Food in Uncertain Times

I've been following a discussion about the 5 crops (foods) that should be grown for sustainable living in uncertain times.  They are: potatoes, corn, beans, squash and eggs.  My gosh I have to say I disagree with the potatoes and corn.  I will be discussing this in greater detail on my cooking blog but from a gardening perspective you really do need a fair amount of space to grow enough potatoes to make it worth your while even if growing in sacks or garbage cans.  For most home gardeners corn takes up too much space for the yield and does not lend itself well to growing on a balcony. 

Here is a list of fruits and vegetables that I would consider necessary for sustainable living space permitting of course:

• tomatoes 
• peppers
• lettuces
• chards
• onions
• carrots
• squash
• pole beans
• peas
• rutabaga
• fruit bearing bushes 
• fruit bearing trees

Some animals take up more room than others and depending on location may not be allowed by the municipality.  Consider too that animals are a 24/7 commitment so may not fit in with your lifestyle.  Here is a list of animals tthat would be nice to have for sustainable living in smaller spaces:

• rabbits
• chickens (laying hens only)
• goat
• fish (eg. trout)

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Finding Frugal Garden Supplies

Garden Netting and Twine

Gardening can be as expensive or as frugal as you want to make it.  Most serious home gardeners turn to starting their own seeds which is considerably less expensive than buying plant plugs and potted plants.  At the same time there is a wide range of gardening supplies needed to help get the best yield possible.  There are several sources for getting gardening supplies and equipment without breaking the bank.  Here are a few resources I use:

• dollar stores - Pictured are a few of my recent dollar store purchases, garden netting and twine that cost me $3.75.  Dollar stores stock a lot of decorative gardening items but at the same time they also stock a lot of very useful gardening items such as pots, bird netting, hand tools, ties, twists, plant stakes, and so much more.  It is surprising at what supplies you can get for as little as a couple of dollars.
• yard sales - Yard sales are ideal for picking up inexpensive used pots, planters, garden decor and occasionally potted plants.
• restaurants/doughnut shops - These are great resources for getting 5 gallon pails for your container garden.  Some will give away the pails free while others charge a small fee of about $1. 
• farm auctions - Quite often smaller garden tools can be found inexpensively at farm auctions.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

New Lawn Mower

YardMachines by MTD

May 3, 2010

Five years ago we moved away from cutting our own lawn to a yard service.  This resulted in our lawn being neat and tidy looking even when we were away.  Now if you have been following this blog you will know a lovely green carpet is not my idea of being eco-friendly.  The problem is while gradually reducing the grass it still has to be maintained until it can be eliminated.  So the lawn service fit the bill nicely.  This spring as I was going through my normal 'where can we be a bit more frugal' spring cleaning, the lawn service became one of my targets.

The lawn service was costing us $650 per year but they did all the cutting, trimming and bagging.  Several times they cut the lawn when we were away even though it didn't need it and shorter than it should have been especially in the summer.  The real problem was the bottom line was the lawn service was adding to our carbon footprint not decreasing it.  Most times there were 3 people during a cutting session with 2 mowing and one trimming.  They drove to get to our house then drove to the dump's compost pile to unload clippings then drove home.  That's a lot of carbon going into the atmosphere!  At the same time one of our kids volunteered to cut the lawn while we were away so our house will be watched on a regular basis with lawn cut all for a bit of food from the pantry and freezers plus the use of our outdoor grill.

We bought a YardMachines by MTD from Home Hardware at a total cost of $316.37 that will give us a net savings this year of $339.68 followed by $650 each year after that.  The mower has a 139cc MTD PowerMore OHV engine designed to run more efficiently and produce fewer emissions than the standard L-head engines.  It has a 21" deck with 8" wheels and 9 position individual height adjustment.  It is also a mulcher or we can bag the clippings and is front wheel drive self propelled.

