Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

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Tag: Maureen Gilmer

Gardening for Bats

4.21A hylocereus triangularis flower
The foot-wide blossom of Queen of the Night (Hylocereus triangularis) has many stamens that bats must wade through to reach nectaries deep inside.

It’s curious that an agave that flowers once at the end of life produces such an enormous bloom stalk.  These can range from 5- to 15-feet tall, depending on the species.  Many of the flowers are clustered at the very top, which is an adaptation for one particular pollinator, the bat.  Because bats use echolocation to guide them, it can be more difficult to navigate their way through brush and thickets.  So naturally a plant that seeks these night-flying pollen vectors would raise its flowers above the brush where they are easily accessed by bats.  Without bats there would be minimal pollination of these plants, which are the primary source of tequila production.

At sunset 30 million freetail bats emerge from Bracken Cave in Texas to consume 250 tons of insects every night.  A single brown bat can catch and eat up to 1000 mosquitoes per hour!  Bats are indeed our most effective insect problem solvers so they deserve a place in our gardens.

Bat Pollination

bat
Many bat species pollinate flowers, feed on nectar, and return to consume the ripe fruit that follows pollination.

Bats pollinate saguaro (bat pollination is called “chiropterophily”) and other tall cacti that bloom at the very top to facilitate these visitors. Vine cacti use trees to raise their flowers for bats both the in desert and tropics.  These enormous snow-white blossoms lure the bats throughout the night when they burrow into the mass of stamens to reach nectaries at the base of the bell-shaped throats.  These flying mammals are known to grasp stiff parts of the flower with their claws while they feed, which scientists use as evidence of pollination.

Bat flowers also bear unusually large numbers of pollen-laden stamens because these animals also eat pollen during their visits. Pollen that catches on the hairs of a bat’s body allow them to fertilize a surprisingly large number of plants in a single night.  Studies show that one bat can carry about 1.5 million grains of pollen each evening, which translates to around 30 different flower visits.

Western Flowers for Bats

agave stalk
Agave bloom with tall, branched stalks of tightly packed flower clusters that are easy for bats to find using echolocation.

To lure local bats to your yard, where they consume from 600 to 1000 mosquitoes per night, grow their favorite flowers, which are produced by night-blooming cereus (the name for a number of large-flowered, vining ceroid cacti) .  One of the best of these vine-like cacti is fondly dubbed Queen of the Night (Hylocereus undatus).   The vanilla-scented night-blooming cereus (Selenicereus grandiflorus) is another similar species for bats. Both are vigorous species for frost-free climates, where they are best planted under trees or patio cover (where there’s mild frost) or in greenhouses.  Elsewhere you can enjoy them outdoors during the warm season and bring it inside for winter before the first frost.  Winter it over on a sun porch or bright south-facing window.

The blooms of Agave are also favored by bats, though most species bloom rarely, sometimes taking as long as 80 years as with century plant (Agave americana).  It literally takes an entire lifetime for each single plant rosette to save up enough fuel to flower.  When it is time to flower, they send up flower stalks, much like a head of lettuce does in early summer.  Some Agaves can produce enormous bloom stalks up to 20 feet tall, with nectar rich flowers raised high for accessibility to bats.

Growing Flowers for Bats

Vine cacti grow as hanging plants, so they’re easy to move around with the seasons.  Grow this one in a hanging moss basket that ensures there’s rapid drainage with no chance of over watering.  Fill it with Black Gold Cactus Mix potting soil to maintain good drainage throughout the summer, so even if there’s rain, it will still thrive.

When planting Agave in pots, choose a container that is wide enough to contain the Agave and have at least 2 inchs or more free space on all sides to allow for new growth, watering space, and surface evaporation. Place a square of mesh over the drain hole to prevent erosion of soil from the bottom of the pot. Then open a fresh bag of Black Gold Cactus Mix, a fast-draining medium containing a blend of perlite/pumice or cinders, earthworm castings and compost. It encourages vigorous growth while ensuring ample aeration and drainage. [Read how to prepare outdoor gardens beds for Agave here.]

As we all discover a new appreciation of living green and supporting the ecology of the earth, don’t relegate bats to the world of draconian folklore.  Support them and their pollination efforts by bringing plants and flowers they feed on into your garden.

