dear ms gardener

DEAR MS GARDENER
last week we visited the organic vineyard orchard and
ranch in southern utah ran by a family friend
i am not going to post the name or location as i dont
want other people to know where this fantastic place is

the hostess has taken over the garden and has enlarged it
and has plans to grow more veggies there

i spent time looking at the garden and told ms gardener
that i would come up with a list of recommendations for
her to use in her garden
but
instead of sending her an email or letter detailing these
organicgreendoctor recommendations
i would instead would write a blog about it so others could
enjoy the information also


the picture of the gate looks so austinish

here is a picture also of the garden

now

dear ms gardener

you have more than enough space to produce a ton of good
vegetables
you are lucky and live in an area where your weather is mild
enough to have a long spring summer garden and not have to
worry about the heat like we do in central texas

you also have a good water supply just a few feet under the
ground where the garden is
you lucky guys you
our well levels are 450+ft
of course at the country we use rainwater in our garden

then
your basic soil is a good one
or i should say your acid soil
its on the acid side of the ph range so you dont have to
worry about adding stuff to it make it more acid
you lucky guys you

now the things i am going to tell you to do
pertains to everyone wherever they live
i have heard the natural gardener john dromgoole talk to people
all over the us on his organic radio show on 590klbj on saturday
and sunday
he tells these folks everywhere the same thing

first three things to put in your garden to be successful
your shadow
compost
water

do all three of these and your chance of being successful is improved

since you have such a good soil to start with
a sandy one mixed with a clay one
if you didnt do anything
you would probably have a good garden
just
look at that beautiful vineyard yall have and those beautiful orchards

but
you need to be sure and add compost to your beds whenever you
plant your veggies if not done already
i suggest a 4 inch layer
the best compost of course is the one you make yourself

i saw your chickens busily working on your compost pile
your garden will love that stuff later in the year

i would suggest a wooden frame or a wire frame to hold the
composting materials inside the compost pile
similar to what i do at the country n
the chickens cant scatter it everywhere
and
it will keep a depth to the pile which helps to keep it moister
and compost faster

at the end of the season add a layer of compost on your beds when
you rest it for the winter
that will allow it to only get better and enrich the soil


add a sprinkling of liquid molasses per directions on the bottle at this time
also add the molasses again at the beginning of the season
the molasses provides sugar for bacterial growth which is necessary for
the improving the life of the soil


also add humate as per directions on the bottle when you add
your molasses

humate is the dark liquid stuff that happens when you take compost
put it in a sock then put it in a bucket of water
it activates the microorganisms in the soil
add an aquarium pump to this and run it for several hours
and you get compost tea-the mothers milk for your garden

the humate in the bottle is a richer version of this

humates are necessary again for the bacteria to work


then add an organic fertilizer

then cover it with a thick layer of mulch
this will all ripen over the winter
so in the spring you are all ready to plant

when you do plant a transplant


at the bottom of the hole add a tbsp of earthworm castings
this provides a boost start to the plant as it grows its roots


water it in with liquid seaweed which stimulates root growth with
its micronutrients minerals and hormones
then consider sprinkling a light amount of an organic fertilizer
if not done already
this will provide nitrogen for several weeks

then based on the heat or cold mulch the plants well
remember mulch breaks down eventually to make compost and soil
and will greatly improve the structure of the soil
overtime you will develop a good layer of good organic soil
as good as the hill country soil i bought from the natural gardener
when i first started my garden

water your plants when the soil gets dry
do the finger test by sticking the finger in about an inch
if its all dry the garden needs watering

be sure and mulch thickly between your beds and in any walkways
with anything like wood chips leaves etc
this also breaks down slowly over time to make compost and soil

you will find over time that your quality of soil will improve
will hold water well
use less water
and

will produce big ole tomatoes like this one



here is a list of organic pest control products
neem oil
diatamaceous earth
bt or bacillus thuringienesis
spinosid
beneficial bugs like ladybugs which i noticed yall had a lot of
when i was pruning the grapes
last months mother earth news has a list of what pests to use these on
i left my copy at the ranch

