Fall Garden Update #4

I’ve finally been able to harvest a few things from my sad looking fall garden. A few radishes finally bulbed out. And the bibb lettuce hung on long enough to give me some good leaves. The spinach and bright lights swiss chard awarded me a few small but tasty leaves as well.

I picked all the greens and thoroughly washed them, because they were quite dirty with our latest rain splashing dirt on them. Once they were all clean, I shook the water off and put them in a damp paper towel and then in a ziploc. This should help them stay fresh in the fridge a little longer.

According to the forecast I’ll need to cover the kohlrabi and the carrots before they get nipped by frost. I’m hopeful the carrots have enough time to mature. They seem to be looking stronger at their root base. But I’m not so sure about the kohlrabi. They seem awful small.

Needless to say, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on the forecast in the days ahead.

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Fall Garden Update #3

Make no mistake about it, fall has arrived in Minnesota. The lows are dipping into the 40’s here in Saint Paul, and my fall garden is running behind.

It seems everything, from my radishes to my kohlrabi is taking a few extra weeks to get ready. But the seedlings started life with pounding rain, too much shade and the onslaught of slugs. Only the strong survived.

One good thing I learned from this fall bed, is which radish and which lettuce seem to be the most hardy. Out of the easter egg blend radish packet, only the white globe radish has managed to bulb out. The red radish pictured above is just starting to bulb however. And from the lettuce sampler seed packet, only the bibb lettuce is still standing.

The spinach and bright light swiss chard were doing well for a while, but now they’re visited daily by slugs. I set out some beer bait, but it seems a furry animal keeps drinking it up. I can’t catch a break. :-)

The Little Finger Carrots are growing well but they need to get bigger roots to harvest. The kohlrabi is doing so-so, but I’m not sure they’ll bulb out before the big freeze. Speaking of which, the metro is under a frost advisory, but the garden should be OK. My plantings are cool weather crops and I think it’ll stay frost free. Stay tuned.

Perhaps the last red raspberry of the season.This pepper was grown from seed. It looks like a jalapeno, but another on the same plant looks like a baby bell pepper. I’ll be tasting them before it gets too cold.

All this grass was started in late August and it has grown incredibly well. Hopefully this means we’ll have a lush yard in spring, instead of the awful weeds we dug out.

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Snails & Slugs Love Beer

I have a feeling snails and slugs are going to be an issue next spring. The snails with shells are EVERYWHERE, but I haven’t seen them eating on anything yet. The slugs are the immediate problem. I’ve spotted them eating on my lettuce seedlings and roaming about in my compost bin. Luckily there’s a simple and safe solution to control these garden pests, and that’s with Beer!

During the day you can see the slug slime trails glimmering in the sun, and they often lead to my raised garden bed. Growing up, my Mom used a shallow foil pie pan, added beer, and then the slugs would soon follow. For some reason they’re attracted to the beer. They get a whiff of it, climb in and drown. And by the looks of it, it’s more effective and safer than chemicals from the hardware store.

Yes it’s gross. But it beats bite marks in your lettuce.

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Fall Garden Update #2

According to the seed packet, I should be harvesting radishes today. But that’s not going to happen. My concerns about the raised bed not getting enough sun, were warranted. I cleaned out a vine that was crawling up a small black walnut tree, and then I tied the tree back with some rope. This will hopefully allow more sun to come through.

The radishes were also battered by rain from severe thunderstorms, further pushing down the dirt, leaving the radish root exposed. The result is stringy radishes with big leafy tops.

Lesson learned.

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HOW-TO: Backyard Composting

I already have my compost bin going, but here’s some helpful tips if you’re ready to start your own.

These tips list the addition of fertilizer to your compost to provide a nitrogen source. I’m not doing that. Good ol’ manure will work just fine. Manure is my best friend. It once helped me get an 8-foot tomato plant.

Compost Tips

Laws that limit dumping leaves and clippings into public landfills have reawakened public interest in composting.

Composting is a process that allows naturally occurring microbes to convert yard waste, such as leaves and grass clippings, to a useful organic soil amendment or mulch. Gardeners have used compost for centuries to improve the physical condition of soil and to add some of the nutrients needed for plant growth. Incorporating compost into light, sandy soil helps it hold both moisture and nutrients, while adding it to heavy soil improves drainage.

To produce compost efficiently from yard waste several conditions must be met. The micro-organisms responsible for decomposition need oxygen, water, and nitrogen. Particle size also affects efficiency. The smaller the plant pieces, the more rapidly they will break down. Use a shredder or power mower to chop up leaves and small twigs before adding them to the pile.

