GardensGrow

THE 2012 SQUASH STRATEGY: A Manifesto

Posted on Aug 4, 2011

I wish the bees would chase the squash-bugs away...

Anyway, butternuts and most winter squash are pretty resistant to borers, but only somewhat resistant to squash bugs. So I’m going to use vertical high trellis combined with a bug-unfriendly* ground cover with the irrigation lines run underneath. I’m planning on weed fabric but my friend richard uses sheet of old tin with great results. (*Squash bugs like to hide in mulch, especially straw. Since finding the squash bugs is critical to eliminating them, deep mulch has become a no-no for this crop.)

Oh how me and the bees love squash...but for different reasons!

Squash on cattle-panel trellis (Online photo: Source Unknown)

Book Review: The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden by Ivette Soler

Posted on May 5, 2011

Our first garden book giveaway starts today and it is The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden by Ivette Soler.  (How to win this book is at the end of this post.)

For those who have been snoozing since 2007: Edible is In. Whether it’s food prices, the appalling state of commercial food systems, or some deep instinctive turn toward self-sufficiency skills that we may need soon given the state of the world and the climate, lots of folks are starting to grow their own food. More urban dwellers in particular are venturing into growing edibles and there’s a bunch of new books on the particular challenges of growing food in the city, often in a very small space.

Usually, the next challenge is sunlight. Now why is it that more front yards are in full sun than backyards? Go figure. Since I compulsively assess the garden potential of any neighborhood I happen to be driving through, I can tell you it’s true. Home buyers take note: If you want to garden in your back yard, you are looking for a house with a front door facing North…and no neighbors who love shade trees.  For everyone else, Ivette Soler is going to show you what your front yard could be!

Front yard gardens do face additional challenges beyond the usual soil, critter and plant-based varieties. These may include neighbors, neighborhood associations, and the opinions of your family on having your dinner out there for everyone to see. The usual delight of harvesting your produce may also produce a big blank spot in your yard. What about passing children, dogs, or someone with boundary issues who feels free to harvest when you aren’t home? All this and more is covered quite handily in The Edible Front Yard, published by Timber Press.

Now let me say that many garden books by California authors are not that useful to those of us everywhere else. The plants and garden techniques that work great in the climate-of-paradise-to-most-fruits-and-vegetables are often a no-go if you deal with humidity, abundant/erratic rainfall, particular plant diseases & pests, high/low temp extremes, etc that pretty much the rest of the country faces.  I’m delighted to report that I found many ideas and tips in Soler’s book that are transferrable to most every gardening situation, even my own large, backyard and countryside spread in the Ozark hills.  Actually, the “removing concrete” how-to box rang some bells regarding bed prep on this rocky ground of mine!

I immediately loved the luscious photography and book design. The colors and textures make the book seem nearly edible. Luckily, the content is great too. I was pleased with how many she lists that will also grow in most regions. Soler brought my attention to several plants that I’ve neglected to explore, like passionflower and mints. Passionflowers grow wild in portions of the Ozarks, is beautiful, edible and beneficial to butterflies and I haven’t planted one yet!  This is soon to be remedied. I already fixed the mint shortage at the Fayetteville Farmers Market last weekend…

Soler  is generous with suggested plants and their profiles. I particularly like the ‘how to use’ sections on herbs. Some plants I have for wildlife-gardening reasons but hadn’t really thought of as edible to me—like juniper—were pleasant surprises.  There are also many how-to boxes, handy techniques for hardscaping & hellstrips, advice on dealing with neighbors and neighborhood associations (Really, just show them the pics in this book…), transforming a yard to garden, and maintaining your now productive and edible plot. I think new gardeners will find good advice and more advanced gardeners will find some very clever tips and ideas.

Finally, like Rosalind Creasy and several other edible pioneers, Soler goes a step further in breaking down the myth that edible gardens and beautiful gardens can’t be one and the same.  The photographs are the proof.  Readers of this blog will know I believe if you combine edibles with beauty, add some permaculture ideas, then cross it with generous wildlife & pollinator pantings then you have created one truly LARRAPIN Garden! Soler’s book is going to help more front yards get bountiful. And I like that a lot.

