Urban Grown

beyond the hedgerow

2011-04-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Last week afforded some rain-free moments to busy ourselves re-envisioning the hedgerow at the property's northern limit. Occupying the space were a collection of uninspired perennials planted at the time of the houses' construction, so there was no love lost when it came time to chop 'em down and remove the majority of the roots. And surely our suburban plot transforms into an edible forest garden. To replace the perennials: two suckers from our established Italian prune (plum) tree, two sea buckthorns (male and female; both required for pollination), which are nitrogen-fixing and fruit producing shrubs, and a goji plant. Also planted (in the yard): an orcas pear tree (dwarf), which will facilitate cross pollination with the comice pear planted last season.

rain garden phase 3 & 4

2011-04-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today marks the near completion of the rain garden. Several days ago the soil mix (compost, existing soil, sand) was back-filled and stirred to an even consistency (as a shovel will allow). Then...planted! Following the instructions provided by our (very) official rain garden literature, different species were located according to their tolerance for standing water in one of three 'zones' determined by varying depths within the garden. Emergents (those plants most tolerant) are planted in zone 1, where water will occasionally pond in times of heavy rainfall. Those less tolerant are planted along the fringes and other, slightly higher levels. Rocks salvaged from excavation are placed at the inflow (where run-off originates in the garden) and outflow (where water is directed). Wood chip mulch is spread to prevent the inflows' potentially erosive effects. All that remains to do is trim the inflow pipe and wait for a substantial rain to determine if everything works as designed.

sun window

2011-04-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Amid sprinkles and sunbreaks, Stephanie and I got the first starts in the ground this afternoon. Earlier in the day I dropped off a 1/2 yard of compost on the plot (now measuring 9'x9'). The roto-tiller was put to use to mix the existing soil with the compost, after which an amendment cocktail of gypsum, limestone, phosphate and greensand was broadcast and then tilled in. Steph rakes the mixed soil to level it out before planting.

A couple of salvaged herb plants (thyme and red sage) fill the north corner, while an assortment of greens (mizuna, oak leaf lettuce, Amish deer tongue lettuce, Bibb lettuce), red cabbage,

lacinato kale and borage line the southern side of the garden. Excavated rocks provide a stepping stone, and more bricks and other stones will flesh out the rest. Tomorrows' weather being amicable as forecasted will allow us to plant more greens and begin planning for raspberry canes (to line the fence) and what to do with so many strawberries.

rain garden phase 1 & 2

2011-04-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Downspouts and run-off management. Not the likeliest source for innovative and ecologically sound pollution control. Or are they? Well, yeah. Most urban environments deal with storm water surges brought on by heavy rains in much the same way: drainage pipes are laid around the foundation footings to collect run-off from the roof and subsequently fed to larger pipes which ultimately drain into larger bodies of water (rivers, the ocean, or in our case The Puget Sound). Along the way that water accumulates spilled motor oil, pesticide and herbicide residues and deposits these pollutants where they poison and otherwise damage fragile marine ecosystems. What is all this getting at, you might be wondering? Enter the rain garden.

Rain gardens are beautifully planted storm water management systems that supersede the common practice of keeping that water out-of-sight-out-of-mind and utilize the resource to nurture native plants. Downspouts are channeled to a designated area that has been excavated to a size and depth calculated by the volume of water falling on the roof and the drainage capacity of the soil. A mix of sand, compost and original soil are filled into the hole, leaving an area for ponding in times of excessive rainfall, and plants situated to be adapted to the different 'zones' of relative saturation when the rain garden is actively filtering water. Rather than all that precipitation flowing directly into the nearest body of water and carrying with it all the attendant pollution, it percolates through the garden and provides an aesthetically pleasing landscape feature.

Ours is well under way: the pipe located, trench and hole dug, and berm built at the garden's outflow. Phase 1: planning, involved determining the site of the garden (at least 10 feet from the foundation) as well as the size. Phase 2: digging. The next phase will involve the mixing of the soil to be filled in the hole and the planting of adapted species. Finally we'll be ready for the rain.

sod off

2011-04-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday saw the breaking of ground at a friend's new grow space. Tree limbs were removed, stakes pounded, lines strung and, my favorite, sod peeled from the ground. Certainly not a science, but perhaps an applied art. Nah. Let's stick to referring to it what it is, grunt work. Not that this peasant-stock minds much. As I suspected, tree roots run rampant but a few inches below ground. A borrowed roto-tiller will prove a welcome solution. And what to do with so much sod? A question that will be asked many times in the near future, to be sure. For the moment, stack it high and wait until the answer divines itself. Next: roto-till, amend with compost and topsoil, plant!

roll of the dice

2011-04-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Awoke this morning to the sound of rain pattering on the asphalt shingles. At least it sounded like rain. In fact it was a wet mix of slush and rain that closely resembled snow but wasn't. So much for rolling the dice and underestimating mother nature's furious fickleness. Will have to wait and see what the day brings, but at least the precipitation's done with (for now) and the soupy, iced manifestation of an anxious gardener's worst early-spring nightmare will soon vanish. Hopefully, anyway. The ground did not freeze, and with temps hovering well above 32 F there is reason to be optimistic that all is not lost. There are extra seedlings to fill in the ranks, besides. Though it's much too soon to gauge whether the seedlings planted yesterday will tolerate this affront on their vigor so early in life, they have a genetic predisposition for cold-hardiness on their side. God speed little ones.

taking shape

2011-04-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Flying in the face of the weather reports' call for MORE rain, some seeds and seedlings were planted, invasive ivies removed, and backs bent to soreness. The day required sunglasses more than rain jackets. Our new garden space has been partially planted to herbs and cool weather greens, and seeds sown of pea, beets, turnips, radish and rutabaga.Salvaged bricks, concrete steps, stones found while roto-tilling, and a single round leftover from cutting firewood form the steps to navigate the bed without actually stepping on the ground. Additionally they imbue the plot with some much desired design elements and make use of otherwise idle resources. Plenty of room for food; room enough to impart visual (and functional) interest. We'll roll the dice on the weather tomorrow and hope to plant more greens.

and so it grows

2011-04-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Delicious dinner and a new garden to dig. Met with a friend and her family last night to discuss some preliminary plans for their first vegetable garden. The plot is exposed to eastern and southern solar radiation and sheltered from winds by young pines and cedars. Cloud cover continues to challenge my complete assessment of siting but then that is the Maritime Northwest par excellence. Guess it wouldn't hurt to brush up on my maths (geometry) to determine varying light conditions as the sun's position changes relative to the season. List-topper for sure! Initial prospects seem promising, and sticking to adapted varieties should ensure success regardless of other factors not fully realized at this stage.

Momentary vision: an 8' x 8' patch of lettuces and brassicas (kale chips being all the rage these days). Radishes, beets, spinach, mache, herbs and on and on. Utilize any native stones and masonry that can be salvaged on the property for accents and such. A few branches from an overhanging Douglas Fir will be removed to increase sunlight infiltration. The site slopes gradually to the east and south, which should be beneficial for capturing more light (than, for instance, if the site sloped northward). Tree roots may be of issue, but are inevitable in near-climax suburbs (those neighborhoods whose trees planted at the time of home construction are reaching maturity). We'll respond by adding plenty of compost (always a sensible act) and observation. To the drawing board.

mulching

2011-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

What to do...when the rains tease so sweetly? Mulching seems appropriate. Scott's garden nears its completed phase, and to prevent all those newly added amendments from leaching out of the freshly worked soil, a layer of straw is placed around transplants on all bare earth. As of right now, the starts are just that, starting life, and oh so small and fragile. Until more reliable weather arrives they will put on only moderate growth. Before a canopy of growing green leaves and (the inevitable) weeds do their part to cover the earth, a mulch (leaves, straw, compost, etc.) helps protect from minerals leaching and compaction brought on by falling rain. Unsightly, probably. Utilitarian, most definitely.

Once the garden is more established the mulch can be removed and composted, or left on to reduce evaporation of the soil water. It should be kept in mind, however, that certain garden pests might find a moist bed of mulch the most inviting of homes and perfect for executing late-night binges on your veggies. Tough call.

amendments

2011-03-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

To cultivate the garden bed a few inches deeper, a second tilling was undertaken. In all the depth of cultivation is about 6-7." A yard of compost and a yard of topsoil are added to increase organic matter and to ameliorate the clay content of the soil (gypsum also helps with this). Next the amendments are added. These include granulated limestone, phosphate, greensand and gypsum, all broadcast on the surface of the bed and then tilled into the first few inches of the soil. All that remains to do is refine the design drawn out on paper and hope for another dry day to plant.

In the course of tilling, numerous feeder roots from the nearby pine trees were found wending their way only a few inches beneath the surface of the soil. Trees, being advantageous organisms, seek out the most easily found nutrients. As many roots as were found were removed, but always to keep in mind is the fact that our vegetables will be competing with the nearby trees for nutrients as well as light (at certain times of day). We'll try to keep this in mind while choosing where to plant certain varieties more tolerant of shade, and fertilize (with compost) throughout the season based on observations of how the plants are growing and competing.

to till or not to till

2011-03-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Till, and never look back. At least when starting a new garden space. The sod has been removed, and taking advantage of the mild weather and a friend's gracious loan of his roto-tiller, the new growing space is cultivated. To my surprise and delight, the soil seems much more workable than anticipated, i.e. not as laden with heavy clay. We'll still take some steps to loosen the soil a bit by adding some gypsum and topsoil. Weather permitting, tomorrow will see the incorporation of a yard of compost, the mineral amendments and about a yard of topsoil to begin the process of building the soil. When starting out, cultivation seems unavoidable, but the inclusion of simultaneously sown cover crops and regular (yearly) additions of kitchen-scrap compost and green manures, we embark on an experiment in soil building that should reduce the amount of tilling or cultivation required in subsequent seasons. Here goes everything.

ready to plant

2011-03-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

As the sun rose surely this morning I steeled myself to prepping the garden space for my first client. Last year's garden, a modest 4' x 8' plot, would grow to become 10' x 10' after a couple of hours well spent slicing and scraping the moss-laden sod. While soil tests are good and fine for agricultural endeavors, on the home scale they aren't particularly pragmatic. Better to observe the vegetation (moss and dandelions) and consider the typical soil profile of our climate (low pH), amend accordingly, and let the veggies live a life of choice.

To begin, a 1/2" layer of compost is added to the lightly cultivated soil, which is spaded to a depth of about 6." Then a cocktail of four organic mineral amendments are added to assist in bringing the soil into a balance for proper vegetable nutrition: greensand, limestone, phosphate, and gypsum. Using the garden weasel the amendments are mixed within the top 2-3." The bed is now ready to fill with transplants.

sod removal...

2011-03-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

...is back-breaking, laborious, evil work. But oh so necessary. Waging war on the front lawn filled most of the morning and afternoon today. Warm spring sunshine helps. First the cardboard is removed, then the sod is sliced into manageable sections measuring approximately 2' x 3' using an edging tool. Next a flat shovel is utilized to begin scraping the sod sections and accompanying roots and as little soil as is possible. No easy task, but excess soil can be sifted from the sod sections after its removal. If the sod is kept all in one piece it can (more) easily be rolled as it's being scraped up. The strips are inverted and laid from whence they came so that the majority of the soil can be broken free from the grass roots before returning it to the future vegetable bed. For this task we use a delightfully named tool called a "garden weasel," which is essentially a hand-powered roto-tiller. The next steps are to determine where the sod will be composted and to amend the soil with copious amounts of compost and minerals including limestone, gypsum, greensand, and phosphate. Seeding and transplanting to follow shortly!

propagations

2011-03-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Aside from offering deliverance from the constant stream of traffic and take-off/landing noise permeating my home town, the surrounding greenbelts bestow treasures beyond the visceral. An opportunity to propagate native plants for their eventual inclusion in an edible landscape presents itself. With a simple pair of pruning shears and a pocketful of patience the urban gardener conjures new life.

