Garlic is really easy to grow as I found out this past year.  I planted two varieties last fall in a small section of one of the raised beds.  In July, I harvested the garlic and we’ve been enjoying it in soups, salsa, pastas, pizzas, etc… ever since.  The flavor has been grand and it was so easy to grow that last week I was out getting ready to grow my own again.

This year I’m growing ‘Chesnok Red’ and ‘German Red’.  Both are hardneck which means I will get two harvests instead of just one.

You may be thinking, “Come again, TWO harvests?”

Hardneck varieties of garlic send up a round stalk (a.k.a. scape) mid-season and when this stalk curls you can snap it off and use it as your first garlic harvest.

Photo Courtesy of Island Vittles

The scapes can be used just like scallions.  Basically think of them as scallions that taste like garlic!  The scapes have all the health benefits garlic offers and by cutting them you are helping the plant put more energy into the garlic bulb that is forming below the ground.  It’s a win/win for garlic lovers!

Don’t sweat it if you didn’t already know this…I learned about it this last growing season and actually missed the window to harvest my scapes!  I gazed at the curly tips thinking they were “cool” but as I read other garden blogs mid-summer I realized the “pig tails” were more than interesting form.

So this year I’m reminding myself as much as any of you that are new to garlic growing – get two harvests out of hardneck garlic!

Thinking about one last act of planting and going for garlic?  If so, read on and then don’t dilly-dally for “Winter is a coming”…

Where To Get It? – This is the most complicated part of growing garlic if you are a local reader (meaning you live in southern Idaho).  This is because all garlic grown in southern Idaho must be inspected for white rot disease and then certified that it is free of this enemy.  White rot is fungus that can be on or within what seems to be perfectly untainted garlic.  However, once in the ground the fungus becomes active and can turn garlic or onions in the area into mush. Since Idaho has a 55 million dollar onion industry, it has placed a quarantine and certification process on all seed garlic to be planted in southern Idaho.

So, to answer the simple question, local readers get your garlic from any local nursery so you know it is certified and o.k. to plant (DO NOT plant garlic from the grocery store).  All other readers check to see if you have certification requirements in your area and then get your garlic seed from what seems to be the best source available.  Keep in mind, this will most likely be local nurseries or farms or mail orders that specialize in garlic seed.

What Kind To Plant? The general rule of thumb is that hardneck garlic varieties do best in cold climates and softneck varieties do well in milder climates.  However, you can experiment and see what does best in your garden.

Planting Your Garlic  Once you’ve made your selection and have it at hand, prepare for planting.  Choose a sunny site that has loose, fertile, well-draining soil.  Mix in a couple of inches of compost to the chosen site.

Next “bust apart” in a gentle way (not always easy!) the individual cloves from the head of garlic.  Keep the paper sheath around each individual clove intact.  Use a bulb planter to dig holes 3-4 inches deep just as you would for spring-flowering bulbs.  Space the holes 4-5 inches apart within a row.  Rows can be 10-20 inches apart.

My rows are a bit closer together because I’m growing in a raised bed which means a limited about of space.  I plant about 20 cloves (so a very moderate amount) in two rows and have not experienced a problem with the rows being closer together.

Now plant the individual cloves in the holes with the root end (blunt end) down.  Gently push the clove into the soil and inch or so.  This way it will have good contact with the soil and will insure a straight neck.

Now cover the cloves with 3-4 inches of soil and if no rain is expected water well.  It is also a good idea to spread a couple of inches of mulch over the top of the garlic for cold protection and to keep moisture in the soil.  Leaves work great as a mulch for garlic if you don’t want to buy mulch from a nursery or garden center.  Remember to remove the mulch in Spring as soon as the danger of frost has passed.

Growing Your Garlic  Garlic likes water so once Spring has arrived and you see the green tops peeking through the soil make sure the water supply is maintained.  Be careful to not overwater though or the bulbs (garlic heads) will rot.  Garlic also likes food but the amount of fertilizer you should use depends on your soil.  Generally speaking, it is wise to mix in composted manure or a well-balanced fertilizer in the spring.  Some gardeners water with fish or kelp emulsion a couple of times in early spring to give the bulbs a boost.

