If June is this hot, I dont want to think of August

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. Despite our alternating wet and bone-dry weather, the normal duties of a gardener continue onwards with our reward being the usual bragging rights and the harvest and or photographs we take of the beautiful splendor laid out in our yards. For this post I will answer some questions posed during the garden tour and you will be to see some garden photos of stuff that might just blow your mind!  During the tour someone didn’t understand why I use a sifter to sift my compost. The visitor in question stated that she simply just applied her finished compost as is and didn’t see the value of sifting it. I suppose this is a relative thing but, sifting does increase the quality of the finished product and it does remove undesirable materials from the mix. The following photographs will show you what I mean.

This is the final product.

 Sifted Compost is far finer, has no coarse particles and almost resembles potting soil while losing no nutrient density. Inevitably because a lot of dead plants end up in my compost as a result of my growing business my compost has a LOT of perlite, vermiculite, coco fiber and peat moss in it. These ingredients make my compost kind of spongy and almost light enough to be used as a potting soil outright.

Chunks & Lumps #1

The sifting process keeps stuff like the above out of the final product, because who wants rubber bands and twist ties poking out of the soil in a garden bed?

Chunks & Lumps #2

The sifter also keeps pebbles, sticks and other heavier debris out of the final product. Some might say this isn't a good thing, except where I am I already have very sandy soil, I dont need or want the drainage and the sticks and such can pose problems in maintaining soil quality. Fortunately this stuff gets recycled as a bottom layer in the composter for drainage purposes.

Chunks & Lumps #3

This is the main reason to sift, all of what you see in the picture inside that plastic bin is roots, stuff that wont break down, bits of plastic, larger rocks, slow composting leaves and other stuff that can mess with the pH of the finalized compost or create unwanted air pockets that can damage plant growth where the compost is applied. out of every 20 or so gallons of raw compost about 4 gallons will be stuff that I really dont want in the finalized compost. So this is why I sift my compost, I end up with a much safer final product that can be added to the garden soils with a minimum of further modification. The one thing sifting doesn't change is the amount of weed seeds in the soil, but of course as that old Rolling Stones song goes, "You cant always get what you want, but if you try some times you get what you need." When it comes to compost no truer words have ever been spoken.

Despite what you hear on garden shows honey bees aren't the only pollinators.

The above picture also relates to a question asked on the tour, if the test gardens got a lot of honey bees at the test garden and this might be garden blasphemy but I cant say that I do. I get a fair amount of carpenter bees, bumble bees, moths and butterflies but not honey bees. Instead I get what you see in the picture. dead center in the picture if you look closely, that is a Mason Bee (Osmia sp.) which could be any one of up to two-hundred individual species. Mason bees are short ranged, never foraging more than about three hundred feet from wherever they've built their nest, are not aggressive and are solitary, each one pretty much acts like it's own hive. They do tend to build nests together, but will not use each other's nests. Much like Cicada Killer Wasps ( Sphecius speciosus ) They pretty much keep to themselves, though you can encourage their behavior by providing the right habitat. In my case I make sure there are plenty of easy to access nectar producing flowers, and there is access to natural clay in the yard. In return they pollinate reliably and with a minimum of fuss. It's a good arrangement, I do what I was already going to do, and they move the pollen around, no one gets stung or swatted and everyone's happy.

Datura metel 'Canary' in full bloom

Technically I'm showing off this plant twice, but in this picture the flower is in full bloom, and it has a feature I've never seen before on a tube flower, Canary has four separate petals making it a quad-tube and technically it verges on five due to the deformed petals inside the flower. Much to my surprise it seems to get pollinated just fine by ants (at night) and mason bees during the day. The scent is nice and the color is well the gorgeous cream you see, though the flowers before opening are more yellow which is probably where the name comes from.

Lantana, proven butterfly crack since forever!

Yeah that's right, that lantana in the picture was a volunteer that does wonders for attracting pollinators. It's flowers are pretty and after a few years it started attracting these "hefty bois". Seriously look at the size of that one, he's very healthy which is a good sign. For note that is a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly ( Papilio glaucus ) which is endemic to most of the eastern half of the united states. These butterflies show up in early-mid summer and that they stop in the yard is a very good sign that things are going well.

Pasta sauce made with Sungold Cherry Tomatoes.

