seed companies out there and I know this is not a comprehensive list of all the good ones... they're just the ones we quickly discussed. Beware of the seed companies controlled and/or owned by Monsanto, though! I will never (knowingly) buy seeds from one of those companies. I have used Fedco for the past few years and have been extremely satisfied with them. I really like the fundamental values of the company, the quality of their seeds, and enjoy supporting them. Plus, their prices are great! They don't spend lots of extra money on fancy catalogs and they limit the time that they are open for orders and shipments.
Soil Testing. You need good soil in order to grow nutrient-dense food! The first step in growing a successful garden is having your soil tested. Make sure you ask for a trace minerals test, too. You'll pay extra for this, but it is very useful information to know. You can get your soil tested through your local university extension office, or you can send it away in the mail. MSUE has some helpful information online. The report you receive back will provide the necessary information to growing nutrient-dense foods - type, pH levels, nutrient levels, fertilizer recommendations. If your soil life isn't great, you will not get the optimal levels of nutrients in your vegetables and fruits.
Bacteria. Wait, you need bacteria in your garden? Yes, you do... in your soil! You will need to add bacteria, especially if the space you have your garden was previously a lawn or field. You can add bacteria by adding manure or compost. Remember that not all manure is good, though. Horse manure is pretty safe, overall. You should ask the farmer if the food they feed their horses contains any pass-through pesticides to kill horsefly larvae in the manure... if they do, you obviously would not want to use their manure. You really shouldn't run into this on your average backyard horse farm, though. If you are using manure from animals other than horses, only use manure from organic farms. Also, if the manure has wood chips in it, you'll want to leave it to compost for at least 2 years. If the manure has only sawdust in it, the best time to apply is in the fall. Till it in when you till your garden in the fall and it will break down over the winter and be ready for spring.
Mulch. Using mulch is a great way to keep weeds at bay in your garden. I use a straw mulch every year. Just beware that you should not just till it into your soil at the end of the season. Straw takes a while to break down. You need to rake it off in the fall and send it to the compost pile. You could also try saving it for the following year after you rake it off, but I normally just send it to the compost pile. You can also use grass clippings... as long as they are from a "safe" lawn. Don't spread grass clippings too thick, though, as it will create an anaerobic environment. Grass clippings break down quickly, so you will need to replenish regularly throughout the growing season.
Cover Crops. Cover crops are a great way to improve your soil. Use them to keep weeds at bay, or in the area between rows on which you walk. Any cover crop that lives through the winter will need to be tilled in at least three weeks in advance of planting your garden to allow enough time for them to break down into the soil. I have not used cover crops yet, though I seriously considered it last year and am again this year.
Raised Beds. Some people use raised beds for aesthetic purposes - they do look pretty nice! Others use them because their soil is poor. Regardless of why you use them, make sure you are using the proper materials to build them. NEVER use treated lumber or railroad ties. That is the easiest way to poison yourself and your family! It is best to use concrete blocks, bricks, stones, raw cedar, or raw pine (pine will break down fast, though). If you choose cedar, you really want to make sure it is truly raw and untreated. Many places will label it as such, but it really isn't. Your chances of finding untreated cedar at your local Home Depot or the like are VERY slim. You will most likely have to go straight to your local lumberyard.
Records. Keep records of what and when you plant each year. Also include weather and climate details so you can track patterns.
Gardening Newbie? If you are new to gardening, here are just a couple more things to remember...
- Miracle-Gro does not replace nutrients in your soil or plants... it will not create nutrient-dense food.
- Beware of potting soils, as most of them contain fungicides.
- Beware of using grass clippings in your garden if your lawn has ever been sprayed with chemicals (Tru-Green, etc.) or you have used conventional fertilizers. This is dangerous stuff and you don't want it seeping into your food!
- Beware of turning any land previously used as lawn (that has been sprayed/fertilized/etc.) into a garden, as the chemicals are in your soil. Your best bet in this situation is to use a raised bed where you can create safe, fertile, mineral and nutrient dense soil.
Random Tidbits. Some other random tidbits of information that I wrote down...
- All peat is mined. It is a non-renewable resource... just something to keep in mind.
- Black walnut trees are bad for gardens, do not plant any where near them.
- "No Spray" means nothing. Spraying is a method and has nothing to do with the safety of your food. Organic farmers spray, but they use safe stuff. Even if conventional farmers don't spray, it doesn't mean they're not adding nasty granules to the soil.
- Commercial fertilizers are a dumping ground for toxic wastes. Companies don't want to pay to dispose of their toxic waste, so they turn it over to fertilizer companies to make fertilizers. It is really bad stuff!
- Aim for all minerals coming from your soil, not from topical applications/feeds.
- Soap sprays work well for japanese beetles (I had great luck with this last year).
Helpful Websites. Just a couple that I wrote down.
- The Organic Center - great science-based information. This site is especially helpful if you are trying to convince conventional growers to switch to safer, healthier alternatives.
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - really great information. I've used this site many times in the past.
Ok, I think that's enough for this post. I apologize for this post being sort of random and not really comprehensive. I have plans for more posts to come in the (near) future on gardening, so keep an eye out for those. For now, I hope this helps.
This post is part of Fight Back Friday on Food Renegade.
So anyway, I'm hoping to get my seeds ordered in the next week or two. Once I do, I'll post what we've decided to grow this year. For now, I just wanted to post some basic things that I heard at our local WAPF chapter meeting on Tuesday. The topic this month was Organic Gardening and we heard from one of the local organic farmers. I've heard most of these tips before... and actually do most of them already. But I figure they're always good reminders... and I did learn a few things, too. I'll just include some highlights below.
Garden Planning. You will need to consider many factors when you begin thinking about your vegetable garden... what you want to grow, how much of each veggie or fruit you want to grow (enough to eat fresh, enough to preserve, enough to share with others, etc.), your soil type and test results, how you will lay out your garden, whether you will use raised beds, how you will work your soil (tiller, by hand, etc.), how you will deal with weeds (if using mulch, where will you get it?), how you will build soil fertility (blended organic fertilizers, minerals, foliar feeds), whether you will use manure or compost, whether you will be away during times of harvest, etc.
Ordering Seeds. You want to order your seeds from a good, respectable source. Some of the companies we discussed on Tuesday were: Fedco, High Mowing, Seeds of Change, Baker Creek, Johnny's, Seed Savers Exchange, Territorial, Turtle Tree. There are lots of seed companies out there and I know this is not a comprehensive list of all the good ones... they're just the ones we quickly discussed. Beware of the seed companies controlled and/or owned by Monsanto, though! I will never (knowingly) buy seeds from one of those companies. I have used Fedco for the past few years and have been extremely satisfied with them. I really like the fundamental values of the company, the quality of their seeds, and enjoy supporting them. Plus, their prices are great! They don't spend lots of extra money on fancy catalogs and they limit the time that they are open for orders and shipments.
Soil Testing. You need good soil in order to grow nutrient-dense food! The first step in growing a successful garden is having your soil tested. Make sure you ask for a trace minerals test, too. You'll pay extra for this, but it is very useful information to know. You can get your soil tested through your local university extension office, or you can send it away in the mail. MSUE has some helpful information online. The report you receive back will provide the necessary information to growing nutrient-dense foods - type, pH levels, nutrient levels, fertilizer recommendations. If your soil life isn't great, you will not get the optimal levels of nutrients in your vegetables and fruits.
Bacteria. Wait, you need bacteria in your garden? Yes, you do... in your soil! You will need to add bacteria, especially if the space you have your garden was previously a lawn or field. You can add bacteria by adding manure or compost. Remember that not all manure is good, though. Horse manure is pretty safe, overall. You should ask the farmer if the food they feed their horses contains any pass-through pesticides to kill horsefly larvae in the manure... if they do, you obviously would not want to use their manure. You really shouldn't run into this on your average backyard horse farm, though. If you are using manure from animals other than horses, only use manure from organic farms. Also, if the manure has wood chips in it, you'll want to leave it to compost for at least 2 years. If the manure has only sawdust in it, the best time to apply is in the fall. Till it in when you till your garden in the fall and it will break down over the winter and be ready for spring.
