Archive for the ‘In the Garden’ Category
Frosty Mornings and Milk Jug Cloches
Two week out from our celebrated Spring Equinox, that day when we turn our backs on a long cold winter and look forward to the warming rays of spring, we have seen some of the coldest temps this season, along with our traditional spring norms in the 60s and 70s. Every morning when I get up I can see frost on neighboring rooftops, on lawns and on cars.
Traditionally our last frost date is March 15th and I normally try to direct sow root veggies the first weekend in March. It is also the time when I start a ton of other veggies for transplant later in the spring. With my garden just a few weeks under ground and the nightly lows in the 30s and 40s this usually stoic farm girl is quaking in her muck boots like an expectant mother. Was I too anxious to start gardening? Did I foolishly jump the gun? Perhaps. But, if I had not planted when I did I would not have had another opportunity until the first week in April; much too late to see a harvest of greens and early roots by Easter.
The seeds are in though and the only thing to do now is deal with what Mother Nature throws our way.
The remedy…crop covers; sometimes called cloches, which is French and sounds really cool.
Crop covers can be purchased or homemade. Purchased crop covers are sheets of semi-transparent clothe that can be placed over a garden bed, attached to the top of wire fencing or staked over flats of planted seedlings. It acts like a mini-greenhouse, trapping the warm sun of day and maintaining it throughout the night. A few degrees increase in temperature can mean the difference between garden survival and complete disaster.
In a pinch, even opaque containers can save your plants. However, if a hard freeze is on its way, cover plants as best you can and cross your fingers.
Scavenged or re-purposed materials like plastic sheeting or clear drop clothes can be used for larger outdoor beds. If you have a smaller garden area or a balcony or pot garden there are literally a zillion things you can use to protect your plants. Containers like clear soup tubs from take-out restaurants, deli containers, old refrigerator containers, and milk or juice jugs make great substitutes. Even glass jars that hold those massive amounts of food items from big box stores can be used, and are the most like a French cloche.
It doesn’t get any easier than washing out a container, removing the label to allow more light in and placing it upside down over your sprout. Give it a few twists into the soil to anchor it well then weigh it down with something heavy so it won’t blow over in the wind. If you’re area is prone to marauding critters, weigh it down with something heavier.
Milk cartons and juice jugs make great cloches for larger taller plants like tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli. Simply wash, remove the labels and cut off the bottom. Set it over your plant and push into the soil. The nice part about the jug system and the thing I like the most is that you can either drill a few holes in the lid or remove it all together (during the warm part of the day) so the inside doesn’t get too hot. Another benefit about the jugs is the 2-for-1 deal you get by cutting them in half across the middle, horizontally or down the middle, vertically. These work well for bushy shorter plants or lay it on its side over short rows of smaller plants.
Obviously glass containers can’t be cut in half and used in multiple ways, but they are the most like a traditional French cloche, which is a bell-shaped glass cover used to protect plants from frost, wind and rain. Plus, when stored in the off season they will last for a long time.
There are many different materials you can use, but the most important point is the container must be, at least, semi-transparent to let in the sun and its warmth. Also remember that protecting your plants is a day-by-day strategy. Covers should not be left on for days on end or the lack of sunlight (and over heating) will affect their growth.
Also remember that on warmer days, no covers are necessary. In fact, covering your plants during warm days can build up the heat inside, literally cooking your plants to death.
With a few recycled and homemade (or purchased) crop covers on hand you can protect your garden from harsh early spring weather.
Marching on little seedlings, March on!!
3 Days to Food Security

