What makes a great gardener?

It is Love.  It is the kind of love that gives birth to passion.  Max Schling said, “The love of flowers is really the best teacher of how to grow and understand them.” It’s true!  Great gardeners are great lovers.  They love the plants and the soil in which they grow.

Consider: we study what we love.  If one loves God, one studies about Him.  A lover of God seeks a relationship with Him.  He reads the Bible, he prays, he seeks the heart of God.

On a more earthly note, if a man loves a woman he takes great pains to learn what pleases her.  He studies her.  He listens to her heart.  He helps her blossom and grow.  He learns how to nurture and care for her.  He wants to be with her as much as he can.  He wants to blend his essence with hers.

When one loves the plants and soil a similar process takes place.  He will study, he will read, he will learn.  The gardener will “listen” to his garden and its needs.  She knows the truth of the Chinese proverb, “The best fertilizer is the shadow of the Gardener.” When one loves to garden, learning never ceases.  One simply cannot get enough.  A willfully neglected garden is simply an unloved garden.

Moving Right Along

Autumn is a busy time of year for Texas gardeners and we are no exception here at Charamon Garden.  It has been uncharacteristically wet this Autumn and here in Abilene we are just a half inch short of breaking the long drought.  The timing of the rain has kept me from getting everything out but we never complain about rain in these parts!

We have been able to get in 25 Broccoli and 21 Kale plants in addition to two long rows of Swiss Chard (Silverbeet).  Two varieties of lettuce are doing well.  I think we left the carrots too long (not germinating) but we’ll see.  We have three varieties of garlic in the ground and growing nicely (needs weeding already).  Still to do: 21 Collard plants–but we’ll have to wait for drier weather.

Next job is harvesting a small crop of sweet potatoes and clearing that bed and another one.  At the moment I’m thinking I’ll sow Hairy Vetch in those and put the tomatoes in them in the Spring.

Another job that inspires procrastination is clearing the long bed where the tomatoes grew this summer.  They are ridden with Bermuda grass…eech!  Lots of work ahead.

In the meantime, eat your veggies.  Nonnie and Pop said so!

Squash Mystery

I wasn’t really using the long bed, so I let the vines and weeds have their way.  They aggressively took over the bed and tried to infiltrate into adjoining beds but I ruthlessly pruned any who strayed too far.

Then, one day I noticed this monster beginning to swell.  I had never seen anything like it before (it is even bigger than this picture now).  I sent a photo to my fellow-gardener, Gibby Gilbert, and he did a little research and pronounced it a “Banana Squash.”  It is supposed to be good to eat so I am letting it mature on the vine.

The mystery is: where did it come from?  It must have grown out of the compost as do other kinds of squash that we consume.  But, to my knowledge, we have never partaken of one of these.  How did the seed or seeds get into my compost bin?  It’s a safe bet we’ll never know.

In the meantime, eat your veggies.  Nonnie and Pop said so!

Charamon Garden Report:Summer 2009

If you read this blog or live in this region you know: gardening in West Texas has some major challenges!  Our major challenge this summer has been keeping things watered.  We normally don’t get much rain here but that difficulty has been enlarged in the last few weeks with our extremely hot weather.  Hot and dry conspire to destroy!  Add to that the constant battle with weeds.  Gripe, gripe, gripe.

Early Summer Dew on a Young Blackberry

Thankfully, we can supplement our needs with well water…hard as it is.  Most of our plantings tolerate it well but the berries hate it.    Half of the blackberries that I planted bit the dust…literally.  But that means the other half seem to be making it.  The strawberries, on the other hand, require daily water and, lately, shade.  I believe they will make it…barely.  My experimental planting of raspberries failed.  Wrong variety, wrong climate.  But I’m not finished yet!  Next year, God willing, I will try some varieties better suited to our hellish conditions.  I hope it works because I’m getting old and I would like to grow and eat some berries before I die.

