More on Milk, Amendments and Potato Beetles

I just want to mention that this year is supposed to be particularly good for potato beetles and that in past years, I have been particularly good at giving them a habitat. Last year, I even added a new type that prefers tomatillos and husk cherries.

This year, I definitely have seen the potato beetles struggling a bit more in the habitat I'm providing by planting potatoes, tomatillos, and husk cherries. They keep getting a jump when it rains and washes all that is good in my soil away. But, I keep knocking them back.

First, I waited to put hay around the plants until after they were a good size. I mounded the plants the first two times with dirt. The good thing is that it gives the beetles fewer places to hide; the bad thing is that the soil was exposed to the dry weather for the first couple of weeks, then the deluge afterwards. About two weeks ago, we got 4 inches of rain in two days and that's when the potato beetle numbers rose to what I'm used to seeing in my garden.

The larvae pretty quickly ate all the leaves off the new growth from around 30% of my plants before I sprayed my milk and complete feed foliar spray. Then, I spent about 3 hours picking all the larvae off. Then we had another huge storm that knocked all the plants over.

So this week, I was prepared for another onslaught. What I found was the growth that had been chewed away regenerated. And, the stems that were exposed by the plants blowing over were also covered in new leaves. And, though there were some new larvae, there were fewer than 5 adult beetles and only about 10 out of the 60 plants had any larvae on them. And, I found only one very small cluster of eggs.

What this means to me is that my plants are pretty strong. The new leaves mean that the plants are better able to keep making bigger potatoes. While I am still struggling against the potato beetles, I am definitely getting the upper hand. We're a few weeks, 2 or 3, away from when I figure we'll see blight this wet, wet year, and the potatoes still have so many leaves that blight might actually be an issue. But maybe, my plants will be robust enough that they can even beat blight.

I actually just really hope to not find out.

More on Bugs and Milk

Maybe you've heard, but we have had inordinate amounts of rain in the last month- so much rain that there aren't many strawberries because they've molded on the vine. Being from Texas means I avoid complaining about rain. And our grass is the most beautiful we've ever seen it because of all this rain. Our cow is very happy with all the nice pasture.

However, there are complications. You might think that we would always need rain because of our sandy soil. You would almost be right. Even as wet and sopping as everything is right now, if we do go the next five days without rain, the garden and the pasture will show signs of stress.

Still, the garden is suffering. The sandy soil means that none of my plants are standing in water, not even with all the hay I've put in the garden for mulch. What has happened is that all this rain easily leeches nutrients from our soil. Soil without nutrients means the plants do not have all the trace elements they need to have happy bacteria and fungi around their roots. For all I know, the inundation might even wash away some of those microbes, because it has rained and rained and our soil looks a lot like beach sand.

The rain also washes away my foliar feeds, so I have been spraying milk twice a week instead of once. And still, the latest deluge seemed to be the final straw for the potatoes and pumpkins. The potatoes are crawling with potato beetle larvae and the squash beetles have killed two pumpkin vines. To give a little perspective, my potatoes are still leafy and lush, not a bunch of bare stalks, and this time last year, the cucumber beetles had eaten most of the vines to the ground, so even with these setbacks, I'm still ahead of where I was last year. Also, I have mulched heavily with hay, so I have trapped some of this water to get the plants through the next little dry spell.

I also ordered more of the trace mineral/complete feed from Nutrient Dense Supply Company. I have the recipe for making it myself, but so far, it's been worth it to just buy it from them. Yesterday, I sprayed this at the maximum concentration with more milk. Now, it's not supposed to rain for a few days, so maybe the plants can get a leg up, and the various invertebrates will not thrive.

I'll post pictures of the garden soon!

The Wonders of Milk

I have been very busy living instead of writing about it, but I feel guilty never getting a post up. So here goes- no pictures.

I have been following nutrient dense practices in the garden, but I ran out of my complete feed and I haven't taken the time to make more. So, for my weekly foliar spray, I've been using a dilution of raw milk. I have seen this spray repeatedly knock back cucumber beetles and I have been having tremendous success against potato beetles.

Maybe you remember how I have spent many months of the summer killing potato beetles and stinking of that unique squashed potato beetle smell. Last summer, I watched the cucumber beetles and squash bugs take my winter squash to the ground. This year, I am seeing these same garden pests, but they are not taking over the way they have in the past.

The idea with nutrient dense techniques is that healthy plants are not digestible to invertebrates. If they are quite healthy, even fungi, like blight, will have trouble taking them down. I am trying to give my plants a boost instead of spraying poison. I did spray poison once last year, spinosad, and it was remarkable. My potato beds were filled with dead potato bugs and larvae. However, it was also distressing; I mean, what was I feeding myself that could do that to those bugs.

