Category: Growing organic

biodynamic compost

As I experiment with compost teas my better half decided to go down the biodynamic compost route.  My role was to locate and assemble the ingredients.  It would be a small heap shaded throughout the day and well clear of my regular compost heaps which include manure from stables - a possible contaminant.  I provided 3ft stalks from flowering vegetables for the base, I scythed my plentiful high growing grasses for the "green" material and carried to the assembly area three 5 gal buckets half filled Read more [...]

at last some growing activity

The occasional cold temperatures in March dissuaded the plants from growing.  This was evident from an experiment with peas.  I moistened the peas and those which appeared to be growing the fastest I planted outdoors and  the remainder I planted in a soil container in the greenhouse.  Until a week ago very few of the peas planted outdoors had broken surface.  Those in the greenhouse grew steadily.  Today I transplanted the greenhouse peas. Of course the daffodils are out and my comfrey Read more [...]

learning as I go along & compost tea

It takes some skill to see or observe things and then a lot more experience and skill to interpret what you see.  With me it is a drawn out journey.  There were signs along the way which I ignored and am only now, with hindsight, piecing together.   I remember when I purchased the land some 4 years ago and my sceptical neighbor, now deceased, wagered his tomatoes would outgrow mine.  And in that first year I had the most amazing huge tomatoes and he admitted, sheepishly that he had snuck in Read more [...]

self inflicted wounds and a visit to a nursery

My orchard is beginning to blossom.  First are the peach and the pear trees and then the apple trees with some earlier than others.  I noticed that my little peach tree which last year provided its first delicious peaches (unfortunately inhabited with visitors since peach is tough to grow without 'cides) was dead!  The other peach tree, a shadow of the first, was doing fine.  I feared root nematodes or some other nasty affliction which would spread to my other fruit trees, so I hauled the tree Read more [...]

spring time signs and chores

The happiest sign of spring for me is when bees emerge from the hive.  Bees collect honey to nourish them through the winter.  Many beekeepers will harvest most of the honey and then feed the bees with concentrated sugar water (three parts sugar to two parts water) at the end of the season to provide nourishment for the cold months.  I prefer to harvest less in July and leave them honey and several remaining summer months to replenish their stores.  You could ask why not check up on their honey Read more [...]

starting the tomatoes

The annual ritual commences - germinating tomato seeds for the summer.  I have a number of varieties stored in their original paper packets in a ziplock bag (but not zipped) in the basement.  And each year I select 4 of each variety for growing.  I moisten commercial seed starter mix and with my mould produce a 20 block rectangle of  0.75" individual soil blocks. Into each block I insert a single tomato seed on the tip of a moistened pencil.  The seedling tray sits on a heating pad below Read more [...]

some winter tasks

charging the Takeuchi After some cold nights (12 below freezing) my Takeuchi bobcat refused to start.  Cold and tired battery.  The best way to charge the battery is to pull the cab forward on its hinges and then you have direct access to the battery.  It is heavy and best done with an assistant.  In the past I had an anchor point in front of the Take and winched the cab forward.  However, there was no anchor point for the Take this time just a 2,400 gal rainwater tank.  The last time I Read more [...]

why I feel better about the appearance of my organic veggies

I recently attended an open house event at a  local organic farm trending to permaculture.  I wandered the fields with the manager and we discussed many topics.  It was only later when I was by myself and walking his rows that I noticed how perfect his vegetables looked.  No weeds - well I could manage that too if I was doing an open house, but not a single insect chewed leaf!   By that time the manager was busy with other visitors and not accessible. I thought long on what I had seen.  Read more [...]

revising practices

As the months and seasons roll by and I learn what works and doesn't, I change my practices.  For me, raised beds work best.  I produce mainly for my family and the area under cultivation is about 1/4 acre and worked by hand (my hands).  For this situation raised beds are optimum -  they drain better, they resist weed invasion better, easier to work (less stooping) and warm up quicker in the winter.  I have 8 beds now - mostly 8 or 10 ft by 4 ft, though I just installed a 20ft by 4ft addition. For Read more [...]

as the season winds down

It has been some time since my last post.  Coursera, the online education system, has absorbed a lot of my time.  I can spend 10 to 15 hours a week just on the calculus course with The Ohio State University. Plus I am enjoying Animal Behavior with the University of Melbourne, Australia, and What a Plant Knows with Tel Aviv University.  And for an unconventional outlook there is A Brief History of Humankind from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Plus I am busy with Fall tasks. This summer Read more [...]