So, wanna win this gorgeous book? First, check out some of the wonderful titles at Timber Press. Then  tell me why you would like to win “The Edible Front Yard” in a comment below or on the Larrapin Garden Facebook Page. (Ok, ok, you can do it via twitter too. Just mention @LarrapinGarden in your tweet so I can find your entry. Follows are great, ‘natch, but not required.)  You can enter once by each method if you want to triple your chances to win this book! I’ll compile the entries then do the random.org-choosy-thing and announce the winner in the blog post next Wed, 5/11/11. Winner will have a week to claim the book or I’ll pick another lucky gardener.

P.S. About Larrapin Garden book reviews & giveaways:  I love to read garden books—particularly on edible landscapes, local food, cooking from the garden, permaculture, homesteading, chickens & backyard barnyards and other organic topics. I welcome titles to review. If I love it, I’ll write about it here on the garden blog. Disclaimer for readers: I receive no compensation for any endorsement I give in the posts on this blog, just so ya know if you read it here then I think it’s fab.

Why Local Food in Fayetteville?

Posted on Mar 16, 2011

I’ve  been getting ready for the Dig In! Filmfest this Saturday. Thought I’d share what I wrote for the program-handout. And if you are in NWA, join us on Saturday! You can find out details at this link. So here goes:

Why Local Food in Fayetteville?

Everyone eats. The goal of this filmfest is to inspire you to choose local and organic foods by showing how much this choice matters and how enjoyable going local can be.

In a nutshell, every dollar we move to local, naturally grown food actively supports:

community connections

local economy and jobs,

cleaner watersheds

protection of birds

bees and wildlife biodiversity

clearer air

food security

food safety

better nutrition and health

better tasting food

time with family and friends

small family farms,

ethically-raised farm animals

living topsoil

sustainability

conservation

fair trade

fair treatment of workers

Shall I go on? Many of these benefits apply to organic food grown non-locally also.

On the other hand, every dollar we spend in the agribusiness/big-box/industrial model actively supports a system responsible for:

1/3 of worldwide manmade carbon emissions

injustice to workers

inhumane treatment of animals

pollution of water, air, soil (and humans) with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides

massive and irresponsible fossil fuel use for transport, fertilizers, and chemicals

widespread deforestation

topsoil erosion

dead zones in oceans

aquifer depletion

enormous monocultures

GMOs

antibiotic resistance

increased obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers etc…. Shall I go on?

To say that moving food dollars to local and organic food is win-win, is a giant understatement. Yet many overlook the powerful and political action that buying local can be. Local food is meaningful action towards sustainability and ethics. And it just so happens to enrich communities, human connections, and happens to be tasty and enjoyable.

Buying from locally-owned, independent businesses has an important ‘multiplier’ effect for a community. For example, research shows one hundred dollars spent at a local independent bookstore will create $45 for the local economy. Spend the same hundred at a chain store and only $13 remains in this community.

One study showed that if Seattle area residents put just 20% of their food budgets into local food, it would inject a billion dollars a year into their economy. In NWA, our 20% could make an impact of well over a hundred-million dollars a year to our economy.

You can come at it from the angle of a foodie, a chef, a social-justice advocate, a mayor, nature lover, chaplain, a child nutrition expert, a survivalist, local jobs enthusiast, environmental activist, a health nut, an economist, a poet, a carbon footprint counter, liberal, conservative, or a community builder, etc. and from every angle, going local makes sense.

Yes, prices for local and organic food are often higher than the artificially low prices at big box stores. Those low prices are subsidized by injustice. Start where you can but don’t feel guilty if you go slow. Let what you love lead you.  Focus in on what you can do.

I invite you to see just how many of your food dollars you can move into the local economy.  Could you commit even 10%  or 20% of the money you already spend to local and organic endeavors?  Remember the multiplier effect, every bit matters. You may find it’s so rewarding that you challenge yourself to see just how local you can go. Prepare for enjoyment. I invite you to experience how empowering, enlivening and delicious digging into home can be.   —Leigh Wilkerson

FILMS TODAY:

10 a.m. Homegrown Revolution (short)

In the midst of densely urban downtown Pasadena, radical change is taking root. For over twenty years, one family has been transforming their home into an urban homestead. They harvest three tons of organic food annually from their 1/10 acre garden, while incorporating back-to-basics practices, solar energy and biodiesel.

