Digging the Dirt / April in the Garden

Jet Stream on Steroids 
Gardeners and farmers have tried to predict the weather since ancient times. Seers were once sought out in their high mountain retreats, while other folks developed systems for reading nature’s signs--both here on earth and up in the heavens. Eventually, we established the science of meteorology; however, with global warming and climate change, we might be better off with an old fashioned seer.
Doug LeComte, who is a meteorologist with the federal government’s Climate Prediction Center, has suggested that the “jet stream is on steroids.”  Here in the Klamath Trinity region, we are just south of the jet streams current haunts. The jet stream is pumping up the rain. While the Midwest is under continuing threat of floods, we are already nearly ten inches over our average rainfall for the year (measured July 1 – June 30). Gardeners and farmers everywhere are hoping for sun, but the experts don’t agree on how long the rain will continue. Some believe this wet and cloudy weather could last well into our summer months. LeComte says “we’ll have to wait and see. 
We are all hoping up for a nice warm growing season; yet, it might be wise to add a row or bed of adaptable cool weather crops to our summer plantings (think in terms of leaves and roots). They might not provide much produce if the weather turns broiling hot; but our beloved tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers may fail us if the sun takes too long to chase off all these clouds. In case you need some ideas for alternative crops, here is a great book—hot off the press:

Buried Treasures, Tasty Tubers of the World 

This great title from Brooklyn Botanic Garden will spark your interest in all sorts of edible roots for the garden. Over 30 different root crops are covered, and not a single one of them is related to a parsnip, carrot, turnip, or radish. Some of these crops need warmer climates than ours, but nearly half of them are listed as adaptable to our area, and some thrive in wet boggy conditions. Buried Treasures features full color photos of the plants and their resulting root crops. Complete growing information is provided. Tips on available cultivars, nutritional value, and preparation are also included. This small book is well designed, affordable, and would make a great gift for gardeners who want to grow it all. Available from most on line book sellers and by request from bookstores everywhere; Buried Treasures, Tasty Tubers of the World, Beth Hanson – editor, published by Brooklyn Botanic Garden, ISBN 978-1-889538-34-1

Plant now: Jerusalem Artichokes for Heat or Rain 
Jerusalem artichokes actually have nothing to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. They are related to sunflowers, native to North America, and have been used for food by people native to the North East Woodlands and the tall grass plains since ancient times. Jerusalem artichokes are considered carbon-fixers, as they extract large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, which they use to grow their sturdy stalks and produce an abundant crop. They also scavenge nitrogen and are considered beneficial around compost and manure piles, and stock and animal pens. The excess nitrogen that may be found in these areas can leach into our ground water and our rivers and streams, where it is a pollutant that contributes to unhealthy algae bloom. Jerusalem artichokes absorb the nitrogen and turn it into organic matter. This is a great crop that is good for you and good for the environment also.

These tasty and productive tubers do fabulous here in the Klamath Trinity region. They like full sun but will still produce in partial shade. Watch out, Jerusalem artichokes grow from six to fifteen feet tall, and they have a tendency to sprawl. A sunny spot along a fence or a building makes a good choice, just be prepared to cut any stalks that lean the wrong way. Be sure to plant plenty, as our local gophers will want their fair share. However, they are so prolific that even when the gophers have free run you should have plenty eat and to give away. They can also be planted in raised beds with hardware cloth bottoms or in oak half barrels that have drainage holes. That way you don’t have to plant enough to share with those dastardly little diggers.

Jerusalem artichokes are propagated from their tubers, which can be planted right now. Check with your local nursery or your favorite health food store--many will have tubers or starts available.  The tubers should be planted about three times as deep as they are thick, orientating them in the ground so the most pronounced eyes or buds are pointed up. (If you plant them too shallow they will be more prone to sprawling.) The plants will grow faster, taller, and be more productive in good garden loam, however, you can still expect a sizable crop if you grow them in heavy clay or sandy soil. They benefit from a little summer time irrigation if the weather is dry and the leaves start looking droopy, but they can withstand a fair amount of drought, and they should also survive and produce during cool wet summers. Leave the plants in place until late October or early November. If our fall frost arrives late, the tops will be decorated with tons of bright yellow to orange daisy like flowers. The flowers are great for arrangements, if you can reach them, and they attract butterflies and other beneficial insects.
Once the plants are done flowering or the tops have been killed by frost, you can begin to dig your tubers. Expect each plant to produce five to fifteen pounds! They keep best in the ground, so only dig as many as you want for a few days at a time. (Be sure to leave a few behind, for next year’s crop.) These tubers can range in size from a few ounces up to two pounds each. They are odd shaped and knobby and can be a little difficult to wash. However, they don’t need peeled, and they only have fifty calories per full cup. Jerusalem artichokes taste best raw. They are crisp, sweet, and crunchy. (Think water chestnuts or jicama.) I like to eat them just like an apple. They can also be diced or grated into salads. Cooked, they make great mashed potatoes, and they can be added to soups, stir fries, stews, and casseroles. After cooking they have a mild but distinctive flavor and their texture is similar to cooked parsnips or turnips.

