Category: Growing organic

cold frame building (2)

In a previous post I mentioned  building my first cold frame using bargain priced windows from the local thrift, cement blocks and lumber.  The seedlings in this cold frame are growing well and when it is cold (say 18 F outside temperature) the temperature in the cold frame is approximately 10 F higher.  During the day the differential increases.  And it keeps out the frost.  So I am hoping to grow decent sized vegetables. One cold frame was not enough because I had 10 windows remaining and Read more [...]

soil test

Eight years ago when I was working full time and all my growing activities took place in an Atlanta subdivision, I convinced myself I had to buy a soil test kit.  I splurged and bought a LaMotte model STH-4 (sounds like a revved up sports car) which is described as a "professional soil testing outfit"  and, in addition to pH, can test for nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  Needless to say, after a cursory test with meaningless results, I packed the model STH away and it has now resurfaced, Read more [...]

cold frame building

On a recent visit to the thrift store, where there are often solid wood furniture and country painting bargains, I noticed about 50 double insulated small windows each 2 ft wide and  31" high.  Available for $1 each.  I bought 22.  And have spent a lot of time figuring how to use them effectively in a cold frame. My greens are growing very well under an Agripon row cover - it allows air and rain through, protects against frost, keeps the temperature higher inside than out and allows some Read more [...]

some winter tasks

Vegetable growing in winter I know it is still early days and we may yet have blizzards and really low temperatures, but I am much encouraged with the growth of my greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, collards) and the protection provided by my row covers, so I have been growing more vegetables for transplanting in a few weeks. I googled winter hardy vegetables and bought Rapini Broccoli Raab seeds and Mache Corn Salad seeds - very reasonably priced and very quick delivery from Hirt's Gardens.  They Read more [...]

propagation

Winter is a good time to turn my thoughts to propagating plants.  Although I live in the south (Georgia) some days are really miserably cold, windy and rainy.  What better time to learn up on new propagation techniques. Oaks Oaks do not transplant easily.  Even young oaks seem to have interminably long tap roots.  And it is difficult to tell a small sapling young oak from a 5 or 10 year old sapling old oak since oaks are content to bide their time in the shade of larger trees until the Read more [...]

new growing area and contour ditch

In a previous post I mentioned the repercussions experienced from locating my muscadine grape plantings too close to my vegetable beds.  Just as the vines of the muscadine grow interminably so do their roots and the raised beds, tomato planting sites and other vegetable sites were mined by muscadine roots.  I relocated half (6) of the muscadines earlier in November and have now prepared a site for relocating the remainder. The site is on the slope of a small hill which has blueberries at Read more [...]

preparing for winter

Yesterday morning I did not need a weather forecast to know cold was incoming and that it was time to protect some of the plantings.  Of the 12 fruit trees installed earlier this year, the Gold Nugget loquat was the most vulnerable.  The loquat is suited for sub-tropical to mild temperate zones and freezing temperatures will kill the buds if not the tree.  My loquat did not do very well this summer, probably too hot for it, but I will do what I can to help it and first steps was to winterwrap Read more [...]

November tasks

No pics for this post since my camera informed me the battery pack had to be replaced and refused further negotiation. A pleasurable task, this time of year, is collecting the flower seeds. I did my first Cosmos seeding early 2010 and, from the seeds gathered last November and spread this past spring, I enjoyed a whole new expanse of Cosmos. By November 8, as was the case last year, most of the seeds have dried and spread and are easy to grasp in one's hand and release into a shopping bag. Read more [...]

compost making time, again

The leaves have been tumbling down and my Atlanta neighbors, or more accurately, their gardening services have begun bagging the leaves and curbsiding them, an open invitation to initiate compost making. Today, Saturday, was my first early morning sweep and, with 12 full bags secured and tarp covered in the bed of my pickup, I headed north to my farm. After uncooping the chickens, I made my first compost heap of the season. It is really a quick, relatively painless process (you can find detailed Read more [...]

transplanting muscadine and fixing a mistake

Muscadine grapes (vitis rotundifolia) grow in the wild throughout the Southeastern United States. There are well known varieties and my favorite is the Scuppernong. When I established my vegetable garden 3 years ago I had a small growing area and, in my wisdom, ignored the instructions to "set the plants 20 feet apart in 10 foot rows". Instead, I set up 3 horizontal wires, 5 ft high, 1 ft apart, and ran this down the middle of my vegetable garden. I figured the horizontal wires would give the Read more [...]