On Friday, Brianne and I drove to a nearby horse farm to collect a load of aged manure to fill the raised beds I made back in January. It was a horrible day for working outside, another wind storm blew through our area, kicking up dust and dirt, making it hard to breathe let alone see. But, no progress could be made on the garden until the beds had been filled with a mixture of manure, compost and soil. We don’t produce enough compost so I always need to augment what we have, and given the chance I’d rather shovel for free than buy what I need. As the wind howled, we shoveled rich black composted manure, straw, shavings and hay into trash cans we loaded in the back of the truck.
When we returned home each can was unloaded and dumped into two 4×12-foot raised beds, 3 cans per bed. Afterwards, each manure pile was raked level and large clumps were broken up, then a layer of mixed compost and soil was added and the whole dirt, compost, manure pudding was mixed up and re-leveled.
By the time we finished the wind was blowing about 50mph. Brianne and I had so much dirt in our eyes, on our face and in our hair we could have planted seeds on ourselves instead of in the garden. We put our tools away, brushed off the dirt and headed into the house for a hot shower and a warm meal.
The next day I pulled out all my seeds to sort and organize. I’m usually not one for throwing seeds away, but this year I decided a good seed box cleaning was in order, so I sorted the seed packets by the year they were packaged for, finding several dating back to 2001; anything older than 2009 will go into my compost bin garden. Appropriately named because any time I throw seeds into the compost (which isn’t often), they end up growing, which is why I hate throwing out seeds. Read the rest of the story »
Sowing Seeds for Garden Success

In my neck of the woods, February and March are prime garden readiness months. Fruit trees are pruned, berries are trimmed of dead canes and tied to trellises or fencing, raised beds are restocked with compost or built brand new. But, the most fun of this time of year is starting seeds. We mark the day on our calendars and when it arrives the task begins like the start of an Olympic race.
There’s truly nothing better than plunging your hands deep into freshly dug soil, warmed by the spring sun and planting homegrown seedlings started way back in winter, when spring was just a hope and a dream. And, the money you save over buying already started veggies and the vibrant taste of homegrown food ain’t bad either.
This is also the time when garden centers and hardware stores stock a plethora of seed starting paraphernalia: peat pots, soil pellets, plastic pots, covered mini-greenhouses, you name it, if it can start a seed, some store in your area will carry it.
But, do you really need all this fancy commercial stuff to start the seeds you want to plant in your garden. The answer is no! Seeds are not divas. They don’t require 5-star accommodations to germinate and thrive. What they do require is the right kind of starter/growing medium, the right amount of moisture, warm temperatures and room to produce a strong healthy root system. Read the rest of the story »
Making Dirt!

Green + Brown + Water = Black Gold for the garden.
No garden is complete without a compost pile! A compost pile acts as a giant recycling bin for most decomposable yard and kitchen waste. What’s more, compost does triple duty as a soil conditioner, mulch and fertilizer. All this wrapped up into one spade full of rich, friable black gold! It’s referred to as black gold because compost feeds the soils’ microorganisms that help to keep plants strong and healthy and adds nutrients like nitrogen to the soil, and helps less than perfect soils like clay and sand drain better.
Fall and winter is a great time to start a compost pile. With gardens being pulled up and put to bed for the winter and leaves falling in all those brilliant colors there is plenty of ingredients handy to feed your soil making bin.
Compost piles can come in all shapes and sizes too. Some can be made from shipping pallets or wire, others from scrap lumber or bottomless barrels. Still others can be purchased from home improvement stores or city parks departments. With the surge of home food production and recycling there is a wide variety of compost barrels and bins to choose from.
Compost housing aside, the main focus in producing good quality compost is the kinds of ingredients you add to the pile.
To build a compost pile that is easy to make, fast to decompose and doesn’t smell follow these simple steps. Read the rest of the story »
Zucchini-mania