on our trip i talked with several organic farmers in colorado who
farm in the winter

i suggest you try to do lettuces swiss chard spinach carrots beets etc
during the winter in one of your square foot beds

by using a single or double row cover like i use at the country n
my veggies withstood a temperature drop to 10 degrees without
damage this winter

also when you are at the farmers markets talk to the farmers to find
out what they do to the soil in the area
what products they use
what plants they use that work well in the area
when do they plant the different plants
you know everyone should do this wherever they live

dont worry
expect a ups package with all these ingredients in it

please post a picture of
your garden
your thumb as it gets greener

tell all the wwoofers we said hi

as well as the dogs hank and jack
and
of course the man behind the whole operation
mr db

the organicgreen doctor

the garden

THE GARDEN
this weekend i met a new gardener
who will be planting her first new garden
at her new home

she has two raised beds probably about 8-10 ft x 4 ft

i of course offered a lot of advise on what to do

i told her today i would post a blog on my garden
including pictures
hoping this information will be useful to her
and
maybe to you

the life blood of a garden is its soil
all my soil was originally started by laying down cardboard
and or newspapers on the ground
building my frames for the beds with limestone blocks
dont use treated wood
then going to the natural gardener in austin buying their
hill country soil which has everything in it you need to
get vegetables to grow

what i noticed though was the veggies did well but in the
heat of the summer they didnt do as well as i wanted
later i figured out it was my soil depth

so
i dug out each bed added at the bottom tree branches limbs
trunks cardboard newspapers leaves compost soil in layers
so that i now have a good 2-3 feet of soil
it makes a difference in this dry hot climate we live in here
since all that stuff in the soil helps hold moisture

each time before i plant
i add 3 inches of compost now i make my own
i add a sprinkling of a good organic fertilizer
i use ladybug brand 8-2-4 according to directions on the bag
i then sprinkle a light dusting of cottonseed meal as per the bag
then when i plant a plant i add a small amount of earthworm castings
thats worm poo

then i plant it
im lazy so i dont even mix it all up i let nature do it

after things get growing i start adding mulch
i use pine straw when i can get it
when not available i use leaves

then i just water them making sure the soil doesnt get all dried out
usually thats once a week based on the weather and rain
i do the finger test
sticking my index finger down to the second joint
if its not wet it needs watering

plants commonly dont do well
either from not watering enough or watering too much

i dont use any pesticide or nonorganic products in the garden

if you see worms and ladybugs in your garden then thats a good sign

in my garden now

here are my garlic almost ready to pick and let dry out for two weeks
then i hang them in braided chains
these i plant in november

here are my potatoes red lasodas
i will dig some in a few weeks to get some new potatoes
but will dig up the whole plant when the plant starts dying back
these i plant in late january or early february

here are my onions which are mostly 1015 ones
these are eaten as green onions when needed
they are harvested in may or june
when the stalks start falling over
these are hung woven together until we need them
these were planted in late january

here are my tomatoes this row has 6 plants and another row has 4
this is the right amount for us to take care of
i planted them in late to early march
being careful to keep them covered when things got cold
these tomatoes do well in my garden
juliette sweet 100s early girl celebrity several heirlooms
such as cherokee purple arkansas traveler mortgage lifter brandywine etc
some will make it through the summer and produce well this fall

we will also replant tomatoes in july for the fall

we have a summer garden bed that consists of
basil peppers bell banana mild jalapeno poblano
egg plant clemson spineless okra red german okra
these will produce until it freezes this fall

we have a bean garden made up of
asian long beans that are best eaten in salads
bush beans that are eaten in salads and grilled
we dont do any shelling beans thats too much work

this is a tatume squash a heirloom that is like a zuchinni
but is more round and runs in a vine like a cantaloupe or pumpkin
it isnt affected by the squash borer which wipes out zuchinni
and yellow squash after awhile

this is a armenian cucumber
its long and narrow and seems to grow well here
the white stuff is diatamaceous earth to stop the pill bugs
we dont pickle or put any of these up
we just eat them raw
the cucumbers not the pill bugs

