Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

The safest way to protect young plants is to exclude bugs from ever reaching them in the first place.  This can be accomplished by using a light weight row fabric like Agribon 19.  You could also consider spreading Diatomaceous Earth (DE) around the seedlings.  It is totally non-toxic, however you should be careful not to breathe it.  DE is comprised of the fossilized skeletons of diatoms, which desiccates insects when they crawl over it.   Another very safe method is to spray a repellent like Garlic Barrier, again, this would prevent insects from reaching your plants at the start.

Beyond these general controls, if you are considering using an organic insecticide, I would  emphasize the wisdom of identifying your pest before choosing a more potent control.  Often times insects come out at night, so you could go out past dark with a flashlight and catch ‘em in the act in order to figure out what they are.  Take a sample to a local nursery or check out a good website with pictures.  I often use www.ipm.ucdavis.edu.  Hope that helps!

(shown in picture:music garlic)

For the first time ever, Peaceful Valley is offering our gourmet garlics for pre-order NOW! In past years, we were unable to advertise our selection until late August, just before we receive it.

Choose from over a dozen different varieties, including some distinctive ones not found in your local grocery store…or even your local co-op! Order now for the best selection, and we will start shipping these in late August or early September. The unique garlics tend to sell out quickly (often before we even get our stock in house), so get your order in right away!

Growing great garlic involves a lot of different tricks and special techniques (see the book; Growing Great Garlic ), around this time of year there are a few things that you need to do to your garlic plants to get the most out of them.

First as you get closer to harvest time you should cut back on the water you give to your garlic. About two weeks prior to harvest you should stop watering altogether. This will promote nice dry skins and will prevent any mold from forming.

When to harvest is a much debated subject. Some say when the bottom leaves are partially brown, others say when the plant is 40% brown / 60% green. For me it’s more like once I see some browning happening on my garlic I put harvesting it on my garden “To Do” list. The reality is that the home gardener can’t always harvest at just the right time… a week on either side of perfect is not going to be very noticeable, so don’t sweat it.

The second thing you should be doing in the next month or so is cutting off your scapes. Scapes are the stalk and flower buds that form on garlic, these buds will eventually become “bulbils” which are a garlic flower (not a true flower). These flower stalks only appear on hardneck and elephant varieties. The scapes usually show up as a small bud with a short stalk, then, as they grow they will turn a few loops. After they make these loops it’s the perfect time to cut them off. As long as you do not plan to grow from bulbils (which can take upto 2 years) cutting off these scapes will focus all of the plants energy on the bulb production. (note: Elephant garlic will not turn loops, the scape can be cut when it is 8 – 10″ long.)

My garlic just put on scapes in the last week or so, they have not made any loops yet. Here is a photo:

I would recommend letting at least one of your garlic stocks go through its full natural cycle. It’s interesting to see how it all works and some varieties have beautiful flowers. Some Elephant garlic will put on a stalk that is near 6 feet tall and flower the size of a grapefruit.

As a great bonus the scapes are good eating! Stir fry, grill, sautéed, just about anything you’d do with garlic. You can expect a similar taste to garlic without the “hot” bite fresh garlic has. Combine scapes in a dish with squash flowers for a real pre-harvest treat! I like the two with a little goat cheese in an omelet …mmmm delicious!

Stay “In the loop” for more tips on garlic as the time comes.

I belong to a CSA, which means every week I get a box of the freshest veggies possible… from just down the road. Every year I find myself subconsciously competing with my CSA farmer… and I must admit I always lose. He always has tomatoes and peppers sooner, his lettuce and cabbage heads up better than mine, in short his thumb is just plain greener. And this year I’ve decided to be alright with that, I’ve decided to grow all the other things I like to eat that I never get from my CSA. Now this idea may seem elementary, but to me it’s a revelation.

For those of you who are not hip to CSA membership here’s a quick overview; A farmer near you grows a diverse yet practical variety of veggies, usually on a small amount of acreage (1-5 acres). You join the CSA (community supported agriculture) and pay for a box of veggies a week. It’s kind of a subscription to fresh local food. Usually $15-$40 a week paid in advance or in two or three payments. The idea is that by paying in advance you give the farmers the money they need to get off to a good start. In return you not only get the freshest veggies possible, you also get to”know your grower” which is a rare thing these days. For a more detailed explanation of CSA here is what Wikipedia has to say.

So this year I will grow some unusual greens; Double Purple Orach, Purslane, Miners Lettuce, Italienischer and Regal Spinach. Most of which I have no idea what they will taste like. Even though my CSA has tons of tomatoes, I’m still going to grow my own, mostly sauce tomatoes for canning, you can never have too many tomatoes in my opinion. The same goes for onions and garlic, in my house we eat so much of these it’s a surprise our friends can stand our breath. In addition I plan to grow pickling cucumbers, some specialty squashes like flying saucer and portofino. I also acquired a few giant pumpkin seeds from a winning giant pumpkin (800+ lbs) and I can’t wait to see what comes of that! Herbs are still on the plan this year, dill (for the pickles), cilantro, basil and parsley, and thyme. Shelling peas will be a new addition to my garden and so will the beautiful scarlet runner beans I picked up at a seed swap. Also in the plan this year are berries of the straw, blue and rasp varieties. The blueberries will be the only new item on the menu and even though I just put them in the ground yesterday… my mouth waters already.

My garden plan for this year started out as a supplement to my CSA, giving me the veggies I would not see in my weekly box. It quickly became more about exploring new kinds of vegetables. And while I realize that my garden this year will barely scratch the surface of the vast realm of vegetable variety… I’ve got to start somewhere… and my garden seems like the right place.

What’s in your garden this year?