Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

A lot of our earliest and most vibrant reminders of Spring are bulbs.  But what happens after the flowers have gone and the leaf material has turned brown and wilted?  If they are inter-planted with other perennial plants or late blooming bulbs your beds will look wonderful through summer.  Then Winter hits and we sometimes wonder where the bulbs went and will they make it through our typical winter freezes?  The good news is that most of our favorite bulbs are in the hardy plant category that can over winter underground even where frost penetrates deeply into the soil.  Crocus, Daffodils, Tulips, Lillies and Hyacinths fall into this category.  Bulbs will benefit greatly from a 2-4″ deep mulch of shredded bark or hardwood, leaves or compost.  Mulch prevents the ground from alternately freezing and thawing, which can heave bulbs right out of the ground during winter.  In summer, mulch conserves moisture and keeps the weeds at bay.  Wait until the ground freezes to apply a winter mulch to fall planted bulbs.  Check your local Master Gardeners County Extension for more information in your area.

As I sit gazing out my window at my beautiful garden on this sunny morning, the first day of spring, I can’t help but worry about the fate of my fruit trees in the days ahead. I never want to get too excited about my trees bearing fruit at this time of year though it is so very tempting.

Last year I thought for sure we had passed the danger zone and made the mistake of actually verbalizing what a good fruit year it looked to be. I will never make that mistake again. All it took was 6 hours of frost on the last weekend of April to kill all the tender fruit in Nevada County. My trees especially the peach and cherry trees are loaded with blossoms that look like pink and white popcorn. Oh how tempting it is to fantasize about all the delicious fruit that the blossoms will bring forth. Instead I look at their temporary beauty and wait in patience for the summer so as not to anticipate their success or failure.

Some years back I was in charge of a community Garden for a ministry that resided at 5400 ft. directly at the base of a 10,000 ft. Mt. Segal which has snow on it most of the summer in the Pinenut mountains outside of Gardnerville, NV. With 6 weeks between frost dates and 5 percent ambient moisture, (Snow doesn’t melt it evaporates and the rain rarely makes it to the ground) these were the harshest conditions I’d ever tried to grow things in, even worse than Minnesota. Many well meaning folks tried to encourage me to stick with root veggies and zucchini. If your land has the 10 ft. Giant Sage it’s the perfect conditions for root crops.

(You know why you can’t leave your car unlocked in Gardnerville in the summer? Because if you do it will be full of zucchini when you get back!)

So here are some of the things I learned that may help anyone with a gardening addiction like mine and a spot like that to grow things in.

Find similarly addicted successful gardeners and talk to the old timers especially who can tell you what people did before all of this galdern fancy stuff showed up. Then adapt their advice to all our fancy stuff to make it easier. I discovered that in the 1800’s when the area was being settled, that the Bask shepherds grew tomatoes quite successfully by starting seed indoors and setting them out in mid April/early May down in a hole that was about 2 ft. deep and set a window pane over it and covered the whole thing at night with straw and uncovered it during the day. Then they would fill the hole in with good soil as the plant grew upward reaching for the sun so that by mid June the tomato plants had this massive root system that could survive a bomb blast if need be which pretty much describes the scorching sun and cold nights they must endure. I’m sure the sheep manure played a big part in their success as well.

So armed with this folklore I set out to find a way to do this thing. Her are some of the things I found:

