gardening people, places & things
4 May 2013, by gj
Not long ago we looked at the espalier method of growing fruit trees. The photo on that post was of a huge garden at Kylemore Abbey in Ireland. The trees were grown against a wall as a way of increasing how much heat they received.
But the espalier method, a simple pruning and staking technique, also serves well to save space.
Here is a picture taken by my friend Jack Goldfil of allotment plots in Paris:
You can see how the trees have been pruned, allowing only the side branches to grow. These are further controlled by tying them to wires running across the whole area. Even in a garden plot this size there can be fresh fruit.
Now of course our garden areas are much larger. Still, we like to get the most from the areas we have growing. An additional concern is the squirrel population that took ever single piece of fruit from our trees last year.
Every. Single. Piece.
So we moved a few of the trees that were only put in last year and purchased a few more.
What we now have are 8 semi-dwarf fruit trees, one dwarf almond tree, and 3 bush variety cherries in a bed about 22′ by 4′. Since everything was just planted this spring, we won’t prune until after the harvest.
We are also going to build a structure above to drape netting over, in an effort to keep the squirrels out.
Remember to never prune more than 1/3 of the tree branches at one time. We will prune some in the fall, and a little more in the spring, containing the area they take up.
You can also plant crops below, as pruned trees don’t cast much shade. This year we planted potatoes and covered them with straw, additionally cutting down on the need to weed.
One other thing to keep in mind is that some trees, pears for example, need more than one variety to produce fruit. You can purchase “2 in one” of “all in one” trees that have been grafted with another variety. Just be careful when you prune to keep some of each variety growing on your tree.
Here’s Jack’s gardening page:Jardiniers du 4ème, where she shares more of her beautiful photos.
You Can Grow That! is a monthly collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage and help others learn to grow.
You can find additional posts by clicking on the pic above. You can also follow us on Pinterest.
Categories: fruit trees, techniques, you can grow that
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4 April 2013, by gj
As a newbie gardener many years ago, I thought the growing season started after the last spring frost, and ended after the first one in fall. That’s only about 120 days here, not much time at all.
Then I remember reading on the back of a pack of pea seeds “Plant as soon as the ground can be worked in spring.”
Really?
Literally?
So I went to the library to learn more -that’s a building that use to house hard copies of most of what you can now find on the internet, but just the correct information. 
A whole new world.
It was true of course, and what’s even better, it’s not just peas.
Fava beans, mache, and arugula all love the cold weather. So do turnips.
Broccoli head forming.
Other plants can be started indoors, and still transplanted out long before the tomatoes and peppers. We have cabbages, mustard, kale, and collards out in a bed already. We did have an unseasonable cold snap, so the bed was covered in plastic, but that will be off this week as things return to normal. They probably would have been okay, but why chance it?
Just a little extra precaution.
Also in this bed are seeds for sorrel, turnips, beets, and of course, snow peas.
In other areas of the garden there are more peas planted, fava beans, carrots, mache, endive, arugula and mesclun. Onions and garlic were planted last fall and are now poking through what is left of the snow.
Asparagus at year two.
Soon we’ll see even more. All this with another 2 months to go until ‘planting time.’
Can it get any better?
Well, actually yes it can. Many of these plants can be grown again by planting mid to late summer for a fall harvest. Mache and kale will all but survive the winter entirely!
So if you thought like I did, that gardening was just for the warm weather months, now you know better. Unless you live in an area that never sees any frost, then Cold Weather Veggies? Yeah-
You Can Grow That! is a monthly collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage and help others learn to grow.
You can find additional posts by clicking on the pic above. You can also follow us on Pinterest.
For more help with what to plant when for your growing area, visit Mother Earth News.
Categories: extending the season, gardening, you can grow that
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29 March 2013, by gj
To be very brief, this blog came about through a fluke, a suggestion, and a mania for growing and preparing food. Writing it has made me a better gardener, a more daring cook, and has provided amazing opportunities to meet wonderful people with similar interests.
Now it happened the day before yesterday that the readership here broke the 100k mark. Admittedly I still find all this shocking; but even knowing it was going to happen, it was sooner than I expected. It was also inspiring; to see so many of you wanting to learn more and going out there and planting.
All it took was for me to mention my excitement and a few fabulous women quickly offered to give a gardening gift as a Thank You! to at least some of the gardeners that have come here. Aren’t they great?!?
Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening
Fran Sorin is a nationally known gardening expert, communicator, author, broadcaster, and journalist. Her multi-media exposure reflects her philosophy that gardening is a process that can teach individuals how to live more meaningful, creative, healthy and spiritual lives.
‘Digging Deep’ takes the reader, step by step, through Fran’s 7 stages of creativity, offering tools on how to be more creative in the garden and in life. It is available in Paperback and Kindle and has also been published in German.
