Special Delivery

Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmer’s Market. This episode will be posted late simply because of the Holiday weekend.  For those not in the USA, this weekend is Independence day which is a celebration of the end of the American Revolution, and the series of events that led up to it and came immediately afterwards. I hope that all you readers out there have a happy and safe 4^th of July.

First off we have the above image. This is a picture of the ‘turning area’ at the headquarters. It high lights one of the points of confusion between northern and southern gardens. In the south, the number of pine trees means that the cheapest available mulch is what is called pine straw.  At the store it might cost 3-5 dollars per bale, but if you have pine trees you get it for free. As far as mulches go, pine straw is light, cheap, and if it’s harvested from long leaf pines it lasts for roughly 2-3 years. Mulch acquired from bark, or chipped hard wood by comparison lasts 1-2 years on average depending on type. The point of mulch is twofold; firstly it limits or stops erosion by water by acting as a physical barrier to hold the soil in place. Secondly, mulch acts as a slow releasing soil improvement since mulches from pine straw, bark or wood chips all eventually decay leaving behind organic materials that help improve topsoil quality. In the picture above a lot of moderate quality pine straw has been used to cover what was bare sand soil. In doing so, the soil beneath the pine straw can only erode at a limited rate. This means that even with restricted vehicle traffic, the erosion issue in this area has been successfully abated at the cost of using 204 cubic feet of pine straw. Eventually the pine straw will break down and need to be patched or replenished but until then it looks good. For note, if you notice there is no pine straw under the truck. This lack of pine straw there is intentional as pine straw still contains pine resin and potentially can still catch fire if exposed to a source of heat such as a hit vehicle engine. Also, this is why I balk at the use of Rubber mulch; it does not break down and only leaches zinc into the soil making it a poor choice for residential use in the garden.

But speaking of soil and such with the entry into the month of July, it is now that we must keep a wary eye on our nightshade crops for that summertime scourge known as blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is a ‘disease’ that actually is a nutrient deficiency. For some reason in the peak of summer members of the nightshade family, particularly tomatoes  might start getting blackened bottoms on fruits while they are in the green stage typically. The long-term solution to this problem is to use a little fast-acting lime, oyster shells or, eggshells. The short term and fastest solution is to crush one regular strength antacid tablet in a cup of water and apply the mixture to the single effected plant and repeat process for each other affected plant.  Why this nutrient deficiency strikes is unclear. It is known that bloom end rot will attack potted plants even if they are growing in new potting soil and plants planted in your garden beds with equal opportunity. It seems to strike different plants every year and with no set pattern. It’s one of those summertime vigilance things that all of you out there should pay attention to. But don’t worry, here’s the good news, garden photography!

So here we have an improvised irrigation system for one of the figs. This fig came into my possession in fall of last year, I don’t outright recall the person’s name but they were moving had this brown turkey fig potted up in a 16” pot and could not take it so it was offered to me. I carted the bush away brought it home and it the cold weather set in before I could get it planted. As seen in earlier images it was finally planted near the growing trays so it could make use of the fertilizer runoff and be much easier to maintain. The bucket is an old brewing vessel that proved unneeded. Inside of it is a layer of large stones and a single small hole was bored in the bottom so water or fertilizer placed inside drips out slowly right at the roots of the target plant. The lid is weighted so it cannot blow off and the old non-functional airlock ensures air exchange. With a two-gallon capacity if can mimic a good ½” to 1” rain depending on climate conditions roughly speaking.

In this image some of the surplus rudbeckia have decided to bloom, I think they’re one of the Indian summer types I sold last year. They were in bad shape when planted and I didn’t expect them to survive winter.

In this image we have a mix of three types of cone flower, some Echibekias which are a rudbeckia-Echinacea hybrid and in the upper left the leaves of perennial cabbage.

I think this is a Sumerina Yellow Echibeckia, the last image had an orange one.

Vaccinium ashii – Rabbit Eye Blueberry

It’s that time of the year and the blue berry crop is off the charts already. My four bushes are so loaded with berries they’re bent over from the weight. I’ve already harvested a pound and a half.

Lilium sp. ‘Rio Negro’ – Asiatic Lily

Honestly, they’re dark pink! With a name like Rio Negro I expected dark red or, a darker shade, but then I’m not complaining at all.

Lilium sp. ‘Purple Prince’ – Asiatic Lily

Ok so this Asiatic lily is at least sort of purple it’s not nearly as flamboyant as Rio but still very nice. Obviously this is an overdue post, so there is no farmers market info attached, stay tuned for this week’s post where I’ll include the plants list and introduce you to a garden plant you may not have considered before.