Cuttings from native edibles (gooseberry, blackcap raspberry, Indian plum, elderberry, salmonberry) are easily made. A section of last season's (new) growth is snipped just above a node (where the new leaves will emerge) and just below a node, leaving on average 3 or 4 nodes on the entire cutting. Most range from 4-6" in length. The cuttings are expediently readied to promote successful rooting: first they are dipped in a powdered rooting hormone, then buried approximately 2/3 of the way in a moist mixture of 1 part peat moss to 1 part perlite. The cuttings are placed in the greenhouse in dappled light (in this case under the planting bench) and moisture is maintained to facilitate rooting. Hopefully within 2 weeks most of the cuttings will show signs of new life in the form of emerging leaves and new roots. These gooseberry cuttings seem pleased with their new situation so far. The cuttings that survive will eventually be potted individually and more than likely will be ready to plant in the ground by next spring.

spring fever

2011-03-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend's respite from drowning rains was a welcome one. And with the equinox quickly approaching (tomorrow), it's about time. Thanks Mother Nature! The season pokes through winter's moldy duff, emerging in budding leaves and tender new growth. Plans for one project are well under way, and another friend's parents have given me permission to plant seeds and starts in their backyard. No shortage of soil work to keep this gardener focused and busy. A quick shot of the next project: a series of 5 raised beds each measuring approximately 3' x 10.' The soil is rich and highly workable at first glance, and should provide ample opportunity to experiment with layout and design. Plans to hatch...

seedling steps

2011-03-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

The first set of seedlings are moving up in the world. Time to transplant into a more coherent and spacious intermediary arrangement, the last before they brave the cool spring weather. Seeded flats are scooped out by hand and separated carefully (as little root disturbance as possible behooves the hungry gardener). Spacing is approximate; about 2 inches for each plant will provide ample room until they're planted in the garden. In a 10"x 20" flat that is 50 seedlings. More than your typical urban garden can accommodate, but there's always the opportunity to spread the love to neighbors or else rouge plants not showing vigor. The planting media for the transplants is mostly compost, with some peat and perlite and some added granulated organic fertilizer to induce rapid growth. These coles and greens are hardening off in the greenhouse as they prepare for their next step on the journey. As soon as it stops raining long enough to do a little digging...

art of pruning

2011-03-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

A delicate balance of youthful expression and established maturity a well-pruned fruit tree makes. To sharpen my teeth on recent lessons in pruning I got to work on the assorted fruit trees planted around the yard. The trick, as I was taught, is to maintain a productive vegetative cycle while still allowing the tree to have fruiting potential. This means managing the older growth as well as suppressing some of the newer growth, as fruit arises from growth older than one year. As a general rule, 10% of the tree is removed in the pruning process. The tree is also shaped to facilitate ease of harvest and so that it does not become too large to maintain. An art, truly, and one not easily understood even under the tutelage of an experienced orchardist. "When in doubt, cut it out" as Bob would tell us. Observe the trees' growth behavior in the coming season and adjust your future pruning endeavors to suit the habit of the tree.

garden prep

2011-03-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

Rains continue to soak the saturated ground. Field (lawn) capacity was reached days ago but still the skies offer no mercy to anxious gardeners. Wait is all I can do, and to busy myself with other projects and plans.

To prepare for the additional garden space that will occupy the front yard, cardboard salvaged from area grocers is laid flat on the existing sod and secured with bricks. A shambled patchwork of urban refuse it appears to passersby, but if it speeds the death of the grass beneath and facilitates easier cultivation when (if) the rains ever subside, it'll be worth the eyesore. Meanwhile seeds continue to sprout and ready themselves for life outside in the big, wet world.

doors open...

2011-03-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

...and all we have to do is walk through them. A friend's father has been gracious enough to employ me to install a gardening space in the backyard of his suburban home. The plan as it stands is to create an 8'x8' vegetable patch, plant rhubarb, various adapted berry bushes and a perennial herb garden. To the drawing board and praying rains subside long enough to allow the ground to be workable.

The remnants from last years' garden (1st attempt), a 4'x8' plot that will double in size (and productivity, we will hope). A moss-filled lawn indicates acidic soil (typical Northwest conditions), which will be amended with limestone, gypsum, green sand, phosphate and compost to boost fertility and give the veggies a better shot at expressing their full genetic (and flavor!) potential.

seed flats sown

2011-03-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

Spring looms through cold rains but daylight savings is the home gardener's best friend. To busy myself and make it through these winnowing winter days, planting seeds proves a welcome respite. Instead of using 2.5" pots with a few seeds in each (last year's method), I'm testing a new and hopefully more efficient way of cranking out some early spring starts.

The flats (11" by 20") are filled to just below the top edge with a self-assembled mix consisting of 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 2 parts compost. A pinch of seeds is broadcast over the surface of the media and additional mixture is sprinkled over the flat to ensure the seeds are covered. The flat is kept moist (propagation domes work best) and warm. Germination should follow in a few short days.

In choosing what to plant first, cold-hardiness wins the selection game, and the seedlings sprouted so far include cabbages, chards, kales, mustards, mache and other various greens. In spite of the seasons' reticence to relent on this mucky cold wetness, it's also time to start thinking of tender varieties to begin indoors; i.e. tomatoes and the rest of the solanums. Yum.

compost (like you mean it)

2010-08-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

The compost situation at my parents house until yesterday and earlier this afternoon was a rather miserable one: a single bin, rarely turned, not easily accessible, and whose wooden sides themselves were slowly but surely turning into compost. Using some recycled pallets (is there anything they aren't good for?) I constructed a simple three bin system that should be much easier to turn, process, and store ready-made compost until it can be used.

The two larger bins measure 4' square, and are vented to allow air flow. The third bin (for finished compost, measures slightly smaller (approx. 42"). As with most projects I've undertaken in the course of my agricultural experimentation, the prime concern is cost. These bins are held together simply, with drywall screws ($5.49 for 225 screws) and small corner posts (scraps) that the slats are screwed into. Pallets, where you can find them, are free.

To locate the new system, some invasive english ivy was removed (with much zeal) from a hedge near the western edge of their property. The cleared section is leveled so that the bins are likewise resting level. Aesthetics being everything, after all.

The existing bin was emptied: the top layer of fresh yard waste and kitchen scraps is set aside and the processed compost sifted and stored in the third bin. Side note: as uncovered humus (the finished product) will lose nutrients over time, it is best to either use it right away or cover it. All as to be yet decomposed material is added to the first two bins: the larger bin for the freshest, the second for that material which has been at it awhile.

There you have it. The fresh bins are watered to streamline the process by encouraging microbes and bacteria to get to work.

back in action

2010-08-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Met with a college friend last night in Bellingham to assess her potential for an over-wintering garden in the yard of her newly rented abode. Light situation looks pretty amicable, all things considered. Emphasis on greens, roots, and anything else that seems to tolerate our mild Pacific Northwest "winters."

To the drawing board to evaluate space limitations and the (presumably/typically) compacted and clayey soils of our recently glaciated past. Will try to make this a priority as the sooner these buggers can get established, the more chance they'll have of surviving/thriving the cold rains to come.

I am but the gardener. Planting seeds is all I do. Help yourself to some random hiking pictures from earlier in the day.

Hard Frost/Times

2009-12-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

Finally got our first frosts since I last posted. The ground has actually been frozen in our back yard for the last little bit. Clear and beautiful days though. An unusually dry December so far. Had a chance to visit with Christian last week and took some pics of his garden to pass along.

Beginning to re-think the location we selected for his garden. It doesn't seem to receive much direct sunlight during the day. This wouldn't normally be a problem in the Pacific Northwest because the typically overcast days diffuse light that would normally not be available to the plants. The past week has been unusually clear though, and downright cold. And it's when the ground stays frozen that the plants are in the most danger. Hopefully the daytime temps will warm a little or at the least the clouds will return for a while (never thought I'd be inviting gray skies...).

Broccoli sure looks good though.

Uprooted

2009-11-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Has it really been something like twenty days since I last posted? Wow. Well a few things have transpired since then:

-Cut down the quinoa stalks and started to dry them in the basement. Noticed some chickadees were making gluttons of themselves on all that free grain so I put a stop to it. Couldn't wait for the frost any longer or there would have been nothing left to harvest.

-Picked the first of some bok choi I planted in August (though I neglected to post about it then). It has performed quite well under cool conditions.

-Decided I'll be moving out of this house at the end of the year so I can begin to get my life in order and stop wasting it as I have been these past 20 months (and longer).

I will continue to post about other horticultural projects I may be working on, though the possibility that I will be living somewhere that allows much opportunity for such things is rather slim.

This has certainly been a valuable endeavor--if for no other reason than documenting a small part of my life as it continues to pass me by-- and it has been worth doing.

Slug Proof

2009-11-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

Last week Christian and I went about protecting his fledgling garden from the urban gardeners' perennial nemesis, the slug. Slugs LOVE rain! That makes the maritime northwest a veritable slug paradise. Pair that with the fact that our overwintering plants will only be growing at an almost immeasurable pace due to lower temperatures and light levels (and thus putting out little foliage to replace leaves damaged by said pests), and our immediate attention was required.

Christian's garden is getting pretty meaty and an easy target for would-be pests

Our weapon of choice: a pet-safe, environmentally friendly, naturally derived slug bait called Sluggo. Sluggo's active ingredient is iron phosphate, which is found naturally in soil. The slugs eat the bait, and after ingesting only a little bit, stop eating, wander off, and eventually die (within 3-6 days). The bait, which resembles rice-sized pellets, is spread in a perimeter around the garden to create an effective barrier. Over time the bait dissolves harmlessly into the soil. A new application may be needed every two weeks depending on how wet the winter is and how often the bait is eaten.

Christian spreads the slug bait around the perimeter of the garden

Seed Storage

2009-10-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Once you've set out to collect seed it is imperative to store it properly. Many varieties of seed can be viable for several years after they are collected. Some seeds found in ancient tombs have germinated after being sealed for hundreds and even thousands of years! The key is what I call the holy trifecta of seed storage: dark, dry, and cool.

Seed receptacle candidates: paper envelope, small sealing plastic bag, old film canister

Seed embryos are delicate structures; when subjected to improper storage conditions they quickly lose viability. Light can damage and exacerbate deterioration if the seeds are left in direct sunlight. If the seeds become damp or are not completely dried when stored, they'll likely mold. And last but perhaps most important is to assure storage takes place in a cool environment. A basement, unheated garage, or perhaps even the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator are all possible locations where seed can be kept until it is ready to be planted.

What you store the seed in is also of some importance, though options are many. Old film canisters are ideal, especially if they are black (will not let any light through). With the advent of digital cameras these are increasingly hard to come by, but with some luck maybe found at some one-hour photo labs. Other options include paper envelopes and sealing plastic bags.

After an ideal container and location has been selected, be sure to label the seeds. Include the seed variety and the date collected.

Collecting Seed

2009-10-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

The end of the season brings about not just the harvesting of fruits but also seeds from which will grow some of next year's crops. To collect viable seed, we must wait until the seeds are completely ripe. In the case of tomatoes, this means waiting until the fruit is practically rotting off the vine, or perhaps has already fallen to the ground. Beans prove somewhat easier.