Mulch. Using mulch is a great way to keep weeds at bay in your garden. I use a straw mulch every year. Just beware that you should not just till it into your soil at the end of the season. Straw takes a while to break down. You need to rake it off in the fall and send it to the compost pile. You could also try saving it for the following year after you rake it off, but I normally just send it to the compost pile. You can also use grass clippings... as long as they are from a "safe" lawn. Don't spread grass clippings too thick, though, as it will create an anaerobic environment. Grass clippings break down quickly, so you will need to replenish regularly throughout the growing season.
Cover Crops. Cover crops are a great way to improve your soil. Use them to keep weeds at bay, or in the area between rows on which you walk. Any cover crop that lives through the winter will need to be tilled in at least three weeks in advance of planting your garden to allow enough time for them to break down into the soil. I have not used cover crops yet, though I seriously considered it last year and am again this year.
Raised Beds. Some people use raised beds for aesthetic purposes - they do look pretty nice! Others use them because their soil is poor. Regardless of why you use them, make sure you are using the proper materials to build them. NEVER use treated lumber or railroad ties. That is the easiest way to poison yourself and your family! It is best to use concrete blocks, bricks, stones, raw cedar, or raw pine (pine will break down fast, though). If you choose cedar, you really want to make sure it is truly raw and untreated. Many places will label it as such, but it really isn't. Your chances of finding untreated cedar at your local Home Depot or the like are VERY slim. You will most likely have to go straight to your local lumberyard.
Records. Keep records of what and when you plant each year. Also include weather and climate details so you can track patterns.
Gardening Newbie? If you are new to gardening, here are just a couple more things to remember...
- Miracle-Gro does not replace nutrients in your soil or plants... it will not create nutrient-dense food.
- Beware of potting soils, as most of them contain fungicides.
- Beware of using grass clippings in your garden if your lawn has ever been sprayed with chemicals (Tru-Green, etc.) or you have used conventional fertilizers. This is dangerous stuff and you don't want it seeping into your food!
- Beware of turning any land previously used as lawn (that has been sprayed/fertilized/etc.) into a garden, as the chemicals are in your soil. Your best bet in this situation is to use a raised bed where you can create safe, fertile, mineral and nutrient dense soil.
Random Tidbits. Some other random tidbits of information that I wrote down...
- All peat is mined. It is a non-renewable resource... just something to keep in mind.
- Black walnut trees are bad for gardens, do not plant any where near them.
- "No Spray" means nothing. Spraying is a method and has nothing to do with the safety of your food. Organic farmers spray, but they use safe stuff. Even if conventional farmers don't spray, it doesn't mean they're not adding nasty granules to the soil.
- Commercial fertilizers are a dumping ground for toxic wastes. Companies don't want to pay to dispose of their toxic waste, so they turn it over to fertilizer companies to make fertilizers. It is really bad stuff!
- Aim for all minerals coming from your soil, not from topical applications/feeds.
- Soap sprays work well for japanese beetles (I had great luck with this last year).
Helpful Websites. Just a couple that I wrote down.
- The Organic Center - great science-based information. This site is especially helpful if you are trying to convince conventional growers to switch to safer, healthier alternatives.
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - really great information. I've used this site many times in the past.
Ok, I think that's enough for this post. I apologize for this post being sort of random and not really comprehensive. I have plans for more posts to come in the (near) future on gardening, so keep an eye out for those. For now, I hope this helps.
This post is part of Fight Back Friday on Food Renegade.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Fruit trees, berries, and perennials
I've been working on filling out lots of order forms lately... many from our local Conservation Districts. In Michigan, every county has an established Conservation District that is dedicated to protecting our ecosystem. They are primarily funded from federal, state, and local sources, but they also all have Spring and Fall tree sale fundraisers. They sell all sorts of trees and plants - conifers, deciduous, shrubs, fruit trees, berries, native plants, etc. And they have AWESOME prices! I've decided to put in a few orders with our local and nearby county conservation districts this year to expand our home orchard and berry patches. I'm sure I'll also pick up some other trees and bushes from our local nursery, but for now, here is a list of my soon-to-be-added fruit trees...
1 Braeburn Apple Tree:
I LOVE Braeburn apples and just couldn't resist adding one to our orchard, even though we already have at least seven or eight apple trees (that I still haven't figured out all of the varieties... but I know that none of them are Braeburns)
1 Emperor Francis Sweet Cherry Tree ... and... 1 Bing Sweet Cherry Tree:
Since you need two varieties of sweet cherries to pollinate, I selected these two. Emperor Francis was actually my second pick during all of my research into different varieties last summer, so I was pretty excited to see it on the list for Shiawassee County. Bing cherries are so popular and do taste pretty good, too, so I figured I'd get a Bing as my second variety. I'm still hoping to find my top pick (Hedelfingen) somewhere, but these will do for now.
1 Balaton Tart Cherry Tree:
I figured if I was doing the sweet cherries this year, I may as well get a tart cherry tree, as well! Tart cherries are self-pollinating, so I only need one of them. This is a fairly new variety, but its supposed to be even better than the standard tart cherry, Montmorency.
1 Redhaven Peach Tree:
I waited and waited last year for our local nursery to get their stock in, but it was such a late shipment and I didn't feel comfortable planting that late in the season. I was so glad to see these listed as a variety to choose from... and for a third of the price as I would have paid last summer through our local nursery!!
We'll get to pick up the trees on April 16th and April 23rd (two different counties), so perfect timing for planting! And for celebrating Earth Day!! We started a tradition last year that we hope to always continue with Carson of planting a new tree or plant on Earth Day each year. It will be fun to help Carson learn about preserving our ecosystem and helping to beautify the Earth. Hopefully he will develop the same passion I have for this essential cause!
In addition to the trees, I've also ordered some berry bushes from one of the Conservation Districts...
Bluecrop and Blueray Blueberries:
I ordered 5 bushes total, 2 of one and 3 of the other. That should get my blueberry patch going pretty well. I do still want to pick up one or two Jersey bushes, but I'll get those from our local nursery. Now I've got to get on the ball and figure out where we're going to put the blueberries!
I've also submitted an order to Fedco Trees for some things that I see as garden essentials... I'll be splitting some things with some friends at work, since you have to order some in larger bulks. I'll list what I'm getting below.
Purple Passion Asparagus (25 crowns):
I've wanted to start some asparagus for a couple of years now, so I'm very excited to get it going this year finally! This variety is supposed to be sweeter and less stringy, so you can use more of the spear. They say they are tender enough to eat raw in salads, even. Yum!
Borderland Beauty Blackberry (1 plant):
This will add a little variety to my blackberry patch that I started last year with two Darrow plants from the local nursery.
Prelude Raspberry (4 plants):
This is an early variety ready in early July. I'm expanding our raspberries so that we'll have fresh raspberries over a long period of time with different ripening schedules.
Royalty Purple Raspberry (4 plants):
They just sounded too delicious not to order any and add to our raspberry patch. They are described as cohesive fairly firm large berries make outstanding jam and jelly and even better fresh eating. Their distinctive flavor is different from the red raspberries, with a hint of black-raspberry. Now doesn't that just make you want some, too?? :)
1 Braeburn Apple Tree:
I LOVE Braeburn apples and just couldn't resist adding one to our orchard, even though we already have at least seven or eight apple trees (that I still haven't figured out all of the varieties... but I know that none of them are Braeburns)
1 Emperor Francis Sweet Cherry Tree ... and... 1 Bing Sweet Cherry Tree:
Since you need two varieties of sweet cherries to pollinate, I selected these two. Emperor Francis was actually my second pick during all of my research into different varieties last summer, so I was pretty excited to see it on the list for Shiawassee County. Bing cherries are so popular and do taste pretty good, too, so I figured I'd get a Bing as my second variety. I'm still hoping to find my top pick (Hedelfingen) somewhere, but these will do for now.
