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  • From: "John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Fwd: Seed-starting, Garden Planning, Drought Strategies
  • Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 22:17:56 -0000

Title: Seed-starting, Garden Planning, Drought Strategies

Here it are mostly rodents very good at finding big, germinating seeds. I have seen several thousand peas planted directly in the soil lead to 4 pea plants. Another man planted 7 thousand acorns giving him just 3 seedlings that a hare got the next winter. And much the same with broad or other beans or corn.
John
I like this part:
   "Even if you don't have a place indoors to start seedlings, it can be helpful to start the seeds in flats or pots at first. That way, you don't have to wait until you get the whole vegetable bed prepared--all you need are flats or pots and some potting mix (or soil and compost.) You can prepare the bed while the little seedlings are growing. You can control the spacing of your plants when you transplant them, instead of sowing lots of seed too thickly, and having to thin them later--which is time-consuming, fiddly work, besides wasting seed. You can put the flats where they can get the most sun. And you can keep them safe from cats, birds, slugs, wind, and other hazards of the open garden just by slipping chicken wire, clear plastic or other cover over them."
   Sounds like they've been spying on me .... :-)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Seed-starting, Garden Planning, Drought Strategies
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 04:03:02 +0000
From: Bountiful Gardens <Bountiful_Gardens@mail.vresp.com>
Reply-To: Bountiful Gardens <reply-bbff237229-d0e74c49f3-1426@u.cts.vresp.com>
To: tradingpost@lobo.net


 rose with lettuce small 3 a silver chard 3 Fernanda 2 a butterfly 4
Welcome to the Bountiful Gardens Spring Newsletter
 For the best view, click on the option to "view in a browser". It could be at the top or bottom of your email window.
 
This newsletter is heavy on how-to information, rather than products. We have lots of links, tools, and info on spring planting, why and how to rotate crops, garden planning, soil prep, and coping with drought, floods, 
cold, and generally weird weather.  
One little note: Lentils somehow got left out of the catalog. We still carry them! click here for lentils.
And our Rainbow Carrot Mix is missing from the catalog Carrot section. Here's the link: Carrot Mix

Let's Get Some Food on the Table: Crops to Plant Outdoors Firstpea dwarf grey
                          sugar
 
These are the crops you can plant first:
SpinachPeas, LettuceRadish
Mizuna and Tatsoi (mild Asian Greens--often used in salad mix)
Chervil (a fresh herb for salads and cooking)

You can plant the above seeds or plants outdoors if the soil temperature is above 45. Generally that's when ground itself is no longer frozen, and is well-drained enough to crumble when handled (light frosts are OK). Trees are usually breaking dormancy at that time, with their buds swelling and just starting to get tiny leaves. 

These crops can go in about 2 weeks later, when soil temps are around 50:
BeetsBroccoliCabbageCarrotsLettuceTurnipsPak ChoiChard


Even if you don't have a place indoors to start seedlings, it can be helpful to start the seeds in flats or pots at first. That way, you don't have to wait until you get the whole vegetable bed prepared--all you need are flats or pots and some potting mix (or soil and compost.) You can prepare the bed while the little seedlings are growing. You can control the spacing of your plants when you transplant them, instead of sowing lots of seed too thickly, and having to thin them later--which is time-consuming, fiddly work, besides wasting seed. You can put the flats where they can get the most sun. And you can keep them safe from cats, birds, slugs, wind, and other hazards of the open garden just by slipping chicken wire, clear plastic or other cover over them. Sow seeds in loose, well-drained soil that has had compost worked in. Plant each seed twice as deep as the seed is wide. For fastest growth, and resistance to disease and drought, we like to use fungal inoculants at planting time.

A good habit is to sow only part of your seed at first, saving the rest to plant a week or two later.That way, if the seeds come to harm, you still have some. And when harvest time comes, you won't have all your produce at once, but can pick over a long period. This is what books and catalogs mean by "succession-sowing." 
Click here to see seeds to plant now for spring.

Click here for fungal inoculants.
For simple directions on how to start seeds, please see the bottom of this page.
Aaargh! too many choices?edible flwr bowl
                            2
Don't have time to agonize over what to plant? These collections are a solution:
Spring Salad Collection- Colorful assorted salad that grow fast in cool weather.
Easy Heirloom Collection-Ten packets of heirloom vegetables everyone loves
Edible Flower Collection-Shown at right. Five beautiful, edible flowers. Info sheet has projects, recipes.
Salsa Collection-Seeds for the ingredients, and recipes on the info sheet.

