G#!@ &$#@ BUGS!!

When you decide you're going to be an organic gardener you really have to go at it whole-hog. Of course there is nothing wrong with deciding to use pesticides if that's what's right for you, but if you want to make that commitment to organic gardening that sometimes means grinning and bearing it when the bugs win. It started with just a few tiny holes in my cauliflower leaves, then my Arugula developing a few love-bites, then a little more off the cauliflower, and total inhalation of the Arugula. The holes in the cauliflower aren't going to kill the plant, but they do reduce the production capacity and make for smaller vegetables. I can deal with a nip or two of of the outer-leaves of my lettuce, but the Arugula was completely inedible, it was terribly sad smelling that sweet peppery aroma as I ripped them out for the compost. *sigh* They smelled SO good!

The best organic way to prevent bugs is proper crop-rotation and distribution. I know for next time the flea beetles suspected of being the culprit will attack both cauliflower and arugula, and now I know for next time to plant them further apart (in this case they were about 3', next time, either sides of the garden!). I later found cabbage worm in my cauliflower! BOO HISS! A floating row cover would have prevented them from being laid on my lovely vegetables.

The best organic way to treat for bugs is a soap and water solution. You use 1 part liquid soap: 4 parts water in spray bottle and it really knocks the bugs on their bums. You do need to keep it up every day, also you need to be careful not to burn your plant's leaves (especially with lettuces!) with too much soap.

Birds like my Strawberries? What a surprise!

This one it totally on me! I lost my entire first crop of strawberries because I didn't plan ahead. We live in a wildlife rich area. There are a pair of robins who visit my garden quite regularly with their chicks, I quite enjoy seeing them. Until they started eating my strawberries, then I wasn't so pleased.

The solution was quick & easy! Bird netting. Instead of just throwing them over the tiny plants, I had my husband build some stakes from each side of the bed to keep the entire netting elevated over both strawberries. This makes it easier for me to access the plants under the net (strawberries & my lettuces) as well as prevents the birds from landing near the berries and just poking their beaks through the netting.

Originally I went out looking for a floating row cover to do double duty of keeping bugs off my lettuce, the lettuce cool, and the birds off my berries; but I learned something, big-box garden centre employees don't know what floating row covers are and will look at you like you have two heads when you ask for them. At least that was my experience. Oh well, the netting works just find and the berries are SO good! As an added bonus it keeps the cats out of the garden, but I have very little issue with them pooping in there after chasing them with the hose a couple times.

Preventing Weeds

I'm trying a few different weed-reduction solutions this year. Already the raised beds have made segmenting my work so easy I can go out to the garden with 30 minutes of spare time and pick one spot to weed and feel like I've accomplished something. You can purchase landscaping cloth from your nursery or garden centre. There are lots of different kinds, both plastics and biodegradable options, which you lay over your bed then cut slits into for you veggies. I wanted something cheaper (/free or almost free), so here are a few DIY options.

Grass clippings
These work well because they add back nutrients to the soil when they decompose, they also make for a nice mulch to keep the water in. I did find they haven't kepts the weeds down as well as other methods. I am using them both in my potato box as filler instead of soil (for the potatoes to grow in) and around my celery to try and blanch it. You have to be careful when selecting grass-clippings as your weed-supressor because they can create areas of anaerobic bacterial growth (where no air is getting in) and can hide harmful pests. My determination: proceed with caution.

Plastic Garbage Bag
If you live in a hot climate this is not a good idea, you are going to cook your plants. In Ottawa, it's a perfect solution for heat-loving vegetables. I used this in my pepper bed to heat up the soil, then when it was time to transplant I cut slits and grew. I was planning on removing the plastic eventually but it's worked so well I haven't needed to. I did throw a little dirt on top of it to prevent too much sun-absorption as the weather got warmer. It completely blocks out all the weeds so they haven't been a problem at all in this bed. My determination: use selectively.

Newspaper
The best way to use newspaper in a weed-suppression function is to create a garden lasagna (I didn't make that up!). I use it around my beds to keep the weeds down where I haven't put any veggies in yet. And it works really well. It keeps all but the strongest weeds (such as my poplar) from growing, and ensures that when I'm ready to plant, I just have to remove the paper & seed. Plus most newspapers use a soy-based ink now, so you're adding something to the garden that isn't going to add any harmful bi-products. The only problem, it does tend to blow away so I always make sure I keep some soil on top of my paper. Plus you're recycling and if you pick up free community papers or get yesterday's paper from the stand - it's 100% FREE. My determination: use everywhere, but weigh down.

Peas are sprouting!

A wonderful little hint of green is poping up through my soil. This year I decided on a heirloom variety of peas for a couple reasons. First of all our second son is named Lincoln, so when a very pregnant lady (I believe I was 7 months at the time) spotted the "Lincoln" Peas in the seed catalogue, how could I resist? Secondly propagating heirloom seeds is important to me.
A heirloom seed is a variety that has been passed down through the years, being naturally bred for the characteristics you want in that type of vegetable. Meaning where lots of hybrids will not breed true, or are unable to produce seed at all; a heirloom will breed true and will give you lots of seeds to save for next year.

Sometimes heirloom varieties are less productive then hybrids, or are more susceptible to diseases. However you'll frequently find heirloom varieties have a better taste.

There are heirloom varieties for every type of vegetables, and all species of domesticated animals too. One great place to find more about heirloom varieties is seed saver.org. Although they are now available through most seed catalogues.

SNOW!?!?

Well we had a little set-back in the garden this week. Monday is snowed and was miserable but by Wednesday we were back up to super-warm temperatures. I don't know what the weather-man is thinking this year!

That does mean my tomato seedlings are mostly toast but my strawberries, cauliflower, peas, beans, lettuce are all doing very well still. Then again - that's the difference between warm and cold weather crops!

Here is hoping the weather figures out what it wants to do soon!

The potato box - up close & personal!

My lovely potato box has garnered a lot of attention from the human visitors to the garden. Everyone has asked me why I have this strange box with all the leaves sticking out of it - and also where they can get one! The basis of a potato box is to grow the spuds vertically rather then horizontally because they take up so much space otherwise. Theoretically you can get a much higher yield on a smaller square space this way.

So far all I can say is that, yes it takes up much less room then an entire row of potatoes!

There are lots of different ways to make a potato box, using everything from scrap wood to old tires, there are even commercial available boxes now. A great link for more info is from The Seattle Times (isn't the internet great?).

This is my first year growing potatoes & I've just used the ones out of my cupboard that have grown too much to eat. I'm hoping for a big bounty but we'll have to wait until late summer/fall to find out.

Saving Nature and the Chestnut Tree

There is a great child-hood family story about my husband getting very upset about his father pouring tadpoles back into a stream. Apparently hubby was "saving nature" and he has been teased about it ever since.

So he's as much a sucker for a straggly little lost soul as I am, which is how we ended up with our cat Peaches (and her son Oscar).

The other day he was working in a friend's basement where he found this little tiny Chestnut Tree growing right out of a conker in the dark basement.

Unfortunately the little guy didn't make it once given sun, and food and water (go figure)! So I killed nature... I'm hopping to save some conkers this christmas and see if we can get one to actually grow!