New Harvest - and Saving Seeds

Finally - the 2010 Harvest is in and I have a whole bunch of new things to post for sale.  This year, I grew 12 varieties of tomatoes, some of them very interesting. The new ones include: Paul Robeson, Hillbilly, Japanese Black Trifle, Rutgers Space. I kept some of my favorite tomatoes:  white currant, chocolate cherry, and Black, and Orange Oxheart.  

Here's a photo montage illustrating how to harvest arugula seeds. 

 Here is a picture of the arugula in flower - it's fallen over.  After the flowers, there will be seed pods that ripen and swell, as shown below. Once the seedpods are at this stage, it is time to cut the stalks and bring them inside to dry. 

 After the stems have dried, they look like this: 

Here is a close up of one pod, you can see the seeds - to harvest the seeds, I roll the pods to split them open, and the seeds come out. 

 Here they are!  You can see that it takes a lot of seed pods to make up packets of seeds! 

White Vinegar -- non-toxic weed killing

Today I want to tell people about an easy way to get rid of weeds without using chemicals that are harmful to other plants as well as harmful to humans and wildlife.  Every time I see the Round Up commercial on TV of a guy spraying his suburban sidewalk and being so happy about getting rid of weeds in 5 minutes I want to scream - "remember silent spring!" If people only thought of birds dying off when buying the gallon container of Round Up -- birds, insects and other living beings they are killing!  Not BP oil spill - but the homeowner.


Use white vinegar as a weed killer.  Here are the easy steps showing how I got rid of crabgrass in bricks in my garden:

1) Buy a large container of white vinegar (boiling water is also good, but a bit more difficult to transfer to the garden)

2) Chose a sunny day.  Put white vinegar in a watering can.  I tried using sprayers but find that a watering can is better at providing enough vinegar to be effective.

Pour vinegar over weeds

3)  Early in the day, pour vinegar over weeds - this works especially well on sidewalks, brick patios.  Do NOT USE vinegar to get rid of weeds in your garden beds.  Be careful using vinegar near plants you want to grow.

4)  Let the sun and vinegar do their work.  At the end, the weeds will be dead.

Four hours later - weeds are dead and ready to be swept away.

Sometimes it helps to take a pledge

Here is a link to the esteemed Union of Concerned Scientists who articulate many sound principles that I suggest all gardeners pursue.  Here is a copy of the pledge statements.  I'm also enclosing some recent photos from my garden - it is fun to compare them to the small seedlings from April. 

I PLEDGE TO:

Build healthy soil that keeps heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and reduces the need for herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers, which generate global warming pollutants.

Frog Pond Gardens - Black Simpson Lettuce grown from seed

•  Have garden soil professionally tested to know your fertilizer needs and avoid over-applying.
•  In vegetable gardens, rotate crop locations from year to year to help keep pests and diseases at bay, reducing the need for energy-intensive chemicals.
•  Plant cover crops when other plants aren’t growing to protect and improve soil, increase carbon storage in soil, and reduce the need for fossil fuel-based fertilizers.

Choose low-emission garden tools and products.

•  Weed, prune, and rake leaves by hand and use an electric or push lawn mower.
•  Replace synthetic fertilizers and pesticides with compost and natural pest-control methods.Avoid peat, using compost or peat-free potting and seed-starting mixes instead. 

Frog Pond Gardens - Red Russian Kale grown from seed

Store carbon and save energy with trees and shrubs.

•  Plant trees and shrubs with long life expectancy that can store carbon for many years.
•  Position new trees where they will shade your home in summer or provide protection from winter winds.

 Frog Pond Gardens - Arugula grown from seed

Recycle yard and food waste.

Frog Pond Gardens - Tat Soi Greens grown from seed

•  Reduce heat-trapping methane emissions from landfills by making compost at home or as part of a city-wide program.
•  Use compost in the garden to replace energy-intensive fertilizers and store carbon in the soil.

Make my lawn “greener.”

•  If you have a lawn, leave grass clippings to fertilize the soil, reducing the need for added fertilizer and increasing carbon storage.
•  Minimize watering, which has been linked to increased emissions of heat-trapping nitrous oxide from lawns.

Point the way to climate-friendly farms.

•  Tell Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support farmers who adopt climate-friendly agricultural practices such as cover cropping and crop rotation and who reduce their use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. 
•  Stay tuned for alerts from UCS on opportunities to take action!

Update on seedlings

Back to the blog after a small hiatus.  Here are lots of photos showing progress of the seedlings and new things unfolding in the garden.  I've finally planted the snow peas in the ground (it has been too wet here to do it earlier) and am turning the "green manure" cover crops into the earth, filling the raised beds with last year's compost adding minerals such as potash and lime and getting seedlings into the cold frame!  Whew!

Red Russian Kale

 Around Day 7

Around day 21

Merlot Lettuce

Early 

Middle

Looks like micro greens! 

Cilantro

Seed is still attached

Looks like cilantro

Bigger...

Ready to harvest - 2 months later













In the garden - Pasque Flowers

What is Phenology and why should we care?