I allowed some of the rattlesnake pole beans to mature (providentially, it would seem, because I simply couldn't get around to eating them before they ripened into full seeds) until the pods shriveled and dried on the vine. You will be able to tell that the seeds are ready by touch; gently squeeze the pod and determine that the beans inside are not flaccid or soft. The ripe seed should be firm and relatively hard. The pods can then be picked and brought inside. I place the pods somewhere dry and warm so that any residual moisture evaporates; dampness is the mortal enemy of well-preserved seed.

Once the pods have completely dried out, the seeds can be shucked. Other plants I intend to gather seed from include basil (summer and thai), tomatoes, snap dragons, marigolds, quinoa (mostly to eat, but some for sowing next spring), and texas hummingbird sage.

Winter Cover Sprouted

2009-10-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

After about a week, the cover crop seeds that Christian and I planted began to poke up in the recently cleared garden. The mix, which includes crimson clover, barley, buckwheat and some other varieties I can't seem to remember off hand, has performed very well considering the rather cool temperatures we've had lately. The absence of frost likely has much to do with their success.

A ground view of the cover crop:

The reasons to plant cover crop are many. It prevents erosion (something which can take a toll during our typically rainy winters), is more aesthetically pleasing than bare dirt, prevents other weeds from taking over in the absence of other vegetable crops, and, prior to spring planting, can be dug and turned right back into the soil to decompose and give the new crop a bit of a nutrient boost (as it decomposes quickly and makes many nutrients available to the surrounding soil).

Putting the garden to bed

2009-10-14T20:34:00.001-07:00

At the end of a tiring but mostly successful growing season, the garden deserves a good rest. Last week Christian helped me to lay the garden down for a long fall and winter's sleep. First a shot of how overgrown and unkempt I allowed the garden to get in the last days and weeks of summer:

Some knowledge to apply to my next attempts:

-Always and judiciously prune indeterminate tomato plants; mine got too out of hand and terribly tangled, making it difficult to discern one plant from the next and also hard to pick the fruit

-Bigger does not always mean better: It would have behooved me to focus my energy on fewer plants and given more individual attention to those specimens

-Allow adequate spacing! Even with my crowding problems last year, I still did not allow enough room for rows and individual plants to really flourish. Spacing is of utmost importance

Christian and I filled several large containers with the season's final peppers, sparse eggplants and green tomatoes (at this moment ripening in the windowsill). The plants were pulled and gathered into a compost pile. As a final measure we broadcast seeds of a winter green cover (crimson clover, buckwheat, etc.) over the newly bare soil. Hard to say if the seeds will sprout before the frost kills their chances, but we shall see.

Most of the garden lies in shade by this time of year, thanks to the condos next door. The back of the garden, nearest the hedge, does still receive a fair bit of light in the late afternoon.
The cloche was set up again to house the carnivorous plants I've gathered over the summer, and the cold frame has been re-appropriated again, this time to house additional carnivorous plant seedlings that will not fit in the cloche.

The inside of the cloche lined with flats of carnivorous plants

Five flats fit inside the cold frame just right.

Under The Quinoa Rainbow

2009-09-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

Throughout the season quinoa has proven to be a top performer, a plant I intend on growing wherever/whenever I have the chance to garden. The plants I grew this summer exceeded my expectations, growing twice as tall (about 8' instead of 4') as the seed package stated. The bushy seed clusters at the top of each plant exhibit a wide array of variability, at least as far as colors are concerned. A quick glance down the row reveals an unexpected explosion of color, from red, orange, yellow and beige (typically sold in stores). With the advent of fall the seed clusters are nearing harvest time, after the first frost.

Thinning

2009-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I helped Christian with the thinning of some of the seedlings from his winter garden. All plants require different spacing, so it's best to follow the directions stated on the seed packet. The plants we thinned were kale, collards, and arugula. When thinning it's best to grab firmly at the base, near the soil, so that you have the best chance of pulling up the entire thing, roots and all, in one tug.

A view of the rows prior to thinning

Thinning should be undertaken once the seedlings are 2-3 inches tall, once they are fairly well established but before they begin to compete with their neighbors for water and nutrients from the surrounding soil. When possible, cull the weakest performing plants and leave the ones that seem to be growing the strongest.

Christian thins the collards

The thinned row

The importance of thinning cannot be overstated. If plants are left in overcrowded rows, the individual plants will never reach their full potential, and rather than having fewer, stronger, full grown specimens you will be left with too many scraggly, etiolated plants fiercely competing for the same resources.

In the case of greens such as the ones we thinned, the thinned plants can even be put to good use in a salad or perhaps on a sandwich. We chose the former, and was it ever delicious.

Powdery Mildew

2009-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

A delightful little fungus called powdery mildew has graciously decided to descend upon my garden in these final days of the growing season. The plants affected, members of the cucurbit family, include my zucchini, yellow squash, and the pumpkins.

The infection tends to occur when conditions involve a combination of high humidity around the plant and water that collects on the leaves and is not dried off in a timely manner. Warm days and cool nights (typical Pacific Northwest conditions) encourage its growth. For an idea of what the infection looks like, imagine someone coated the leaves of your plant with a fine dusting of flour, or the first glimmering frost of winter to come has settled upon their normally green surface. Here's a glimpse of the affected yellow squash:
Not a pretty sight

Had I arrived at this plant sooner, I would probably have had a good shot of containing the fungus. By this point the plant is almost entirely covered in the dusty, white spores. The best treatment is of course prevention; growing in as sunny a spot as possible, not crowding the plants to allow adequate ventilation, and, even when the disease arises in spite of following these guidelines (as it did for me) eliminate the infected regions as soon as they are noticed.

With the exception of a few new leaves still green with new growth, this plant looks pretty sickly. Though it's late in the season, it may have a chance to produce a few more fruits, so I decided to perform a drastic surgery to try to eradicate the powdery mildew. My tool of choice: a sharp pair of scissors.

As I said, a pretty drastic procedure, but the infected leaves seem to be dealt with. As the season goes on, I will continue to monitor the plant to check for the return of the mildew, but for now it should be safe.

Christian's Garden: Revisited

2009-09-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

In the past week Christian has seen the germination of his final row of seeds, the carrots. All of his other crops have made some fairly decent strides in their rate of growth, despite the shortening of the photoperiod. With the advent of autumn comes a shortening of the day's length. It also means the sun's position in the sky will be progressively lower until the winter solstice on December 21. For his plants this means that less available light will slow their growth to a barely distinguishable crawl, however they will keep growing. In the meantime, crops hoping to overwinter successfully will need to grow to an appreciable size before the weather turns too cold. Christian's garden should fare well considering we still have a decent month (fingers crossed) of relatively pleasant weather ahead of us. His garden's proximity to the Puget Sound should also soften some of winter's more brutal effects.

From left to right: beets, spinach, leeks, carrots

Kale in the foreground, followed by arugula and endive

Holy Tomato!

2009-09-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show off a tomato grown by my parents. A massive heirloom variety that weighed in at just over two pounds. As it grew it pulled the branch it had grown on to the ground despite my parents efforts to tie the branch up with a bamboo stake for support.

Mom with the tomato for scale

Just for fun (and to live vicariously) here's the first fruit on an eggplant I gave them to plant in their garden:

Lookin' good!

September bounty

2009-09-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

Did a bit of harvesting from the garden yesterday. Production has reached a seasonal high and until the first frost it will only be a matter of keeping up with eating it all or finding a home for the extra produce. Tomatoes have yielded the best so far, and surprisingly, the beans keep on going. I was forced to cut down the sunflower head after I noticed that something had begun to nibble at the edges of the seeds. I later discovered a squirrel running down the stalk, dismayed probably at having his easy source of seeds taken away.

Also, to my delight, I realized all was not lost on the eggplant front. A separate plant I had hidden in the empty cold frame had survived the raccoons plundering and had reached a rather respectable size, now ripe for the picking. All in all a good day to be a gardener.

Pepper Paradise

2009-08-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Pepper season officially began two days ago. I stalked my way to the first ripe lady bell pepper and pulled it from the plant, turning the sun-warmed fruit in my hand. With pure, simplistic gratification I relished the thought of having seen a seed sown so many months ago finally achieve its biological goal. Felt like a parent's pride. Nature, sweet diviner of the harvest that awaits the patient gardener.

Christian's Garden-- Sprouting

2009-08-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I visited my friend Christian to check up on his garden. Amazingly, in less than a week, he has sprouts from each of the seed varieties we planted, with carrots being the lone exception.

A row of kale sprouts

Through my experience I've found that seeds planted in late summer tend to have a much easier time germinating than seeds planted in late spring. Obviously the warmer soil temperatures have much to do with this, but nevertheless I've had much more success with late summer plantings as a general rule. The only trick is to maintain soil moisture while seeds are still germinating, which usually means watering in the morning and night to keep the bed fairly wet.

Christian devised a rather clever way to incorporate the stones we pulled from the bed at the time we tilled it by using them as a border between his garden and the surrounding yard. It won't keep the cats out, but aesthetically it's quite pleasing. Eventually he plans to construct a more permanent barrier from all the curious animals on the property: raccoons, possums, squirrels and the aforementioned cats.

I also gave Christian a handful of tags to mark the rows, as well as an oregano seedling to plant in the 'herb garden' at the south end of the bed. Once the sprouts attain a larger size (perhaps a couple of inches in height) it will be time to thin them out and spread some additional compost. Until then we're hoping for more beautiful late summer weather.

Planting List

2009-08-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Something I've been meaning to do for quite some time now, but for whatever reason have neglected the task: a complete list of the vegetables and flowers I've planted this year (in an order that probably only makes sense to me).

Veggies
Tomatoes: Pear
Peach
Cherry
Heirloom
Better Boy
Peppers: Ancho
Jalapeno
Purple Bell
Lady Bell
Golden Bell
Popper
Eggplant: Black
Hybrid
Turkish Orange
Peas: Snow
Sugar Snap
Beans: Scarlet Runner
Rattlesnake Pole
Squash: Zucchini
Straight Yellow
Potato: Purple
Onion: Yellow Bulb
Leeks
Carrot: Cosmic Purple
Nantes
Spinach
Quinoa (technically a grain)
Broccoli

Herbs
Basil
Oregano
Chives
Cilantro

Flowers
Sunflower
Marigold
Snapdragon
Texas Hummingbird Sage
Nasturtium

A little closer to the end of the season I'll be reporting on what worked well and what I plan on trying again in a future garden endeavor, and conversely what seeds I plan on depositing straight into the garbage can.

Winter Garden Installation

2009-08-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I lent a hand to my good friend Christian in building his first vegetable garden. Because of the lateness of the season, his initiatory gardening adventure will be of the over-wintering variety.

Christian just moved into a quaint, old (1920's) rented home that sits atop a bluff alongside the Puget Sound. His proximity to the water could offer the added benefit of slightly warmer temperatures in winter. To begin construction, we first designated a spot, southwestern facing, that receives the most sunlight for the longest part of the day. Lacking a tape measure (which I forgot to bring) we used a flattened cardboard box to measure out the basic shape of the garden, which we estimated at about 4' X 10'.

Christian gloves up

Next we dug a line to form the perimeter of the garden, and then began to dig up the grass. This is the most labor intensive aspect of the installation, though it was ameliorated by the fact that the grass was dry and dirt separated from the roots quite easily. The removed grass will be used to start a new compost pile and, after it is decomposed, returned to the same soil to fertilize the ground. Cycle of life.

