Scarecrows
Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Back in the 1950’s when my grandfather grew Golden Bantam sweet corn, scarecrows were pretty basic: a fence post for a backbone, pants, a shirt, and an old hat sticking up on the top of the pole. Sometimes scarecrows were stuffed with mulch hay to fill out the body a little.
When corn first comes up out of the ground it is considered a real treat by crows. That germinated seed, for crows, is as tasty as chocolate chip cookies are to us. A flock of hungry crows can decimate a family’s potential corn crop in just a day. But once the corn roots are established, corn is no longer of interest to crows. So scarecrows were to scare the crows.
In recent times scarecrows have become garden art. I remember encountering a scarecrow in Randolph, Vermont that was so life-like it fooled me. It was wearing a dress and was a fine, full figured lady carrying a hoe and a garden basket. When it didn’t move, I finally got the idea and I laughed. I’ve built a number of my own scarecrows since then, and introduced a scarecrow competition in the Cornish Fair. Making a scarecrow can really be fun. You≠ll startle visitors and get them to giggle.
This year I decided to grow flint corn. Flint corn is the rock hard stuff that is ground for Johnnycakes, cornbread and polenta. It is an old fashioned corn similar to what the pilgrims grew back in the 1600’s. They didn’t grow corn to eat fresh with salt and butter. Corn was dried and stored as a good nutritious food that could be kept without refrigeration or any kind of preserving. I am interested in becoming independent of the grocery store (though I know that will never be possible). So I am growing corn as food during the winter. I have a friend that has a small stone corn mill who will help me grind the corn before storing it.
But growing corn takes space, and my garden each year is full of tomatoes, potatoes, and a little of everything from A to Z (artichokes to zucchini). But Michael Smith of Gypsy Meadow Farm in Plainfield, NH agreed to let me have one 30-inch wide row that is 250 feet long in one of his fields. Plenty of room for corn – and crows. So I decided it was time to make a scarecrow again.
If you are going to have a scarecrow that is garden art, it needs to be robust to fool your visitors; it needs a human shape, including the curves. And if is to last all summer, it≠s important that its stuffing dry out between rains – or the clothing will quickly rot. I made a female scarecrow that has a bosom, a rounded backside, and a leg that appears to be stepping forward – with a shoe on it.
Building Scarecrow Step 1
Here is what I used: a 6-foot steel fence post, an 18-inch scrap of board for the shoulders, a pair of old jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, a sleeveless summer dress, a pillow case to make into a head, a shoe, a glove, and a hat. Additionally, I used an old life preserver to give the chest some bulk, lots of used plastic bags and a woven plastic grain sack.
Building Scarecrow Step 2
First I slipped the steel post through one leg of the jeans, and pushed it into the ground. I stuffed the seat of the jeans with a plastic bag full of other plastic bags for bulk. Then I slipped string through the belt loops and tied the jeans to the post. I left the jeans low enough so that later, when I wanted to arrange one leg to look as if Melba (all scarecrows should have names) is walking, I could stuff one leg into an old shoe and place it ahead of the body.
Building Scarecrow Step 3
Next I put a Phillips screw though a pre-drilled hole in the post, and screwed it into the middle of the board that serves as the shoulder piece. I slipped on the life preserver and zipped it up. Next I put some plastic grocery bags in a 20-gallon garbage bag, and tucked it into the top of the life jacket to fill out the bosom (the bags hang down over the life jacket). I draped a grain sack over the shoulders (to round them) and let the ends hang down into the sleeves of the old shirt that I put on my scarecrow.
Scarecrow
For a head I partially filled a pillow case with row cover – a fluffy synthetic material I use to keep beetles off my cucumbers. I made a nose by bunching up the pillowcase and tying a knot around the fabric so that it stands out. I used a black magic marker to make large round, black eyes. Birds are, apparently, very aware of eyes; some butterflies have round, dark circles – fake eyes – to keep birds from eating them. I tucked the pillow case into the life jacket, and then slipped the dress over the mannequin. I put on a big straw hat and adjusted it at a rakish angle. Lastly, I put a shoe on the loose end of the jeans, and put the “foot” forward, as if taking a step.
Crows are pretty smart, but I only have to keep them away for a few days. To add a little movement to my scarecrow I added a red Superman cape made of lightweight synthetic fabric. It blows in the breeze quite nicely. And after my corn is well established, I’ll bring Melba home and let her provide giggles to visitors in my regular garden patch. Gardening should be fun, after all.
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Posted on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment
If you have traveled a mile from your house this past month, you have passed by plenty of blooming trees and shrubs. Some, like those bold, deep pink or magenta PJM rhododendrons, are brassy and loud in their announcement of spring. Others, like the maples and birches, are more subtle. All give me joy. All are worth observing.
Maple Flowers
It seems to me that maples are given scant attention when it comes to their flowers, but this year the maples in my part of the world are producing prodigious numbers of blossoms. Most trees have an occasional year when they produce a bumper crop of fruit, nuts or seeds. This appears to be a mast year for maples. Their flowers appear first each year, before the leaves, and are dainty greenish yellow. The flowers hang or dangle on thin green 1-3 inch long strings in a merry, decorative fashion. They don’t resemble flowers we pick or admire, for the most part. Still, given the numbers of them this year, they make a dramatic statement, creating a yellow/lime green cast to the entire tree, glorious from a distance.
