Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

PVFS Customer Email with Staff Response

Question:

Question for you: I’ve grown garlics for many years for the Seed Savers Exchange and agree entirely with the tips given in this In the Loop release! I also have grown bunching onion, topset onion, and shallot varieties for the SSE for years, and this past year took on close to 100 additional allium and garlic varieties:

Should I provide any different care for shallots than I provide for garlics? I have experienced dwindling vigor and yields, even loss, of a few shallot varieties over the past 20-30 years, and while I will try hard to get these newly-acquired varieties out and in the hands of other growers as quickly as possible, I really need to find out what is causing them (and topsetting onions) to decline and fail over time in my garden, while garlics and bunching onions thrive. [I took on Louis VanDeven's collection last summer, close to 100 alliums and garlics, when at 89 he feared he would not be able to continue to maintain them. He passed away this summer, knowing that only two varieties had not survived the move, and all the others had produced a healthy abundant yield in their new home....]

Answer:

The first thought that comes to mind is, Are you using a three-year crop rotation and not planting the shallots (any alliums) in the same place every year? The second thought is if you have had a soil test done to see what nutrients are missing form the soil? Also, I would check with your county agricultural office as they may have been asked this information from other farmers in your area. Other farmers would be another source.

It sounds like you have something pretty special and I hope you find the information you need!

Our garden is blooming like crazy! Over the last few weeks, we’ve been harvesting Mizuna, Asian Greens, Romaine, Green Beans, Beets and Zucchini! We’ve had a few pest problems…and a few solutions.

First, we found a quick and easy aphid solution. Simply mix one part each molasses, soy sauce and vegetable oil, and put into a clean tuna can or other DISPOSABLE container (unless you like reusing a watery aphid graveyard). Put out at night, find dozens dead in the morning. We noticed a dramatic reduction in our damaged plants almost immediately, and have been practically aphid-free for weeks!

Additionally, we planted the Good Bug Blend when we started our garden, and found a surprise guest on our Asian Greens last night: lady beetles.

More to the point, we found dozens. These aren’t lady bugs, mind you — more like their big cousins who’ve spent some time working out. Nevertheless, proof that the mix works!

More to come as the season progresses…

Question from a customer:

Hi There,

Regarding curing garlic, is it OK to cut off the roots and/or the tops right after you dig it and then cure it on screens in the shade? Is it OK (will it continue to gain flavor) to cut off the roots and braid the soft neck varieties a day or so after it is dug? I want to gain as much flavor as possible but would like to get it ready as soon as possible after being dug.

Answer:

I don’t think it matters much if you cut the roots off after digging, but it is probably best to keep the tops (or most of the top) attached while you cure the garlic. Most growers think that the garlic head absorbs more nutrient from the top as it cures. If you are going to braid the garlic, you certainly don”t want to cut off the tops anyway. Usually, the garlic is cured for several days before you braid them and once braided you need to make sure there is good air circulation around the garlic, as it finishes curing. The curing process is probably 2-4 weeks, depending on temps and humidity.

A PVFS customer question received by email – Staff response.

Question:

I have a question regarding the Tough Turf Lawn Seed (and any other endophyte-enhanced seed in general), as well as the Herbal Lawn Mix or similar.  I notice you indicate that both of these are “not appropriate for pasture,” but what about it being used around dogs?  I realize dogs tend to graze on grass when their stomachs are upset, so I wondered if we should avoid using any endophyte-enhanced seed or herbal/wildflower mixes around them.  If so, could you recommend any of your other products (i.e., any Native Grass Mixes) instead?  We’re in Southern California (zip 91708 / zone 9), and we intend to plant a small lawn in mostly sun, with the hope of planting a shade tree in part of it.  Any guidance you can provide would be much appreciated!

Kind Regards.

Answer:

I have checked into your question with the folks at the seed company and they told me that the endophyte enhancement only affects ruminants like cows, it does not affect dogs.  If you are curious as to what “endophyte-enhanced” means, its just a fungus that forms a symbiotic relationship with the grass.  It’s been shown to improve the plants’ ability to retain moisture and nutrients.  Here is a really good explanation.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

PVFS Customer Email with Staff Response

Question:

I am an avid home brewer of compost tea. I use to rid my water of chlorine by running the pump 1 hour prior to brewing. However, I have now moved to an area that has chloramine treated water. It is my understanding that chloramine cannot be removed using the same process as the chlorine. Will the subject Gard ‘N Gro Garden Filter remove chloramine to the extent that it will not kill off the microbial activity in the “soil soup” or compost tea?

Thanks for your help! I need to find an answer as I don’t want to have to buy bottled water to make the tea!

Answer:

I spoke to the manufacturer of the Gard ‘N Gro Dechlorinating Filter about your question. Although that filter does remove some of the chloramine (maybe about a 25-30% reduction), to remove more requires slower flow rates and more of the media in the filter. They make a product called the Green Knight Hydroponic Dechlorinator made for your type of situation. It is designed to reduce the chlorine and chloramine in tap water when filling hydroponic nutrient tanks. It removes 85-90% of the chlorine and reduces chloramine over 60%. It uses a much slower flow rate and has twice as much filtering media and surface area than the Gard ‘N Gro Dechlorinating Filter. It does not use replaceable cartridges, but has a 30,000 gallon capacity. It reduces more chloramine if the water pH is in the low sevens or lower and the warmer the water, the more effective it is. We haven’t offered the Green Knight in our catalog, although we may in next year’s catalog. We can get one in with our next order, if you want to order one. They are approximately $10 more than the Gard ‘N Gro Dechlorinating Filter. We will be placing an order with the manufacturer within the next week or so. Let me know if you want to order one.