Be careful to not overdo it with fertilizer or you will end up with lots of leaves and a small bulb.  Everything in moderation should be a good strategy unless your soil is particularly lacking fertility and the ability to hold moisture.

Digging Your Garlic  In mid-summer the bottom leaves of the garlic plant will start to turn yellow.  This is the sign to stop all watering for 2-3 weeks and then your garlic will be ready to harvest.  Gently pull up the entire plant with the help of hand trowel or garden fork and place entire plants in a shady area to cure.  The best place to cure garlic is a shady place with good air circulation so perhaps a garage, covered patio or barn. Do not place garlic in a sunny location to cure or it will sunburn and then rot.

I place my garlic on plastic racks/screens to insure good air circulation around the heads and then place them on my shady patio for a couple of weeks.  After that I trim the stalks of the garlic and let it sit out for another 2-3 days.  The air in my climate is extremely dry so a 2+ week curing process is all that is needed.  In climates with a lot of moisture in the air a longer cure may be wise as the curing process determines how well the garlic will store.

If you have clay soil and it is stuck to the garlic heads gently wash it off with fresh water being careful to not soak the garlic.  Another alternative is to get a wet rag and carefully wipe it off. You can trim the roots to 1/4″ at this time if you like.

Storing Your Garlic  It is important to store the garlic in a dark environment where the temperature does not fluctuate much (60-70 F) and there is good ventilation. I use mesh bags and store them in my pantry for convenience.  A cupboard would work great too.  Just remember to keep the garlic in the dark as much as possible.  I’ve read about storing garlic in braids which is supposed to be a preferred method of storage but I have not tried this. Different types and varieties of garlic have different storage lives, but as a general rule hardneck varieties can be stored for about 6 months and softneck varieties a bit longer maybe even up to 11 or 12 months for some types.

It’s definitely time to bring any plants inside you want to winter over for the next season.  The snow has now determined for us that it is definitely time to winterize your garden, bring in those summer bulbs, and get ready for Spring plants.

Not much needs to be done to winterize your vegetable garden.  If you still have squash or gourds or other things lying around that you aren’t going to harvest, just leave them in the garden.  They will break down over the winter and enrich the soil.  Leave your perennials and don’t cut them back either.  Leave them until Spring and then clean up any plants that haven’t broken down and helped enrich the soil.

We were going to help Rob take his plants inside but the news and weather kept us from going to his garden.  I know that all of their plants are inside they want to keep for next year.  They are on the dining table, in both sun rooms on the front and back of the house, and anywhere else they will fit.  Tuberous begonias, Dahlias, and all the other plants we discussed last week have been cut off and are ready to go dormant for the winter.  Trees and patio plants such as the tropicals are in the house so they won’t freeze. 

Cut the summer bulb plants back and find a cool dark place, like a basement or garage.  Make sure wherever you put them doesn’t freeze.  If your summer bulbs like dahlias are in the ground you can dig them up, put them in a bag (make sure they have air so they don’t rot) and put them in a cool dark place that doesn’t freeze and they’ll be good for next year.

It’s time to buy your bulbs to force in your Spring pots.  Make sure you buy your bulbs now so you have them on hand around Thanksgiving time.   Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinth are the most common bulbs you’ll force for the springs.

Around Thanksgiving time you’ll plant them in pots, a 6-8 inch pot would be great.  If you’re going to plant them in a pot and sink it into a larger pot come Spring, a black plastic growing pot works great.  Pack them in the pot, even with the bulbs touching so you’ll have a nice full pot of flowers when they start to grow.   Place them in a cool dark place that doesn’t freeze.  Around March you will put them in the light and as soon as you start to water them they will start to grow.  You can have pots of nice Spring color to sit around or you can take your pot and put it in a larger pot and cover it with soil and plant pansies around it.  When the Spring bulbs are spent you can just remove the pot and replace it with geraniums or other Spring choices.

Sa far, so fun!!

Check out proctor’s garden on 9News to see a demonstration of how to winterize and plants your bulbs:  http://search.9news.com/default.aspx?ct=r&q=proctors garden

With the cold winter temperatures starting to close in, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep your lawn and garden healthy is by mulching. Applying mulch in the next few weeks will cut down on water loss in the soil, suppress weed growth and protect your plants from extreme temperatures.