Despite some Bad news, The show goes on!

Welcome back to another Episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market, your weekly guide to sustainable property management techniques and general plant geek mayhem. This weeks episode will unfortunately feature few if any images and I cannot say that the following episodes will be any different, as we open this episode with some bad news. Some time in the late afternoon on Friday of last week the BL2 HQ, often referred to here as ‘The Clark Ranch’ was broken into and ransacked. We lost our camera and a few other things but comparatively we lucked out as far as Burglaries go. Now this means that unfortunately this block may be using existing stock images on fine or no images at all as we cannot take pictures to show off projects or things seen in the field. We will of course to continue with the quality literary works but, sadly the images of garden geek action no can do. With this in mind, we bring you now to this week’s topic and ask that you bear with us while we make due during the current situation.

Today I’d like to talk about the effect of rain and weather on your watering schedule. I think most gardeners have been at that point where they look outside and see it’s raining a bit perhaps from a pop-up thundershower and breathe a sigh of relief that they don’t have to water the crops for at least another day.  But you have to wonder what it is after a brief rain that makes your plants go from wilting drama queens to examples of excellent gardening care in such a short time. The answer is simple enough, no not soil moisture but sheer humidity. You would be surprise how little a plant, even a cutting of one wilts if the humidity is very high. Part of this is because the plant is losing less moisture then its outside surfaces are taking in. This complete state of wetness also reduces the ambient temperature somewhat lessening heat stress for long enough to get past the days apex heat in theory.  So basically what you see is a natural response to the plant not suffering as much from heat and moisture loss.  It’s a win-win for everybody you do less work and your plants look great for a while. The down side is that a brief shower is no real match for a drenching rain or you actually going out and watering so often the effect is temporary and has the nasty side-effect of stirring up the mosquitoes. 

Thunderstorms play a different role in comparison to rain showers because they often deliver a comparatively greater amount of rain over a short period of time. This extra precipitation can be the cause of flash flood warnings and sometimes severe soil erosion. But thunderstorms do just one very important thing, they ionize atmosphere wherever they are, and by doing so draw atmospheric nitrogen, into their precipitation and by way of their rain deliver tiny amounts of nitrogen to the land. If you have ever noticed the day after a thunderstorm everything is super green, it’s because of the nitrogen. Nitrogen is pretty capricious, it dissipates so quickly that the USDA Soil Lab wont even test for it because they know it wont be in the sample by the time it gets to the lab in any useful amount.  I might add it has been noted in some reputable publications that being downwind of a thunderstorm and thus receiving the spike in humidity it causes is sometimes enough to get a weak greening effect. Not bad at all if you consider those may showers we talk of in rhyme and those night time and afternoon summer storms are actually doing you a double-favor. Rain itself is a godsend because it can flush the water-soluble pollutants out of the soil (such as salt) with successive rains as well as aid plants in developing a deep root system and support better yields.

That said watering from water storage devices does trap some of whatever trace elements are in the rain, but not any useful amount of the nitrogen. However in most cases unlike water pulled from a well or a municipal source collected water tends to be closer to pH neutral except in regions with heavy pollution. This makes collected rainwater an important resource for transplanting and deep irrigation while tap, well or municipal water is somewhat better for use during droughts. The chlorine in tap water actually serves a surprising use in the garden as it can be applied to aid in calcium uptake in vegetables or fruits such as those in the nightshade family to avoid blossom end rot. Admittedly it’s a bit of an expensive solution when compared to dolomitic or hydrated lime but it does in the right measure with a set amount of dissolved Epsom salts aid in countering some soil deficiency issues.

The last and perhaps most important aspect of this topic that needs to be addressed is the ‘Deep and Infrequent’ principle of irrigation. Basically it has been proven that watering a little but more frequently benefits your plants less then if you water heavily but infrequently. The reason for this is that shallow watering does not promote deep roots. Basically what happens is your garden plant if watered shallowly will develop most of its roots near the soil surface and thus be more subject to drought and heat related stress. Additionally soil nutrient depletion may occur over time ruining the longevity of a garden plot. Now the deep and infrequent concept holds that you would like to have 1” of water per week total at least. There are little devices you can get to measure the amount of water you are applying in inches at most hardware stores but it’s better to get a actual rain gauge and monitor weekly rainfall amounts to get a feel for your own specific area. Deep and infrequent is important as a watering method because you are ensuring that a larger column of soil is being wet by the applied moisture. The effect is that your plant’s roots radiate out through the soil strata more evenly and thus are better prepared to suck up every drop of moisture that comes their way as well as being better able to get at any near ground water that might be below. This even rooting zone translates to more uniform nutrient uptake and improved drought, pest and disease resistance as the plants are stronger overall. In the end this all translates to a sigh of relief in the drought season for you because you know that those plants out there can handle the brief periods when you cannot add extra water and no rain is forthcoming. In short, you and nature have struck a deal, and it’s mutually beneficial.