The first snowdrop of the season in my garden and sign of the new season.  Recently, I learned of using plant flowering as a guide to various gardening related items:  when to plant/transplant seedlings, when certain pests are emerging, and when pollination is occurring.

This is called phenology.  And low and behold, there is a lot more value in this interdisciplinary science - various plant phases can be monitored over time - as one way to understand climate change.  Here is a definition from this national website:   Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle stages, or phenophases, such as leafing and flowering of plants, maturation of agricultural crops, emergence of insects, and migration of birds. Many of these events are sensitive to climatic variation and change, and are simple to observe and record.


Here in my zone 6a garden snowdrops are a sure sign of the ground warming up.  Another sign is the witch hazel tree, which has these amazing blossoms.  If you don't know what a garden zone is, check out the map at the US National Arboretum (it includes Canada too!).

How to start seeds: 

There are many many great resources out there with good "how to" advice.  I'm including a link to Renee's Garden - great seeds and informative website and blog because I like her product and company profile.

Wow - be your own SEED BANK!

Sometimes, I love the connections we can find on the internet, it balances out the times when I'm freaked out that the internet is a place where everyone knows everyone.  Recently I found a link to someone in Canada, who has started her own Seed Bank!  What a great project.  Unfortunately, I've been unable to open her  blog recently,  but here is the address.  http://populuxe.ca/blog/?page_id=43 or try her Etsy shop.  

I am going to donate some of the tomato seeds I have that she doesn't have yet, and maybe even volunteer for her pepper "dehybridization" project.  I needed something to get me jazzed about being a seed grower - and not having Phd. after my name.  Of course we can all save seeds in our own seed bank - of course we can all work to create more open pollinated plants!  I really like my Canadian gardening friends, not only are they growing wonderful plants in a cold climate, but they are so friendly.  Somewhere, my Canadian grandparents are smiling (even though they never new me). 

And here are some photos of the sprouting seeds - Merlot lettuce, Black tomato, Arugula, Coriander, and Jalapeno pepper.  For those of you new to seed starting, peppers and tomatoes look similar at this stage, but soon the articulated tomato leaves will appear.  It's nice to have green things growing when our forecast this week is for sleet, rain, and snow. Check out the coriander/cilantro seed covering still attached to the tender leaves!

I discover the USDA Food Atlas and a cool new journal

For those of you who are data junkies, here is a link to a bunch of geographical data from the USDA describing the general "health" of the our food consumption and food availability.  I spent a little time looking at the data, and some of it is very compelling.  I have not really looked into the data sources, but if sound, this could be a quick way for those of us interested in Agricultural Development to present information.

Random Agricultural image

I got the term "Agricultural Development" from Duncan Hilchey of New Leaf Associates, Inc. who posted a call for papers on a listserv I belong to.  You can read about his new venture -- The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development here.

UPDATE on SEEDLINGS
The coir seems to be a great growing medium - and the hot pad spurred germination of the tomato, peppers, basil, and two flowers that I sowed last weekend.  Whoop!

Why I signed the "Safe Seed Pledge"

This weekend I got the first pepper and tomato seeds started on my new "heat mat" - so in addition to being in a sunny south facing window, they are getting gentle warming from the bottom. This should create that 70 degree temperature that those warm loving seeds need to germinate. This year I will "harden off" these plants in my hand built cold frame when they are about 2 months old. Here are a few pictures.  Note that I'm using a mixture of coir (from renewable coconut hulls) and perlite/vermiculite as a seed starting mix.  We'll see how this goes. 

 

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I wanted to write about the "Safe Seed Pledge" and why it is important to me.  The SSP was started by the folks at High Mowing Seeds, who say "In signing the Safe Seed Pledge we affirm our commitment to non-GMO (genetically modified organism) seed.  We feel that the regulatory framework for the introduction of genetically modified crop varieties is flawed, and that GMO seeds themselves present a threat to plants' genetic diversity through their ability to pollinate non-GMO plants."

I've signed it, I post it on my website to educate folks about why we even NEED to have something like this.  You can sign the pledge too - go to:   Gene-Watch Org :  

"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this
foundations as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all
farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy
or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of
natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks
as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel that genetically engineered varieties have
been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing is necessary to further
assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural
progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately
people and communities."

I understand  that improving seed viability and productivity is a significant achievement - however, I don't think that this is a safe way to go about it, and frankly, I don't trust the largest companies that control fertilizers and insecticides to use sound judgment in promulgating such "forward progress".  

What do you think?  

Go Green for Valentine's Day

When I was growing up, my mom used to send me a valentine's day card in the mail with the sentiment "from Guess Who"  Thinking back on that - what a sweet thing for her to do.  What a great way for her to let me know she was thinking of me, and would mail me something even though we lived in the same house.

Everyone likes to get mail!

If you want to show someone you care about them this February 14th - send them a card, and include something they can plant and watch grow.  For those of us in the northeastern corner of the United States, March is the month when we start tomato and pepper seeds inside on a sunny windowsill.  I've posted earlier about the simple steps to start seeds, so why not send a Valentine's Card with a few seed packets in it?  Then, your beloved can grow their own fresh, organic, and local food or flowers that they will enjoy the rest of the year. 