Click here to learn more about this amazing woman. Also, if you sign up for her free newsletter, you will receive a chapter of her book for free!
An Assortment Package of Moo Poo Tea
Annie Haven – Woman Rancher continues her family legacy of farming and ranching naturally. As the owner of Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew Annie offers a full line of 100% natural soil nutrients which are harvested, processed and Eco hand packaged from the by-product of her grass fed livestock. Environmentally conscious gardeners across the country, Canada and beyond are successfully growing chemical free with her special brand of Moo Poo Tea.
Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew is safe for all garden, indoor plants and soil types. Hydrate seeds before planting to in crease germination, feed overwintering plants, use as a drench when transplanting, soak bare root roses, shrubs and fruit trees 24 hours before planting to reduce stress and stimulate root growth. Feed Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew throughout the growing season for increased bloom and vegetable yield naturally. Connect with Annie and learn more about her all natural soil conditioner product line here: http://www.manuretea.com
Culinary Herb Collection
Cathryn Zommer offered:
CULINARY HERB GARDEN FROM SOW TRUE SEED
An annual assortment of eight scrumptious flavors to compliment any well-appointed kitchen. Grow these herbs close to your kitchen and harvest often to enhance all your favorite recipes. The hand packed collection contains: Organic Genovese Basil, Organic Chives, Organic Cilantro, Organic Bouquet Dill, English Thyme, Organic Italian Giant Parsley, Broad Leaf Culinary Sage and Summer Savory.
ABOUT US
Sow True Seed is an Asheville, North Carolina company entering our fifth season and devoted to sustaining a rich heritage of preservation and the ecological wisdom embodied by seed handed down from generation to generation. We specialize in GMO- Free traditional, heirloom, Appalachian and organic favorites selected with care for gardens nationwide.
We are happy to work with established and new gardeners alike—not only by selling seed that can be saved but by supporting the vital exchange of seed-saving knowledge. This tradition of and commitment to active preservation is at the heart of our founder’s mission: Carol Koury started Sow True Seed in 2009 out of a desire to pass her hands on understanding of where food comes from and love of growing flavorful, fresh-picked and contaminant-free vegetables onto her grandchildren and generations to come.
Today, we offer over 550 seed varieties including vegetable, herb, and flower seed, garlic and sweet potatoes, as well as seed collections, books, gift certificates, and more from its warehouse and retail home in Asheville. Our Grower’s Program expands annually, contracting with regional farmers for Appalachian varieties to propagate and preserve for our customers in the Southeast and beyond.
We also carry seeds on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste, the global catalogue of unique tasting and endangered heritage foods. We are proud to collaborate in this effort by offering a number of these varieties, including delicious heirlooms like Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato, Cushaw Green Striped winter squash and Moon & Stars Watermelon. Our website is www.sowtrueseed.com.
One of a Kind Handmade Potting Apron.
Matching hand finished towel.
The art of sewing is not completely lost! Cheryl Pendleton Knepper is keeping it alive with her delightful assortment of handmade items. She has generously donated this potting apron and hand towel for our contest. These pictures do not do justice to her work, I have seen it in person and as a sewer I was very impressed. You can find more of her handmade items at J & K Designs. A great place to shop for something unique!
Not only does she sew, Cheryl is a like-minded gardening enthusiast and writes about on her blog The Intrepid Gardener (Gardening 101).
Answers to the questions I get the most.
This is just part of the package that I’m including: A signed copy of each of our how-to manuals as well as an assortment of our homemade soaps will be my way of saying Thanks!
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post anytime until midnight EST Monday 4/1/13. A random drawing will then be held for each of these wonderful items and shipped directly to the 5 persons whose names come up first.
I can’t send everyone a prize, but I will continue to offer you gardening information and tips, recipes, and a little humor along the way.
Happy Spring and thanks so much for stopping by!
Categories: gardening people, places & things, special posts
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26 March 2013, by gj
The winter that won’t leave.
Technically it is spring, but only technically.
I will not complain though, Dear Journal, but rather look on the bright side of things.
Although I’m not playing in the dirt yet, I can count my blessings:
Ready when the weather is.
Seeds: $10 donated to a non-profit, the rest were exchanged or saved.
Solo Cups: recycled
Jiffy Pots: $5
Potting Soil $15
Free Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes were started from last year’s crop, the pot is recycled as well.
Likewise the potatoes, though the pot was purchased new. $10
All together the cost this year is $40. Not bad when you consider I spent that much on heirloom tomato plants alone last year.
Taters also free.
And growing something indoors while the snow flies?
Yeah… you got that right. 
