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.

“The Earth is Tired”

“Tè a fatige,” said 70 percent of Haitian farmers in a recent survey when asked about the major agricultural problems they faced. “The earth is tired.”

And no wonder. Virtually since 1492, when Columbus first set foot on the heavily forested island of Hispaniola, the mountainous nation has shed both topsoil and blood—first to the Spanish, who planted sugar, then to the French, who cut down the forests to make room for lucrative coffee, indigo, and tobacco. (National Geographic Magazine accessed January 8, 2009 at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/bourne-text)

We have a dirt problem on planet Earth. We are covering up some good agricultural lands with subdivisions, factories, and shopping malls and damaging the rest in innumerable ways. But this is the dirt that will have to feed us in years to come. We are fouling our own nest, biting the hand that feeds us, cutting off our nose to spite our face. Such shameless and ignorant disregard for our own well being is the rotten fruit of greed and stupidity.

Problems such as this don’t persist because there are no answers. They persist when we are not interested in the solutions. Here’s the reason: the solutions are not as profitable as the present corporate gang-rape of our farmland. Sadly, the cost will be incredibly high. Simply put, we are setting the stage on which we will act in our own drama of destruction…and…we are doing it willingly. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

I feel qualified to speak here because, as a small gardener in a semi-arid patch of West Texas I started with nutrient-poor alkaline clay and now have several inches of productive topsoil. I grow most of the vegetables for our family of six. How did I do it? I read, studied and worked hard. I have loved my soil into productivity and sustainability. I figure if it can be done here then almost anyone can do it.

If you have access to a patch of dirt, you have a blessing from God given into your stewardship. The soil is a living community. Like any living thing it must be cared for. It must be fed and watered. Its needs must be met. It must be valued and cherished. In return, it will give us food to sustain us. If we neglect, exploit and mistreat our soil, it will grow tired and sick. Then, like the precious soils and souls of Haiti, we will grow tired and sick also.

You might not be able to change the world but you can change your world. Here are some things you can do on your own land.

Practice organic techniques. This is a vast subject but my top five principles are:

1. Use only organic soil amendments and fertilizers
2. Avoid the use of chemicals
3. Practice composting
4. Practice mulching

Practice sustainable techniques. Another huge area but some things you can do are:

1. Avoid plowing and tilling unless absolutely necessary
2. Grow cover crops
3. Conserve water using drip irrigation
4. Grow crops suitable for your climate
5. Rotate crops

The State of the Garden – Autumn, 2008

1. The Autumn/Winter garden is planted. Carrots, Lettuce, Garlic, Elephant Garlic, Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Collards, Swiss Chard and peas.
2. Three fallow beds have been planted with cover crops of Hairy Vetch and Austrian Winter Peas. Four more to go.
3. We are harvesting the last of the Okra, Jalapeño and Green Peppers, Eggplant and Tomatoes.
4. We will soon be harvesting Sun chokes (AKA Jerusalem Artichokes).

If you live in the Abilene, Texas area, we will be selling some stuff at the Farmer’s Market from 2-4 Saturday afternoons. In the meantime, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so!

Trickle, trickle, splash, splash

Here in the semi-desert of West Texas, we have to depend on irrigation.  The Charamon Garden is watered by infrequent rain and water from my well.  As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the water is not all that great.  It is full of minerals (gypsum mostly) and, at times, sand and clay.  The plants seem to thrive on it.  The major problem is not the water but the system used to deliver it: drip irrigation.

I never hook up my supply to the irrigation lines without having to clean one or more emitters.  This involves flushing the line by opening the end and then pulling the blue “flag” out of each clogged emitter, using the water that sprays out of the top to clean the emitter and replacing the flag.  A real pain in the…well, you know.   I plan to get my humongous filtration system up soon but, in the meantime, I am depending on the small filters at the head of each distribution manifold.  They filter out the sand easily enough, but the clay is finer than talcum powder and eventually clogs the emitters.

Today, I pulled the screens out of six filters, took them to the kitchen sink, plopped them in a bowl of warm water and detergent and rinsed them and scrubbed them with a brush resembling a test-tube brush.  It’s one of those chores that will be repeated over and over again during the dry season.  You might say it is one of those chores that screens out those who are not serious!

Filter screens and caps

Drip lines for eggplant sets.

