Dorian, The Hurricane that wasn't

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. As you might have noticed it is now officially hurricane season, Dorian lazily meandered up the coast and kept those of us in the Fayetteville area bunkered for about a day and a half. Others were not so lucky such as Wilmington the Bahamas and cities along the coast in general. I know it’s 2019, but I am going to say this, if you are told to evacuate do so, hurricanes are only getting more frequent and more destructive. Flash flood warnings are no joke, and you should heed them very seriously. From what I can tell so far both my neighborhood and the test gardens lucked out but I am sure that there are some who were not so lucky.  I urge you to consider your fellow countryman who has been put in a position of need by a weather situation like a hurricane and donate to a charitable organization like the Red Cross. Public Service Announcement aside, today's episode of LITFM will largely be garden photos and some info on plants and such as the weather deteriorated rapidly cutting into photo time for this post.

Identification unsure other then it's some type of tree frog.

 While driving around at work on Wednesday this little frog fell from the sky onto the back window of the company vehicle I use to do my job. I pulled over, snapped a picture of the little guy and then carefully set the likely terrified frog free by getting it off the car and carrying it to a nearby tree where it's colors would blend in.

Hurricane preparations, I do this just about every time there is a hurricane wind advisory.

I cannot stress the importance of making sure to secure objects pre-hurricane as they can become projectiles if the storm is bad enough just like with tornadoes. All potted crops are placed on the ground where ironically they are guaranteed to get watered really well. Event he accent planters are given this treatment, just in case.

Punica granatum 'nana' - Dwarf Pomegrante

This picture was taken in a brief lull in the storm on Thursday evening. Firstly it proves to me that I will have some fruit this year (yay!) but also that Pomegranates produce fruit on new growth which should help you readers out there determine where and when to prune.

Ricinus communis - Castor bean, seed, pods and stalks

This picture was taken to illustrate how many seeds you can expect to get from a single castor bean plant. Those are three seed stalks, and normally if the Castor Bean plant is healthy, it'll flower, produce seed then branch and repeat the effort. When the pods are brown and dry it's safe to harvest the seed. Optimally there are three large seeds per pod, and you only have to peel off the spiny exterior and  pull away the protective covering. From one plant, I now have two or three times as much viable seed as I could buy in any single seed packet and the plants aren't even done. Expect a close up of the crazy patterns on the seed soon.

Look carefully in the center of the picture!

Some readers and visitors at the market dont believe me at all when I say I have a special arrangement with the wild rabbits that visit my yard, I dont bother them, and they dont bother my crops. I also do my best not to scare them away though most of the time I can pass a few feet in front of them and they wont flee. The trick is not eradicating weeds so they have something they prefer to eat.

Capsicum annuum 'Fayetteville Inferno' - Fayetteville Inferno Hybrid Pepper

This is the big one, the source of all those blindingly hot peppers you were told about. Fayetteville inferno is no joke and this specimen has a almost 1.5" caliper central stem on it. Before Dorian it was loaded with green peppers and you know all that storm rain will do amazing things for productivity across the board. I plan to try and clone this one, lets see how that turns out.

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:

Rue, Marbled 3” - $4.00

Sage, Common 3”: - $3.00

Santolina, Etruscan: 5” - $6.00

Santolina, Etruscan: 3” - $4.00

Flowers:

Common Mallow ‘Zebrina’: 3” – $4.00

Coneflower, Feeling Pink: 3” - $4.00

Coneflower, Pow Wow White: 3” – $4.00

Coneflower ‘Green Twister’: 3” – $4.00

Coral Bells, ‘Marvelous Marble’ 4.5” - $5.00

Foxglove, Camelot Lavender: 3” – $3.00

Foxglove, Camelot Rose: 3” – $3.00

Rose Mallow ‘Luna Red’: 3” – $4.00

Rose Mallow ‘Disco Belle Pink’: 3” – $3.00

Rose Mallow ‘Disco Belle White’: 3” – $3.00

Salvia, New Dimension Blue: 5” - $6.00

Fruits & Vegetables:

Peppers, Ornamental ‘Black Magic’: 4” - $4.00

Peppers, Ghost: 4”- $3.00

Coming Soon:

Sparkling Blue Kale

Dinosaur Kale

Scotch Blue Kale

Cilantro/Coriander

Swiss Chard

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 eighteenth LITFM post of the year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 20^th of September. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.