You’ll want to mulch anything that needs protection from moisture loss, temperature changes or weed infestation. In the fall, that usually means rhododendrons, azaleas, roses, bulbs and annuals. You’ll also want to cover up any vegetable garden as well as the lawn itself (more on that later).

Mulch’s ability to conserve soil moisture is well known. Experts say that with mulch, you can reduce moisture evaporation by up to 50 percent! This saves you valuable water after the rugged drought season we just experienced – and with water restrictions being enforced in many communities across the country.

Mulch helps prevent the escape of rain, dew and water drawn from the subsoil. Without mulch, most dew is completely wasted as far as plant growth is concerned. It’s important you keep the dew and moisture contained and the ground soil healthy.

As for weed control, you can cut weeding time by nearly 66% with mulch! First, make sure the mulch you are using is weed-free. All your good intentions can go for naught with one application of weed-infested mulch. That results in more weeds being introduced to your plantings than the mulch can control.

Make your mulch deep enough to prevent weed germination. Weeds thrive on light, but they wither when covered properly. If you apply your mulch too thin, weeds can crop up – so cover all the open areas you can find. And remember, no mulch can stop all weeds. But with the proper mulch application, it’s easy to pluck the few weeds that get through.

In cold weather, your mulch will help slow down the freezing and thawing of your soil, which can cause soil heaving and root damage. To put it simply: Mulch is like an insulating blanket that keeps your plant roots cooler on warm days and warmer on cool days.

A super-cheap source of mulch.

You know those leaves in the trees that rain down on you throughout the fall? Here’s a tip you’re going to love. Forget raking. Forget bagging. Let those beautiful leaves fall down all over your yard and turn them into wonderful, nutrient-rich mulch. Best of all, you’ll love the price. Free!

According to recent studies, mulched-up leaves are great for your lawn. Just mulch all your leaves with your lawnmower and feed your yard and gardens the results. You’ll save work, time and your aching back – while improving your soil and adding valuable nutrients.

Here’s how to do it. Take the grass catcher off your mower and mow over all the leaves on your lawn. Any kind of rotary mower will work on any kind of leaves – up to 18 inches deep (though that will take you a few passes to chop up). You will want to mow the leaves into small, dime-sized pieces. You’re done when about half an inch of grass can be seen through the mulched leaf layer.

Once the leaf bits settle in, microbes and worms will get down to business and recycle them naturally. If you want to give your mulch a boost by helping the microbes, nitrogen is the answer. Go to your lawn & garden center for some retail options to help break down your mulched leaves faster.

Mulch today, and in the spring you’ll notice a big difference. The leaf litter you mulched up in the fall will be long gone – and your lawn and gardens will look healthier than ever.

Hopefully, you won’t mind your rakes and leaf bags getting a little dusty.

When Miranda was 12 years old, she began the groundwork for a non-profit based in Inzinga, South Africa called Isipho, named after her nickname meaning “gift.” With the hopes that growing vegetable gardens in the malnourished community would create a secure food source for the village, over the past four years, Miranda and her parents have been creating self-sustaining programs from the roots up.

The idea of Isipho was born after Miranda joined her father Tom on what was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa. Rather than staying on the commercialized side of the country, the two ventured to a remote Zulu village and stayed with the Zuma sisters. After greeting the family, they went straight to work chopping wood and contributing to the night’s dinner.

Overwhelmed and culture shocked by the new environment, Miranda began to second guess her decision to visit the remote village, but decided to stay. Over their five day stay, Tom and Miranda helped at schools and worked in the gardens by tilling soil with tree branches. By the end of the trip, Miranda’s once hesitant outlook on their village trip had completely changed as she cried, not wanting to leave.

Seeing nutritious food as a key to helping people live healthier and potentially allowing them to pursue more opportunities, Miranda told her father she wanted to start a non-profit to help break the cycle of poverty in Inzinga.  A lack of food wasn’t the problem in Inzinga, but it was the kind of food that was available, so they registered the domain name, made a call to Miranda’s mom and the non-profit was created.

Every year, the family returns to South Africa providing families and schools with the tools to plant nutritious foods including posts, fencing, start-up seeds and seedlings, tools and vegetable gardening training. Rather than focusing on dependent programs, Isipho’s goal is to have people teach others so eventually everyone could learn skills to maintain a nutritious food supply—something that is already happening. As of 2011, the organization has planted 40 gardens and every school in the village has a community garden.

