Category Archives: general

How to Make a Coldframe

My coldframe

A dear friend of mine, Kim, asked me if I would explain how to build a coldframe while there is still time before planting time in early Spring. There are many designs available online to make a coldframe or hot bed. Here is the coldframe plan (as a pdf) that I basically used when building my coldframe with a few small exceptions. Now mine isn’t super refined as you can see in the photo but seems to be working! (Be sure you look at the pdf because there is a lot more information in it). As you look at the plan, it’s pretty self explanatory but here is what I did for the sides and the bottom inside.

one page of the coldframe plan

I used 2 inch x 10 inch lumber for the bottom section all around and another 2″x10″ section for the top side slanted pieces. Cutting the diagonal piece is easy, I drew a line from one corner across diagonally to the other corner and cut on the line then I used one piece for each side on top of the bottom piece. The only thing I did differently is I put one more 1 x 2 inch piece vertically in the middle on each side  (screwed in-see photo not diagram) and in the back to join the top and bottom piece together. I added a 2 x 4  (long) piece on the lid that I screwed in (not tightly) so I can raise and lower the lid and prop it up vertically (see the piece holding up the lid on the right side). In the photo you notice I taped BIG bubble wrap (not small bubbles) with duct tape on on the inside of the plexiglass lid to add extra insulation in the dead of winter. I also divided mine into two sections.This isn’t in the plan but in the left section I started with hardwire cloth on the bottom to keep out gophers. Then I added dirt and compost on top of the hardwire so I could plant in it but the soil isn’t heated. The right side has a garden heating cable. I attached the cable with twist ties to the hardwire cloth that is cut out to fit the bottom. Then I turned over the hardwire cloth so now it is on top and place it on the bottom. I did this so I can’t put a spade through the cables while digging around in the dirt when planting. Then I put dirt on top like the other side. So the right side is a contemporary hot house when I plug in the heating cable (which I haven’t done yet). I will use it to heat the soil to a temperature so the seeds will sprout. A traditional hot house has a dug out area where ‘hot’ green manure is placed into. Then on top of that is the dirt that you would put your plants or seeds in. The manure gives off heat as it composts, heating the soil just like the heating cable. Now I love the idea of the manure and doing it naturally but I don’t want to have to replace it every year so I chose the heating cable. I will use an extension cord to bring power from the house. I’m experimenting with the non-heated and heated side to see if it really makes a difference in early Spring. If it does, I’ll heat the left side too next year.

Last time I reported, the right side which I planted with transplants in November, is still doing well while the left side where I planted transplants in January all died in the -20°F we had one night (except the parsley which survived) which is interesting cause I don’t even like parsley! I think the left side all died while the right side didn’t because they did not have any time to grow roots while the right side planted in November did. Remember I haven’t heated the right side yet so I know that wasn’t a factor. Anyways I’m sure the plans will help you more than my description!

Edible Flowers List for 2011

2011 EDIBLE FLOWER LIST

titan sunflowers

There are many flowers that are edible and beautiful either in regular garden or vegetable garden. I like to put all kinds of flowers in the veggie garden—some pollinators, attractors, and edible. I like the entrance to the veggie garden beautiful.  Following is the list of edible flowers that will be planted or are already on the property:

Borage

Calendula-Tangerine

Chives

Lavender (in existing different area)

Marigold-Lemon Gem

Nasturtiums-Alaska Tip Top

Pansies

Violas

Roses (in different existing area)

Black Oil Seed sunflower (for the birds!)

Titan Sunflowers

Vigilante Consumers Unite Against Monsanto

Coundn’t sleep last night so I decided to write a letter petitioning the President after reading a Mother Earth News article on Monsanto. The decision by the USDA to fully deregulate Genetically Engineered alfalfa is a travesty to all Americans. Where are the watchkeepers who are suppose to look after the American people? You can read the article here at motherearthnews.com If you want you can let the White House know that organic food has a right to exist and thrive, and that you do not support the deregulation of GE alfalfa or any crop, by signing this petition. I feel so strongly about this that here is a copy of my letter:

Dear President Obama:
I know you’ll never read this but I felt compelled to sign this petition.