Thank you for growing organically!

This correspondence Continued:

Reply from Customer:

Wow!  Thanks for all the research!

I do think I may want to order the Green Knight Hydroponic Dechlorinator.  However, before I do I need to know more.  Does this filter hook up “in-line” between your faucet and a hose, or is it bigger than that requiring some sort of installation?  And I still don’t know if the 60% reduction is good enough for brewing compost tea.  Do you have a sense of that since you are offering compost tea brewers now?  Is this something that you would recommend to customers buying your compost tea brewers and supplies?

Many, many thanks.  This issue with chloramines in the water and compost tea is a tricky one.  A google search on the internet indicates that there are a LOT of people looking for answers but there aren’t any out there really.  Humic acid and fish aquarium neutralizers are the only suggestions.  The fish aquarium neutralizers are all sodium based…..not good for the soil!  All this is food for thought for a New Product Development Manager………….

Response From our Staff:

The Green Knight comes with the same 3 foot vinyl reinforced hose saver that comes with the Gard ‘N Gro Dechlorinating Filter.  It attaches to the hose bib and then to the filter.  The Green Knight also comes with a built in pre-filter for particulate matter, so you don’t have to buy a separate pre-filter.  I am trying to find out from some compost tea experts if 60-70% reduction in chloramines is adequate.  If I get more info, I’ll let you know.  I’m also not sure if the amount of sodium in the aquarium neutralizers is significant enough to be a detriment to the soil or the compost tea itself.  I am not familiar with what is in them or what chemical reaction occurs when it eliminates the chloramine.  If you know, please let me know.

PVFS Staff reply to customer questions:

In response to our conversation of your situation, of which I understand the following:
-want low growing
-want to incorporate wildflowers
-need shallow roots (since above septic)
-will not water in the summer

It’s important to note that many wildflowers are not low growing.  If this is acceptable, the mix I would say best meets your needs is our Premium Erosion Mix. As you can read in the description, the grasses and clovers are low growing with strong roots, but it does have a taller wildflower mix added.  An alternative would be to purchase all the same grasses and clovers individually, but add our Low Growing Wildflower Mix instead of what it already contains.

The very best way to ensure a good stand is to plant in the Fall and make sure it is consistently watered during germination.  If the timing is right, the seed should germinate and the roots start growing while the soil is still warm enough for it to do so (I don’t know where your cabin is, but in Nevada City, October is a good time).  The winter rains will then take over and since the root system will be established, the seed will not wash away.  The top growth is slow due to cool ambient temperature, but in the Spring, the plants will come up quickly.  Since the mix consists of annual plants, they will go through their life cycle, through flowering and seed forming, then drop their seed for the next year.  The plants themselves will brown and die.

If this kind of care and timing is not possible, plant when you need to, but realize that your success rate may not be great (you might consider seeding at a heavier rate).  The dangers of planting seed in summer is that they may dry out or get eaten by birds (put some straw over the seeds to minimize those effects).  I would suggest NOT watering if you are planting this summer, because if the seeds germinate, the seedlings will perish without consistent watering through the summer; just let the rains take care of them when the rains come.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!

Question:

I have been growing sudangrass that I have purchase from peaceful valley.

Is this seed viable for replanting. I live in Hawaii. It is expensive to buy large quantities and pay shipping too.

If so, when should sudangrass be cut and how long should seeds dry be fore planting seeds.

Mahalo,

Answer:
Yes, you could save the sudangrass seed. The seed should thoroughly dry on the plant before you harvest it. Here is some general information on sudangrass from our website www.groworganic.com;

Warm season cover crop. King of the organic matter-producing, weed-choking cover crops and one of the most vigorous summer plants. Grows to 8′ on hot, fertile, irrigated soil. Reduces many species of nematodes and symphylans when grown as a rotation crop, because it secretes a nematocidal acid from its roots as it decomposes. Useful for reducing excess soil Nitrogen.

Can be harvested for hay; horses and cattle love it, but note that Sudangrass is toxic to livestock immediately after frost and possibly when plants are young (up to 24″ tall) or stressed. Matures to hay in 75-80 days; to seed in 105 days, with very little irrigation.

Hope this helps,

A Question from a PVFS Customer – with employee answer.

Question:
I recently got some inexpensive compost at the local green waste dump in San
Juan Capistrano. The compost looks good, but when I watered it, it got very
sticky and heavy — clay-ish, I think. This seems strange for compost, but
that’s what the guy said it was. I know that the soil test you offer says
not suitable for compost, but I want to know whether this compost is any
good and what I should add too it to improve drainage and tilth. What do
you suggest I do?

Thanks so much,

Answer:

Usually well decomposed compost is moist and crumbly, not sticky. It sounds
like something was added to the green waste. It’s hard to tell what it might
be without seeing it so I suggest you take it to your local county farm
advisor’s office to see if they can help you. You may need to add a
different compost or soil conditioner to this to be improve its friability.

Hope this info helps,

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,

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.