Friday, April 24, 2009

Fair weather


I placed all of our tomato, lettuce, basil, parsley and broccoli outside today so that they can have a taste of real sunshine and the gentle breeze. Hopefully, we will get everything except the tomatoes, basil and morning glories planted out this weekend.

Yesterday, I visited the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca with my eldest daughter. Our favorite spot was the rhododendron garden built on a large round hill with several benches and hidden spaces to sit and enjoy nature. The smell of the pine mulch and beautiful surroundings brought back memories of walking in Sequoia National Park with my grandmother. I told my daughter that her great-grandmother would tell us to breathe the fragrance of the forest deeply through our noses and exhale through our mouths.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New arrivals

We have lettuce, carrots and beets sprouting in the first garden frame. We planted those by seed on March 29. About 10% of the peas have sprouted as well. The weatherman is calling for temps in the 70's this weekend which should cause a surge in growth. The morning glories are about four feet tall in the house. We definitely need to start those later next year...

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree

We spent the weekend cleaning up the yard and moving wood piles. Not much to say except that the forsythia, violets and vinca are blooming in the yard, the deep red peonies are beginning to unfurl their leaves and the lilac and apple trees are showing their first green leaves -- which reminds me of one of my favorite songs. It was a nice sunny weekend, soon to be followed by cold and rain. Good for the rain, the ground was beginning to look parched.

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree
by Kate Wolf

The Lilac Bush and the Apple Tree
Were standing in the wood
Out on a hill above the town
Where once a farmhouse stood

And in the winter the leaves are bare
And no one sees the signs
Of a house that stood and a garden that grew
And life in another time

One spring when the buds came bursting forth
And grass grew on the land
The Lilac spoke to the Apple Tree
As only an old friend can

Do you think said the Lilac this might be the year
When someone will build here once more
Here by the cellar still open and deep
There's room for new walls and a floor

Oh no, said the Apple there are so few
Who come here on the mountain this way
And when they do, they don't often see
Why we're growing here so far away

A long time ago we were planted by hands
That worked in the mines and the mills
When the country was young and the people who came
Built their homes in the hills

But now there are cities the roads have come
And no one lives here today
And the only sign of the farms in the hills
Are the things not carried away

Broken dishes, piles of boards,
A tin plate, an old leather shoe
And an Apple Tree still bending down
And a Lilac where a garden once grew

Friday, April 17, 2009

Last Frost Date


The average last frost date for our area is quickly approaching. Using data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center, I put together a chart which can help assess the risk of frost after a given date. The chart shows the frequency of the last frost date since 1939. It looks like the odds are in our favor Saturday, May 2, though it still may be necessary to protect frost-sensitive plants after that date depending on the forecast. I may try planting out some tomatoes in wall-o-waters on May 2 just to see how they do.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Latest developments


Last Friday we had our first harvest of lettuce. We picked a few of the larger leaves before moving the plants out into the new garden frame. In spite of the fact that the night time temperatures over the next three nights were forecast to be 30, 27, and 23, we transplanted:
(9) lettuce
(9) kale
(4) cabbage
(3) spinach
(3) chard

So far, everything has survived, including everything that was planted in the first frame (which has endured significant cold and snow). The picture above is of the second frame with the plants that were moved outside last Friday.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Potential savings


I did a little research at the grocery market this week to help determine potential savings from growing our own vegetables. Currently we spend about $30 a week for vegetables. This includes carrots, parsely, lettuce and celery for quick snacks and dinner salads, two or three vegetables for dinners such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage or asparagus; and potatoes, onions, garlic and ginger (which are purchased less frequently in bulk). All of these items, except celery and ginger, can be grown in our home garden.

I will be keeping a tally of vegetables that we harvest this year. By the end of the season we should have a good idea of how many garden frames we would need to grow all of our own vegetables for some portion of the year.

I will also be keeping a tally of tools and materials that are purchased for the garden so that in the end we can figure our return on investment (ROI). In an upcoming post, I will provide a detailed explanation of how to construct a garden frame and the associated costs in terms of time and materials.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

HR 875

I generally don't like to discuss politics, but I do believe it is important that we the People do what we can to keep government honest and working in our best interest. So, I am copying (with permission) the following letter written by Cheryl Woodard which calls attention to an important piece of legislation coming up in the House and Senate. As DeAnne said when she forwarded the original message "Backyard gardeners unite!":

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Cheryl Anne Woodard" <>
Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:34:53 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Urgent, Your help is needed re House Resolution 875, Companion Bill Senate Bill 425

Dear Friends,

I am a legislative reviewer for various health food and organic farming organizations. I have stumbled across House Resolution 875 which is by far one of the most stunning grabs for power yet advance by the FDA. The bill is 52 pages, and it has taken me a while to understand the ramifications of this legislation. In short, it grants the FDA the power to control all food production including organic farming. The manufacturers of genetically modified food and chemical fertilizers want to take over the entire food industry, and they have the money and power to control the FDA.

