Book Review: Back to Basics-Tips for Gardening

After the love of my life discovered that I would remotely even consider a "self-sufficient" lifestyle, he picked up Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills. This book is not 'light reading', but it is a great reference. It has articles on every skill I can imagine that would be useful if you were to live off land or 'go off the grid'. Some of the topics it covers include: making your house energy efficient, gardening, planning and building your own home, preserving food, quilting, fishing and camping. I will readily admit that I did not read this entire book, but I did read the large section on raising your own produce. Here are some things that I learned from my reading.

• Companion Planting: Some plants grow better in the company of others and do poorly with others. For example pumpkins grow well with corn, but not potatoes.
• Tall vegetables (corn, tomatoes) should be planted at the north end of the garden or the side near a house, wall or other light barrier.
• When selecting what to plant, avoid market or cropper varieties. These will provide your entire harvest all at once.
• The most important soil-improvement task is to add organic matter to the soil.  Compost and other organic matter should be mixed into the top 12 inches of soil. Ideal soil is loose, soft and crumbly.
• Most plants grow best in soil with a pH of 6.1-6.8.
• A greenhouse should face south to maximize winter sunlight.
• Almost any waterproof container can be used to start seedlings. Used, clean milk jugs and yogurt cups work well.
• Seed sprouts are easy to grow and rich in vitamins and proteins, however tomato and potato sprouts are poisonous.
• To supply enough produce for 2 adults and 2 school age children for a year, you need approximately 2,500 square feet of gardening space.
• To avoid diseases and pests you should not plant members of the same plant family in the same spot two years in a row.
• Hardy (easy to grow) vegetables include: carrots, beets, collards, kale, mustard, onions, radishes, rhubarb, horseradish
• Difficult to grow vegetables include: cauliflower, celery, asparagus, artichokes, celeriac
• Cucumber vines grow only from the tip.
• Peas taste best if cooked within a few hours of harvesting them from the plant.
• Potatoes sold in food stores are not recommended for seed pieces. They often are treated with chemicals to keep them from sprouting and contaminated with disease.
• Sweet potatoes are actually part of the morning glory family.
• Tomatoes are closely related to potatoes, eggplant, peppers and tobacco.
• Tomatoes yield more fruit if you pinch off the shoots that grow in the joints where the leaf stems meet the main stems.
• Organic mulch can smother weeds, conserve moisture and add organic matter. Cheap options include sawdust, leaves, newspaper, compost, pine needles and lawn clippings.
• It is better to water heavily once a week than lightly every day.
• The best time to water is in the late afternoon.

Spring Gardening in St George- from Utah State University

Last week at church there was a pile of handouts about spring gardening in St George. The information comes from the Washington County extension of Utah State University. It seems like great info, but the last thing that I need is another piece of paper to get lost on my kitchen counter. So I thought I would share it here and recycle the hard copy.

Spring Gardening in St. George

By Rick Heflebower, Washington County Horticulture Agent

Vegetable gardening in Washington County can be rewarding and successful. The county has a wide range in elevation which has a significant influence on the climate and growing season. For example, St. George has an elevation of 2,624 feet and a frost-free growing season of more than six months. Enterprise has an elevation of 5,346 feet and the frost-free season begins later in the spring and ends earlier in the fall (shortening the season considerably.) This doesn’t mean that you can’t grow vegetables there – you just need to know when to plant.

Cold-hardy vegetables such as cabbage, onion, peas, spinach, and turnips can be planted before the danger of frost is over. This is because they can tolerate cold temperatures and they do not fare well once temperatures get into the mid-eighties and above. Other plants such as beets, carrots, potatoes and parsnips may be planted before the last frost date but could be tender if they are out of the ground on a night when the temperatures drop well below freezing. Keep in mind that the frost-free dates given here are only average dates and will vary from season to season.

Even though the season starts early and ends fairly late in the St. George area, the middle of the season is too hot to grow most vegetables successfully. There is a period beginning in June which often goes until August when the temperatures exceed 95 degrees nearly every day. This extreme heat renders the pollen of most vegetables sterile and fertilization cannot take place. This is often seen on tomatoes and squash when the flowers wilt and die in mid season rather than forming young fruits. During the hot period, areas of higher elevation and cooler average temperatures will have much better success with gardening.