Aww come on spring...take your meds!

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market. As you may have noticed the weather has been oddly cold the last few days due to a cold front that of course arrived and created that super torrential thunderstorm plus downpour the other day. For note this week’s precipitation was an average of 2.45”. Ironically about 1.45” of that fell in the thunderstorm specifically so we’re darn well watered.  After such rain events things tend to green up and so for today's blog post, I decided to rove about the garden and take snapshots of everything in bloom right after the storm.

Just in time for easter!

That’s right here is a picture snapped just yesterday. For the longest time I was sure I had a single wild rabbit that visited the property, but as you can see, there's this little one in the picture and above him one in the grass trying to hide behind some foliage.  I realized moments after that I literally had a flotilla of rabbits. Moments later rabbit number three came out of the bushes beside the driveway. That’s three confirmed rabbits and a probable one or two more. What blows my mind about this is that they do not damage any of the crops, they just seem to like the fact I don’t pull weeds so they instead just eat them. More so this group comes through between five and six pm every day and take the same route. They go up the driveway, across the yard, into the shady rock garden for a bit then under the fence into the neighbor’s yard. In the process they drive the neighbor’s dog crazy but most of all they never damage anything. So I’ve got a batch of well-behaved wild rabbits that seem not to mind me milling about. There is also the rabbit I often see at night around ten to eleven pm that hides a little less. You saw that rabbit hanging out in the reinforced mound bed during the snow storm when I stumbled upon him and he let me snap his picture. The question is, is the night rabbit of the same group or do I have several groups of rabbits passing through? Regardless of the answer, still very cool I am about one endangered species from being a wild life refuge.

Bunias orientalis – Warty Cabbage / Turkish Rocket

Last year I sold Turkish rocket at the market and this is what a second year plant looks like in spring.  As you can see its leaves are rather uniquely shaped and the plant is much larger than the first year despite black magic application. It did go dormant in the winter briefly during that super cold period but it as has also created its own mounded earth. More study of this perennial leaf green is underway to determine how productive it could be now that it‘s established.

Loropetalum chinenese var. rubrum ‘Daruma’ - Fringe Bush

Fringe bushes in bloom are quite the sight. As far as landscaping shrubs the fringe bushes are tough, quick growing and drought tolerant. This specimen is in bloom now and came into my possession as a surplus item. I lacked a good plant for the spot it’s in (driveway) that could withstand the conditions and thus it was put there. Loropetalums in this climate are evergreens that may go partial deciduous in serious winters depending on siting.

A lone white tulip.

Someone at some point planted tulips along the driveway long ago. I honestly do not know who did it bit this little guy comes up yearly and generally is all foliage with no flower. The super-cold winter probably allowed this bulb to develop more along the lines of a more northern climate and thus we have this fine bloom. But hold on to your hats, the fireworks are about to begin!

Double petaled azaleas, hell I had no idea I had these on property.

Salmon-pink azaleas are where it's at.

wait...are the white ones being photobombed by the pink ones?!

Phlox subulata – Creeping Phlox

This last remaining garden phlox plant bravely blooms every spring and struggles through the August drought every year often going dormant before winter. I took pity on it last year and gave it a few hits of black magic and not only has it bloomed like crazy but it has also gotten a bit bigger. Perhaps this ought be a commercial?

Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureaum’ – Black Fennel

This stand of four second year Black fennel plants has become a hedgerow unto themselves. If you look at last year’s pictures of this plant they were tall, impressive but now here near this dense in the foliage department. Numerous side-shoots are what produced this effect and indeed they were evergreen most of the winter producing some impressive foliage against slow contrasts. I cannot state this often enough, Fennel plants are ironclad perennials that are entirely edible but also serve as fine ornamentals; they are a garden must have.