The birches also have interesting blossoms, which are called catkins. Catkins are hanging appendages 2-4 inches long, a bit like tiny fuzzy sausages hanging in groups of 2-3 that produce (or receive) pollen. There are separate male and female catkins. Catkins also appear on some willows, and poplars. Like any wind-pollinated flower, catkins produce lots of pollen and may cause allergic reactions in some people. Male poplar trees produce pollen which is very irritating to many people, and is a main cause of hay fever at this time of year √ though the females are not allergy producers.
If you suffer from hay fever, a good resource is Tom Ogren’s book, Allergy-Free Gardening: The Revolutionary Guide to Healthy Landscaping. Ogren lists not only trees and shrubs, but many common flowers and rates them on a scale of 1 to 10 in term of how potent the pollen is.
shadbush, shadblow or serviceberry (Amelanchier spp)
The shadbush, shadblow or serviceberry (Amelanchier spp) have been blooming along the roadside in recent weeks. These are white-flowered understory trees or shrubs that bloom towards the end of the forsythia display, but before lilacs. The blossoms resemble apple blossoms, but the trees (or shrubs) have smooth gray bark and a lankier overall appearance than apples. They vary in size, but rarely get taller than 30 or 40 feet in the wild. As a domesticated shrub they can be kept in the 6-10 foots size.
Shadbush Flowers
If you want a good bush for feeding birds in summer, shadbush is a good choice. They produce blue berries that are much beloved by birds, and are generally stripped off the bushes before I get a chance to taste them. But they are tasty for us, too. And I love the smooth gray bark and the multi-stemmed growth of the bushes. The most floriferous of the varieties, for me, is Amelanchier arborea ‘Cole’s Select’. I found it at E.C. Brown’s Nursery in Thetford, VT. (www.ecbrownnursery.com) and I have gotten other varieties there, too.
This is a good time to prune your forsythia. As early spring bloomers, they set their blossoms for next spring this summer, so prune by early summer to get the best display next spring. That is a good plan for any spring-blooming tree or shrub. If you have forsythia that only bloom on the lower branches, you have an old fashioned variety, one that is easily susceptible to winter burn. The blooming branches are those that were protected by snow. The best solution? Cut them down, dig them up, and get a better variety. ‘New Hampshire Gold≠, ‘Vermont Sun≠ and ‘Northern Sun≠ are good, hardy varieties that should do well for you. Or ask at your family-run garden center for a good one for our climate.
Apples and crabapples set their buds for next year by early June. You should be done with pruning them by now, though a little pruning now is all right. Fruit buds are brittle at this time of year, and you can easily snap them off when pulling prunings from the tree, so be careful when removing branches. Pruning them when dormant is best, which is why March is the usual month. It≠s also fine to do some pruning in the heat of August.
Lilacs are some of the toughest and most wonderful of the blooming shrubs. Old farmers scattered wood ashes around the base of their lilacs in March to keep the soil sweet (not too acidic). You can do that now √ or anytime, really √ to help with next year≠s bloom. A quart yogurt container of limestone or wood ashes is fine for a small lilac or a couple of cans for bigger ones. It really does make a difference. And lilacs in full sun bloom much better than those planted in shade. Buy lilacs in bloom so you can see their color and sniff their fragrance before making a purchase.
This is a great time to plant trees in shrubs, but only if you are willing to water them all summer. If you≠ll likely forget, plant in the fall.
Hardening Off Plants and Planting the Vegetable Garden
Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Each gardener knows best when to plant the vegetable garden. For many, it’s Memorial Day weekend, though I tend to plant some things later, others much earlier. But long before I plant seedlings, I get them ready for planting. It’s called “hardening off.” Unlike a mother bird, you do not have to push your plants out of the nest all at once.
Whether you plant tomatoes that you bought at the greenhouse or started indoors yourself, your tomatoes have led a pampered life. Temperature, wind and moisture levels have all been controlled. Light levels have been less than the full sun plants will encounter in the garden. In the greenhouse some of the sun≠s power has been filtered through plastic and absorbed. My plants have been growing under lights much less powerful than the sun. It is important not to shock plants by moving them from shelter to garden in one fell swoop. They can get sunburned or windburned, which won’t kill your plants, but will slow down their growth for a couple of weeks.
I grow over 100 tomato seedlings most years (though I share many). These plants have been going for a walk every nice day to get ready for their big adventure. I start the process of hardening off my plants by carrying them outdoors onto my deck where they will get 3-4 hours of morning sunshine and just a little wind (the wind is blocked in 2 directions). If rain is forecast, I don’t put them outside – they can be beaten down by hard rains, or waterlogged.
Vegetables
After a few days spent in the morning sun, plants are ready for afternoon sun. But be careful: big, leafy plants (like lettuce) can dry out very quickly on a hot sunny day, particularly if growing in a 6-pack with only a small space for roots and moisture. You need to watch over them – or continue to leave them in a morning sun location. After a week of hardening off, plants are ready for the full sun of the vegetable garden.