10:30 a.m. Fresh

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. http://www.freshthemovie.com/

12 noon The Economics of Happiness

The Economics of Happiness offers not only a big-picture analysis of globalization, but a powerful message of hope for the future. The thinkers and activists we interviewed for the film come from every continent…Their message is unambiguous: in order to respect and revitalize diversity, both cultural and biological, we need to localize economic activity. They argue that a systemic shift – away from globalizing economic activity and towards the local — allows us to reduce our ecological footprint while increasing human well-being. When people start connecting the dots between climate change, global economic instability and their own personal suffering – stress, loneliness, depression – there is the potential for a movement that will truly change the world.

http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/

1:00 pm  Brown-bag lunch discussion. Bring your lunch and join in a discussion of the films and how we can help to develop local food systems.

2:00 p.m. Dirt

DIRT! the Movie–narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis–brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil. http://www.dirtthemovie.org/

4:00 p.m. What’s Organic About Organic?

With charm and humanity… examines how organic farming has evolved from a grassroots movement into a multi-billion dollar international industry. Through the stories of farmers who steward land from Harlem to the foothills of the Rockies, from upstate New York to Florida, the film reveals what’s at stake in creating and maintaining meaningful standards for organic production to protect citizen interests, to heal the environment, and to maintain the livelihoods of family farmers. http://whatsorganicmovie.com/

5:30 p.m. Ingredients

At the focal point of the food  movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local. http://www.ingredientsfilm.com/

7:00 p.m. Homegrown Revolution (repeats)

7:30 p.m. The Economics of Happiness (repeats)

9:00 p.m. What’s Organic About Organic? (repeats)

For location, see www.OzarksAlive.org

Seed Starting!

Posted on Feb 16, 2011

Shelves + Lights = Seed Starting Machine!

On Sunday, February 13th the seed starting bug HIT me. I cleaned the clutter that had accumulated on the seed starting shelf I made last year (funky, but it works great!) and got going! First I wanted to add some protection since the shelf is now living in a semi-heated workshop space and had a roll of silver bubble wrap available. With the heat of the lights and the seed-starting mat, should be warm enough on cold nights. The silver bubble wrap (foil insulation from Lowe’s) also works to reflect the light, which is good.

With reflector-insulation and a plastic drape...

Finished up with a drape of leftover yellow plastic tablecloth. The whole workshop kind of glows screaming lemon now, but Ada the farmdog has shown no ill effects from sharing her sleeping space with this contraption…

Starter trays

That tray on the right is hard to find but really handy. I think I got this one from Johnny’s.  It gives you about twenty narrow “furrows” to start seeds. Once they pop up, I transplant to individual cups. That was I can start a *lot* of varieties in a small space. I have only one small seed-starting mat (like a heating pad for plants) and this fits on top of it. The bottom heat makes things sprout really, really fast but once the cool-weather seedlings are up, they will grow happily with no additional heat other than the lights…

Heat-mat shown on lower shelf...

This pic shows how many trays I can get going on just two lit shelves. The seed-start tray will be on the heat mat (for a few days) then the seedlings will be spread out in individual cups in the regular trays. Each shelf has two sets of lights, so I can line up the trays side to side and get four on a shelf…

Kale at 72 hours!!

The heat mat makes a real difference. Check out the kale that poked up in 48hrs and was as above in 72hrs!

Closer to the lights...

Once the seedlings start to pop up, I remove the mat and use a spare tray to put them all very close to the lights. This is another thing that makes a BIG difference: having the lights only a couple inches above the leaves. Your seedlings will be stocky and dark green this way, rather than pale and spindly. (This is why the lights are on chains to raise/lower when the seedlings are bigger.)

I’ll check back and show the results in a few days!

—A Larrapin Garden  www.larrapin.us
Posts most wednesdays & weekends. Don’t miss any—you can subscribe by Email here.  You can also get bonus links and recipes by “liking” our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/larrapin.garden. Geesh, we’re even on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LarrapinGarden. What seeds are you starting indoors?

Seed Exchanges: Some info to get you started

Posted on Feb 2, 2011

Snow, Snow, More Snow at Larrapin...

It’s the time of year I start to see announcements of community seed exchanges. One is planned for Fayetteville coming up later this month. (See end of post for details.)  There are few things more fun for a gardener to do during winter than to get to explore a new seed stash. Especially when the weather has looked like the photo above  for days and days! (Other than attend DIG IN! Fayetteville’s first food & farming filmfest that is!)

Seed exchanges can range from large scale community free for alls to invitation-only swaps for specialty plant geeks! But there are a few things to keep in mind during seed exchanges—or even when you are shopping seed catalogs—that will greatly increase your chances at success with the seeds you bring home.