Despite the summer heat I am still manning the booth down at the Fayetteville Farmers / City Market in downtown Fayetteville. Keep in mind the venue is open rain or shine with the proviso that obviously violent storms are about the only thing to impact the market being open. The market runs from 9:00 am through 1:00pm and is located at 325 Franklin Street. As always there will be great handouts about soil conservation and wildlife management and of course copies of my book Southward Skies.

5x Burgundy Okra

2x Nankeen Cotton

5x Ghost Pepper (Sweet)

12x Banana Pepper (Sweet)

11x Red Carolina Wonder Pepper (Sweet, Bell)

3x Chinese Ornamental Peppers (very hot)

2x Large Beef Steak Tomato

6x Small Beefsteak Tomato

1x Roma Tomato (Cooking Type)

1x San Marzano Tomato (Cooking type)

1x Sedum (Groundcover)

-plus whatever else fits in the truck!-

Next week

4x Spear Sanseveria (Houseplant)

4x Sangria Pepper (Ornamental)

3x Litchi Tomato

Available Soon

3x Red Peter Pepper (Spicy)

4x Green Carolina Wonder (Sweet, Bell)

1x Peperomia Verticiliata (Houseplant)

15x Egyptian Onion

With all that said thank you for continuing to support our humble endeavor by reading this page, and commenting when you do. Next week’s topic will cover another aspect handling the summer heat as well as a related bonus topic focusing on plain cool plant stuff.

Winter Weather Advisory

Welcome back to another winter edition of lost in the farmer’s market. Today’s topic is one of critical importance as the winter weather seems to be more dangerous then ever. However we will not be talking about road hazards or winter driving, instead today the topic is about winterizing your rain barrels. It should be said that aside from the standard procedure of disconnecting the downspout from your installed rain barrels and emptying the water there is no absolutely safe method to maintain a functional rain barrel during the winter.

That said since the concept of rain barrels for irrigation went mainstream and is now subject to what some think of as 'trendy design' the durability and styles of rain barrels now vary greatly. If you check out Amazon.com or merely Google the words rain barrel you can see the great variety produced for public consumption these days. However all rain barrels are vulnerable to freezing. Today we will be using the skye projects own rain barrels as an example we will demonstrate some virtually free of cost methods to secure your rain rain barrel against the erratic winter cold in 2013.

For note the Rain barrels used by the skye project are the pickle barrel style sold through the Cooperative Extension Agency in town. I prefer these because the material that the actual barrel is made of is food grade plastic that is resistant to the corrosive fluids used to make pickles. This means that were I desperate I could boil the water to kill bacteria and pathogens then run it through a set of ceramic and charcoal filters to make some kind of potable water with no plastic byproduct contaminants. The first step to preparing your rain barrel begins with the overflow fitting on the upper right or left side of the barrel's body.

Step one, Remove any  overflow hoses attached to the overflow fitting, as they may burst if they are full or partially filled with water.

Step two: If your rain barrel has an additional fitting such as the elbow and hose hookup connector like the one pictured remove it if you can as ice may burst or damage the elbow if the barrel is full enough.

Step Three: Once the elbow fittings are removed allow any excess water to pour out. In this case for note the original fitting is the white piece connected tot he barrel but the part the water is pouring out of is a plug adapter that allows the elbow to be attached. I cannot remove the adapter because it is glued in place as the original adapter lacks threading.

The second half of preventing frost damage to your rain barrels is to protect it's most vulnerable part, the spigot or spout at the bottom of the barrel. As you can see below, the pickle barrel types feature a reinforced Boiler drain spigot which means it can handle extremes in temperature within reason. Before I took this series of photos this guy was frozen solid which gave me quite a scare. It did eventually thaw but it was too close of a call for me. So here is a inexpensive way to protect this sort of spigot.

This is your spigot, you want to make sure it is closed before you start

Step two: Get an old worn out sock, and wrap it about the spigot taking care to cover the opening and all parts except for the handle. I use black socks because like the barrel they tend to stay warmer then the air temperature and once the sun hits them they will thaw any freezing in the spigot rather fast.

Step Three: Since the first sock isn't actually held in place by anything, a second old sock placed at the angle shown above will serve to hold it all in position.

Step Four: Tie old Sock #2 in a loose knot to hold the whole thing in place. Remember that if the weather forecast calls for low temperatures and rain you may have to protect this further by using a supermarket shopping bag over the whole assembly.