Lugagu Secondary School’s garden prior to Isipho’s contribution.

Lugagu Secondary School’s garden after Isipho’s contribution.

The organization also highlights the importance of education and started a collection of research and reference books, creating a library for students to complete the necessary primary and secondary school classses.

-Juan Frausto

(Photo Credit: Isipho, Isipho Facebook)

Sometimes, things just don’t turn out the way you plan…

http://www.averagewomansj.com/the-year-of-bad-dirt-and-5-potatoes-ubc-day-13/

After months of planting, tending and growing, it is now time to reap what we have sown. An author once wrote that harvesting herbs can be an odd blend of glamour and strain. It’s a lot of work to gather all the leaves and blooms at the right time and labor through the process of preserving them, but it’s also hugely satisfying to fill beautiful baskets with bunches of herbs and decorate your kitchen with clusters of your crop.

A Time for Every Purpose

Timing is everything, and the purpose you have for each type of herb influences how you harvest it and how you choose to preserve it. The oils in the plant are what contain the flavor and smell we are trying to capture. It is key to pick the plants at their peak. Overripe herbs get stalky when they direct their energy toward flower and seed production, so the flavor weakens as their peak wanes.

The proper timing depends on what part of the plant you are using and what it will be used for. Leaves have the highest concentration of oils just before budding. Begin your harvest when there is enough foliage on the plant to maintain growth. It is best to collect in the early morning after dew dries but before heat sets in.

Fall is the best time to harvest herb roots, such as ginseng, bloodroot, chicory and goldenseal after their foliage fades. Annuals can be harvested until frost. Timing varies with each herb, so you’ll want to research the herbs in your garden to make sure you choose the right time for what you have.

A Time to Preserve

Though it is ideal to use fresh herbs for cooking, we can retain some of their fragrance and flavor to use when the growing season is over. We have many options for preserving them.

A Time to Gather and Dry

Traditional Bunching Method – To gather herbs for quick drying, use the “bunching method” of collecting. When the plants are completely dry, cut the herbs with kitchen shears at the lowest set of clean leaves. It works well to grab a small group in one hand and cut the stalks with the other. Do a quick check for weeds, insects and discoloration at this point. Then lay the herbs in your harvesting basket so they all point in the same direction and are easy to bunch. Group about a dozen stems together and secure tightly with a rubber band around the base at about an inch and half from the stem’s end.

Hang the bunches in a cool room away from direct sunlight because light destroys the herb’s essential oils and color. The bunches can become part of your kitchen décor, or you can string them across your pantry. Make sure air can flow around the bunches to speed up the drying process. Most fast-drying herbs get crispy dry in a week or less, depending on the humidity level.

When the leaves are hard and the stems get brittle, it’s time to strip the leaves. You can either roll the whole bunch back and forth between your hands over a bowl, or take one stem at a time and sweep down the stalk with your hand to drive the leaves into a container. Store them in reused jars with lids inside cabinets away from light. They should keep for a year.

The herbs that are easy to dry include sage, thyme, summer savory, dill, and parsley. Basil, mints, and tarragon must be dried quickly or they can mold and discolor.

Screen Drying Method – You can also dry herbs by spreading them out on window screens. Simply place the screens horizontally on something so that air flows through the mesh. Spread the herbs out over them, making sure to turn the leaves over frequently so they dry evenly.

Microwave Drying Method – This method works well for small amounts of herbs. Layer paper towels and clean, dry leaves in the microwave oven. Heat for one or two minutes on high. Let them cool and then test for brittleness. If they don’t break easily, heat again for 30 seconds. Repeat as needed.

Conventional Oven Method – You can also dry herbs in a conventional oven. Spread the leaves out on a cookie sheet and bake them at 150 degrees. Stir often until dry. If you can smell them as they bake, turn down the heat.

Dehydration Method – Another excellent tool for drying herbs is a home food dehydrator. Follow the directions provided with the dehydrator.