This is the last photo for this post and it answers a ton of questions I get at the farmer's market about the low to No-acid tomato varieties I sell there. Yes you can make a tasty tomato sauce out of cherry tomatoes and it will be quite flavorful, but chances are it will end up a yellow or orange color which isn't a big deal, at least the way I see it anyway. Sungold tomatoes ripen to a rich apricot-orange color so the sauce is the same albeit darkened by cooking ad the effects of adding other ingredients. This pot of Sauce was made using mainly stuff harvested from the garden with the exception being the olive oil used in it. If you all are interested I can post the recipe, just comment and let me know.

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

Plants & Stuff Available Now:

Herbs:

Agastache, Golden Jubilee: 3” - $3.00

Aloe, Vera: 4” - $4.00

Basil, Sweet: 3” - $3.00

Basil, Thai: 3” - $3.00

Basil, Mirihani: 3” - $3.00

Etruscan Santolina: 3” - $4.00

Sage, Common: 3” - $3.00

Valerian: 3” - $3.00

Flowers:

Balloon Flower, Astra Mix: 3” - $4.00

Coneflower, Feeling Pink: 3” - $4.00

Coneflower, Pow Wow White: 3” – $4.00

Datura, White Ballerina: 3” - $4.00

Lily, Formosa: 3” - $4.00

Lupine, Carolina: 3” - $4.00

Mexican Sunflower: 4” - $4.00

Salvia, New Dimension Blue: 3” - $3.00

Salvia, Silver: 3” - $4.00

Tobacco, Flowering: 3” - $3.00

Fruits & Vegetables:

Cotton, Mississippi Brown: 3” - $4.00

Okra, Red-Burgundy: 3” - $3.00

Peppers, Special: 3” – $4.00

Peppers, Assorted: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, Assorted: 3” - $1.00

These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

                        This brings to a close the thirteenth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 12th of July. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

The Spring 2019 Photo-Tour

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. As promised this post is dedicated to the photo-tour of the test gardens for those who could not come to the tour on the 19^th. So be warned this will be a VERY photograph heavy post, the market update is at the end and please let me know if you like the photo-tour format.

The Memorial Bed

 The Memorial bed is usually the first stop on the tour because it is just inside the gates. Currently the bed is host to several forms of Asiatic lilies all of which have white blooms. Ringing the border of the bed are color changing daffodils that start out butter-cream colored and become pure white.

The Rose Bed

The rose bed was added just this year, that is white granite rock int he border and the rose blooms yellow while the coneflowers are a fuchsia-pink color. That strange plant to the left of the bed is a volunteer buckhorn plantain that given it's medicinal qualities is allowed to remain where it is while other weeds are actively controlled.

The Compass Beds

The compass garden was built in 2017 and centers around the bird bath you see in the picture, although technically due to funding issues this garden bed was never finished, it is still quite attractive. The plant list for this bed is below;

Hemerocallis hybrid– Shepard Day lily

Iris germanica – Yellow German Bearded Iris

Iris japonica – Fringed Iris

Origanum vulgare– Oregano

Santolina chamecyparissus– Grey Lavender-Cotton

The Turret Beds

 The attempt to build gardens in new shapes is espoused best by the tall round 'turret' style raised bed in this garden.

Agave Americana – American Aloe

Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed

Hibiscus mutabilis – Cotton Rose

Ricinus communis‘Impala’ – Castorbean

Iris germanica – Yellow German Bearded Iris

Ruta graveolens ‘Variegata’ – Marbled Rue

 

New Fig Bed

For those of you who have heard the story, the above fig is a story of working with a plant until you find the perfect spot for it. This fig is a Kadota fig, and that particular variety is the precise one used to make fig newtons. It was a fluke I had the opportunity to buy one plant almost a decade ago and I almost lost the plant due to overgrowth by it's neighbors. Two years of rehabilitation in a pot later and here it is out in it's own bed, ringed by white granite doing just fine.

The Teardrop Bed

This bed has an odd story as it was built much like the later turret bed to test the idea of having differing shapes and hidden symbolism in the garden. Originally there was another bed shaped like an eye on the property that could only be located at night thanks to solar powered path lights and thus a garden wasn't just a daytime feature. Visitors never seemed to perceive that this bed was teardrop shaped until I ringed it with white granite this year.