This legislation is so broad that it can even bring your backyard garden under the power of the FDA, requiring you to register as a 'food production facility' and granting the FDA injunctive powers. There is no limit in size in the definition of 'food production facility.' Nor does it matter whether the food is produced for sale or private use. Please see Section 3 (14) of definitions. Section 206 outlines the power of the FDA re Food Production Facilities, and Section 402 outlines Food Detention, Seizure and Condemnation, Section 404 lists the injunctive powers.

At first I thought it laughable to be concerned, and then I reviewed the litigation history of the FDA as written by Jonathan Emord, Esq., in his new book entitled "The Rise of Tyranny." By coincidence I met with Attorney Emord this week-end and reviewed with him his litigation experience with the FDA. It is appalling to learn that the FDA simply ignores court orders when the courts rule against them.

The problem is that there is no check on the FDA. Yes, there is an appeal process, but they disregard court orders. This coupled with the fact that the FDA is inextricably locked in with the large chemical and drug companies means that vested interests now control the FDA.

Please read this bill and write your congressional representative. Demand that HR 875 be defeated. At first I had hoped to see it redrafted, but after a more thorough review, I see that until the FDA is made to respect and honor the rule of law, it is dangerous to expand its power further. It is reported this bill will be up for a vote in a few days in both houses without time for debate. Now is the time to speak up.

Now that I am working in this arena, I will be sending out posts periodically. If you want to be removed from this list, please let me know. If you have an interest in helping, please send this along to people you feel might be interested, and let me know if you want to do more.

To get a copy of the bill, follow this link:
Text of H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.
There is a companion bill in the Senate which is just as sweeping SB 425.

There are a series of grass roots videos on the subject.
Criminalizing Organic Farms
Follow up HR875 S425 Criminalize Organic Farming
and more. Not cinematic genius, but heartfelt.

The best thing to do is to Write Your Representative. All you have to do is click the link, put in your zip and it will give you your congressperson and how to get in touch with them. Please send and email and call.

When you call their office someone will answer the phone, just tell them that you are calling to express your views on HR 875, and SB 425.

Tell them your views, they'll take your name and address and pass your comments along to the congressperson. The following link Senators of the 111th Congress is a list of the U.S. senators and their contact info.

When the people lead, governments follow.

Regards,
Cheryl Anne Woodard, CFLS*
Woodard Law and Mediation

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

NGA study


The MSM recently reported on the results of a National Gardening Association study that indicates many more people are planning a vegetable garden this year. I was suspicious about claims in the report that on average a $70 gardening investment can yield $600 in vegetables. After reviewing the full results of the study, I remain skeptical (the study can be found here: NGA study).

There are many factors that can affect investments and yields which are not discussed in the report. For instance, there is a significant difference in the cost of maintaining an existing garden versus starting a new one. Also, it is not at all clear that the people with 600 square foot gardens (from which the $600 ROI figure comes) are the same people who invest $70 in gardening. Note that the median size garden in this study is 96 square feet. This means that there are some really large "gardens" out there skewing the average. I would have to plant (38) 4' x 4' frames to match the average size garden in the study and it would definitely cost me more than $70 to get that going.

The "square foot gardening" (SFG) method that I am using is relatively expensive to get started, however good results are almost guaranteed and expenses in subsequent years are minimal. "Square Foot Gardening" is a term coined by Mel Bartholomew who wrote the original book by the same name in 1981. Some advantages of intensive gardening methods like SFG are that soil amendments can be concentrated in a smaller area and that watering systems, protective barriers and season extenders can be more compact and therefore less expensive.

In spite of problems with the NGA study, I find the expected return on investment per square foot of garden an interesting starting point. It boils down to about a $1 return for every square foot of land that is cultivated. This is assuming on average 1/2 pound of produce per square foot and an average cost for vegetables of $2 per pound at the grocery store. I am planning to see how close that matches my results is this year.