1 Balaton Tart Cherry Tree:
I figured if I was doing the sweet cherries this year, I may as well get a tart cherry tree, as well! Tart cherries are self-pollinating, so I only need one of them. This is a fairly new variety, but its supposed to be even better than the standard tart cherry, Montmorency.
1 Redhaven Peach Tree:
I waited and waited last year for our local nursery to get their stock in, but it was such a late shipment and I didn't feel comfortable planting that late in the season. I was so glad to see these listed as a variety to choose from... and for a third of the price as I would have paid last summer through our local nursery!!
We'll get to pick up the trees on April 16th and April 23rd (two different counties), so perfect timing for planting! And for celebrating Earth Day!! We started a tradition last year that we hope to always continue with Carson of planting a new tree or plant on Earth Day each year. It will be fun to help Carson learn about preserving our ecosystem and helping to beautify the Earth. Hopefully he will develop the same passion I have for this essential cause!
In addition to the trees, I've also ordered some berry bushes from one of the Conservation Districts...
Bluecrop and Blueray Blueberries:
I ordered 5 bushes total, 2 of one and 3 of the other. That should get my blueberry patch going pretty well. I do still want to pick up one or two Jersey bushes, but I'll get those from our local nursery. Now I've got to get on the ball and figure out where we're going to put the blueberries!
I've also submitted an order to Fedco Trees for some things that I see as garden essentials... I'll be splitting some things with some friends at work, since you have to order some in larger bulks. I'll list what I'm getting below.
Purple Passion Asparagus (25 crowns):
I've wanted to start some asparagus for a couple of years now, so I'm very excited to get it going this year finally! This variety is supposed to be sweeter and less stringy, so you can use more of the spear. They say they are tender enough to eat raw in salads, even. Yum!
Borderland Beauty Blackberry (1 plant):
This will add a little variety to my blackberry patch that I started last year with two Darrow plants from the local nursery.
Prelude Raspberry (4 plants):
This is an early variety ready in early July. I'm expanding our raspberries so that we'll have fresh raspberries over a long period of time with different ripening schedules.
Royalty Purple Raspberry (4 plants):
They just sounded too delicious not to order any and add to our raspberry patch. They are described as cohesive fairly firm large berries make outstanding jam and jelly and even better fresh eating. Their distinctive flavor is different from the red raspberries, with a hint of black-raspberry. Now doesn't that just make you want some, too?? :)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
2010 Veggie Garden
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'll be focusing on the orchard and berries this year over the veggie garden. I'll still be planting a rather large garden with a good variety of veggies, but it will be nothing compared to last year's garden. I'm going for extra low maintenance this year, so I've decided not to grow corn, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, dry beans, okra, pac choi, brussels sprouts, parsnips, leeks, shallots, or peas this year. But I'm also trying out a few new things this year - edamame, beets, pumpkins, kohlrabi, and cantaloupe. I've decided I'll take this year off from starting my seeds indoors. So all the seeds I ordered this year are ones that I can plant directly in the veggie garden. I'll pick up some plants at our local nursery to fill in the missing veggies that can't be directly seeded. So here's my plan...
Seeds ordered from Fedco Seeds:
Green Beans - Organic Provider
Yellow Beans - Organic Golden Rocky
Edamame - Beer Friend Soybean
Cucumbers - Organic Little Leaf Pickling Cucumber
Zucchini - Jackpot (green), Sebring (yellow)
Summer Squash - Gentry
Fall/Winter Squash - Organic Uncle David's Dakota Dessert (buttercup)
Pumpkins - Baby Pam (pie), Lumina (white)
Beets - Organic Red Ace
Spinach - Tyee
Lettuce - Buttercrunch
Chard - Bright Lights
Kohlrabi - Kolibri
I'll pick up the following plants at our local nursery:
Broccoli
Tomatoes - heirloom varieties
Peppers - bell peppers and jalapenos
Cantaloupe
So that's my plan this year. Much more scaled back than last year's garden. I'm sure I'll miss having such a large variety of veggies, but I think we still are going to end up with plenty. :)
Seeds ordered from Fedco Seeds:
Green Beans - Organic Provider
Yellow Beans - Organic Golden Rocky
Edamame - Beer Friend Soybean
Cucumbers - Organic Little Leaf Pickling Cucumber
Zucchini - Jackpot (green), Sebring (yellow)
Summer Squash - Gentry
Fall/Winter Squash - Organic Uncle David's Dakota Dessert (buttercup)
Pumpkins - Baby Pam (pie), Lumina (white)
Beets - Organic Red Ace
Spinach - Tyee
Lettuce - Buttercrunch
Chard - Bright Lights
Kohlrabi - Kolibri
I'll pick up the following plants at our local nursery:
Broccoli
Tomatoes - heirloom varieties
Peppers - bell peppers and jalapenos
Cantaloupe
So that's my plan this year. Much more scaled back than last year's garden. I'm sure I'll miss having such a large variety of veggies, but I think we still are going to end up with plenty. :)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
It's that time of year...
So it's that time of year again! The seed catalogs have been arriving for a couple of months now and it's now time to start submitting orders for veggie seeds! The Conservation Districts are also all starting to release their lists of trees available for their Spring sale, so it's time to start putting in the orders for trees and bushes, too! I love this time of year! :)
I've been really struggling with some decisions about competing priorities this year... veggie garden vs. berry patches vs. orchard. And I think I've finally made up my mind on what to do. While I'll still be planting what most would probably consider a huge veggie garden, it will really be scaled back compared to the one we had last year. This way, I can focus on the orchard and berry patches. I'm afraid that if I don't do this now, we'll never get the orchard under control and producing good, quality fruits. So fruits will be the priority for 2010. For now, we'll keep working on getting all of the existing fruit trees pruned in the orchard. And I'm talking major pruning... like they'll all be about 1/3 of the size they were to start with once we're done. I'll also be adding some new trees this year (post to come on that). And I'll be working on growing our berry patches. I put in some blackberry bushes last year and I am planning to add a couple more to the patch. I'll also be re-working our raspberry patch again - moving it to a new location and adding some new varieties. I'd also like to get some blueberry bushes this year, but I still need to figure out where I'm going to put them. And hopefully I'll be able to make a decision on where I want the strawberry patch to go so we can get started on building up a raised bed for them this summer.
I'm hoping that by focusing on the fruits this year, we'll have a pretty self-sustaining tree fruit and berry production going on in a couple of years, which would be awesome!! I'll be posting again soon with my specific plans for the orchard and berries, as well as my specific plans for the veggie garden. Whomever would have thought that I'd be so excited about this kind of stuff five years ago? Haha! :)
I've been really struggling with some decisions about competing priorities this year... veggie garden vs. berry patches vs. orchard. And I think I've finally made up my mind on what to do. While I'll still be planting what most would probably consider a huge veggie garden, it will really be scaled back compared to the one we had last year. This way, I can focus on the orchard and berry patches. I'm afraid that if I don't do this now, we'll never get the orchard under control and producing good, quality fruits. So fruits will be the priority for 2010. For now, we'll keep working on getting all of the existing fruit trees pruned in the orchard. And I'm talking major pruning... like they'll all be about 1/3 of the size they were to start with once we're done. I'll also be adding some new trees this year (post to come on that). And I'll be working on growing our berry patches. I put in some blackberry bushes last year and I am planning to add a couple more to the patch. I'll also be re-working our raspberry patch again - moving it to a new location and adding some new varieties. I'd also like to get some blueberry bushes this year, but I still need to figure out where I'm going to put them. And hopefully I'll be able to make a decision on where I want the strawberry patch to go so we can get started on building up a raised bed for them this summer.