I will offer one small word of caution. The starch in Jerusalem artichokes is in the form of inulin, which is considered very beneficial for diabetics. However, some folks find that eating Jerusalem artichokes feels like having a belly full of beans; especially the first time they give them a try. So start with a snack. Later, if you like, you can think about working up to a whole meal. You will find a gourmet recipe in Buried Treasures, Tasty Tubers of the World, and lots more by searching on the Internet. 

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Originally published in the Two Rivers Tribune, April, 2008.  Check the article scans here: April in the Garden, 2008, Two Rivers Tribune.

Reprint rights available. The article can be broken up into smaller pieces if you are looking for filler. I am also willing to do a limited amount of rewriting.

Photo note:  Photos were optimized for printing in black and white on newsprint.  If I search really hard, for publication purposes, I can probably find the full color versions.

Article & photos, copyright Harvest McCampbell, 2008.  For more information on the article please send me an e-mail:  harvest95546 @ yahoo.com (take out spaces). This article may be reprinted or reposted with written permission only.
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Controlling Tomato Horn Worms Organically

I was recently asked about organic solutions to tomato hornworm infestations. They can be controlled through hand picking, thinking like an ecosystem, using crop rotation and soil solarization, as well as growing super productive tomatoes that can tolerate some predation.

Hand picking is often all you need to do. Go out after dark or before dawn with a flash light. Horn worms, slugs, and many other pests do most of their feeding in the dark. You can carry an empty plastic container of some kind, like what peanut butter or yogurt comes in. It will need to be big enough to contain all your “finds.” Then simply pick the creatures off the plants, drop them in the container and put the lid on. If you have chickens, ducks, or guineas--offer them your finds. You will soon learn which sorts of pests they will be happy to devour and which they detest. (By the way, guineas and runner ducks are supposed to get along very well with gardens—you could simply let them into the garden when pests get out of hand, and they will devour the bugs and slugs. Chickens are a little more problematic, leave them in the garden a minute too long, and they will eat your plants down to the roots. ) If you don’t have hungry birds, the container can be left in a sunny place for a few hours, or the contents can be dropped into a bucket of water. These pests are high in nitrogen so consider adding them to the materials used in the compost hole method: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124895&id=588082483

When you think like an ecosystem, you know that every source of protein and be eaten by something. This is as true for tomato horn worms as it is for any other pests. Toads, wasps, and skunks are your friends--they will search out tomato hornworms and devour them. Skunks might seem a little hard to live with, but if you talk softly and avoid sudden movements when they are around, they grow accustomed to your presence and generally make good neighbors. Loud noises and sudden movement, on the other hand, can trigger their well known defenses.

As crazy as it may sound, wasps also like to be talked to softly, and they dislike sudden movements. When a wasp flies up near you, hold still and let it “scan” you. It will fly back and forth and up and down very close to you, and memorize what you look and smell like. It might even land on your hand or shirt briefly and walk around. If you are calm and quiet, there are usually no negative consequences. They learn who lives near them and can tell friend from foe. I once had a wasp nest over my door, and my son and I, as well as our friends, came and went without any problem. But one day a neighbor came to the door and started yelling and the wasps all flew down and chased her away. Having wasps for friends’ pays very nice dividends. Wasps’ most favorite food is caterpillars. They will seek tomato hornworms, chew them into pieces, and carry any pieces they don’t immediately devour back to their nests for their young. I find wasps to be very lovable neighbors for a number of reasons.