Composting Structures

To save space, keep your yard looking neat, and speed composting time, plan to contain your compost in some type of structure. Typical dimensions of a compost pile are 5' x 5' x 5'. Simple bin-type structures can be built from woven wire fencing and metal posts. More permanent and elaborate structures can be made from rot-resistant wood, wire, and metal posts.

Locating Your Compost Pile

Locate your compost pile close to where it will be used so it won't interfere with activities in the yard or offend neighbors. The pile will work best where it is somewhat protected from drying winds, yet receives partial sunlight to help heat it.

What Can Be Composted?

Many organic materials can be composted besides grass and leaves: nonwoody shrub trimmings or twigs less than ¼ inch in diameter, faded flowers, weeds, leftover plants at the end of the gardening season, lake plants, straw, coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, shredded newspaper (black and white print), small amounts of wood ash, and sawdust. Sawdust requires the addition of extra nitrogen; wood ash raises compost alkalinity and may result in nitrogen loss from the pile.

There should be little need to compost grass, since clippings may be safely left on the lawn if you mow regularly and remove only 1/3 of the blade length each time. If you do compost grass, mix it with other yard waste. Grass clippings, alone, pack down and restrict airflow which limits the availability of oxygen that is needed for decomposition.

Some things should NOT be composted. Pet feces can transmit diseases. Meat, bones, grease, whole eggs, and dairy products attract rodents and other animals. Badly diseased or insect-infested plants and weeds that are loaded with seed may not heat up enough to be rendered harmless.

Preparing Your Compost Pile

Build your compost pile in layers. Begin with eight to ten inches of leaves, grass, or plant trimmings. Water it to the point of being moist, but not soggy. Then add a nitrogen source, such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, or an inexpensive high nitrogen lawn fertilizer without herbicide.

Sprinkle the pile with 1/3 to ½ cup of fertilizer per 25 square feet of surface area (a 5' x 5' bin). If you live in a rural area and have access to livestock manure, you can use a two-inch layer of manure as your nitrogen source.

You may choose to add a one-inch layer of soil or completed compost over the nitrogen to increase the number of decomposing microbes in the pile. However, most leaves and plant scraps have enough micro-organisms to get the job done without the addition of soil or compost.

Repeat these layers until the pile reaches a height of five feet, watering each time you add new layers.

Liming

It is normally not necessary to add lime to your compost pile to improve the breakdown of most yard wastes. Finished compost is usually slightly alkaline. If you add lime during the decomposition process, it will probably be too alkaline when completed. If your pile contains large amounts of acidic materials such as pine needles or fruit wastes, you might add lime, but no more than one cup per 25 cubic feet of material. Excessive lime application can lead to loss of nitrogen from the compost pile.

Maintaining Your Compost Pile

An active compost pile will heat to somewhere between 130 and 160° Fahrenheit. As the center cools, turn the pile to help speed decomposition and minimize any objectionable odors. You will need to do this once or twice a month. Continue to water your compost pile periodically to keep it moist but not soggy. You can add a little fresh material when you turn the pile, but generally, you're better off beginning a new pile.

A well-managed compost pile will be ready in two to four months in the warm season, whereas an untended pile will take a year or more to decompose. When completed, your compost pile will be about half its original height, and will have a pleasant, earthy smell.

From the University of Minnesota Extension.

Deborah L. Brown, Professor
Department of Horticultural Science
Carl J. Rosen, Professor
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate

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Fall Garden Update

Two weeks on, my hesitancy over a fall garden is over. The lettuce, radish, kohlrabi, swiss chard, carrot, and spinach seedlings seem to be doing great so far.

After a summer of cool weather, the humidity and heat has arrived with temperatures in the 90’s a few times but temperatures are now headed back toward 80.

My fall plantings are made for cooler weather. But back-to-school season is near, and that means chilly mornings are just around the corner. For those that don’t know, I live in St. Paul, Minnesota. And for the most part, we can garden like anyone else. But further North, it’s a lot more challenging where summer temperatures can dip into the 40’s or less. Yikes.

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Bird Baths on the Cheap

How about a bird bath for under ten bucks? Here’s a quick, easy and cheap solution to attract birds without breaking your budget.

Birds don’t seem to be too picky when it comes to bath time. After all they don’t mind muddy puddles. But instead of spending a fortune on stone, or a small fortune on fiberglass, just use a flower pot saucer.