I'm hoping that by focusing on the fruits this year, we'll have a pretty self-sustaining tree fruit and berry production going on in a couple of years, which would be awesome!! I'll be posting again soon with my specific plans for the orchard and berries, as well as my specific plans for the veggie garden. Whomever would have thought that I'd be so excited about this kind of stuff five years ago? Haha! :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Planning ahead
While it may seem a bit early to already be thinking of next year's harvest... I'm already thinking ahead. What can I say, other than I'm a planner and I have a lot of time to just think while I'm in the car on my commutes to and from work and meetings.
We inherited a home orchard in dire straights when we purchased our house two years ago. We have more than twenty apple and pear trees that are in desperate need of some TLC. I am focusing on giving this to them this year - by pruning them back (they're waaaay overgrown right now) and cleaning them up, making them healthy again. We've cut down several trees beyond repair and have several more to remove this year, but all in all, I think there's still hope for most of them - the pears especially.
Anyway, I've been talking to some of the local orchards that have stands at the farmers markets I visit and have been learning more about different varieties of fruits. So I'm thinking ahead to next year's (tree) planting season (mid-March to early-April) and want to keep track of the fruit trees I'd like to invest in. I hope to one day have a self-sufficient home orchard that will allow me to share the bounty with my friends and family! How great would it be to have access to super tasty, organically grown fruit??
This will be my running list of ideas that I'll update whenever I learn more and/or make a new decision. I know I won't be investing in all of these trees next year, but I'm going to start at least. This year I had the best intentions to plant peach trees, but our local nursery never got their stock in, for some reason. So next year, I've got to do some catching up. I'll be talking with a couple of my local nurseries in the next few months to discuss their access to and likelihood that they could/would order me certain varieties of trees. If I'm not successful on the local route, I'll be ordering them from some tree farms in neighboring states that have websites featuring online ordering systems so that I can ensure I get the varieties I really want.
First up... sweet cherries. I plan to plant sweet cherry trees next year (2010). The variety I've been most impressed with have been the Hedelfingen cherries. They are so sweet, they're like eating candy. Probably the sweetest cherries I've ever tasted! Although, the grower I know that grows this variety says that the sweetness of the cherry is dependent upon the drainage of your soil... the better drainage you have, the sweeter the cherry will be. Either way, I will definitely be getting a Hedelfingen tree. Sweet cherries need to be planted in groups of two or three different varieties that all ripen at about the same time to allow for cross-pollination. I need to do some more research into my second sweet cherry variety, but from the little research I've done so far, I'm thinking the Emperor Francis might be my next pick. And third, would be Kristin. All three of these varieties are hardy, which with my living in Michigan is a major necessity!
Next up... peaches. I'm hoping to plant peaches next year (2010), as well. Peaches are self-pollinating, so I really only need to plant one variety, so I'll probably just start with one and then add another peach tree or two in later years to allow for staggering the ripening of the fruits so I can have a longer harvest. Redhavens seem to be the most popular peaches to grow in Michigan. I like them because they're great for canning and/or eating fresh, and they're freestone. They're also bud-hardy... meaning they have a higher resistance to spring frosts (which happen often in Michigan and are usually a major factor in why many home-growers have trouble growing peaches in the area). So a Redhaven will probably be my first peach tree.
Next... tart cherries. I think I'll hold off till 2011 to plant any tart cherry trees. Tart cherries are necessary for cherry pies and while I don't make many at this point, I'm sure I would if I had the convenience of having my own fruit in my own orchard! Tart cherries are also self-fertile, so there's no need for more than one tree or variety. I think I'll start with a Montmorency, as they are very productive and very hardy.
Next... nectarines. I love, love, love nectarines! They are probably one of my favorite fruits. I'd love to plant a nectarine tree next year, but I think I will hold off until 2011. Nectarines can be difficult to grow in Michigan, so I think I need to learn and gain some more experience growing and maintaining a home orchard before I throw a nectarine tree into the mix. Fantasia nectarines seem like a great choice, as they're hardy, disease-resistant, and very productive. Nectarines are self-pollinating, so I only need one variety, but a second will be very tempting! Redgolds have all the same qualities of the Fantasias, so I think that'd be a strong runner-up. Although, it might be fun to throw a white-fleshed variety into the mix, too. Arctic Glo nectarines have a good hardiness and disease resistance rating, so maybe that would be a good pick, too.
Next... plums. While I don't have any knowledge of growing plums (other than I've heard they're difficult to grow in home gardens), I'd still like to try them at some point. I think I'll wait till 2012 or beyond before adding plums to the orchard, though. I'd like to plant some Japanese varieties, of which I'll need at least two that bloom about the same time to ensure cross-pollination. The Early Golden variety sounds like a strong candidate as it is very sweet, vigorous, and hardy. The second variety that sounds good to me is probably Methley. As for European varieties (which also need to be cross-pollinized), Stanley sounds like a winner, as well as Victory. But I'll do some chatting with the orchards to find out what varieties they've had luck with on plums before I'd try them myself.
Next... apples. Even with all of the apple trees on the property at the moment, I'd still like to plant some new ones... some new varieties. I'm not sure what varieties of apple trees we even have, though I suspect most of them to be McIntosh and Jonathan apples. I don't want to add any apple trees into the orchard until I've "healthified" the existing trees, though. There's no sense in spreading any bugs or disease to a new tree. So I won't be planting any new apple trees next year so I can see how the existing trees do after a season of TLC this year. I'm thinking 2011 will be a good apple tree planting year. I'd love to have a Crimson Gala tree... gala apples are my favorite and I just like the timing of this gala variety. I'd also love to have a Golden Delicious tree, as I love golden delicious apples, too!
And finally... pears. I really don't think I'll need to plant any pear trees at this point, as we have a good number of them already - and four or five different varieties, both asian and european. So I think I'm set there.
As far as other fruits in the garden. I planted two Darrow blackberry bushes this spring that seem to be growing moderately so far. I'll watch them to see how they do next year and I may add another bush or two to their patch. I've also started a raspberry patch with some transplants from other parts of our yard and from a colleague of mine that seem to be growing very well. With the way raspberries spread, I don't think I'll have to do any more planting for awhile. I do want to invest in some blueberry bushes next year, though. I know you need a couple different varieties with similar bloom/ripening times to cross-pollinate and ensure the best yields, but I'll have to do some more research into what varieties produce the best in this area. Initial research has me interested in North Blue an North Sky and Tophat varieties... all of which have the sweet, wild blueberry flavor - yum! And at some point, I'd like to build a strawberry patch, too. Whether we'll have the time at some point this year to buy the wood to build the patch and then get the soil going, we'll just have to see how it goes. I'm thinking it might be two more years before we get any strawberries growing, though. I think the only thing missing are grapes, really. I don't know anything about growing grapes yet, so don't really have an interest in them, but maybe that will develop over the years. We had some grapes on the property, but Kevin tore them out last year since they were pretty diseased.
So that's my list... quite a big one, yes? But it'll be so awesome to accomplish! And really, having a home orchard and berry patches don't require that much effort if you're growing organically... which I'm planning to do. I did buy some chemical pesticides last year to use, but after reading the packages was too freaked out to use them - that is some really scary stuff that commerical and non-organic home growers spray on their fruit!! Its just not for me, if I can avoid it, which I know I can. :)
We inherited a home orchard in dire straights when we purchased our house two years ago. We have more than twenty apple and pear trees that are in desperate need of some TLC. I am focusing on giving this to them this year - by pruning them back (they're waaaay overgrown right now) and cleaning them up, making them healthy again. We've cut down several trees beyond repair and have several more to remove this year, but all in all, I think there's still hope for most of them - the pears especially.