Christian's friend Steve(at left) stopped by to lend a hand as well.

As this is garden installation on a budget, we made due with the soil that we found beneath the layer of grass, which, all things considered, was not all that difficult to work with. With the exception of one large, head-sized rock, only moderate sized stones were found and subsequently pulled from the new bed.

Christian pulls the last of the sod from the bed

Once the bed was cleared of grass and rocks, compost was added to amend the soil and prepare it for the next phase.

Christian looks over the dark, rich humus of the added compost

With the addition of a thin layer of compost, we were ready to plant seedlings and seeds in the final step of installation. We first planted a chocolate mint and dill plant at the southern end of the garden, which will be reserved for herbs. Three broccoli seedlings (which I started indoors a couple of months ago) followed the placement of the herbs. The remaining space was sowed with seeds of various overwintering vegetable and greens varieties: collards, kale, arugula, endive, spinach, beets, carrots and leeks. Each row is marked with a small stick at either end and a diagram was drawn up so that we can be sure of where each variety is planted.

Christian and I pose behind the planted garden

The seeds will have a good month-plus to get established before seasonal temperatures begin to drop, which should be an adequate amount of time for them to get set. As long as there are no continuous below-freezing days this winter, the plants will continue to grow, albeit very slowly, until temperatures begin to increase in the spring.

The Eggplant Thief

2009-08-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was perusing the garden to check on the state of various plants and the ripening of their fruit when I stumbled across a subtle mystery: my largest black eggplant had been stripped bare. For the past few weeks I've been watching the fruits develop, growing larger with each passing day. In wanton anticipation I waited for the first fruit to finally ripen. But now, not a single purple vessel remains.

Our former roommate David--who's been squatting in our backyard in his tent for the past couple of weeks-- informed me he heard many noises in the night. Besides frequent cat fights he reported hearing distinctly the sound of animals rustling and chowing down. My best guess is raccoons are the culprits; I've often caught them wandering in the alley behind our house and even out front on the main street.

The price all gardeners pay for trying to tame nature, I suppose.

Mobile Pepper Planter

2009-08-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

The handiwork of my friend Erik, these portable planters provide a number of great solutions for the temperate climate pepper grower.

When planning his vegetable garden Erik quickly realized that containers would be the best option; the topsoil in his backyard contains numerous bowling ball sized rocks and various construction debris left over from when the house was built. To accommodate his needs he has employed various large plastic containers, including these storage totes which have a capacity of around 15-20 gallons.

Erik drilled between 15-20 3/8" sized holes in each container for drainage, and planted six equally spaced pepper seedlings grown indoors from seed.

On the left are a nice pair of purple bells and to the right a prolific 'popper' pepper

Erik also planted jalapeno, cayenne, golden bell and anchos (seen fruiting on left)

In addition to avoiding the very unusable ground, these containers have the advantage of mobility. This can be of particular use as fall approaches and the position of the sun changes. The containers are easily moved to follow the sun's declining arc. Another exciting advantage will be the ability to move the peppers indoors when the temperatures drop. I recently learned that peppers are a perennial--which, unlike most other annual garden vegetables which grow for one season and die-- and can live and continue fruiting for several years if grown under proper conditions.

Erik plans to experiment with growing a few of the plants indoors. It will be interesting to see how they respond to the new conditions.

The Patient Gardener

2009-08-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

According to the forecasts I've been reading lately, we're finally going to get some rain in Seattle. Almost seems strange... And not just a sprinkling, but steady, heavy rainfall this afternoon through tomorrow. Hopefully it will recharge the water table enough that I can avoid watering the garden for the next little bit.

In my gardening endeavors, I have learned many things, and have too many more yet to learn. Aside from all the technical information and facts though, the most important thing I have learned thus far has been patience. Hard to believe that I planted tomato seeds indoors over 5 months ago, and am only now beginning to reap the reward. Indeed I have even begun to display the slightest bit of impatience at how long the fruits have remained green. Only a very few of them have ripened. Corralling one's desires is no easy task.

A small handful of tomatoes and an ancho pepper picked this morning

I have realized that gardening, like life itself, is more about the processes and (seemingly) endless toiling rather than the final result. If you cannot find enjoyment in these things along the way, you will likely be disappointed when winter bears down. Silly as it sounds, some of my best memories of the garden this year involved some of the hardest work, in preparing the soil and planting the seeds and seedlings. The valuable lessons I will have learned from all this work will exceed any physical bounty I pull from the ground or off the vine, though those are certainly fringe benefits.

Quinoa continues to be a garden success story. I almost can't wait for the first frost so that I can finally harvest it.

Autumn in the air

2009-08-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Like a scent on the breeze, autumn calls across August's divide. We've emerged from the past week's heat wave only to find fall's cool and overcast days waiting on the wings. The last string of days this week marked a rather sudden and welcome transition. Temperatures on average have dropped about 30 degrees from the week before. I'm sure the heat will be back in some respect before summer officially ends, but for now, this respite feels just fine.

One good thing about the advent of fall though: HARVEST! The first of the tomatoes are finally ripening. Each plant's vines are overflowing with fruit, but very little of it has actually ripened with the exception of a few cherry and pear tomatoes. Peppers and eggplants continue to flourish and swell in size; the first fruit from each should be ready within the next week.

I recently (finally) installed some 'pesticide free zone' signs in the garden, one for the front and one for the back. I received the signs from the green festival way back in March, and procrastinated putting them up for fear of sending the wrong message (greener than thou). Now that they're up I'm glad I got around to it.

Fall crops sprouted

2009-08-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

The few rows of fall crops I planted a couple weeks ago are making full use of the summer sun. All three rows (carrots, leeks, and spinach) are thriving in the August heat. I tried a slightly different method when planting this time. After making a small furrow in the dirt, I lined the row with moist peat moss. Peat moss retains water well, so I figured it might be worth a shot to plant the seeds in the moss with the hope that it would keep them moist better than plain soil. Moisture and warmth are key to getting seeds to sprout. Hard to tell just how much it increased the rate of germination, and how much can be attributed to the heat. Regardless, the germination rate was a lot higher than I expected. I certainly had more carrots sprout this time than when I sowed them earlier in the season in only soil.

Carrots reaching for the sun

The eggplant planted in the cold frame has a nicely developing fruit and a couple blossoms ready to bloom

Urban Grown roots

2009-08-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

While I'm still on the "featuring urban gardens" kick I thought I'd include a couple of pictures of the garden where this all got started. From the time I was a young child, I helped my parents with their modest vegetable garden, planting seeds, weeding, and (especially) eating tomatoes from the vine. Eventually I earned my own plot next to the compost pile. I believe it measured about 5 feet square. The rest is, as they say, well, whatever. Anyway here are some shots of my parents' garden from about a week ago. I'm sure it's grown substantially since then. In the foreground are peas, followed directly by broccoli, bush beans, zucchini, lettuce and carrots (hidden by the zucchini), and way in the back, an artichoke plant.

Against the south-facing garage wall is a row of tomato plants. The plants receive direct watering from a simple drip irrigation system my dad rigged up to deliver water straight to the base of the plant. Using a five gallon bucket and a length of pvc pipe with small holes drilled at equidistant intervals, he can give each plant an equal amount of water by simply filling the bucket. The system does the rest. He usually fills the bucket and leaves the hose trickling (so that the bucket remains full but does not overflow) for about 15-20 minutes so that the plants receive a thorough soaking.

Urban garden update

2009-08-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a minute to update the growth of my friend Nick's garden. Here's Nick tending the radishes:

As of now Nick is growing peas, carrots, radishes, onions, broccoli, lettuce and cucumbers. Everything seems to be responding well to the relentless heat wave we've been experiencing in past weeks. We've set two rather impressive(sobering) records so far this summer in Seattle: hottest summer since SeaTac started recording weather in the 40's, and lowest amount of precipitation, at less than half the rainfall of the former lowest recorded amount.

Nick has run into a small insect problem with his broccoli plants. It appears as if the leaves have been chewed by cabbage moth caterpillars. I struggled with the same infestation, of which there are two solutions known to me. One involves picking the caterpillars off the plant as they are seen, which has its obvious limitations. The other is to cover the plants with a floating row cover. These can be found at any nursery and perhaps even big box stores that have a large enough garden center. Essentially it's a tightly woven synthetic fabric that is draped over the plants to prevent the moths from landing and laying their eggs nearby. As the fabric is merely sitting, or floating, on the plants, it does not restrict their growth.

Nick's radishes growing splendidly

Squash and Potatoes

2009-08-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Dug up the first mound of purple potatoes this afternoon. Not a bad haul considering I took so long to actually begin mounding the plants. I imagine if I'd done so earlier, or if our soil was more loamy, the harvest would have been greater. Still they turned out to be much bigger than I'd hoped, and who can beat that color?

Also picked the first zucchini and yellow squash. I'm going to my girlfriend's annual family barbecue later today so I figured I'd contribute something from the garden to the grill. Kabobs anyone?

Feel the heat

2009-07-31T13:38:00.000-07:00

I've lacked the motivation lately to post on account of record breaking temperatures. Two days ago SeaTac topped out at 103, and it's been hovering in the 90s ever since. Considering the fact that my room is an attic room and I don't have a laptop, there was no way I could conceive of attempting an endeavor that sweaty. It finally started to cool off yesterday and today is hot, but certainly bearable. The garden has needed extra watering during the past week's heat wave. I typically water around twilight, and if I'm able for a short time in the late morning. The past two months have been near the driest on record for the Seattle area, with practically no measurable rainfall to speak of. Perhaps a sign of what's to come. I can't really complain though; a gardener can't ask for better weather to grow vegetables, but a little rain would be nice.

Yellow squash ready to be picked today or tomorrow

Quinoa clusters continue to fill out nicely

Golden bell peppers love the heat

The first sunflower opened up yesterday

Peas no more

2009-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ripped out the two rows of ailing pea plants this morning to make way for some winter crops. In all actuality I should have planted seeds for the purpose of growing them through the fall and winter several weeks ago. No excuses.

I planted a row of carrots and next to it leeks and spinach. There are still a good six weeks or so of legitimate summer left, barring early fall rains, so they might have a chance of establishing themselves before the weather gets too wet and cold. I'm going to have to pay close attention to keeping the soil moist so that the seeds actually germinate, a task that may be near impossible if this hot, dry spell we've had lately continues. Inside I've already started several broccoli seedlings which are about 3 inches tall that will go outside as soon as I have more room in the garden.

The trellis pieces will be stored somewhere dry for next year's garden.

An updated shot of the tomatoes planted at the front of the house. I've had to tie several additional pieces of support twine to hold up the abundant fruits on these Better Boy hybrids, and still they hover just above the ground. I'll be keeping my eye out for slugs.

Successful garden installation

2009-07-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

A few updated photos of the garden I installed for a friend's mother in early May:

At left is the yellow squash followed by a row of tomatoes

Yellow squash looking very healthy

Jade bush beans with their first blossoms

A vibrant row of peas supported by a simple wire mesh trellis

I asked for a few updated photos to see how everything had performed; I hadn't seen the garden since I planted the seeds several months back. Seems things couldn't be doing better.

Cloche Removal

2009-07-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I pulled the cloche today. The tomatoes have far surpassed my expectations, shadowing the peppers and eggplants in the process, and necessitating the prompt removal of the cover. A jungle of jumbled tomato vines greeted us and the full summer sun as we lifted the plastic off. I was pleased to see several of the peppers with fruit already set peering from beneath the massive tomato hedge. Keeping the tomatoes at bay required additional staking in the form of 3-4' lengths of bamboo hammered into the ground and loosely twine-tied.