The milk is not killing the bugs; it just seems to make my plants less appealing. It's just milk; I feel no qualms sending the kids out to spray it. I have no worries when I spray it on tomatoes that I should be very careful about washing the fruit before I eat it. When I've sprayed the radishes, I can still just grab one and eat it.

Check into the ideas behind nutrient dense techniques. They are logical and harmless and maybe a way to feed ourselves in a way that respects the plant and soil more.

Spring's Immeasurable Surprise

These were taken with an Ipod, so forgive the quality.

Empty birdfeeder to make the yard less inviting to bears

Lilac budding

It is so hard to see because the sun was so bright yesterday, but there are little baby garlic shoots in all that hay.

Garlic

Johnny Jump Ups Blooming

This is a weed I have much love for

Everyone helps in the garden.

Starting Seeds

I have overcome my fear of starting plants, at least partially. For some of you, this fear may seem laughable; others, I am sure, either buy plants from the garden center or grow nothing. If this second group is like me, they are a little daunted and puzzled by how EXACTLY you plant a seed.

Don't laugh! Many of us never saw it done. We have trouble believing it's really as easy as those gardeners say it is. I mean, look at a tomato seed. Hiding in that itty bitty, furry seed is anywhere from 3 to 150 pounds of tomatoes. It is an awesome thought.

Since I chose to live in Vermont, I have had to overcome my fear of seeds. Way up here, in the cold, cold north, many fruits we prize can only be grown if you start the plants in the house while the snow is on the ground. Yes, absolutely you can buy plants to put in your garden, but you do not how those plants have been handled. Unless you buy them from a local grower, you don't even know if those plants know what Vermont means. Varieties matter, as well, when your growing season happens in the blink of an eye.

It's late, wherever you are, to only just now be considering buying seeds, but it's not TOO late. First, I buy my seeds from a company owned and operated in the land of cold. The seed catalog I like has good descriptions of how the plants function in our climate. They source seed from smaller and larger growers, and they tell which type each variety came from. I pore over that catalog, trying to glean which magic bean will bring me a golden goose. Then, I just take my chances.

Next, I get good potting soil that is compost-based and peppered with some trace minerals. I sprinkle a bacterial and fungal inoculant into each seed packet and give the packet a shake. I get my black plastic trays and put moderately-sized cell trays in. I do not use the tiny or next-to-tiny ones, because I want my plants' roots to have faith that one day there will be more room. I thoroughly wet my potting mix and fill the cells. I poke one to three seeds into each cell or I sprinkle the seeds over the tray and rake them around. Then, I keep the trays moderately warm (except for peppers which I set on a heat mat). Then I wait. Because my potting mix is good and wet to start with (not mud, but still WET) I do not have to fret too much about things drying out. If in doubt, water them. Most seeds will not germinate without a nice evenly moist environment.

Pretty soon, I will see green lifting it's head. For most seeds, that's the time to start moving the trays around from window to window, maximizing the time they're in the sun. On warmer days, I put the trays outside in a cold frame or I set them in the hoop house.

The trick- the thing that kept me from performing this little miracle- was knowing when to start what. It turns out that timing is the main variable when dealing with starts. Tomatoes, peppers, and onions can hang around in a 4" pot for awhile. I prefer that my tomatoes go from a 4" pot into the ground, BUT I do have 6" pots if I haven't timed things well. Squashes, melons, and pumpkins do NOT delight in being transplanted, so I start them only a couple of weeks before the ground is ready; I also start them in 4" pots right from the start. I'm still learning just when each thing wants starting.

Cabbages can go in the ground when it's still not warm outside, so I stat them the same time as peppers, but they go in the ground a month earlier. Onions are the earliest and go in the ground a little later than cabbages, but well before squashes and tomatoes.

So, get a little dirt and a package of seeds. You can even go to a store where they don't know you, you can buy the smallest bag of soil they have and some really trustworthy seeds, like tomatoes or wheat berries. Try it! It's a miracle you can see.

Seeds

I got my Fedco seed order a couple of weeks back. I ordered fewer seeds this year, because I am learning what I actually want in the garden.

My family pretty much only eats peas fresh, and no one actually wants to shell enough peas to make a pot of them. That means we will just plant sugar snaps, and probably almost all of them will be eaten before they even make it into the house. I will freeze a few quarts for soups, but I'm only planting about 30 feet of peas. I also decided that the taller peas do actually taste and produce better.