Categories: dear journal, gardening people, places & things, saving money & time
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8 March 2013, by gj
Today is International Women’s Day, a day set aside to look at all the work that has been and is being done to reach equality for women all over the world.
Real women like soft, silky things.
So I’m going to tell you a story.
A long long time ago, oh about 52 years or so, there was a little girl who loved to play in the dirt. She especially enjoyed using the toy backhoe that belonged to her brothers, to make paths and mounds and just move soil from one area to another.
Her mother was a bit concerned; she recalls a conversation about this activity that she overheard.
‘Maybe we shouldn’t let her play in the dirt like that. She’s a girl after all. I’m not so sure this is a good thing for her.’
‘Oh let her go,’ her father said, ‘She’ll be fine.’
Flash forward about 15 years.
The girl, now a ‘young lady’ is well versed in baking and sewing. She makes most of her own clothes and according to her mother “You’re the most feminine of all the girls.”
She wants to take Industrial Arts Class, but is denied because “You’re a girl.”
Real women like shiny things.
Now to the present, the woman is moving furniture at her work.
“You’re the strongest woman I ever met” a coworker said, “you should have been a man.”
After all this time are we really still looking at women based on how ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ they are?
In a country where women have it much better than most others, we are still not seen as equal, or it would not matter how we spent our free time, or even if we got our hands dirty.
Real women don’t like creepy crawlies.
Here’s to all the women of the world- whether they polish their nails or scrub dirt out from underneath them.
As for me, operating a life size backhoe is #1 on my Bucket List.
Get involved here.
Categories: gardening people, places & things, special posts
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4 March 2013, by gj
Seasonings are so expensive to buy and often have ingredients added to them you wouldn’t want to consume.
They are probably rather old by the time they get to you, too.
You really can grow these.
Most gardeners know how easy it is to grow and dry or freeze a few herbs. You may be surprised to find there is a lot more you can do to make that spice shelf in your kitchen more closely connected to the garden.
Some easy herbs to grow include: Basil, Borage, Catnip aka Catmint, Chamomile flowers, Cilantro, Dill, Lavender flowers, Marjoram/Oregano, Mint, Parsley, Sage, Savory, Shiso and Tarragon.
There are also a few herbs to let bolt so you can collect the seeds for seasoning your food: Anise, Caraway, Coriander (Cilantro seeds), Cumin, Dill, Fennel, Mustard and even Sesame.
A long term project.
This is where it gets even more interesting.
Did you know you can grow celery, onions, garlic and ginger, dry them, then grind into a powder?
Yessiree!
This is how ground mustard is made, by simply grinding the seeds you collected.
Chipolte peppers are chile peppers you can grow yourself, then roast to dry and grind; for a fraction of the cost.
You can also make your own pepper mix by growing an assortment of peppers, hanging to dry then grinding into a powder.
Jalapeno, cherry and chile peppers.
Compare that to the list of ingredients on McCormick’s Fiery 5 Pepper seasoning, which also includes salt, some additional spices and ‘natural flavors’.
Do you know what ‘natural flavors’ means?
“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”
Taken from Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
A bug is natural, so is a fish head. Not to be gross, but do you really want to leave it up to food companies to decide what ‘natural’ additive they will use? At the very least you can be sure it is something they could not otherwise sell.
Homegrown, fresh, pure and powerful.
Here’s How to make Garlic Powder.
If your homegrown spices are subjected to a lot of humidity, you may want to pick up a few food grade desiccant packets. We learned that one the hard way.
So go ahead and take a good look at your spice shelf.
In many cases, You Can Grow That!
You Can Grow That! is a monthly collaborative effort by gardeners around the world to encourage and help others learn to grow.
You can find additional posts by clicking on the pic above. You can also follow us on Pinterest.
Categories: herbs, how to grow, you can grow that
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9 February 2013, by gj
“Everyone grew vegetables during the war.” my Mother told me one afternoon. “I remember my cousin Jack’s garden. He grew all kinds of unusual things like Swiss Chard, then he would trade that for more common things like tomatoes. He always made out better on the deals, too.”
Our front yard garden
That was almost 70 years ago, when growing a vegetable garden was considered a patriotic thing to do.
What has changed?
Supermarkets, television, cryovac packaging.
People used to raise chickens in their backyards too, now that isn’t allowed in many areas of this country.
Food was fresh and nutritious then, our produce today is almost void of flavor and nutrition, and often contains many chemical pesticides.
More and more people are turning to growing their own food again, but some are facing resistance.
A recent case in west Des Moines is a perfect example. Read about it here.
There is also something else that has changed since the days of the Victory gardens, that’s social media.
Just 1 day after Courtney Tompkins and Katie Ketelsen shared that link with fellow gardeners on Facebook, the story had received 807 shares & 40 comments. The next day the complaint was dropped.
