the organic urbanist

Pest Control

2010-04-17T11:42:00.001-07:00

AS it turns out my peas are actually doing rather well in the back. Thee canopy is almost closed in, but they seem to get just enough morning sun to produce their sweet little pods. The mustard greens are also doing well, except for the assault waged by cabbage worms and plenty of other pests breeding as well. My Broccoli and even my nasturtiums are getting eaten. The invasion is pretty bad, so I'm taking measures to reduce their numbers.

When I find those cabbage worms I pick them off by hand and feed their carcasses to the ants. I'm also trying to create a habitat for birds so they can snack on my garden pests. I have bird feeder and am going to work on creating a more hospitable environment for them, including a bird bath and maybe a few bird houses. I've put a few worms in the feeder to let them discover whats on the menu down below. So far so good.

I also went to a near by park where I've seen lot of lady bugs and captured a few. I gently introduced them into my garden and let them feast on my tiny foes. After a few days, they still scuttle around the area where they were placed. I've witnessed them feasting on aphids, its gruesome, but satisfying. Hopefully I can encourage more beneficial predatory insects.

April

2010-04-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

The backyard garden, mint in the foreground, with plenty

of greens thriving in the background.

This Spring I have had the benefit of developed soil. I put down lots of organic material over the winter and let nature take it's course. The beds have really rich dark humus, it's no longer that hard crusty clay that greeted me when I moved in. I also have a nice layer of dead leaves that acts as a mulch keeping in moisture, everything seems to be much doing better than last year. So at least I've gotten that right so far.

Learning from my failures last year I planted plenty this year in February and March. Consequently were now enjoying lots of lettuce and mustard greens and other delights that over wintered, like collards, green onions, mints and other herbs. So far things are looking great. That is also partly because the trees aren't fully leafed yet. In a week or so the canopy will be complete and shade will occupy the currently sun drenched parts of the garden. We'll see what grows then.

Happy Spring?

2010-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

The weather was just beginning to turn into something that resembled spring. We've had an unseasonably cold winter for north Texas. Temperatures were often below freezing and we had several accumulations of snow that aren't too common. It was nice to see the buds start forming on my grape vines and notice small bits of green slowly emerging from the barren ground. March 15 is our average last day of frost, and as far as I could see in the forecast things looked rather charming as far as the growing season was concerned.

Yesterday became really cold and rainy. I had already planted my pepper and tomato seedlings, so I covered them with a nice blanket of hay just in case of a frost. This morning instead of a light frost I woke up to about 5 inches of snow in my yard.

The back yard all in white with my hammock in the foreground

I then thought this would be a good time to start my record keeping for the season. I'm really bad about keeping a good journal for gardening, so my blog will have to do. Beginning again while snow coats the ground seems like a good idea. Winter melting away into Spring, and as it turns out the rest of the week is going to be in the 70s so it should be really nice weather soon.

The front yard with all my tomatoes and peppers buried under straw and snow.

My garden should be much more productive this year. The soil has had time to develop, and it's now rather rich in organic matter. The dark rich humus is nice compared to the hard clay that greeted me when we first moved into this place. I just hope I can figure out the light situation. My ongoing battle with the trees that canopy the property has proven to be an interesting situation as far as growing edibles is concerned. I've mad lots of progress though, so hopefully things will be better this year.

I hope.

Fall Garden Update

2009-10-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Broccoli, carrots, romaine Lettuce and three varieties of Onions share the long bed.

Once the temperatures dropped last month, everything started growing a lot better. I'm not that surprised. Today and yesterday we've had some really cool weather, and these fall crops are loving it. The Front garden is doing very well, everything is full green and those that are fruiting are still going strong. Even my peppers are still producing and doing well. We're also having Squash almost every night. I made soup yesterday with it. Nothing beats homemade soup with all raw veggies.

The yellow squash has consumed a few pepper plants, it seems

ok because they're staying warm and are still producing.

I recently planted lots of onions, about 25 garlic cloves, and I have leeks in the backyard that I planted from seeds. So I've gone Allium crazy. The great thing about them is they store really well, and I use them all the time in my cooking. So I don't mind if i have an over abundance of them.

I also picked up some different shade tolerant varieties of mint that I want to take over a few of the back beds. There's so little light back there when the trees are full, that it's hard to grow anything useful. My brilliant plan is to grow those mints and some edible flowers that like the shade. That should solve the problem and make it more colorful too. We shall see.

Reasons to Garden

2009-10-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a presentation on gardening next week. I had to put together an information sheet. The first thing I did was come up with a brief list of reasons why everyone should grow their own food. It's by no means comprehensive. It doesn't even address the vast environmental benefits, because I'm afraid I'll lose the conservative contingent of my audience ( which is large here in Texas). I focused more one independent prosperity and beneftis from producing your own food.

A few reasons why having a Garden is one of the best things you can do for you and your family.