Toads are great in the garden also. They eat caterpillars, slugs, and many other garden pests. Like all wildlife, they prefer slow movements and soft voices. However, unlike skunks who will most likely make their home in a wild place, and wasps who can make their homes just about any place, toads may need you to design some habitat just for them. For more information on developing toad habitat see my article: “Hedging for Amphibians.” http://harvestsgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2010/11/hedging-for-amphibians.html

Crop rotation can help control tomato hornworms. Plant your tomatoes as far as you can from the spot where the tomato hornworms bothered them last. The hornworm pupa over winter in the soil. When spring arrives the moths emerge and lay their eggs on your young plants to start the cycle all over again. If you have enough room to let some of the garden be fallow for a few months, do a little research on soil solarization: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_solarization If you set up your solarization in the fall, or before it gets warm in the late winter or early spring, it should rid your ground of the horn worms you have now. However, the adults can still fly in and lay eggs. Some people find that planting garlic and basil can help detour the moths. But this only works if the local population is not too high. The moths’ biological imperative is to find an appropriate home for the next generation. If there is lots of competition for those homes they will hunt for good spots all the harder.

Last but not least you can try growing some super tomato plants that can produce enough food for you and the hornworms. Start with the compost hole method mentioned above: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124895&id=588082483 Tomatoes thrive on soil prepared in this way. Choose indeterminate heirlooms (see: http://www.tomatofest.com/tomato-questions.html for more information on what this means) and don’t pinch them back or prune them unless it is really necessary (your hornworms will take care of the pruning for you). These tomatoes can out grow a moderate horn worm infestation. You may still need to do some hand picking—and encourage predators is always a good idea, but there should be enough for everyone. (This is exactly what I did last year. Even with a moderate hornworm infestation, by the end of the summer I was pruning armloads of new growth off the tomato plants every week. There was more than enough for everyone!)

If you have any questions, tips, or comments--please feel free to share them here, on my face book photo albums, or on any of my face book threads. You will need to send me a face book friend request, before you can comment there, but I do generally add everyone who asks.

Happy gardening!

Copyright 2011, Harvest McCampbell

Digging the Dirt / March in the Garden

This originally appeared in The Two River's Tribune as one of my monthly garden columns. Unfortunately I am not certain which year.

Digging the Dirt / March in the Garden

March is the beginning of the gardening year for many folks. It is time to beginning thinking about where you want to place your new garden or flower beds, do any last minute pruning of roses and perennials, and get ready to start seeds for all the glorious summer flowers and vegetables. One of the hardest things about these beguiling weeks of mild, pre-spring weather is that it can turn freezing cold at the snap of a finger. Fortunately, there are plants that can be planted right now and take a freeze; but first, you might want to prepare new planting beds.

New Beds with Less Work

The easiest technique for starting new beds comes to us from the proponents of no till gardening. All you have to do is mark out where your new beds will be placed, mow, cut, or pull any weeds, smooth any displaced soil, cover with any soil amendment(s) of your choice (compost, composted manure, coffee ground; or kelp, bone, or blood meal, etc.), cover the beds with newspaper or cardboard, and lastly cover with a layer of mulch. Your mulch can be shredded plant material from your garden, from the local tree service, sawdust from one of our local mills, or fluffed up straw from a local feed, garden, or hardware store. Shredded bark or bark chips also work well and can last a long time, but they will cost you a bit more to start with.

When you get ready to plant your home grown or nursery purchased seedlings, simply pull back the mulch, cut through the card board or newspaper, use a trowel to make a small planting hole, tuck in your seedling, and scrunch the mulch back over the newspaper or cardboard.

Reduce Slugs before they Reduce Your Seedlings

Before planting your seedlings, you might want to take a few slug reduction measures. Flat beer, placed in repurposed wide mouth plastic bottles, works wonders. Just pour a few of inches of beer into your bottle and use some mulch to prop them up on their sides. The slugs crawl in and they don’t crawl out. When there is no more room in the tavern, you can pull back your mulch and pour the stale beer and slugs out on the ground. Give them a decent burial under your mulch, and get the tavern open for business as soon as possible.