Another way to deal with the heat of summer is to think of it as two growing seasons. Begin early and plan to mature vegetables before it gets really hot. You can also plant late in the season and try to have plants come into bearing late enough to miss the worst of the heat. In theory, this works well on short-season crops like beans and squash but is more difficult on long-season crops such as tomatoes and melons. You may also beat the heat by purchasing young transplants and putting them in while it is cool. Transplants will take less time to mature than direct-seeded vegetables and therefore mature before it gets too hot. However, this does not work well with all vegetables. For example, corn, beans, and carrots should not be transplanted. Some gardeners have used shade cloth or other ways to shield plants from the harsh afternoon sun. The period from 2 pm until sundown is generally the hottest time of the day. Where possible, offer protection from the sun from the west in late afternoon.

Planting Times for St. George Area

By Rick Heflebower, Washington County Horticulture Agent

FEBRUARY 15 – MARCH 15
Radish
Cabbage (plants)
Kohlrabi (plants)
Onions
Peas
Spinach
Turnip

MARCH 1 – MARCH 15
Beets
Carrots
Cauliflower (plants)
Endive
Lettuce
Parsnips
Potato
Swiss Chard

MARCH 15 – APRIL 1
Bush Bean
Corn
Cucumber
Spinach
Summer Squash

APRIL 1 – MAY 1
Lima Beans
Cantaloupe and melons
Eggplant (plants)
Winter Squash
Tomato (plants)
Pepper (plants)

FALL HARVEST/JULY 15 – AUGUST 1
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Corn
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Onions
Pole Beans
Spinach
Turnips

ST. GEORGE HAS A GROWING SEASON OF ABOUT 210 DAYS
Last frost in Spring – April 1st
First frost in Fall – October 1st

Home Gardening- Take 2

 Earlier his week we took a trip to "the house store" as my children call it. My husband is encouraging a healthy love for our local home improvement store in them. As soon as we walk in Thing 1 always wants to look at the lighting aisle. (It's easy to imagine a little bit of magic there.) Thing 2 likes to look at the sinks and toilets. (We're pretty focused on potty training right now, not to mention he would spend all day playing in the sink if I let him.) And I have to admit that I like the place too. While we were there we picked up a $6 part to decrease water waste in our home, a new water filter for our fridge and some supplies for this year's garden. We also looked at the makings of some new home office furniture, but that is a project that will have to wait for a later date.

Thing 1 planting strawberries with her dad.

 Last year we spent $50 on plants and supplies and got 2 pathetic strawberries out of it. Pretty much a failure. I don't even want to add up how much we have spent this year. (It's more than $50.) But we've done a little more research and hopefully this time we can at least break even for the annuals. We've planned, loosened the dirt, removed a few random buried chunks of concrete and fertilized. Here's hoping. So far we have planted one red pepper, one heat-resistant tomato, one Anaheim pepper (two words: chile relleno), one sugar baby watermelon, one pomegranate tree, two raspberries (if they take we'll plant more) and 39 red onions. If I feel like we can stay on top of this maybe I'll plant an herb garden too.
 Now I'm sure that if I took the money that I have spent on plants and accessories, I could buy a lot more food storage than this garden could possibly produce. I can't kill food storage, or at least not as easily, and it is not nearly as demanding. However, we are planting a garden  because I feel there are important lessons that can be learned from it. We are teaching our children patience, the value of hard work and how to work together. Or at least that's the plan. So far they have been excited to be involved in the process and loved digging in the dirt, if we can just maintain their interest.... Of course there is also something very wonderful about fresh produce from the garden.

Quest to Save the Planet: Backyard Composting

So here I am in my little corner of the world, trying to make it a better place, and I have started composting. Here are reasons I think that the average person should compost.

1. Composting reduces waste.  It's good for the planet. Food waste and yard trimmings currently make up 23% of waste in the US. Wouldn't that be great if we could easily reduced the number of landfills by 1/4?
2. Composting returns micro-nutrients from food waste to the soil to help plants grow.
3. Composting can reduce diseases and pests.
4. Composting reduces the needs for chemical fertilizers.
5. Composting saves money when it comes to gardening. It can eliminate the need to purchase soil and fertilizer.

