Grow Up! Build a Trellis to Use Your Vertical Spaces
Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Most of us think we need more garden space. But once we have carved out a garden and removed the grass from the lawn or field, it is often difficult to find more space – or the energy – to expand. But growing plants on vertical supports will help you save space in the vegetable garden. Bean tripods are well known, but have you thought about a trellis for your cucumbers or gourds? I recently designed and installed 24 wood-sided raised beds for a demonstration vegetable garden at Home Hill Inn, in Plainfield, NH. Each bed is 4-by 8-feet, and although that may sound like a lot of space, it gets used up quickly. I built some trellises to help grow more vegetables and save space.
trellis
The first trellis I built for was for cukes. It is an A-frame built using conventional 1- by 4-inch pine lumber. I bought pine boards that had already been sanded and primed, then applied a coat of exterior latex white paint. I used 8 boards, 4 on each half of the A-frame (2 legs and 2 cross pieces on each side). I also bought a pair of inexpensive door hinges and some 1-inch galvanized dry wall screws.
On a flat piece of lawn I began by laying out 2 boards, end to end. I attached the boards with the hinges so that later I could stand up them up to make the legs for an A-frame. I repeated with another 2 boards. Then I placed the 2 sets of legs 6-feet apart and connected them with cross pieces on what would become the inside of the A-frame. Using a cordless drill, I attached them with 1-inch screws 18 inches from the bottom of the legs of the A-frame and 18 inches from the top.
I set up the A-frame in the garden bed and attached plastic netting I had bought for the job. The netting is 78 inches wide, and has openings 6 inches by 7 inches. To attach the net I used 1-inch screws on the inside of the A-frame; I put the screws in just half way so that the head of the screw could be used to hook the netting on to, pulling it tight. It took a little experimentation to get the spacing right, but worked slick as a bean.
Arbor Trellis
The next trellis was a bit more work. I wanted to build a trellis for gourds that would allow the vines to go up 6 feet or so, then range across cross pieces like a grapes on an arbor, hanging down inside the arbor. I bought 10 pieces of 8-foot long bamboo, each almost an inch and a half in diameter. They make good sturdy poles.
Using a post hole digger I dug 6 holes, each about 16 inches deep. The arbor is a rectangle approximately 6 feet by 3 feet, fitting nicely inside the 4 by 8-ft bed. Each end of the bed had 2 poles about 6 inches from the end and side of the bed, and 2 were place equidistant between the end poles. I held the poles vertical as I added soil back into the hole, checking it for plumb with a small level. I tamped down the soil in the holes with a shovel handle, then mounded the soil up around each pole.
With the 6 pieces in the ground, I added cross pieces (a foot down from the top of the upright poles) on each long side. I attached the bamboo with copper wire I had stripped out of 14-gauge building wire (I was an electrician in an earlier life, and had some in the cellar). I wrapped the wire around the vertical and horizontal pieces and tightened them up with a pair of pliers. Lastly I added 4 cross-pieces on the top to support the vines and allow the gourds to hand down from.
Bean Tripod
I also built a bean tripod. I went into the woods and cut down 6 maple saplings about 2-inches in diameter at the base; I trimmed each to be 8-feet long. I pushed the poles into the soft earth of the garden bed, and, standing on a step ladder, brought them together and tied them near their tops – where all 3 were touching. I used garden twine, but will go back soon and add some copper wire – I fear the string will rot before the end of summer.
Another way to make a bean trellis is to use four 6-foot (or 8-foot) grade stakes. These are 1-inch by 1-inch hardwood stakes. Drill a hole 2 inches from the top of each that is big enough to insert a length of metal coat hanger. Cut a 6-inch straight piece of the coat hanger, insert it though the holes, and bend the ends. Then stand it up and spread the legs – two on each side.
Peas are traditionally trellised using chicken wire and posts. My only suggestion is this: put in a post every 4 to 6 feet. That will keep the wire from sagging and flopping as the vines get heavy. You can’t put up a sturdy trellis that spans 8 feet or more between posts, though I drive by gardens that try to.
So if you’re short of garden space, think about getting your veggies up off the ground. In other words, grow up!
Weather Worries – Not to Worry!
Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 · Leave a Comment
It seems as if the weather is getting more extreme: tornadoes, floods, drought, heat waves, cold spells. What≠s a gardener to do? Well, stop worrying, for starters. Each year the weather is different – and most years we still have nice flowers, and eventually have the lettuce and tomato for a good sandwich. And unless you≠re a commercial farmer, your life and livelihood will not be too adversely affected, even if the weather is bad. There are a few steps we can take to help our flowers and vegetables along, however.
Planting anything is best done on a cool, cloudy day – or even in a light sprinkle. If we’ve had a few days of rain, it≠s better to wait for the soil to dry out a little before planting. Rototilling wet soil is definitely a no-no, and walking on wet soil can compact it, ruining soil structure.
Adding compost, or aged cow manure, will help any soil. If you have sandy soil, it will act as a sponge to hold moisture from percolating right through. If you have a clay soil, it will improve drainage and make the soil lighter and fluffier – and more receptive to roots. Avoid fresh cow or horse manure as it will introduce grass and weed seeds to your soil – those animals don’t digest all the seeds.
tomatoes
I planted my tomatoes on a warm dry day in early June, and we almost immediately got hit by a spell of days in the 90’s. I had grown these babies from seed, and hardened them off outside, but a big, leafy tomato can lose a lot of water in the hot sun when it’s 94. So I created some shade for my tomatoes by draping row cover over the tomato cages. It helped.
Row cover is a spun synthetic fabric that is used to keep insects off plants while allowing water vapor and sunshine to pass through. It also can keep a plant a few degrees warmer early or late in the season if draped right over it. Row cover comes in various weights, and I had some of the heaviest type. It did a good job of shading my plants when placed the cages (and kept in place with clothes pins). I also kept the soil well watered during the heat wave.
A few words about watering: I don’t like overhead sprinklers. Yes, they are easy to turn on and let the machine do the work. But they get the leaves of your plants wet, and that can encourage fungal diseases. Most fungi send out hyphae (root-like appendages) that pierce the leaf, allowing the fungus to infect the plant. Many need a moist leaf surface to do that. Watering in the evening with an overhead sprinkler moistens the leaves and makes them more susceptible.
Watering Wand
I like watering with a watering wand. This is a nice 30-inch long metal handle with a watering rose on one end and a shut-off on the other. The brand I like best is Dramm. It sends out a nice gentle spray, even with the water pressure up fairly high. I find the less expensive watering devices send sharp sprays, which can damage the plants or wash away the soil. I like the watering wand because I can deliver water to the root zone while letting the tops stay dry.
Newly planted trees and shrubs need to be watered weekly, or even more often if the soil is sandy and temperatures are high. The most common cause of first-year death of trees is dehydration. But don≠t just give your new tree a quick squirt. Time how long it takes for your hose to deliver 5 gallons of water into a bucket, and then make sure to spray long enough to deliver 5 gallons – in a nice wide circle around the tree. Watering the rootball is not enough √ dry soil nearby will wick the water away, leaving the rootball dry in no time.
Many gardeners put down bark mulch in established perennial beds. This keeps down the weeds and holds in moisture. But if you add more mulch each year to pretty-up the beds, you can develop a layer of bark that is almost impermeable to rain. I find an inch to an inch-and-a-half of mulch is adequate. And I try to leave a little donut hole around the plant so that quick showers can deliver some water to the roots.
Recently I examined some maples that were dying in a parking lot √ the top half of one was completely leafless, the others also showed some leaf loss. These trees were suffering from bark rot due to ≥mulch volcanoes≈. Each had at least 6 inches of bark mulch right up against the trunk. I predict that all will be dead from bark rot within 2-3 years. And all will struggle getting any moisture. So be judicious in applying your mulch.
If we have another week of rainy weather, your vegetables like tomatoes may show yellowing leaves – a sign of stress. This occurs because normally plants pull up nitrogen and other minerals from the soil with water that is used to replace water lost to transpiration on sunny days – but not in rainy spells. The solution: spray liquid fish fertilizer onto the leaves. The leaves will absorb the nitrogen and green up.
So don’t worry, be happy. No matter what the weather, your garden will (eventually) be just fine.
