Carrots in Love

One of the cool things about growing your own garden is finding things you will never see in the produce section of your local supermarket. I speak of double tomatoes, potatoes resembling certain profiles of religious icons, okra growing in spirals, Jerusalem Artichokes reminiscent of ancient aerial views of that city and, among many other oddities, these entwined carrots dug up this evening right in time for Valentine’s Day.

Now what would cause such physical intimacy among vegetables except love? I know for a fact that, even though they grow in the dirt, lust (as opposed to “dust”) is unknown among vegetables. Furthermore, since they must stay together until harvest, “one-night-stands” are impossible to arrange (even if the place they grow is referred to as a “bed”).  Talk about Botany of Desire! (apologies to Michael Pollan.)

No, this is love “rooted” in its purest form. And, since I garden organically, this is ardor “unsoiled” by artificial additives (Don’t you love alliteration?).

Anyway, I think this picture is hard to beet. So how far can we carrot? Lettuce see.

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

Berry, Berry Good!

For those of you who hang on every word I write and can’t wait for the next installment, let me relieve the anticipation.  I’m announcing that the berries have arrived and found their place in the soil of Charamon garden.  I would insert a picture but there’s nothing to see.  The Raspberries consist of six sticks protruding from the ground.  The blackberries are six tiny plants lost in the background and the strawberries are basically invisible.

I will say that in each planting I coated the roots with mychorrizae and amended the soil with Texas Greensand, Bonemeal, Bloodmeal (in some cases) and Cottonseed meal (in some cases) and used my hard-won charcoal (biochar) until it ran out.  Now we wait to see what happens.

What I am expecting is lots and lots of berries.  Some we will eat, some I will sell.  In the meantime, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so!  The reality, however, is that my granddaughter refuses to eat peas no matter what Nonnie and Pop say.

The Berries are Coming!

Digging the Holes

Charamon Garden constantly evolves.  I give natural selection an assist by saving the seeds of several vegetables from plants which seem to do well (productive, tasty, nutritious) and, I am assured, become better adapted to our West Texas conditions with each generation.

The Amendments

Take my tomatoes (a neighbor actually took that too seriously while we were absent).  I have lost track of the original strain now and I try to add more genetic diversity each year.  To my mixed-up heirlooms, I am adding genetic material from a Russian variety called Black Krim this summer.  We will enjoy those delicious Russians and save the seed from those and the original strain which “do well.”  By the time I pass on, I hope to pass on a delectable tomato that grows especially well in our little corner of the world.

Mixing the Soil

Charamon garden also changes in composition.  This year I am adding berries.  Any day now I am expecting a shipment of Blackberries (especially suited for the South), Raspberries and Strawberries.  In regard to the former, once planted they are supposed to last for fifteen years or more.

My response to that longevity is to make sure their soil is the best it can be.  Given my native soil, that’s quite a challenge!  That means I have to make certain amendments.  So, in preparation for the new arrivals I have dug seven holes spaced about three feet (0.91 meters) apart.  The dirt from each hole goes into the cement mixer.  To that I add Texas Greensand, bone meal, blood meal, charcoal and composted manure.  As it mixes, I try to break up all the clods before dumping the improved earth beside the hole.

When the plants arrive, I will sprinkle mychorrizae around the roots and fill in the holes.  I hope it makes them very happy and productive.

I told my wife I thought this post needed a little sex-appeal and asked her to take a picture of me to add to this blog.  When she finally quit laughing she obliged me while gently advising me not to expect too much.  So, please feel free to comment, but hold the offers of marriage…I’m very happily wedded to my high school sweetheart.

In the meantime, eat your veggies (and berries).  Nonnie and Pop said so.

Recommended Reading

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan – get it, read it (or listen to it), apply it. I have not read a single book by this journalist…I’ve listened to them. I started out with The Botany of Desire, continued with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and am now in the middle of In Defense of Food. I heartily recommend each of them.

Michael is not a farmer or scientist or nutritionist. He’s a journalist. True to his profession, he is a great investigator and researcher. As I’ve listened to each book I have noticed a growing passion for good, healthy, nutritious, enjoyable food. Pollan celebrates food. He is also a bit of an agitator. He is an influential voice among the growing number of activists calling for a major overhaul of the way we grow and consume food.

In his latest book, he takes on “nutritionism.” Most of what Americans (and, I’ve noticed, Australians) are being encouraged to buy and eat is not food…it is, as Pollan states, “…edible foodlike substances.” These are the concoctions of the food processors. They process real food into junk food and sell it by advertising the “nutrients” they add back in. Growing ill health is the result.

His writing style makes this, for organic gardeners like myself, a real page-turner. His research is painstaking. His intrepid investigation brings unquestionable credibility to his work.. If you are part of the growing organic movement, you don’t want to miss this book.

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