Garden Coach

Vegetable gardens in back yards haven’t seen such popularity since the Victory Gardens of World War II. The problem created by that 60+-year gap in gardening is a major shortage of people with knowledge and experience.

The relatively few of us who have been gardening for many years find ourselves inundated with questions and e-mails from people needing information on every subject from soil preparation, fertilizers and starting seeds, to getting rid of aphids and rats. Some want more extensive help, from “how to” start a garden to re-building cutely designed, but non-functional, raised beds. None of it is at all complex or difficult, but it does take some learning.

In my observations of people who start gardens for the first time, the foremost problem is simply a lack of confidence. That someone has a “green thumb,” and someone else doesn’t, is silliness. You either want to do it and know you can, or you give up at the first setback. A “green thumb” is nothing but the commitment and desire to have the freshest, best organic food possible for your family. With information and help available on the I-net, answers to every possible problem or question abound. Some of the data is non-sense; some garden gadgets and products don’t work-but make money for the sellers. I’ve been duped more than once myself.

Ten thousand years ago people first began domesticating animals. Since they didn’t have to constantly follow the herds of wild animals, they began staying in one place long enough to also begin growing plants for food. By 5,000 years later, the Greeks had pretty well mastered vegetable growing and were even using raised beds for greater production. The gimmicks and gadgets available today, the powerful deadly pesticides, the “revolutionary” new methods, are really unnecessary. Gardening is simple, easy, and if you have a little understanding, it’s a total joy.

Problem solving is part of the activity. Every once in awhile I encounter a pest or other kind of problem that I’ve never had to deal with. When I do, I have a good idea how to handle it. It always comes right back to the basics of keeping it simple-and organic.

People with no experience at vegetable growing hire me from time to time, either to build gardens for them, to examine their gardens advise them on how to solve a problem, or how to actually get their vegetables plants to produce vegetables.

Not much is more rewarding to me than to help someone produce his or her own organically grown food. It not only helps them, the environment is well served.

Answers for your Questions

(I have at least 100 of these.)
Q. About organic seeds

I get most of my seeds from www.groworganic.com.
More and more retailers are carrying organic seeds, but be sure you see the "Certified Organic" emblem on the package. Man has not genetically modified any that are “certified organic”.
Such certification even precludes hybrid seeds, of which I do use some. They may be organically grown, but as they're a hybrid, they can't be certified as "organic."
One of my favorite things is yellow zucchini. I don't like green, but love the yellow--which is a hybrid.
I also get some seeds from www.totallytomatoes.com, but many of theirs are also hybrids. They do carry a variety of certified organic seeds as well.
I think both companies are extremely ethical.

Q. About legumes
* Alfalfa hay will serve just as well as legumes. I'd use about 1 lb. per sq. ft. of bed surface area. It's hard to dig in, but don't worry about it all being covered. You'll have some stems and strands of it here and there on the surface-no worries. If you can dig in 2 lbs. per sq. ft., so much the better. If you thoroughly shake it up as you spread it over the surface it will be easier to dig into the soil. After digging it in, thoroughly saturate the bed, and if you can cover it with 6 ml clear plastic for a week or two, sealing the edges as well as you can so that the heat build up doesn't escape, it will really speed up the composting of the alfalfa. You can get the 6 ml clear plastic in the paint section - under drop cloths. Be sure you get the 6 ml. The box contains a sheet 10' X 25,' in a roll. I re-use it and it generally holds up for 2-3 seasons before it starts to break down. Clear plastic allows the suns rays to radiate deeply into the soil, while the black plastic only heats the surface.
* I'd mix any kind of compost-the cheapest is about as good as the most expensive, and even though the label says "Organic," it isn't--about half and half with bags of topsoil. Again with top soil, I wouldn't fall for the promo. Nobody regulates compost or topsoil to certify that it's organic. I'd try to buy any that comes from a reputable source. You'll be okay with that. Then mix in your alfalfa, the meals as below and you'll be fine.
* Mr. Bartholomew may not be aware that the roots of most vegetables are within 12" of the surface. If you have 2' of topsoil, you'll be much better off. Realize that if you put the mixture he calls for to a depth of 6", by the end of the season that 6" will have settled to 3". That also means that 2 ft. of mix described above will settle to about 15-18" by the end of the season. Vermiculite and all the "lites" have no nutrient value to the soil. Alfalfa hay will accomplish the same purpose of creating air space and moisture retention.
* This year I'm using "Super Guano" for nitrogen, and "fish bone meal" for phosphorous and calcium. The kelp meal is very important for the loads of trace minerals-mostly long absent from our soils generally. I get all of those from www.groworganic.com I buy it in quantities that last for 2-3 yrs, for the economy of it, but you may not have storage space to do that.
* If you use plenty of alfalfa, no worries about the worms. They love the stuff, and believe me, they'll find it. I've never worried about the worms, never added any, etc.
* I've tried the various brands of drip equipment, but the only one I'd recommend is Rain Drip. OSH carries it, but I don't think Ho. Depot does. Just be careful to get all the right size fittings. If you get the 1/2" feeder line, be sure to get 1/2" parts. They often mix the 1/2" parts with the 5/8" parts--and it creates nightmares when you try to put it together.
* No, I'd never use a timer. Some veg's take more, some take less, and some parts of my yard get more sun than others, so the evaporation rate varies. I almost always use a "moisture meter," but also check by digging down a bit, just so I know that the meter means what I think it means.
It depends on the heat and humidity-and which veg's need more or less water, as to how often I water. Sometimes I won't need to water my tomatoes for 10 days or so, at other times I may need to water them every 2-3 days. Generally I leave the water on for no more than 30-40 minutes, whether I water every 2-3 days, or once a week. It really just depends on the bed itself, and what's growing there.
Nothing elementary about your questions, Christy! Good ones, all. Don't get intimidated by the complexities and don't fall for the gimmicks--it's really very simple. I've seen some TV shows, and read parts of some books on gardening that truly amaze me, some that were absolutely hysterical; all done with a straight face.
Keep it simple and you'll have fine results. Let me know any questions or problems? Always glad to help.
Best Regards,