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

The Day After

The predicted freeze didn’t materialize. All the tomatoes are safe and sound. I have another eight in pots that we had considered selling but now will probably plant somewhere and try to sell the excess fruit. These are heirloom tomatoes so they are much more tasty, juicy and thin-skinned than the store-bought varieties. They’re even better than those produced by the plants you buy from the nursery. Number 1 and I will be working all day in Charamon Garden getting additional beds ready for eggplant, okra, beans, etc. First we will make a journey to Jackson Bros. Feed Store to get some Texas Greensand and cottonseed meal to bump up the fertility of the soil we began building ten years ago. Then it was what I call “proto-brick.” Now it is much more loose, filled with worms and other soil life. Building soil is a lifetime process here in West Texas. We never have enough compost or mulch…the soil rapidly consumes it all but increases in fertility in the process.

Later…Two beds cleaned and ready for planting, eggplant plants are in and a row of onions planted. Mission accomplished.

A Rotten Idea

Compost is easy (well, sort of) if you use my method. Start by building a bin (as large as you like) from cinder (concrete) blocks. Fill that with the materials you wish to compost. Everything that will rot is a potential ingredient. To name a few: peelings, eggshells, bones, bits of meat, hair, pasta, bodies of irritating dogs, shells from shrimp and other crustaceans, coffee grounds from Starbucks (and other outrageously priced coffee places), stuff that’s already begun decomposing in the back of your refrigerator, animal manure, and if you are not too persnickety, your own manure (I don’ personally doo this).[1] All this plus weeds (before they seed) leaves, grass clippings, ground-up prunings, etc, are added to the bin (add composting worms if you wish). If conditions were right, you will open the bin a year later and be rewarded with rich, dark material of which little, except the eggshells, shells and bones, will be recognizable.

I begin my composting operations in April or May in my region of Texas and begin opening and sifting the compost a year later.

When you get ready to open the bin, use the blocks to build a new bin beside the old one. As you sift the compost from the old bin, throw what hasn’t decomposed (except for the plastic, foil, rocks and other junk that always somehow gets into the mix) into the second bin. This will “seed” the new compost bin with microbes from the old one. Forget about turning the compost[2] unless you are in a hurry (unwise), like to sweat (unnecessary), or don’t have enough work to do in the rest of your garden (unbelievable). So, fill your bin and allow the microbes and worms to do their job. You will probably never make enough compost for your needs, but it will be far richer than the compost you buy.

Pictures in order: 1. Opening the bin of finished compost 2. Stacking the new bin 3. Sifting the compost through a 1/2 inch screen into a wheelbarrow

Until next time, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so!

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[1] I recommend the Humanure Handbook with certain reservations. It is very well researched and enlightening but the author takes a few shots at Christians and other religious groups which, for me, detracts from his main theme.

[2] You will have compost faster, but not necessarily better, if you just make a “compost pile” (I do this with collected leaves and grass clippings) and turn it at regular intervals. I will combine this with compost from the bin — good stuff!

Finding and Preparing Your Space

The first step is to clear the soil of weeds. If it is covered with Bermuda grass, you have some work to do. You must kill the grass either by covering it with black plastic for several months in the summer or use a (shudder) herbicide (more on this elsewhere). In West Texas, your soil, like mine, will be alkaline. It will probably be some variation on clay. Actually, it may resemble some substance in the process of becoming rock. While alkaline soils present some problems, they are fairly easy to overcome with time and patience.

The next step is to level the soil as much as possible. If it is already fairly level, that’s great. If you live on a hillside or slope, you might want to consider terracing. Many very nice gardens have been planted on hillsides. Level soil is just easier to work and water.

Now it’s time to lay out your beds. You’ve heard of raised beds? This is what we’re going to achieve. The beds should be no wider than four feet but can be as long as you like. Four feet is about all you can reach across to work your beds without stepping in them. It is a very good idea to edge your beds with bricks, blocks, boards, metal edging or something else. You need these edges to enable you to keep the beds well-defined and the paths clean. They will also help to hold the mulch in place (more about mulch later). Plan for paths to give you access to both sides and the ends. These paths need to be wide enough to drive your lawnmower down them. Some people use wood chips or some other substance on their paths. This has not worked well for me because you still get some weeds and grass coming up through it. I don’t mind weeding the beds, but it seems a waste of time to weed the paths. It might work better if one put down some kind of weed block first. I have found that it is much simpler just to mow the paths.

Once you have laid out your beds, you may loosen the soil in them with a digging fork. This will be one of the few times you need to do this because we will be strongly suggesting a method where you don’t disturb the soil more than absolutely necessary. The very act of loosening the soil and applying compost will raise your beds a couple of inches above the level of your paths. The addition of mulch will also add to the height of your beds. You want this height for drainage and aeration purposes. You should never set foot again in these beds unless absolutely necessary. Your goal is to never pack the soil. If you have soil like mine, it will do that by itself.

