In the Garden ~ Victory Garden

 

        The effort at home during World War I was to encourage families to plant a Victory Garden.  Widely encouraged during World War II as well, Victory Gardens were a sign of support and self-sufficiency of the Americans on the home front.  Call it what you will, a garden is one of the best ways for people to feed themselves from the land they already own and occupy.  A Victory Garden became ways for neighbors to help neighbors during times of strife and challenge. 

Today the landscape of the American people has changed and gardens could have a bigger impact on today's culture than ever before.  Food deserts are popping up everywhere in large cities and create food scarcity for millions of families.  Food scarcity is a larger problem today than it was sixty or even seventy years ago.  Afterall, “13.7 percent (18.3 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2024” (https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics).  

Not everyone can grow a garden or have access to even attempt to grow in containers but there are other options available to help reduce food scarcity.  In our community alone there are several food resources that are open to applicants and provide a variety of food choices to help eliminate food scarcity.  There is even a community garden whose goal it is to feed those in need but provide a learning space for others to learn how to grow their own food and help them to become self-sufficient.  

Gardening is more than just feeding your family. It’s a skill that can be put to use to help others learn to grow food and provide nutrition in a meaningful and fulfilling way.  The sense of pride and accomplishment from growing your own food and sharing with those around you is worth more than one can measure.  “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  The same concept can be given to the garden.  

A garden doesn’t need to be acres upon acres.  It can start at as two small pots of items you want to try.  Potatoes and tomatoes, or squash and cucumbers.  Find your favorite veggie and start out small, then grow as you learn more and can expand into more space.  Find a sunny window and allow your plants to flourish.  Learn from family, friends or the internet how to grow your favorite food.  Ask for help from your local garden center or attend a live class to learn how to grow your own food.  

Knowledge is power in all things, not just in your primary education but in all aspects of your life.  Work with your neighbors to grow different things and share the bounty with each other.  Come together and grow food to feed your body and your soul.  Whether you are growing food for your family or to share, the reward will be worth the effort in the end. 

In the Garden ~ How Much Should you Plant

   

 

    It might seem early to start thinking about what and how much you want to grow in your garden this year but you might want to think about first how much you will need.  Right now is the perfect time to plant your onions, that will be ready for early spring.  But how many onions do you need to plant?  Of course if you do not like onions, then we can’t really be friends.  Just kidding! They do lend great flavor to dishes as a base so it might be time to rethink those onions.

For ease of simplicity we are going to use the base measurement of a family of four. For those who know my family, know that we are not a family of four but seven and four of those are teenage boys, which is sometimes like feeding two grown adults.  All this to say, take these numbers as a base and add in more of what you really like and maybe what you really want to eat.  Of course, how much space you have is also a contributing factor.  Are you only growing your garden in pots, then maybe you will have to ignore all these numbers.  If you have a good amount of space or friends willing to share and grow this will help guide for variety and fun.

Don’t forget that you can rotate items out as the weather changes. For example, those leafy greens and spinach will do very well during the cooler months, while tomatoes will not.  Rotate your choices to also add variety and diversification to your garden.  If you plan to preserve your items for use all year long, even better, that will stretch your garden into the winter months when you won’t be able to grow as much food.

I found a beneficial chart here: https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/vegetables/getting-started/calculate-how-many-vegetables-to-plant/ They give a great breakdown of plants per person from one to four.  If this seems overwhelming, partner with neighbors or friends.  Do you grow tomatoes really well, volunteer to grow them all for everyone and see if they can handle all the zucchini and squash.  There are so many ways to grow your own food and be able to feed your family healthy, sustainable produce that won’t break the bank.  Of course each year you garden it gets easier.  As you learn more and figure out what works best for you and your garden, it becomes a source of pride and enjoyment.   

If you plan to preserve food you might need more space and more plants.  For example, you might need 5 tomato plants per person for a year's worth of tomato products, such as salsa, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  Whereas, you will only need one squash plant per person, to provide an adequate amount of squash for a year.  Those cucumbers are a higher number as well, such as 6 to 9 plants total for fresh and pickled cucumbers to last a year.  Create variety in having multiple winter squash plants that will yield enough for a year.  Five different options are, acorn, butternut, spaghetti, and the like.  These all have a stronger outer layer that will store well in dry storage along with those potatoes, onions and garlic.