The date of the last frost is unpredictable. I believe that it is better to wait and plant after all chance of frost has past. I have a garden in a low spot where cold air settles. And it is near a stream, so the soil is generally wet, which keeps the root zone chilly. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cukes and squash do not do well in cold, wet soil. So I wait. And sometimes I wait until June 10 or so, but my plants catch up to those planted by my friends on Memorial Day. Even broccoli, a cold-hardy plant – does not do well in soil that is cold and wet and can get root rot.
In case you believe the tale that the last frost occurs with a full moon, 20 years of weather records kept by Sally Wellborn here in Cornish show that not to be true. Clear nights are more likely to have frost than cloudy ones, however.
Jet Star tomato
That said, I planted a Jet Star tomato in the garden on May 7. I teach Sustainable Gardening at Granite State College, and wanted to show my class how to plant a tomato sideways to develop a bigger root system (more on that later). After planting it I installed a “Wall-o-Water.” This is a flexible plastic cylinder that consists of baffles that I filled with water and then gathered together at the top to form a sort of teepee. The water heats up during the day, and gives off heat at night – and holds it in. I put one over a tomato plant last spring in early May and it went through several frosts without harm. They are available at garden centers and from Gardeners Supply (www.gardeners.com). They are reusable.
Tomatoes Sideways
Planting tomatoes sideways is good way to establish a bigger root system, and to deal with long, lanky plants that might otherwise flop over. I use my CobraHead weeder to loosen the soil in an 18-inch diameter circle and mix in some compost and bagged organic fertilizer.
Stripping tomato leaves
Then I strip off all the lower leaves from the tomato, leaving just a cluster of leaves at the top. Next I dig a hole for the rootball and a trench for the stem, and place the tomato in the soil (placed sideways) and cover it over with soil. I bend up the top few inches of the stem so that the leaves are above the soil line. It may seem to you that the stem will break, but it won’t.
If you have started broccoli, cabbages, kale or Brussels sprouts indoors and have floppy plants, you can plant the rootball and stems deeply, so that the thin stems are buried.
I believe that everyone should grow rutabagas, parsnips and kale, all under-appreciated plants that grow well, and are tasty. Plant rutabagas and parsnips by seed now, following directions on the packages. Kale is slow to start, so it is best planted now as seedlings. I find Winterbor kale the most productive, but Lacinato and Red Russian are also terrific. Good garden centers will have more than one type of kale.
Whatever you grow, remember to water when the plants are little. And don’t let the soil dry out where you have planted or you can lose your crop before it even starts. Gardening really is very easy: visit your garden every day, water if dry and pull a few weeds. You’re bound to succeed.
Lawns, and the Machines Available to Work on Them
Posted on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Most guys love machines, the bigger and louder the better. And before you take me to task for that comment, answer this: who in your family usually uses the chain saw, the lawn mower, the rototiller and the snow blower? In my experience it’s the guys. Not always, but most often. So spring is here, and the guys (and a few intrepid women) are itching to get out the chain saw to cut up the pine branches that broke off last winter and then get to work on the lawn.
Me? I’m not much of a machine guy, so to learn about the various motorized options, I visited Upper Valley Equipment Rental on Bridge Street in West Lebanon, N.H. and talked to Brian Henry, the manager. We looked over his arsenal of machines: a power broom, a lawn de-thatcher, a core-aerator and a 40 inch sweeper with a bristle brush, and I went home with a power broom to try out.
power broom
The power broom is actually an attachment that goes on a string trimmer (also known as a weed whacker). It consists of a rotating cylinder with rubber paddles that lift and push debris forward. The one I rented weighed 25 pounds, but because the motor and blades are at opposite ends of a 6-foot handle, the machine requires a certain level of strength and endurance (your 80-year old mother should not attempt to use it).
The power broom works: you can push a lot of debris with it. My lawn is quite soft and I found that if I didn’t keep moving the machine forward, it was possible to damage the grass and dig a depression. I see it as best used to clean up a paved driveway or the shoulder of the driveway with sand and gravel left from the winter. I still prefer a rake to a power rake, even though an old fashioned rake takes more time.
core-aerator
The core-aerator is a machine designed to make your lawn less compacted – and thus to grow better. It extracts plugs of turf from compacted lawns, allowing you to get compost and fertilizer into the soil. As I explain in my new book Organic Gardening (not Just) in the Northeast, you can test your lawn for compaction by trying to plunge an ordinary 6-inch screwdriver into the lawn up to the hilt. If you cannot easily do this, your lawn is compacted and you may wish to rent an aerator. It pokes holes 2-3 inches deep and half an inch across. The plugs extracted fall out on the lawn (and would eventually break down) but most people would want to rake them up. Spreading compost after aerating is a way to get organic matter into the lawn, increase biological activity to soften and loosen the soil.
Sweepster
I also looked at a walk-behind “Sweepster”. The one I saw had a 40-inch stiff-bristled brush on a rotating drum. It reminded me of a street sweeper, but it pushes the debris forward and does not pick it up. Since I have no pick-up truck I wasn’t able to bring one home, and (as a confirmed Luddite) I am not sure I need one anyway. Again, it would be great on driveways, and might also serve to clean thatch, or accumulated dead grass, out of the lawn.
dethatching
Speaking of which, I got a demonstration of a dethatching machine at the rental center. It≠s a walk-behind machine with lots of short metal blades designed to loosen and lift dead grass. If you have biologically active soil, the organisms in the soil (including earthworms) should breakdown your grass clippings, precluding the need for a dethatcher. But if you apply lots of chemicals to the lawn, you may wish to rent one, as chemicals tend to minimize biological activity. The machine would be good for scuffing up the soil in order to apply seed to an existing lawn, too.