Okay G. J., so it’s over, why are you telling me?
Here’s the reason- the next story may be in your town, or even your yard.
What will you do? I hope you will share it.
Gardeners stick together, and we won’t let vegetable gardens be stopped.
That’s just how we roll.
Find Courtney here at Pure Elements Organics, and Katie at Garden Grunt.
Stop by and tell them “Great Job!” for saving the right to have front yard edible gardens where they live.
Here’s to Iowa.
Categories: gardening people, places & things
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4 February 2013, by gj
The You Can Grow That! theme for February is love, an easy subject for a new grandmother.
From the very moment the upcoming birth announcement was made my life was forever changed, more than I could even imagine.
Stealing Grammie's heart.
“You are what you eat” is much more than just an expression, and I knew right away I wanted to help ‘Sprout’s’ food be as healthy as possible.
Organic baby food is incredibly expensive, yet so simple to make.
A jar of carrots should contain carrots, maybe a little water, and nothing else.
The only way to really know what is in a baby’s food is to make it yourself.
Here’s one Grammie’s tips for healthier baby food:
1. Grow or buy organic the vegetables most likely to have higher doses of pesticides. Here’s the list.
2. If space is limited, plan your garden based on what foods you expect the baby to be eating. Carrots, peas, beans and squash are much more likely to be in his diet than eggplant and peppers.
3. Learn to safely can foods and how to properly freeze, and which foods can be stored fresh the longest. Check some of the links to the right under ‘How to Store’ to learn more.
4. Follow your pediatrician’s recommendations for introducing new foods to the baby.
5. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look at the grocery store shelves for fruit and veggie combo ideas. Trust me, a lot of research went into it already.
Sprout's pout.
Aww, look at that face… I just may have to give over more of the garden.
Here’s a great resource for recipes and tips.
Categories: grandkids and kids, saving money & time, you are what you eat, you can grow that
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4 January 2013, by gj
This post is part of a collaborative effort by a growing group of gardeners to help you learn to grow more.
One of my cousins is a teacher and recently commented on how to avoid catching colds from the kids.
To paraphrase her:
“Don’t touch your face, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, don’t touch your face, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands…
and don’t touch your face.”
Of course prevention is best.
homegrown cold prevention
To get more vitamin C, eat lots of cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, kale and chard. Fresh sweet peppers are loaded with vitamin C, so add a little to your salad or slaw.
In case prevention is not sufficient, there are a few things you can grow in your garden to help you get better faster.
Onions and garlic, both alliums, are thought to have anti-bacterial properties. At the first sign of a cold heat up a little chicken or veggie broth, and add some fresh garlic cloves and raw onions.
At the very least, it will keep others far enough away.
Horehound is an easy to grow herb that has cough suppressant and expectorant properties. It’s quite bitter though, so if you make a tea or cough syrup from it, be sure to add a lot of sweetener.
homegrown horseradish
Horseradish is also high in Vitamin C, is a good anti-oxidant, and has long been thought to have antibiotic properties.
If you’re feeling congested, try a little freshly grated root to clear your sinuses and help break up mucous.
Be careful, a little goes a long way.
homegrown eucalyptus
Eucalyptus can also be grown in many home gardens. This herb is well known for helping to relieve congestion. Learn how here.
Since food really is medicine, there are many more edibles that could be added to this list.
Eating a variety of veggies is important to help keep your body strong and better prepared to fight off the nasties.
Eat right and stay healthy my friends!
Categories: gardening, you can grow that
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4 December 2012, by gj
This post is part of a collaboration among garden bloggers to promote information on their favorite subject.
For more posts like these, follow this link.
Whether or not you’re the crafty type you can still easily share gifts from your garden.
Here are a few ideas and some links to help:
keep it simple
- Fill a store bought or hand painted pot with some seeds you’ve saved.
- Got catnip? Make a kitty toy easily by placing dry catnip in a sock, washcloth, or any durable fabric. Then tie closed with a ribbon or string. Make it even more fun by putting jingle bells on the ribbon.
- Build a Fairy Garden
- Food gifts are always a big hit. Check out our recipe page to make jam, soup, or sauces. If you don’t process food, you can still make Hot Sauce or a raspberry or other flavored vinegar.
for the heat lovers in your life
- If you have some fresh lavender, you can make Lavender Bottles. Here’s a link on YouTube to learn how.
- More gift ideas here.
Okay GJ, I can plan on this for next year, but my garden is done for now.
Any other ideas?
a gardening gift anyone can make
How about helping someone else to ‘grow that’ with a simple organizer. Include a notebook, dividers, a calender, some seeds, and maybe a few of your own gardening tips.
It’s sure to be a hit.
Do you make gifts using what you grow?
Categories: gifts from the garden, you can grow that
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