A Time to Freeze

Freezing is another easy way to preserve your harvest. Rinse the plants first in cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, then remove leaves and chop. You can put liberal amounts of herbs into ice cube trays with water and freeze them that way. Once they are frozen, you’ll want to transfer them to air tight containers. Or, you can spread the herbs out on a platter to freeze. Either way, this method is not suitable for using the herbs as garnish, but they will be great for cooking. They should not be refrozen.

Harvest More Than Just Herbs

Nuts aren’t herbs of course, but at this time of year they are ready for harvesting, too. Just for fun, it’s amusing to compete with the squirrels to see who can amass the most nuts. The Weasel Nut Gatherer gives you a great competitive edge, almost guaranteeing you can out-gather the squirrels. It’s easy to roll it along to pick up pecans, acorns, walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts, filberts, gum balls, seeds, and more. No bending over, and it saves time. To bring a little fall beauty into my home, I like to collect buckets full of acorns and glue them to a large cardboard ring to create a wreath.

Fall is such a picturesque time of year. While you are out working to harvest your herbs, don’t forget to soak up the gorgeous array of autumn color all around you. Enjoy the beauty of the harvest time now, so you can relish the flavors through the next season to come.

Tools List: Weasel Nut Gatherer

Putting Down Roots is a Red Cross gardening and food security project for vulnerable migrants in collaboration with CERES and Cultivating Community. Our program needs urgent donations of seeds and small gardening tools to assist our participants to establish their own vegetable gardens in their homes. Donations can be brought to the Fitzroy Urban Harvest Swap 6 October Saturday, 6th October 10am – 12.30pm Smith Reserve, Alexandra Pde (parkland next to Fitzroy Pool) and given to Peta or contact Peta on 0411899618 or peta@cultivatingcommunity.org.au

Many thanks to Donna Lane and the Rhode Island Dahlia Society for their generous contribution of Dahlia tubers to the Botanical Gardens! After losing many tubers to decay in storage last year, I contacted them and they were kind enough to offer us a great selection. No, I still don’t know the variety names, but any reader who does is invited to let me know!

The tropical garden at the back of the All- America Selections Display Garden between the greenhouses became as colorful and lush as I had dreamed of. The large green leaves right in the middle are a cold-hardy banana plant, which will stay outside all winter (with some protective mulch and wrapping), and hopefully delight us in the spring by being alive and well.

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and Physostegia are a great combination for fall. Goldenrod is underused as a perennial garden plant. I think it is unfairly associated with hay fever. The real villain is usually ragweed, which doesn’t have conspicuous flowers and thus evades suspicion!

‘Cajun Belle’ and ‘Cayenetta’ are two peppers growing in the AAS Garden. Medium hot and very productive, they add to the Colors of Autumn at the Botanical Gardens.

So this weekend was Garden Weekend. Not quite as thrilling as Shark Week, our garden weekend involved pulling up our tomatoes and eggplants, refreshing our raised beds with certified compost, and planting fall and winter vegetables. Also, we spread compost over our front yard, which has been a clay pit, and planted grass seed. Crazy weekend. But 10 cubic yards of compost later, we are ready for some fall growing action! And, we have had some good workouts!

What do you plant in the fall? We have collards, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, book choi, and two kinds of kale. Are we missing something good?

Enjoy this late summer/early fall weather and plant a fall garden for yourself and your family! If you have room for just one thing, I’d plant kale. You can cut it and it will continue to grow so you can harvest all winter! Also, it is an amazing super food.

Happy fall gardening!

The secret to growing weeds is simple and requires only one concession: one must lose all concern for what the neighbors might think of the tangled mess. And there will be sidelong glances from the tidy folk; barely audible expressions of scorn from the landscaping experts and cryptic comments from the Better Homes and Gardens crowd. But the satisfaction of successful weed growing will most definitely outweigh all of the negative comments.

When vegetable gardeners fret about the draught and mourn over the destructive powers of slugs and tomato worms, you can smile with smug satisfaction. You know that your crop has not suffered from any pestilence and will continue to produce long after the late fall frost has blackened the heartiest pole bean plant.

Of course you won’t be able to enter your bounty in the county fair. Your pantry shelves will not brim with freshly canned corn and your freezer won’t hold plastic bags full of tomato juice and crisp green beans. But you will be successful in what you set out to do: cultivate a patch of healthy, vigorous, invasive weeds!