Here are a few more reasons why I compost.

1. I live in St George, where I like most of my neighbors have mostly red clay in my yard instead of your typical garden-variety dirt. It's not exactly conducive to growing a garden. And I have been advised by life-long St. Geezy residents that this is the most effective way to make your garden grow.
2. Between composting and recycling, we actually make very little garbage. This means that I don't have to drag our outside garbage can to the street very often (and when I say I, I mean ask my husband to do it), or when I do, it's not as heavy and awkward to drag through gravel to the street. If it weren't for the fact that diapers get really smelly in the sun, I could go a couple months between taking my cans to the street. One good chore saves another. (When you actually start recycling, you'll be amazed at how much is reusable in some way or another.)
3. Composting justifies my deep seeded personality flaw of being a hoarder. I try to get rid of things, but I can always think of a reason why it could be useful someday. If I bury it in my backyard, even my garbage can be of use to me.

Now that you're motivated to compost, here are a list of things that you can and can't compost:
CAN:

• Animal manure
• Cardboard rolls
• Clean paper
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Cotton rags
• Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
• Eggshells
• Fireplace ashes
• Fruits and vegetables
• Grass clippings
• Hair and fur
• Hay and straw
• Houseplants
• Leaves
• Nut shells
• Sawdust
• Shredded newspaper
• Tea bags
• Wood chips
• Wool rags
• Yard trimmings

 CAN'T and why:

• Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
• Releases substances that might be harmful to plants
• Coal or charcoal ash
• Might contain substances harmful to plants
• Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs
• Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Diseased or insect-ridden plants
• Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants
• Fats, grease, lard, or oils
• Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Meat or fish bones and scraps
• Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
• Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter)
• Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
• Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
• Might kill beneficial composting organisms

There are many products and methods out there for composting (most of them overpriced.)  Good compost should be a mix of three elements  1. brown matter (shredded newspaper, cardboard, hay, leaves, saw dust, some kitchen scrap, etc.) and 2. green matter (weeds, lawn clippings and some kitchen scraps) and 3. water. Here's what I do:

1. I have an old laundry detergent bucket in my garage where I throw my kitchen scraps. When it gets more than half full I throw in a bunch of sawdust and some crab grass. (There's always some to be found.)
2. Then I dig a hole big enough to hide the mix and cover it with dirt (clay in my case) and then pour water over it.

This morning I got up early to dig a hole before the day got too hot. My son decided to come out and watch me. As I was digging a hole and pulling crab grass my son wanted to help and I realized this is something that I should be involving my kids in. This is simple enough that they can help me do and I can teach them responsibility for the world around them and how we can help plants grow. Apparently even my two-year-old can effectively pull weeds. As I was digging, I dug up a previously buried compost pile. It was  nice to see some proof that my methods are working. What was previously a bunch of garbage was now some rich dirt when a few decaying orange peels mixed in.

Here's the area that hopefully next year will provide me with fresh veggies (and my husband in his pj's.)

For more ways to save money and help the environment at the same time look here, here and here.

Everything I Know About Plants & Gardening

Water, weed, good dirt is necessary, um that's about it.

Today would have been my grandma's 86th birthday and I've been thinking about her lately. She had an amazing green thumb. Her house was always full of plants and she could revive almost anything. Once she grew a plant from a cutting that overtook her entire living room. She called the LDS Church office building to see if she could donate it to them. They asked "Well, is the plant healthy?" "Yes, that's the problem." They had to remove her double doors and carry the thing out on a large plank of wood to get it out of her house. Then they hauled it away on a flatbed truck. I'm sure that she had lots of botany secrets, but the one I remember was hair. Whenever she cut her kids hair she saved the trimmings and buried them in the dirt of her pots. Hair is full of protein and nutrients that will be eventually broken down by bacteria in soil and made available for absorption by the plants. So a few days ago when my mother-in-law trimmed my son's hair, I saved the hair in my new compost bucket. In the next few weeks I plan on planting a tree in my backyard. Hopefully the fruit peels and hair clippings will help it out.