Do not be afraid to try something new to see how it works out.  If your goal is not to preserve food but to share with others keep those numbers high.  If you want to only grow enough for your family, I hope this helps to get you started.  Of course, it’s never too early or late to start your garden, so give it a try.  We hope to hear from you about all your growing success this year.  We will regularly post our wins and misses from our garden so be on the look out. 

In the Garden ~ The Benefit of Micro Greens

 

        Have you ever wanted to try micro greens?  Well today is your lucky day.  At The Oaks Bed and Breakfast we have been working with growing some micro greens and so far we can say it is turning out really well.  We have been working with all different types of greens to see what grows best and what we think, you the public, would like to try. 

We have even reached out to a couple of restaurants in town to see if they would be interested in topping their dishes with some local, organically grown micro greens for their customers as well.  You might also be asking, what is a micro green, and why should I eat them?  Let me explain, so that you can take advantage of these great growers by adding them to your diet.

Micro greens are essentially the start of a plant.  The baby shoots before mature growth that is tender and full of nutrients at the starting point of the growing cycle.  When a plant first begins the process of developing, they happen to pack in a lot of nutrients right at the first stage before setting fruit.  At this time of the growth cycle, the bioavailability of the plant's nutrients is the highest.  For you, that means you can reap the benefits these tiny shoots share at an early stage.

The micronutrient density of micro greens is considerable.  Potassium, zinc and magnesium all occur naturally in micro greens, which helps to support the inner workings of the gut.  The benefits of having a healthy gut leads to overall better health of people and improves lives.  If you feel good, you are bound to enjoy life better.  

A few benefits of eating micro greens are fiber, antioxidants, gut microbiome, and micronutrient density.   Micro greens are a great and easy source of additional fiber to add to your diet.  There has been a lot of talk about how important fiber is to your diet and what could be better than a few snips of micro greens added to your dinner dish.  They have been shown to help reduce constipation, prevent IBS, and even reduce digestive issues.  Of course, check with your medical professional to make sure  micro greens are the right fit for you.  All this and so much more can come from eating micro greens on a daily basis.

Micro greens are loaded with antioxidants.  Antioxidants can come from a variety of food choices such as berries but also from micro greens.  Who wouldn’t want to add more antioxidants to their diet to help prevent chronic illness, many of which are affected in the gut.  They can even help reduce inflammation in the gut, which is typically the cause of gut issues to begin with.  

Having a healthy gut microbiome really just makes you feel better overall.  Since micro greens are grown without the use of pesticides, you do not have to worry about them killing the beneficial bacteria that grows naturally in your body.   After all, pesticides kill off the beneficial and harmful bacteria on plants and then enters your system which can lead to problems.  By enjoying micro greens that have been grown without pesticides you are starting to reset the balance in your body. 

The easy production of micro greens make them more readily available to the public and general consumer.  They take less production time, and are easier and faster to grow.  Look for micro greens at specialty markets or give us a call to see what we are growing and how you can enjoy them at home to help improve your life. 

Do you want more information about the health benefits of micro greens?  Be sure to check out the following article from Bootstrap Farmer. Or take a look at this article from Healthline, about the amazing benefits of micro greens.   We hope you will grow to enjoy some at home or while dining out.

In the Garden ~ Fall Planting

 

               Believe it or not it’s time to start thinking about your fall garden.  I know we are in the thick of summer and it seems like those 90 plus degree days will never end but fall will be here before you know it.  You won’t want to miss out on getting your garden fall ready.

 

               One of our favorite vegetables to plant for the fall is greens.  All the greens, to make big, beautiful, healthy salads.  Plus, we tend to plant hardy greens, that cook well, so that adds versatility to your garden and what you grow.  A few of our favorite greens to plant for the fall garden is spinach, arugula, kale and bok choy. A mix of varieties and flavors makes cooking more fun as well as treating your palette to a variety of flavors for the fall.