As a third point of reference some times you cant remove the overflow port or it's fittings from your rain barrel because the port will expel water too close to the foundation of a building. Should this problem arise, the solution is pretty easy just take a look at what has been done below.

Step One: Remove prior overflow hose fitting.

Step two: If possible rotate the elbow fitting so it faces away from nearby structures. If this is not possible then allow your self a few extra feet of hose for the next step.

Step Four: Attach one of your better quality hoses to the elbow connector and prepare to find a place to aim the flow.

Step Five: You want to have enough hose to direct the overflow away from structures, paths and vehicle traffic. As you can see this hose gets the overflow a good distance from all of that but is in risk of being run over by the vehicle in the upper right corner. Some hose adjustment clearly is needed, but the placement of the hose meets all other criteria.

Remember, any spigots attached to the building need protection too, if you have a flow splitting device such as the one above remember to turn off the water and leave the individual valves of the splitter open.

 With all that covered I must repeat, not all rain barrels have the same features, I would be no less cautious with metal fittings then I would with plastic. It is up to you to make that critical judgement call as to how and what you do with your rain barrels, but I know this, putting a new spigot on is a pain and so is replacing a burst rain barrel so consider the weather and be mindful of frost activity. Oh and remember to keep 'em growing folks.

 

Farewell Spring, Hello Summer!

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

Why look it’s another edition of Lost In The Farmer’s Market!  Happy Memorial Day to all of you out there reading this, remember to drive safe, keep your seat belts on and don’t drink and drive. 

 Today’s topic of discussion got sidetracked as did the entire month, I was supposed to write about the origins of another well known garden vegetable but in the middle of composing the piece thought it wasn’t fitting for the time and date. So instead we will start with a plant spotlight and some time-sensitive garden advice for all you readers out there. The plant spotlight for today is almost an article unto itself  so sit tight and be warned there are pictures up ahead.

Salvia nemorosa – Woodland Sage

This year I planted three differing varieties of this particular sage, including ‘East Freidland’, ‘May Night’ and ‘New Dimension Blue’. Why triple down on the ornamental sages you ask? Form me I had three major reasons to install these non-herbal sages.

Firstly, there is the fact that ornamental sages are deer-resistant, and even squirrels and rabbits wont really mess with them; in fact they wont even likely mess with the plants directly adjacent either.  Secondly, ornamental sage is drought, heat and humidity resistant which makes it perfect for Xeriscaping beds, and makes it a reliable plant for a roadside planting under full blazing sun. My final reason for using ornamental sages in such large numbers is literally the same as why for shade I let pineapple sage, black and blue sage and Coral Nymph sage do what they want. To be specific most if not all members of the sage family produce a lot of nectar and pollen so they are quite good at attracting and sustaining a population of pollinators and can help in attracting humming birds.  As a final thought this type of sage is known to bloom in shades of blue and purple which can add a new angle to the typical colors of full sun low-maintenance beds especially if silvery foliage is used as a backdrop.

Heliotrope arborescens – Garden Heliotrope

Heliotrope is one of those plants for which an entire set of colors is named, and should not be confused with the term Heliotropism. Heliotropism is a scientific term that refers to the diurnal motion of the leaves or flowers of a plant in response to the motion of the sun. The most common plant known for this motion is the sunflower whose flower heads move to face the sun as it moves across the sky. Science aside, Garden Heliotrope was immensely popular in Victorian era Europe for its attractive flowers and unique textured foliage. The real selling point was its incredible fragrance. Unlike most flowers that smell sweet and floral, the garden heliotrope smells literally like a freshly baked cherry pie. Let that sink in for a moment, a plant whose flower smells like cherry pie, oh yes, probably the best smelling thing ever. Better then that the plant does really well in a container and is quite heat tolerant. A few of these on the edges of stairs or flanking the front door of a house can be quite an aromatic treat. I might add that of course as it is in the Borage family it is a good attractor of butterflies and moths, and butterflies. All this plant asks in return is pot full of decent soil with reasonable drainage, occasional dead heading and a little fertilizer in regular intervals.

Chicorum intybus – Chicory

Chicory is only in today’s plant spotlight so I can show you the newly opened flowers, which wilt by the end of the day. These flowers can be used to make a dye and certainly they hold their own in a ornamental role.

Basella alba ‘Rubra’ – Malabar spinach

For the same reasons as the chicory Malabar spinach is one of today’s plant spotlights because it’s flowers are interesting. While not as showy as some these tiny pink flowers contrast with the red foliage nicely. The flowers are followed later in the season by dark purple berries which really look cool. In the picture above the flowers are the pinkish-white ball shaped things in clusters near the center of the picture.