Anyway, I've been talking to some of the local orchards that have stands at the farmers markets I visit and have been learning more about different varieties of fruits. So I'm thinking ahead to next year's (tree) planting season (mid-March to early-April) and want to keep track of the fruit trees I'd like to invest in. I hope to one day have a self-sufficient home orchard that will allow me to share the bounty with my friends and family! How great would it be to have access to super tasty, organically grown fruit??
This will be my running list of ideas that I'll update whenever I learn more and/or make a new decision. I know I won't be investing in all of these trees next year, but I'm going to start at least. This year I had the best intentions to plant peach trees, but our local nursery never got their stock in, for some reason. So next year, I've got to do some catching up. I'll be talking with a couple of my local nurseries in the next few months to discuss their access to and likelihood that they could/would order me certain varieties of trees. If I'm not successful on the local route, I'll be ordering them from some tree farms in neighboring states that have websites featuring online ordering systems so that I can ensure I get the varieties I really want.
First up... sweet cherries. I plan to plant sweet cherry trees next year (2010). The variety I've been most impressed with have been the Hedelfingen cherries. They are so sweet, they're like eating candy. Probably the sweetest cherries I've ever tasted! Although, the grower I know that grows this variety says that the sweetness of the cherry is dependent upon the drainage of your soil... the better drainage you have, the sweeter the cherry will be. Either way, I will definitely be getting a Hedelfingen tree. Sweet cherries need to be planted in groups of two or three different varieties that all ripen at about the same time to allow for cross-pollination. I need to do some more research into my second sweet cherry variety, but from the little research I've done so far, I'm thinking the Emperor Francis might be my next pick. And third, would be Kristin. All three of these varieties are hardy, which with my living in Michigan is a major necessity!
Next up... peaches. I'm hoping to plant peaches next year (2010), as well. Peaches are self-pollinating, so I really only need to plant one variety, so I'll probably just start with one and then add another peach tree or two in later years to allow for staggering the ripening of the fruits so I can have a longer harvest. Redhavens seem to be the most popular peaches to grow in Michigan. I like them because they're great for canning and/or eating fresh, and they're freestone. They're also bud-hardy... meaning they have a higher resistance to spring frosts (which happen often in Michigan and are usually a major factor in why many home-growers have trouble growing peaches in the area). So a Redhaven will probably be my first peach tree.Next... tart cherries. I think I'll hold off till 2011 to plant any tart cherry trees. Tart cherries are necessary for cherry pies and while I don't make many at this point, I'm sure I would if I had the convenience of having my own fruit in my own orchard! Tart cherries are also self-fertile, so there's no need for more than one tree or variety. I think I'll start with a Montmorency, as they are very productive and very hardy.
Next... nectarines. I love, love, love nectarines! They are probably one of my favorite fruits. I'd love to plant a nectarine tree next year, but I think I will hold off until 2011. Nectarines can be difficult to grow in Michigan, so I think I need to learn and gain some more experience growing and maintaining a home orchard before I throw a nectarine tree into the mix. Fantasia nectarines seem like a great choice, as they're hardy, disease-resistant, and very productive. Nectarines are self-pollinating, so I only need one variety, but a second will be very tempting! Redgolds have all the same qualities of the Fantasias, so I think that'd be a strong runner-up. Although, it might be fun to throw a white-fleshed variety into the mix, too. Arctic Glo nectarines have a good hardiness and disease resistance rating, so maybe that would be a good pick, too.Next... plums. While I don't have any knowledge of growing plums (other than I've heard they're difficult to grow in home gardens), I'd still like to try them at some point. I think I'll wait till 2012 or beyond before adding plums to the orchard, though. I'd like to plant some Japanese varieties, of which I'll need at least two that bloom about the same time to ensure cross-pollination. The Early Golden variety sounds like a strong candidate as it is very sweet, vigorous, and hardy. The second variety that sounds good to me is probably Methley. As for European varieties (which also need to be cross-pollinized), Stanley sounds like a winner, as well as Victory. But I'll do some chatting with the orchards to find out what varieties they've had luck with on plums before I'd try them myself.
Next... apples. Even with all of the apple trees on the property at the moment, I'd still like to plant some new ones... some new varieties. I'm not sure what varieties of apple trees we even have, though I suspect most of them to be McIntosh and Jonathan apples. I don't want to add any apple trees into the orchard until I've "healthified" the existing trees, though. There's no sense in spreading any bugs or disease to a new tree. So I won't be planting any new apple trees next year so I can see how the existing trees do after a season of TLC this year. I'm thinking 2011 will be a good apple tree planting year. I'd love to have a Crimson Gala tree... gala apples are my favorite and I just like the timing of this gala variety. I'd also love to have a Golden Delicious tree, as I love golden delicious apples, too!
And finally... pears. I really don't think I'll need to plant any pear trees at this point, as we have a good number of them already - and four or five different varieties, both asian and european. So I think I'm set there.
As far as other fruits in the garden. I planted two Darrow blackberry bushes this spring that seem to be growing moderately so far. I'll watch them to see how they do next year and I may add another bush or two to their patch. I've also started a raspberry patch with some transplants from other parts of our yard and from a colleague of mine that seem to be growing very well. With the way raspberries spread, I don't think I'll have to do any more planting for awhile. I do want to invest in some blueberry bushes next year, though. I know you need a couple different varieties with similar bloom/ripening times to cross-pollinate and ensure the best yields, but I'll have to do some more research into what varieties produce the best in this area. Initial research has me interested in North Blue an North Sky and Tophat varieties... all of which have the sweet, wild blueberry flavor - yum! And at some point, I'd like to build a strawberry patch, too. Whether we'll have the time at some point this year to buy the wood to build the patch and then get the soil going, we'll just have to see how it goes. I'm thinking it might be two more years before we get any strawberries growing, though. I think the only thing missing are grapes, really. I don't know anything about growing grapes yet, so don't really have an interest in them, but maybe that will develop over the years. We had some grapes on the property, but Kevin tore them out last year since they were pretty diseased.
So that's my list... quite a big one, yes? But it'll be so awesome to accomplish! And really, having a home orchard and berry patches don't require that much effort if you're growing organically... which I'm planning to do. I did buy some chemical pesticides last year to use, but after reading the packages was too freaked out to use them - that is some really scary stuff that commerical and non-organic home growers spray on their fruit!! Its just not for me, if I can avoid it, which I know I can. :)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Some things to accomplish...
I had planned to include all of this with my meal plans post on Sunday, but ended up being rushed for time and so cut that post very short. So here we go with the rest of the details I didn't include... :)
This is a very busy time for many people with all the spring chores to do outside. We have over five and a half acres, so we definitely have our work cut out for us, just in managing the three and a half acres that we try to keep maintained... picking up sticks, mowing, etc. Not to mention the huge veggie garden I've had planned for this season. Kevin has been tilling up the new garden area - its out back beyond the fence by the orchard rather than right up by the house this year. And I've been planting lots of veggies over the last month... peas, spinach, yukina savoy, lettuce, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, pac choi, dill, parsley... I think that's the list so far anyway... though I think I'm missing something. This week and weekend I'll be planting the majority of the rest of our seeds, so I've got my work cut out for me right there. I'm sure I'll still be planting next week and the following weekend, too, just because it is such a large area.
I'm also dedicating some areas for berry patches this year. We had raspberries in our yard when we moved in, but they're not in the ideal location, so I'm moving them into a patch back near the orchard. I also received some raspberry transplants from someone I work with, so those are there, too. I also have made a blackberry patch with two Darrow blackberry bushes we picked up at the local nursery. I'll be focusing on cleaning up the orchard this summer, too. I know its not the best time to prune, but I'm not counting on any edible fruits this year anyway, so I'm going to do some MAJOR pruning of the apple and pear trees... top them off and thin them way out. They're just way too big to be manageable right now. I want to maintain them organically and I just don't think I'll get them under control until I do some major pruning. This will be a summer-long project, though, since we have so many fruit trees already.
