Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

If you haven’t been to Peaceful Valley Farm Supply nursery you really must come and check it out.  There is a plant here that is my new “favorite” plant!  They are carrying a Silverberry Fruitlandii (Elaeagnus pungens) that has the most surprising fragrance.  In fact it’s hard to tell where that smell is coming from!  It actually reminds me of Hawaii!  The flowers are small and somewhat hidden at the base of the shrub.. probably the last place you’d look for flowers, but that SMELL will keep you looking!  The leaves have the two tone leaf color, gray/silver undersides and olive green top.  It’s in it’s prime now so you have one last summer hold out that makes you lift your head and breathe deep… ummmmm!  It can be pruned to various bush type shapes or allowed to go wild and shoot up toward the sky, well anywhere from 6 - 12 feet high that is. This is a hardy shrub that stands up to very dry conditions.  So plant it in places your hose can’t reach.  Plant it now and the fall and winter rains will help get it established in it’s new home.

Of course, there’s lots more to see and choose from.  Native plants, vegetable starts, trees, bulbs, annual and perennial flowers even cacti.  Come see what’s growing here at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply just waiting for a happy home to live out it’s life.

It’s feeling a bit like Fall here in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Time to start thinking about Fall and Winter proofing your gardens, cleaning and putting up your tools and harvesting those last but not least vine ripe tomatoes. It’s also a great time to get those cover crops and wildflower seeds in the ground while the soil is still warm enough to get the seeds to germinate and put some roots down to hold them in place for the winter. Then they are ready to “take off” when the warmth of Spring wakes them up again. Then you’ve got a great start on your garden soil building, and wildflowers will be mature enough to put on some flowers for beautiful spring and summer color! Don’t forget to plant your greens, brassicas, garlic, onions and potatoes too!

I know everybody is just coming down from the busy-ness of the Summer gardening season, especially for you hard working people still canning and processing (tomato sauce, apple sauce, pear sauce, whatever sauce), but don’t forget about the wonderful bounty Fall can provide! I’ve been planting onions, garlic cloves, broccoli starts, and seeds of all sorts of greens. It’s so exciting to think about the deliciousness these favorites will provide! Of course, onions and garlic won’t be ready to harvest until July, but the greens and brassicas will be enjoyed through Winter. For anyone who hasn’t had success growing broccoli in the Spring, try now instead. It’s a struggle in the Spring when temperatures warm up rapidly to keep the plants from bolting, but in the Fall, broccoli (and other brassicas-cauliflower, cabbage, brussellsprouts, etc) just gets sweeter as the temperatures get cooler (for those of us who like to know the “why”, it’s because brassicas produce sugar to act as an “antifreeze” to protect their cells from being damaged by cold-cool, huh?).
Happy Fall!

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

The sounds of hustling warehouse folk - the pungent smell of Allium cepa, its Onion Season 2009! There is nothing like it, a sea of green scallions as far as the eye can see, makes one want to bake some potatoes and pull out the sour cream.

Italian Red Torpedo, Crimson Red, Stockton Early Yellow, Walla Walla Sweet Yellow, Solano White and Lancelot Leeks: Shipping out all over the country.

Check out our website here, its not to late to order for the next batch which should ship mid October. Onions are easy to grow, great for your health and the basis of any tasty dish.

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!

by Amber TIppett, PV Store Manager & Willow Hein, FreshmanFarmer & PV employee

“Cover Crop” is a general term referring to a crop grown to cover and protect the soil. The term “Green Manure” would more specifically apply to a Cover Crop grown with the intent to till back into the soil. Below we’ve outlined a few Cover Crop Solutions for clay or compacted soils, vegetable bed rotations & erosion control. Looking for more solutions? Check out our Cover Crop Solution Finder.

Cover Crops (or, “Green Manure” crops) for Clay or Compacted Soil

Planting cover crops is an excellent way to help break up compacted and clay soils. Plant something with a large taproot, or deep reaching root system that can penetrate the hard soil or compacted soil pan. Examples of these include Bell Beans (SCL700), Winter Rye (SCN395), Rape (SCN900), Daikon (SCN112) and Mustard (SCN755 or SCN750). You’ll want to plant these cool weather crops in the fall after the first rains when the soil is softer and can be tilled and prepared for planting. The cover crops will grow all winter, and then can be turned in during the spring to add organic matter to the soil. The cover cropped area can then be planted with vegetable or ornamental crops, or planted with a summer cover crop to continue breaking up the soil if it is still too compacted. Examples of good summer cover crops for this purpose are Crotolaria Juncea (SCL815) and Sesbania (SCL855). You will need to irrigate these crops through the summer if you live in an area where it doesn’t rain.

Cover Crops (or, “Green Manure” crops) to plant in a Vegetable Rotation

Planting a winter cover crop is a great way to replenish your soil after a season of vegetable or production cropping. You want something that will fix nitrogen back into the soil, hold the soil in place during winter storms, and grow vigorously for maximum organic matter and weed suppression. Peaceful Valley carries a great cool weather cover crop mix (Soil Builder SCM120, SCM121) which contains bell beans, winter peas, purple vetch, common vetch, and cayuse oats, a blend that addresses all the above-mentioned needs. The bell beans, peas, and vetches are legumes that fix nitrogen from the air through a symbiotic relationship with a group of naturally occurring soil bacteria known as rhizobacteria. The bacteria form nodules on the roots of the plants and convert gaseous nitrogen into plant-usable nitrogen. Be sure to inoculate (ISE350, ISE505, ISE500) your seed with the rhizobacteria before you plant it to make sure this process happens in your cover crop. The oats provide scaffolding for the vetch to climb up and have fibrous root systems that suppress weeds and help with erosion control. Other great cover crops for the winter include clovers and alfalfa.