Dean and his wife, Ashleigh live on a small, suburban block, but that doesn’t hold them back from producing as much home grown organic food as they can possibly grow in the limited space. It was inspiring to learn that in the production of their gardens, no organic materials ever leave the property. All green waste is recycled back into the system, woody offcuts are burned, softer, green waste is composted or fed to the chickens and this creates a wonderful, self sustaining system .

There was so much to see and to learn about, all accompanied by Dean’s infectious enthusiasm for permaculture and sustainability and such generous hospitality. A delicious morning tea was followed by the garden tour where everyone was encouraged to touch, taste, smell, photograph and ask questions.

I was particularly impressed with how the plants were simply allowed to grow in natural profusion. No rows, no regimentation, just a prolific jumble of life and greenery. There were all kinds of plants. Kale, Radish, Lettuces, Tomatoes, various legumes, potatoes, mustard greens, corn and so many others all making the best possible use of space and resources.

And of course, there were the ‘flockers’ Dean’s chickens whom we had come to meet with. One in particular, named Mu (Miss Uncertain) is a VIC (Very Important Chook) as she is the ambassador for the KFC (Kindness For Chickens) project.

Mu is an ex battery hen, rescued by Green Dean as part of their very first batch of battery hens to be rescued by the KFC project. When she first arrived, Mu was very sickly. She had no feathers and would stand on one foot for hours at a time, not moving, nor eating and Dean thought that she would probably die. Mu had other ideas though, and survived to become a sweet, placid little lady who is very obviously the pride and joy of her owners.

There were so many great things to talk about and think about, and we met some lovely people at the event as well. I came home, inspired and planted out my pumpkin seedlings, revamped my Bokashi Composting system, and spent the afternoon getting my hands dirty!

One of the young “Flockers” who was very popular at Green Dean’s “Meet the Flockers” event.

At the end of the day, though, we revisited our ‘dream sheet’ and actually marked off a few smaller goals which we intend to achieve in the short term. They are:

• Source ingredients for, and make our own potting mix using the recipe from The Micro Gardener.
• Sprout seeds (mung beans etc) to add these super nutrients to our diet
• Buy locally made jams and honey

After lunch, we headed home via Forest Glen and stopped in to visit The Natural Food Store. Wow! What an aladdin’s cave of treasures. 

The store consists of a garden centre which stocks, I am sure, every culinary and medicinal herb known to mankind! Along with vegetable seeds and seedlings, native trees, exotic fruit trees and ornamental plants. There is a coffee shop attached which serves beautiful organic food and fair trade coffees. Next to that, is a small boutique which sells organic clothing. I was particularly taken with some of the bags they had on sale, and wished I had some ready cash with me, but I have plans to return when I do.

The store itself was so wonderful to browse through. I hadn’t seen dry goods stored in bins like this since I was a small child back in the sixties! We spent a good half hour or more just looking through all of the shelves and seeing what was available.

The people shopping there seemed happy and from what I could see the staff lived up to the claim made by the store to being one big happy family. The service was quick, friendly and efficient and even though we only spent a few cents, due to cashing in a $10 voucher we’d received from the Real Food Festival, it was still delivered with a smile.

All in all it was a very enjoyable day out, and so nice to take a break from study to get out in the spring sunshine and revisit our dreams and goals.

Related articles

• Mung Beans with Ginger and Bok Choy (wisdomformom.com)
• Sprouting Mung Beans (iamegging.wordpress.com)
• Growing Your Own Sprouts Saves Money and Adds Alkalizing Benefits to Your Diet: Jar Sprouter! (lifebalancehealthcoach.wordpress.com)
• A recipe for bindaetteok, aka Korean mung bean pancake (chicagoreader.com)

One of the main attractions of the day for us, was the talk on Micro Gardening, given by Anne Gibson from The Micro Gardener. We have made various attempts over the years to start our own small vegetable patch, but with both of us being energy poor due to various disabilities (CFS, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis) and time poor due to other pursuits (study, writing, chook obsession), we have not exactly realised our dreams!