Rumex sanguineum – Bloody Dock/ Sorrel

This is an example of bloody dock that has established in a location. Granted it isn’t as big as it could be because the soil is very much lacking you can see the vibrancy of the leaf color and that the leaves are far larger than the ones I’m selling. Well sited sorrel can get impressively large and thus supply a whole lot of leaves for your culinary uses.

The spring’s bounty is always worth exploring, but then again so is the Fayetteville Farmer’s market. While the weather is not going to be all that good this week, I’ll still show up barring the rain coming down side ways at which I figure we will have other more pressing concerns. As you may know, the market is located on 325 Franklin street in the front parking lot of the Fayetteville Transportation Museum. The market runs from 9 am to 1 pm and you can expect to see some of the venders show up with lots of good food. But let’s move right along to the stuff coming to market this week.

Southward Skies: A northern guide to southern Gardening

This is the second edition of my book, which was published using data compiled from several years of test garden operations. It’s written to aid gardeners of all skill levels in successful garden methods that are targeted for the south east but had proven to be a valued resource for gardens across the eastern coast. It’s certainly a good gift for that gardener you know or for yourself if you’d like to have a reliable field guide. The book costs $25.00 and we do take checks for this item, you can even have it signed.

Black Magic Fertilizer

That’s right you’ve heard about it in trials all summer. This specially formulated liquid fertilizer was made and tested at the test gardens using natural ingredients and no chemicals. The result explosive growth, great harvests and of course no environmental side effects! We’re making batches of this stuff to order, at $6.00 per gallon of fertilizer. You can either order it at the market and pick it up the next week or have it delivered to your home in the Fayetteville area for a delivery charge of an additional $2.00.

Vegetables

2x Asparagus, Gallon pot ($6.00)

3x Bloody Dock, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Eggplant, Casper , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Pepper, Sweet Banana , 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Pepper, Pimento, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Pepper, Habanero, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Tomato, Tlacolula, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Brown Berry, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Blue Berries, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Tomato, Amana Orange, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Black Krim, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Paul Robeson, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Tomato, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tomato, Cherokee Purple, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Fruits

10x Strawberry- Ozark Beauty, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Herbs

4x Basil-Sweet, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Basil-Thai, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Borage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Fennel-Black, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Horehound, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Hyssop-White, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Lamb’s Ear, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Lavender-Cotton-Green, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Marjoram, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

3x Oregano, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Oregano, Bristol Cross, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

1x Rosemary, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

2x Sage, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

4x Tansy, 3.5” pot ($3.00)

Coming Soon:

Potato, Red Norland

Mint

Bee Balm

The end of the plant list also wraps up this accidentally Easter themed episode of Lost in the farmer's Market. As note regarding the night time temperatures, if you have already planted you can always toss a spare towel over any plant you think might get frosted to protect it from springs apparent multiple personality disorder. At the least make sure all exposed plants are well watered  and thing should turn out fine. I might note that basil is incredibly dramatic about cold so just because it's gone a bit limp does not mean you wont have pesto later. Peppers are notorious drama queens about the cold too but they still need some protecting so with that said you know what to do. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the market and as always keep 'em growing!

Beating the heat? Nah it's beating me!

And here we are and it is undoubtedly summer but don’t worry here comes another episode of Lost in the Farmer’s Market! Today we have some cool test garden pictures and the start of a brief series on how to prepare your gardens for the coming spike in temperatures. We all know the drought days of august are coming soon so while the weather is currently tolerable it makes sense to  prepare as best we can for the heat now as opposed to compounding our labors later.

Lets face the facts folks as gardeners we all know it’s going to get warm in summer and for those of us in the south east that means a delicate balance between watering our beloved plants or letting nature do it’s worst and pick up the pieces later. Obviously it doesn’t have to be this way, but this is often what it appears to be a narrow spectrum of choice. The truth however could not be more different in several differing ways. Take for instance the average garden plot, we know that the addition of much can help conserve soil moisture and keep down weeds but then it gets into the differences between the types of mulch. Whether you realize it or not mulch is as different as the people who choose to apply it so here is a fast rundown on the types.