We have lots of pre-chosen theme collections, including beneficial insect attractors and both medicinal and culinary herbs. Some come with a book to get you (or the person you are gifting) started on a new kind of garden. To see them all, click here.

Preparing the Soil: a Step that Can Make or Break your Gardendigging 2
We'll keep it short--good soil preparation gives you a better garden, and can make all the difference. Here are the things we like best for getting ready:
Forged forks and spades are lifetime tools that we use constantly. We especially love the fork--easier to lift and dig with than a shovel.
 Forged hand tools--We just found these a short time ago. We love them for weeding and cultivating in the beds all summer. the cuttlefish hoe is for digging out deep-rooted weeds or breaking up the soil to plant. the Gama 
The how-to book that started the biointensive garden revolution--full directions and charts on how to feed and take care of your soil so it feeds you.
Click here for How to grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons

Luscious Crops of Summer: Start These Now for Summer Harvest
Hot-weather crops like tomatoes need lots of time in a warm place before planting out. Many gardeners sow tomato seeds, along with peppers, onions, and eggplants in Feb-Marchfor planting outside in May or June.tomato basket jpeg
                        4

Garden crops need much brighter light than houseplants. Plants that are tall and thin, with lots of stem between leaves, need more light. A sunny window will work, if all the seedlings can get light--you may have to turn the flat often. If the window "almost works," consider hanging a light just over the plants. A compact florescent (larger size) in a cheap plug-in "droplight" could be just the boost they need. If it is placed to the on the opposite side of the flats from the window, it can balance the light, so they don't grow at a slant. 
Many gardeners will need to use mostly artificial light. A florescent "shop light" or "grow light" fixture is not very expensive, uses little power, and works well as long as it is close to the plants--light loses strength quickly with distance. Hang your light on adjustable chain or cord so that it can start 4-6" from the soil, and raise it as the plants grow (or, start by putting the plants on blocks and lower them.)  If a plant gets bleached leaves, the light is too close.
Click here for seeds to start now for summer 
Click here for a booklet on growing extra-early tomatoes using no added heat


What Goes Where/When/How/Why?1001222412
Figuring out what to put where, and when to do it, can be a puzzle.  Here are some sources for help:
Where are you? The way to know when to plant is your last frost date. To find out, check with a local garden center, your Cooperative Extension Service, County Ag Dept, Public Library, or check the map here:  
http://www.weather.com/maps/activity/garden/usnationalnormallastfreeze_large.html

When/how to plant: our Garden Planning Poster has planting times, spacing, possible companions,soil temps, fertility needs, and advice. Dark green print on a cream background, 3'x2'.

What uses less water? If you want to plan for lower water needs, we have sources for you:
Free tips on how to cope. See the bottom of the page.
We stock several books that are detailed and helpful, at the bottom of this page also. 
We have a new page on our website that is all drought-tolerant crops. Drought-tolerant crops.


Planning for saving seed: You will need to know which crops cross with each other and how far they need to be separated from other varieties. We recommend Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth, the best reference for organic vegetable gardeners. For less detail about more crops: Saving Seed by Marc Rogers

Rotate Plant Families: There are lots of ways to rotate crops, based on when they start and finish, their fertility requirements, and so on. But here's the bottom line:  Garden crops have families, and many pests target only one family. I
f they are planted in the same place over and over, they get more diseases and pests, so move them as a group. The plant families are:
Pea family--peas, beans, clover, vetch, favas, lentils. These build the soil by pulling nitrogen out of the air.
Cabbage family--cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, mustards, Asian greens. These need lots of compost.
Potato (nightshade) family--tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, nicotiana flowers.Try to keep foliage dry
Carrot family--parsley, carrot, parsnip,  celery, cilantro, dill. Scatter these around the garden to control pests.
Spinach (goosefoot) family--spinach, chard, beets, quinoa, beetberry, magentaspreen, Good King Henry.
Cucumber family--squash, cucumbers, melons. Mix in some some strong-smelling herbs to deter squash-family pests.
Daisy family--lettuce, endive, chickory, sunflowers, cardoon, salsify. These can be mixed in among the others.

Luscious Crops of Summer: These Get Started a Bit Later
squash--yellow
                        crookneck cropped

Squashmelonsbasilokra and cucumbers can be sown a month before planting out, or direct in the garden once soil is warm. Beans and corn can be sown 2 weeks before planting out, or direct in the garden. All of these crops need warm soil and can't stand any frost. They grow faster than tomatoes or peppers do, love heat, and only need a short time in the pot. Squash, beans, and flour corn  store easily for winter, too.
 