• BUILD A FENCE with rock along the border.
• I can have totally different conditions than you do however our soils may be similar. Alkaline, poor in organic matter, and drys out quickly.
• Have you gotten a soil test done yet? If not I would start there to see what you’re working with (or without) and amend accordingly. I use lots of compost, and mulch to keep the moisture levels up. If you live in the Carson Valley May I recommend Full Circle compost. They blend Your compost according to the soil conditions of the valley or they will blend it special for your soil test results. Otherwise buy bags of ours and amend just your planting site.
• Use raised beds with gopher wire bottoms and chicken wire tops to keep out ground squirrels, quail, rabbits, etc…. and only amend that soil. Why pay to amend the dirt you’re going to trample?
• A common problem with blossom drop is a lack of Magnesium which is easily corrected with a sprinkle of Epsom salts in the planting hole. Any nightshade will respond to this. A tablespoon is about right. NV soils are mineral rich but often lack the Mag. that releases them to your plants.
• Believe it or not tomatoes don’t appreciate extreme heat and will not produce fruit in super hot weather. Choose a cooler spot, light shade cloth, and mulch to keep the roots cooler in the heat and warmer in the cold. I found my micro-climates by planting daffodils. The colder the spot the longer it takes for them to bloom and the reading is accurate because those wretched gophers and ground squirrels won’t touch them.
• Hot wind can be hard on them so planting against a wind barrier like a fence line helps. Create a wind break with some rows of corn or pole beans.
• Sufficient water when the plant is first developing is very important so that the main trunk of the mature plant reaches a good diameter. This allows good uptake of water while the plant is producing fruit. Think of a fat straw vs. a skinny one and how freely you can suck liquid through it. I overhead water at 5am to keep the ambient moisture levels up while the plants are putting on growth and leaves.
• Don’t touch your plants in the heat of the day. Many plants stop exchanging water at somewhere around 95 degrees and can be permanently damaged. Early morning is the best time to tend them or pick fruit unless you have cooler evenings.
• Choose early producing varieties (70 days or less) so you can take advantage of the best part of your season. We have some varieties in seed that produce in 56 days. Start your tomatoes in Feb indoors and set them out in Walls O Water. They allow your plants to put down roots in the cold weather so they are ready to set fruit the minute the weather turns warm.
• Cover therm at night if you have extreme temp fluctuation. My days and nights can vary 35 or more degrees during the growing season – ie 100+ degree days, 65- degree nights. When it starts doing that I put a light frost blanket on them to lessen the severity of the change even though they don’t mind 65 degrees they hate all the up and down.
• Cover them with heavier frost blankets or sheet plastic at night when your weather turns cold to extend your season. Our catalog has a plethera of season extenders that are NOT OPTIONAL under these conditions.
• USE A WATERING SYSTEM so that your plants get enough water. No matter how long you stand and hand water you will not give them what they need. I use a combination of overhead and drip to insure sufficient water.

These are all general things that can be done to improve all your veggies or any annuals in desert conditions in general and in the Pinenut Mountains of NV in particular. Your local Ag extension office will be very helpful in more specific problem solving.

Dear Santa:

I have been a good girl this year.  I planted, fertilized, composted, and pruned.  I canned, dehydrated, shared and ate my bountiful crops.  My wildflower seeds are spread, my cover crop growing, my birdfeeders are full and my garlic, potatoes and onions are growing.

Please Santa, I have been oh so good!  Please send me the following gifts this season:

LADYBUG HOME – Spraying their little wings with mist as I release them is very time consuming, so could you please send me a home that will keep them in my garden where I intended them to stay?

DEER ATTRACTANT -  The way I see it, if you could make a bush that deer just love to distraction and will forsake all others (including vegetable and fruit trees!), it would make life oh so much less aggravating!  Oh, and by the way, if you could make their blood toxic to ticks upon digestion of said plant, that would be most greatly appreciated.

FROST TIMER – This shouldn’t be so tough for a guy from the North Pole!  I’d like a device that warns me up to 48 hours prior to those deadly weather events; plenty of time to apply some Agribon.

ULTIMATE COVER CROP – This needs to be low growing, evergreen, fire and deer resistant, erosion controlling, beneficial insect supporting and, of course, need no irrigation and be pre-coated with inoculant.  A little wildflower combo would be appreciated as well.  (I mean, Peaceful Valley has a pretty good selection, but somehow, they find it tough to meet all these criteria in a single blend.)

So Santa, four little gifts?  I’m sure there are plenty of other deserving gardeners out there who would benefit too…so spread the joy, the cheer of happy gardening.

Oh, and I know my kids haven’t been so good this year – but could you forget the coal for their stockings and maybe substitute some compost instead?

Thanks, Santa.  Merry Christmas…Janice

This Autumn has been a treat for the eyes. The Burning Bush is ablaze & the Scarlet Maple, Crape Myrtle and Viburnums are trying like crazy to compete. The bark on the Paperbark Maple is peeling and giving the eyes something much different to appreciate.We had 3 days of hard frost at the end of October in Grass Valley and I believe it set the colors in motion.