Lilium longiflorum – Rio Negro Asiatic Lily

Lilium longiflorum – Serious Backo Asiatic Lily 

Lilium longiflorum – Crimson Pirate Asiatic Lily

Hemerocallis hybrid– Stela de Oro Day Lily

Rhaphiolepis indica – Indian Hawthorn

Gingko biloba – Maidenhair Tree

The Famous Blueberry Wall

 When I talk about blueberries on the property I mean this wall of fruiting shrubs. Four varieties of rabbiteye blueberry make up the wall (Tifblue, Powderblue, Brightwell and Climax). The entire bed is about fifteen feet long and nine feet wide and slowly is spreading.

The Crescent Bed, as seen from left side.

The crescent bed is the single largest cultivated area on the property, it started as a simple means to divert or absorb run off from the treeline during torrential downpours and became a major garden project that spanned several years. Finally after most of a decade this bed is finally looking more like I had intended. For those of you who are wondering, the bed's original substrate was a combination of fallen pine branches, white birch branches and composted horse manure capped with a layer (3" thick) of spent potting soil and whatever compost I could spare to further enrich the soil. The first few years were not all that effective but now that the substrate has decayed sufficiently the soil fertility is quite high.

The Crescent Bed, as seen from right side.

When you build a bed like this diversity isn't just a buzz word, it's a necessity. The plant diversity in the crescent bed matches it's size. The plant list that will follow is current as of this writing, but expect it to change before the October tour.

Abutilon megapotmicum ‘Orange Hot Lava’ – Flowering Maple

Agastache foeniculum – Golden Jubilee Hummingbird Mint

Artemesia arborescens x absinthium – Wormwood

Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosum – Pleurisy Root

Berberis julianae – Wintergreen Barberry

Canna striata ‘Bengal Tiger’ – Canna Lily

Echinacea purpurea ‘Tomato Soup’ – ‘Tomato Soup’ Coneflower

Hibiscus coccineus ‘Texas Star’ – Scarlet Rose Mallow

Hypericum perforatum ‘Hypearls’ – Saint John’s Wort

Iris germanica – German Bearded Iris, White

Iris germanica  – German Bearded Iris, Yellow

Melissa officinale – Lemon Balm

Opuntia ellisiana – Thornless Prickly Pear

Origanum majorana – Marjoram

Rudbeckia maxima – Giant Coneflower

Ruellia simplex – Mexican Petunia

Ruta graveolens – Rue

Salvia argentea‘Artemis’ – Silver Sage

Tithonia speciosa ‘Goldfinger’ – Mexican Sunflower

Valeriana officinalis – Garden Heliotrope

Technically not a bed, but certainly where all the decisions get made.

Seriously, what sort of garden lacks a stone bench? That said bench is surrounded by blooming plants and such is a bonus, after all this is literally where all the heavy thinking takes place so it has to be fabulous!

Backyard Fig Bed

This fig was given as a donation to the gardens about six or seven years ago, it came in a large pot and the previous owners had been moving it in to their garage for the winter. The prior owner was moving and could not take it so they donated it and here it is, in all it's glory easily four or five times larger than it was when received. This is a very healthy brown turkey fig that as of this week is positively covered in fruit. it also acts as a wind break for the growing trays behind it.

The Annual Vine Bed

This bed was renovated this year, and what you see growing up the trellis are two separate species of annual vines that have spectacular late summer blooms. Growing here are Purple Hyacinth Bean (Leblab purpureus), and Spanish Flag (Ipomoea lobata), with any lick this might be the most colorful spot in the garden by the end of July.

The Tall Bed

Yes, I know 'the tall bed' is a pretty boring name, but then it does hold the title of tallest garden bed on the property.This bed is used as a seasonal production site, in the cold months I grow cole crops in it and in the summer, nightshades.

Allium sativum – Garlic

Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum – Elephant Garlic

Capsicum annuum– Sweet Banana Peppers

Capsicum chinense x frutescens– Ghost Pepper

Gossypium hirsutum – Mississippi Brown Cotton

Ocimum basilicum crispum – Lettuce-Leaf Basil

Solanum lycopersicon ‘Sungold’ – Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Taraxacum officinale– Common Dandelion

The Triangle Bed, as seen from left side.

The Triangle Bed is one of those garden beds that has a story behind it, it was originally an anti-erosion feature and was triangle-shaped with the narrow part facing towards the camera in the above picture. Over time this design was found to be mostly ineffective as heavy downpours would just erode the soil away. The bed was ringed with brick, raised and simply kept it's original name. As of this year the bed was heavily renovated and now is home to a number of plants rescued from the clearing of the crescent bed and the failed woodlands garden.