Judging by how well the tomatoes and peppers heretofore grown in full exposure to the elements next door to the cloche have performed, I foresee no issues arising in the absence of cover. August is yet before us as well. At any rate the cloche has proven mighty successful. I plan on using it soon as cover for a few winter crops I'll be attempting.

A branch of Health-Kick Hybrid tomatoes from the former cloche

Jalapeno pepper coming along nicely

The first eggplant

Urban Grown seeds are sown

2009-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today I'm featuring the first garden of my good friend Nick. He recently built and planted it after recieving a little inspiration from various sources. His is a raised bed garden, built on top of an existing yard using 4' lengths of cedar. The garden is divided into 16 seperate sqaure foot grids, called the square foot method, a popular method which has had several books devoted to the subject. The method involves a special soil mixture that includes compost, perlite, vermiculite, and other components that provide ample air circulation and retain moisture better than other soils.

At the back Nick has constructed a bamboo trellis consisting of three straight lengths of bamboo supported at the base by stakes. A grid of twine is strung across the space created by the bamboo that will allow the peas he planted to climb. Radishes have also begun to sprout.

A bug's eye view of Nick's first sprouting peas.

Gone not forgotten

2009-07-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

In my short life I've seen many natural spaces fall to the bulldozer's blade. I watched helplessly as my hometown was transformed from a sleepy out-of-the-way suburb to an ever expanding strip mall as far as the eye sees. Houses line the cliff's edge of the few remaining greenbelts and shrinking watersheds. This, I am told, is a sign of progress, positive economic growth, something to be heralded as the coming of some wondrous and prosperous age. Why does it so often seem this shortsighted destruction concerns itself only with the pursuit of the dollar? How many times can you stamp the same set of franchises and shopping centers on a different landscape?

My father and I once waged a campaign against city council to petition plans that called for so-called 'improvements' to be made to our neighborhood park. 500 signatures and several disappointing council meetings later and nothing changed. "The money has already been appropriated," they'd claimed, "it has to be spent." Concrete was set and asphalt paved. A young boy learned nothing speaks as loudly as a dollar in hand.

Several years ago I discovered a small patch of wild blackcaps (also called black raspberries) tucked behind the same park in a rapidly disappearing greenbelt. I had stumbled across a rare treasure and knew it; I collected the berries every summer from then on which my mother and I made into delicious jam. Two days ago I returned to find the entire patch decimated. A trail building crew had mindlessly carved a swath of destruction through the heart of the patch. In their ignorance they had destroyed something worth much more than money to me.

"Oh well," I thought after my initial anger subsided. What seems like half a lifetime ago I learned to expect such things will happen as long as there is money to be made. I slowly came to understand that saddest of all, no one walking that future trail would even realize what had been lost so that it could be created. No one would know what wonders had once grown in its place.

Container Gardening

2009-07-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

A number of factors contribute to the realization of the urban grown garden, foremost among them an actual piece of dirt in which to grow vegetables. For those in want of a simple solution to a despotic landlord or the tragically limiting nature of apartment living, your answer may lie in container gardening. Though this idea is nothing new to many city dwellers, I was recently inspired while staying with my friend Brian at his rented home in the heart of Washington, D.C.

Brian's gracious roommates (thanks again for all your hospitality guys!) live in a 100-year-old Victorian home lacking a yard proper. The space behind the house is a concrete patio meant to be used as a parking spot. While serving as an excellent space to host one mean summertime barbecue, concrete does not the ideal growing space make. Thus, the introduction of the versatile container garden. Brian's roommate Andrew has converted two "muck buckets" to accommodate several varieties of vegetables and herbs.

To purchase similarly sized containers designed for growing vegetables would have cost around $25 each. These buckets cost Andrew around $6, and have conveniently placed rope handles should they need to be moved to follow the sun's changing trajectory in late summer. The only modification to consider is drilling several half inch holes in the bottom of the containers to allow water to drain. The containers (which I believe are 15-18 gallon capacity) are large enough to accommodate between five and six plants each. They are filled with a potting soil mix designed for growing vegetables. This should contain plenty of perlite to ensure good airflow within the soil.

This container contains mostly herbs (from left parsley, oregano, and basil).

The other contains three pepper plants, sage, and a cucumber. Placing the cucumber next to the fence has the added benefit of providing the plant a surface to climb and vine (although allowing it to vine through the fence will prevent moving the container until the plant is done fruiting).

For those with the will but perhaps thought they lacked a way, container gardening provides a fantastic solution to the often perceived problem of concrete and limited space.

Still the garden grows...

2009-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

I returned from my week-long east coast jaunt late Wednesday night to find everything in the garden very much alive and well. A special thanks to everyone who helped while I was away. The volunteer sunflowers are over 8 feet tall and showing no signs of stopping their skyward ascent anytime soon. Entering the cloche in any fashion other than an army crawl verges on the impossible. Rattlesnake beans are fruiting readily, though the scarlet runners seem to have been spottily pollinated; each flower cluster only managed to produce two or three beans out of around fifteen blooms. Although one bean is nearly ten inches long.

As I understand it, frequent harvesting of beans and peas, tomatoes, zucchini, pretty much any fruiting vegetable, will encourage the plant to produce more fruit. In the case of peas and some beans, picking the pod when it's a bit on the young side will ensure it is tender (and delicious).

Quinoa continues to thrive. According to the seed package the plant was to reach a height of four feet; this one is over six.

The first zucchini fruits appear.

An updated photo of the garden's growth since last week.

One for the road

2009-07-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

Leaving for New York tonight to attend my cousins' wedding on Saturday. The ceremony's upstate in Binghamton, but I'll be spending a couple of days in the city with my sister and brother in law prior. Then a few days in D.C. to catch up with an old college friend, Brian.

For the interim, the garden will be in the hands of my able-bodied roommates (I'm praying for rain). I've shot a few pictures of some garden produce as it's coming along.

Dew sprinkled quinoa starting to form the main seed cluster.

Peas overflowing on the vine.

Rattlesnake pole beans filling out nicely.

Pumpkin blossom nestled between the beans.

Scarlet Runner beans and blossoms.

A pic of the garden today (most of it anyway). Even with all my careful attention to spacing, everything seems to have grown rather close together. I guess part of me didn't expect it all to grow so prolifically. The tomatoes in the cloche are beginning to press against the plastic. When I get back next Wednesday I will have to figure out the best way to deal with their rampant growth.

I'm gonna pinch you sucka'

2009-07-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Allusions to bygone blaxploitation films of yesteryear aside, what this post really hopes to address is the removal of "suckers" from indeterminate tomato plants. This idea was presented to me by a close friend's father, Joe, who is also growing tomatoes, among many other vegetables. While I was admiring his garden a couple of weeks back, he asked me what I knew about pruning tomato plants so that they might produce better fruit and direct more of their collected energy toward fruiting rather than leaf production. I promised to do some research, and here are the conclusions at which I've arrived:

Pruning tomatoes is intended to direct most of the plants gathered nutrients toward producing fruit. This is best done once the plant is well established, after it has grown four or five fruit bearing branches. All additional shoots can then be pinched off. The shoot to be pinched off in this picture rests between the main stem and the branch.

The branch already contains blossoms which will soon develop into fruit. By pinching off the shoot, theoretically, more nutrients will be directed toward that fruit rather than being wasted on the shoot. I found the easiest way to remove unwanted shoots was by pinching them. Firmly grasp the shoot between the forefinger and thumb and wiggle it back and forth until it snaps off.

Pinching the shoot rather than cutting it also helps to prevent the open wound from being infected.

I'll be conducting a little experiment to determine, in my own opinion, whether or not pinching the shoots makes all that much difference in the amount/quality of fruit harvested. Some plants will be left to grow as they would in the wild, free from pinching fingers, and I'll compare results at the end of the season. My intuition is that it won't make a demonstrable difference, but that's probably just the skeptic in me speaking. We shall see...

Visitor

2009-06-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Stole a picture of this helpful garden friend as she sipped nectar from Scarlet Runner blossoms. In addition to bees and other insects, hummingbirds play an important role in flower pollination. They are particularly attracted to flowers on the red side of the color spectrum (red, orange, pink), which is something I didn't consider at all when I planted the seeds. What an unexpected surprise.

Weeding

2009-06-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Summer's just officially begun and already the days grow shorter. A depressing thought I'll try to ignore as long as the garden's growing green and vibrantly. The pea harvest is in full effect; the plants have grown so large so quickly they're actually causing the trellis to sag! Today Aaron helped me tie the plants back to prevent them from leaning onto the row of beans, which are also growing rather fanatically. The northwest end of the garden has become a bit of a struggle to navigate through, in spite of (what I thought was) ample spacing. This is partly due to my reluctance to pull a volunteer pumpkin vine that sprouted near the end of the bean row.

From here on out we'll have all the peas we can eat and then some.

Aaron and I spent a little time managing the garden this afternoon. We piled some compost around the potatoes to encourage them to fill out with more spuds underground. The spinach and broccoli were also pulled from the garden. In the next few weeks I will be seeding the area where those plants were with crops that I intend to overwinter, perhaps leeks or kale, or some other hardy overwintering variety.

An important aspect of garden maintenance I haven't spent any time discussing is weeding. With proper upkeep this task will take only 1-2 hours a week. It's usually only when the task is neglected that it's a real chore. The main reason to weed is to avoid competition between your vegetables and the weeds. Weeds will use water and minerals from the surrounding soil that would otherwise go to your plants.

I try to break it up to about two times a week. The weeds are given little chance to reach any appreciable size, and the task takes less time. A regular garden hoe works best between rows, and saves your back. Last year I did all my weeding by hand, and definitely made the work much harder on myself and my back. A good hoe is definitely a must have for in-ground gardening. I still pull weeds growing near the plants by hand to avoid damaging them, but by doing this frequently it is a much less tedious endeavor. Here's Aaron demonstrating his technique:

Using the hoe allows you to keep your back straight and exert minimal effort.

And just for fun, a picture of the first eggplant blossom:

Rain

2009-06-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

Soft drum of rain this morning, lullaby in the cool gray dawn. Twin Peaks playing tricks on my mind. Thanks for all the weird dreams Mr. Lynch. And the memories. At least I don't have to water the garden today.

Dry days

2009-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today the Seattle area tied the previous record for consecutive days without rain for this time of the year (May-June), with 29 straight days without so much as an isolated sprinkle. For the garden, it's a blessing and a curse. The long hot days have rocketed my plants into top form, with most blossoming or at least showing buds or getting ready to flower. It's only a curse in the sense that the water table is being continually lowered without the usual rain to recharge it. And really, it's not a curse, it just means I have to be adamant about watering. For once I'm actually hoping it will rain! Some pictures of the plants' progress in recent days:

These peas will be ready to pick tomorrow or the next day.

The quinoa is doing great! This is one experiment I'm glad I undertook. The plants are nearly two feet tall already. They should reach a height of about four feet and then will begin to produce seed clusters. According to the research I've done they won't be ready to harvest until after the first frost, at which time I'll cut them down and hang somewhere cool to dry.

The tomatoes inside the cloche are nearly to the top of it already, and readily blooming. Their cages are nearly hidden by the abundant foliage. The slightly hotter temperature the enclosure creates seems to be doing the trick.

Another cloche success story: black eggplant. This is definitely the largest I've ever got an eggplant to grow before, and it trumps the ones I grew last year (which hardly grew more than 8" tall and didn't fruit whatsoever). This one is over a foot tall.