Water: Lifeblood of your Garden

Now is the time to plan for a low-water-use garden. Even in the desert, folks like Brad Lancaster have turned their homes into oases without using any water but the rain (10" at his house) that falls on site. Often you can trap enough water just in the soil itself. Photos and instructions for inspiring, low-cost solutions.
Click here to see Rainwater Harvesting by Brad Lancaster

Gary Paul Nabhan is often called "The father of the local foods movement" He has worked for decades to discover and preserve the varieties and techniques that allowed Native peoples to grow food in areas considered too dry for agriculture. This, his new book, goes around the world and then into your back yard to show how you can grow food in a time of increasing heat and drought. Inspiring!
Click here for Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier, Land

Drought isn't the only weird weather going on. Floods, storms, and all manner of havoc are on the increase. The Weather-Resilient Garden goes through all the different climate extremes that can affect your garden and tells how to avoid, minimize, repair and recover. Concentrates primarily on more permanent plantings, which are harder to replace, like trees and shrubbery, and not necessarily organic. More focussed on the East than the West--cfor example, covers what to do about increasing levels of humidity than are bringing more plant diseases to some areas. 
Click here for the Weather-Resilient Garden

Our own Ecology Action also has a pamphlet covering strategies for low water use, including different ways of diging and planning your beds to trap all water that falls on them. Charts and table compare yields, water needs, and requirements of various crops. text explains various strategies in use in Africa, the Southwest, and elsewhere.
Click here for Growing More food with less water.

Gardening tips for drought areas:

  • All vegetables need more water than drought-adapted plants like herbs and desert natives. However, some have lower water needs than others. We have put a new section on our website for these. To see drought-tolerant vegtables, grains, and other crops, click here.
  • Use a fungal inoculant. This creates an underground network that actually extends the roots by up to 300%. Soluable inoculant can be disolved in water and used to water existing plants, so you aren't limited to just using it at planting time
  • Mulch prevents water loss, cools the soil, and increases biological activity in the top layers of soil. You can use plant-based mulch, like straw or even dead weeds (avoid bark, which is full of strong acids). Or, we have had good results with a mulch of stones, from golf-ball to fist size or larger.  They allow dew to condense at night and trickle down to the roots.
  • Water in the evening just before dusk, so it goes into the soil instead of evaporating. Water the soil, not the plants. If you are using sprinklers, you will save a lot by switching to hand watering,or drip irrigation.
  • Use shadecloth. Plants will use less water, the soil will be cooler, and there will be much less stress on plants. Shade cloth is light, so you can just drive a stick in each corner of the bed, tilting outward a bit, and drape the cloth on it. Shadecloth helps with heat-related problems like sunscald, poor pollination, and blossom drop.
  • We have excellent books on capturing rainwater, setting up greywater systems, and other water-saving projects. But today, with no expense, you can do this: set a bucket near each sink in the house. When you are running water to get it cool (or hot), run it into a bowl in the sink and dump it in the bucket. Same with rinsing dishes, brushing teeth, etc. Many folks will find that, without using actual graywater (like bathwater), there's enough clean, unused water for a whole bed by the end of the day.
  • Make a windbreak. A fence, branches stuck in the ground, a sheet or tarp, even cardboard boxes to the windward side of a plant will keep moisture from being lost to the breeze.
  • It is better to have a few plants producing food than lots of plants  barely alive. If plants are wilted or not growing, try taking out every other plant, (giving them twice the root zone) and see if they can then make do with the water available. If that doesn't work, or if the plants are already very stressed, choose small areas (with plants in the best shape) to water thoroughly, letting the rest of the garden go dry. Use dead plants as mulch. Don't wait until all your plants are too stressed to produce--one plant pumping out food is better than ten that are just hanging on.

We almost forgot to tell you that now is the time to plant wildflowers, like these California Poppies.
For Wildflower mixes, click here.


Whew! That is a lot of information, so maybe you'll want to save it somewhere for Jamie to 7 10
                            (184)future reference. We also have information archived here.

We are also on facebook. Here is our Facebook page

Soon we will all be out in the garden again--and we wish you the very best for this gardening season



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Bountiful Gardens
18001 Shafer Ranch Rd
Willits, California 95490
US




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