How Does Your Garden Grow?

I love that the computer I do my writing on is sitting next to a window that overlooks mountains, with only a few houses to break up the landscape. There are advantages to living out in the middle of nowhere, mostly that I am not crowded by people, that I don't know. However, there are drawbacks, I am sitting here, on a bright sunny day and it's barely 60 degrees outside, and we had our first frost already. This presents me with a pretty large problem, we have a very short growing season, and I don't have a greenhouse...

So I am sitting here, sipping tea, and researching seeds. My goal is to grow predominantly organic heirloom seeds, because I have read enough about GMOs to know that I am not interested in letting those near me. Looking at the calendar, I am going to have to start seeds indoors, and even still, we had our last frost at the end of May, so realistically I have two months that I can rely on to stay in a decent temperature range to not kill my plants. One of my absolute favorite sites for seed on the internet is Heirloom Seeds. Not only do they have a ton of seeds to choose from, but they also offer premade packages that are pretty awesome. While I will admit that some of the complete garden packages may seem pricey, what you're getting out of it justifies the price.

So I have a list of seeds that I will be ordering from this site, and I figured I would share. I specifically selected items with a short growing season, and tried to get as many varieties of vegetables as possible. The only thing I am going to have to find from somewhere else are sweet potatoes.

The items with an asterix are available as certified organic seeds as well, and the number in parenthesis is the average days to maturity.

Tomatoes: Stupice* (55), Sub-Artic Plenty (40-60)
Pole Beans: Ideal Market (68), Sunset Runner (60)
Cucumber: Double Yield* (55-60)
Spinach: Giant Winter* (50)
Pumpkins: New England Pie* (105) [I love cooking with pumpkins, so I will make a sacrifice to ensure I have some for consumption.]
Squash: Spaghetti* (100), Black Zucchini (45)
Sweet Peppers: Rainbow Bell (68-80)
Hot Peppers: Jalapeno (70)
Beets: Ruby Queen* (52)
Carrots: Nantes Scarlet* (70)
Onions: Crimson Forest (60)
Turnips: Purple Top White Globe (55)
Sunflowers: Large Grey

I also think that I am going to opt to get some of their wildflower mixes, because it is always a good idea to have a ton of flowers around to keep those pollinators close by! They have a beneficial insect mix, hummingbird/butterfly mix and a honeybee mix that I will most likely be using on the sloped part of my lawn that isn't suitable for really much else other than flowers.

Violas

When I first looked at my backyard and started trying to determine what to plant and where I was absolutely ecstatic to see two flowerbeds right next to the garage. They are raised and one is a perfect size for kitchen herbs, while the other, was long and narrow. However, when I really put thought into it I realized the long narrow bed does not get much sun at all, and to top it all off, the dirt filling it is rather poor, it's sandy and it's rocky. We don't have normal sand here either, we have sand from the mines, so it's black, due to the ore content. It's pretty difficult to deal with in a gardening setting, and really, it makes me nervous as hell to begin converting the backyard into a productive food garden because I can't help but to think about the amount of money good dirt is going to cost me and I get dizzy. But that's beside the point at the moment, the point of this post is, what do I put in a flowerbed, that is pretty much rocks and sand?

So looking at the dirt in the flower beds left me sort of pessimistic, but when I did a little research and really thought about it, I realized violas were the answer. First of all, these guys are perennials, so I am not going to have to replant this bed every year (which, is a HUGE bonus cause I would like to be able to focus on my vegetable garden next spring). They also come in a huge variety of colors, which is appealing visually to me and to pollinating insects which are always handy to have around. Finally, and most importantly, they can grow practically anywhere, and I mean anywhere. You don't have to look to hard to find pictures of them growing in sidewalk cracks, and even on walls!

Just look at that little plant! It's barely got any soil in that hole in the wall, and it is THRIVING! Amazing! Of course, these guys would be totally fine in my little flower bed, which really, has little more to offer than a crack in a sidewalk. (The image to the left was on The Pothole Gardener specifically in a post concerning living walls). So I went to one of the local green houses and selected a few different colors that I liked and started planting, the picture at the top right of this post shows what I started with back in May.

So now it is the beginning of September, leaves are changing around here, nights are getting chilly, and I am breaking out my favorite sweaters. I love sweater weather. My violas are just thriving, and I will have to admit that there has been so much going on here the past few months that I have barely paid these guys any attention. I did scatter some egg shells amidst them to deter the slugs (crushed egg shells are not only good for the soil but they are like walking on broken glass for a slug).