Lower Cost-
A small investment in seed and soil produces a large return in produce. No fancy or expensive tools are required.
Superior Taste-
Fresh organic produce that you grew yourself always tastes better than anything in the store.
Better Health-
Organic food produced in your own back yard will be richer in nutrients and minerals than in commercial foods that lose those benefits over time due long distance shipping. They are also free of chemicals like arsenic that are used to improve appearance and color of some fruits and veggies.
Improved Eating Habits-
With abundant fresh produce available 10 feet from your door, it will be easier for you and your family to snack on a carrot instead of a cupcake. This will help you and your kids cultivate good eating habits.
Preventative Care-
Childhood diabetes, obesity and depression are on the rise in The US. Studies indicate these problems can be prevented through better diets, including unprocessed foods that can easily be grown where you live.
Smarter Exercise-
Working with a shovel and a hoe in the garden burns plenty of calories, and develops largely unused muscle groups. You could pay a monthly fee and go to a gym, but all you’d get in return is sweaty gym clothes. Wouldn’t a bountiful harvest for the price of your labor be smarter?
Peace of Mind-
You know what your family is eating, how it developed, where it came from, and who helped it grow. No more worries about salmonella, ecoli or other pathogens that often afflict commercial and processed foods.
Family Unity-
Gardens are for young and old, plenty of fun activities can be geared around planting, growing and harvesting. Little ones love planting seeds and watching them grow.
Property Value-
In a time of a depressed housing market, a property with productive fruit trees and bushes, as well as a beautiful and bountiful garden, stands out.
Beautiful Yard –
Edible ornamentals like blueberry bushes and vibrant nasturtiums not only give you food, but also create a serene and beautiful yard.
Self Sufficiency-
Fruits and vegetables will grow during good times and bad, you can beat back high food prices with a trowel, and continue to provide food for you family in times of joblessness or other situational woes.
Good Stewardship-
Growing your own food makes you aware of this beautiful earth and our responsibility to take care of it.
Great Therapy-
Taking some time among the flowers and butterflies as you pick sun ripened tomatoes will do more to improve your happiness than any amount of time on the couch with the shrink.

Sweet Sweet Rain

2009-09-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

The last week or so has brought the storm clouds. We've been having regular rain now for a while, and it's been magnificent. I can't remember being so happy for the grey skies. Everything in the garden has been thankful for the deep and soaking precipitation. I think we've had around 5 inches in the past little while. It's been great. I've never seen it so green. The hot Texas sun just saps the life out of everything sometimes. I'm excited for fall.

Cantaloupe? Yes You Can.

2009-09-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Early stage of melon development,
note the remnant of the blossom on it's end .

Horrible puns aside, I've found it really easy to grow Cucumis melo, aka muskmelon aka cantaloupe. I grow the Earlichamp variety, an f1 hybrid that has is quick to mature, which makes my long growing season that more abundant in fruits from one vine. Some of the people I've talked to shy away from this large edible, because it takes up too much space and is a magnate for all manner of pests. Generally this is true, but I'm able to successfully grow them because I do so vertically. It only takes up one square foot of ground

This one is about 4 inches across,
its about this size that I usually put
the melon in a net and tie it to the trellis.

space, but it requires the support of a strong trellis. Eventually it's also wise to place the heavy melons in a net, or old rags or anything that can be tied around the fruit and the vertical support. Pests are nominal because most of the enemies of the Cantaloupe lurk on the ground. The verticality also helps to prevent melons from fungal attacks because air circulation is much better up there. It one of those killing-two-birds-with-one-stone ideas. For someone like me, who has a very very small area to garden, the vertical growing is ideal. As long as you have a sunny spot, good rich soil, temperatures in the 80s or 90s and a vertical support, you can grow tasty juicy aromatic melons in a mere square foot. There's no reason the urbanites can't enjoy a taste of the country.

My muskmelon vine scampering up the
modified room divider I found in a dumpster
and resurrected for the advancement
of urban agriculture.

Fall Beginings

2009-09-05T06:52:00.001-07:00

It's September, which means that temperatures are in the high 80s and still flirt with the low 90s. So in other words its a northern summer. We probably won't get our first frost until mid November. That's what happened last year.

So, I've heard that this is the best season to grow things in this climate. I can understand why. I'm actually excited to get started. I planted nine broccoli seedlings. I am ashamed to say that I did not grow them from seed. My summer garden was almost exclusively from seed. I suppose that's just gardener's hubris.

I've also direct seeded some salad greens and a few root veggies. It will be interesting to see what works and what doesn't

Summer Wanes but the Heat Remains

2009-08-19T12:50:00.001-07:00

This summer has actually been wetter and less hot than the last one. That doesn't mean it hasn't been hot, its just been less so. Anyway, my plants are doing ok. I harvested the muskmelon in the picture ( or cantaloupe) the other day from my vine trellis in the front yard. It's the most aromatic melon that's ever graced my olfactory scenes. The small potatoes I pulled a while ago, they are all that's left of what I harvested before it got too hot and my potato plants fried in the sun.