Wildflowers That Are Not So Wild
Posted on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Every time I travel to a far-off place I am intrigued to see what is growing in a different climate – and what I might learn about plants that I grow here that also grow under different conditions. I recently had a fabulous hike down the Rogue River Canyon of Oregon in prime wildflower season. The trip was organized and supported by Rogue Wilderness Adventures (www. wildrogue.com or 800-336-1647). Although we hiked most of the way – some 40 miles in 4 days – the trip was supported by rafts that carried our stuff (or us, if we got tired). That meant I could hike with just a day pack – and not worry about the weight of wildflower books.
coral bells (Heuchera spp.)
So what did I see? For starters, coral bells (Heuchera spp.).Coral bells are commonly sold in garden centers in the standard green-leafed form as well as lime green, orange, purple and variegated-leaf varieties. The plants generally have very thin flower stalks that stand up well above the leaves and terminate in small but handsome bell-shaped blossoms. I grow a number of varieties including a purple-leafed one that I think is called ‘Persian Carpet≠ (those pesky tags are routinely stolen by the garden gnomes). I grow Persian Carpet≠ in light shade in soil that is rich in compost – in full sun the color of the leaves tends to bleach out. I grow the standard green-leafed variety in full sun with rich, moist soil. It has orange-pink blossoms that look lovely in a vase.
Coral bells were growing in both sun and shade along the Rogue River, including some growing right out of the rock in walls that face the afternoon sun. Generally there was a little seepage at this time of year, and moss was present that also held a little water. Still, these plants (which I identified as Heuchera micrantha) are growing in a much tougher environment than those in my garden. Winters, however, are much milder out there – just a few days below freezing.
I was not surprised to see sedum growing on the rocks out there. Sedums of all sorts are used as rock garden plants here, including my favorite, Sedum rupestre “Angelina”. Angelina has chartreuse foliage, but no flowers; it≠s an excellent groundcover. The sedum (sometimes called stonecrop) I saw out there was Sedum spathufolium which had grey to green leaves, and bright yellow flowers on 3-5 inch stems. As with sedums here, this one is very drought tolerant, sometimes growing right on rocks with no apparent soil.
Iris innominata
Iris tenax
I was surprised to see iris growing in deep shade along the Rogue River and blossoming profusely. Many sun-lovers, (and I consider iris to be a sun-loving plant) will grow and survive in shade, but bloom minimally. Not so with the iris I saw there. I identified 2 species of shade-loving iris: Iris innominata and Iris tenax. I did a Google search and found GrowsonYou, a website in the United Kingdom (http://www.growsonyou.com) that sells both species of iris. They do not offer our zone hardiness ratings, however, so they may not be viable here. This winter, when I have more time to do a more thorough Web search, I may be able to buy seeds and start my own plants, which is better than getting plants from overseas.
California poppies
I grow California poppies here from seed, and saw plenty of them in grassy, sunny meadows there. The California poppy is a very bright yellow annual poppy. I don≠t find them re-seeding for me, or not very often. Like annual poppies, they start easily from seed.
larkspur
Another annual flower that I saw there and grow here is larkspur. It is the annual form of delphinium, a perennial that many gardeners grow. Larkspur is readily available in 6-packs from garden centers, or you can start your own. I have learned not to try starting larkspur indoors in early spring, as it needs cold soil to germinate. If you want to grow it from seed, it is best to start it outdoors in the early spring. The blue of the larkspur in Oregon was truly wonderful: a bright, bold, medium to dark blue. I was surprised to see it growing in both sun and shady locations.
Wild columbine is common along the Rogue. Columbine comes in several colors, though there it is just the red columbine (Aquilegia formosa). Here I have a deep purple that is almost black, and hybrids in blues, pinks and light colors. Columbines in the wild here I see mostly growing on rocky outcroppings. It is a short-lived perennial that is easily started from seed – and often sows seeds itself. I find my columbine sends “volunteers” where I didn’t plant them.
The last of my flowers that I saw there was a lesser known perennial known as umbrella plant (Darmera peltata). It was growing right on the banks of the river, and in the river where the water was high. I planted an umbrella plant in 2009 in memory of my late sister, Ruth Anne, right next to my stream. In 2010 it limped along, but this spring it bloomed beautifully: pink flowers on tall stems that appeared before foliage in early May. And this year the foliage is big and luxuriant.
So if you travel, look to see where plants grow in their native habitats. It may help you understand that we sometimes pamper our plants too much, and they can do fine on their own.
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.
Click Here to buy from Cobrahead