its planted in my keyhole garden thats in an old water trough
it will grow up pvc pipes ive added that go over the trough

you need 8-2-4 ladybug fertilizer or an equivalent organic fertilizer
cottonseed meal sold in small bags
worm castings

i use liquid seaweed to water in my new seedings to get them started
i use johns liquid fertilizer once or twice a month to water my plantings
when i think of it
it has fish emulsion seaweed and molasses in it

a good compost
the best is the one you make yourself
ladybug brand farm style compost is an excellent one

other companies and nurseries have their own brands and are good

for insect control
i use a hand vac to suck them off my plants and then i dump them
in a bucket of water
diatamaceous earth to dust around the plants at times to slow down
the pill bugs and the slugs
bacillius thuringienesis or better known as bt to control caterpillars
spinosid for insect control
seaweed for insect control
a good book is the texas bug book by malcom beck and howard garrett
ladybugs

on the radio klbg590am on saturdays and sundays from 8-1100 am
and
ktsa550am on saturdays from 530am to i think 900 am
have excellent organic garden shows

i hope this information will help you have a successful garden
ive learned the most from my failures

the organicgreen doctor

dirty dozen

DIRTY DOZEN

remember that movie about those ww2 guys
this isnt about them but its about the foods we eat

for us here at the country n
we do not worry about the dirty dozen at all
since we only grow our foods organically
with no pesticides

if we have pests
we pick them off and throw them in a bucket of
soapy water
when they quit swimming we compost them
my wife she is the best bug grabber ive ever seen
she seems to get some pleasure in disposing of them

we also spray some of them off with rainwater
we may sprinkle bacillus thuringenesis or use a product
called spinosid if caterpillars are involved
if ground based like pill bugs we use diatamaceous earth
sometimes we even sick our chickens and guinea on them

our garden as mentioned before is surrounded about 80%
by our chicken run so that those ladies can eat bugs
as they travel across to the garden

we also introduce ladybugs every year to our garden
they love aphids

then we cover the crops with light row cover to keep some
of those varmints out

all organic of course

we now make our own compost so know that no pesticides etc
are in it or if we buy compost we only use the ladybug composts
from the natural gardener

so at this site www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
they list the dirty dozen plus and the clean fifteen

here are the bad guys listed in order of most contaminated

apples celery cherry tomatoes cucumbers grapes hot peppers
imported nectarines peaches potatoes spinach strawberries
sweet bell peppers
then the plus summer squash kale/collard greens
hate to see them mess up such a good nutritious veggie like kale

then the clean or should we say cleaner veggies fruits
asparagus avocado cabbage cantaloupe sweet corn egg plant
grape fruit kiwi mangoes mushrooms papaya onions pineapple
frozen sweet peas
and lastly

the sweet potato thats the one
that the little girl used in her science experiment where the
nonorganic one wouldnt grow but the organic one did and
the one grown organically at her house really grew well

zucchini hawaiian papaya and sweet corn and soybeans are
the most likely ones to be sold as gmo genetically madified
plants

so i looked at this list
at our grocery store some things are not all available organically
or if they do they may have shelved them too long
we have bought from the bad list
apples celery cherry tomatoes cucumbers potatoes sweet bell peppers
me bad

luckily at the country n we are growing all our lettuce spinach kale
swiss chard broccoli cabbage asian greens carrots beets onions
spinach ourselves so we know they are clean

some veggies that have been grown in fields contaminated by
pesticides even those that havent been available for years still
show up in some veggies as there are still residues left in
some farmers fields
not here at the country n though

i wonder what effect this has on our health
especially to those rapidly growing folks like babies toddlers
and teenagers as these pesticides get deposited in their tissues
it cant be healthy
look what it does to all those rapidly growing insects

we are what we eat you know

the organicgreen gardener

in the garden, jetexting

IN THE GARDEN
here in this area we have had a lot of rain this winter and spring
but we havent had any rain in the last month
so if you havent watered your garden any you may need to start

