Garden note to self (because self didn't label the rows)... and a dog update

© 2012 Joshua Stark

Yesterday and between storms, me and the kids planted up one of our raised beds.  Starting West and moving East:  pole beans, corn, okra, swiss chard, okra, nasturtium (edges), cabbages (edges), cherry tomatoes (North), beefsteak tomatoes (South), poblano peppers (North), early jalapeños (South), basil.

Ruben, the eighteen-month old, was the catalyst for the plantings.  Day-before-yesterday the little elf, famous in this house for throwing everything he can into the pond, had gotten hold of my package of basil seeds and tossed it in the drink.  Since they'd soaked for a while, I decided it would be best to just plant the whole packet - something I never do (I still have seeds from five years ago).  Frankly, it was kinda cathartic, and I knew it was time to get the rest of the stuff in, too.

I hate thinning plants that I've planted and that have shown the courtesy to come up, so my gardens always look a bit anemic because I'm afraid to over-plant.  Not this time.  I planted many, many seeds.  We'll see if I'll be callous enough to do the dirty work and thin the babies, although I probably will do what needs to be done and just eat them, anyway.

The bed is 4' x 8', and I'm sure I'm straining somebody's take on companion planting (tomatoes with corn), but let me explain myself.  We have three raised beds, and this year the Upper Bed was planted early with greens, onions and leeks (and now garlic, too).  Agnes asked for the North Bed, which I was tickled pink to give her.  In it we've put lemon balm, cilantro, marigolds, and more garlic, and we still have some room.

The one bed left, then, was "my" vegetable garden, and it all needed to go in.  So I started with pole beans and corn on the Northeast side to minimize garden shading.  I know that corn and beans don't get along with tomatoes, so I put in some okra (which supposedly gets along with everybody) and chard (which is always just happy to be here) in-between.  I edged everything with nasturtium (yes, I'm 30 years late to the party, but I don't care, I love a plant I can grow that tastes just like black pepper).  On the West side are rows of cherry and beefsteak tomatoes, poblanos and jalapeños (not jalapenos - and never, ever make that mistake when typing about Spanish years), and finally the infamous row of basil.

I'm afraid that the latest storm will slow down the peppers and tomatoes; I'd rather not buy flats of started plants this year, but instead get some good show from these seeds.  Our Spring temps. usually shoot up 20 or 30 degrees the day after a storm, so I'm not too worried, but you never know.  I hope to use some of the cherry tomato seedlings to fill a hanging garden bag my Mother-in-law gave us a couple of years ago, but I will buy a started pear tomato if they don't show.

Speaking of hanging gardens, we also put a Rutgers heirloom tomato in an upside-down tomato bag (complete with pretty metal stand).  The stand was my Christmas present from one of my lovely sisters, and it looks great!

Around the property, the cuttings are showing no additional signs of life, but the pomegranate, orange, fig, currant and boysenberries are definitely thriving.

Consider me your experiment for getting your entire vegetable garden in one bed.  I'll do my best to keep you posted.

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On the dog front, more crappy news.  The local SPCA turned us down over the phone because the dog I was interested in (a "lab/hound mix" which looks awfully like a lab/GSP mix) was not, according to them, good for a home with children.  Apparently, the reasoning goes, she "jumps up a lot."  B.S.  I told the lady that it was too bad they were prejudiced against children instead of taking the time to get to know the potential owner, and hung up.  I suppose they've never met a person who could train a dog not to jump up - and I'd like to know if they've ever had a medium-sized or larger dog under the age of two not jump up.  According to the Sacramento SPCA, then, kids shouldn't be raised around big dogs.  I don't know what they are trying to accomplish, but building a constituency of people who love dogs enough to want to save them obviously isn't one of them.

Microclimates

© 2011 Joshua Stark

You may have noticed that I've put up a list of what's in season right now for foraging, hunting and fishing.  Homesteaders should most definitely understand their local conditions and learn to recognize the bounty of their region's wild plants, fish and game.  This list is a general description, information I'm gathering from friends and the news.  Your neighborhood, I can almost guarantee, is going to be slightly different from the list. 