 

Raised Bed Rotation and Rejuvination

Raised Bed - Mike Darcy
All raised beds require crop rotation and soil replenishment to avoid the accumulation of soil-borne pests and diseases.

Mothers always admonish us “not to hang out the dirty laundry”, which is code speak for keeping unpleasant family secrets out of neighborhood gossip.  This same problem is afflicting the raised bed garden world where nobody wants to hear the downside of these tiny plots of food plants.  At the heart of it is the very old concept of crop rotation. Even the ancients knew that crops grown in the same place year after year developed big problems without rotation.

Why Rotate Crops?

The science is quite simple because diseases and pests can accumulate every year you cultivate a small vegetable garden.  It may not be visible the first or even the second year, but by year three it can strike with a vengeance.  This is how long it takes for your soil to foster a killer dose of pests and pathogens.

Imagine a 4-foot-by-8-foot planting area (the size of a typical raised bed) that you grow tomatoes in year after year.  A mature tomato can occupy half that square footage, with its roots fanning out over the area underground.  To properly rotate your crops, you must not grow tomatoes in the same place you did the previous year.  In this case, the only choice is to plant on the opposite end of the raised bed.  That leaves only two possible spots for the tomatoes.

Farmers know to rotate their fields over four years to ensure healthy crops.  That’s four entirely different growing areas for crops in the course of four years; three years with the crop being grown in a different spot and a fourth year for a given growing area to lay fallow to “rest”.  But farmers have space for rotation. What about home gardeners working within the confines to small raised beds? Without sufficient space for rotation, the results can be devastating.

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You cannot miss the damage caused by root knot nematodes. Roots appear swollen and distorted.

For example, a microscopic pest called root-knot nematode often strikes when tomatoes are grown in the same location or very close-by year after year.  This pest is invisible to the eye and is common to most soils but present in such small numbers that it doesn’t cause serious problems.  But when tomato crops are not rotated, these nematodes multiply to fatal proportions. As a result, tomato plants begin to turn yellow and die because too many nematodes have invaded their roots.  No matter how much you water or fertilize, nothing will change this downward spiral.

You won’t know the cause until you pull up an ailing or recently deceased plant to see first hand what the roots look like.  Root-knot-nematode-infected roots look bizarrely knotted and swollen and are obviously unable to support the plant.  As tomato fruits mature and heat stimulates growth, the plants can’t keep up. There is no cure for badly infected plants, and fear of this organism is why gardeners often plant big African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) around food plants because it is known to discourages nematode populations.

Replace Old Soil

Rotation is key, but soil replacement can also work wonders towards keeping raised bed problems at bay. Replacing your garden or potting soil with fresh every other year will help discourage the accumulation of diseases and pests, such as the root-knot nematode.  Quality garden soil like Black Gold Garden Soil is rich, fertile, and fresh.  It reduces the need to rotate crops, will fortify your garden to increase yields, and rid your raised bed of “dirty laundry” that could mean the downfall of your summer garden plantings.

The more cautious your are about ensuring healthy soil for your raised garden, the better. For example, if you move into a new home with an existing raised garden, it’s best to assume its potting soil is nutritionally exhausted and that crop rotation has not occurred.  Plus, it’s just a good idea to replace the soil anyway because the removal process may give you clues to other problems, like drainage or the presence of aggressive underground grass roots.  Excavation will help you discover if there are problems lurking below.

Small gardens don’t have to be hotbeds of pests and diseases, if you know how to compensate with rotation and garden soil replenishment. Rotate your crops liberally (preferably on a 4-year cycle), replace old, spent soil, and reap the harvest!

Cool-Season Vegetables for Western Gardens

Bottles create a unique raised container for ruffled kale, the new "super food".
Immersed bottles create a unique raised container for fall kale, the new “super food”, and chard.

While frost strikes early in the mountain states, the rest of the West is in a state of flux.  Heat-loving summer vegetables may be past their peak with production in decline, but rather than watch this process of attrition, consider starting anew with the cool-season leaf and root crops we struggle to grow over summer.