A casualty of the consistently hot weather has been the spinach. I should have planted this crop much earlier than I did, as the high temps have prompted it to bolt (grow spindly and go to seed). I have been able to harvest a sizable amount of the leaves, however, and have been chopping off the tops of the plants in hopes that it will force the plant to shoot out more vegetation and cease flowering.

Buds & Blooms

2009-06-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd go easy on the words today and just post a bunch of pictures of the flowering plants in the garden.

Scarlet Runner Bean Buds

Sugar Snap Pea Flowers

Pear Tomato

Black Eggplant Bud (in cloche)

Strawberries growing from containers near the garden.

Cold frame reappropriation

2009-06-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

Now that the growing season is in full swing I no longer need the cold frame to acclimatize seedlings, so have decided to conduct a little experiment involving peppers and eggplants. On the tall side of the frame (the back) I planted two peppers (of which are either jalapeno or lady bells, they weren't labled), a black eggplant, and an eggplant hybrid directly into the ground. The plants are spaced approximately 12-15" apart. Since we've had spectacular late spring weather these past few weeks I intend to keep the windows placed on top of the frame in a way such that they allow adequate ventilation but still help to transmit extra heat directly into the soil and the plants. Leaving the frame shut completely would surely spell disaster, as I would be unable to regulate the temperature at all and the plants would most likely get fried.

A picture of the newly planted peppers (left) and eggplants (right). As the plants grow I will probably have to remove the windows entirely to allow them to keep growing skyward, but for now they should reap the benefits of the additional heat that plants in the solanum family love so much.

There is a space between the windows about 8" wide and a strip along the entire front face of the frame to allow ventilation.

A caged fruit yet grows

2009-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to buying tomato cages today. Couldn't find any that weren't made in China, oh well. A lesson well learned: place cages over tomatoes when they are freshly transplanted, before they have a chance to really take off. I made the mistake of procrastinating and letting the plants get bushy, thus making the process of getting them within the confines of the cage needlessly difficult. It required much patience and careful, deliberate movement of the plants' many branches, but in the end all turned out well. Both the tomatoes inside and outside the cloche are now caged and will have the support they require to hold up fruit.

I also took the opportunity to plant three squash seedlings my Dad gave me, two of which I believe are zucchini, and one I think is a yellow squash. He didn't label them so I won't know for sure until they fruit. Keeps it a little more interesting I suppose. Here's one of the plants after a good soaking:

Similar to potatoes, squash appreciate growing from a mounded hill of soil.

The peas have dominated the trellises, and are nearly four feet tall already:

Today I noticed their first blossoms , which means a bounty of snap and snow peas is just around the corner!

Fresh greens

2009-06-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

The weather these last weeks has been unbelievably good. Too good to be true, almost. Only the garden seems to appreciate it more than me. Had a fresh picked salad today with the first broccoli head, spinach, chives, cilantro and the spicy greens that grew of their own volition (probably from the compost Aaron and I spread).

Nothing but good eating from here on out. Before long it will mostly be a matter of keeping up with it all. A pic of the garden from today.

Also planted a row of peppers, as well as several inside the cloche. A special thanks to my friend Erik for all the different pepper seedlings: ancho, jalapeno, golden bell, purple bell and poppers.

Me and the bean(stalk)

2009-05-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

In the week since my last post, me and the plants have been soaking up some serious sun. I completed the final trellis, which will be providing support for the two different varieties of beans, the rattlesnake pole beans and the scarlet runners. Construction is the same as the trellis for the peas, the exception being that it is much less crowded with twine. Beans appreciate more space to fill out. Here's a pic of a scarlet runner crawling up the crosspiece of the trellis only a few hours after I completed it. They climb fast!

The quinoa and some of the carrots have sprouted, though I may have to resow some carrots as they are sporadic and the germination rate left something to be desired. A quinoa seedling:

Everything in the cloche is faring rather well, though I have yet to establish a satisfactory method for securing the plastic along the base of the pvc that is in contact with the ground. Perhaps it's time to bring out the zip ties.

A couple of my broccoli plants are suffering from some ailment I am unable to diagnose at this point. Here's what they look like:

The leaves are wilting and beginning to turn yellow. I first thought they might not be too keen on the warm weather we've had as of late (75 + degrees for the past week). They've been adequately watered, though not over-watered. They seem to perk up at night once it cools off, but set to wilting once the sun's up the next day. The remaining plants seem fine, and it may be that I just have to cut my losses and remove the plants if they don't recover soon. I can always plant something else in its place. Here's a more uplifting shot of one of the plants that is doing much better and even starting to bud!

I did a little work out in the front garden today, planting several herbs (parsley and basil), nasturtiums, marigolds, snapdragons and various tomatoes. To update on the front garden, the initial tomatoes I planted weeks ago are growing vigorously and seem to be enjoying their location near the concrete. I plan on planting some additional herbs and flowers at a later date. A quick shot of what the garden looks like now:

Tomorrow I'm waking up early to set up shop in the front of the house to see if I can't find a good home for the remaining seedlings I have no more room to plant.

Cloche!

2009-05-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

I spent nearly nearly 7 hours in the garden yesterday, transplanting, weeding, and finishing construction on the cloche. Rather than look up plans on the web I opted to wing it. The process itself was not overly complicated, once I figured out how to affix the front and back supports it was only a matter of fitting all the pieces together. Here's what it looks like:

The materials I used are as follows:

-7 pieces of 1/2" pvc pipe, 10 feet long
-4 elbow joint fittings with 1/2" openings
-4 1/2" 'T' fittings for intermediary connections
-1 roll of 3.5 mil plastic (measuring 10' x 25') to serve as covering
-4 2" wood screws
-1 4' length of 5/8" wooden dowel rod
-4 wooden stakes

Any hardware store ought to have all these parts. Four pieces of pvc pipe are first cut down to 9'. These will serve as the arches. To build the front and back arches, two pieces are cut from one of the remaining 10' pieces, each to 4'. These will lay on the ground and hold the arch in place and prevent flexing. Since the elbow joint fittings I found only have a 1/2" opening on two of the three sides, I was forced to get creative to determine how I would fit the 4' piece into the side with the slightly smaller opening. This is where the wooden dowel rod comes into play. First I drilled a pilot hole into the fitting using a bit approximately the same width as the wood screws:

A 3" piece of the dowel rod is fitted into the opening in line with the drilled hole. Trust me that a 5/8" dowel will fit into an opening that a 1/2" pvc pipe won't. It just takes a little persuasion. A 1/2" piece of dowel will be too narrow. The dowel should fit all the way to the back of the elbow. Now a screw can be drilled into the dowel. The dowel will protrude from the elbow about 1 1/2", like so:

Now the 4' length may be fitted over the dowel:

The same is done on the other side of the 4' piece, and is replicated for the remaining piece and elbow joints. From the remaining 2 pieces of 10' pvc, six 3' pieces are cut. These will serve as the flat lengths connecting the four arches. Connect 3 of the pieces using the 'T' fittings, then connect these pieces to the two 4' lengths. It should look like this:

The four wooden stakes are pounded into the ground at the four 'T' fittings to prevent the arches from flexing once they are inserted. After the stakes are secured the 9' pieces may be inserted into the fittings:

Almost done now!

Next a length of plastic is cut from the roll. The roll is 10' wide by 25' long. I cut a 15' piece so that I could use the extra length to somehow rig up a covering for the front and back, which I still have yet to refine. The plastic is tucked underneath the pipe against the ground and then duct taped to the pipe. This will probably be a temporary solution until I can figure out something better. It is important to note that there is nothing actually holding the cloche to the ground, it is simply resting there. I most likely will have to find some spare tent stakes or other scrap that can be driven into the ground and used to hold the pipes from being ripped up by a particularly strong wind. Once the cloche is finished it can be planted. I planted two rows, each about 10" from the edge, which will allow me to walk (crawl) in the middle of the cloche and provide adequate space for the plants to grow:

On the left, a row of tomatoes, and on the right eggplants and peppers. I will have to closely watch the temp inside the cloche, as I imagine it will be quite easy for it to scorch the plants if not closely monitored.

Me and the bean

2009-05-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Visited my parents today and happened to stumble across this picture from my earlier gardening days. Judging by the Super Mario Bros. sweatshirt I'm wearing I must be about 6 or 7 years old. Fantastic.

All Strung Up

2009-05-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Didn't end up going to Discovery Park today(though the weather couldn't have been more obliging). Instead I built the first of several trellises for the peas and beans out of some bamboo I found for free.

Free is Good

The trellis is constructed with 4 pieces of bamboo, about 6 feet long and 3/4" thick, one piece slightly longer than the length of the row, and as many lengths of string as there are pea plants. You could also build this using pvc pipes or any scrap wood you have lying around. On either end of the row two of the 6 feet pieces of bamboo are stabbed into the ground to form a steep X. I drilled a screw through the two pieces to hold them together securely. The row-length piece is lain along the length of the row between the two X's. Next I tied a string from the spanning bamboo down to the pea plant. You can either loosely tie a loop around the stem of the plant so that it can begin climbing or tie the string to a twig or perhaps a thin stick of bamboo that is staked in the dirt near the plant. I tied the string to some scraps pieces of bamboo.

Peas are natural climbers and should have no trouble finding their way up the string. My trellis sags a little in the middle, hopefully the weight of the vines won't drag it down much farther.

Garden Installation

2009-05-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today I planted a garden for a friend's mother. The plot was formerly a lawn, but had been dug up (at least a year) prior. Here's a shot of the space before I got my hands dirty:

Overall a good space with direct sun all day that required minimal labor to get started. I turned the soil, as it had become compacted from our usual Northwest winter rains. The garden is triangle shaped, probably around 150-200 square feet. I planted rows of spinach, carrots, bush beans, snap and snow peas, tomatoes, and a small herb garden consisting of cilantro, basil and parsley.

Here's what it looked like after 4 hours of work. I managed to finish just in time to get out of the rain (which lasted pretty much the rest of the day). A great way to spend the morning and early afternoon (and make a little money on the side). With any luck I'll be doing this sort of thing more often in the near future. The Urban Grown garden installation service, a pipe dream now, but maybe someday...

Wild Harvest

2009-05-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

The landscape in recent weeks has seen the full flushing of spring, in the blooming horsetails, budding nettles and other so-called weeds that are otherwise overlooked by your average urbanite. When this time of year rolls around I can't help but keep my eyes trained to the ground in search of wild edibles. Ever since receiving a useful little book called Wild Harvest: Edible Plants Of The Pacific Northwest by Terry Domico as a gift several years ago, I've been munching springtime edibles whenever I find them.

I recently had the idea to organize a field trip (ha! elementary school) to Seattle's Discovery Park to hunt wild edibles and to follow it up with the harvested feast. If anyone is interested or available to meet me at my house this Friday, May 15th, in the late morning or possibly afternoon depending on schedules, I will be orchestrating a venture to find some good, free eats from the park (I'm pretty sure this is legal). If the weather chooses not to agree with my scheduling we can always set it up another time in the near future.

I've got the literature (with pictures!) and will be more than happy to teach whomever wants to tag along about all the local flora that's not just pretty to look at but that you can eat too!

Tomato Plants Spilleth Over

2009-05-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

We've so many extra tomato plants it will be a struggle to find good homes for them all, but better to have too many seedlings than too few. All of the transplanted seedlings seem to be fairing well, though the weather has been on the cool side lately (good for spinach and peas, but not so much for tomatoes). Today warmed up nicely in the afternoon, with the sun making a well appreciated appearance. The cloche is still in the planning stages, though I think I've figured a way to keep the pvc flexed and secured so that the entire structure will be mobile. That will allow me to move it as needed should certain plants require the extra vertical growing space. Hoping for good weather this Wednesday, as I've scheduled to consult with a friend's mother about installing a vegetable garden at their house and will perhaps be planting it the very same day!