Centaurea cineraria - Dusty Miller

I covered Dusty Miller (aka Velvet Centaurea) in an earlier article about plants that are labeled annuals but in truth really are perennials. In that article I stated that dusty miller blooms twice a year, spring and fall and has yellow flowers that indicate clearly it is in the daisy family and here is the proof. This stand of dusty miller is three years old, and it blooms twice a year. The flowers aren’t bad to look at and certainly stand out.

Dendranthema morifolium – Hardy Chrysanthemum

I wanted to include the chrysanthemums in today’s list for one obvious reason; they were in full bloom despite it being late spring. Admittedly I do say this a lot but chrysanthemums are a durable perennial that if sited correctly can provide up to two seasons of color for your garden.

Now with the plant spotlight out of the way I wanted to talk to all of you out there briefly about some things to watch for in your garden.  The most important thing to remember is that despite the fact we in the southeast have had those late afternoon to evening thundershowers does not mean anyone should not begin drought preparedness. Everyone in the east coast knows its coming, it might be the end of May, but those long hot days are just around the corner and considering it’s stressful for you it will be just as bad for your plants.  Thankfully there are a few things you can do to both conserve water and get a bountiful harvest this year.

1. Remember to think forward: Try to plant ornamental plants that are labeled as ‘drought tolerant’ or ‘water wise’ or otherwise are noted to have characteristics that allow them to tolerate periods of drought easily.
2. Check your equipment: Make sure your soaker hoses and watering devices are in good repair before a heat wave and drought occurs.
3. Monitor precipitation: Get a Rain Gauge, it doesn’t have to be an expensive model but get at least one and place it in a central location to monitor rain and adjust your watering accordingly.
4. Monitor your watering: A gallon of water every other day is enough to sustain most vegetables that are mature enough to bear fruit or are actively bearing fruit. It may take up to five gallons of water every three days to maintain soil moisture for fruiting bushes and vines so keep an eye on the temperature and precipitation
5. Use Mulch: Mulch will aid in retaining soil moisture as well as add topsoil when it decomposes.
6. Use Efficient Nozzles: Shower-wand type nozzles on your hoses will reduce the amount of runoff caused by watering and increase watering efficiency. These sorts of watering devices are best used on outdoor potted plants, window boxes and anything that is heavily wilted.
7. Use soaker hoses: I admit, soaker hoses take longer but they deliver more water to the soil then conventional watering methods. If you have the time to turn it on and monitor it use it.
8. Install watering wells: A watering well is a direct and extremely inexpensive way to deliver water deep into the root zone without risking the loss of topsoil. Water Wells are made from 2-3 liter plastic soda bottles with the labels, caps and bottoms removed. You then dig a hole deep enough to fit the bottle into with about 1” of bottle sticking up above ground. The bottle is inserted into the ground cap-side down and is then filled with pine straw. The effect is a direct way to water into the root zone of a garden bed.
9. Remember the peak heat of the day is between 1pm and 3pm most plants will wilt then whether they need water or not. If your plants are slightly wilted in the afternoon wait until 6pm and check again, anything still wilted definitely needs water.
10. If you have rain barrels installed on your property use them, these water collecting devices can save you a bundle in irrigation costs even if there is no rain in the summer and you have to refill them with your garden hose and then ration out the water from the barrels. Otherwise, if paired with a 3-5 gallon bucket you can manage to make the contents of a 50 gallon rain barrel last for a few weeks between rains. I might add rain barrels can also be used to refill your water features but remember tap water has chlorine so before you use a rain barrel that has been refilled via garden hose let the water stand for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to dissipate.

With all that said, I think all of you reading this may be off to a good start for this year’s drought season. As always you can contact me about anything you read on this blog  through this site. As some of you might know, every august is Xeriscaping month at LITFM, an entire month dedicated to kicking drought to the curb. This will be a yearly thing simply because who says you can’t have gorgeous landscaping and yet still be water restriction-compliant?

There is one announcement before we conclude today’s garden menagerie, for anyone in the Fayetteville, North Carolina region, there are still plants left.  On June 15^th the remaining skye project plant sale plants will be planted in the test gardens so they do not go to waste but this is everyone’s last change to get a hold of some of the plants listed in ‘Southward Skies’ our book. For note the Second edition of the book’s print version is still delayed, but the digital version can be had on amazon.com, and for all you iphone users there is an free app that allows you to read digital books for the kindle on the iphone.

This has been another edition of Lost in the Farmer’s Market, check in next week for the first of our summer series and as always keep ‘em growing!