Cover Crops for Erosion Control

Erosion of hillsides can be a major problem in some areas, and should be a concern to anyone who wishes to protect valuable topsoil. Erosion control mixes typically consist of annual grasses and clovers that have extensive root systems and strong reseeding abilities. The Premium Erosion Mix (SEC300) has wildflowers in the mix to enhance the beauty of the area. Individual varieties of seed for erosion control include Crimson Clover (SCL310), Ryegrass (SCG560), BlandoBbrome (SCG150), and Zorro Fescue (SCG299). Timing is an important issue in establishing an erosion crop. It should be planted in the Fall while the soil is still warm, and be given supplemental irrigation until the natural rains can take over. If supplemental irrigation cannot be provided, the area should be covered with Jute Netting (EC400) after it is seeded. If irrigation will be provided year round, then perennial grasses or clovers can be planted instead of annuals.

A PVFS Customer question - Staff answered:

Question:

I just received your email newsletter which talked about cover crops.   I’m very interested, and I have some questions.

There is a section that talks about hillside erosion control.   Our ‘back yard’ is a hillside, and I would love to plant something on it that would control erosion, but that wouldn’t turn into a weed-eating nightmare in the summer.   We are required to have 100′ in all directions either be green, or no taller than 4″.    It appears that all of these erosion control plants that you mention are around 2′ tall.   Do they turn brown in the summer (which would then require weed-eating)??

Also, I have about 1/2 acre of my ‘garden’ that is not fenced.   I would like to plant a cover crop that will help break up the clay soil, and that will also fix some nitrogen.    I have 2 concerns/questions:    1)  Since that area is not fenced, the deer have discovered the area….   would they simply eat all of the sprouting cover crop down to the nubs??   2)  We cleared and tilled the area last spring, but did not spray it at all, so I’m assuming that the native grasses will start sprouting up again.   Would it make more sense to wait until we get those under control before we try to grow a cover crop??   Otherwise, I’m afraid it will just be overcome by the native grasses.   What are your thoughts?

Answer:

The erosion control mixes we carry are annuals, so they would grow up and green in spring, form flowers, drop seeds, then die and turn brown, requiring weed-eating.  We do carry lower growing plants that can be used for erosion.  If you plan on watering during dry times, you can go with a perennial that will stay green year round.  If you don’t water during dry times, then you can choose a low growing annual (however, unfortunately, even the low growing annuals we carry can grow up to 12″ so sounds like they won’t work for your regulations).  Good low growing perennial choices are creeping red fescue, perennial clover, mini perennial clover-grass mix. To sum up, if you irrigate, you can choose any perennial grass or clover you want since it will stay green year round.  If you do not irrigate, you’ll have to weed-whack (but only once) after the plants have dropped their seeds and dried.  Another option is to go with native grasses.  If you live in a dry area of CA, they generally go dormant in the summer.  I suggest you contact your local Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) for options.

As far as your garden area, 1) deer will graze the green manure crops you grow.  Whether or not they eat it down to the nub is uncertain.  I’d say that if you are planning on fencing the area anyway, you should do it before growing a green manure crop.   2) If the grasses are grown up in that area, ie, the ground is not clear, then yes, you should re-till before planting your cover crop seed.  One consideration is that if the grasses are annuals and they’ve dropped seed, then you have seeds in the soil that will grow up whenever water is provided.  One solution is to clear the area and irrigate while the soil is still warm to let those unwanted seeds sprout, then till the seedlings down.  this can be repeated several times to exhaust some of the “seed bank”.  If you don’t want to do that, then grow the cover crop anyway, it is a good competitor against native grasses that might grow once you start irrigating.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

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PVFS Customer Question with Staff Response.

Question:

Hi, I am a bit overwhelmed with cover crops. I have a raised bed garden that is 5-years old and I feel it is time to plant a cover crop for this soil. Every year I put in my compost, but have never done the cover crop thing. Can you give me any suggestions? It is 24 sq. ft. and I have had an increase in bad bugs: cabbage worms, snails and cucumber beetles to name the predominant. Also, my tomatoes that usually do really well were less than stellar this year. It could be the cooler, wet weather we had this season, but I would think the fixing of nitrogen could only help. So, please let me know what you think I should do. Thanks so much.

Answer:

Don’t be overwhelmed! It’s true that there are a lot of choices for cover cropping, but when you narrow down the focus, it becomes more clear about how to handle it. Sounds like you want a “green manure” crop; that is, you want to grow something with the intent to till it back into the soil. It will fix nitrogen, stabilize the soil, encourage microorganism activity, add organic matter, etc. Please read the Peaceful Valley literature (here) on the topic for information on planting and more.

Our most popular green manure mix is called the Soil Builder Mix. Using Inoculant will ensure that your crop produces the most amount of Nitrogen possible. A couple of suggestions for your tomato and pest problems is to be sure to clean up the garden after the season (ie-remove leaves, debris, etc.), and be sure to rotate your crops every year.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

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