Small engine repair shops are busy tuning up lawn mowers and sharpening the blades. If you are mechanically inclined, you can sharpen the blade yourself by removing it and using a bench grinder or coarse file to mimic the angle of the blade set by the manufacturer. If it has been warped or bent by hitting rocks, stumps or dog bones, you should replace the blade.
If you set your blade at 3 inches or more, you can minimize crab grass growth – effectively shading it out. If you want to minimize weeds in the lawn you can spread corn gluten. It is a corn product that should be spread now, during the period between the blooming of forsythia and lilacs. But it is not a miracle (some weeds will get established anyway), and for best results should be used 3 years in a row. Microbes in the soil break down the gluten, releasing peptides that inhibit root growth – of weeds, but also of any grass seed you might use, so don’t use it if overseeding the lawn now. Corn gluten contains nitrogen and acts as a fertilizer, slowly releasing nitrogen as your microbes break it down.
The best spring activities for improving your lawn, besides cleaning it up, are spreading some compost over it and adding some good grass seed. Half an inch of compost spread with a shovel and rake will energize your lawn, and adding grass seed will fill in the thin spots. So pick your weapon of choice – either motorized or manual – and get to work. Summer will be along soon.
Minimizing Work in the Vegetable Garden
Posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Getting older? Too busy with kids, dogs and a job? Don’t give up the idea of having a vegetable garden. Just simplify, minimize and be smart about how much you take on. Here are some ideas about what you can do to minimize work in the garden and still have the joy of ripe, red tomatoes or carrots just pulled moments before eating.
Grow what you really love, and forget about the rest.
First, be not so ambitious. A garden 10 feet by 12 feet will do. Grow what you really love, and forget about the rest. If you had a weedy 20-by-20 garden last summer, cut it in half this year. Cover half with black plastic and then a layer of straw (so it looks better and doesn’t have pools of water for mosquitoes to breed in).
Buy seedlings instead of starting plants in the house. And just because you buy a 6-pack of tomatoes doesn’t mean you have to plant them all. Give some away √ or put the extras in the compost.
Don’t rototill. Rototilling is hard work, and it brings up a lot of buried weed seeds that will make work for you every year. Hoe up the soil to make mounded, wide raised beds, 30 inches wide and 6 inches taller than your walkways. Keep them in place from year to year.
Add compost each year to improve the soil, and stir it in a little. It does its magic best near the surface of the soil where the roots are. I like a CobraHead weeder (www.CobraHead.com) for stirring in compost. Buy compost – by the bag or by the truck load. It’s worth every penny.
Mulch saves labor. Mulch with 6 sheets of this newspaper, and then cover it with hay, straw or grass clippings. Get the walkways done right away, as soon as you have the beds made. Then July 4th weekend, when the soil is warm and your plants are established, mulch around the plants. Mulch also holds in moisture.
Only water when the soil is dry. A little drought stress is not bad – it lets plants know they have to produce seeds – and food for you – as an easy life is not guaranteed. Buy a watering wand so you can water the roots, not the tops of the plants. That will minimize fungal diseases. Dramm is a brand that works real well for me. Water deeply, and less often.
Use tomato cages, and install them at planting time, not after the plants get big. Plants that flop over and lay on the ground don’t produce well. Tying to a stake is fine, but more labor intensive.
Look for a new tomato variety called “Defiant.” It is claimed to be highly resistant to the late blight that came early in 2009, melting vines and fruit. No point in growing tomatoes if the blight gets them. Grow at least one Sun Gold cherry tomato. It is tremendously productive, and the tastiest snack food in town.
Lettuce
Plant lettuce once a month, all summer. Start with a 6-pack from the garden center, or sprinkle a few seeds directly in the ground. If starting from seed, transplant them when 3-4 weeks old so they are 6 inches apart. Or just thin them out. Planted too close together they’ll never get to be big, juicy heads of lettuce.
Pole beans are great. You don’t have to bend over to pick them. And they produce most of the summer, once they have begun. Bush beans are good, but produce just one big crop of beans, then quit.
Don’t plant 6 zucchini. One is enough. “Romanesco” is a great variety – it is still tasty and not mealy when it gets big – and they seem to turn into small bombs overnight.
Potatoes are easy and wonderful. Kids love to dig them. Picking potatoes is like going fishing – and knowing you≠ll catch trout. Just pick the potato bugs every day in June, and they won’t be a problem. Look on the underside of leaves for orange egg masses and scrape them off, too. Drown in soapy water.
Rhubarb is easy, so grow some. It comes back every year with no work. And no self respecting bug will eat the leaves, which are full of oxalic acid and bitter. I’ve been told that our taste buds get more feeble as we age, but that rhubarb is the last flavor to go!