This saucer was just $5.99. Add some water and a stone for the birds to perch on, and you’ve got a nice bath for the birds. I haven’t seen any birds try it out yet, but it’s just a matter of time. It’s placed right next to a bird feeder and it’s going to be about 90-degrees today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would also recommend replacing the saucer each season to prevent any breakdown of the plastic from getting in the bird’s water. There’s a debate over how dangerous plastic decomposition is to people, at least when it comes to water bottles. So I’d like to look out for our feathered friends as well. Just recycle the old saucer or place it under one of your flower pots. That’s what it was made for :-)

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Fall Vegetable Gardening

I’m going full bore now that I’ve moved in a new place that’s letting me garden in the backyard. It’s harvest time for a lot of vegetables but it’s not too late for a fall garden, however, I’ve never done one before.

Luckily the University of Minnesota extension has great information online for planting veggies and dealing with pests in this area. They listed a few veggies that should be planted by August 1st, and I bought some seeds that I’d like to try to see if they make it.

I planted spinach, white and purple kohlrabi, radishes, lettuce, bright lights swiss chard and even carrots. The carrot packet lists it as a cool season crop, so we’ll see. But after a week everything is already sprouting. My biggest concern is they may not get enough sun.

Around here I try not to let anything go to waste, and I knew these popscicle sticks would come in handy some day. They came with the caramels that I used for the Snickers Fudge recipe. Now they’re garden row labels. :-)

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Composting in the City

I’ve wanted to compost for quite a while, but that doesn’t exactly work when you live in an apartment with no where to put it, or use it. But since that has now changed, I’m saving all my vegetable scraps and yard clippings.

I bought a plastic composter called GeoBin from Home Depot. It’s an open-ended bin that you screw to the size you want, stake it in the yard, and start adding leaves and clippings. I had planned on just getting a small role of fencing to do it, but this looks better. The black color will hopefully help it heat up as well.

I had just bought some corn (one with a worm) from the farmers’ market and couldn’t wait to christen the composter with some husks and cobs. Strange I know.

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Raised Garden Beds

I was inspired to do some raised beds after watching this youtube video. If I wasn’t a renter, I’d do something a little more permanent, but this will serve it’s purpose for now.

I used 2x8x10 foot pine lumber to make a 4x4 foot bed and a 4x8 foot bed. I needed the boards cut in half to make 4 foot sections, but I wasn’t going to pay the store a dollar for each cut. The next best thing was to hope they’d fit in the back seat of my car. My backseat windows roll down only half-way. So I used some clothes to cushion the lumber that was now diagonal in my backseat and resting on my window. About three feet of board was sticking out of my window, but the cops I passed didn’t seem to mind. I also bought 3 1/2” deck screws and a small drill bit to pre-drill some holes. 

I measured and cut the boards with a regular hand saw, and then screwed the boards together with the drill. I will say this design is rather rickety, so be careful when moving them to your garden bed. Now if I owned this property, the wood would be cedar and the bed design would be a little more elaborate, but in the end they all work the same way.

Next spring I hope to add another 4x4 foot bed to the left of the 4x8 bed, where that flower bed is now. Then I’ll have three planting areas for veggies, edible flowers and herbs.

Wood chip mulch was on sale at $1.99 a bag. Unfortunately, I had to buy most of my dirt. I found bags of manure/compost at Wal-Mart for $1.34 each, and then found 40-pound bags of topsoil at the hardware store for .99 each. I’d say those are pretty good deals, but nothing is better than free. In the spring, St. Paul has composting sites where you can get compost and dirt for free, but it’s all gone this time of year. So before you buy dirt, check around to see if there’s any free dirt where you live. Or make your own by visiting some local barns. Manure helped my family get 8-foot tomato plants one year.

A few things to know:

Don’t use treated lumber for gardens. They can leach toxins into your soil and into what you’re eating.

You never truly know what’s in city soil. So if you’re unsure about your area, raised beds are a good bet to avoid whatever lies underneath. If you want to be really safe, get your soil tested.

If you can afford it, use cedar to make your raised beds. They’ll last longer and look great for far longer than pine.

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Peas on the patio with purple flowers?

Peas aren't really meant for container gardening but there's no hurt trying. With that said, I've gotten a few good pods and it's worth a fresh little treat every other day or so. Not to mention my Jardine's parrot loves them way more than the frozen ones thawed with hot water.

I was also surprised by a pea plant with a unique mutation. It has purple flowers!!!

I did a little research online to see what was up, but then I cam across purple-podded peas. I want to grow those!

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