Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

PVFS Customer question - PVFS employee answered

Question:

Last summer all four of my squash plants came down with a whitish-gray spotty/moldy disease. They grew beautiful and healthy for most of the summer but several weeks after the disease set in, they started to shrivel and die. I’m wondering if anyone can give me some insights as to why this happened and also if its something that is likely to happen this year and/or how I can prevent it.

Thanks so much!

Answer:

The symptoms you described could be a few things. My first thought is Powdery Mildew, or maybe Botrytis. You might consider consulting with your local Master Gardeners office or nursery in more detail. If it is one one of the two I mentioned, you could increase the air circulation around the plants (plant them farther apart, thin the leaves, etc.). Compost tea is a great thing to use if you have local access. It will increase the overall health of your plants and soil, and inoculate the leaves with microbes to battle fungus.

Hope that helps!
Thank you for growing organically,

A co-worker just pointed out to me that you can watch the documentary, “The Future of Food” for free online at hulu.com. Check it out!

Question from a twitter follower:

do you have a thoughtful way of warding off gophers? they think i’ve planted THEM a garden!!

Staff Answer:

First off we have gopher wire in rolls and as prefabricated baskets. While this is primarily designed for the protection of a select plant / tree / etc. but could be used around rows, beds or around the entire perimeter of your field (subterranean fencing). These rolls come in 3′ or 4′ x 100′ (note: gophers have been known to burrow up to 6′ deep in soft soil), the baskets come in several sizes from 1 Gallon to 15 Gallon.

Next are the traps… we have two main types of traps; “Spring Wire” and “Loop”. The spring wire type is the type most commonly used that can be set near the entry of a tunnel or in mid tunnel when the tunnel is near the surface. The loop type (”Black Box”) is a box type trap that is intend be set mid tunnel and uses a loop of wire to capture and kill the gopher as it passes through. Both kinds of traps are intended to be fatal (not sure the term “trap” is really accurate).

Third, baits; we have Strychnine and NON-Strychnine baits. These baits are intend to be applied with an applicator a metal probe inserted into the tunnel (we also carry several applicators) the bait is eaten by the gopher and the result is fatal.

Fourth, gassing solutions; Although Gopher Gassers are not considered organic, we offer these for home gardeners who may be extremely frustrated by their problematic gopher situation. Gopher gassers contain potassium nitrate, carbon, sulfur (all components of gunpowder) and dextrin (a polysaccharide), which when used sparingly, are not harmful to soils. The idea is to activate the gassing unit in a tunnel, the gas will spread through the tunnel system resulting in a fatal reaction.

Last, repellants… if you have a gopher problem… repellants alone will not shew the critters away. However as part of a control plan including (traps, gas and barrier wire) repellants can deter more gophers from coming into your area, while you get rid of the existing population. Then once you have the main problem under control repellants have been shown to deter gophers from coming into an area. We have liquid and solid repellants in various sizes. The question for the gopher becomes: Is the temptation of the food you are growing stronger than the deterrent of a bad taste / smell (castor oil) in the area.

Hope this helps, I must say that I feel for the gophers sometimes… there are few creatures that have had so many methods of demise designed for them. Even with mice… no body ever said… “I know, let’s gas it, or better yet, let’s pump flammable gas into it’s home and light it!” My sympathy fades quickly though, when they show up in my lawn and garden… few creatures can actually make a person feel as though they have been robbed. There is something especially infuriating about a rodent creeping around underground and stealing your crop from right under your nose.

I wish you the best of luck and encourage you to use the most natural and sustainable option that will work for you before getting out the “big guns”… if you do decide to go “Wille E. Coyote” on the little critters and blow them up, consider waiting until the growing season is over and I’d take all my irrigation lines out of the area. On the bright side maybe you could till in your cover crop in that way?

Question:

I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico at 7000 feet altitude, about 13″ natural rainfall a year. I do all my organic vegetable gardening in raised boxes because of gophers. We have fairly mild winters, some snow but usually not heavy. I am wondering what garlics you would recommend for my climate, I would like to get a few different ones to try. Do you have an article on picking the right garlics for your climate/conditions or doesn’t it really matter?
Thanks!