By August, we've been a little tired the past couple of years, and the green beans have not been picked as thoroughly or as often as they deserve. However, I canned green beans last year, and the children are gung ho to have more for next winter. Everyone has agreed to help me keep them picked and then to help me get them processed. I am still planting fewer; I think we all get overwhelmed when confronted by so many green beans. Once we have one successful year of harvest past us, I think I can plant more. Green beans are another where I think the taller ones do actually grow and produce and taste better. Also, ten foot tall green beans that reach across the path to twine with other green beans make a magical, shady place in the garden.

I am only planting three varieties of tomatoes. I like Amish paste tomatoes, Rutgers, and one or two RED slicers. I am also only planting 20 plants. I'll also plant a couple of watermelons and a dozen pepper plants in the green house. Most of the peppers will be King of the North bell peppers or early jalapenos, as these are the types we eat the most of. There will also be a couple of cayennes and a paprika pepper for some variety in the salsa.

I started onion seeds, and they were looking great. Nico knocked one tray off, so I ordered more of those seeds. I also went to a refresher on Bionutrient food production and realized I probably started my onions too early. So, I'll wait a bit longer once those seeds arrive, and then I'll compare my results.

I am planting fewer kohl crops this year. I'll do a whole row of rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. No one in our house seems to particularly care for broccoli or kale. I keep thinking I might plant a little kale, because it IS so tasty sauteed with pine nuts, onions, and raisins. But maybe not.

Carrots and beet will get more attention this year. I've grown just a few every year. The carrots actually did well least year, but I planted only enough for fresh eating, because I had had no luck the previous two summers. Last year's success makes me feel more confident. Same thing for the beets.

There will be a little chard, some sunflowers, some spinach, a little celery, some celeriac for storage, two 60 foot beds of winter squash, a couple of summer squash plants mostly for the cow's enjoyment, a few cucumbers, and then of course potatoes.

The potatoes I ordered just this past weekend. I am getting three varieties, and I think I did a better job ordering the right amount for the space I'm planting.

I'm not planting any corn this year.

I am planting more cover crops. Some I'll plant soon and let them grow until it's time to put warm weather things in. A few beds will be planted directly in cover crops and devoted to soil building this year. I'm hoping to build humus this way and use less compost.

What I See

This is borage, it rhymes with forage. The leaves are all prickly, even spiny along the underside of the main vein. I think some people eat the flowers and it has a medicinal use. I just think it's beautiful.

This is the push mower that was handed down to us from a friend who also got it from another person. It is an AWESOME mower that suddenly smokes a lot, hence the stark line in the grass. Maybe it doesn't like the oil I put in it, maybe I put too much. I must solve that problem.



These are sunflowers by the woodshed with morning glories around the base. I hope the morning glories climb the sunflowers. Wouldn't that be lovely?

This is one of the roses that we got for the kids. I look forward to seeing how the roses look.

This is a little cluster of pinks that I left in the middle of the yard. Have you read "Felicia and the Pot of Pinks"?

TOMATOES!!!!!!

One of the six trees that was felled. I am limbing them slowly and steadily.

A flagging tape from the surveyor. It's pegged to the ground.

These are the lupines I've tried to mow around. I think it worked. These are actually an invasive species. I wonder if Ms. Rumphius knew that.

This is our cow Violet who suddenly doesn't want us to touch her.

That's her calf laying in the field out in front. That's Violet eating the afterbirth.

These are the pine trees and apples before the pines were felled. And this is the same corner of the house minus the pine trees.

What I See

The lettuces are coming up and we might actually be able to eat salad from the lettuce bed in another week.

I have been diligently watering a variety of sticks and almost all of them are showing signs of life like this raspberry. Do not ask about the gooseberries and mulberry tree; I am still operating on faith.

Here are the sugar snap peas and some of the trellis Jason built. These peas are so very slowly getting going. Maybe I did something wrong.

The beds I've outlined with mulch look so pretty to me. These are cabbage and beets, but they are not visible in this picture. Really, this was about a week ago, and only now are they poking their little heads up.

The apple blossoms are just beautiful! I wonder if we'll actually have any apples this year. In the late afternoon, these trees are humming with bees and other pollinators.

The rhubarb is also looking gorgeous. This is something we can eat NOW from the garden. For all of you who like very sour candy- this is the vegetable for you. Baked with a touch of honey is the way we like it.

I think the chickens are settling in, but I will admit I'm looking forward to a fresh flock. These ladies are disturbed by the moving from place to place because they had a different setup before. They now only peck eggs the morning after they're moved.

Look! We added a bedroom. The children have been sleeping out many nights and Ezra tried one chilly night to sleep under stars instead the orange dome. Morning found his sleeping spot abandoned for a nice warm bed.