I am outraged that despite an opportunity to PROTECT our consumers and farmers, your Administration has decided to allow Monsanto GE crops to continue to grow unchecked in the marketplace. Does Monsanto have such a hold over your administration, that you can’t do the right thing? They don’t have to subject their GE products to any testing before releasing them into the fields and markets. You might as well have just dropped a nuclear bomb on our country because of the devastating effects this may have in future years on our crops and people. Even other countries are not allowing Monsanto’s GE seeds into their countries. Are they so much wiser than us? I guess Monsanto’s lobbyists don’t have much clout with them.

This damaging decision, under your leadership, to permit commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered Roundup Ready alfalfa was made at the expense of agricultural diversity, farmer livelihoods, and my ability to choose.

And I want to be able to choose-whether the foods I eat contain genetically engineered ingredients and I choose NOT to. Will you let your children eat GE food products that have not been proven to be safe and where no guidelines have been in place?  Yes, it’s true, alfalfa is not consumed by humans but it is consumed by the cows whose milk we drink and the steers that we eat.

When it comes to GE crops in America, I will vote for choice both at the grocery store and at the polls in 2012 and THAT’S A SHAME BECAUSE I VOTED FOR YOU.

 

 

Chart for Seed Starting and Transplanting

Our first frost free day this year is Sunday May 15, 2011.

For those of us who start seeds indoors, here is a seed starting calculator from Johnny’s Select Seeds that I found online. It is on the upper right corner of the site. Once you open it, plug in the first frost free date for your area and it generate all kinds of useful information in a chart form from when to plant seeds for all kinds of common vegetables to when to set out the transplants into the garden. Then you can print it out and refer back to it as needed. So it is good for those of us who grow from seed and ALSO good for those of us who prefer to put out transplants we buy from the nurseries.

Here is Santa Fe’s (ZONE 5) Seed Starting Chart that I generated using May 15 as a date. To see the whole chart click this pdf- Johnny’s Selected Seeds – Superior Seeds & Gardening Tools . PDFs don’t show up on this  blog only connections to them so you’ll have to click to see it.

HELPFUL HINT:  If you have something that is longer than a page that you want to save from the internet on your computer. Go to FILE and then PRINT as if you were going to print it . Somewhere on your menu screen it says PDF. Go to that and then go to SAVE AS PDF. Click yes and now you have your document saved in it’s entirety on your computer desktop. You can also print it as well. This has been a very useful tip for me ins aving long documents.

I actually make several different seed starting charts-one based on the actual frost free date and one where I ‘push’ the date a little earlier to see if I can plant my tomato transplants early.  For most other veggies I go by the frost free date but the tomatoes I try to sneak in the ground as early as possible because I grow some varieties that ripen very late in the season and I want them to ripen before the first frost. Two years ago I got my tomatoes in the ground on April 15th because we had such a mild Spring but last year some plants didn’t even make it in till June-so it depends on the year and what the weather is like in Spring… So play with this chart to see when to plant your seeds or transplant you plants and then watch the weather!

Growing Heirloom Tomatoes From Seeds

The Heirloom Tomato by Amy Goldman

I just read an article online by Mother Earth News,  ‘56 Heirloom Tomatoes Rated Excellent for Flavor‘ that lists tomatoes from Amy Goldman‘s book, ‘The Heirloom Tomato: from Garden to Table’ which I got last year.  The article lists and describes 56 excellent heirloom tomatoes from her book. After reading this excellent article, if you want to know more, her book- ‘The Heirloom Tomato: from Garden to Table‘ is a must have for those of us who want to grow heirloom tomatoes from seeds and get some idea of what we are growing. It’s a beautiful book with wonderful photos of many heirloom tomatoes that Amy has rated for flavor, texture, color, type, history, where you can get the seeds, etc. I use it to help me decide which heirloom tomatoes to try each year now.

Interior of 'Gold Medal' Tomato

Last year, my favorite tomato from her book that I tried was Gold Medal, a bi-colored (red and yellow interior) tomato that took most of the season to ripen but was worth the wait. Check out the picture on the right to see the beautiful interior of these tomatoes. The plants were loaded and these beefstake type of tomatoes (about 1 lb) are firm, beautiful, and sweet with low acid.  I started these inside under a light box around the first week of March (10 weeks before our first frost free day-May 15) but I try to sneak my tomatoes out early (third week of April inside Wall of Waters) which is why I grow them 10 weeks instead of the customary 8 weeks for tomatoes. I will explain more on growing tomatoes from seeds in future posts as we get closer to planting time. You can buy the seeds at Baker Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com).

