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.

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!

I just received three Muscat of Alexandria bare-root grapes.  They are planted, watered, well mulched.  Do I have to prune them back?  Since it is January, they will have a great root system by spring.

Many Thanks
Barbara

Hi Barbara,

Our instructions also say to prune back to two or three buds, and I think the timing is good for pruning.  The benefit of pruning soon after planting is that it will encourage the roots to start growing.  Grapes are vigorous growers, so they really need their root systems stimulated in order to keep up with the vine growth.

Hope that helps and thank you for growing organically!
Amber

Now is the time to create lasting enjoyment all fall and winter long by planting flower bulbs. We’ve created a new page here that tells you all about how to prepare your soil and plant bulbs! Bulbs make great gifts btw

After many years of apartment dwelling, I was finally able to move my family into a house with a cozy front yard, and a (relatively) nice sized back yard for the kids to play in, and for my wife to have a nice garden.

But the problem looks like this (please forgive the mess, still in the moving-in process):

When I was a kid, I used to HATE yard work.  My parents didn’t garden at all, so our maintenance involved raking leaves, watering plants and mowing the lawn — for a kid who likes to see the fruits of his efforts, this wasn’t exactly fulfilling.  Looking out over this relative desolation, I didn’t feel dejected; quite the opposite, in fact.  I saw opportunity, in many forms.

First of all, I have been working at Peaceful Valley for going on 6 years.  When I first started here, I knew zilch about growing.  Nothing.  I’d never so much as planted a flower seed in a pot for Mother’s Day. In my time here, I have gained a vast amount of theoretical knowledge: I knew the hows and the whys, but never had the opportunity to apply what I’d learned.  Seeing this yard sent visions of sugarplums (and other fruits and veggies) dancing in my head.

What I am going to be doing over the next 5 or so months is getting this area cleaned up, put together and ready for growing.  Come Spring, I’m planting a lawn, and my wife is setting up a small vegetable garden, probably with raised beds.  As I do each step, I will be taking pictures and thoroughly documenting each phase.  The goal is not only to do my own yard, but to give a bit of direction for anyone else who wishes to do the same.

Here’s the plan:

(more…)

I want you to imagine for a minute… more fresh vegetables than two people could eat, salads with five or ten different varieties of greens… imagine knowing that your produce has only been touched by one or two other people by the time it shows up on your table.

If these are not astonishing ideas to you… you must be eating locally, you must know your grower.

I’m three weeks into my CSA membership and already I am knee deep in greens. For real… Andrew (that’s my farmer), slow down there buddy! I’ve had a giant salad 3 nights out of 5 and I still have 3 big bags of mixed greens in my “crisper” drawer. Now if you don’t know anything about CSA’s you should read my previous post here.

Even though I complain in jest… I actually I love it! These first few weeks are like a warm-up, in the early season there are only a few kinds of veggies that are ready to harvest; greens, broccoli, radishes, and the like. So my box is loaded with ‘em. There is nothing like coming out of winter and suddenly you have more fresh garden goodness than you can eat.

As I crunch on salad and steam the greens I start to crave the squash and tomatoes that are on their way. Beets, turnips, kale, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn… oh sweet corn… my mouth waters at the thought of it.

Please I implore you… I’ve said it before… but once again; If you only do one thing for yourself and your planet this year…. JOIN A CSA!

In Winter, once leaves have dropped, fruit trees should be sprayed three times with dormant oil and fungicide (lime sulfur or copper sulfate) to control fungal diseases and insect infestation.This week marks with Valentine’s Day when the third and last spray should ideally happen (first is around Thanksgiving, second around Christmas).

This is really important for peaches and nectarines which are very susceptible to Peach Leaf Curl, especially in a wet winter.

Remember that apricots can’t be sprayed with lime sulfur (use copper sulfate instead).

Also, sprays should be allowed to dry on the bark, so don’t spray if rain is expected shortly thereafter.

Soon, it will be too late as you shouldn’t spray your trees once their swollen buds have bloomed.

I just sprayed my 50 trees and I will be glad I did this coming Spring!