Stone – example granite, pea gravel marble chips bluestone gravel ect.

            Stone is nice and fairly permanent but it suffers from the issue of being both expensive per square foot, heavy and it contributes nothing to the soil. For that matter stone really only works well when combined with landscape fabric and thus by itself won’t block weeds very well unless several inches are applied. I might add stone does have to useful features as it tends to help retain soil warmth and in the case of certain crushed stone products may add trace nutrients to the soil as it weathers.

Pine Straw – longleaf and short needle types such as loblolly and white pine.

            Well out in Fayetteville this stuff is everywhere so it’s no surprise it stays in use, and good clean pine straw isn’t bad stuff. On application pine straw is nice and fluffy but settles down somewhat flat. With age (1-3 years depending on species) pine straw will decay into a sort of pine straw loam. Pine straw also has use as an anti-erosion material as the numerous surfaces it creates tends to slow down water runoff and wind keeping the soil beneath it where it is. The downside of pine straw is the cost, irregularity of the bales if purchased and its high flammability. Pine straw tends to weather to a light brown or a pale gray depending on sunlight exposure and moisture.

Pine Bark

            Pine bark is more a southern thing then a northern thing, and as a byproduct of the timber industry it makes sense to recycle this waste product into something useful. Fortunately you can get pine bark both by the bag and by bulk which makes it rather economical. The quality of pine bark does vary so most of you out there are advised to get a good look at what your local garden centers sell and determine what is best for you on a case by case basis. A major advantage to pine bark is that it forms a dense cover that most weeds have trouble getting through especially when an inch or more is applied. More so pine bark has all the useful qualities of pine straw with one difference. New applications of pine bark may float off during heavy rains and washout is a problem also. Good pine bark after weathering tends to be a golden-brown color.

Hardwood/Cedar Bark

 The hardwood and cedar group are more found up north, and tend to cost more but also last longer, and have anti-insect and decay properties. Cedar and cypress mulch are notorious for this effect which is good if termites are a concern and you can get cypress or cedar in bulk. Hardwood much tends to be maple or more commonly oak, and has the advantage of lasting at least as long as pine straw but is heavy enough to resist all but heavy rain induced washout. Cedar and Cypress both last the longest of the organic mulches and tend to weather to a light brown-gray where as hardwood much is often a light gray.

If you will notice I skipped two much products in this list, the first is rubber much and the second is any form of colored mulch. I skipped the former because of its habit of leaching zinc into the soil. Rubber much is often made of spent auto tires with the internal wires removed and thus due to vulcanization exudes zinc and in cheaper tires sulfur residue. Rubber mulch is however ok for use in kid’s playgrounds but not so good in an actual garden. The colored mulches were skipped because they are essentially the industries biggest scam. I might also add the red much is incredibly tacky looking unless you live in a McDonald’s restaurant. The real scam here is that when you buy a bag of dyed mulch not only are you paying for the cost of labeling and advertisement but also you are often buying a lower quality product. Depending on whom you buy colored mulch from at the worst the actual mulch may have ground up reject lumber and crushed wooden pallets instead of true timber materials. What they might call bark may not even actually be tree bark but the remains of the timber process after logs are turned into boards. There is the lack of permanence in the dyes used, as red much tends to turn pink, and black mulch takes on a gray color after a few weeks to a month or so. At a worst case scenario the dye leaches out and stains other surfaces. In short friends don’t let friends buy dyed mulch!

