Growing the Garden

Growing the Garden http://www.growingthegarden.com/ A blog about gardening, focusing on urban gardening en Copyright 2012 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:23:19 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Seedling Care http://groworganic.com/organic-gardening/videos/seedling-care]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/04/seedling_care.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/04/seedling_care.html Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:23:19 -0800 What Fruits Are In Season

What Fruits and Veggies Are In Season? Courtesy of WEBstaurant Restaurant Supplies ]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/03/what_fruits_are_in_season.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/03/what_fruits_are_in_season.html Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:40:18 -0800 30,000 year old seeds viable http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/20/MNKU1NA41R.DTL&tsp=1 Not sure about mammoths though.]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/02/30000_year_old_seeds_viable.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/02/30000_year_old_seeds_viable.html Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:14:49 -0800 Farms Need Winter Why farms want cold winters | Grist,

First, the deep, killing, subfreezing cold of winter typically eliminated many damaging insects and pathogens. ... Beyond killing the baddies, proper cold serves another important purpose: For perennial crops, shorter days and sustained low temperatures bring a cycle of dormancy, a deep, almost anesthetized sleep, during which growth is temporarily halted.

Go read... ]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/02/farms_need_winter.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2012/02/farms_need_winter.html Environment Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:43:30 -0800 Throw Away Xmas, Throw Away Society I was driving out of my house on the morning of Dec 26th, and I saw this miserable looking tableau staring me in the face. A poor tree all alone in the midst of a pile of rubbish. So why does this upset me so much? I think because of all the hoopla leading up to the special day, which over sentimentalizes the large eyes of the children in their holiday wonder looking up at the fairy on the beautifully decorated and flocked tree. The waiting for the wonderful time of the "Holidays" as they are called. The anticipation of all that is good and generous and right with the world. And then....the very next day, not even a week, or even two days, the whole thing is thrown outside and all the wonder is immediately gone again until the next year when the Christmas machine starts up again. It is a symbol of our throw away society where certain coffee chain workers have to toil all through the night after Thanksgiving, so that the store can turn from "orange" to "red". Then once again we go from "red" straight into "pink" for Valentine's Day. BTW I have already seen some Valentine's Day advertizing and it is only the 29th of December. Yes it is a statement once more on our shallow meaningless ideals, where we are all "kindness to humankind" on one day and then the next it's off to another subject. Forget the homeless, forget the disenfranchised, ooh look, pink and shiny! Below another sad statement on the throw away Xmas. A holiday tree in the back of the trash truck.

Why can't we just be with things for a while? Why can't we think about what we can do to help mankind instead of flitting off to the next thing. You can't help mankind in 5 minutes once a year. End of rant.]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/12/throw_away_xmas_throw_away_soc.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/12/throw_away_xmas_throw_away_soc.html Environment Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:12:53 -0800 Holiday Card From The Johnsons

Our little white dog Paddington does a "ballet" with his back legs, and this card shows him doing a holiday Nutcracker ballet. Here is last year's.]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/12/holiday_card_from_the_johnsons.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/12/holiday_card_from_the_johnsons.html Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:30:51 -0800 Tomato Tasting Event in Redwood City, CA Below a picture of the "staging" area. Contestants dropped off their entries and moved on into the "gathering area". No peeking allowed!

Once all the contestants had arrived, off-loaded their entries and moved on, the gracious hostess did her magic. She cut up the tomatoes and carefully listed each entry on a sheet with a letter attached to each entry so they became anonymous. She then laid them out onto the "tasting" table each with a letter displayed. The tasters had to taste each entry and vote on which variety they preferred by writing the letter down on a small piece of paper. Below is the Tasting Table.

It soon became evident that the cherry tomatoes needed a class of their own! They were so much stronger in flavor than the regulars that they were overpowering. So a quick change of voting rules occurred! The tension could be felt in the room. Who's entry was going to win??? Below - the list of hopeful contestants. Who will win?

List of entries - regular category: Early Girl (several) Brandywine St Pierre Beafsteak Early Challenge (Couple of "unknowns") List of entries - Cherry category: Sun Gold (two entries) Black Cherry Sunella And the winners were....drum roll.... SUN GOLD - Cherry - 1st Place EARLY GIRL - Regular - 2nd Place SUN GOLD - Cherry - 3rd Place SUNELLA - Cherry - 4th Place Below - the happy winners. Our happy 1st/4th winner seems unbeatable. He keeps on winning year after year! Challenge anyone?