Q. About fertilizers
Yes, exactly the same fertilizers on everything. I only add some dry milk--a handful in a 3 gal. bucket, and feed the tomatoes about 2 gal. ea., once after they've been in the ground a week or two, and another feeding of that when they're starting to produce. It's not really necessary, probably, but it's an old habit I picked up in the beginning, before my soil was at all prepared right and I thought I could grow something in clay. It's a cure for blossom end rot-- that I've not had in 25 years.
I add my fertilizers early in the spring, when I first turn over my beds getting ready for spring planting--a week or two before I plant, and I do the same again, in the fall, after the summer plants are over, preparing the beds for fall crops and legumes.
That's Black Seeded Simpson lettuce. I've found that it handles the heat and the cold better than any other leaf lettuce--and it's our very favorite, too! I buy it by the 1/4 lb. from www.groworganic.com, for about $10. If you buy the little packages, you pay about $2. for a few seeds-I'd need 4-5 packages to plant a bed the size of the one in the photo. A 1/4 lb. will plant 20 beds that size, so it's a huge savings. (Always keep your seeds in the fridge.)


Q. About white flies
White flies are tough. They can be controlled with rubbing alcohol-about 1/2 cup to a one qt. spray bottle of water, and add about a teaspoon of liquid detergent. You'll need to spray them every day. If they're on your vegetables, don't spray during the heat of the day, as you might burn the plants. Evening would be the best time. You could also just use a fairly strong spray of water and wash them off. Whichever way you go, they'll need to be sprayed every day for a while. (If you use the alcohol and detergent, just try a small area of the plants to see if it's going to burn them before spraying everything.)
Horn worms--and all the green caterpillars, are much more easily handled. "Bacillus Thurengiensis, Kurstaki strain," is the active ingredient you're looking for. "Safer" is the brand I see just about everywhere organic products are sold. It says, "Caterpillar Killer" on the label, comes in a concentrate in a small, dark green plastic bottle. Use about a tablespoon in a 1 qt. spray bottle, and it'll do the job. It's a bacteria, and apparently it pretty much lasts forever. I think this is the 3rd year I'm using one little bottle, and it's still working just fine. I use it on my lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, etc., and just don't have a problem with any of the green devils.
It's harmless to any other pests or beneficials, completely non-toxic, etc., but you won't have any caterpillar problems. I spray anything susceptible to caterpillars about once a week early in the year. As summer progresses, I find I just don't need to use it at all.
Let me know how you do with that?

One Dark Night...