Small Garden
Put a garden bench or a couple of Adirondack chairs in the shade near the garden. Don’t be afraid to take time off to admire yourhandiwork. Gardening is not just about production. Get the kids or grandkids to hang out with you while you work. Give them some garden space to push trucks around in. Get worms from the compost pile, and go fishing! Gardening doesn’t have to run your life.
A Cold Wet Spring
Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 · Leave a Comment
I’m tired of cold gray days, drizzle and downpours. My vegetable garden is so wet I should be fishing there, not gardening – though I am doing neither. Last spring we had hot weather early and our plants started off much too fast. Then a hard frost came that killed early fruit blossoms. Each year is different. Meanwhile, what can we do?
First, don’t worry about the fact that flowers are 2-3 weeks late in blooming. They will eventually bloom, and most early blooming plants are not damaged by a little frost, should we get some more, and we may. Last year I took pictures of my February Daphne (Daphne mezereum) in full bloom on April 4, and as of April 24 it still had not bloomed.
Don’t jump into your usual spring lawn and garden work yet √ or not unless your property is a lot drier than mine. If your shoes making dents in the lawn, or if you hear a “squish”, stay off the lawn. For flower beds, try using a 5-foot long plank to walk on if you must get in them to work. That will distribute your weight nicely. If you have two planks (each 6 inches wide), you can move from one to the next.
Rototilling now is definitely a no-no unless you have sandy soil on a hilltop. Grab a hand of garden soil, squeeze it with your fingers, and open your hand. Touch it lightly with a finger. If the soil does not crumble, it is too wet to rototill. Heavy clay soils hold water, and may never fall apart with a gentle touch √ unless you work in lots of compost. Rototilling too early can ruin soil structure.
You can, however, start seeds indoors now. I have about 300 seedlings started indoors, growing under lights. Lights are important. I know some gardeners grow a few tomatoes on the window sill, but growing plants without supplemental light generally results in spindly plants that are pale and reaching for the sun. A 4-foot, 2-tube fluorescent light will illuminate 2 flats (72 seedlings or more, depending on the size of the cells in the 6-packs). Lights are a good investment.
Keeping the light near the seedlings is important. I hang lights above the plants, keeping them 6-10 inches above the leaves and raising the lights as the plants get taller. It’s also important to let your babies sleep at night. Fourteen hours of light is plenty. It’s good to let temperatures in the room with the seedlings hover around 60-65 degrees, too and even cooler at night.
pruning
This is a good time of year to do some pruning. You can prune fruit trees and blueberry bushes now. Learn to recognize the flower buds of each, so you will know what you are pruning off. Apples and other fruit trees bloom on short (3-4 inch) fruit spurs that are more than one year old.
Fruit spurs
Fruit spurs are most commonly present on “scaffold” branches, those branches that extend outwards from the trunk at about a 45 degree angle. If you want to turn a small vertical branch into a scaffold branch that will eventually produce fruit, you can bend the branch by hanging a weight on it for a couple of months. Hang a plastic bottle on the branch, and add water to get the weight you want.
I recently attended a pruning workshop led by Bill Lord, a now retired UNH Extension fruit specialist. He said that older branches on blueberries that have no fruit buds this year probably won≠t have any in the future, and that you should prune off those limbs to stimulate new growth. The fat buds that will produce fruit are usually toward the tips of vigorous young branches – those 6-10 inches in length. Those branches generally produce the strongest buds. The smaller buds elsewhere are leaf buds. Bill said that each fruit bud can produce 5-10 berries!
This is also the time of year to get your soil tested. Call your Extension office, or ask Mr. Google where you can get it done. It only takes a few minutes to collect a sample, and a test can tell you much. Blueberries, for example, need very acidic soil (pH 4.0 to 5.5) to be productive. A soil test will tell you how much garden sulfur (approved for organic gardeners) to add around your plants. Blueberry roots grow in mats near the soil surface, so just sprinkle the sulfur on the soil to avoid damaging roots.
When getting soil tested, also have your soil tested for heavy metals like lead. It≠s an extra fee, but ingesting lead can harm you or your children. And get a test done to measure the amount of organic matter in the soil: you want 4-8% in for good vegetable production.
Spring will get here, eventually. Meanwhile, be patient. Take some time now to read a gardening book on a cold, raw day – perhaps even my new one. You might even recognize some of your favorite articles from this column.
Growing Grapes
Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Each fall I enjoy a special treat: munching the sweet-sour flavor of grapes I have grown. I generally eat them outdoors as they are full of seeds, and I enjoy spitting out the seeds, much as I did as a boy. I like to see how far I can spit them, and whether I can hit objects accurately. That≠s puerile, for sure. But it≠s good to be a kid again, especially as an adult old enough to qualify for Social Security.
According to my best reference text on growing grapes organically, The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture by Lon Rombough (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002), there are some 10,000 varieties of grapes, and less than 1% of those are seedless. Grapes are supposed to have seeds, that≠s how they reproduce. We have been spoiled by 3 common grocery store varieties that are seedless, most notably Thompson≠s Seedless, which dominates the market.
Here are in the Northeast we can grow grapes for eating or for wine, despite the reputation of California as the place for wine grapes. According to the catalog of Elmore Roots, an organic nursery specializing in cold-region fruit plants, there are several good wine grapes to choose from. I called David Fried, owner of Elmore Roots, to talk about grapes recently. He told me that King of the North and Sabrevois, both red grapes, were the best for making wine. Six plants can produce enough grapes for making wine.