But really these guys have been on their own this summer, and they are doing fantastic, they have bloomed continually, and have dropped a ton of seeds, which the birds have enjoyed eating. I couldn't be more pleased, they really earn their reputation for being eager growers. I think that I will make some candied flowers before their growing season ends. It's just a matter of dipping them in egg whites and then dipping them in sugar. Super simple, and an elegant to top off a cupcake.

Hips Don't Lie (a little more about rose hips)

So, I felt the need to add on to the previous post concerning rose hips. I wanted to sort of fill in some blanks that I may have left without intending to do so.

First of all, I just want to say every rose produces hips, and all rose hips are safe to eat (just make sure that the plant you are getting them off of is a rose! Also be cautious of the use of pesticides!). The hip is the fruit of the plant, and while all roses produce hips some roses will have tastier hips than others. Yes, not all hips are super tasty, they are all a great source of vitamin C, but some species of rose have better tasting hips than others. Further research into this matter shows that the dog rose (rosa canina) has the tastiest hips of all of the rose species. This wild rose is a climber, and can be trained into a shrub. It produces bright red hips that are typically oblong in shape. Unless it has something to climb on this plant will typically only grow to be about 3 feet tall (1 meter), but if it has something to climb on it can reach heights of 15 feet (5m)!

When harvesting rose hips it's said to wait four months after they have formed (oops!) before gathering them. At this point you can either solely collect the seeds or you can also prep the fruit for making jelly, wine, or whatever else your little heart desires to make with the hips. Just a word of caution, the little hairs on the inside of the fruit need to be removed before cooking the fruit, and the little hairs are sometimes used to make itching powder, so be a little careful when cleaning the fruit. If you want to harvest the seeds out of them soak the seeds overnight, discard the ones that float to the top because these seeds are not ready and will most likely not germinate if you plant them. Now you're ready to plant those little guys and see what comes up!

Roses have hips? (a.k.a. catch-up post)

So yeah, just a catch up post, sharing some things I learned about plants that are growing in my part of New York State, and all the fun things I learned while researching them. I really have my son to thank for this, as his constant questions keep me interested in the natural world while we hang out outside.

So the first plant we came across was this vine with this spiky looking fruit on it. Which, I immediately poked to see if the spines were sharp. Yes, I learned absolutely nothing from the various cacti I have stuck myself with. Well, the spines on it aren't sharp they are soft, and so is the fruit, I wouldn't let the kiddo touch it until I knew what it was so I went inside and did some research. Turns out this highly prolific plant (because it is EVERYWHERE in the back yard) is a wild cucumber, but also goes by manroot, and old man in the earth. It's not harmful to touch, but can be poisonous to ingest, and the plant derives it's name from the large tuber that spawns the vines. Evidently the tuber can be several feet long and weigh up to 100lbs in larger plants. The tuber also has soap-like properties and the fruits can act as loofahs when they are dried and the spikes removed.. So this plant is like the ultimate bathroom buddy. Well I am glad to finally know what this plant is, but I am concerned about trying to find this tuber and unearthing it, if the amount of vines in the yard are any indication, this thing is going to be like digging up a body.

I talked to my son about how various plants release seeds, and we looked at the way various plants spread, since we also have burdock in the yard we talked about how some plants rely on animals to get from place to place. Then, came the fun part of the evening, I showed him the "spotted touch-me-not" that is thriving in the perimeter of the yard. These plants are actually a lot of fun because when their

seed pods are ready to disperse their seeds if you touch them they spring open and fling seeds in every direction. I myself spent the better part of half an hour poking seed pods when I read this online after identifying the plants about two weeks ago. So we had more fun last night as I hunted down the seed pods that were ready to pop and the kiddo touched them and then laughed as the seeds flew everywhere. Part of me cringes to think of the crazy amount of seeds we threw everywhere, and hence this nice border plant is going to be everywhere very shortly. It is a weed, but it's kind of pretty, and the flowers are very unique. It's not poisonous, but really has no use, although supposedly it does help to neutralize poison ivy oil when you get it on your skin. This isn't something I am willing to test out, nor can I really test out since I don't react to poison ivy. But if you do run into some poison ivy and use some of these crushed up leaves and it works, let me know.

Well, the whole reason that I wanted to take this tour of the yard was to harvest some of the rose hips that we have on the multitude of rose bushes that are thriving in the yard. I always thought these things were finicky and hard to grow, but I may have to change that opinion since they are taking over the parts of the yard they have been planted in. I wanted to be sure to harvest the hips off of the bushes that are sporting the most colorful fruit and also happen to be turning this lovely purple color. Another thing about living in the mountains, it feels like fall, and some of the leaves are already changing. So the current plan is to sheet mulch the strip of lawn on the south side of the house, which is really nothing more than a pain in the butt to mow, and replace the grass with rose bushes. I want something there that I don't need to mow. This is part of the process of getting rid of as much lawn as possible and start using that space to produce food. I want enough roses in my yard to produce some rose hip jelly next year, this is the ultimate goal, and I am going to start these seeds indoors next spring and transplant them outside. So why put so much effort into growing roses if all I really want from them are the rose hips? Good question!