How to Tell the Germination Rate in Old Seeds

If you just can’t bear to throw out those old seeds, here’s a test to tell how viable your older seeds are. Take 10 seeds and soak for about 1 hour, then put them between damp paper towels and in a plastic ziplock baggie. Put in a warm spot (on top of your refrigerator or on a grow heating mat). Keep checking them daily and when you get them to germinate, count up how many actually did germinate. If you got 3, then you have a 30% germination rate, 5 would be a 50% germination rate and so forth. If you only get 1-2, throw them out, their not worth the trouble. So if you have a 100 seeds, then you can be pretty assured that around 30 would germinate (30% rate).

Winter Spinach!

Winter Spinach-Feb 1, 2011

 

Just before we dipped down into -10 to -15°F for nightime lows during the first week of February here in Santa Fe, I picked all the spinach that had been growing up till then. I figured the winter garden greens growing in my coldframe (that is only protected by some bubble wrap on the lid-nothing protecting the 2 x 10 wood on the sides) would be toast but unbelieveably it survived! Not only survived but thrived! Now the chard is starting to really grow! I continue to be astonished by it all. I got 4 salads from the spinach and it was the best I ever had-I’m not just saying that either. I’ve never seen such deep green coloring for ANY spinach and it was so tender. Delicious! I only picked the bigger leaves so I’ll see if it regrows again. I’m starting to become a believer in this winter garden thing. Things grow a little slower in winter but hey, I’m a little slower in winter too.

OMG-what will it do in Spring?!

Keeping a Vegetable Gardening Journal for Each Year

Pumpkin Journal (left), and Vegetable Journal (right)

You might consider keeping a fruit and vegetable journal for 2011. I actually have 2-one for giant veggies and one for the regular veggies. In this you could put the date you start your seeds outdoors, in your greenhouse, and inside with information like temperature of soil, air, temperature inside what day you started, how long it took to germinate, what the weather was like during this time period, what varieties you started, how much water you supplied, if you presoaked any seeds, etc and then continue this journal throughout the season as to how the varieties do,  when they blossom or when you get your first fruit, what pests or diseases appeared and when, what you did to rectify the issues, what varieties were your favorites and why, etc. I bought a nice notebook (something you will want to keep-not just loose sheets of paper that get lost) that I have kept for the last 3 years and add to it for each new year. Every few days I put down what is happening in the garden in the evening when I have some time. I have found it invaluable in future years to look back (in winter) to help me determine what I would do the same and what I would change for the new season. You’ll be amazed at what you will read the next year.

Closeup of Vegetable Journal

I’ve been trying to tweak out my timetable for starting my seeds inside and have referred back to the journals. For instance, 2 years ago I started seeds inside in February and found for me that was too soon-just too cold and I had to replant a lot of seeds in March. Especially tomatoes-they don’t like cold nights (or days) and get stunted and the leaves turn purple. This is because of a phosphorus deficiency where it is not available to plants when the soil and air temp is too cold. Read my post, ‘Learn from my mistakes when starting tomatoes!’ on how to remedy this. Also for you greenhouse people read this forum from Organic Gardening. Luckily that year, I was able to sneak a lot of the ones I had restarted out in mid April with protection because of the mild winter we had even though the plants were smaller- but they were not leggy.

In contrast, last year I planted seeds inside under lights in early March (thinking I had waited long enough to start). But we had such a harsh cold spring that the plants (which looked great) had to stay inside too long and got too tall because I couldn’t put them out till much later (many plants in June) because of really cold nights (27° F till June 6th). How would I have remembered this and what I did differently without a journal. Every year is brings new challenges to us growers in Santa Fe, NM so having a journal that I can refer back to is helpful. Besides it’s fun..

Favorite Vegetable Gardening Books

Here are some of my favorite gardening book to read and reread for reference throughout the year for regular and giant vegetables. Just click on each book to see it larger. All of these can be found at amazon.com.