You know you can’t save seed from grocery produce, but not everyone understands this.

At a seed exchange, it’s vital to know the person who is sharing the seeds. There are many well-intentioned folks who will save seeds from a particularly good melon or tomato from the store. “But I got it from the co-op…it was organic,” someone once told me. Most produce, even at the crunchiest co-op, are from hybrids unless they are explicitly labeled “heirloom” or similar. This includes much of the produce at farmers’ markets too. Market growers—including totally organic growers—often need the reliability, production and disease resistance that hybrids provide. Even “heirloom” produce from a store is unlikely to produce true to type (i.e. like the parent plant) because if it was grown for produce (vs. seed production) then it’s likely there were open-pollinated varieties nearby and in all likelihood they cross-pollinated! (And thus have created a hybrid, but with unknown attributes…)

Similarly, if you save seed from a great plant you bought as a seedling at most stores, it was likely a hybrid and there’s no point in saving seeds. The exception would be an heirloom (open-pollinated) seedling you bought, then followed plant isolation guidelines to keep the seed pure.

Heirloom and Open-Pollinated seeds may not produce as abundantly or reliably as hybrids.

I’ve seen folks avoid hybrids (usually labeled F1) in the seed catalogs as if they were kryptonite. Right now heirlooms (old-fashioned, open-pollinated varieties from which you can save seed to plant the next year if you follow basic seed-saving rules) are so popular that many folks forget why hybrids were developed in the first place: to accentuate certain aspects of the plant or to overcome weaknesses.

Many of us are returning to heirlooms to capture amazing flavors that, for example, are too delicate to ship. But hybrids are not some scary GMO thing. If you have say, a tomato that is wonderfully tasty but takes many months to bear, a grower might cross it with another tomato that bears early, hoping to combine the two desirable qualities. This is something you can do in your own backyard. We’re not talking crossing that tomato with a…fish, which is the level that GMO manipulation can stoop too.

Hybrids are not bad things, they just don’t produce true to type if you save the seed. So, while that does open them up to economic control such as that hybrid being “owned” by a seed producer (including the truly unsavory types, like Monsanto, who is also hard at work on particularly noxious GMOs) but hybrids are not scary. Sometimes they are very useful for specific purposes. For example, if you are growing a tomato in a northern climate, you may want the earliness some hybrids produce rather than the heirlooms, which tend to require a longer season.

Open-Pollinated Seeds may have cross pollinated and not turn out true to type if they were not isolated for seed production.

It is pretty astounding how much space is required to isolate wind or insect pollinated vegetables, like beets or squash. For beets it’s five miles and for squash it’s a half a mile! So that means, if you are growing one type of squash to save seed, and you are sure there are no other gardens within a half mile that are growing squash, then when you save the seed, they will grow true to type. The other option is an amazing dance between you and the squash that involves taping the flower shut after you’ve hand pollinated it, then monitoring to make sure bees don’t chew through the bloom to undo your work!

So before you use valuable space in your garden to grow out some free seeds you picked up at a seed exchange, find out if the seeds are going to be what you hope by talking to the gardener sharing them! Maybe the seeds were extra from a seed pack they bought. Maybe they carefully save seeds every year using isolation techniques. Maybe those seeds have been in their family for years. Or maybe not. Find out before you spend a season hoping for a cool veggies, only to be disappointed.

How on earth, you may wonder, did our grandparents manage to save seed that grew true year to year? From the older gardeners in my family, they tended to pick one type of bean, or one type of pea, and grow it year after year in the family garden…which used to be a lot farther away from neighboring gardens! But you don’t have to settle for one variety in your isolated valley or holler! Seed saving is an amazing art and skill, one well worth learning. In an upcoming post, I’ll tell you about some seed saving techniques I’ve just recently learned. In the meantime, here are some seed saving links to get you started, here, here and here.

My Seed Stash...

WHAT:  Fayetteville Community Seed Swap
WHEN:  Sunday, February 20, 1:00-4:00pm
WHERE:  Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center, 945 S. College Avenue

—A Larrapin Garden  www.larrapin.us
Posts most wednesdays & weekends. Don’t miss any—you can subscribe by Email here.  You can also get bonus links and recipes by “liking” our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/larrapin.garden. Geesh, we’re even on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LarrapinGarden. Thanks for stopping by. Do you save seeds from your garden?