The Triangle Bed, as seen from right side

 It is not much of a stretch to say that plant diversity is very apparent in this bed as it many rare and unusual plants now reside here. One plant in this bed has a pretty involved story, Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica). The original plant was purchased through Lowes, out of a plant display that was offering up native woodland plants such as jack in the pulpit, birdsfoot violet and a few other oddities. I bought what was labeled as Fire Pinks, and the birds foot violet. I would only be able to purchase one of each because of the cost. As it would turn out, the fire pinks (Silene virginica) which took forever and a day to mature and bloom would reveal themselves not to be fire pinks but the Indian Pink, an entirely differing perennial. I worked to grow and nurture this plant for almost three years to find out it wasn't at all what the labeling suggested. More so, I found out that the supplier whom supplied the plants to Lowes had been caught illegally harvesting woodland plants, and that others and found the plants they bought were not what they seemed. I lucked out and got a pretty woodland plant in the place of another pretty native woodland plant. I found another of it's species at Big bloomers, and so I ended up with two Indian pinks and if you saw the blooms you'd get why this was a big deal. Imagine a flower that before opening is shaped like an stretched out oval with pointed ends, that is bright red to hot pink, and then when the flower opens the petals curl outward on one half and the inside of the flower is a bright golden yellow. This display made the Indian pinks worth the hours of research, cultivation and fussing, nothing else looks like an Indian pink in bloom, it is the most outrageous color combination in spring that is possible all on a native plant that is otherwise visually unremarkable. When the crescent bed became overgrown and I decided at the start of 2019 to reclaim it, I went in expecting to lose a lot of plants and yet nature proved me flat wrong. what survived surprised me, the Coneflowers, some of the milkweed, the entire balloon flower group, the Grecian foxglove, a single Saint john's wort, a single cutleaf cone flower, a rare narrow-leaf coneflower (thats the medicinal type), a patch of bugleweed and a few other things made it. But for every plant that survived, a few did not as not a single rudbeckia, or echibeckia survived, so much for their hardiness. Here is the miracle in the weeds, as I was clear cutting the crescent bed, I saw a plant, that didn't look much like a weed, and on closer inspection I realized it was a Indian pink, just beginning to sprout, had I started earlier I might have killed it by accident. Just about a week later in the same area the second one had sprouted and both were rescued and moved to the triangle bed. As I write this, those plants have sprouted multiple branches and are getting bushy. This is a testament to why you should use native plants, and should verify they are legally grown, but more so why diverity in plants is key, had i not planted so many differing varieties of plants the death rate in the cresecnet bed would have been far worse.

Allium tuberosum – Garlic Chives

Artemesia x hybrida ‘Powis Castle’ – Powis Castle Wormwood

Asclepias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosum – Pleurisy Root

Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed

Digitalis lanata – Grecian Foxglove

Echinacea angustifolia – Narrow-Leaf Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ – Red Cone Flower

Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus Purple’ – Purple Cone Flower

Echinacea purpurea ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ – Purple Cone Flower

Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ – White Cone Flower

Hippeatrum species – Amaryllis, White

Lunaria annua – Silver Dollar Plant

Melissa officinalis – Lemon Balm

Phytolacca Americana – Poke Weed

Platycodon grandiflora – Balloon Flower

Platycodon grandiflora ‘Astra White’– Balloon Flower

Platycodon grandiflora ’Astra Blue’ – Balloon Flower

Platycodon grandiflora ‘Astra Pink’ – Balloon Flower

Prunella grandiflora – Heal All

Rosa rugosa – Beach Rose

Rumex Acetosa – Dock

Rudbeckia lacinata – Cut Leaf Coneflower

Salvia nemorosa ‘New Dimension Blue’ – Ornamental Sage

Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ – Ornamental Sage

Santolina etrusca – Etruscan Santolina

Santolina virens – Green Lavender Cotton

Spigelia marilandica – Indian Pink

Verbena bonariensis – Tall Verbena

The Persimmon Tree, the variety is 'Fuyu'.

When it comes to persimmons I have no idea why my tree is shaped weird, why it took six or so years to really start producing or why it drops most of it's fruit, it is a pretty tree though.I will say this, the dropped fruit make for excellent compost fuel much like the petals of camellia flowers once the plants have shed them.