...and then we all had dinner - tomato soup (delicious), garlic bread and a salad with tomatoes in it of course! It was a really fun and friendly event and everyone enjoyed it whether losers or winners, we all won by being there and enjoying the fun! ]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/09/tomato_tasting_event_in_redwoo.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/09/tomato_tasting_event_in_redwoo.html Events Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:50:35 -0800 Exactly Right-On Article About Gardening http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/08/1004662/-I-Planted-a-Recession-Garden-for-the-Veggies,-it-Fed-my-Soul-Instead?via=siderec]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/exactly_righton_article_about.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/exactly_righton_article_about.html Gardening Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:38:12 -0800 Paving Paradise Again? http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/20/BA431JJ13U.DTL ]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/paving_paradise_again.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/paving_paradise_again.html Blogging Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:12:11 -0800 Response to Poop and Compost Blog Post Me: There is never enough compost generated by my 2 person family compared to the amount I need year round to make my veggie garden thrive. Ann: After grinding shrubs and tree branches in our small chipper/shredder, using kitchen scraps sans meat/dairy, using continual clippings and spent plants/flowers, our household of two has enough compost year round. I believe the chipper/shredder is a true garden helper. Me: Unless there have been peas or beans in the plot, or loads of grass clippings in the compost, there is not enough nitrogen in the soil to give good yields of veggies. Ann: Our lawn is gone and compost crops (fava, vetch, etc.) proved too much work when springtime arrived. They were too lush to run through the chipper/shredder and hand chopping took forever. By grinding green leaves with their tree/shrub branches, more nitrogen goes into the compost pile. Beware, your compost pile will be steaming hot? If more nitrogen is needed in your planting area, try alfalfa meal. Me: Other gardeners in the area who use fertilizer are getting better yields than my garden, especially corn – the great nitrogen/water eater. My corn was pathetic this year. Ann: Packaged fertilizers contain salts, and fresh manure has salt byproducts from animals. Just not good for the soil. "Fertilizers are forms of salts and therefore contribute to the total soluble salt content of the growing medium. Depending on the inherent salt content of the irrigation water used, fertility levels must be adjusted to avoid salt accumulations." Yes, fertilizers seem to be a great boost to your plants, but they don't feed the soil and eventually your soil will suffer, and so will plant production in the future. Me: Thanks for pointing that out Ann - I would, BTW, never use fertilizers! But I did not mention that. Me: I do know that plants thrive on food, water and correct amounts of sunlight. I have been getting the water and sunlight angle correct but have failed somewhat on the food. My plants need more nitrogen – which brings us back to the title of this post, which is Poop. They need more poop. As I am not going to be keeping chickens anytime soon, this means that I will have to buy bags of poop – chicken or steer – drag it home and spread it thickly on the garden areas in need. I’m not sure whether this falls under the category of organic or not – as I will not know completely the origin of said poop – or what the animals were fed. But it has to be done and I do declare this the Year of the Poop. Ann: Chickens were an appealing thought in terms of eggs and fertilizer, but the more research I did and homes I visited, I changed my mind. I don't have the time to take care of more pets, it's costly to feed and house them, and my backyard is way too small to be a humane chicken keeper. Each fall I gather about 8-10 bags of dry leaves from our deciduous tree in the front yard, and evergreen tree in the backyard. I used to go on neighborhood gathering sprees before our trees matured. In the fall I mulch the vegetable plots and all other bare growing areas using about four bags of leaves. In the spring the leaves are removed and placed in the compost pile. The last four bags of dry leaves are distributed to mulch areas to protect them from the summer sun. Paths, strawberry beds, and hardy plants are mulched with chipped wood to nourish and protect the soil. I'm no garden expert by any means, just learning as I plod along in the backyard. Me: And there you have it! A good way to bridge the nitrogen gap that works for Ann. Thanks for contributing Ann!]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/response_to_poop_and_compost_b.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/08/response_to_poop_and_compost_b.html Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:16:44 -0800 Gardening in England Below is a photo of a house in the small village of Donnington, Lincs, who went all out with flower festooning! I love it.

Same village, surrounding a statue of Matthew Flinders who lived in Donnington in the 18th century sometime and who was supposed to have "discovered" Australia - although I imagine there were some native Australians who may have some fault with that statement! It just shows how any opportunity to brighten up a small available area with flowers is taken.

I discovered many allotments full of plots of vegetables around England - way more than I have ever discovered in USA. Here is one large community allotment where different people come to garden. Check out the red runner beans. I saw these favorite beans of the English in many gardens

I saw many private backyard gardens from the top of buses, but the one below I was just walking along a small country lane and there it was. A lot of the backyard vegetable patches are very close to ornamental flower beds, so one part of the yard is saved for the veggies and in this way is integrated into the whole look of the yard.