Answer:

Generally, hardnecks are better for variable climates, softnecks are better for mild climates (like Southern California).  Check out this link from the University of New Mexico for more info.  I’d also suggest you contact the Master Gardeners in your area for more local advice as far as which specific varieties to choose.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

Can anyone recommend a cover crop for planting now (late June) in Reno, NV. If you’re not familiar with the high desert climate, it’s arid, warm to hot during the day and cools off quite a bit at night. Average last killing frost is May 12, average first killing frost is Sept 15.

I have a plot of sandy loam with low nutrient levels that I’d like to plant with veggies next year. I’ve heard that planting a cover crop adds nutrients when tilled under.

Thanks,
Dave

Here is a good use of emitterline and bean scaffolding.

The scaffold is made of 1 1/4” X 8’ redwood stakes lashed at the top where they cross and then extra cross beams for strength. The stakes are 12” apart to coincide with the emitterline holes and then the beans planted at the same point. It really cuts down on weeds, virtually none, and only the beans get the water. They immediately start climbing the stakes and are easy to harvest because they are up off the ground.

The first and third pictures were taken on June 20, and the second picture was taken June 27. They’ve grown a lot in the recent heat. They also create a nice shady spot inside for my fox terrier to escape the sun. The birds like to perch on top of the stakes and are hopefully eating any worms or other unwanted insects. I hope this might inspire someone to build something pretty in the garden that functions so well. It also comes apart easily and stores well for the next season.

We are a non-profit Association tasked to restore a lake area that recently underwent mastication. We are located at 1,200 feet in Shingle Springs, CA (Cameron Park area). We wish to plant erosion control mixes as well as wildflower mixes (some areas). The approximate area to be seeded is 3 acre of erosion mix and 1 acre of wild flower mix. Water is only that of annual precipitation. Some areas to be seeded are picnic areas with foot traffic.

Can you please advise an appropriate product(s) and the best time of year for introducing selected product(s) given the above information.

Customer Email - PVFS staff response.

Question:

Hi everyone at Peaceful Valley –

I’ve grown your wonderful Music hardneck garlic for a few years but this year most of my heads have turned brown, although they did grow scapes, and upon pulling them up they smell funny and have no roots!  Wonder what is going on.  Any ideas?

No sign of rodent or insects.

Would like to hear from you in this regard.  – No hurry.

Many thanks.

Answer:

Hi Judy,

Two possibilities came to mind when reading about your garlic. Could they have been standing in water for an extended period? The forming bulb may have had enough energy to produce a scape before it rotted.

The other possibility is that a soil born disease affected your garlic. Have you been rotating your garlic crop? Most garlic growers use a minimum 3-year rotation. Did you use saved seed-garlic?

Hope my questions help,

Question from a PVFS Customer received by email and answered by our staff.

Question:

I have a terrible squirrel problem. They devour my avocados, apricots, grapes, and even citrus before I can get to one bite myself! Please help! I have looked in your catalog in past years, but wolf urine, etc. has been banned in California, and I’m desperate. What options does Peaceful Valley have for me.

Signed,

Tired of squirrels in North Hollywood

Answer:

Hello!

We carry just a couple of products for squirrel control. One is the Havahart Trap, item PAT064 or PAT078. The other is the Sure Stop Squirrel Bait, item PAB300, which can be used with the Wilco Squirrel Bait Station, PAB405.

There are probably professional animal control companies in your area with natural or humane options, if it comes to that…

Good luck!

PVFS Customer Question email- staff answer

Question:

I run a lawn maintenance service in SE Michigan. I am wondering if a weed
flamer (such as the Primus) would work well on weeds in lawn areas (mainly
dandelions). I would appreciate any information, and would like to know what
types of weeds it would work on.

Thank you,

Answer:

The weed flamer would work well on dandelions but may take more than one
application. It will also kill the grass around the dandelions. The flamer
will kill all annual weeds and grasses and some perennials. It will also
singe anything you get too close to. We also sell a product called burnout
which is a natural herbicide labeled for the control of dandelions. It is
also non-selective and will kill the grass it is sprayed on.