And for eating? Fried says Bluebell is the best. The fruit is pinkish-purple, and is great for eating fresh, or for making juice or jelly. It is disease resistant and survives frosts quite well.
So what do grape vines need to thrive? Full sun and good air circulation. Air circulation is important because low spots that have poor circulation tend to encourage fungal diseases. Growing on a hillside is best, preferably a slope facing south or east. Growing them on a stone wall works well, too, as the wall provides extra heat.
According to Rombough≠s book, ≥The ideal soil for best vine growth and production, especially of table grapes, is a deep, light silty or slightly sandy loam.≈ Rombough suggests digging some test holes 2-3 feet deep to see what the soil is like √ if you are on a rocky ledge, see where the deepest soil is for your grapes. He says you rent a power post hole digger to make test holes. David Fried noted that sandy soil in full sun is best.
Test the pH, or acidity of your soil, before planting and make adjustments as necessary. Soils with a pH of 6.5 to 7.2 are best. Remove grass, weeds and other competitors for nutrition from the area where you will plant your grapes. Rombough suggests planting grapes so that rows go along with the prevailing winds, which for me is east-west. That will help to dry out the vines in wet times, minimizing fungal problems. He says to plant roots 8 feet apart, and rows 8-12 feet apart if you are starting an orchard. And if you have bought grapes grafted onto a root stock, do not plant them deeply. The graft union (place where the roots and the tops were joined) should be above ground.
prune grapes
This is the time of year to prune grapes. They produce grapes on shoots that were new last year. Pruning now stimulates new growth that will produce grapes next year. And if you do not prune each year, your grape vines will develop into an unmanageable mess. An un-pruned vine may produce lots of blossoms, but the quality and size of the fruit will not be good.
Grapes grow well on trellises or wires.
Grapes grow well on trellises or wires. I have 2 rows of wire attached to my barn for grapes to grow on, but they are so vigorous that if I didn≠t prune off new growth each year, they would engulf my small barn and cover the windows. I wouldn≠t be able to reach the grapes for picking. The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture has excellent drawings of ways to set up wires for your grapes, and how to prune.
I hesitate to give advice on how to prune grapes, as I am still learning. Rombough≠s book shows a thick stalk coming up from the ground, with sturdy lateral arms attached to the wires, which I have. Each year I am supposed to cut off most of last year≠s vigorous new growth, leaving some short spurs on those lateral arms to produce this year≠s fruit.
I have just 3 grape plants, 2 growing on a trellis in front of my barn, and one growing on a cedar arbor I built years ago. I have a very high water table √ there is a nearby brook √ and I am surprised that my grapes have survived. But in my experience all vines, including grapes, are tough and adaptable. I don≠t get a huge crop and I share it most years with the birds, as they do love grapes √ and some years they are more attentive to my grapes than I. A flock of cedar waxwings can √ and will √ eat all my grapes in one sitting, those greedy gluttons. Maybe I should rent an owl – or buy a plastic one to live near my barn in grape-picking season.
Making A Spring Wreath
Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 · Leave a Comment
A friend recently pointed out to me that the evergreen spray I≠d put on the front door back in December looked pitiful. It did. Funny how I can not notice the obvious. I decided that the time had come to put something else on the front door, something that shouted, “Spring and summer are on the way.”
I like making wreaths. A spring wreath using pussywillows, red-twigged dogwood and alder branches seemed like a good idea, so I headed off to find twigs alongside the road. All three plants are native to New England, and plentiful in wet areas.
Pussywillows (Salix alba, S. caprea or S. discolor) are weedy little trees or big shrubs whose major virtue is that their male catkins are furry fellows that perk up an otherwise drab time of year. And pussywillows are tough. They will grow in water-logged soil that would be fatal to the root systems of most other trees or shrubs. On the other hand, they are weak wooded and often scraggly. But at this time of year they are in their glory.
Elsewhere along a roadside I’d noticed the brilliant red stems of redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea). The redosier dogwood is a native shrub that, like pussywillows, does well in wet locations. Tatarian dogwood (C. alba) is a landscape plant that is sold for its red twigs, too. New growth on either is brilliant red, particularly in winter. Second year growth turns gray, with just a hint of red.
Anyone who grows red twigged dogwoods needs to prune them severely each year to keep them from looking drab. The town road crew had done a good pruning job- early last summer their brush hogs had cut plenty of red-twigged dogwood right to the ground. The stems were bright red- and free for the cutting. A healthy dogwood can grow 2-3 feet in a single season.
I have generally considered black alder (Alnus glutinosa) a nuisance plant that fills in and takes over around my stream. In researching this article I learned that they do have a virtue: they are nitrogen-fixing plants, so they improve the soil. Alders have male and female flowers. The male flowers are typical catkins but the female flowers resemble cones. Last year’s seed producers are still visible and handsome.
Rather than using a wire form, I made a simple grapevine wreath that allowed me to squeeze twigs between the vines. This reduced the need to use wires to attach the twigs, though I did use some florists wire to help attach twigs in places. This very thin wire is green, and easily cut with scissors.
