Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

Testing found high levels of lead in me. Since I do not know the source, I am testing first our well water. If we have lead in our water, can we assume that it will also be in our soil? I often have worked without gloves. Also, what is a reliable way to test the soil in our garden and fields for lead? There is a inexpensive test kit that is sold in hardwares. What would we do to remediate if there is lead in our soil? Thanks, Mary

I read that almond hulls have a lot of calcium. If that is true, would they make good top dressing for a small vineyard on fairly heave soil?
Thank you,
Val

Question:

Hello,

I’m starting an organic micro-farm in northern Indiana.  The first season is going to be the spring of 2010.  I’m wanting to plant a cover crop and a friend of mine that runs a micro-farm in Colorado recommended you to me and said that I should email or give you a call.  I have two plots that I’ve tilled.  One plot is approximately 80′x40′ and the second is 36′x36′.  Both  plots do contain some clay soil.  What  do you recommend as far as a cover crop for northern Indiana?  And how much seed should I order from you?

Thank you very much for your time.

Answer:

Congratulations on your new farm!
Assuming you have very low temperatures in Indiana I would say one possibility would be our Cold Zone Soil Builder Mix.  It is made up of 85% Hairy Vetch and 15% Cereal Rye which can handle temperatures below 20 degrees fahrenheit.  It’s hardy and in combination with inoculant, will fix nitrogen that will be plant available.  The Hairy Vetch does need 55-60 degrees to germinate.  Rye can germinate down to 34F.  Red Clover is another possibility.  I’ve listed a couple pages from our catalog on the website that you can look over.

http://www.groworganic.com/item_SCM130_Cold_Zone_Soil_Builder_Mix__Raw_.html

http://www.groworganic.com/item_SCN395_Cereal_Rye_Lb.html

http://www.groworganic.com/item_SCL330_Red_Clover__Doublecut__Rhizocoat.html

The Red Clover can tolerate down to 0 degrees.  You have many choices if you wanted to plant in early spring but these three I’ve listed should be ok to plant now.  I wouldn’t wait to long to get them in the ground.

You have a total of 4,496 square feet so if you went with the Cold Zone Soil Builder you would need. 12-15 lbs.  The Red Double-cut Clover would be 5-6 lbs.

Hope this helps

A set of  PVFS Customer Emails with Staff Responses.

Question:

I received my fall 2009 catalog and see you carry Redhaven peach trees. I would like to know if they come on Citation rootstock or, if not, what rootstock do they come on?

Answer:

Yes, the Redhaven Peach trees come on Citation rootstock. The bare root trees are available for order now, but will not begin shipping until December. Please feel free to contact me directly with any further questions.

Thank you for your interest and happy Fall!

Question:

I have a few more questions.  I live in The Scott Valley In the Siskiyous, Sunset zone 1.  We get about 90 days between 3 day freezes. I would like to know if my selections will be alright.  1) Harcot on Citation, 2) Chinese on Citation, 3) Italian/Europ Plum on Citation, 4) Craig’s Crimson Cherry?   Also will Harcot or Chinese polinate Tomcot?

Answer:

Sunset zone 1 indicates that you are in a very northern hard freeze area?  I’m afraid I am unable to determine where you live?  The Harcot & Chinese recommends within zones 4-9.  The Tomcot is recommended in zones 7-9.  This would suggest that these trees would not survive the winters.  Do you have a local Master Gardener’s Cooperative in your county?  They could probably help with the local particulars.

Please write back with high and low average temps and your location so I can better serve you.

Question:

Thanks again for your help.

I live in Etna CA. US zone 7, sunset zone 1, but I buy all my trees for zone 4. We have vary short season so it can get pretty cold early in september. I already have a Tomcot apricot and need to know if Harcot or Chineese will polinate Tomcot? and will Italian/Europ Plum do alright here?

Answer:

Looks like the Italian/Euro Plum will do fine in your area, it’s recommendation is for zones 4-9, it blooms late (this is good), and does well in colder regions.

The Tomcot is semi self fruitful but will yield more fruit with any other Apricots in the area.  So you should see more fruit with either the Chinese or Harcot nearby.

The Cherry tree you inquired about may have some challenges with the freezing, if you can put it on a south side close to a building it may do alright, it is zoned for areas 5-10.  The Montmorency and the Van are the only Cherries zoned 4-9.  The Montmorency is self-fruitful, the Van needs pollination by any other sweet cherry.

See our Bare Root Planting Guide here.

This was posted as a comment on Cover Crop Solutions. It has been moved here for the sake of visibility.

Hey I just bought some crop. I heard raking it in was a good idea. I did this, but it was soooo time consuming. I got out my tiller and set it to a very very shallow setting, and quickly moved it through. I have planted rye and clover, the seeds are pretty small. There’s only about a quarter inch of soil on the seeds, some being closer to the top than others. Is this a problem?

Recently, I was asked what a CSA is and what these letters stand for. While I know what a CSA is, I  didn’t know what the acronym meant. So, I looked to the place where I find many answers, the internet search engine Google! I was able to find out not only what CSA stands for (Community Supported Agriculture) but I found a great website (http://www.localharvest.org/csa/) that gives a lot of information about CSAs and explains what they do, where they are, and how they function. Take a look at this site if you are interested in finding a local CSA in your area, want some great tips on what to expect when joining one, or on your own find out what “CSA” stands for, so you can use the term with confidence!

Have any tips to add about what to expect from a CSA, please respond to this post and share your stories.