If your beloved is an avid gardener, then consider a selection of seeds - like this Garden Seed Collection or a Gift Certificate from a seed company.  Alternatively, you could sign them up to get fresh and local vegetables from a farm through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  A great source for CSAs near you is Local Harvest, a national web site that has CSAs, Farms, and seed sellers like Frog Pond Gardens too.  Even if you don't send seeds, send something and have the best day ever!

How are local growers doing?

 Have you been wondering how local growers (farmers, dairies, seed growers, and cooperatives) are doing?  Well those of us close to it wonder about it all the time.  We are constantly told that more and more people are "buying local" and want to raise their families knowing their farmer. There is a great site out there that allows you to search by location (zip code, city or state) to find farmers near you.  

Local Harvest:  www.localharvest.org

For those of you who sell your own agricultural products, this site also has a way for you to list items in a "store".  In all disclosure, Frog Pond Gardens has a store on Local Harvest, but I've found it a useful tool to find other farmers and growers near my home here in eastern Massachusetts.  It lists Farmers Markets and CSAs as well!

Helping others

I live across the street from a large church, which means I get to listen to a lot of great church bell ringing.  It has also changed my perspective on the cycles of life.  Almost every day, especially in the winter, there is a funeral that takes place in the morning.  Most are fairly small and low key, some have 100s of attendees and need police to block off the street as the procession leaves the church.  All of them end with the slow tolling of the bells.  Seeing funerals as a weekly if not daily occurance has given me a better perspective on death and how it affects everyone.  That doesn't make it any easier when we have to face it personally.  

It is hard to write about the importance of gardening when there is so much suffering in Haiti.  So today's post is to ask that you offer funds to a great aid organization, Mercy Corps.  Here is a link.

Deep snow and 31 in 31

Gardening sometimes seems far away this time of year here in Zone 6A. The garden beds are under lots of snow.  I'm reading Eliot Coleman's new book Winter Harvest Handbook:  Year-Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses.  It is inspiring, especially as I snuggle under a blanket!

I'm a week into a month-long commitment to doing 31 yoga classes in 31 days - quite a challenge.  My favorite yoga studio Prana Power Yoga   has a challenge for its yogis to complete classes every day of the month in January.  I actually did this last year (to my amazement) and it was awesome.  I was so proud to be able to do it (if you miss a day, you can "double up" another day).  The classes are 60 to 90 minutes long in a room heated to about 100 degrees.  Strenuous - especially for us folks who are not in our 30s anymore.  Last year I realized that committing to do something so time intensive is a great gift for yourself.  It took cooperation from our whole household - and some shifting duties to accommodate getting to classes.  I think the kids, my husband, and even my mom (all are part of our large household) realized that doing yoga every day made me much more mellow! 

On a totally unrelated note, I am realizing how connected we are, or we can be.  After sending some yarn to a marvelous knitter MadForKnit, I found out that she is also a gardener and she posted the Frog Pond Gardens web site on her blog.  Then I went to a New Year's Day party in a city west of Boston with 7 villages and met another knitter who is a fan of Ravelry - a wonderful online knitting community.  We got started talking about knitting because I seem to take my knitting bag with me wherever I go - to get a chance to knit a bit here and a bit there.  My most recent finished project is a fun ski hat: 

Well, I need to sign off and get to the yoga studio! 

2010 - The year to go Organic

So you've made your new year's resolutions (mine is to be more patient, something I've already fallen down on), and you want to exercise more and eat better.  I have the solution!  Start your own garden and grow your own vegetables.  Whether you are in the city and grow in containers or create a 4' by 8' garden bed in your side yard - or something even bigger, you CAN grow seeds.  Here is a picture of some seeds in my planting area - a sunny south facing window.

Urban and suburban gardening is becoming hip, and there are lots of resources out there to help you.  One of my favorites is You Grow Girl.  If you want to buy seeds, there are a lot of great resources, my own little seed shop on Etsy Frog Pond Gardens or any of the EtsyPHAT team members (search etsyPHAT) have good, chemical free seeds that are "hand grown".  My web site is Frog Pond Gardens. 


There are also a ton of amazing commercial seed companies out there, including:

Territorial Seed specializing in seeds for the Pacific Northwest
High Mowing Seeds in Vermont
Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine
Seed Saver Exchange in Iowa, THE leader in preserving heirloom varieties

To get started here are the simple steps:
1) buy seed, review the instructions for growing (should you start inside, or plant directly outside when soil is warm enough)
2) to start inside -
  a)    plant seeds in a container (can be as simple as a frozen food container, yogurt containers, or other small container);
  b)   cover with plastic wrap or plastic cover (try an empty plastic bottle with the bottom cut off) that will keep the seeds moist
  c)   watch them grow!
  d)   transplant into the garden when warm enough
3) Seeds commonly started inside include:  salad greens, swiss chard, tomatoes, greens, green and hot peppers, and many others.  Generally, plant inside one or two months ahead of planting time.  For example, if you plant in May, start seeds inside in early March.