              

               Another favorite that could also be considered a green is cabbage.  While cabbage might take little longer to grow, 60-90 days until mature, it will withstand colder temperatures if your area gets an early cold snap.  There are choices to be made when growing cabbage as well.  Are you an all green type of grower or do you like to mix it up with purple cabbage?

 

Time to close up the head

               Broccoli is another great choice for a fall garden.  Broccoli really tends to thrive in cooler temperatures, such as 65-75 degrees but will get started while it’s still a little warmer. Maybe start those seeds inside where the climate is a bit cooler than outside and transfer when you have a strong seedling started.  A little tip I learned is to snip off the first heads as baby broccoli and that should yield to larger heads at the finish.

 

               Along with broccoli, cauliflower is another great fall vegetable to plant.  Now cauliflower tends to be a little more picky about the temperature in which it grows, so plant those a little later when you can be assured of cool temperatures for this temperamental plant.  Afterall, you do not want it to bolt before you produce heads. Once the heads start to grow, if you pull the leaves over top, the heads are protected from the sun and heat, and will grow to a beautiful white color.

 

               If you loved your peas in the spring, bring them back for the fall.  Fall peas taste just as yummy and crisp as those spring peas. Plus, who doesn’t love to just pluck them from the vine and enjoy while picking the rest of the vegetables.

 

               Carrots are another great option to plant in the fall.  Add these into the ground directly among your other plants and they will thrive in the fall.  After all carrots love tomatoes, so sprinkle in around your already growing tomatoes and see what comes up.

 

               A quick growing vegetable is the radish.  Succession plant these every two weeks to have fresh radish for your salad or as a garnish all throughout the fall.  By planting a new set every couple of weeks ensures you have new plants started when harvesting the first batch. 

 

               Beets are probably best known for being grown in the fall garden.  So many wonderful varieties are available for growers that you are bound to discover one you love.  They are even more versatile since you can eat the root and the tops, so nothing goes to waste when you grow beets in your fall garden.  These colorful root vegetables are a great addition to add in nutritious food choices to your daily diet. Beets are hardy after picking, if kept in a cool dry space.

 

               If you have never eaten celery grown fresh from the garden, you are missing out.  The taste is so much better than anything you can buy in the store.  Since celery can be used in so many different ways, you cannot go wrong with adding this to your fall garden.  While it does take a bit longer to mature 90 to 120 days, it will really start to produce when the temperatures drop. 

 

               While there are a myriad of choices and varieties to plant in your garden for the fall, do not let time slip away before you get started.  If you do not have a lot of space find out what goes well together and use the same pot for multiple plants.  Everyone can access fresh, grown produce with a little bit of effort. 

In the Garden ~ Planting for Fall

 

Schools back in session and time is short, and it might seem a little early to be thinking about a fall garden, with the temperature still in the 100’s or high 90’s but it’s better to start planning now.  As gardeners in Texas, we are blessed with a longer growing season that our counterparts in the Northern part of the States.  We can almost have a garden year-round, if we have a green house or means of covering our crop to ward off the frost.  We do not have to worry about frost for many more weeks, so let’s start to plan our fall garden and  what we want to grow.

 

We like to start some seeds inside and directly sow others for our fall growing season.  We will even try to plant some squash plants that should yield some fruit in the fall that are not traditionally planted at that time.  Of course, we will start crowd favorites such as butternut squash and spaghetti squash, as well as at least a plant or two of zucchini or yellow squash.  Hopefully we have taken care of those pesky squash bugs, and we have a better fall with our squash plants. 

 

In order to start our fall garden, we have to get it ready for planting.   I like to make sure our beds are clean and then add a fresh layer of compost for the best results.  Nothing saps the nutrients out of a garden like plants do.  The vegetables you planted before take a lot of the amendments from the soil that you placed in the spring, so it’s a good rule of thumb to add some good nutrition back into the soil for a better harvest.  Compost, ground eggshells, banana juice or coffee grounds are all good choices, depending on what you are looking to grow.  Clear your beds out and mix well, before planting.  I like to let my compost sit for a few days in the fall before planting with a couple of days of good watering to help develop the nutrition level of the soil. 

