Category: Growing organic

cuddling a peach tree

I have 2 peach trees and last year their blossoms were freeze damaged and I had no fruit.  I really shouldn't have any peach trees because they are difficult to produce fruit using organic methods and they blossom very early in the spring.  But Georgia is known as the "Peach state" and Peachtree is a very popular street name in Georgia, and the Peachtree 10K Road Race is the world's largest 10k race (I have run it 20 times), so my enthusiasm got the better of prudence. Freeze damage occurs differently Read more [...]

raised beds for growing vegetables

One of my takeaways from the recent GO conference (see two previous posts) is that a raised bed can be constructed from untreated pine and will last a number of years.  I have previously constructed my raised beds from composite decking planks. On the first day of the conference we visited local farms and the small farm I visited was on 2.5 acres of mainly granite and therefore made extensive use of raised beds.  The composite decking planks I used for my raised beds cost $21.97 for 1.25"x6"x12' Read more [...]

a silver lining to faltering memory, also BMSB and IPM

I find that my memory does not work as well as in the past.  As a student I could easily memorize hundreds of law cases, now the labels I read one day are gone the next.  So where is the silver lining consolation? I believe we have different skill sets and we compensate for those we lack.  The kid who can analytically unravel and reassemble complicated concepts  tends to be independent and does not require and consequently does not develop, good social skills.  The ambitious kid, who does Read more [...]

Georgia Organics conference – importance of nutrition

This weekend (Fed 22 -23) I attended the 15th annual conference of Georgia Organics ("GO"), which emphasized the importance of nutrition.  This was my 8th conference and each time I wonder if I will learn anything new and the result is always a resounding "yes".  The organization has grown robustly.  Lots of young food activists.  I asked one last evening at the concluding Farmers Feast dinner why Atlanta has such a strong movement and he said "leadership".  Atlanta has growing ethnic populations Read more [...]

horse manure control test

In March 2012 I performed a simple test to get some confidence that the horse manure I was collecting was not harmful to my plants.  The test indicated that my plants would not be harmed but the effect on worms was undetermined.  I had not visited the stables for some time until early this January I headed their way.  One of the immediate changes was the password controlled electric gate.  The new owners, a husband and wife team were welcoming, and when I mentioned I usually paid $20 per load Read more [...]

taking a chance with citrus

My zip code says I am in plant hardiness zone 7 (0 to 10 deg F) .  With ongoing climate change and with use of micro climates, I coax myself that I am in zone 8.  Which means I can try my hand  at cold hardy citrus grown outdoors.  It's a novel idea to think of growing citrus where I live.  But I love citrus, even lemons.  I used to chew on lemons until my dentist observed significant enamel erosion and presciently asked if I ate lemons.  End of my lemon eating, but oranges and grapefruit Read more [...]

when it rains incessantly – then build a bat house

Rain has been unrelenting in the Atlanta area.  I have captured all I can in my storage tanks and contour ditches and I hope most of the surplus is recharging the underground reservoirs and not running for the Gulf.  So, with little to do outside, I decided to build a bat house. I am increasingly relying on natural predators to combat pests.  Because the weather has been unusually warm, a number of pest families are happily populating themselves on my lettuce in my cold frames.  So I was pleased Read more [...]

short-night veggies

I was aware of but didn't not pay much attention to the long-day and short-day preferences of certain vegetables.  I knew that with onions, since I live in the south, I needed to grow the short-day variety.  But that was it - until recently.  In spring last year I had a lot of success with radishes and beets and so this past fall I seeded the ground again with  radishes, beets and, for good measure, turnips.  Only the turnips grew, excepting a couple of sorry looking beets.  Got me wondering.  Read more [...]

wood ash and the van Helmont experiment

On cold nights I burn wood in the hearth.  Really inefficient with most of the heat going up the chimney and I am resolved to install, some time, a good wood stove.  However, what puzzles me as I stare at the burning embers is why there is so little residue from the logs.  The amount of ash remaining depends on several factors such as type of wood, moisture content and heat of combustion.  Seasoned wood has a moisture content of say 20% (water represents 20% of the total weight).  The ash remaining Read more [...]

the Bermuda grass campaign ctd.

In my 9/21 post I described various tactics I am using to eradicate Bermuda grass organically and how I covered an area with 6mm thick commercial grade black plastic.  Bermuda grass likes heat and rather than try solarize it with clear plastic (and this would only have possibly worked if I had tried this before the onset of summer), I thought completely depriving it of light might be more effective. Today, some 3 months later, I decided I needed some of the covered area to plant out my remaining Read more [...]