OK, enough of the complaining!  On the more positive side, everything

Baskets of Summer Fruit plus some Herbs

else seems to be thriving in spite of the water and weather.   Tomatoes, squash, summer peas, okra…all seem to be doing OK.  We have a bumper crop of figs this year…yum!  I am blessed with a huge garden area and soil that gets better every year.

Organic Sales Were Up More Than Seventeen Percent in 2008

• By Ethan Huff
  NaturalNews, June 5, 2009
  Straight to the Source

The Organic Trade Association reported on May 4, 2009, that sales of organic products, both food and non-food, topped $24.6 billion in 2008, representing a 17.1 percent increase over 2007 figures. Amid economic turmoil both domestically and abroad, where most other product categories have been witnessing declining growth or even declining sales overall, the organic segment of the market in the U.S. has seen impressive gains and continues to procure popularity. This can be seen in the latest reports that show organic food sales now accounting for roughly 3.5 percent of overall food sales in the U.S.

While organic food products experienced a noteworthy 15.8 percent upswing in 2008 sales, attaining $22.9 billion, organic non-food products achieved an impressive 39.4 percent surge in sales, reaching $1.648 billion. This all occurred despite dire predictions by marketing research experts that organic sales would tumble due to massive economic contraction.

Though the rate of growth has been steadily declining over the past several years, waning from a 20.9 percent growth rate in 2006 to its most recent 14.6 percent industry growth rate last year, several significant organic milestones have been achieved including organic fruits and vegetables now accounting for almost 10 percent of overall produce sales. Organic food sales also grew more than three times the rate of conventional food sales which saw a mere 4.9 percent growth rate.

In the primary categories by segment, fruit and vegetable sales were up 6 percent from 2007, dairy up 13 percent, non-dairy beverages up a whopping 32 percent, breads and grains up 35 percent, and meat and fish up 12 percent. Other categories include packaged-prepared foods up 21 percent, snack foods up 11 percent, and sauces and condiments up 23 percent.

The report illustrates that, despite current economic woes, many people continue to navigate the tortuous world of food offerings with health in mind, choosing organic products in order to reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). Studies have shown that, despite typically higher prices, organic consumers consider quality as well as price when perceiving value, leading them to choose organic over conventional even during financial crunch times. But which organic products provide the most benefits over their conventional counterparts?

The Environmental Working Group has published a list of its “Dirty Dozen”, or the 12 most pesticide-ridden fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests performed between 2000 and 2007 measuring the presence of contaminants after being rinsed or peeled. Nectarines and peaches topped the list as being most contaminated with pesticides, followed closely by apples, strawberries, and imported grapes. Onions, avocados, and sweet corn, on the other hand, were found to be among the cleanest and most pesticide-free, even when produced conventionally. The full list can be found at http://www.foodnews.org.

2009 Garlic Harvest

Garlic does quite well in our West Texas soil, water and climate.  We easily doubled our harvest from last year (2008) and plant to double it yet again in 2010.  This harvest (pictured) took me all day right at the end of April.

Garlic Curing

A bit of curing in a shady place and it’s ready to provide pungent passion and pizzazz for pasta, pizza and a plethora of other provisions.

If you want to grow garlic in zone 7, find a type that does well in your area and plant it in early autumn.  It will grow through the winter and be ready to harvest at the end of April.  Keep it weeded and watered and you will be rewarded for your labor.  In the

One of the big ones

meantime, eat your veggies, Nonnie and Pop said so!

Thanks to daughter-in-law Keely Nikaye Carpenter Whitsett for the pictures.

Bermuda Wars Resume

Ah yes, ’tis the season of Bermuda…not that lovely Atlantic archipelago but the cursed and unwelcome grass that invades the homes of my vegetables.  All gardeners love to see things grow in the summer with the exception of certain weeds.  My weeds are, in order of despicability, Bermuda, Khaki Burr, Nutgrass, Bindweed and another kind of grass that has burrs that stick to any article of clothing that come too close.  Bermuda, however, remains the chief offender.   I like the way Carol Ann Sayle of Boggy Creek Farm put it.  When it looked like our Texas dry spell had killed the weeds…

The Bermuda grass had cheated of course, never meaning to die at all. During the months with no rain, it lay sullenly restricted, while its roots searched beneath the soil for elusive moisture. It was intent on keeping us on edge, and when the rain came, it sneeringly erupted and spread its runners vigorously, and flung its seeds where runners found it hard to go.