An updated shot of sugar snap peas, about 6" tall now.

If you don't like the weather in Seattle...

2009-05-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Wait ten minutes. What this morning looked like another day of torrential downpour and high speed winds transformed graciously into a partly sunny (but still windy) afternoon. After briefly tinkering with some pvc pipes and fittings (for the cloche), I ventured a look outside to find that it had stopped raining and that the sun was beginning to dry things up. Though it only ever got partly clear (clouds move quickly around here) I was able to get out to the garden to plant a row of carrots and quinoa. Quinoa is an ancient grain (though not a true cereal grain since is not a grass) originally domesticated by the Incans in the Andes Mountains of South America. They called it 'mother grain,' and for good reason. It contains a balance of essential amino acids and up to 18% protein, which for vegetarians like myself, is a godsend. Add to that the fact that it tastes great! The plant itself is an annual that grows about 4 feet high, the top of which sprouts a cluster of seed at the end of the growing season. Supposedly it grows well in much of the U.S., so I figured I might give it a try.

Tomatoes soaking up the late afternoon light

Brewed Storms

2009-05-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I was wakened to the sound of my single-paned window rattling in its frame. The screaming wind bore down on the house almost as violently as the pelting rain that hasn't stopped since early yesterday afternoon. My chance to get some more seeds sowed was rained out, as looks like will be the case today. Luckily I was able to get some work done on Sunday. I planted a row of onion starts Nathan had sowed inside in 4" pots back in March. Also some basil and cilantro seedlings sprouted at about the same time. Next to the onions I planted some hills of potatoes, four that I bought as seed potatoes (a purple variety), and three that sprouted in the newly tilled/composted garden as volunteers. A look at what's new in the garden since Sunday:

Basil(left) and Cilantro(right)

Onions

Potatoes

I (reluctantly) planted three tomato plants in our front garden (against the concrete stairs that lead to the front door). I chose to plant them because I felt they had become too leggy, too tall for the pots I had transplanted them into. I imagine moving them into bigger pots at this point wouldn't serve much purpose, since I would be planting them outside in another two weeks anyway. Hopefully this bout of wind and rain will not take too much of a toll, though I'm sure they're not too pleased at the moment. Once the weather improves I imagine their placement will be beneficial to their heat-loving tendencies, as the concrete wall they are planted against absorbs heat during the day and should radiate heat long into the evening, something tomatoes ought to appreciate. Between them I also planted some basil and cilantro. Today should find me drawing up plans to build a tunnel cloche (essentially a mini greenhouse constructed cheaply of pvc pipe and polyurethane plastic) where I hope to grow tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. At least that will keep me busy until the rain stops.

As of now the tomatoes are loosely held upright to the wooden rail with gardening twine. I will probably have to devise a more inventive support system as they begin growing more rapidly (as they are an indeterminate variety and require some type of staking), but for now, it will make do.

Spring Rains...Sprouts!

2009-05-02T14:01:00.001-07:00

This past week has seen the sprouting of the various seeds I sowed recently. Have a look:

Top: Beans Bottom: Spinach

Top: Broccoli Bottom:Peas

All seem to be doing well, with the exception of a few beans who had their tops munched off by some of the local fauna. Today I hope to plant a few tomatoes outside, as well as sow some rows of carrots, onions, basil and cilantro. Though it may be a bit early for the tomatoes, a few of the plants have grown leggy, and so I will have to take a bit of a chance setting them out early. I don't think upping the pot size at this point will benefit it much. Here's hoping they adjust adequately. Before the peas and beans get too large I will be constructing trellises for them to climb.

Seedling Sale/First Sprouts

2009-04-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dropped off two trays of extra seedlings at a garage sale my parents were having as part of the Great Mukilteo Garage Sale. About two dozen plants, mostly tomatoes of different varieties, a few eggplants, basil and cilantro. At a dollar a piece they sold out quickly. I made twenty-four dollars! Not bad, at least enough to recoup some of the cost of seed.

While the family was busy selling the plants I went garage sale-ing with my friend Landon. I was able to find all of the things I was looking for: a whole slew of plastic pots of various sizes, a couple of new flourescent fixtures, and a box full of mason jars for canning at the end of the growing season. All told those items cost less than $10 combined!

When I visited the garden this morning I noticed that the first seeds I sowed last week have begun sprouting. Mostly the spinach, but also several beans and peas. It will be important to keep the rows moist during this critical stage of the seedlings emergence until they have established a few true leaves. A thorough watering (about 2 liters for each 13' row, from the rain barrel of course) every morning should be sufficient to keep them moist without drowning them. The broccoli transplants seem healthy, although a few cold nights this past week have kept them from putting on too much new growth. At any rate they seem to be adjusting well to their new home.

When a cold frame becomes a hot frame...

2009-04-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a lesson well learned regarding the heat-sinking capabilities of the cold frame. The high was 70 degrees, but inside the cold frame, it must have been much higher. High enough to scorch the few seedlings I had inside. See for yourself:

Pictured are a few luffa and birdhouse gourds that were left unattended. Until yesterday I had been removing the windows from the cold frame during the day (and returning it at night), so just such a thing wouldn't happen, but yesterday I went to my parents house in the morning and didn't return until the late afternoon. When I returned, the seedlings were wilted and bone-dry inside the sealed cold frame. I watered them and removed the windows; we'll see if any of them recover. If not I'll still have time to plant some more, as gourds prefer much hotter temps (though not as hot as they were subjected to) and a later, direct sowing might actually be beneficial over transplanting seedlings. At any rate, don't forget to be attentive to the cold frame! I'm off to the Oregon coast for a few days of camping with Jenn, hopefully my first sowed seeds will have been sprouted when I get back...

Sowing Seed

2009-04-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Some mild, partly cloudy weather today, perfect to begin sowing seeds in the garden. Though I likely should have done it earlier (as peas love cooler spring temps), I sowed two rows of peas (pole variety) at the western end of the garden. Next to them I planted a half row(6 feet) of pole beans and a half row of runner beans. At the other end of the garden I sowed a row of spinach seed as well as the broccoli seedlings that have been chilling in the cold frame.

Broccoli in its new home.

For each of the seeds, I followed the sowing directions explicitly, something I neglected to do last year which to crowding and most likely smaller yields. Between the rows of peas and beans, I left at least 2 feet. As these are pole varieties (they are indeterminate and will require some sort of trellising), I tried to plant them to the far end of the garden to hopefully prevent them from shading smaller vegetables nearby. The fact that the rows are oriented north-south should prevent shadows for the most part anyway...

Plant far more seeds than you intend to ultimately grow, as you will be able to thin once the seedlings have grown a couple of inches and a couple of pairs of true leaves. The broccoli plants are spaced 18" apart. The soil can be filled all the way up to the cotyledon leaves. With transplants and seed sowing, be sure to pat the earth down around the plant or the top of the row with your palm. This restores capillarity to the soil, which will help the area around the seedling stay moist and encourage germination. After planting all the seeds and broccoli, the rows are watered are labeled so the different varieties won't get mixed up (and so my roommates don't step on them). Also this was my first opportunity to use water collected from the rain barrel, which was pretty neat.

A (short) planting list of the garden so far:

-Peas (Snow peas and Super Sugar Snap peas, both pole varieties)
-Beans (Scarlet Runner and Rattlesnake pole)
-Spinach (Bordeaux Hybrid)
-Broccoli (Early Green)

Transplanting

2009-04-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well the leek and herb souffle was fantastic. There really is nothing like eating fresh food out of the garden, even if what you're eating has just weathered a cold and damp winter! The last few days I've been laboring over the transplanting of tomatoes from the small germinating trays we've had under lights and into larger containers. Transplanting to larger containers (as opposed to directly into the garden) mostly applies to heat-loving species (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers), which will usually outgrow the container you sprouted them in, but are still too fragile to be planted outside. In the Pacific Northwest this means they should not be planted outside until May or possibly later in the case of eggplants or peppers.

You'll want to transplant after the seedling has developed at least 2 sets of 'true' leaves. These are the leaves that are produced after the first leaves, known as cotyledon leaves.

Now here's an opportunity to put 'sustainability' and 'green' ideas into use. Instead of going to the store and buying pots (which are more than likely made in China anyway), start to collect empty plastic containers that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away. Recycling is better than sending waste to the landfill, but it still requires energy (mostly fossil fuels) in order to reprocess it into a new product. Reusing bottles reduces even further the amount of wasted energy.

I use empty Gatorade bottles (32 oz size, about the equivalent of a 4" pot), Vitamin Water bottles (20 oz size), 2 liter soda bottles, and whatever else I can get my hands on (yogurt containers, other various juice bottles, etc.) Special thanks go to my roommates for their particular beverage addictions. The lids of some yogurt containers can also be used as trays to place under the salvaged containers to collect drained water.

Raw materials

First rinse the bottles out. Then cut the top of the bottle off using a sharp knife. Be careful, as this is the most dangerous step of the process. Poke the knife through, taking care the blade doesn't slip, and cut in a straight line. Or you can use scissors if you're not comfortable using a knife.

If you have one handy, use an electric drill with an 1/8" drill bit to drill a series of holes in the bottom of the container. This will allow excess water to drain, which will prevent the soil from remaining too damp and possibly causing the roots to rot. If you don't have a drill, you can carefully use the sharp tip of a knife to bore out the holes, or else try pounding holes using a nail and hammer.

Once the holes are drilled/cut the 'pot' is ready to fill with soil (I use a mix of compost and perlite, of a ratio of about half and half). Now you're ready to transplant!

The finished product

When transplanting it is of utmost importance to disturb the roots as little as possible. Try loosening the soil in the container by gently squeezing the outside. Turn the container upside down, with a finger on either side of the plant's stem, and squeeze the container to persuade the plant to slide out. Have patience with this step, it could be the difference between the plant not even realizing it's been moved and shocking it and causing it to halt growth for several days until it can recover.

Have the larger container you'll be transplanting the seedling into filled with your soil mix and make a depression in the soil where you will insert the plant. Gently place the roots into the depression, taking care to keep the root tips pointed down to the bottom of the depression. The root tips are the most delicate part of the root system, as they are the actively growing portion that is readily seeking out space and nutrients. Pat down the soil around the stem, then water the plant with luke-warm water. Place the plant back under lights or in a sunny windowsill.

The windowsill in my room. This window works well because it is a southern exposure (gets most light during the day) and is on the second floor (is not shadowed by the condos next door). If you're growing more than one variety of tomato, as we are, be sure to label the containers to help keep track of what's what.

Final Composting/First Meal

2009-04-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

After a gloomy and quite cool spring morning the sun decided to show and warm the ground a little. I broadcast the rest of the compost and pulled a row of leeks that had (unintentionally) overwintered. Here's the complete composted grow space:

With last year's garden I made the mistake of planting my seedlings much too close, largely forsaking the recommended plant and row spacing for just about everything. Not this year. These leeks struggled under a perpetual zucchini shadow. But once I pulled the zucchini at the end of the season, the leeks kept growing. They even survived two weeks under several inches of snow. I think I'll make my first meal of the year from the garden tonight: leek and herb souffle.