We're also considering having some major excavation work done in our front yard. We need to do it, just aren't sure yet on the timing. We have some standing water issues that need to be fixed, so we're going to hire someone to bring in dirt and re-grade our yard to address some of the drainage issues. We'll either do this in the next two weeks, or we'll wait till fall, we just haven't completely decided on that yet. I'd like to get it done now so that we can get the landscaping started in the front. We've finally figured out what we want to do in front and what we want to plant. If we're going to do this now, though, we will need to cut down the crabapple tree in the front yard and rent a stump grinder to get rid of the six stumps in the front. I'll be looking into that this week.
So anyway, that is just a short glimpse of some of the things happening at our place this spring. We'll see what we accomplish in the next couple of weeks... :)
This is a very busy time for many people with all the spring chores to do outside. We have over five and a half acres, so we definitely have our work cut out for us, just in managing the three and a half acres that we try to keep maintained... picking up sticks, mowing, etc. Not to mention the huge veggie garden I've had planned for this season. Kevin has been tilling up the new garden area - its out back beyond the fence by the orchard rather than right up by the house this year. And I've been planting lots of veggies over the last month... peas, spinach, yukina savoy, lettuce, potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, pac choi, dill, parsley... I think that's the list so far anyway... though I think I'm missing something. This week and weekend I'll be planting the majority of the rest of our seeds, so I've got my work cut out for me right there. I'm sure I'll still be planting next week and the following weekend, too, just because it is such a large area.
I'm also dedicating some areas for berry patches this year. We had raspberries in our yard when we moved in, but they're not in the ideal location, so I'm moving them into a patch back near the orchard. I also received some raspberry transplants from someone I work with, so those are there, too. I also have made a blackberry patch with two Darrow blackberry bushes we picked up at the local nursery. I'll be focusing on cleaning up the orchard this summer, too. I know its not the best time to prune, but I'm not counting on any edible fruits this year anyway, so I'm going to do some MAJOR pruning of the apple and pear trees... top them off and thin them way out. They're just way too big to be manageable right now. I want to maintain them organically and I just don't think I'll get them under control until I do some major pruning. This will be a summer-long project, though, since we have so many fruit trees already.
We're also considering having some major excavation work done in our front yard. We need to do it, just aren't sure yet on the timing. We have some standing water issues that need to be fixed, so we're going to hire someone to bring in dirt and re-grade our yard to address some of the drainage issues. We'll either do this in the next two weeks, or we'll wait till fall, we just haven't completely decided on that yet. I'd like to get it done now so that we can get the landscaping started in the front. We've finally figured out what we want to do in front and what we want to plant. If we're going to do this now, though, we will need to cut down the crabapple tree in the front yard and rent a stump grinder to get rid of the six stumps in the front. I'll be looking into that this week.
So anyway, that is just a short glimpse of some of the things happening at our place this spring. We'll see what we accomplish in the next couple of weeks... :)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
So far, so good...
Well, so far, so good on the indoor seed starting front! I'd say that I've been having about a 93% germination rate overall. Some things are much better than others. I'd probably be around 98% germination rate if the celery and celeriac would germinate better, but I know that is to be expected with some things. So far, my seedlings consist of: piracicaba broccoli, purple peacock broccoli, snow crown cauliflower, melissa savoy cabbage, diamante celeraic, golden self-blanching celery, lincoln leeks, organic king seig leeks, halona muskmelon, organic sweet dakota rose watermelon, and gigante d'italia parsley. I started some cajun delight okra, organic cajun jewel okra, oliver brussels sprouts, and some more melons today. Next weekend, I'll be starting some peppers and basil. Then I'll be about done with my seed starting indoors. I hope it dries up enough pretty soon so we can till up the garden. Before we know it, it will be time to plant the peas, spinach, and other cool season veggies in the garden! I can't wait!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Seed Starting
Tonight I finally got around to starting some vegetable seeds. It'll be my first year starting seeds indoors, so we'll see how it goes. If it goes badly, I don't really have a lot invested in it and can always pick up some run-of-the-mill starter plants from the local nurseries, but if it goes well, I'll be saving a bundle and will be growing the varieties I want to grow! It doesn't seem that difficult to grow seeds indoors for a few months before transplanting, but from what I've read, it can be tricky. Hopefully I've done enough research to have a decent start this year. Only time will tell... but keep your fingers crossed! :) I only started two trays tonight, which will have 50 plants each if all goes well. Tonight I planted 16 Organic King Seig Leeks, 16 Lincoln Leeks, 8 Diamante Celeriac, 16 Golden Self-Blanching Celery, 16 Piracicaba Broccoli, and 8 Snow Crown Cauliflower. I need to do some further research to see how much each plant will actually produce in terms of veggies before I figure out how many more of each I'll start during the week or next weekend. Any excess plants, I'm planning to try selling on Craigslist. But I'll definitely want enough for fresh-eating and freezing/canning/drying/etc. I'm planning to increase my preservation efforts at least tri-fold this year. I want to put up enough food so that next year we'll hopefully just be buying the basics during the winter (milk, eggs, etc.). I'll also be starting some melons later in the week. Then in a few weeks, I'll be planting many more veggies (can't remember all of them at the moment). Kevin thinks I'm crazy, adding one more thing to do right now, but we'll reap so many benefits from this (if it goes well anyway), that I think its totally worth it!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Call me crazy...
But I ordered more vegetable seeds... yeah, I know, I'm a little out of control here. I am just super excited to have a huge garden this year and have come up with some more veggies I really want to grow. I figure, what's a few more?? :) Here's what I've ordered now... this order came from Johnny's Seeds.
Brussels Sprouts - Oliver
Okra - Cajun Delight
Pac Choi - Mei Qing Choi
Parsnips - Javelin
Summer Squash - Magda... its a middle-eastern variety that sounds and looks yummy
Winter Squash - a smaller size Butternut squash that is supposed to produce way more fruits than did the variety I grew last year
Yukina Savoy - its a green, similar to spinach, but its supposed to be even better tasting (no bitterness)
You'll notice there are some duplicates from what I've already ordered. I had to order more parsnips since the variety I'd chosen before are out-of-stock. So if I didn't order more, I wouldn't have parsnips this year... that there would be a travesty! I ordered another variety of okra so that I could see the difference between the two varieties. I love okra, so I know we'll be able to use it up - plus I'm sure I'll have some extra seeds to share if anyone (Mary?) wanted to try a plant or two. And I decided to try out the smaller sized butternut squash to see if it really will yield more than my plants did last year. Plus, butternut squash stores so well, if I store it properly it should last till next February/early-March.
So yes, more veggies, more work for me, but also more benefit to our little family of three. Not to mention, I'm actually hoping for bumper crops of many things so that I can donate them to the less-fortunate and maybe trade with friends/family for different varieties to try some new ones.
Brussels Sprouts - Oliver
Okra - Cajun Delight
Pac Choi - Mei Qing Choi
Parsnips - Javelin
Summer Squash - Magda... its a middle-eastern variety that sounds and looks yummy
Winter Squash - a smaller size Butternut squash that is supposed to produce way more fruits than did the variety I grew last year
Yukina Savoy - its a green, similar to spinach, but its supposed to be even better tasting (no bitterness)
You'll notice there are some duplicates from what I've already ordered. I had to order more parsnips since the variety I'd chosen before are out-of-stock. So if I didn't order more, I wouldn't have parsnips this year... that there would be a travesty! I ordered another variety of okra so that I could see the difference between the two varieties. I love okra, so I know we'll be able to use it up - plus I'm sure I'll have some extra seeds to share if anyone (Mary?) wanted to try a plant or two. And I decided to try out the smaller sized butternut squash to see if it really will yield more than my plants did last year. Plus, butternut squash stores so well, if I store it properly it should last till next February/early-March.