My backyard experiments have proven failures, the lack of sun just won't sustain anything I try to plant. It's kind of discouraging, becasue that's the only semi-large space I really have to plant

In other news, I',m getting a small plot in at the Frisco community garden. Yeah, I didn't know it existed either until recently. Most of the food they grow goes to the community food bank, as I understand it. I 'm excited to help out. I already shoveled several truck loads of mulch on Saturday for the garden. It was fun as shoveling mulch can be.

Garden Progress

2009-06-16T15:49:00.001-07:00

My backyard presents an interesting problem. It gets only a small amount of sun per day, and that's only in localized areas. Since Texas likes to jump from the mid seventies in spring to the high 90s in June and even hotter in the two coming months, I have to plant things that are shade tolerant, as well as heat resistant. For obvious reasons, it's hard to find that combination. Still, I try.

The back bed has a smattering of things, from pole beans to cucumbers

I haven't finished the layout yet, but this is more or less the way things are. I'll probably be able to grow more things in the fall winter and spring, than in the violent throes of the Texas summer. Denizens of Hell ask to back after staying awhile here in the sun.

Here's the front yard.

I rent this house, so I still have a useless hedge and useless Saint Augustine grass. If i owned the place they'd be gone! Still I've made some ok beds, this one has some more vine varieties to preserve what little space I have. I've got more beans, some melons and cucumbers and some zucchini just coming out.

My small forest of Tomatoes of varied varieties, along with a few other heat lovers. I really need to get some more peppers, they're the only things that really put up with all this heat.

Garlic Harvest

2009-05-21T09:57:00.001-07:00

I planted a dozen or so garlic cloves back in November. I haven't been keeping a very good garden journal, so I don't know exactly how long they've been in the ground. The past week half of the stalks started to brown and wilt. From what I've read, that means it's harvest time.

I sucessfully pulled out 11 bulbs of garlic. They were very aromatic. They look a little on the small side, but other than that look and smell ideal. They were extremly easy to grow. They were right up against my shed all winter and got the runoff from the roof. That and they were heavily mulched with leaves, so no weeding and no watering made them very easy to take care of.

I did an amature garlic braid and this is how they now appear in my kitchen.

Potatoes and Iron Age Technology.

2009-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Back in the winter I tried my hand at an old method for fencing, known was wattle. The people since the Iron Age have taken willow branches and woven them together to create fences for all purposes. Some craftsman still do this in the UK. I decided to build a container for my potatoes, and didn't want to use tires, so I thought about wattle. Not having willow branches at my disposal, I just used what ever branches I had. So this is what resulted.
They turned out looking very rustic, which give them a unique charm that you just can't get with some old tires. No offense to anyone who uses the tire method, I know it works very well. Today I took these pictures to show how my potatoes are doing.

All I've done is throw leaves and unfinished compost into the my potato basket, they seem to be growing rather well. We'll see what harvest they produce.

Heat n' Peppers

2008-07-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm still getting used to this phenomenal heat issue with my plants. I'm trying every thing to help them produce something other than blossoms that wither and die after a few days. Thankfully my jalapeños are starting to show their beautiful wares. They seem to better than Tomatoes.

Jalapeño progression is pretty fast. This one has grown a lot in only a few days.

Before and After

2008-07-17T18:23:00.001-07:00

Here is the first of the four raised beds that I constructed at the beginning of June. This picture was taken on June 12. The back row has 3 Tomatoes and 1 bell pepper plant. The next row has 4 peppers. The front row has cherry and grape tomatoes with five little bean sprouts.

I took these today, everything is growing rather well, despite the extreme heat. All the plants have many blossoms and a few are starting to indicate that they might perchance start to think of bearing some fruit.

Genesis

2008-07-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So we recently moved to Frisco, Texas. We arrived at the end of May. Most other gardeners, with any sense at all, had planted way back in March and were now enjoying the fruits of their labors. As for me, well I thought I try my hand at a Texas gardening right in the middle of June (experienced local cultivators at this point may commence their riotous cackling).
We're living right now with my wife's parents, while I make some cash to get our own place. They were kind enough to let me build four 4x4 planter boxes. Like a novice, I chose the spot that would get the most sun. Little did I realize that day time temperatures rival that of the surface of Venus. So since then, I've struggled with growth, sunburn, blossom end drop, and a myriad of other great heat issues that are rather frustrating. The problem in my Utah garden was that nothing got any sun. Well this was vast over compensation. I've never seen oregano and cilantro shrivel and atomize in the sun like that before.

Watch my brilliant prestidigitation. Behold,magical herbs. Now you see em'...

Now you don't...I'm afraid you'll be disappointed with the prestige. I could only make the Basil reappear after a month of ruthless sun.

Thankfully things are going better now in general. We will see what the future holds for this small plot under the burning skies of the Lone Star State.