 

Water is still really important for your fall garden, especially since it’s still pretty hot out and the sun and soil temperature are sure to dry out your garden faster.  You can help prevent the loss of moisture by providing a layer of mulch around your plants.  That will help to retain moisture and grow your best produce. 

 

What should you plant this fall?  Fall is a great time to plant all your greens.  Especially Asian greens such as Bok Choy, Pac Choy, and Napa.  We also plant Kale, Spinach and Broccoli in the fall garden.  Arugula and Snow Peas are great additions as well, since they all like the cooler weather and will produce longer.  This year I think I’m going to give Carrots a try as well as Beets.  My family enjoys fresh grown Beets, and we have in the past planted a few different varieties that taste amazing.  Carrots in Texas I feel are a challenge but the reward is well worth the challenge. 

 

For herbs we will plant cilantro again, since it most definitely is a cool weather herb.  As well as Parsley.  Our Parsley that is still hanging on from the Spring is looking a little rough but I think if I can keep it going and add some friends, we could have a great harvest to dry and make new fresh herbs with. 

 

Do not let the summer heat keep you out of the garden.  Instead dive back in and clean out your beds and get them ready for the fall.  Nothing is better than cutting fresh greens for a salad or stir fry for lunch or dinner.  Plus, I’m really looking forward to filling my herb jars for cooking with fresh, dried herbs from our home garden.  Start your seeds early and enjoy a bountiful harvest in the fall.

In the Garden ~ Unwanted Pests

 

Photo credit Judy GallagherWikimedia Commons

               Every year as a gardener we are faced with having to do deal with unwanted pests in the garden.  For the most part it is a fairly simple task and we can remediate with house hold methods and scare off anything we do not want or need in the garden.  There are times when we have to work a little harder because the bugs are persistent or cause so much damage that we have to replant.

              

               Sadly, this year is one of those years.  We lost four squash plants to vine boring bugs, that make it hard to come back from without wholly removing the plant from the garden and starting over.  This year I let the bug run it course to see if it would affect any of my other plants or manage to contain itself to just the few it infected.  So far so good, they have managed to stay within the radius of the first infected plants and we are now on the offensive trying to keep them away, as opposed to defense and removal.

 

Image from University of Minnesota

               Here are a few tips to help keep out squash bugs and squash vine borers from your garden naturally.  We do not use chemicals in our garden, but if that is your jive go for it.  One, plant your squash early and in a new location from where you planted it last year.  This will help to establish your plants early and strengthen the stems of your plants to hopefully deter squash vine borers from arriving on the scene.

 

Lowes.com

Secondly, we are a big fan of companion planting.  We like to mix plants together to optimize our growing space as well as help to keep pests away.  Besides planting marigolds around the garden we missed the boat a little and could have done a bit more to help keep our garden performing better.  Nasturtium and radish both make great companions to squash plants. Which isn’t to say we did not plant any, just that we planted in different spot and did not optimize this “protection” from unwanted pests.  As we get ready to plant for the fall, we will add in better companion planting for better growth and protection.

 

Third, there is always the option of wrapping the stems of your plants with aluminum foil or nylon to help prevent squash borers from laying eggs and then entering the plant.  This is a simple solution that could yield great results, especially if you cannot get your plants in early enough to help strengthen the stems. 

 

Lowes.com

Fourth, prevention with growing can come in a couple of different forms and can be non-toxic.  Neem Oil, Diatomaceous Earth (DE), and a dish with soapy water, can all help deter and prevent both bugs from coming near your plants. The Diatomaceous Earth causes the squash bugs to dry out and then die.  The dish with soapy water attracts the moths that lay the squash borer eggs and will drown them to prevent them from laying eggs.  The Neem Oil is just a great, organic product to put all over your garden for general health and pest control.  It can be used by targeting specific areas or all over. 