10 things to Do in February For the Garden

We may not be able to get out in our gardens right now but it is time to get busy with things to do to get ready for the garden. March will be seed starting time and there will be lots to do before for that. I will be elaborating on some of these items over the next few posts as I see there is moe info I can offer.

1. Go over your current seed supply. Organize it. Get rid of any seeds over 3 years old unless you froze them. Fresh seeds are essential for good germination. Older seeds have less success of germinating.

2. Decide which vegetables you want for this year and order any seeds you may need to get from seed catalogs.

3. Talk to your local nursery to see what they might be growing this year. I give a list to mine and they tell me what they are growing so I don’t duplicate. I prefer to let them do the growing, it’s just that I want to grow so many different varieties that they might not have so I have  to start some by seed.

4. Stock up on any fertilizers, amendments, compost, nutrients, mycorizzial, and biomicrobes you may need for veggies. i.e- tomatoes, giant pumpkins

5. Check your grow light boxes to make sure they work. Get new bulbs if necessary.

6. Check grow heating mats to make sure they work and get more if necessary. Last year I had one and ordered another as my seed growing expanded.

7. Purchase soil seed starting mix. I use Metro Mix 100 to start seeds. This stuff is great. The water doesn’t roll off the ‘dirt’ like many seed starting soils

8. Clean and sterilize any containers you plan to reuse for seed starting or transplanting seedlings. Use a 10% bleach to water ratio to rinse off the containers.

9. Buy any containers you may need for seed starting/transplanting. Most gardening stores sell up to 3″ in the peat pots. If you want a 4″ peat pot, go to Territorial Seeds. They are the only ones that have that size. I need them for my giant varieties cause they grow so fast. I also like the flats that have a raised lid. good for germination.

10. Read at least one good gardening book your interested in each month during the winter. I’m almost finished with ‘Four Season Gardening’ by Eric Coleman and just ordered ‘The Compost Tea Brewing Manual’ by Elaine R. Ingham.

Brutal Cold Weather Hard on Barn Animals

The weather here in Santa Fe has been brutal, no make that VICIOUS with it’s extreme cold weather this last few days. We’ve had -10 to -15 ° F weather here at night with the daytime temperatures only getting between 6° to 10° F  for 4 days and that doesn’t include the wind chill. Coldest weather in decades.

My poor barn animals have not been happy. There is little way for them to recover from the cold nights with the equally cold daytime temperatures. We’ve definitely been in a survival mode here at the little farm.

My Belgium Golden Campine, 'Chimay'

I lost one chicken to the cold even with my heat lamps on inside their coop.  It was a Belgium Golden Campine, named ‘Chimay’-I will miss her and her little chirps. She never did very well with cold weather much less this extreme cold. The chicken water heater wasn’t working very well so I took them hot water to melt it yesterday. I have another new water heater for them that I took down today and installed it.

The goats have a big water trough outside in the corral that is heated (and working) and I have a little heated bucket inside in their stall at night. The heated bucket  decided not to work and when I went down yesterday morning at -15°, it was frozen solid so I brought it up to the house to thaw and it evidently had cracked but I couldn’t see it through the ice. So it leaked all the water all over the living room yesterday after it melted while I was at work. Great.. I finally found a feed store with only 2 heated buckets left and got one of them.  All the other feed stores were sold out. Phew!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve been making both the goats and chickens oatmeal (with raisins!) everyday and they have enjoyed a hot meal. I give little blobs of peanut butter (high energy food) on a popsicle stick to my goats to help keep their energy going and grain and of course LOTS of hay. The goats are amazingly hardy as their barn is not heated. They have a big stall with about a foot of straw on the floor and yesterday we made smaller areas with straw bales inside the stall for insulation  and protection. They are out of the wind and wet but the temperature is still bad (but suppose to improve). Today the sun is out and no wind and they are out sunning themselves, I’m sure trying to suck up as much heat as they can get from the sun. Ahh. Life on a mini farm.. Finally it is starting to warm up 34° high/14° F low tomorrow-if you can call that warm..

Well, one good thing-Phil didn’t see his shadow so hopefully we will have an early Spring.