It would be interesting to compare different styles of gardening (intensive versus traditional rows), how much investment is required in each and how much return can be expected. Investments might include soil improvement, watering systems, protective barriers, season extenders (cold-frame/row covers), and tools. Also, the cost of startup can be compared with long-term maintenance costs. The amount of time required to maintain various configurations might also be considered.

I scanned an intriguing new book this Winter (Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon) that argues that the square foot and other intensive gardening methods are less productive and more resource intensive than traditional gardening methods. However, I have not had a chance to study the book in depth. For now I remain convinced that the square foot method offers the best return for my time.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Big day


Today was a big day. We transplanted all seedlings that have come up into larger containers (~50). I had to get another 4' fluorescent light fixture from the attic to provide enough light for all of the plants.

At the end of the day, we built another 4x4 frame and planted (32) more snow peas. It was a beautiful sunny day, though a bit cool. Yesterday, the hills just outside of town received 6" of snow, though we only seemed to receive about 1/2" and it was gone by the end of the day. The wind was blowing so fiercely that we spent the day in the kitchen doing food prep.

Today we noticed that the apple trees are starting to grow new leaves and that some daffodils and other flowers are blooming around town. In spite of this, the weatherman is calling for more snow over the next five days. I guess we will have to endure a little more Winter weather before Spring finally gets into full gear. I will post some pictures soon. Cheers.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Swirling vines

This morning I looked at the seedlings growing under the lights. The lettuce is almost large enough to start harvesting leaves. The morning glories are growing up into the lights and wrapping around each other (we will start these later next year). The asparagus is about 5 inches tall and still in the original vermiculite containers. We will have to get busy this evening transplanting. The weatherman is calling for rain and snow tomorrow and gusts up to 37 mph so we probably won't be working much outside, but maybe we can build three more garden frames inside. Sunday is looking much more promising, mostly sunny with a high near 52.

My youngest daughter was curious how the morning glories find something to grab onto as they grow. Last weekend, we found a couple of good examples of time-lapse photography on YouTube:
Time-lapse Morning Glory
Time-lapse Pea

Catching up


Before I begin to write about our experiences, I want to get some basic statistics recorded to get everyone caught up on our progress so far. According to our notes, we started planting seeds on March 8. We planted (5) chard, (5) romaine lettuce, (5) spinach, (5) cabbage, (20) morning glories, (20) asparagus, (5) delphinium, (5) petunia, and (5) foxglove. On March 9 we planted (5) kale and (5) malva.

Also on March 9 we moved bulbs from a bed which is slated to be covered with a patio. These bulbs are beginning to fill out the two 2' x 10' beds that I started last year with iris and crocus. These beds are framed by two lilac bushes begun from cuttings of a lilac that once dominated the front yard. Eventually, a pretty picket fence is planned here as well.

A week later, on March 15 we planted (5) oakleaf lettuce and (10) morning glories (can you tell we like morning glories? : ). On March 17, we planted (18) marigolds and (9) broccoli.

Three weeks after our initial planting (March 29), we planted one square foot garden frame [(16) 1' squares] in the garden with the following: (32) sugar peas, (4) parsley, (32) beets, (32) carrots, (2) oakleaf lettuce plants, (2) romaine lettuce plants, (2) spinach plants, (1) broccoli plant, (1) cabbage plant, (2) oakleaf lettuce seeds, and (2) romaine lettuce seeds. The plants were from our initial plantings.

In spite of the weather forecast calling for freezing temperatures and snow that evening, I decided to try an experiment to see if cold-loving plants would survive being transplanted without the traditional "hardening off" period that is recommended. We covered all of the plants with the tops of the half gallon milk containers left over from our seed starting. Half of them received caps, the rest no caps. I also covered them with carboard to keep out direct hits from rain and snow. The cardboard is suspended on the chicken wire which has been setup to protect the garden from critters. So far so good. We haven't lost any of the plants that were set out.

For starting the seedlings, we used half gallon milk containers cut off about 3 inches from the bottom, with (4) 1/4" holes drilled in the bottom and filled with coarse vermiculite. We then placed these in trays and filled the trays with water, allowing it to soak up into the vermiculite. Finally, we wrapped the containers in a plastic sandwich bag and placed them on top of the refrigerator.

It became a fun ritual to check the containers every morning to see what came up. It is important to get the seedlings under lights as soon as they come up. We are still waiting on some of the flowers to waken.

We setup (2) 4' fluorescent light fixtures in the back room (which is usually cooler than the rest of the house) and set them to be on from 6:30AM until 10:30PM (16 hours).