Since last year’s Real Food Festival we have implemented changes:

• Switched from store bought cage eggs  to raising our own chickens and harvesting their wonderful organic, free range eggs.
• Switched from using margarine to using butter.
• Switched from buying the cheapest frozen vegetables, to buying only Australian grown and packed frozen vegetables.
• Taking more notice of food labelling and avoiding, as much as possible, using highly processed, flavoured and coloured foods with lots of preservatives.
• Switched from low fat/diet products, to using full fat and full sugar foods and beverages. (low fat makes you fat)
• Switched to using sea salt

However, there is still more that we would like to do, and growing our own fresh produce is really at the top of that list. We are interested in reducing the miles that our food travels, and in having the freshest, most nutritious and seasonal foods we can possibly get our hands on.

So the Micro Gardener talk was top of our list of things to see and do at the RFF today. It was very interesting, and quite amazing to see what can be grown in very small containers.

I came away inspired and want to get started as soon as I can! We have seeds here for beans, cherry tomatoes, nasturtiums, marigolds and various other goodies and no shortage of containers they could be planted in! All I need is good, active soil with lots of happy little microbes in it…

Anne offers a free ebook on her website for those who sign up to her email list which contains a recipe for a good potting mix.

While we have come a long way, we came home from the festival very aware of how much further we have yet to travel, but with baby steps and small bites, I believe we will be even further along the path by the time the next RFF is on!

Related articles

• Redefine Fast Food with Frozen Fruits and Veggies (wholefoodsmarket.com)
• Convenience and Consumer Awareness to Drive Frozen Fruits and Vegetables Market, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (prweb.com)

This week we deadheaded and fertilized and added some plants (Mahogany Splendor Hibiscus and some petunia pots and coral geraniums) to add some color and spruce up the garden a bit.  These plants will fill in where drought has taken its toll from this long hot summer.  These plants will do well and since the nights and days are getting a little cooler they will last through the Fall.

Don’t stop fertilizing.  The nights are getting cooler and your plants will want to bloom again.  Remember to fertilize them every 5 to 7 days and you’ll have blooms until the first frost.

WHAT?? – Last week I announced the portable garden contest – I have no takers yet – DOESN”T ANYONE HAVE A PORTABLE GARDEN THEY WOULD JUST LOVE TO SHARE A PICTURE? – wheelbarrows, wagons, carts, etc.  if you have one planted, please e-mail a picture of it to plbphotos@att.net

See you at the tour this coming Sunday.  46th and Federal – you’ll know the house – you can’t miss it when you get there.  See the new alley garden and take a walk around Harry and Jessica’s garden.  Their garden is really nice.  A beautiful small backyard garden.  You’ll be amazed what they have in their small space.

So far, so fun. 

Wow, I didn’t even have to hunt for the video this week.  It was in Top News.  Way to go John, our youngest apprentice.  To view this week’s video please visit:  http://www.9news.com/news/article/287501/339/Proctor-End-the-season-with-a-bang

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My husband is a home gardening enthusiast – and I, a garden-eating enthusiast – so we were thrilled at our luck at this chance encounter to experience world-class methods and perhaps take a few tips home. With a mix of garden envy and awe, we wandered through the carefully laid out plots in between grass pathways. They are producing unbelievably beautiful vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs.

I’ve read that in addition to being a professional test garden, the garden supplies around 30 percent of the The French Laundry’s produce. The restaurant is housed in a beautiful historic building that was once – you guessed it - a french steam laundry.

The restaurant’s organic garden grows many different kinds of vegetables and fruit and also tests unique plants. I walked past artichokes, lettuce, corn, eggplant,  three different kinds of basil and other herbs new to me, a variety of peppers and white strawberries. There were chickens and a bee house.

And then there were the tomatoes. We needed to find out what was in this soil to produce those tomatoes. The staff we talked to said they utilize crop rotation and organic compost – with chicken manure. There are perfectly placed drip tubes and tapes.

Enter the greenhouse where tomato vines are giant and tomatoes works of art.

The vines show off their supersized health.

The method of planting close together and meticulously stringing the vines up from top (see white string above)  are ideas we will take home.

The ice lettuce with hints of purple is beautiful covering.

The vegetables make room for flowers – many edible and used in the menu.

Freshly picked heirloom tomatoes, presumably for customers that night.

 Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry has earned its title as one of the  world’s best restaurants. The gardens, without doubt, are world class. Visiting them,  you will return home with fresh inspiration for your own garden.