In Charamon Garden the Bermuda’s runners don’t find much of anywhere “hard to go.”  Well, gotta go, time for Bermuda patrol.  In the meantime, eat your veggies, Nonnie and Pop said so!

Freezing, Frying and Flying

See Photos at bottom

We can talk about the weather with anyone in nearly anyplace around the world (providing they speak your language…if not, sign language will work). Nearly every region has a line that goes something like this: “If you don’t like the weather in (any location) just wait a while and it’ll change.” West Texas is one of the most changeable. I’ve seen a dust storm, converted to falling mud by rain, beaten into mush by pounding hail and covered by a snow blizzard…all in one day!

The last few days have been notable (understatement). Monday, the high temperature was a sizzling 93F (34C) followed by a nocturnal freeze 27F (-3C). Today we have tree-toppling high winds. To top it all off, we are in a serious drought. Certainly hasn’t been boring!

For the freeze, emergency measures were called for. Fourteen tender new tomato plants were gently set out just days ago. I slid a brown paper sack over each one and slopped dirt on the edges to anchor them in place in hopes of warding-off the frost. Thankfully, it worked.

After frying and freezing, today things were flying. Grit and grime from New Mexico has tinted the parched wind a light brown and toppled the mesquite next door on to our power lines. It was shocking! Currently, the damage is limited to a severely smashed chain link fence. Number 1 took off from work and helped me chainsaw it free (I think he enjoyed the break). Power is out all over our town and the countryside is filled with brush fires. Other than that everything is OK.

Mowing down Hairy Vetch & Rye in future Tomato Bed

Paper sacks in place ready for frost

The morning after...safe and unfrozen

Danger! Mesquite over power lines!

Another electrifying view

Go Organic and Save $

One of my favorite gardening blogs is Veggie Gardening Tips by Kenneth E. Point. If you are interested in going organic (and you should) this is a great blog to follow.  He has featured two articles by Fern Marshall Bradley that really make sense.

It is now generally accepted that organically grown fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than those grown using inorganic chemicals.  More nutritious means more healthy.  The stuff you grow (or is grown near you) using organic methodology tastes so much better than that shipped to your supermarket from hundreds and thousands of miles away.

If you want produce that tastes marvelous and will keep you healthier, save money and grow it yourself.  If you can’t do that, buy from local producers.  In the meantime, eat your veggies.  Nonnie and Pop said so!

Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Now All Organic!, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living.

Beware of Weeds Bearing Gifts

alternanthera-pungens

It was such a lovely little ground-hugging plant. I first noticed it growing in the paths between the beds. And, along with its loveliness, it was driving out the Bermuda grass. So, not only did I allow it to grow, but I encouraged it. It was soft, pleasant to walk on and kneel on to work the beds…a gift!

It spread readily throughout the garden that first year. Then, late in the season I went out to do a little weeding and knelt down upon this lovely little plant and…PAIN! It had developed thousands of tiny little stickers that stuck to me, my shoes, my clothes, knees and hands. I had been fooled! The pretty, little seemingly harmless plant was none other than Alternanthera pungens or Creeping Chaffweed aka Khaki Burr Weed! Apparently a problem throughout the known world but unknown at Charamon until the last couple of years.

So here is the lesson, never trust a weed! It may be pretty, it may have a lovely little flower, it may hold the promise of being beneficial. But then, when you least expect it, it will turn on you to become another enemy of the estate.

It is so pervasive now that I’ll probably never be fully rid of it. About the best that can be said is that, along with Nutsedge and Bermuda, it makes pretty good biochar.