I know they say that colors start changing because of the shortened daylight hours & the chlorophyll is going to the roots, but I do believe the colors are much more vibrant if there has been a good chill at just the right time. This isn’t very scientific, but it has been my observation.  Now we’re enjoying Indian Summer – maybe for the second time, if that’s possible, and the colors have been fantastic! It doesn’t feel right to have temperatures in the 70’s and all this autumn color.

Even the Full Moon for November, the Beaver Moon, seemed exceptional.

People who grow things love to talk about the weather. It’s a common refrain in the store to hear accounts of an incoming freeze, impending rain, and long days of drought. Animated conversations about rain and chill are especially prevalent around this time of year, when the weather is starting to change and bring the season to a close.  After the long summer of irrigating, farmers and gardeners are eagerly awaiting the rain.  Seth, from Heaven And Earth Farm just came in and commented on our first storm, “that rain was just a tease” he jokingly stated.  But in all reality, rains can either make or break a farm.

Here in the foothills we had our first frost a couple weeks ago, and everyone was scrambling to cover their tomatoes, and prolong the last few juicy, sweet morsels of summer.  Our row cover can keep the basil coming well into the fall.  It’s time however, to trade in the long-suffering zucchini for the Butternut and finish the fall days with fresh greens, newly invigorated by the cool weather.

Living and working on farms the last few summers has changed the rhythms of my lifestyle dramatically.  Spending so much time outside amid the growth cycles of plants has made me much more aware of the turning of the seasons and the angles of light. I relish the first rains, and the knowledge that the hard work of summer will soon be followed by the reflection of winter.  Who knew the weather could be such a fascinating topic!

This was originally in our monthly newsletter. I thought I’d repost it here as many of you are getting your gardens in the ground.

When your tomatoes are terrific, your dill is delicious, your beets are beatific, and your squash is scrumptious, you will look back and say “I’m so glad I gave them all the nutrients they needed, watered just right, and planted perfectly!”

Sometimes it is good to remember where to begin. I personally do not have an encyclopedia of gardening wisdom in my head. I was hired here at Peaceful Valley because I’m ok at design and can code a mean newsletter. But I do love to garden. I often go around to all the fantastically knowledgeable employees here and ask really dumb questions. The result of the fastidious research: I’ve come up with a list.

This list is called back to basics. It’s for those of us who are starting a garden but really don’t know with assurance that we are doing it right.

1. Beware of frost. This is particularly important right now when many people like me will be so impatient to get started that they will plant out after a few sunny April days despite the fact that traditionally the last frost in their area is in May. Ask around your community, and be patient.

2. Don’t over-water. Water, while essential to life, does not necessarily make your plants get big and healthy on its own. Water needs air, and air can’t get to your plant if the roots are literally drowning.

3. Don’t over-fertilize. Even though you use an organic fertilizer, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have too much of a good thing. Everything in moderation. If you are getting a bed started, even if you are working with particularly shoddy soil, a good mix would be 1/3 compost and 2/3 dirt. For most basic gardens, an all purpose pellet fertilizer will supply the rest of the nutrients you need, all season long.

4. Maintain regularly. A few minutes in the evening a few times a week is much better for both your back and your garden than doing epic garden weekends. Not only will you see what is beginning to happen with your plants and be able to nip problems at the bud (literally), you will enjoy the extra time spent with your plants.

5. Know thy pest. A lot of people come to us and want to know how to get rid of “pests”, in general. You can learn a lot about your plant and soil conditions by identifying specifically what bugs you have in your garden. Head out to your garden an hour after sundown with a flashlight, see if you can’t find a hungry critter, grab it and bag it. Either identify it online, or bring it in to us or another gardening center to find out how to treat the problem precisely. (Click here to see our Pest Solutions Chart Online)

6. Sun and shade. It is incredibly easy to take for granted that the path of the sun across the sky throughout the season will change dramatically. This year, make a shade map of your yard, taking into account the filling out of trees and the changing path of the sun. You’ll be surprised at the results!

7. Ask questions. I’ve never met a gardener who didn’t want to share their triumphs. And you don’t have to be a gardening “expert” to have learned a thing or two. In fact, gardening and farming is a lifelong learning experience. Which is why we encourage you to join our online community and contribute your knowledge. If you don’t have anyone to ask when you are planting, at least read the labels on seed packs (and follow their directions)! Visit our website to see what kind of info we supply there. Post a question either on our blog or at our forums. If you learn something you think is simple, post it on our blog, others will certainly learn from it.