i do the finger test
i stick my finger down into the soil and if its dry all the way down
the length of my finger i water it
i use a drip system off my irrigation rainwater tank so i
drip my garden for about 3 hours
i do this for each of my 4 x 12 ft raised beds and will do this
about every week until we get rain

sure hope this doesnt end up like last year where it just simply
stopped raining for weeks and then it got hot early and stayed
hot all summer long into the fall

also most people think that the bugs will be worse this year
so be ready
caterpillars
spider mites
aphids
tomato worms
stink bugs
squash bugs

so be ready and have your organic regimen ready
i use dt diatamaceous earth bt bacillus thuringiensis garlic spray
hand vac sprays of water and simply picking them and squishing them between
my fingers or feeding them to the country n hens
all this stuff is the organic way to do gardening

JETEXTING
texting is a great way to communicate with people but
not when your are moving where you need to see where you are
going
would you ride your bike with your eyes closed or ride you car
down the road with your eyes closed or
walk down a crowded side walk with your eyes closed
thats what texting while moving is like

the worse is probably texting while driving since it causes more
deaths than the other moving while texting people do

recently a jetstar flight had to have its landing aborted because the
pilot did not let the landing gear down in time to land so the
plane had to abort the landing and try again

why

the pilot was reading text messages that came in on his phone just
prior to the time he was suppose to put down the landing gear and
he didnt do it

thought we had to keep our cell phones turned off while we were
on the plane
heck the actor got kicked off for not turning his off

the plane eventually landed but think the pilots were in trouble
for jetexting
may be more dangerous than texting while driving


the organicgreen doctor

square foot garden, stop squash borer

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN
a novice gardener asked if i would tell them how to plant a garden
they know nothing about how to do it
this is for the newbies to gardening

this is the kiss method
the keep it simple stupid method
the stupid is for the instructor not the student

its written for central texas
our soils and climate may not be the same as yours
but the principles are the same

you have to have at least 6 hours of sunlight available
to grow a garden
if you dont grow it in pots instead and put them where the sun is

this will be instructions for a 4 ft square garden

find a 6 ft x 6 ft area of ground to plant
scrape all the grass off
if its bermuda youll have a tough battle in the future to control it
in your garden

lay down at least 10 sheets of newspapers over the area
overlap them

make a frame of untreated wood (cedar is the best) that is 4 ft
x 4 ft square
use 12 inch wide wood if possible although 8 and 10 inch is ok

place the frame in the middle of the 6 ft x 6 ft space
place a rim of cardboard or plastic around the 4 ft x 4 ft box
you have made tucking it under the boards
cover this with mulch such as native hardwood mulch or cedar
mulch
this will block grass and weeds from sprouting around your garden

inside the box add the best garden soil you can get
i use the ladybug hill country garden soil from the natural gardener
at www.naturalgardeneraustin.com
you can also buy bags of it at most local nurseries but not the box
stores
at the natural gardener you can bag your own in 5 gallon bags
also a trip to the natural gardener is worth it as they have demonstration
gardens there also as well as chickens, donkeys, goats etc

you have to start with good soil or your garden wont do well
dont skimp on this or you will fail

after the soil is in place you are ready to plant

divide the 4 ft x 4 ft garden into 1 ft squares that you will plant
with your plants
would use transplants instead of seeds to start out as they are
easier to use until you get better at this

put the taller plants on the north side of the garden

here are plants that are close to fool proof planting
and will last through the summer into next fall until it
freezes