I went to the woods and cut a fifteen foot length of grapevine that was about as thick around as a pencil. It is important to use fresh, not dead, vines; the one I cut was a greenish white inside and flexible, so I knew it would work well. Grapevines are readily available and produce good food for our feathered friends, although they can choke out some trees if left to get huge.
To make the wreath I formed a vine circle about 16 inches in diameter by overlapping (or twisting) one half of the vine over the other half – the same way I start tying my shoelaces. Then grasping one of the loose ends I wove it around the vine circle in tight loops. When I ran out of vine I tucked the end into the circle and repeated the maneuver with the other end of the vine. When done the grapevine wreathe was about an inch and an a half thick and 18 inches in diameter.
Next I cut some pussywillow twigs 12 to 18 inches long and tucked them into the wreath one at a time, forcing them into the crevices between the vines. Sometimes it was tough to force a twig into the wreath as the bent vines make an almost impenetrable barrier in places. I used a screwdriver to pry the vines apart to make room for twigs if needed. The pussywillow twigs followed the contour of the wreath, but extended out beyond it.
Spring Wreath
Then I took redosier dogwood and alder twigs and tucked them into the wreath, again spreading the grapevines apart and letting the natural tension hold them in place. I cut them a bit longer so that they stuck out further from the grapevine portion of the wreath. I selected alder twigs that had the cones and catkins.
When completed the wreath was about 36 inches in diameter, and had a distinctly porcupine-like appearance. I ended up putting it on the wall near the front door, as it shows up better there than on the natural wood colored door.
Spring has been slow to arrive this year, and I’m more than ready for its arrival. Making a spring wreath has helped a little.
Selecting Seeds
Posted on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Buying seeds is just like getting tickets for a Rolling Stones concert. Well, maybe not exactly, but in either case itâ≈ s good to get them early, before they are sold out. I’ve already missed the boat on one variety, but think I have everything else I need – and some are already planted indoors.
Last year I grew a broccoli-type green called Piricicaba, that I got from Fedco Seeds (www.fedcoseeds.com).When I called them in late March, it had already sold out. Dang. They are the only supplier I know of that sells them, though I suppose that Mr. Google would help me find them if I were really keen on it. Fortunately I got a similar green from Johnny’s Select Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com or 877-564-6697) called Happy Rich, which is a name I like. Hasn’t made me rich yet, but it does make me happy.
Happy Rich (like Piricicaba) makes broccoli-like florets but not big heads. It is only 50 days to harvest, and is very tasty raw or cooked – unlike broccoli raab, which is bitter until cooked. The stems and leaves are good to eat, too. It produced food until Thanksgiving and it froze well for winter eating.
This year I bought a packet of purple mustard greens, a variety called Osaka Purple. Many mesclun mixes contain a few mustard seeds, and Iâ≈ ve developed a taste for those very spicy leaves, so this year I will sow them in a bed of their own. I got mine at the Boston Flower show from a company called Landreth Seed Co from New Freedom, PA. Landreth is the oldest seed house in America, founded in 1784. Osaka Purple is fast â√˚germination in as few as 4 days and 40 days to harvest.
Also new to me this year is the southern favorite, collard greens. Visiting the diverse seed racks at Gardnerâ≈ s Supply Companyâ≈ s store in Burlington, VT I found them from Botanical Interests, Inc. â√˚another seed company I’ve not tried before. The package says collards grow under more adverse conditions than lettuce or cabbage. They can be picked small for salads or cooked. They produce well in hot summers even though they are related to kale, a cool-weather crop.
Another green I am trying this year is spreen. Its Latin name is Chenopodium gigantium, which tells me 2 things: it is related to the common weed, lambs quarters (and also to quinoa). And it should be a big plant if left to grow tall. The description says this variety, Magenta Spreen, has young leaves “dusted with a beautiful iridescent magenta”. And it says to pick when 6-8 inches tall – I will try it in salads and lightly cooked. I will be careful not to let it blossom and distribute seeds since it is related to a weed. I got it from Johnnyâ≈ s Seeds.
I am planting flint corn this year, the corn that you dry and grind for cornmeal or polenta. Corn takes a fair amount of space, and you cannot crowd it – plant it too close together and you get small ears. Seeds can be planted 8 inches apart in a row, but only one row per 30 inch-wide bed. And instead of one long row, itâ≈ s better to plant 4 short rows for better pollination. I got my seeds from High Mowing Seeds at the Upper Valley Food Coop in White River Junction, VT.
I haven’t planted flint corn before, and itâ≈ s been 25 years since I grew sweet corn, but farmers tell me that warm soil temperatures are critical. The soil must be warm at planting time. I’m thinking of using a “plastic mulch” – laying down a layer of clear plastic before planting.
Clear plastic mulch lets the sun rays warm up the soil directly (as opposed to black plastic which warms up, and then radiates heat to the soil, a less efficient way). I once tested the temperature under clear plastic spread out with the edges sealed off to contain the heat. On a sunny May afternoon in the sixties, it was in the 90s under the plastic. I”ll pull of the plastic before I plant.