 

Do not let the bugs take over your garden this year.  There are plenty of ways to prevent loss and keep your garden pesticide free.  After all that’s probably why you grow your own food to begin with.  Companion planting and useful item such as Neem Oil and DE can help keep your garden healthy.  Even with these few options there are still more out there that can be used to help prevent and keep bugs away from eating your food. 

Your Garden ~ Hugelkultur

It is never too late to start a garden.  One of the fastest and easiest ways to get started is by using the Hügelkultur” (pronounced hyoo-gul-kulture).  A German method of creating garden beds using mounds or in our case filling raised beds.  Of course, you can always just sow your seeds or plants directly into the ground, but by using other organic material to “feed” your crops, from the start, the garden of your dreams is easier to grow with a little help from nature.

       

       

To get started, you need to decide if you are going to mound, or fill raised beds.  Determine your area of growth and then bring in your organic material.  If you are starting out in a new area and have to remove any plants in the way, the organic material you remove can be used to start the base of your mounds or fill in the bottom of your raised beds.  We also like to add a layer of cardboard to the bottom of our beds for added weed protection until our plants take control.

              

Once you have your cardboard down, now is the time to layer in the larger branches or wood pieces to the bottom of your mound or raised bed. These larger pieces of organic material will slowly break down over time and allow a slow release of nutrients into your soil, and create a natural sponge.  The older your wood pieces the faster they will break down and quicker they will “feed” your plants and absorb water.  The decomposition of this material will also heat your bed, which could extend your growing season naturally.

 

Next you can put the next layer into place, which can be dirt or grass from the area you selected to place your new garden bed.  If you use grass that still has roots, place the grass root side up on the logs at the bottom.  This organic layer is going to be packed tightly.  So, whatever you use to place here, stuff it in and add some more. 

 

The next layer will have more wood.  Add smaller piece of wood on top of the organic layer and pack it in tightly.  You can make this layer as high as you want if you are choosing to mound your garden.  If you are using a raised bed keep it below the top level, since it will take time to break down.

 

Water your layers well at this point and add in any organic material to fill in the cracks in the layers.  The addition of water at this point, will help to start the decomposition of the layers below.  We do not wait for this layer to sprout mushrooms before adding our topsoil, but that is a common practice.  We add our topsoil right way after adding water. 

 

After heavily watering the mound or raised bed, go ahead and add in your topsoil.  This product is where you will be planting your garden.  No matter if you are using food or flowers, the end product will be coming out of this top layer.  The best option is to let the mound settle for the off season and plant in the new year.  If you create your bed in the fall, let it settle over winter and then plant in the spring.  I will admit there have been a few beds that we planted right away.  No one way is right or wrong, just standard practice, of waiting after being built.

 

This is one of our favorite ways to start a new garden bed.  In the end it uses less water because the wood at the bottom become like a sponge and waters your garden naturally.  The material does break down over time so the mound or bed will “shrink” as time goes by.  In the end the beak down is worth the cost savings from water retention and natural nutrients going back into your garden. Any shrinkage from decomposition can be replaced with homemade compost to keep your garden healthy and thriving. 

 

In the Garden ~ GMO Tomatoes, Yes or No?

 

The Purple Tomato has deep purple flesh. Traditional breeders have grown tomatoes with purple skin before but not with this tone in the flesh.

Raven Villar/Boise State Public Radio

    How do you feel about genetically modified organisms, or more commonly referred to GMO plants and seeds?  While listening to NPR, National Public Radio, the other day on the way to afternoon school pick up, I heard a story about a new type of tomato that has been modified with snapdragon DNA.  This new purple tomato is the first GMO plant that will be made available to home gardeners. Previously any seeds created as a GMO were only available to commercial growers, so this new tomato variety could be the start of something new for home gardens.

    The purple tomato was developed with snapdragon genes in order to enhance the color and create a plant with "Anthocyanins have been shown to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. They're antioxidants, which can help neutralize unstable molecules in the body that can damage healthy cells and are linked with aging and disease."  These new tomatoes have the same amount of anthocyanins as a blueberry or eggplant according to the scientist who developed them.