Considering the options of what mulch you use is as important as where you apply the material. As we all know mulch can act as a weed barrier because it prevents light from reaching the weed seeds that may lay dormant in the soil. More so the few weeds that do germinate then have to push their way though that extra layer of material just to get to light and but the time they do they’ve burned off a lot of energy. By this point the weeds are very visible and that’s where you come in. Needless to say mulch is quite important for your beds in numerous ways but did you know you can use mulch in your large pots for the same purposes? Indeed the test gardens insulate our 14” planters with a ½” layer of pine bark mulch to reduce watering needs and it seems to work. The squirrels also seem to want to mess with the planters less and fire ant mounts if they ever appear are very visible which makes it a triple bonus. We also use mulch in our raised and non-raised beds equally to promote better moisture retention and an improved topsoil quality as the bark does break down over time. But enough on this topic, next week we will cover watering, and after that plant selection. As promised earlier here are the week’s best test garden photographs.

This is what a maturing Kiwano or Horned Melon vine looks like, at the time of this photo the vines had reached the top of the 5' climbing support and were still aggressively growing despite that. If the growth is an indicator of the potential for fruit I may be buried in horned melons! I sold young kiwano plants this year and this folks is what you ought be prepared for.

Here Is that rascaly rabbit I was telling folks about. He or she posed right behind the tailgate of the truck long enough for me to snap two pictures. As it turns out this rabbit was no doubt attracted to the yard by the number of dandelions I grow which is a food staple for conttontail rabbits.

Ascepias tuberosum also known as Milkweed or Pleurisy Root in full bloom. This pure orange variety is one I brought to Fayetteville from new jersey and is the only perennial on premises that made it through year one. It's not well known but Asclepias of this type have a LONG taproot so they loathe to be transplanted. When grown from seed it takes two or three years for the seedlings to mature. Also the plants appear from nothing in late spring bloom and then slowly appear to decline and die going dormant until next year.

Yucca filimentosa also known as Adam's Needle or Spanish Bayonet, this tough perennial is best known for it's foliage but mature clumps flower in early summer. The flower stalks can be upwards of 6' tall and are covered with these bell shaped flowers. No scent but then not such a big deal for a plant often deemed unapproachable.

I snapped a shot of this butterfly on a particularly windy day as it settled in the pine straw no doubt to take a brief rest. After a little research it seems to be a black swallowtail type. According to some aspects of African lore butterflies carry the souls of those recently deceased. Personally I just consider the presence of this butterfly as a sign that the work completed int eh gardens is worth it.

A Silver Fir Tree tomato showing off it's 'fir' which sparkles a little in the light and it's mature form lacy foliage. This is one of the tomato varieties sold this year. Overall the fir tree tomato is turning out to be rather durable and is growing quite well in the test garden.

Oxalis articulata or Pink Sorrel this common garden plant is often considered a weed. As a relative of the sorrels it is a perennial with a reasonably good drought resistance. This little plant spreads both by seed and it's tuberous roots. It will tolerate poor soil drought and has few if any insect problems but may succumb to a fungal infection of Rust. Generally a cheery plant in the spring and fall very easy to propagate and it also makes for a reliable perennial addition to any garden.

Physalis, Cossack Pineapple Ground cherries in a 15" pot out in the test gardens. For note all pots in the test garden this year received a 1/" layer of much to conserve moisture. This variety was sold this year and this is what a established but not quite mature plant looks like. For those who don't know the ground cherry is a semi-native that is disease resistance and drought tolerant. There are few issues with this plant in general and the best part is most casual visitors will never know this is anything other then an ornamental. The fruit is fantastic though, they taste like little candies.

Penstemon gloxinoides, or Gloxinia-flowered beardtongue. This variety of penstemon has all the durability traits of the other varieties but also bears large two-tone flowers throughout summer. as you can see the variety above called Hot coral is very striking. These plants are drought tolerant but to do their best need a decent soil.

With that last picture this brings to a close another episode of Lost int he farmer's Market. I know this episode didn't quite make it online at the time it was planned with a plant list but, never fear, next week's episode should be posted on Thursday evening if not Friday proper.  In the next episode I'll continue the topic with a bit about soil amendments and quality and it's effect on how efficiently you water your garden.  As always folks be wary of heatstroke and hydration  and also keep 'em growing!