Ground Hog Day 2011-Phil Predicts an Early Spring -Fierce Battle Takes Place Before Ceremony

Phil predicts an early Spring amid turmoil at Gobbler's Knob

Just in from US national media: Phil the Groundhog from Gobbler’s Knob doesn’t see his shadow predicts an early Spring!

Phil the Ground Hog narrowly escapes overthrow!

What wasn’t viewed on the US media but was reported by BBC was what really happened just minutes before his prediction.

A fierce battle took place before the ceremony.

Bobbi was about to enter Gobblers Knob with his militia intending to overthrow Phil when…

Daa Lee Lamba attempts takeover at ceremony

Bobbi and Phil’s handlers got a secret message from Phil of an impending danger for all of Groundhogdom.

The Daa Lee Lamba, a sheep from the Baaalands of Lakota, (who coveted the groundhog title) and exiled to a Kiddie Petting Farm, intended to overthrow the existing groundhogs and take the title for himself. He and his masses of groundhogs (whom he had converted by hypnotizing them with his stare) had infiltrated the huge crowd of humans who had come to see Phil’s annual prediction. One of Daa Lee Lamba’s groundhog followers, being blind, wasn’t hypnotized and sent a message to Phil warning him.

Now the handlers when they heard of this dilemma, didn’t want this to happen as they have a good thing going with this Groundhog Day thing and Bobbi wasn’t going to stand by and let some outsider sheep take over. When the handlers were notified, they noticed a huge group of other groundhogs at the event that were guarding this lamb-the Daa Lee Lamba who had just entered.

Phil's little brother-Bobbi, fights in battle

Upon seeing that, they briskly wisked Phil away for awhile to protect him while Bobbi’s militia entered the event and  joined forces with Phil’s troops to battle the Daa Lee Lamba’s troops. When Bobbi stood up and exposed the Daa Lee Lamba’s real intent to all in the crowd, the followers of Daa Lee Lamba’s split into 2 sectors and some started rioting against the Daa Lee Lamba, fighting along with Phil’s and Bobbi’s troops.

Many of the humans being alarmed about being in a ground hog riot, fled in fear of being bitten by the ground hogs or shot by Bobbi (who was the only one in the crowd with a gun).

The fighting was intense with much biting, kicking and knawing going on between the groups but in the end, the Daa Lee Lamba’s groundhog followers refused to turn against their own kind.

Daa Lee Lamba, with tail between his legs, was last seen fleeing the event with only a few loyal followers.

The US media reporters, having a blind eye themselves, being controlled by corporate interests, only saw Phil come out and do his prediction.

For helping to save Groundhogdom, the handlers promised Bobbi major reform in the Groundhog Parliament and promised to meet Bobbi’s demands of better housing, lower taxes, and Secret Service Protection (for the groundhogs who felt threatened by some humans who thought they were gophers).

They also made Phil, King of the Ground Hogs, and henceforward would ask Phil to come out and not force him to come out of his royal home to do the predictions.

Bobbi became a hero amongst his fellow groundhogs and Phil knighted him, made him Prime Minister and gave him the highest rank of General of all of GroundHogdom to ward off any future intruders. In the end, blood was thicker than water-Bobbi came to the aid of his brother.

Thus Groundhogdom and Phil were saved and the future of Ground Hog Day protected… for now.

To read the other earlier posts about Bobbi, Phil and Ground Hog Day, scroll down.

Phil the groundhog continued..

Phil's 'servants'

Special Wikileak Release: 12:15 am, Tuesday, Feb 1, 2011

This will be a special anniversary for Phil the groundhog. Phil has been coming out of his bed for 125 years! The anniversary is called the quasiquicentennial. What he doesn’t know is what is going to happen tomorrow. What an old fart! No wonder Bobbi, Phil’s little brother is sick of him and his seemingly aristocratic ways! What Bobbi, doesn’t know is that Phil’s been forced out of his bed, not voluntarily coming out on his own for all those years and hopes some other groundhog will someday rescue him. The picture you see of him and his so called ‘servants’ are really his handlers who force him out every year. He wants to retire and let some one younger take his spot in the limelight but on Phil’s terms.