As a whole I think that the British are just more into gardening than in the US - whether it is ornamental or culinary and they do both with taste and a flare for attractive arrangements. ]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/07/gardening_in_england.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/07/gardening_in_england.html Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:19:24 -0800 Weird Weather A Gardner's Dilemma June is here in the Bay Area of California. Thoughts of blue skies and sunny warmth come to mind with all the summer veggies springing forth with abundance and promise. Well only in the mind it seems. Last year we had a "cold" summer. Summer plantings did OK, but not great. The yields were most definitely down compared to other years. It wasn't exactly cold compared to winter but there was a distinct lack of sunny days and night time temps were lower than is usual for the time of year and the area. Which brings me to the point of "what now is to be expected?" This year is now promising to be the same as last. Had I known that it was going to remain chilly all the way into June then I could have planted more cool weather crops to munch on - but I went with what it is 'supposed' to be around here at this time of year and let the peas, beets, kale and broccoli run out while planting tomatoes etc. I have yet to plant out an eggplant as it seems too cold. Same with cukes. I have baby cukes in waiting - but it just doesn't seem right to put them out in cloudy days with night temps sometimes in the 40s. I did however plant out a lot of kohlrabi - which are having the time of their life out there in the yard in the cool climate. This is the second year of weird weather patterns, and if I was a farmer I would be in deep doo doo - and not just from the horse manure. If you cannot depend on a weather pattern being similar each year then it is hard to know what to plant. I want to eat from the garden but right now it is pretty slim pickings. Apparently England is having a sizzling spring and the Mid West is being blown away with tornadoes and such - so it seems we really do have changing weather patterns. I decided today that next year I will plan on having an extended spring and see what happens. If I sew a second planting of cool weather crops along with the summer crop at least I will be prepared and have something to eat if it's cool, and if day temps go into the 80s or 90s and the kale bolts or wilts then I will be covered. Is this a new weather 'pattern' or just a couple of odd years? The jury is still out on that one. http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/06/weird_weather_a_gardners_dilem.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/06/weird_weather_a_gardners_dilem.html Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:31:11 -0800 More On Poo http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/20/HOBS1HLCK9.DTL&ao=all Recently I found a good source of horse poop at some stables next to a park nearby and am very excited at the possibility of a lusher more productive garden this year. I had already bought some chicken manure in bags from Home Depot and spread it around not only on some veggie beds but also ornamental areas. The lettuce patch already looks better. The horse poo was happily mixed in with some straw, making a more well rounded compost. I added some to my two compost bins as neither of them are ready to use yet. And I also dug a bunch into an empty bed that is waiting for summer crops. The poo mix was too 'hot' to use on plants immediately. It was pretty easy to gather too. I just shoveled it into garbage bags - helped by a friend who held the bags open - which was very useful. Only a gardener would be this happy about getting poo! we are a weird lot.]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/02/more_on_poo.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/02/more_on_poo.html Gardening Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:37:49 -0800 Urban Farming Movement Discussion Commonwealth Club podcast of a panel discussion on The Urban Farming Movement The Podcast is available here, scroll to #81, 5/20/2010. You can get the audio in Real Audio format here. Here is the description:

The Urban Farming Movement Jason Mark, Co-manager, Alemany Farm; Editor-in-Chief, Earth Island Journal Novella Carpenter, Founder, Ghost Town Farm; Author, Farm City Christopher Burley, Founder, Hayes Valley Farm David Gavrich, Founder, City Grazing Sarah Rich, Writer; Editor; Co-founder, The Foodprint Project; Co-author, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Moderator Enterprising city dwellers are bursting from their pre-packaged lives and taking back their choices for consumption. Urban farms foster community and healthy eating beneath towering city blocks, where fast and easy often supersede fresh and home-grown. Like SF’s own Alemany Farm and Hayes Valley Farm, these urban crop spaces allow neighbors to trade their Swingline staplers for pitchforks and break new ground. Fresh, organic veggies are grown and sold, and the locavore food economy is epitomized. What’s the appeal of throwing away the chain grocery store for the neighborhood till? Come hear from local leaders of the movement like Novella Carpenter, founder of Oakland’s Ghost Town Farm, and trailblazing San Franciscans Jason Mark, of Alemany Farm, Christopher Burley, founder of Hayes Valley Farm, and David Gavrich, "goat whisperer" and founder of City Grazing. They’ll discuss the urban farming movement's place in the world of organic, local-grown culture, and how they’re bringing the farm to the city - goats included! This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on May 12, 2010

]]> http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/02/urban_farming_movement_discuss.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/02/urban_farming_movement_discuss.html Urban Gardening Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:23:17 -0800 Year of the Poop A strange title? Not so much if you are an organic gardener. Having just read an article about keeping chickens in the backyard it made clear some thoughts about gardening that have been swimming around my toilet bowl of a head recently. 1. There is never enough compost generated by my 2 person family compared to the amount I need year round to make my veggie garden thrive. 2. Unless there have been peas or beans in the plot, or loads of grass clippings in the compost, there is not enough nitrogen in the soil to give good yields of veggies. 3. Other gardeners in the area who use fertilizer are getting better yields than my garden, especially corn – the great nitrogen/water eater. My corn was pathetic this year. I do know that plants thrive on food, water and correct amounts of sunlight. I have been getting the water and sunlight angle correct but have failed somewhat on the food. My plants need more nitrogen – which brings us back to the title of this post, which is Poop. They need more poop. As I am not going to be keeping chickens anytime soon, this means that I will have to buy bags of poop – chicken or steer – drag it home and spread it thickly on the garden areas in need. I’m not sure whether this falls under the category of organic or not – as I will not know completely the origin of said poop – or what the animals were fed. But it has to be done and I do declare this the Year of the Poop. Not sure where I will get the extra organic compost from so I will get back to you on that! We’ll see if there is a marked improvement on yields in 2011. http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/01/year_of_the_poop.html http://www.growingthegarden.com/2011/01/year_of_the_poop.html Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:12:39 -0800