He died at 94 from burn complications suffered while carrying furniture out of his burning house. His father fought for Dixie in the Civil War and let Jesse and his gang hide out on his farm in Missouri after one of their bank robberies in a nearby town. His son, my grandfather, died of natural causes at the age of 94. They smoked, they drank, and they raised their own food, every bit of it. If chemicals were ever available for their farming and gardening, they wouldn’t have been able to afford them, even if they might have stooped to use them.
I’ve had cancer, heart disease and cluster headaches over 2 protracted periods. I’m 67. My blood pressure is normal, no cholesterol problems, and the heart disease that haunted me for 15 years disappeared over 30 years ago. I’m a “long term cancer survivor.” I’ve smoked for 50 years; have a glass of with dinner. Dinner usually includes some kind of meat, be it chicken, fish, pork or beef. Still I can outrun, out jump, out walk, out fight, out cuss, out lie and out talk at least 95% of fellows my age, most of them purer than I. I’ve lived longer than my father, one grandfather, 2 brothers and 2 uncles. Good genes? Certainly. Good eating habits? Dubious. But the meat I eat is as pure as it can be in this world, and the vegetables I’ve been eating for 25 years have been grown in my front and back yards—as purely organic, nutrient laden and as fresh as any that exist anywhere in the world.
When I read about e-coli killing people and destroying lives, see poisonous pesticides freely sold and used on lawns, landscaping and vegetables, kids eating junk food 3 times a day, with 1/3 of them condemned to some form of diabetes, I wonder when we the people, will say, “Enough!”
Now I read that the oil and chemical companies, in hand with the drug makers, the pharmaceutical companies, have been given a free pass by our elected congressional “Representatives” on their deadly “medicines.” They can kill and maim any or all of us they want and not be held accountable. That’s because the “Scientific” community has deemed some fraud like “swine flu,” an “epidemic,” and some kind of “national emergency.”
“Our food should be our medicine,” said Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. What have we done to our families, and ourselves and what power over our own lives have we given up?
Every medicine in use today is experimental. Every one of them is “experimental.” And yet somebody who says they’re an “expert” tells us we need them. We, like sheep, buy them.
I’ll continue my wicked ways, grow my own non-toxic vegetables and I’ll personally take care of whatever meat my family and I use. I know how to buy untainted meat and properly handle it. There hasn’t been a toxic chemical in my vegetable beds in the 25 years it’s been since I built them. And I, for one, won’t ‘go quietly into this dark night.’

Best time to plant a Garden

Now is the time to start.
While my garden is a year round activity because of our southwestern climate, most are not. From the time our favorite summer vegetables are over for the season, until spring planting time, I concentrate on nourishing the soil. I'll plant beets, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, carrots and such things in about half my beds. In the other half I'll spread a pound or two of alfalfa, or alfalfa meal, for each square foot of bed. I'll add the amount of bone meal, kelp meal and fishmeal indicated on the package labels, dig it all into the soil and saturate the soil with water.
When whatever vegetables I had in the other half my beds come out, I’ll nourish those beds the same way, and usually then plant “cool weather crops” such as above, in the beds that were first fully fertilized.
After a few days, I scatter legume (beans, peas, etc.) seeds by hand, and spread a thin layer of straw or shredded alfalfa over that, just enough to cover them, and water it down. They'll grow well through our colder months. Just as the legumes start to blossom, I'll chop them up and dig them into the soil. The roots will be laden with nitrogen, and the green legumes dug into the soil will feed the earthworms, fungi, molds and other microorganisms that are vital to healthy soil. Then cover the bed with a sheet of 6 mil (millimeter) plastic (available in any hardware store) and put rocks in enough places around the edges to hold it down until planting time.
Clear plastic will allow the sun’s rays to radiate deeply into the soil. The soil will get very hot when the green organic matter starts composting, and the heat can’t escape because of the plastic sheeting. When the soil cools off, but is still somewhat warm, I’m ready to plant. Usually two weeks under the plastic will do the job. If I want the soil to cool off completely, I’ll remove the plastic several days prior to planting.
If you have only one growing season, you probably want to make the most of it. As soon as last year’s garden is over, that’s the perfect time to get the bed ready for spring planting. By the time spring comes, all that organic matter will have broken down into a rich compost, complete with a replenishment of vitamins and minerals to the soil. (Follow the package suggestions on any of the organic meals [fish, bone, kelp, etc.] you use, as some recommend application every 6 months. You may want or need to re-apply those in the week or two before planting.)
You’ll have the best garden on the block!

Organic?

You feel good when you buy organic food or cosmetics. It says on the beautiful green package that it’s, "Pure & Natural,” “Organic," “Nature’s” or some such. How can you go wrong?
Some “Jason, Pure & Natural Organic” products contain 1,4- Dioxane, a known carcinogen, right along with ‘Giovanni Organic Cosmetics,’ “Kiss My Face” and “Nature’s Gate Organics,” according to findings by the Organic Consumers Association. Of course action is being taken against these unscrupulous characters, but correction is very slow where big profits are at stake.
How do you know what you’re buying isn’t toxic or carcinogenic?
Look for the round circle emblem that says, USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture) in the upper half of the circle, and Organic, in the lower half of the circle. So far, not one product certified by the USDA as organic, has been found not to be exactly that in tests regularly conducted by the Organic Consumers Association.
A number of lawsuits have been settled and more are in progress to stop companies-even huge companies, from stating, representing or implying on the package that a given product is organic, while it knowingly contains carcinogens and/or other toxic chemicals. There are more of such products on the shelves of every food store than we suspect.
Some of Whole Foods own brands, labeled “organic,” knowingly contain carcinogenic and/or toxic chemicals. Lawsuits are pending that will no doubt change that very soon.
You find products with "Organic" boldly stated on the label, products beautifully packaged in green wrappers, implying all the buzz words, "Natural," "Nature's," and so on. If it doesn't have the circle that says USDA over the word Organic, you can bet your lunch money that it isn’t.
If the product were truly organic, the producer of the product would certainly go to the trouble of coming under the USDA organic standards necessary to become certified by the USDA, or one of its licensed certifiers.
If you’re going to pay more for an organic product, now you know how to be sure that it is truly organic.

Recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana

1 large eggplant (about 1.5 lbs.)
2 beaten eggs
1.5 cups cracker crumbs (ground [with a rolling pin] Saltine crackers seasoned with garlic powder, basil, and oregano. (Any type of Italian seasonings you like)

2 cups of Melissa’s spaghetti sauce
1 lb. Havarti cheese, sliced
1 lb. Cheddar cheese, sliced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Wash eggplant and cut crosswise in ½ inch slices. Dip into beaten egg, coat with seasoned crumbs. Place on platter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Sometimes Lee does this the day or night before he’s going to fry it.)

Fry eggplant on both sides until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Spread 1/3 of sauce in 12x8x2 pan. Put a layer of eggplant, then a layer of Havarti and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat, starting with a layer of sauce, then a layer of eggplant, layer of Cheddar, Parmesan sprinkled over all. Repeat layers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

***Lee makes this in much larger pans. The recipe is very forgiving as far as ingredients go. If you make this one a few times you will have the hang of what the proportions are and then go wild after that! :)***

LEE NOTES:
My slavish attention to recipes notwithstanding, I don’t pay attention to much of the above. I spoon the sauce right out of the jar, just slightly covering the bottom of the pan or dish. I’ve cooled the fried eggplant to the point I don’t get 3rd degree burns when I put the first layer of eggplant on the bottom of the pan. I put a single layer of sliced Havarti or Sharp Cheddar cheese over the warm/hot eggplant, spoon a thin layer of sauce over the cheese layer, sprinkle a layer of fresh grated Parmesan over the sauce, and repeat the process: 1) Sauce 2) Fried Eggplant 3) Cheese (alternating the layers-Cheddar/Havarti/Cheddar 4) Sauce 5) Parmesan. All there is to it. I fill a large pan in just that sequence, ending with steps 4 & 5. I may have 3-6 layers of eggplant by the time my pan is full to the top. It will usually weigh about 10-12 lbs., net of the pan. I leave it in the oven until it has a nice color on top. It takes longer than 30 minutes for the ones I make—maybe 45-55 minutes?

After it’s out of the oven and cooled, I put the pan(s) in the fridge overnight. Next morn, I take a butter knife and cut all the way through to the bottom of the pan, in squares—about a dozen in a 10-12 pounder, and slide the knife all around the edge of the pan, just to loosen it a bit. I cover the pan with plastic wrap and put the pan in the freezer for the day, or overnight.

When I’m ready to wrap it, I hold the pan upside down under warm running water, being sure my fingers are on the surface of the E.P., just in case it gives way—it doesn’t. After a minute or so, I drop the pan; pan side up, on a large bread board and the whole thing should pop loose. I then use a butter knife to cut/punch through along the scored lines that I can barely make out.
It breaks apart pretty easily. Double wrap the pieces in plastic wrap, put in a zip lock bag, and a year or two later, it’s impossible to tell if it was made yesterday or today. There’s no quicker, easier, tastier dinner come mid-January!

Alfalfa

The word “alfalfa” is an Arabic word, meaning, “the best fodder.” Fodder is “food for livestock, obtained by cutting and drying any of various grasses, such as alfalfa.”
I usually use five bales a year, which weigh a little over 100 lbs. each. Once they’re delivered to my house, I have to find a tree trimmer who’ll run the bales through a chipper-shredder, otherwise used for shredding tree branches. It’s fast. The shredded alfalfa is then put in large black trash bags, usually 3 bags per bale, and I use it throughout the year. I spread a couple inches over a bed and dig it into the soil, and I use it for mulch when my seedlings are a few inches high. This year the Feed and Grain store manager suggested that since I was going to use it in my garden, why not buy Alfalfa Meal instead of alfalfa bales? My wife bought 20 bags of 50 lbs. each, a total of 1,000 lbs., for less than it would have cost to buy and shred 500 lbs. of alfalfa. That was a perfect birthday present.