The Best Western Cool-Season Crops

Our dry heat makes cole crops, such as kale, cabbage and broccoli, wither, and those that can withstand the onslaught become a Mecca for wooly aphids that lodge in the nooks and crannies of leaves and flowers.  Yet when they are sown in August, these seedlings thrive in the warm ground and come to maturity in mid- to late-fall when cooler temperatures limit aphids and other pests.  Even better, cole crops actually taste better after a frost!

Large pots on a sunny porch or patio can be packed with greens for easy picking.
Large pots on a sunny porch or patio can be packed with greens for easy picking.

The same is true for Swiss chard, lettuce, arugula, and other tender greens that bolt with the early summer heat and develop bitter flavors.  Sow these at summer’s end to yield salads that are lush and tasty until frost cuts them down.

Root crops are also ideal for cool-season growing. Of these crops, beets are a stellar performer because the leaves are edible as pot or salad greens before the root matures for harvest.  Other root crops include carrots, turnips, and radishes.  Enormous Asian daikon radishes are good root vegetables for opening up clay soils with their large powerful taproots. Some varieties are spicy while others can be surprisingly crisp and mild.

Preparing the Cool-Season Garden

Now is time to prepare for your own cool-season vegetable garden. The first step is to create space for these cool-season crops.  Remove any warm-season vegetables that are no longer productive, especially large, ground-covering vines that take up a lot of space.  If green beans passed their prime, let them go too.  Where these vegetables grew, the soil will require fresh fortification with quality amendments and organic fertilizer to replace what consumed by microbes and summer crops.

Root crops grow extra large in light soil, preferably sandy loam.  Unfortunately many gardeners have earth that is predominately clay, so unless you amend this ground with organic matter, root crops won’t reach their full potential.  The best tool for this is a spading fork ideal for small spaces and spot planting by cultivating deeply enough for root crops. Double digging is also a good practice. (Read double digging article here.)

tower
A plant tower allows you to grow a wide range of greens in little space.

After removing summer plants, dig and turn the ground while also removing any plant remnants that are not decomposed. These can be deposited in your compost bin.  Then apply Black Gold Garden Compost Blend  in a layer at least 2 to 3 inches overall. It’s difficult to overdo it with compost, so be generous because the more you use now, the bigger your root crops will be at harvest time.  Turn the ground again to mix it up, then use an iron rake to break down the smallest clods and smooth the surface to make a suitable seedbed.

Growing Cool-Season Crops in Containers

Leaf crops are ideal for containers, too.  A few flower pots or more extensive troughs on the deck or patio are a great place to get started.  Don’t hesitate to begin with fresh Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil Plus Fertilizer that’s fully fortified with microbes, nutrients and plenty of organic matter.  Containers are perfect for lettuce, exotic greens and kale, the new super food.  In deeper containers, sow a variety of different radishes every week over the next month. That way you’ll  have some at peak of perfection all fall for impromptu salads and dips.

Autumn is the second growing season that is too often ignored in the back-to-school rush, but now is the time to think ahead and replant with leaf and root for healthy fresh eating out West.

Extending the Vegetable Harvest in the Southwest

Lycopersicon esculentum 'Early Girl' JaKMPM
Scorching summer heat slows or halts tomato flowering and fruit production in the American Southwest. (photo by Jessie Keith)

Out here in the dry western states, the growing season is far longer than most realize. We plant earlier, our plants peak earlier, and by the time the heat of late July and August rolls around, growth and yields have slowed considerably. This is partly due to temperatures flirting with 100 degrees Fahrenheit in low humidity, which halts flower production, slows fruit production, and stimulates pests, like wooly aphids and spider mites. Once the days cool at the start of September, the month of the Equinox, many summer vegetable plants like tomatoes start to flower again and will produce a secondary crop, but only under the right conditions.
Continue reading “Extending the Vegetable Harvest in the Southwest”

Foxgloves: Bee Plants for Every Garden

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The mouth of a foxglove flower is perfectly tailored to attract and accommodate bumblebees.