I’ve never had much luck growing melons or watermelons. Talking to a seed tester at Johnny’s Seeds in Maine in February, I was told that there is a hybrid cantaloupe/muskmelon that will do in my short New Hampshire summer: Sarah’s Choice F1 hybrid. He sent me a packet to try, so I will.
Photo by Johnny's Seeds
By the way, the information on Johnny’s Seeds packets is more complete than on any others I have ever found. It says to start (Photo by Johnny’s Seeds) cantaloupes indoors in 3-4 inch pots a month before last frost, and to pre-heat the soil with plastic mulch to get a good start. The soil should be 65 degrees at planting, the pack said. And though I know this for all vine crops, it warns to plant with as little disturbance to the roots as possible.
Sometimes I wish I had an acre of sunny garden so that I could grow everything I wanted, and in quantity. Fortunately, I do not – so I have a life, in addition to a garden!
Self Watering Planters
Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 · Leave a Comment
I recently got a copy of Ed Smith≠s revised and improved book on growing vegetables in self-watering planters, The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible (Storey Publishing, 2011), and decided that making one of his containers might be a good thing for a bored gardener to do before the gardening season begins.
Ed Smith has boiled down years of experience into simple language that anyone can understand. He recommends using self-watering containers instead of traditional pots because they do a better job of keeping the soil evenly moist- a key to success, particularly with veggies.
His book explains that plants are mostly water, so they need water to stay healthy. They need it for photosynthesis (to manufacture carbohydrates) and to carry soil nutrients throughout the plant. Ed explains that plants do best in biologically active soils, those that are “teeming with mostly microscopic creatures that supply plants with food, creatures that help them to assimilate food, creatures that help protect plants from predation and disease.” And those critters need moisture.
Self watering containers
Water is also needed to cool plants in the heat of summer by the process of transpiration – which is the plant equivalent of sweating. In the process of losing water, “transpirational pull” is created – a force that sucks up water from the ground, bringing along soluble nutrients. Ed’s book explains that “Transpiration is the plant’s substitute for a heart; it is the way a plant moves fluids within itself.” A mature tomato plant in mid-summer can use a gallon of water a day.
Self watering containers have water reservoirs so that plants don≠t dry out quickly – sometimes holding 4 gallons or more. And the bottom line is this: when the soil is too dry, all biological activity stops – both in your plants, and in the microorganisms that nurture and nourish your plants.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible explains that a light, fluffy soil is essential for growing veggies well in pots. Plant roots and soil organisms need oxygen to thrive, so a fluffy soil does better than a compacted one. Ed’s recipe for success is to make a 50-50 mix of potting soil or peat moss with good quality compost.
The potting mix I bought was a bit heavy with sand, so I modified that recipe a bit: I mixed 12 quarts of potting mix and 12 quarts of compost with 2 quarts of perlite, a heat-expanded mineral that looks like bits of white Styrofoam. Perlite holds water on its surface and keeps the mix fluffy but adds no nutrients.
Ed’s book suggests that you can offer a well balanced diet of plant nutrients by adding blood meal, rock phosphate and green sand to the mix. Unlike chemical fertilizers, these nutrients are taken up slowly by plants, so your plants get a nice even supply. He suggests a third of a cup of each for each 40-quart batch of planting mix. Me? I add a cup of Pro-Gro, an organic fertilizer that has all those ingredients, and a quarter of a cup of limestone.
Big self-watering containers can be expensive. A good quality 40-quart container with a 4-gallon reservoir that will be adequate for a big tomato or 4 peppers will cost you about $40. But you can make your own container if you prefer, and I’ve done so for a fraction of that cost. Here is what I did, using Ed≠s good descriptions and photos.
I bought an 18-gallon plastic storage bin that came with a lid, and a 10-foot section of 4-inch vinyl downspout (enough for 4 bins). I made marks on the inside of the container at the top of the water reservoir, 5 inches from the bottom of the bin, and measured the width and length. I wanted to cut the lid to fit inside the bin at the top of the reservoir, so I transferred the measurements onto the lid and drew lines to guide me. I used tin snips to cut the lid, which, admittedly, is a bit of hard work (a jigsaw might work better).
At the lumber yard where I bought the downspout I asked a fellow to cut some 5-inch pieces for me with the “chop saw” used to cut lumber. He accommodated my strange request and I ended up with perfectly cut pieces (I could have used a hack saw to do the job at home).My planter needed 6 pieces of 5-inch downspout (spacers) to adequately support the lid – now the base of the soil compartment – sitting inside the bin.
To wick the water up into the soil compartment, I cut 2 holes in the lid (each hole a little smaller than the downspout I used as spacers). I attached two spacers right below the holes and later filled them with potting mix. To attach the spacers to the lid, I drilled small holes in the lid and the spacers, and wired them in place. That prevents them from moving. The wicking spacers are perforated – each has a dozen three-eighths-inch diameter holes drilled in it. Lastly I cut a fill-hole in the side of the bin at the top of the water reservoir.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible is full of good information on growing specific vegetables √ including unlikely candidates for containers like sweet corn and artichokes. I may grow an artichoke or some hot peppers in containers this summer, and then see if I can overwinter them indoors as both are perennial in warm climates. And in the meantime, I≠m making more containers. Give it a try!
Click Here to buy from Cobrahead