A cluster of potted plants

This cluster of potted plants includes two lettuce-leaf basils, Thai Dragon peppers, a first-year Fayetteville Inferno pepper and a second-year Fayetteville inferno pepper

The Reinforced Mound Bed

This bed was named because originally the soil noticeably crested in the center back when it was ringed by the same white granite rock you see used in other beds. this bed is primarily used to grow garlic and assorted herbs.

Just a scale comparison

On the left you can see the 'dwarf' pomegranates which seem to think the word dwarf means giant.

The growing trays, vegetable section.

The growing trays, Herb & perennial section.

 This section of the growing trays is used to produce my pepper crop you can see them in the larger pots spread across the area.

The Block Beds

The Block beds were originally constructed as a visibility feature when I used to park my truck in the backyard.Just for note, the terra-cotta pots have orange mint (mentha x piperita citrata) in them, and in order of closest to farthest, the closest bed has both types of mountain mint, the middle bed has the Spearmint and Tithonia, and the farthest bed has Chocolate mint and rosemary.

Mentha x piperita – Chocolate Mint

Mentha spicata – Kentucky Colonel Spearmint

Pycnanthemum muticum – Short Toothed Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum virginianum – Narrow-Leaf Mountain Mint

Rosemarinus officinalis – Rosemary

Tithonia speciosa ‘Goldfinger’ – Mexican Sunflower

Container Gardens, right side.

Container gardens are a critical part of the test gardens as they allow for greens paces in locations that otherwise would not allow for it. also they allow for extended field tests of new and interesting plant varieties in a low-risk environment.

Container Gardens, left side.

The most interesting plant in this picture is the one on the right, that is a South Sea Salad Tree and it is a tropical relative of Okra, all parts of it are edible and as you can see, they were not kidding when they said it was a tree. I will probably try and fail to overwinter it just because it's so crazy looking.

The test gardens, as seen from the woods.

Technically this picture was taken from the path right behind the crescent bed, but still it gives the perspective of all of it, a proper green space tucked right in a sleepy neighborhood.

The Test Gardens, as seen from the compost area.

This angled shot shows the gardens from another perspective where you can really see how close a lot of stuff is. There is plenty of room to move, and yet everything is close enough together to make it come together as a garden. I hope you all liked this photographic tour, please let me know if you have any questions either through this blog or at the weekly meeting.

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

Plants & Stuff Available Now:

Herbs:

Agastache, Golden Jubilee: 3” - $3.00

Basil, Sweet: 3” - $3.00

Basil, Thai: 3” - $3.00

Etruscan Santolina: 3” - $4.00

Feverfew/Tansy: 3” - $3.00

Rue, Marbled: 3” - $3.00

Valerian: 3” - $3.00

Flowers:

Balloon Flower, Astra Blue: 3” - $4.00

Balloon Flower, Astra Pink: 3” - $4.00

Balloon Flower, Astra White: 3” - $4.00

Coneflower, Feeling Pink: 3” - $4.00

Coneflower, Pow Wow White: 3” – $4.00

Datura, Black Currant Swirl: 3” - $4.00

Datura, White Ballerina: 3” - $4.00

Lily, Formosa: 3” - $4.00

Salvia, New Dimension Blue: 3” - $3.00

Tobacco, Night-Scented: 3” - $3.00

Tobacco, Lime Tree: 3” - $3.00

Fruits & Vegetables:

Cotton, Mississippi Brown: 3” - $4.00

Okra, Red-Burgundy: 3” - $3.00

Peppers, Chocolate Fatali: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Ghost: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Monster Naga: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Paprika ‘Alma’: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Red Fatali : 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Shishito: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Stavros’s Pepperoncini: 3” - $4.00

Peppers, Sweet Banana: 3” - $3.00

Peppers, Sweet Marconi: 3” - $3.00

Peppers, Tabasco: 3” - $3.00

Peppers, Thai Dragon: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, Chocolate Cherry: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, Gardener’s Delight: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, Gold Millions: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, Paul Robeson: 3” - $3.00

Tomato, San Marzano: 3” - $3.00

Garden Perennials:

Coming Soon:

Basil, Cinnamon

Basil, Mirihani

Lupine, Carolina

These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

                        This brings to a close the twelfth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 28th of June. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.