Everyone is buzzing about bees because these vital pollinators need safe habitats where they can freely live and feed. The problem for many who don’t have space to grow bee plants is how to support these amazing insects. Even if you have just a small apartment or condo balcony, you can do your part to care for bees by growing a few outstanding bee plants. And of these plants, foxgloves (Digitalis spp.) are some of the best early summer bloomers for bees. Grow foxgloves in large pots to see the bees visit the colorful flower spikes while you relax and watch them work.

Continue reading “Foxgloves: Bee Plants for Every Garden”

Hip, Sustainable Rugosa Roses

rosa-rugosaweb
Wild rugosa roses typically have showy, single, pink flowers that stand bright against disease resistant, rugose foliage.

If you’re yearning for sustainable, self-sufficient or fast ways to get slow food, add a hip-producing rose or two to your landscape. Don’t choose modern, easy-care types that are too highly bred to be useful. Instead start with the Asian Rosa rugosa, which is more cold hardy and drought resistant than most others along with being a great fruit producer. It’s also nearly pest and disease free, making it the perfect first fruit-producing rose of choice.

Edible Hips

I have always cultivated rugosas for their enormous fruits, called “hips”, that follow the pollinated flower. The tart rugosa fruits are some of the largest of all roses and mature to dark red in the fall. If left on the upright canes, their color pops after early snowfall.

rose rugosa hip
The large round hips of Rosa rugosa are tart, flavorful and packed with nutrients.

Rugosa hips range in diameter from the size of a nickel to as large as a quarter. The soft, astringent flesh inside is chock full of vitamins. When dried, they make an amazing medicinal tea for cold and flu. Their medicinal value was discovered by the British during World War II when citrus importation was limited. Finding a local source of vitamin C was essential to staving off scurvy in the children, and rose hips from English gardens saved the day. Since then, rose hips became coveted for jams and jellies, concentrated syrups or as vitamin rich additives to medicinal teas. Adding fresh rose hips to a quick bread or cookies also lends unique flavor and adds nutritional value.

Rugosa Growth

Rugosa roses have a more brambly growth habit in that they spread via underground rhizomes and can eventually form thickets–particularly if planted in sandy, friable soils. The roots send up canes all along the way to eventually create a large dense plant. This has made rugosas the most popular rose for creating carefree hedges that don’t need to be pampered or sprayed. Rather than planting a hedge of boxwood or some other strictly ornamental shrub, use rugosas instead. There are many cultivated varieties of this rose that bloom red, white or the common pink, you get food and flowers.

Rugosa hips continue to look pretty into winter until they are consumed by wildlife.
Unused hips continue to look pretty into winter until they are consumed by wildlife. (photo by Jessie Keith)

Plant non-grafted rugosas bareroot in spring or from container plants any time from spring to fall. It’s advisable to start with well-rooted 1- or 5-gallon plants spaced apart at between 3 to 5 feet; good spacing allows plenty of room for each to spread out to fill the gaps quickly.

This rose is native to the coastal hillsides, sandy sea shores of China, but it has become established in many temperate, sandy locations worldwide, it grows best in sandy soils. Still it is adaptable and will grow well in all but poorly drained soils.

Planting Rugosa Roses

The easiest planting method for rugosas is to dig a trench, and amend the soil to encourage more adventurous rooting. (Trenching discourages root travel beyond the strict edges of the trench for a more precise linear hedge.) Amend the excavated soil with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend to lighten clay or increase water holding capacity of sandy soils. Enrich it further with alfalfa meal, a favorite natural fertilizer of rose aficionados everywhere. The fertility of poor soils can also be boosted with alfalfa meal for even more nutrition at planting time.

These wild rugosa roses have formed brambly thickets along a sandy beach.
These wild rugosa roses have formed brambly thickets along a sandy beach. (photo by Jessie Keith)

Planting just one rugosa rose in your yard is the genesis for a more extensive fruit and flower harvest in the future. Simply allow plants to become established, then either create new ones by layering the stems, or dig out more adventurous rhizomes, sever and replant elsewhere.

No other rose is as well suited to the sustainable garden, urban agriculture and the hobby farm due to its ease of cultivation, pest and disease resistance and many uses in the kitchen. So plant easy care rugosa roses for hedges and as a fruit crop that bears heartily during the hard times, and ‘tween times, when there’s little else going in your garden.