One reason for this difference is microclimates: ecological niches that so dramatically shift light patterns, temperatures, humidity, etc., that they effectively create climatic conditions different from the surrounding area.  In California, microclimates can be extreme (due to the wildly varying topography, ocean influences, and other factors), but for practical purposes, a microclimate can be as small as the length of a wall.

More intensive gardening, especially in small spaces, can be greatly enhanced by understanding light and shadow patterns and windbreaks on your property, and matching plants and watering regimens to these patterns, rather than relying on the general assumptions of seed company descriptions.  And this eye toward recognizing the influences of geography, direction, wind, and moisture can also help your local foraging efforts. 

Recognizing niches that vary growing conditions in your neighborhood may lead to pleasant surprises, usually by extending "shoulder" seasons - the weeks on either end of a particular plant's harvest time.  Greens, berries, and root veggies are all especially affected by microclimates because they tend to be low-growing and hardy plants, able to survive in wildly varying conditions (the same characteristics that also make them pests, at times). 

If it is at all helpful to you, come back from time to time and see what is in season, or will be, soon.  Definitely use the list while keeping an eye out in your own neck of the woods, especially during the shoulder seasons.  You may find a treat.

On with the fight! Duckproofing the garden

© 2011 Joshua Stark

In my attempts at urban homesteading, I'd come upon a small problem:  My laying ducks eat everything we humans might, especially those things that come from plants.  I've since also discovered that domestic ducks can jump high, that they can fly, and that they don't mind throwing their weight around to get what they want. 

Basically, I'd reached the conclusion that, if I wanted both free-ranging ducks and a garden, I was going to have to build something like the key-hole raised beds I'd seen - at considerable cost.  If you know me, you understand that the end of that last sentence rendered the concept out-of-bounds (although I am toying with a design that would include a first level of wall stones, then the next three or four levels of doubled-up cedar fenceboards...)

But earlier this year, I was inspired by two new ideas, and yesterday I put them to work.

The first idea was that one didn't necessarily need dirt to garden.  A.G. commented on a post about rained-on straw bales, and mentioned bale gardens, a very interesting idea. 

Next, at Little Master House's 1st birthday party, we noticed some interesting "raised" beds in the front yard of the Littlest Master's aunt and uncle's place.  At first, we took little notice - both the front and back yards were beautiful, and there was so much from which to take inspiration.  But as we were leaving, I noticed what appeared to be bamboo beach mats standing on their sides, shaped into cylinders, and filled with straw.  From between the bamboo slats, I saw plants growing... wait, those are potatos! 

Genius.

What I liked about the idea (in theory) is that my ducks could pick some leaves, and the rest could grow above their grasp.  Then, when the potatoes were done, I could just remove the mat, "dig" the potatoes from the straw, and leave the pile for the happy ducks.

Well, a couple of weeks back, I walked into Big Lots and found bamboo mini-blinds for 50% off.  Yesterday, I pulled off the hardware and used zip ties and river reed poles to form a cylinder, filled it with some ducked-up straw, and added potatoes. 

My twist?  On top, I put some worm compost, then planted some potato companion plants:  Nasturtium, swiss chard, radishes, and a couple of bush beans.  As part of the experiment, I put some of the seeds straight into the straw, and others into a little bit of compost. 

Now I sit back and wait to see how the ducks will ruin this one.

A great post on making your own trellises

© 2010 Joshua Stark

One Michelle Gervais has a great article at Fine Gardening on building a bamboo trellis.  What I like about it is that it's easy, and gives a person the feeling that they can do it, themselves.  Also, it comes with a great video.

My trellises are river reed, because that's the local material we have, and though they don't last nearly as long as true bamboo, they do a fine job.  I'm sure I could extend their lives with some kind of paint job on the part that sticks into the ground.

We also have rose shoots and willows in abundance, but I've yet to use them for trellis material.  Soon, though.