Now is the time to begin a process which will continue for your life or the life of your garden whichever ends first. You will begin to add nutrients to your soil in the way of compost, mulch and minerals. We will discuss this fully in the chapter on working the soil. But now is the time to add the first layer of compost followed by the mulch you stockpiled before you began. Do not be concerned about mixing this with the soil. This will happen naturally as microbes and worms do their work. As the soil life increases your compost and mulch will disappear and need regular replacement. So, what can you do now? Let’s think about that. Oh, I know! Let’s make some compost!

Next time, “A Rotten Idea”…in the meantime, eat your veggies! Nonnie and Pop said so.

Texas — The Final Frontier

This is the first of a series of articles on growin’ your own stuff. Check back frequently for the next installments.

You live in a cozy house surrounded by lawn and a few trees. That’s nice. You are the typical Texan homeowner. You water and fertilize the lawn so you can mow it every week during the summer. Over and over again you follow the same routine. By the end of summer, you are thoroughly sick of it. Then, as cool fronts boldly begin to intrude, you have to deal with all those leaves. It is then you begin to wonder, “Who invented this ‘lawn-thing’ anyway?” When one realizes that all it does is make work and require expensive water and fertilizer, one begins to wonder about the sanity of it all. My question to you is, “Why don’t you kill a large portion of that lawn and redirect your water, fuel and energy, toward growing something you can eat?” When you bought the place, gardening may not have entered your mind. Now you think you might like to grow some stuff. So where will you put the garden? Good question. Let me try to help you.

Space is what you need. Space…the final frontier. You must boldly go forth and find a spot where the sunlight reaches the ground for at least six hours a day in the summer. A few vegetables, such as some peppers, grow well in dappled shade. But, for the most part, if you don’t have a sunlit spot you’re out of luck. The next option is to find a space somewhere else, perhaps a vacant lot or a space along the alley, behind the fence, etc. You must also have easy access to water, but later on we’re going to discuss ways to use very little of that precious and pricey resource. Now that you have found a place to garden, there are several preparatory steps.

• You will need some hand-tools: shovel, digging fork, rake, wheelbarrow or garden cart, trowel and hand fork. It is important to have a place where these can be covered or stored away from the elements when not in use.
• Make provision to get water to the vicinity of your garden (hoses or pipes). You will eventually need to think about drip irrigation – the most efficient way to water in our semi-arid climate.
• Begin stockpiling mulch. You will never have enough! Save newspapers, leaves, clippings, trimmings, and put them in a place where you have enough room to work with them. In Abilene and many other cities in the region, you can fetch loads of mulch from the local recycling center.
• You will need to plan space next to your stockpile for some tools such as a grinder/shredder and, hopefully a cement-mixer in which you will seldom mix cement (these are not absolutely necessary but make life easier).
• Begin a compost pile or bin if you have not done so already. All vegetable scraps from the kitchen, plus tea leaves, coffee grounds, etc. make excellent compost. You can also begin a worm bin which we will discuss later.
• Buy enough compost to cover your garden beds two inches deep and have it on hand. If you have a pickup or trailer, buy bulk compost. It is substantially cheaper than the bagged variety.

Next time: “Finding and Preparing your Space”…in the meantime, eat your veggies!  Nonnie and Pop said so.

Condensation

It was a big, hairy mound. You couldn’t see over it. It was the accumulation of the summer’s spent vegetables and not a few weeds, twigs, troublesome dogs, etc. But now it is all condensed into a nice little mound of mulch thanks to my shredder/grinder. I thought the job would take all day but with son Tim helping, it only took three hours.

I was afraid the city would complain about it or fine me or burn it up. Now it will nourish this Texas sandy clay and the various forms of life in the soil. Ah…the cycle of life!

Never Again

The collard plants finally arrived yesterday and I put them in their bed this morning. They had been back ordered. I had initially ordered them along with 6 Broccoli plants and three Kale plants. All but one of the broccoli plants survived and now seem to be thriving. The Kale looks great.

I would not be surprised, however if two or more of the collards bite the dust. They didn’t look well when they arrived and I’m afraid they’ll die of transplant shock. None of them had well-developed root systems and when I took them out of their little plastic pots, the soil just fell away. Well, they are now in my garden and their fate, for good or ill, awaits them.

My other concern is frost. Will these little delicate, worse-for-the-wear and poorly rooted transplants survive our first frost which cannot be too far away? I have the floating row cover ready to pull over them when the frost comes but it may not be enough. If I had grown my own transplants, they would have been in the soil for a month by now.

If they die, it serves me right. I just didn’t take the time to produce my own transplants and so I had to depend upon a commercial grower way up north. So, as I put the poor little things in the ground, I kept muttering, “Never again…never again.”