Feed Your Soil Microbes

till
Till amendments in deeply to increase the depths of the organic layer where most of the microbes reside.

“The soil is not, as many suppose, a dead, inert substance.  It is very much alive and dynamic.  It teems with bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, molds, yeasts, protozoa, algae and other minute organisms.  This microbial population of the soil is concentrated mainly in the upper four or five inches where the bulk of the organic matter, their food, is to be found.” -J.I. Rodale, Pay Dirt, 1945

Continue reading “Feed Your Soil Microbes”

Mulching for Water Conservation

roses
Make roses more drought resistant by mulching well, but keep mulch clear of the woody base of each plant.

This year you’ll hear a lot of suggestions for helping your landscape make it through drought. Some are truly actionable while others may prove problematic. For example, many sources recommend relying on drip irrigation. This may be ideal for your veggie and flower gardens, but it can prove troublesome for trees and shrubs with vast root systems that don’t always respond well to poorly placed pinpoint watering.

Aside from smart irrigation, the second most effective way to help your beds and borders survive is to apply mulch. Mulching for water conservation is important. Mulch acts a lot like a sun hat on a very hot day; sun hats protect the head from direct sun exposure, keeping the body cooler and the face shaded. Mulch also reduces evaporation of water below its surface. There are many mulch options, the best being composed of partially decomposed organic material that is easily spread over the soil’s surface around plants.

Why mulch during drought?

There are three key reasons to apply mulch to beds before or during drought:

1. Mulch protects the soil surface from direct solar exposure, so the soil remains much cooler in the heat of the day.
2. Mulch acts as a moisture barrier keeping water from evaporating from the soil surface.
3. Mulch stops weeds from succeeding, which means more available soil moisture for your garden plants.

What materials make good mulches?

Black Gold Compost is a super mulch for the vegetable garden.
Black Gold Garden Compost is a super mulch for the vegetable garden.

Mulching during drought requires a thick layer of organic matter spread out over the surface of the soil. Fine bark mulch, pine straw, leaf mulch, and compost are all good organic mulching products. Knowledgeable landscapers utilize a 2-inch thick layer of mulch that’s thick enough to provide benefits but not so thick that rain or irrigation water cannot permeate the layer from above. Some forms of mulch, such as coarse bark mulch, do not break down easily, so they remain in place for a long time.

When rich, semi-decomposed soil amendments are used as mulch, they offer the additional benefit of adding quality organic matter, which increases soil fertility. Black Gold Garden Compost Blend feeds microbes in the soil while protecting plants from potential dehydration and heat when water is limited. When rains finally do return, this rich mulch can be turned under to add more benefits while the coarse bark mulches are best left on top.

How do you spread mulch?

You may be surprised to discover how much material is required for adequate mulching. Go cheap with a thin layer under 2-inches thick, and your garden will be riddled with weeds and the soil’s surface may crack from dehydration. Landscapers begin applying mulch by placing evenly spaced bags (or wheelbarrow loads) of mulching material over an entire garden area. Next, they use a shovel to stab the bags to break them open, so the contents are easily emptied when one end of the bag is picked up.( Be sure to collect and recycle the empty plastic bags.)

Remove grass in a ring around your young trees in lawns, then apply mulch to create free drainage to the tree roo
Remove grass in a ring around your young lawn trees, then apply an even 2-inch layer of mulch. Be sure not to mound mulch along the trunk!

The mulch is then spread to the correct thickness with a hard rake, being sure not to layer any over plant crowns or trees/shrub trunks. Mulch allowed to accumulate against a trunk or stem can cause crown rot. Avoid it by keeping several inches clear around the base of stems/trunks. When mulching slopes, allow more clearance on the uphill side to manage and reduce runoff and downhill accumulation. In windy areas, it helps to water and compact the mulch, if it’s fine like Black Gold Garden Compost, so it won’t blow away.

Mulching will always be the most effective way to reduce water demands without sacrificing plant health. For this year of weather extremes, don’t expect miracles because just keeping plants alive may be enough. Then when the rains return in abundance, your garden plants will spring up from that semi-dormant state more vigorous than ever.

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Spread mulches in and around your herbs and perennials to preserve soil moisture.