Our summer weather continues to be cooler than normal, with few days in the 80’s much less over 100. Many of our heat loving vegetables are slow to mature, but cool weather crops like lettuce and peas are flourishing. We have been enjoying the chance to work the farm throughout the day, no need to break during the hottest hours. But, I am still nervous that our temperate summer will turn into a firestorm of searing heat come September and October.
Late summer rows of beets, radishes, and carrots are in the ground. There’ll be big salads well into fall. Onions and garlic will find a home in the newly built beds, later in September. But — the two zucchini plants, started late, are doing well.
When it comes to zucchini nothing compares to a squash picked minutes before eating; not store bought nor farmer’s market. The zucchini along with the single Patty Pan are providing enough squash for this farm of two. It is a delight to fill the house with the smell of zucchini bread baking or the heavenly aroma when we sauté zucchini in lemon juice and garlic.
If I am tempted to pick some up out-of-season it’s usually because we have a craving for this rich and moist quick bread with the warm spicy kick; it’s perfect on a cool fall day or a cold winter night, toasted and slathered with fresh churned butter or a bit of sweet honey.
Since I know I’m not the only one over-run by these prolific little green sticks or golden saucers I’m including our two favorite recipes. Enjoy! Read the rest of the story »
Making Your Own Worm Bin

Earth worms are an essential part of good gardening. At least in my mind they are. They are eating machines, transforming kitchen and garden scraps into nutrient rich soil and castings, while churning up the soil, aerating it and improving its tilth.
Raising your own earth worms is easy and inexpensive, if you use materials you already have on hand. Or, you can buy a worm bin system from a garden center or by mail. But, no matter how you come to raising earth worms you’ll never regret the initial work or cost and your garden will benefit greatly from the improved soil.
I was lucky – the previous owners of my farm left a multi-tiered worm bin when they moved out. It sits in the shade near the barn with easy access to the garden and rabbit hutches, and is used all year round. The soil produced is a great addition to our raised beds, as long as I can keep the chickens from eating the worms. But, that’s another story.
To build your own worm bin all you need is a container, either a wooden box, plastic storage bin or 5-gallon bucket. Any type of container should be about 18 to 20-inches deep, but no more than 24-inches deep.
Ventilation of the bin is very important, so which ever type of container you choose drill a few dozen ¼-inch holes in the top and 1/8-inch holes in the bottom and on the sides so the water can drain out. If you purchase a worm bin system they will have a mesh looking bottom for ventilation. Read the rest of the story »
Build a Mini PVC Pipe Garden House
For the past few years I’ve had trouble with birds (and my own chickens) getting into the garden and eating tender vegetable plants as they emerged from the soil. I wanted to install a hoop house, the kind I’d seen in magazines or while driving back country roads, but they were too large for one person to manage and too expensive for my limited budget.
I wanted something lightweight, easy to move and something I could make myself with supplies I might already have on hand.
I looked around the farm to see what I could use and hoped that an idea would come to mind. Sure enough, it did. As I stared at my raised beds I thought of a mini greenhouse type structure that could be draped with bird netting in the growing season and float cloth or plastic to extend my plantings.
Here’s what I came up with:

A PVC frame that fits over my 4’x8’ raised beds and is held in place by “C” brackets screwed to the wooden vegetable bed frame. A 10’ piece of PVC runs the length of the uprights to keep the covering draped properly over the frame. At ground level it can be tacked to the wooden vegetable bed or covered with dirt or rocks to keep it from blowing off.
How I made it:

I cut 4 pieces of PVC pipe 2 feet long; two for the sides and two, half the width of the vegetable bed, to make the peaked top. This would be wide enough to reach across the bed and give good clearance for taller plants like lettuce, broccoli or tomatoes. I then assembled the greenhouse frame using 45 degree PVC pipe fittings (these were on hand, but 90 degree might work better on the legs). Once I tested the greenhouse, to see if it did what I thought it would, I glued all the pieces together. I made 3 frames for each 8’ bed.
To install my newly made mini-greenhouse, I screwed “C” brackets into the vegetable bed frame about 6-inches from each end and in the middle of the bed (about the 4’ mark), I then zip tied a 10’ piece of PVC pipe down the middle to keep the peaks upright and to keep any covering from falling in on the plants.
In less than an hour, using the supplies I had on hand, I made enough frames to cover four of my eight vegetable beds; protecting my crops from marauding chickens and scavenging birds.


