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?

There’s been some interest of late in our Glaser Wheel Hoe’s.  These are worth taking a look at for the small garden or full production farms.  We carry two different styles and sizes.  One is the Standard and the other the Professional. Now for those of you that can remember sting ray bicycles you’ll recognize the same type of handles on the Standard Wheel Hoe.  You can ride that puppy through your garden making short work (and a whole lot less bending) of those new weeds that the recent rains have encouraged to grow.  The Professional is a little beefier and has wider coverage than the Standard, as well as more attachment options.  I have used the Standard and I must say they do take those young weeds out in a jiffy.  The blade sits on top of the ground and you push it along digging just underneath the soil line popping off weeds in one swift pass.  If they are bigger plants with bigger root systems it may take a couple passes.  The blades are designed so you can “rock” back and forth if you need to, they cut from both sides of the blade.  This long honored farmer’s tool has several blade sizes to fit most garden designs.  The Standard can take 5″ - 10″ stirrup hoe blades, center or offset.  The Professional can take 11″- 14″ stirrup hoe blades, center or offset, as well as hiller/furrower, goosefoot and 3-tine cultivator attachments.  This is one versatile tool.  Made of rust-protected steel hardware and galvanized tubular steel handles, which are exceptionally light and maneuverable.  If you are in the area stop by our store,  hold and touch one to see how it might feel out in your own field.   You’ll be surprised how light they are.  Happy Weeding!  I mean Happy Halloween!

A PVFS Customer Email - With Staff Response

Question:
Hi,

I’m thinking of ordering a couple of fig trees (Desert king / Osborne Prolific), persimmon (Fuyu) and grapes (Interlaken). Do you know long it will take for them to start fruiting?

Thanks

Answer:

Regarding the Fig and Persimmon trees, it’s possible that they will fruit the 1st year for the Fig and 2nd for the Persimmon. It is better for the trees if you do not allow them to fully fruit out the first couple years so the tree will use it’s resources to establish a healthy root system. If they put out very much fruit the first couple years pick most of it off.

The grapes will possibly fruit by the 2nd year, again you want the first couple years focused on the root system for longevity and higher, healthier yields later on. Plus all this has variables related to the health of your soil and placement of the trees and vines. Southern exposure with full sun will fruit out the grapes faster.

Hope this helps. Thank you for your interest.

A PVFS Customer Blog Entry - Moved here for visibility.

I order a blueberry bush and planted it as instructed in March .While the bush is alive and has grown leaves, I haven’t noticed any growth in height. Do they require alot of sunlight or water or how dcan I stimulate growth?

-Debra J. M

A PVFS Customer Question - Staff response

Question:

Howdy,

we live in the North Cascades Mtns. on the east side of the crest and are wondering if the Organic Soil Builder Mix would be appropriate for this climate in the winter.  In the past we have used buckwheat in the summer and winter rye in the winter.  For the winter cover crop we plant by mid-October.

Generally speaking we get snow on the ground by Thanksgiving and it melts off the gardens by March/April.  The coldest temps are usually down to 0 F and mostly in the teens and twenties.

thank you for your advice!

Answer:

Unfortunately the Soil Builder mix will not work for your area unless protected.  We do carry a “Cold zone” soil builder mix but it needs to be planted while the soil temp is pretty warm still (about 55) so the hairy vetch can germinate.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

Take a look at our Bare-root fruit and nut Trees here online. We are currently working on completing our Winter catalog which will be packed full of bare root goodness! These fantastic books should begin shipping 10/15!

PVFS Customer Email - Staff Answer

Question:

I am interested in ordering the multi grafted pluot, however I am confused to how many varieties I will received. On your picture it shows 4 in 1 pluot and I quote, “Multi-grafted trees have four different varieties grafted onto one rootstock so you can enjoy more variety and extended harvests in one quarter the space”. However you provide me with these additional descriptions that make me believe I will get 3 varieties: Three of the following four varieties: Flavor King®, Flavor Queen®, Flavor Supreme®, and Zaiger’s Dapple Dandy®. -Enjoy three different fruits or varieties on one tree! So how many varieties will I get? And how much for shipping?

Thanks.

Answer:

The reason we say you will get any 3 of the 4 varieties listed is due to the nature of multi-grafted trees; one graft is likely to fail. If you get a tree that has all 4 grafts successful, then its like a bonus (you paid for 3 but its possible to get 4).

Shipping is $30 for a box that holds up to 10 fruit trees - (so, shipping is $30 whether you buy one tree or ten trees - to get the best price on shipping it is best to order as close to 10 trees as possible).

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!