Create A Rock Garden For Cacti & Succulents

Succulents thrive in the crevices and graveled beds of an English rock garden.
Succulents thrive in the crevices and graveled beds of an English rock garden.

All over Pinterest there are pins of the most fabulous outdoor succulent rock gardens from desert climates and the Southern California coast. No rain falls in these areas from May to December, so water content in the soil is minimal, creating a specialty environment for these plants. This makes it tough for eastern succulent gardeners living where rains fall year-round. In moister areas succulents can rot, die out or simply look poor, particularly when planted on level ground with dense fertile soils, so gardeners seeking to grow them need to be smart. Continue reading “Create A Rock Garden For Cacti & Succulents”

Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

Well-planted and maintained bare-root fruit trees will produce good fruit on a couple of years.

Out West, where the bare root season arrives early, February is time for planting fruit trees, and January is the time to prepare. New gardeners often miss this crucial planting time because it falls so early here. Bare root season is the best time to buy fruit trees at their lowest price of the year. Trees grown from bare root stock produce more adventurous roots because they’ve never been hampered by the nursery pot. Instead they’re grown in a field, dug while dormant, then the soil is washed off and shipping ensues.

 

Buying Bare Root Fruit Trees

 

Cherries require more winter chilling that other fruit tree types, which are better suited to warmer regions.

There are three ways to buy bare root fruit trees. The first is through mail order. Because bare root trees are so lightweight, they’re perfect for purchasing through catalogs, like Raintree Nursery which offers the widest range of bare root fruit tree varieties available.

Next comes your local independent garden center. These folks will order in bare root stock for varieties that they know are well adapted to the local climate. For example, late-blooming varieties may be chosen in areas where early frosts may damage early blooming trees and diminish fruit set. This kind of regional selection makes choosing garden center fruit trees a no-brainer.

Our garden compost blend will help bare root fruit trees become better established.

National chain home improvement stores tend to stock more standard varieties sold from coast to coast. These may not be ideal for your landscape, so research varieties before you buy. For example, a store may sell bare root cherry trees in a climate that lacks the winter chill necessary to make them produce fruit. You won’t realize this until years later when the tree fails to fruit at all. It’s a risk you can’t afford.

Bare root trees save you big money because they haven’t been potted, so you’re not paying more for pots, or increased shipping costs. And if you get your bare roots fresh and early, you might even be getting a better product. Those bare root trees left over after the season are usually potted up at the nursery and put on sale at higher prices. These may be the poorest trees of the lot, passed over by savvy buyers.

Planting Bare Root Fruit Trees

 

Once you have your bare root trees selected and have brought them home, be sure not to let the roots dry out. Many even recommend soaking the bare roots for several hours in a bucket of tepid water before planting.

amendments
Improve your planting hole soil by mixing in generous quantities of Black Gold amendments, such as compost and garden soil.

The next step is to plant them in enriched landscape soil. Because bare roots do not come with a rootball, they lack feeder roots and have a diminished root zone. Enriching the soil well will give them a better start. Begin by digging a hole that’s twice the width of the root spread and to a depth that will just reach the root flair at the base of the trunk. Next, enrich the extracted soil by blending it with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend or Black Gold Garden Soil. It’s also important to add a starter & transplant fertilizer to help build strong roots and reduce transplant shock.

graft union
There’s a line on the bare root tree, below the graft union and just above the root flair, which shows where the soil level should be for planting.

Planting trees correctly is essential for their long term happiness. When planting the tree, tease the roots out, making sure no major roots overlap, and then cover them firmly and completely, making sure the root flair is just covered at the point where it meets the trunk. You also need to be aware of the tree graft near the base of the trunk. The graft is not too hard to spot; just look for a line or mark at the base of the tree where the straight rootstock was grafted with the varietal wood (or “scion”). It’s wise to cover the graft union with protective wrap to protect against summer sunburn or winter sun scald.

Be sure to create a watering basin in the soil around the newly planted tree, and fill it to the top with water to help settle the new soil around the roots. Staking newly planted bare root trees is also wise as they won’t be sure-footed until they set strong, new roots. Continue to give it good care, and watch the bare stick come to life with flowers, leaves and fruits that get bigger and better each year.