Rose hips are not only tasty and used to make jelly, tea, and marmalade, but they also have some great medicinal properties. They are really high in vitamin C (higher than citrus fruits), which for those of us around here looking to eat local is incredibly important because we can't even grow citrus fruits. Without vitamin C you get scurvy, which while talking like a pirate is fun, scurvy is not. Since my ultimate goal is to eat solely local foods, this was a revelation, living in an area with a limited growing season and trying to ensure you don't get certain diet deficiencies is pretty challenging. Aside from their vitamin content, they also have lycopene which is great for prostate health. Rosehips have anti-inflammatory properties, which can be great for those of you who have arthritic joints. I read online that they are sometimes combined with hibiscus leaves to make a tea (hibiscus leaf tea is a wonderful way to lower blood pressure naturally).

I know that it's going to be a challenge growing roses from seeds and I am going to cut open the hips now and soak the seeds overnight to see if some of the ones I picked yesterday will germinate. Wish me luck, I am doing some experimental stuff here.

Sheet Mulching

This is one technique that I recently learned about and just absolutely fell in love with! Mostly because (in my opinion) the biggest deterrent to starting a garden is the idea of ripping up the sod, and tilling. The process is so labor intensive and then you have to figure out a place to put all of that plant matter you have removed from the ground. If you feel the same, then you're probably going to just love this idea. Next time you plan on starting a garden, don't rip up grass, and don't worry about raking up and removing the plant matter from the plot you've cleared, simply layer over it! Yes, that's right, plan on just going right over it!

I know it seems pretty crazy, everything we learn about planting a garden seems to tell us to rip out those weeds and get them as far away from the plants you want as possible. However, one of the biggest points of permaculture farming/gardening is that you want to do everything you can to encourage proper soil health. Healthy soil is living soil, it is full of decaying plant matter that encourages worms to be present, and it should smell like the dirt on a forest floor. Personally, I love the smell of dirt on a mountain trail, just something about it makes you feel so grounded (ha! I crack myself up).

So how do you do it? It's not completely labor free, but honestly compared to the alternative it's like the difference between running through a waist deep field of grass, or through waist deep water. Here's a basic how-to:

1. Look at the area you want to plant, and decide what kind of soil you want out of it (basically if you need acidic soil, add some acidic plant matter, like pine needles etc). Determine what you need to add to the base layer, and mark out the area you will be turning into your garden.

2. Mow/Cut/Knock over the plants. You want everything laying flat, but you also want to remove the large pieces of plant matter (branches, thick stems). Basically if you can't step on it and have it lay flat for a bit after then get rid of it.

3. Put your initial layer of compost/mulch down, and soak it with water.

4. If you have any trees or shrubs to plant, do so now, but be careful to not pile up compost/plant matter too closely to them as you prepare the rest of the layers.

5. Place your layer that will act as a weed barrier. You can use anything biodegradable here, but the most common choices are newspaper/cardboard. You will need about 3-6 layers of newspaper, and you need it to be a nice even cover, with the edges overlapping quite a bit, the point here is to prevent weeds from popping through. After you have that placed, do yourself a favor and wet it down a little to keep it from flying away as you complete the next couple of phases.

6. Layer mulch/compost on top of the weed barrier. Basically this layer mimics the way a forest floor works, you have plant matter and dirt layered to help break down everything below it by encouraging beneficial insects to be present. So aside from compost you can layer in wood chips, dead leaves, straw. Basically put the compost down first and then the plant matter on top of it, your goal is at least a 2 inch top layer.

You can plant seedlings in the mulch/compost layer, or more well established plants can get planted right below the weed barrier by poking a hole right through it for the plant. This is also something you can pretty much do for free if you plan it just right. Personally, this fall as I rake leaves I am going to get some cardboard/newspaper from the bins at the dump and harvest some local dirt to get my garden plot mulching before the snow falls. Doing it this way means that come spring my garden will be all ready for planting and the soil should be enriched by the plant matter that had all fall to decay and turn into compost.

Keyhole Garden

This is something that was just too cool to not share, I happened across it the other day. This is definitely a good weekend project for someone looking to have a garden in their backyard without really wanting to take on something large scale. This type of garden recycles kitchen scraps as it grows food. The video below is a great how-to:

How to Build a Keyhole Garden

I think this would be a wonderful weekend project for some of you who want to bring a garden into your backyard without either ripping up all of your sod, or tilling it. Let me know what you think!