So yes, more veggies, more work for me, but also more benefit to our little family of three. Not to mention, I'm actually hoping for bumper crops of many things so that I can donate them to the less-fortunate and maybe trade with friends/family for different varieties to try some new ones.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
2009 Garden
So I finally have finished up my seed and plant orders for our 2009 veggie garden! It took me longer because I ended up switching companies. This year I'm using Fedco. I really liked their policies - none of their seeds are genetically engineered or treated with fungicides and about a third of their seeds are organic. Plus, they had many different varieties of the veggies than the company I was going to use... including the Purple Haze Broccoli, which I didn't see in many companies (its an all-edible broccoli plant with normal broccoli shoots and leaves like kale that you eat as a green - how cool is that?). A good part of our garden this year will actually be truly organic - I'm excited about that! I changed up some of the things I'd originally planned, too. I'll post an updated list for those that are interested. I'd also love to hear feedback from those of you that have grown any of the varieties I've chosen or have any advice.
Basil - Sweet
Beans - I went with Organic Golden Rocky (yellow snap), Organic Blue Lake (green snap), Masai Bush Haricots Verts (french filet green bean), Cannellini (dry), Midnight Black Turtle Bean (dry)
Broccoli - Organic Purple Peacock (broccoli and kale in one plant), Piracicaba (half-way between broccoli and broccoli raab)
Cabbage - Melissa Savoy
Carrots - Scarlet Nantes, Organic Yaya, White Satin, Purple Haze
Cauliflower - Snow Crown
Celeriac - Diamante
Celery - Golden Self-Blanching
Chard - Argentata
Corn - Organic Luscious Bi-Color Sweet Corn
Dill - Fernleaf
Leeks - Lincoln, Organic King Seig
Melons - Halona Muskmelon, Organic Sweet Dakota Rose Watermelon
Okra - Organic Cajun Jewel
Parsley - Gigante d’Italia
Parsnips - Andover
Peas - Oregon Giant Snow Pea, Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Pea
Peppers - Organic Klari Baby Cheese Sweet Pepper, Organic Chocolate Sweet Pepper, Organic Peacework Sweet Pepper
Potatoes - I ended up ordering several varieties - Kennebec, Red Pontiac, Butte, and German Butterball - all of them except the Red Pontiacs are organic
Shallots - Piccasso
Spinach - Olympia, Space
Fall/Winter Squash - Organic Uncle David’s Dakota Dessert (buttercup)
Zucchini - Jackpot (green), Sebring (yellow), Organic Costata Romanesca (green)
And I already have some Organic San Marzano Tomatoes, organic Buttercrunch Lettuce, and organic Sumter Cucumbers.
I'll also have my perennial herbs that I planted last year - Chives, Oregano, Thyme
Basil - Sweet
Beans - I went with Organic Golden Rocky (yellow snap), Organic Blue Lake (green snap), Masai Bush Haricots Verts (french filet green bean), Cannellini (dry), Midnight Black Turtle Bean (dry)
Broccoli - Organic Purple Peacock (broccoli and kale in one plant), Piracicaba (half-way between broccoli and broccoli raab)
Cabbage - Melissa Savoy
Carrots - Scarlet Nantes, Organic Yaya, White Satin, Purple Haze
Cauliflower - Snow Crown
Celeriac - Diamante
Celery - Golden Self-Blanching
Chard - Argentata
Corn - Organic Luscious Bi-Color Sweet Corn
Dill - Fernleaf
Leeks - Lincoln, Organic King Seig
Melons - Halona Muskmelon, Organic Sweet Dakota Rose Watermelon
Okra - Organic Cajun Jewel
Parsley - Gigante d’Italia
Parsnips - Andover
Peas - Oregon Giant Snow Pea, Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Pea
Peppers - Organic Klari Baby Cheese Sweet Pepper, Organic Chocolate Sweet Pepper, Organic Peacework Sweet Pepper
Potatoes - I ended up ordering several varieties - Kennebec, Red Pontiac, Butte, and German Butterball - all of them except the Red Pontiacs are organic
Shallots - Piccasso
Spinach - Olympia, Space
Fall/Winter Squash - Organic Uncle David’s Dakota Dessert (buttercup)
Zucchini - Jackpot (green), Sebring (yellow), Organic Costata Romanesca (green)
And I already have some Organic San Marzano Tomatoes, organic Buttercrunch Lettuce, and organic Sumter Cucumbers.
I'll also have my perennial herbs that I planted last year - Chives, Oregano, Thyme
Friday, January 2, 2009
2009 Veggie Garden Planning
For many of us that have home gardens, this time of year we're all receiving all sorts of seed catalogs encouraging us to begin thinking about our 2009 vegetable gardens. I took some time today to sit down and browse through the catalogs I've received (9 of them all from different companies!) and do some quick sketches of some possible garden plans. I'll be putting in my orders here soon - hopefully over the weekend - since I've been hearing and reading a lot of rumors of a potential seed shortage for home gardeners this year... with the tough economy, more people are turning to growing their own food. Just a small heads-up to those of you faithful gardeners out there... don't wait too long to order your seeds, just in case.
I'd still consider myself a novice veggie gardener - 2008 was my first real veggie garden and it was a small one (about 12'x12'). I've had many different container gardens on the patios of my different apartments in college, but I don't really count those. We're fortunate to have quite a bit of space for gardens (and lots of other different things, too). We have about five and a half acres, three of which we maintain. For those familiar with our property, we'll be putting the garden out behind the fenced part of the yard, kind of out by the home orchard. We have lots of open space back there, so the garden will get pretty much full sun all day long. Having so much space is very tempting to go all out (which after reading through my post, to some our plans may seem all-out, but we really have scaled them back a lot), but I'm trying to keep it limited to something that I think I can (hopefully) maintain. I think that my Grandpa is letting us keep his small rototiller over here again this year, so we'll just be planning for wider row spacing so the tiller can do a good majority of the weeding work for me this year. :)
As you may know, we're not totally sure how long we'll actually be living in the area - Kevin still hasn't heard anything definite on a job transfer, but is supposed to hear something in January possibly. So this past fall, I wasn't even sure I'd have a garden in 2009. Even though everything is still up in the air, I'm pretty sure we won't be selling our house before the end of the harvest next fall. The market just isn't right for it right now. We had originally planned to invest in a few blueberry bushes and a strawberry patch this spring, but with all of the uncertainty over where we'll be living in the years to come, I'm going to hold off on that till we hear something more on Kevin's job situation.
This year I'll be trying lots of new veggies - at least new to me anyway. Last year, I just had the basics - tomatoes, green beans, green zucchini, butternut squash, green peppers, jalapenos, romaine/buttercrunch/mesclun lettuces, cucumbers, scallions, onions, and herbs (chives, oregano, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro). So I'll be expanding my horizons as far as veggies go this year. Here's what I'll be planting in 2009:
Potatoes - We'll have one 25'x4' garden just for the potatoes. It'll be my first time growing any potatoes. I'm going to do Yukon Golds and Red Pontiacs. I decided against doing sweet potatoes this year. Just seems like potato overload to me, especially when only Carson and I like them.
Sweet Corn - We'll have one 25'x4' garden just for the sweet corn. This will be my first time growing any corn.
We'll have another large garden (haven't figured out the total dimensions, but most likely it'll be somewhere between 24'x24' and 30'x30') with the following:
Cabbage - three different mini-head types (red, green, savoy)
Carrots - two different types (nantes and a rainbow hybrid trio)
Parsnips
Lettuce - just doing Buttercrunch this year since it was our favorite last year.
Spinach
Onions - some sweet white ones
Leeks
Peppers - green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and banana peppers
Tomatoes - I've decided to just do Roma tomatoes (San Marzanos) since I had such good luck with them last year and we don't really eat many fresh tomatoes, just use them for sauces, so Romas are the way to go for that.
Dill
Cucumbers - some slicing cukes and some pickling cukes
Beans - yellow wax and green snap beans, as well as some beans to dry (black turtles for sure, probably some sort of pinto, and possibly cannelini)... the beans to dry will possibly go in their own separate garden, probably another 25'x4' space.