My husband is looking at the new mower as his new get into shape equipment so that was a rather pleasant turn of events! We really are looking forward to keeping our lawn the way we want it, not too short.  It's surprising how much both of us missed doing our own lawn care too but that could be due to a lot of the ripping out here finally being done.  Now we can start focusing on lawn reduction strategies!


Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Saving Seeds

During the home garden harvest most home gardeners save seeds for the following year's garden.  When saving seeds it is important to collect from heirloom plants rather than hybrids.  You can collect seeds from hybrids but they often will not breed true.  Seeds from herbs and flowering plants are best collect after the dew has dried on a clear, dry day.  Do not collect seeds from any plants that show signs of disease.  Collect in such a manner as to keep the seed types separate.  Once collected any plant material such as stems should be removed then the seeds left in open air for at least 24 to 72 hours.  This will ensure there is no moisture.  Place the dry seeds in an airtight container.  Label and store in a cool, dark location.

Some seeds require special preparations for storage.  Beans and peas should be shelled then left to dry fully before storing.  Tomato seeds are encased in a thick pulp.  Remove the seeds with pulp and place in a small bowl.  Cover with water.  Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight.  Skim off anything floating daily.  Let sit for 3 to 4 days.  Pour through a strainer and rinse the seeds well.  Dry the seeds on wax or parchment paper.  Don't dry them on paper towels as the paper will stick to the seeds.  Once dry place in an airtight container for storage.  Store in a cool, dark location.  

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Continuous Harvest

Commercial Greenhouses
August 29, 2009

The idea of growing edible plants indoors is not a new one. Archaeological excavations of Pompeii (79 AD) uncovered the remains of early greenhouses so they have been in use since at least that time if not earlier. The ancient Romans ensured the survival of vegetables and grapes by using greenhouses to protect produce from in-climate weather. They were the early versions of the modern greenhouse. Modern greenhouses originated in Italy in the thirteenth century as a way to study, keep and propagate exotic plants brought back to Europe in early plant hunting expeditions. Greenhouses and conservatories were first used to grow plants indoors throughout inclement weather have been used in Europe for thousands of years.

Commercial greenhouses have been used for decades to grow both edible and not edible plants year round. During the winter months one of our favourite pass-times is to visit Colasanti's Tropical Gardens in Kingsville, Ontario. Strolling through their large greenhouses filled with beautiful plants on a snowy winter's day is simply delightful. Other large commercial greenhouse operations along the Talbot Trail running from Windsor, Ontario through the Niagara region ending in Fort Erie, Ontario grow hot house tomatoes, various peppers and cucumbers for a continuous supply of Ontario produce for consumers. In recent years more and more farmland in southern Ontario is being turned into large commercial greenhouse operations.

On a smaller scale many Canadian universities and schools have greenhouses and/or solariums or atriums. Many home gardeners have hobby greenhouses and/or solariums to help extend the growing season. Solariums have become a popular addition for many home owners because they provide free heat on sunny days as well as create perfect a growing space for growing plants. Home gardeners whether or not they have a greenhouse or solarium still bring in plants when frost threatens. Plants are over-wintered to be replanted in the garden the following spring. Typically these plants include ornamentals like geraniums and annual herbs. A growing trend to compliment over-wintering is to specifically plant fruits and vegetables in containers to be grown indoors.

Basically a modified garden is sown and grown indoors during the winter months. I recently showed how to root tomatoes (more here) for growing indoors. Most herbs, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, lettuces, chards, radishes, beans and even zucchini can be grown indoors. Aside of providing fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs during the winter months there are other benefits to growing edible plants indoors.

• Growing indoors eliminates many pest related problems. You don't have to worry about waking up to find deer stripped your garden or the rabbits got your beans. For the most part you should not have to worry about any insect problems if you are careful to quarantine any plants brought inside from the garden
• Many environmental factors that affect gardening are eliminated when growing indoors. These include not having to worry about: damaging winds, drought, excessive heat, unexpected frost, torrential rains.
• In most cases plant diseases should not be a problem when growing indoors.