1 ft squares     1   2   3   4
                        5   6   7   8
                        9   10 11 12
                        13 14 15 16
1 is the northeast corner and 16 is the southwest corner

in 1 5  and in 9 13 plant a sweet 100 tomato in mid march
whenever the last freeze has happened
it will grow until it freezes in november
it will need a trellis like the simple tomato cage

in 14 plant a malabar spinach-a vine that will grow well
all summer and provide spinach for salads and dishes
will need a trellis to grow
not all nurseries will have this
its worth finding it as its fool proof once you get it going
the natural gardener will have it
plant april 1st or afterwards as it doesnt like cold weather

in 2 plant an egg plant april 1st
would recommend ichiban but any egg plant will be ok
it wont do much once the summer hits but will take off
in the fall
same with the peppers

in 6 plant a bell pepper in late march
in 10 plant a jalipeno pepper in late march
they make hot ones and mild ones

in 3 and 4 plant onion plants that you can get in
late january or february
plant the first of february
each plant should be 4 inches apart
i poke my finger in the ground and drop it it
you should only need one bunch of them
1050 onions are a good choice for this area
as they grow you can pick them for fresh green onions
i usually pick every other one or just let them grow into
large onions

in usually june the tops will die and fall over
thats when you can pull up the onions

you will probably have a few extra onion plants just stick them
in the corners around other plants and eat the onions as
green onions as the other plants grow bigger

in 15 and 16 plant a red potato in each square
thats just two potatoes
plant them whole about 6-8 inch deep and make a hill of soil over
them like this ^
get the seed potatoes in february and plant around the 1st two
weeks of february
in early june the potatoes plants will die some and thats
the time to dig them up
usually those two potatoes will make 8-10 potatoes or more

in 7 plant a swiss chard
as it grows cut the leaves off to use in salads
you can plant them now or in the spring

in 8 plant arugula
as it grows cut the leaves off to use in salads
i let my grow in the late fall until it flowers as the
bees love its flowers
you can plant them now or in the spring

in 11 plant lettuce from transplants every 6 inches
thats four plants in this square
in 12 plant more lettuce or spinach
you can plant them any time now or the spring
but they will not grow through the summer
but you can replant in the early fall around october

in 14 plant whatever you want
or consider basil planting in early april
it will last until it freezes in the fall

you will need a liquid fertilizer like johns formula or medina or
another organic liquid fertilizer
dont use miracle grow
it does nothing to make your soil better
the salts from the miracle grow will accumulate over time in your soil

you will need an organic liquid seaweed to use
use a solution of this whenever you plant a transplant

new transplants may need to be watered every day until they get
established
remember plants die from overwatering or not watering
if the soil is wet then dont water it
watch out for overwatering from sprinkler systems

every two weeks apply a solution of the liquid fertilizer to each plant
the directions are usually on the bottle
i use johns formula

the other weeks apply a solution of the liquid seaweed to each plant

when it gets hot mulch your plants with mulch
i use pine straw but chopped up leaves etc will work ok

the garden needs one inch of water a week
a tuna can in the garden when a sprinkler is on can be used to
measure that one inch
drip irrigation is better
use your finger or a stick to tell if the soil is dry
again if you overwater or underwater the garden will die

when you harvest a crop then apply 2-3 inches of compost
to the square and work it in to the top 2-3 inches of soil
i use what i make or use the natural gardeners ladybug farmstyle compost
which is sold at most local nurseries

why this doesnt work
not enough water or too much water
dont start with good soil
neglect

pests
on tomatoes they can get a big green worm called the tomato worm
just pick it off and feed it to the chickens or squash it
most of these plants do well without much pests or disease

if you have questions send me a comment or use the facebook link above
and ill try to answer it

good luck
its all worth it
bon appetite

SQUASH BOER
another reader wanted to know how to stop the squash boer
the only 100% way to stop it is to not plant squash



techniques to try
cover the squash with the thin row cover that you can get at most
nurseries
as the plant grows it will not be to heavy and will rise with the plant
open the tent of row cover in the afternoon so the bees can pollinate
the flowers then cover the plant back up

inject a solution of bt bacillis thuringiensis into the base of the
plant stalk
the bt is a bacteria that will kill the larva as it grows

this year i wrapped my stalk with wet newspaper strips and
then placed diatamaceous earth on and around the stalk
the squash lasted longer this year but eventually was smitten by that
boer

when you see these eggs on the squash leaves then slit open the stalk
and remove the larva



or plant winter squash or butternut squash which are somewhat
resistant to the boer
or plant pumpkins and eat them when they are small

good luck

the organicgreen doctor