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Okra
Zucchini - both yellow and green ones
Squash - either butternut or delicata, haven't decided yet
Melons - cantaloupes and watermelons
Herbs - basil, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, chives, oregano
I am also exploring the idea of growing some of my own grains this year - millet is a strong possibility, not sure on the others yet since I haven't had a lot of time to look into it.
So there's my list. It might seem like a ton of stuff to some, but everything in the large garden will be limited in the space we are allocating for that particular veggie. Some veggies we don't need a ton of plants - like cabbage... we can only eat so much cabbage, so a 4'x4' area for the cabbage will be sufficient for us.
Anyway, I'd love to hear what your garden plans are - if you've begun thinking of them. Also whether you've grown some of the veggies I'll be growing for the first time this year and what you thought of them... and especially if you've grown your own grains!
I'd still consider myself a novice veggie gardener - 2008 was my first real veggie garden and it was a small one (about 12'x12'). I've had many different container gardens on the patios of my different apartments in college, but I don't really count those. We're fortunate to have quite a bit of space for gardens (and lots of other different things, too). We have about five and a half acres, three of which we maintain. For those familiar with our property, we'll be putting the garden out behind the fenced part of the yard, kind of out by the home orchard. We have lots of open space back there, so the garden will get pretty much full sun all day long. Having so much space is very tempting to go all out (which after reading through my post, to some our plans may seem all-out, but we really have scaled them back a lot), but I'm trying to keep it limited to something that I think I can (hopefully) maintain. I think that my Grandpa is letting us keep his small rototiller over here again this year, so we'll just be planning for wider row spacing so the tiller can do a good majority of the weeding work for me this year. :)
As you may know, we're not totally sure how long we'll actually be living in the area - Kevin still hasn't heard anything definite on a job transfer, but is supposed to hear something in January possibly. So this past fall, I wasn't even sure I'd have a garden in 2009. Even though everything is still up in the air, I'm pretty sure we won't be selling our house before the end of the harvest next fall. The market just isn't right for it right now. We had originally planned to invest in a few blueberry bushes and a strawberry patch this spring, but with all of the uncertainty over where we'll be living in the years to come, I'm going to hold off on that till we hear something more on Kevin's job situation.
This year I'll be trying lots of new veggies - at least new to me anyway. Last year, I just had the basics - tomatoes, green beans, green zucchini, butternut squash, green peppers, jalapenos, romaine/buttercrunch/mesclun lettuces, cucumbers, scallions, onions, and herbs (chives, oregano, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro). So I'll be expanding my horizons as far as veggies go this year. Here's what I'll be planting in 2009:
Potatoes - We'll have one 25'x4' garden just for the potatoes. It'll be my first time growing any potatoes. I'm going to do Yukon Golds and Red Pontiacs. I decided against doing sweet potatoes this year. Just seems like potato overload to me, especially when only Carson and I like them.
Sweet Corn - We'll have one 25'x4' garden just for the sweet corn. This will be my first time growing any corn.
We'll have another large garden (haven't figured out the total dimensions, but most likely it'll be somewhere between 24'x24' and 30'x30') with the following:
Cabbage - three different mini-head types (red, green, savoy)
Carrots - two different types (nantes and a rainbow hybrid trio)
Parsnips
Lettuce - just doing Buttercrunch this year since it was our favorite last year.
Spinach
Onions - some sweet white ones
Leeks
Peppers - green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and banana peppers
Tomatoes - I've decided to just do Roma tomatoes (San Marzanos) since I had such good luck with them last year and we don't really eat many fresh tomatoes, just use them for sauces, so Romas are the way to go for that.
Dill
Cucumbers - some slicing cukes and some pickling cukes
Beans - yellow wax and green snap beans, as well as some beans to dry (black turtles for sure, probably some sort of pinto, and possibly cannelini)... the beans to dry will possibly go in their own separate garden, probably another 25'x4' space.
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Okra
Zucchini - both yellow and green ones
Squash - either butternut or delicata, haven't decided yet
Melons - cantaloupes and watermelons
Herbs - basil, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, chives, oregano
I am also exploring the idea of growing some of my own grains this year - millet is a strong possibility, not sure on the others yet since I haven't had a lot of time to look into it.
So there's my list. It might seem like a ton of stuff to some, but everything in the large garden will be limited in the space we are allocating for that particular veggie. Some veggies we don't need a ton of plants - like cabbage... we can only eat so much cabbage, so a 4'x4' area for the cabbage will be sufficient for us.
Anyway, I'd love to hear what your garden plans are - if you've begun thinking of them. Also whether you've grown some of the veggies I'll be growing for the first time this year and what you thought of them... and especially if you've grown your own grains!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Garden Update
I've been lacking in my veggie gardening duties for the last few weeks. I don't think I've pulled weeds in the veggie garden in three and a half weeks now. I know, I'm terrible. I've read that the biggest blunder of the first-time veggie gardener is letting the garden get overrun with weeds... well I'm afraid I fall into that category this month. But surprisingly, it doesn't really seem to be affecting my veggie yields, at least not too much.
My green beans were attacked by some unknown predator, eating away at the leaves and then the bean pods before they were ready to be picked. I had given up on them, but I noticed last night as I was out there pulling off the eaten/dried up pods that the plants are producing lots of new little bitty beans again. So I'm going to try to keep a closer eye on them to see if I can figure it out and hopefully I can get a few more beans out of my plants.
My tomatoes are coming in full-force right now. Unfortunately, I've had absolutely no time this week or last to do anything with them, so I've been sticking them in the freezer. I'm hoping to make a batch of pizza sauce (and maybe a batch of pasta sauce if I continue getting so many each day) next weekend.
I was going to pull my zucchini plants since I thought they were done, but I noticed last night that there are four new baby zucchinis on two of the plants, so I guess I'll be leaving them now. I'm excited and surprised to see more zucchini.
My butternut squash plants are running everywhere, but unfortunately don't have many squash on them. I thought I'd have squash coming out of my ears with all of the female flowers I saw a couple of months ago. But I think I only have five squash out there. I'm going to look for some at the MSU organic farmer's market in a few weeks since I had plans to make up a lot of squash puree for food for Carson.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the garden this year. And I can't wait to have a bigger one next year. I think I've decided that next year, I'll put the garden out in the field where it'll receive sunlight all day and evening. And I can make it huge. And big enough so that I can get the small rototiller between the rows so I don't have to do so much weeding. :)
My green beans were attacked by some unknown predator, eating away at the leaves and then the bean pods before they were ready to be picked. I had given up on them, but I noticed last night as I was out there pulling off the eaten/dried up pods that the plants are producing lots of new little bitty beans again. So I'm going to try to keep a closer eye on them to see if I can figure it out and hopefully I can get a few more beans out of my plants.
My tomatoes are coming in full-force right now. Unfortunately, I've had absolutely no time this week or last to do anything with them, so I've been sticking them in the freezer. I'm hoping to make a batch of pizza sauce (and maybe a batch of pasta sauce if I continue getting so many each day) next weekend.
I was going to pull my zucchini plants since I thought they were done, but I noticed last night that there are four new baby zucchinis on two of the plants, so I guess I'll be leaving them now. I'm excited and surprised to see more zucchini.
My butternut squash plants are running everywhere, but unfortunately don't have many squash on them. I thought I'd have squash coming out of my ears with all of the female flowers I saw a couple of months ago. But I think I only have five squash out there. I'm going to look for some at the MSU organic farmer's market in a few weeks since I had plans to make up a lot of squash puree for food for Carson.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the garden this year. And I can't wait to have a bigger one next year. I think I've decided that next year, I'll put the garden out in the field where it'll receive sunlight all day and evening. And I can make it huge. And big enough so that I can get the small rototiller between the rows so I don't have to do so much weeding. :)
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