Do you have a favorite public garden?

I used to hesitate when trying to decide if a tree needed to be cut down. But not any more! Both the Botanical Gardens and my home garden have become significantly shadier in the past few years. It’s inevitable if there are trees around! And while trees are important, not to mention beautiful, if there’s anything else you would like to grow, the trees have to go. I love them for their sense of permanence, their cool shade in summer,  their habitat for birds and wildlife. For firewood, autumn leaves, and fruit.  I curse them when I want to grow tomatoes, sunflowers, strawberries or corn!

This part of the garden was adapted long ago to the trees which tower over it. A thriving shady border, with plants that love the cool and moist soil.  It’s a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” for a dedicated gardener! But if you can “beat ‘em”, if they are not your neighbor’s trees, not historically  or environmentally significant, beloved perhaps but not necessarily important, then she who hesitates is lost. Cut down the trees, make yourself a sunny spot, and let your garden grow.

AUDREY UPDATE: August 31, 2012

Over the past two days Audrey’s growth has slowed. Instead of 3 inches a day, it has been just one. Now at 51 inches, actual bloom time is drawing near! The  bracts have fallen away, the spathe is coloring up around it’s frilled edge and all we have to do is wait. Check back with “Thoughts from the Garden” this weekend to get the latest photos of our tropical curiosity.

Just because it’s nearly the end of summer doesn’t mean your gardens can’t still bloom into the fall. In fact, many plants actually thrive in colder weather. You can take advantage of more rain than summer, fewer insects and no worries about plants bolting to seed. Not to mention the fact that it’s more enjoyable to work in the garden without the oppressive heat of August.

As your summer vegetables begin to run their course, it’s time to prepare the ground for the next growing season. If there are holes left from pulling or harvesting plants, clear out as much as you can. Get rid of all the weeds and spent plants – rip out everything. You can leave peppers or tomatoes, but vegetables like beans and cucumbers are likely done for the year. Also, if any small produce (or fruit) has fallen off the plants, get rid of that too. Off to the compost pile with all of it!

Now break up that soil. Put your trusty Garden Weasel to work and loosen the ground, as it has likely gotten compacted over the summer. There’s no need for big-time tilling, just enough to give the roots space and allow those fall rains to get down deep.

Move that mulch. If your mulch is in decent shape, you can re-use it in cooler weather. Just freshen it with some new mulch. For vegetables, you can mulch up some fallen leaves or use straw, which is easy to use. Don’t lay unshredded leaves atop your beds, however, as they allow for water to easily penetrate.

Add some compost. Work in some slow-acting organic fertilizer as you loosen the soil. Have your planting layout done before you add the compost, so you add it where the plants grow – not on the paths. Remember, if you use manure, let it compost at least six months, as fresh manure compost can burn plant roots and pose a health risk. Rake the soil to create furrows that will catch and retain moisture

Be ready for winter. If you will be using frost protection, such as a cold frame or hoop cover, get the structures in place so they are where you need them and won’t hurt the plants and their growing roots.

Here are the ideal vegetables and flowers you can still get in the ground now. Chives, radishes, onions, broccoli, leaf lettuces and spinach are among crops with 30-day maturities and can be planted through mid-September in most regions. And as you know, lawn seed thrives in cold weather, so plant in the fall for thick, green grass in the spring.

For fall flowers, most people think of planting bulbs for spring. But in late August or early September, you can get good, cut-rate deals on flowers as well. Here are some of your best bets from now until the first frost of the year: chrysanthemums, pansies, asters and irises. Crocus and tulip bulbs are great to plant once the ground is about 50 degrees or so. (Plant with the bulbs pointing up!)

Here are a few more tips for fall gardening. First off, don’t be scared to plant a few vegetables a little later than recommended. The reward can be worth the minor risk. And to keep out pests and hold in heat, try cheesecloth over your leafy crops. Whatever you do, keep records on what crops you plant and when, then track what succeeds or fails. This will help you do better in the future.

And before you do anything, talk to the experts in your local gardening center. They know what works best in your region of the country and with your local soil types.

So garden warriors, just because colder temperatures are just around the corner is no reason to throw in the trowel. Keep the blooms coming from now until the ground is covered in snow!