Phil's little brother-Bobbi

So while Bobbi is planning his coup on this Ground Hog’s Day with his militia (to depose Phil and get more rights for groundhogs), and Phil has gathered his troops to at least defend his title (so he can leave honorably), a third character has been quietly waiting in the shadows hoping for both to destroy each other so he may take over Phil’s title. This character is Daa Lee Lamba, a mild mannered lamb that wants to take the title for himself. He too was exiled from his native land, (the Baaaaaad Lands of  South Lakota) to a Kiddie petting zoo in England for cross dressing as a ground hog. He was always considered the black sheep of his family and rejected by his family with his radical sheep fantasies of being someone other than who he was- a common sheep. He says he only advocates

Daa Lee Lamba

peace but has secretly coveted Phil’s position for years and has planted other groundhog followers in both Phils troops and Bobbi’s militia organization that keep him informed of what both of them are up to and to stir things up. He has thousands of other groundhogs who look up to him as a holy lamb who will lead them into the night. (they like all things dark and earthy smelling).  He also plans on going to Gobblers Knob with his masses of groundhog followers to make sure neither one will gain or retain the title. Phil or Bobbi have no idea of what is to come tomorrow.. Stay tuned for the final conclusion!

Pasta Making 101

Pasta making 101

What does making homemade pasta got to do with gardening? Nothing! But a gardener’s got to do something in the dead of winter and I wanted to try out that new pasta machine that I got for a birthday gift in June. I thought it would be a great compliment to my homemade spaghetti sauce that I canned last Fall from all those tomatoes I grew. Lava, Elodie and myself are the ‘chefs’ that made it happen. We did many things wrong and it still turned out great!

Trying to keep the well from breaking..

First mix flour (preferably Tipo 00 Italian flour which is finer that regular flour) with some eggs. Your suppose to put the flour on a board and pile it up and make a well  in the center of the flour (like mash potatoes and gravy) and crack the eggs in the well being careful not to break the well. Of course the well broke and it was a mess mixing it together. We had to add more water than the recipe called for because it wasn’t mixing very well but finally it looked somewhat like dough after kneading for awhile. Then we put plastic wrap on it and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. After that we cut it in half. It looked great! What a surprise! We then put a quarter of the doughball through the machine which eventually makes for very long pieces. We ran it through the 1st setting 5 times, each time folding it in thirds and then rerunning it through again. After 5 times, we started setting the machine at #2 setting and then the #three and so forth until we tighten it to setting #6.  Each time it would get longer and longer and  thinner and thinner, eventually reaching about 2 feet long. After that we ran it through the machine where it cuts the pasta into linguine or spaghetti shaped long strands. We cut the finished pieces in half to not be so long (I imagined slurping up a two foot long piece of linguine in my mouth). Finally we put it on a clean floured dishtowel to dry for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to heat the sauce and have a glass of wine! Lots of fun and it tasted great! Here is a quick slide show.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Possible Coup Coming on Ground Hog Day in 2011

Phil the Groundhog

Just released from Wikileaks: Coming up on Wednesday Feb 2, 2011 is Ground Hog’s Day. Phil, the famous Punxsutawney groundhog will come out of his home (Gobblers Knob) in England and predict whether we will have more winter weather or not. Unbeknown to everyone, Phil has a little brother Bobbi that I discovered and introduced last year on Ground Hog Day.  You can read the original post here.

Phil's little brother Bobbi

Bobbi, Phil’s little brother, is a radical left wing groundhog, one of the original Chicago weathermen group, currently living in Ireland.  Bobbi who has long been jealous of his older brother’s notoriety has  been planning a coup on Gobbler’s Hill since last year. Rumor has it it he has a ground hog militia ready for his takeover of Gobbler’s Hill and exile of his brother Phil from England and plans his attack on Ground Hog Day. Bobbi sees his brother getting fat, old and egotistical with all the attention he gets each year and is sick of it. Some of the changes he wants that have not been addressed in the ground hog world are: mandatory retirement age for Phil the groundhog (Phil’s been in too long), paid admission to see the groundhog every year when he comes out, better food for the groundhogs, better housing, social security benefits, health insurance and secret service protection from those crazy humans who might want to kill them thinking they are gophers. Phil on the other hand, got wind of his brother’s plan and has added extra security for himself  and his staff. On Ground Hog’s Day more than just the weather prediction might happen. Stay tuned for the real story..