Magazines and slick newspaper inserts make handy slug traps. For each trap you want one or two pages of slick paper. Simply fold the sheets in quarters, make a hole in one corner, and poke a small stick through one corner to hold them in place. Place them strategically around your garden in the afternoon or evening. In the morning check, and collect any slug filled traps. You should find the slimy guys hiding on the bottom or in between the pages. You can toss the traps, slugs and all--in the wood stove, in a bucket of water, or place the traps on something solid and stomp them flat and throw them in the compost pile. Those of you who keep poultry, other birds, or who have pet reptiles and amphibians can see if your animals will enjoy a slug snack. Ducks and chickens usually love them, but not all birds do. I once gave some slugs to a neighbor’s emu and got them spit right back in my face. You should have seen the look on that birds face. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Time to Plant Outside:

Cabbage, kale, mustards, collards, lettuce, corn salad, arugula, endive, escarole, and many other tasty and healthful “greens” can be planted right now, either from seeds or starts. Keep in mind, that all plants referred to as greens may not actually be green colored; however, the part most often consumed is the leaves. One of my new favorites has such dark leaves that they are sometimes described as black.

Homegrown cabbage!  Imperfect but oh so crisp and tasty.

Tuscan Kale is also called dinosaur kale and black kale. It has long narrow crinkly leaves, grows into a large striking plant up to three or four feet tall, and can live for several years. It can be planted along the edges of the vegetable garden or in mixed perennial borders. Check your local nurseries or favorite catalogs for starts and seeds. Once you get some Tuscan Kale going, you will be glad you did. Not only are the leaves attractive and tasty, the immature flower heads are absolutely the best. Snap them off with a couple inches of the thick juicy stem and the small terminal leaves. If you take a bite from the stem end, you are going to have problems getting them into the kitchen, they are that good. Imagine some sweet, tender, and juicy broccoli and you have a pretty good idea what Tuscan kale “bolts” are all about.

Tuscan kale can be started indoors or out, right now. It can take a light frost or even a sprinkling of snow, but if your ground is frozen or covered in a deep snow, either wait for spring or get it started inside. If you live above the snow line, you might want to keep one Tuscan kale plant in a large container, so you can shelter it over the winter and hope for those delicious bolting flower heads next spring.

Start Summer Veggies Indoors:

Winter squash, watermelons, edible and ornamental gourds, as well as eggplants and tomatoes can be started indoors this month. They will need a warm bright window, or special lights and a heating mat to thrive. If starting seeds indoors is not your idea of a good time, be reassured that our local nurseries will be stocked with all kinds of vegetable plants in the next few months.

Produce in the Kitchen

Tuscan Kale is the star in my garden right now, the dark green leaves add lots of flavor to soups, stews, and one of my favorite dishes—Dirty Rice. Any greens that you happen to have growing can be used; red or green cabbage leaves, mustard, collards, and spinach are all likely to be found in the garden this time of year, and they will work just fine. First, put half a cup of black beans in a medium sized sauce pan or a rice cooker with two cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer the beans for about two hours, checking frequently and adding more water if necessary. Then add a cup of brown rice, a sliced carrot or two, some diced onion, and one or two large or several small diced leaves from Tuscan kale or other greens. Add two more cups of water, any seasonings you are hankering for, and let it cook for another hour, checking occasionally. If you have a rice cooker of an old fashioned pot with a double decker steamer basket, add some more veggies and/or shrimp to the basket and check frequently. Remove the veggies as they become tender. The dirty rice is ready to serve as soon as the rice is tender.

For Rose Lovers

“Complete Roses” from the Creative Homeowner series might be just the book you have been waiting for. Lavishly illustrated from the front cover through nearly every page of the text, you are sure to find the perfect rose for that certain corner of your landscape. Unlike most rose tomes, this one advocates natural and nontoxic solutions for rose problems. You will find chapters on: types and uses of roses, how to improve your soil, selecting the right rose for your needs, companion plants for roses, caring for roses, controlling pests and disease, propagating your rose plants, as well as a gallery of easy care roses. The gallery includes the history of the various groups of roses, so even if you have plenty and are expert in their care, you might learn some great stories about where they originated and who developed them. “Complete Roses” would make a great coffee table book or a great gift; available from most on-line book sellers or by request from your favorite book stores. “Complete Roses,” by Field Roebuck, published by Creative Homeowner, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58011-372-4.

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If you enjoy this article and want to see the one for April, add me on facebook, Harvest McCampbell, and give me a reminder near the end of March. Questions, comments, and tips are always welcome.