Also take a look at our Freshman Farmer blog - filled with our Farmer fledglings most of which have created and are running their very own CSA farms.

Happy growing!

PVFS Brand Organic Compost

I’ve had the privilege of attending a free composting class sponsored by Nevada County Recycles which took place at Fulcrum Farm in Penn Valley. It was taught by one of the owners of Fulcrum Farm, Marney Blair (Fulcrum Farm produces the very same compost we use at our local store to brew our fabulous compost tea!). I came away from this class excited, inspired and just generally feeling good about how amazing composting can be!

I knew a bit going in but came out with that “I know nothing” sense on this subject… however very excited about learning so much more about the process. It can seem complicated but it’s not and it’s ALL natural, it’s the ultimate recycling program. I picked up a couple key points, like most residuals, i.e., pesticides, fertilizers, etc., will be neutralized through the process. I learned about how to touch and feel for moisture content and bulk density, what is carbon and what is nitrogen… then how to combine the various materials just by knowing what you are looking at and feeling. I learned what good compost should look like, smell like and feel like. If it’s black… NOT good, it’s been burned. I never knew that!

Anyway, there’s another class coming up next week and I CAN’T WAIT to go! Once you’ve gone to one of these classes, Marney will come out and do a free consultation to. She was a wonderful and inspirational teacher. You can always tell when someone has passion for what they do. Marney’s got compost passion. If you want to get in on this party:

Contact Lynne Cody Lacroix
Recycling Technician, Nevada County Recycles
950 Maidu Avenue
Nevada City, CA 95959
530.265.7119
NevadaCountyRecycles.com

You’ll be glad you did!

Beautiful colorful organic potato varieties!

(Taken from PVFS October In the Loop Newsletter) if you would like to receive this newsletter email us at orderdesk@groworganic.com with your full name and email address.

First of all, a Customer Success Story:
Bill Bird and his wife Venus planted one pound of potatoes in their 4′x8′ raised bed and harvested nearly 100 pounds of potatoes this summer! They enjoyed many Cranberry Red and All Blue potatoes this year.

Bill said he fertilizerd two to three times a month with a mixture of Omega 2000 and diluted Maxicrop, which he believes aided in their success. Great job Bill & Venus!

And Now….How-to Grow Potatoes:
by Dan Lake, Peaceful Valley Employee

Since I was 12 years old, my family has grown about 4 or 5 different varieties of potatoes in our garden at home every year. I would love to brag about my tater planting abilities, and with all of that experience one would think that I was a spud growing expert, but after reflecting on what I knew, I came to a different conclusion: I devoted most of my time harvesting & eating the delicious potatoes and have a lot to learn about the process of planting them!

Now that I have my own garden, I’ve done some research, talked to a friend who happens to be a farmer, and have compiled some good tips below.

Crop Rotation: When planting potatoes from season to season, they should be kept on a 3 year rotating cycle in terms of location in your garden where you choose to plant as to not plant in the same location. This means, 3-4 suitable sites are needed if you want to grow potatoes every year, rotating the site where you plant every season.

Soil & Sun: When it comes to soil, potatoes are not very picky. They are very adaptable and will usually produce a decent crop even when the soil conditions are less than perfect. What they do require, however, is as much sun as possible because of how aggressive their root systems are, so keep that in mind when picking your spot(s) to plant.

Preparing Seed Potatoes: When you have your seed, which are potatoes certified for growing, set them somewhere where they will be exposed to some light and warmth (between 60 and 70 degrees F). This will help them to start sprouting. A day or two before planting, use a clean knife to slice the larger potatoes into smaller sections that contain at least 1 or 2 “eyes” or buds on them (seeds). Each seed should be approximately 1 1/2-2 inches square, and the smaller potatoes may be planted whole. In the next day or so, your seed will form a thick callous over the cuts, which will help to prevent it from rotting once planted.

Planting Seed Potatoes: After you have trenched a 4′” deep furrow, plant the seeds or small potatoes 4″ deep in the furrow about 12″ apart and cover lightly with soil. The soil should be evenly moist, but not wet or soggy. If the soil is water logged when you dig, your seed potatoes will probably rot before they even get started. Depending on how cold it gets in your area, it might be a good idea to put a layer of mulch or straw on top of the furrow for a little extra frost protection. Two to Four months later, you will hopefully be enjoying some of the most delicious potatoes ever!

You can also reference our Potato Planting & Growing Guide online.

Now up on our Freshman Farmer website, applications for next year’s first year farms.

Check it out here, and spread the word if someone you know is interested!

Consider these customer reviews:

Organic German White Garlic:

“Unpacking last September’s shipment, I was somewhat concerned to note only 4 cloves to a bulb. Very large cloves, but still, since I grow garlic to sell at Farmer’s Market, I have to be concerned about yield. A pound of German White produced only 32 plants, as opposed to 50 or more for California White or Spanish Roja.

Well, those 32 plants were the largest, stoutest and healthiest garlic that has ever grown here, in North Central Kentucky, (Zone 6, well-tilled, well-drained clay soil). Some bulbs were as large as my fist, and each had 6 or 7 enormous cloves. I will be saving the best for seed, which will quadruple the yield from my original investment. Customers are impressed with the smooth, perfect bulbs, large cloves and great roasted flavor.“

Organic Music Garlic:

“This is a MUST garlic for anyone who grows their own garlic. Every year I harvest nice big heads with 5-6 big cloves each. Yum, yum!”

It’s not too late! Hurry and get your garlic growin’!!