Rain + Rain Barrel = Success

2009-04-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

It rained all day long yesterday, soaking the newly composted half of the garden and overflowing the rain barrel. I may have to make an overflow valve at some point to divert water once the barrel is full so that the overflow doesn't degrade the soil directly beneath the barrel. I bought another 8 bags of compost to finish off the remainder of the garden, but that will have to wait for a sunny day, or at least a dry one.

Kept busy this afternoon transplanting some heirloom and cherry tomatoes into bigger pots. Looks like we'll be needing more windowsills and grow lights to accommodate all the plants we've sprouted. Also I moved the tray of oak leaf lettuce that Nathan sowed several weeks ago into the cold frame to begin adjusting to the cooler outside temps. As soon as the garden is fully composted I will be planting the broccoli seedlings, the lettuce, as well as direct sowing beans, peas and spinach. I re-planted the artichokes that I grew last year (but dug up before we roto-tilled) to the northwest corner of the garden. Here's hoping tomorrow's good for laying down some compost.

Adding Compost

2009-04-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

This week has seen some fairly mild spring weather. The clouds parted long enough yesterday for Aaron and I to get our hands in the soil a bit. Using a method he learned while working at a golf course in our home town, Aaron spread out the compost bags along the surface of the newly graded growing space. He then stabbed the bags with a shovel to open them up, afterward dumping the compost into a pile which is then easily spread with a rake. Turns out we need at least twice as much compost to cover the space, which is about 450 square feet in all.

Aaron stabs the bags.

Today I plan on buying some more bags of compost and as soon as the rain gives I'll finish broadcasting it on the remaining square footage. For new growing spaces, it is recommended that you add approximately 1/2 inch of compost to the top 2-3 inches of soil.

Cold framin'

2009-04-06T19:24:00.001-07:00

Summer's still months away but it felt like it had already arrived today. Temps in the 70's and gorgeous, gorgeous sunshine. I took the opportunity to build a cold frame with some salvaged windows my dad gave me and 2x material I scrounged from the scrap pile of a construction site. There are numerous plans for building cold frames out there, but the basic construction consists of a box shape frame built with 2x boards with the windows lain on top. Here's what I was working with:

The windows are about 30"x30" and are single-pane. Double-pane would work fine as well. For this cold frame, the windows will sit side by side, so the materials required are 1 piece of 2"x12" at 60", 2 pieces of 2"x12" at 30", and a piece of 2"x8" at 60". Since I'm poor and unemployed, I screwed together 2 pieces of 2"x6" at 60" to substitute for a 2"x12" at the same length. The 2 pieces at 30" are cut so that the board tapers from a width of 11 1/4" (actual width of 2"x12") down to 9 1/8" (the actual width of the 2"x8"). This will allow rain to flow off the panes. The boards are screwed together with some three-inch screws. Four small blocks are screwed onto the inside of the frame 1 3/8" inches (the width of the panes) down from the top. The windows will sit on the blocks and be flush with the top of the frame. Here's the finished product:

A block of wood screwed to the outside of one of the windows will allow you to easily lift it off to access the inside. In my research on seedlings, I read that before planting them in the garden it is beneficial to allow them to sit outside for a few nights to adjust to cooler nighttime temps. The cold frame (if properly insulated) will keep the plants up to 5 degrees warmer than outside the frame. Later on in the season I may directly plant lettuce or other over-wintering varieties within the frame. For now it will serve to acclimatize seedlings before I plant them in their permanent dirt home.

Sunny days soothe the soul

2009-04-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well the sun finally decided to deliver some beautiful spring weather today so I took the opportunity to move the rest of the compost and grade the new grow space. I have yet to turn the soil in last year's garden, but tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today if not better.

David installed the rain barrel today. The barrel sits on two cinder blocks dug level into the dirt. I read online that a full barrel can weigh up to 400 pounds (though I'm sure we'll be using the water often enough for it to hardly stay full), so making sure it rests on a solid base is an important consideration.

The downspout is cut with a hacksaw (though if you have them I'd recommend using tin snips) so that it feeds into the screened pot.

Top: The old compost pile (overflowing)
Bottom: Where the new heap will go

The new compost heap. To make the decomposition go faster, it helps to cover the heap with black plastic or an old tarp you have lying around. This will allow it to achieve a higher temperature faster. Just make sure you leave a little space at the bottom to allow some airflow. If you're able you'll want to turn the heap once a week to also speed along the process.

Bugs-eye view of the newly-graded grow space.

(Actual) spring weather

2009-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I rigged up the first rain barrel with some help from David. I loosely followed some instructions I found on instructables.com. Here's the finished product:

Besides the barrel, the hardware required is as follows: a 9" screened pot (to keep sediment and mosquitoes out of the reservoir), 4 screws to hold the pot in place, a 3/4" bulkhead fitting, a 3/4" faucet that screws into the bulkhead fitting, and some Teflon tape. Assuming you can get the barrel for free, all that should run you about $25 or less. All that's left to do is cut the downspout and place the barrel underneath it to start collecting free water. (I probably should check with the landlord first to make sure it's alright)

The sun in actually shining today and it's starting to warm up, so I plan on moving the compost heap and grading the dug-up growing space to begin prepping it for the addition of compost and lime that will ideally increase the nutritional content of the soil.

Rainy days

2009-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Since Sunday's pleasant sunshine, we've had rain, snow and more rain. Spring rains are normal for our climate, but they begin to inundate the spirit when they carry on ceaselessly. The past few days I've spent reading and working with the seedlings. All are doing quite well, especially the various tomatoes.

After the fact (as it usually goes) I've learned that the best time to prepare an outside garden space is directly after the growing season (early fall) or else in late spring AFTER the rains subside. As a result we're probably going to have to deal with some compacted soil from the constant precipitation. Oxygen within the soil is immensely important to good plant/root growth, so it will be important for us to turn the ground again before we continue. Today I picked up a few pieces of hardware for turning our food grade barrels into rain barrels and will make the first attempt at building one. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the seedlings.

Tomatoes under the flourescents.

Cilantro (at left) and Cherry tomatoes (right)

Further Down The Rabbit Hole

2009-03-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

I spent most of my free time today reading from Growing Vegetables West Of The Cascades. There are astounding gaps in my gardening knowledge which I will have to fill pretty quickly. At times like these I find it helps to remember the words of Socrates when he said "the only thing I know is that I know nothing." It's important to approach gardening, or any subject for that matter, with the utmost of humility and readiness to learn.

I read most of the chapter on soil, and while it is true that the soil in our backyard is "relatively" good as I wrote in an earlier post, that still doesn't mean there isn't a substantial bit of preparation left to do before we will be ready to plant anything in it. Our soil in the Northwest is typically high in potassium, so I won't be adding any of that, but it does call for lime, phosphate, and plenty of compost. Looks like a trip to the nursery is order.

Green Festival

2009-03-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended the Green Festival in downtown Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center. Talk about information overload. In addition to stuffing myself on free organic samples and filling my backpack full of awesome swag, I sat up front for a presentation by Paul Stamets, perhaps the most knowledgeable man on the subject of fungi in the world. I bought his most recent book, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World. He has developed a method, which he calls "mycoremediation," in which mycelium is used to break down toxic pollutants. I was thoroughly amazed to realize just how little we really know about these limitless organisms. In the book he also discusses a method called "mycogardening," that is, "the companion cultivation of mushrooms with garden vegetables," which can greatly increase the yield of vegetables while enriching and building the soil at the same time. Can't wait to see if we might be able to incorporate some sort of mycelium within our garden.

Today I'm returning to the Green Festival to see Amy Goodman (of Democracy Now) and John Perkins (author of Confessions Of An Economic Hitman) speak. Also, to fill up on more free food.

My signed copy. The transcription reads: For Mars- To the Earth!

Rest

2009-03-27T20:33:00.001-07:00

Taking it easy today after a hard day of tilling. On the recommendation of my friend Erik I bought a copy of Steve Solomon's Growing Vegetables West Of The Cascades, 6th Edition. I haven't read much, but what I have seems really comprehensive and climate specific to our little corner of the Pacific Northwest. As far as soil compositions go, and what we will need to do to amend ours for optimal yield, I will be consulting the book, as well as for various other gardening aspects. For only around $20 brand new, you can't really go wrong.

Sifting The Day Away

2009-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

A bit of balmy spring weather culled Nathan, Galen and I outside to finish the sifting of the new grow space today. It's certainly a relief to have all that hard labor out of the way. Now we can start to focus on how our vegetables will be situated in the garden. We' still need to turn the soil of last year's grow space and move the compost pile to the other side of the concrete path, but that will be cake comparatively. To sift the remainder of the soil, we used the wire mesh we'll be employing later to build a new composter. The mesh is a 5'x3' piece of 1/4" hardware cloth you can find at your local hardware store. Four zip-ties are used to hold it together. It's placed on the ground, loaded with clumps of grass and rolled around until the majority of the dirt is separated from the grass.

Nathan later managed to escape from his mesh prison.

Rain Barrels

2009-03-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

Today I acquired a couple of 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels that I'll convert into rain barrels to collect some free water.

A good place to look for similar barrels might be a soda bottling plant, or you can do like I did and just cruise the industrial area of your city and hope to get lucky. Thanks to Leslie for letting me borrow her car to pick them up. A quick trip to the hardware store for parts and we'll be in business.

So stoic they seemed in the basement's morning light.

Prepping: Continued

2009-03-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I braved the cold/rain yesterday to work on sifting grass roots from the newly turned garden space. This is definitely the most labor-intensive aspect of setting up an urban garden (don't get discouraged now!). Luckily we have relatively good soil to work with (i.e. very few rocks and no major roots from the nearby hedges). We still need to sift about half of the new area, which will have to wait until more amicable weather presents itself. Here are some pictures of vegetable seedlings we have under way:

Seeds-eye view of brocolli (left) and tomatoes
(at right) planted 3/5/09

The seedling station in our basement. Seedlings are fragile so it's important to keep them warm (70 degrees or so) and under plenty of light. Seeds germinate best at the same temperature. Our lights are kept on 18 hours a day. At left is my GlowPanel 45, an LED grow light that uses only 45 watts and seems to be giving the plants just the right spectrum they need. The fixtures to the right are compact fluorescent bulbs rated 5000K (2 at 13 watts and 1 at 30 watts). Underneath the table is a two bulb (40 watts each) T-12 shop light fixture with regular cool white bulbs. As long as your lights don't produce too much heat, you'll want to keep them as close to the plants as possible (usually within 6 inches or so) to prevent them from becoming spindly. If you're planning on starting an outdoor garden this year, it's not too late to start planting seeds indoors. Carpe Diem.

Prepping the grow space

2009-03-23T12:34:00.001-07:00

Last year's garden was a bit underwhelming (we still had plenty of zucchinis). Though I've been gardening since I was a small child, it was my first full-fledged foray into small-scale urban agriculture. This year we're more than doubling the grow space. So far we've roto-tilled about half of the new area and today we will (attempt to) tackle the rest (weather permitting).

Some pictures of the initial tilling from a few weeks ago:

Nathan starting to till

Me, David and Nathan hacking it up (yeah I'm wearing slippers)

Clumps of grass and dirt which we'll now sift to remove unwanted roots

It begins

2009-03-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Today we commence upon an experiment in urban garden maximization, that is, how much food can one group of highly motivated, young urban dwellers grow on the dirt patch surrounding their rented house. "Sustainability" and "green" are great buzz words for the emerging neo-environmentalist movement, but what are their practical applications? In other words we've asked ourselves the question, "What can I do to start leading a more sustainable, less-consumptive lifestyle (not to mention save hard-won cash on groceries)? At least part of the answer lies in producing our own food. Let the growing begin.