Growing fruits and vegetables indoors presents a few extra considerations. Just like growing outdoors plants need suitable growing conditions. When growing indoors you need to mimic these conditions with respect to water and light. You may need to supplement natural light with grow lights and use self watering containers especially if you will be away for a few days. If you are going to be away for a few days you will not be able to turn the heat down to 10ºC (50ºF) for those heat loving plants like tomatoes. In addition to those conditions many homes that are heated during the winter months are drier so you may have to increase the humidity level in your home for healthy plant growth. Fruits and vegetables growing indoors are grown in containers so you will need to use an organic fertilizer for healthy growth. You will also have to manually pollinate your plants when growing indoors.

Although growing fruits and vegetables indoors presents few problems when the growing conditions are met, there can be a few secondary problems. All soils contain mould spores. Some individuals are sensitive or allergic to moulds so to lessen the impact use sterilized potting mixtures or soil-free potting mixtures. Hydroponics is an ideal solution to growing indoors without using soil. Any damaged or decaying plant material should be removed immediately. As with growing outdoors always do a clean pick removing all ripe fruit or vegetables daily.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Over-wintering Plants

Our ADFF was October 12^th this year meaning on that date there was a 50/50 chance of a damaging or hard frost. Unfortunately it came earlier than predicted spelling disaster to local tomato farmers. There were hundreds of thousands of dollars lost due to the early frost. Our property is water front so tends to be a bit protected from frost longer into the season still it is time to bring in plants for over-wintering. These include any herbs grown in pots, geraniums and any plant I want to try over-wintering. Over-wintering allows you to save some potted plants that you want to use the following year but at the same time if you do it correctly some plants will provide you with a bit of fresh produce while giving you any easy way to propagate some plants.

My method is relatively simple. I clean the plant of any dead growth, inspect well for any signs of infestation and wipe down the pot. Then I fertilize using an organic fertilizer and water well until the water runs from the bottom. Once the bottom of the pot is dry I bring the plant in where it is isolated from other house plants until I am sure there is problem with infestation. Potted plants can introduce spiders, earwigs and pill bugs to the home so I check carefully under the plants for a few days to be sure there no introduced bugs.

Tomato Clippings

If you have a sunny location in your home do consider taking clippings from your tomato plants before a frost hits them. This technique will work for hybrids that don't breed true through seed so it is a good way of keeping plants going from one season to the next. For best results cut from the terminal end of a healthy tomato plant and keep the clippings less than 1 - foot in length. Place the cut ends into water where they will root. In about a weeks time take each clipping that will now have generous growth of roots and pot them. As the plants grow make more clippings from them. Keep the vines clean by removing any dead or yellowing foliage. Pinch feeders (stems that form between a Y branch) to encourage bushier grown. The feeders can be rooted as well. Continue in this manner and you should have a rather lovely supply of tomato plants in time for planting in the spring. They will simply need to be hardened before planting. Choose the hardiest plants for this purpose. At the same time you will have enjoyed a few fresh tomatoes if you have hand pollinated. Cherry tomatoes when used this way can give you a nice supply of cherry tomatoes throughout the winter and since the vines are smaller they are easier to grow indoors.

Impatiens

Impatiens are a beautiful low growing flowering annual in our area with flowers ranging from white to red and shades of pink. Several years ago when I was learning about ponding I came across a reference that said us use impatiens clippings for shading. It was a simple, inexpensive solution to poke holes in thin styrofoam sheets to allow the impatiens clippings to reach the water. They would form a good root system within a week or so, ready for planting in the garden. That year I had more impatiens than I knew what to do with.

The same technique can be used for over-wintering impatiens as well as propagating for spring planting. Choose healthy plants then cut two or three 4 - inch clippings from the plant. Place the clippings in room temperature water and allow to form roots. Plant in soil. As the plants grow you can take further clippings to start more plants but do not take more than ⅓ of the total foliage when clipping. In the spring you will need to harden off the plants after the ADLF and when the soil warms a bit.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008