    It still begs the question on whether or not you would grow or eat this new hybrid of tomato. Do the health benefits out weigh the science behind this new nightshade?  Or will this development go by the way of corn and soybeans in the United States and be thought of as damaging to our land and resources?  Could all these GMO foods be the reason there is a rise in food allergies in the population?  How about an increase in other diseases or cancer?  In the past GMO foods have also been thought to have been seen as having a loss of nutrition.  The new purple tomato is claiming the opposite is true by having more antioxidants than its cousins. 

amblerfarm.org

    These new tomatoes are claiming that their genes have an increase of healthy cells made for human consumption.  One of my favorite tomatoes that we grow are called Cherokee Purple, and they have a nice deep purple colors as well, but not as dark as the modified ones. Those seeds can be found as an heirloom tomato seed, thought to have first originated from the Cherokee Indians in 1890. 

    The question still stands, would you grow new GMO purple tomatoes if given the chance?  Or will you stick with the old stand by of the seeds that you know and love from those that you saved or buy new?  Let us know what will be growing in your garden this Spring and Summer.

Your Garden ~ Happy Plants

 

    Summer is in full swing and if you are like me then that means taking kids to all the places, sports practices, all while still running a business and maintaining the garden.  The recent rain has helped a ton, since then that does not mean I have to water my garden.  But now it's time to keep my plants happy.  

    Last month we talked about fertilizer and what natural ones we use for our garden.  Let me tell you all my plants love the extra treatment we gave them with the coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peel "juice."  That's not all plants need to survive and produce the greatest amount of yield for your family.  No matter if you are container gardening or if you are gardening straight into the ground you plants need some extra TLC so they produce the most "fruit."

    Today I want to focus on tomatoes and squash.  We have so many wonderful tomato plants in our garden this year that I can hardly wait to enjoy the fruit.  I also want to maximize the growth of fruit and have the plant work harder on production than just growing leaves. I give my tomatoes a regular "hair cut," if you will.  I trim off any leaf steams that do not show signs of flowers.  Down by the ground I trim away any stems that have come out right at the base of the stem growth.  From there I make my way up the plant until I have it all trimmed back, so it can focus on fruit production.

    I find this helps the plant focus it's growing and energy on the growth of new fruit that we can later harvest and eat.  I will admit, one of my plants I was a little overzealous and trimmed it back too much and was afraid that it would not produce more fruit.  In the end I lucked out, it created new growth, which produced new flower buds that turned into fruit.  

    Squash plants, while easy to grow and care for can develop a few issues that can reduce the production out of your plant.  Powdery Mildew and squash bugs or vine bores are troublesome but can be delt with efficiently to help with continued growth.  Mildew could be caused by late in the day watering or over crowding of the plants.  Make sure your squash plants have room to grow.  Water in the early morning so that the sun has time to help dry the plant off.  If there is still an issue we use an organic fungicide.  

    Squash bugs and vine bores can a pain to get rid of but not impossible.  If you find that you have some you can easily pick them off your plants and drop them into a bucket with liquid soap and water.  Creating a spray out of the soap and water and misting your plants can help as well.  Duct tape can also capture the bugs and pull them off.  Diatomaceous Earth is another good idea to sprinkle the bugs with DE and it will work its way into their system and they will die shortly after the application.  

    Two ways to prevent the squash bugs from invading your garden would be to cover the plants early so the bugs can not land and lay their eggs.  Examine your leaves and discard any eggs that may have been laid.  You can also use a natural bug repellant, nasturtium.  Nasturtium as a companion plant will help deter squash bugs and you have the advantage of another leafy green to add to salads. 

    If you have vine bores the best way to get rid of them is to squash them right in the vine.  Once you seen that your vines are being disturbed by these pests you can cut open the vine to find the bugs pull them out and squash them or squash them directly inside your plant.  If you choose to cut your vines open be sure to cover the damaged vine with dirt so that the plant will continue to grow.  

    We hope these tips will help keep your garden growing and producing wonderful fruit all summer long.  Until next time, don't forget to water.