Garden and Causal Model Blog

Category: Garden

  • April’s Fool

    April’s Fool

    Oh boy have I been wrong about the weather. Blog after blog, I’ve forecast an early spring. We planted tomatoes, now dead in the garden, in late March. The weather has made a fool of me. Even cold tolerant cabbage froze when the temp reached 20 F and was replanted.

     

    Oh and the drought I’ve planned for is another surprise. Most of late winter the garden needed water to even work the soil. There had been no heavy rain since leveling and tilling the garden in August. But now we have had several very nice days of rain. Last week we had 5 inches slow soaking rain. Every 10 day forecast seems to show a couple days of rain. The garden is often too wet to work. My over-engineered irrigation system makes me feel a bit foolish too.

     

    We are keeping all of the seedlings of tomato and tomatillo outside during the day and return them to the hot house over night. Both are getting too big for the pots they are planted. Ugh – the grafted tomatoes look completely root-bound and are falling over. They needed to be planted 2 weeks ago, but must wait until this late frost passes.

     

    I don’t know why confessing foolishness is important. A good confession cleans the soul. But even a public confession will probably not correct my behavior. It is just too much fun to try to predict how the world will unfold. Maybe I should post a warning to blog readers or waive liability of any and all utterances made or implied on this site.

  • Tomatoes are planted, let the gardening season begin!

    Tomatoes are planted, let the gardening season begin!

    Planting onions and potatoes is not as satisfying as planting tomatoes. This planting starts the gardening season for me. Maybe this is because my earlier gardens were small and very few varieties could be put in, so tomatoes, my favorite veggie to grow, was usually first.

     

    This year the first tomatoes in are Celebrity and Big Beef seedlings which were started early. Planting early is risky but these plants may well produce the first fruits of the season. Does everyone want to say: “I am already getting tomatoes from my garden!”? I need to shake off this boast and replace it with: “Man we are harvesting lots of tomatoes!” If is true then our food bank clients will be very happy.

     

    The seedlings are long and lanky, perfect for planting ‘on their side’. Long seedlings are laid in a trench, about 6 inches deep, so that the stem is mostly underground. The tip of the plant is gently bent to point up and out of the trench. Only a few leaves at the tip of the plant peek out above ground. In about two weeks the entire buried stem becomes covered with roots establishing a great root base for the plant. Half the roots will come from the root ball and half from the stem. We plant the stems to align with our drip irrigation lines so the roots are nearest water and cultivation near the row will not disturb major roots.

     

    The soil 1 foot below ground was very compact. It was difficult to drive a stake or to spade up. To encourage roots to grow down, the ground was broken with a 2 foot breaking plow. Each bed was plowed twice with this breaking plow. It is also called a sub-soiler. Tomato roots can be 5 feet long. To get this long they will need to grow down.

     

    It is risky to plant tomatoes in March in Oklahoma. Historical last frost is March 4th. But this is long history. A shorter view of ‘history’ is our heat wave. The last few summers have been ‘historically’ hot. Last year the last frost was March 7th. The heat has reduced the number of days tomatoes set fruit. So these early risky tomatoes hedge against another hot year. These tomatoes will have had a couple more weeks to bloom than later plantings (early April).

     

    The seasonal changes in Oklahoma make it a great place to live. If you like to see this sort of thing. In an Oklahoma spring, pears and plums bloom first, large flocks of Cedar Waxwings fly together whistling and take water at my pond. Daffodils and chickweed are in full bloom too. Wild geese pair up. But despite all these signs and having peas emerging by the hundreds, and 1/2 the garden already in the ground, planting the tomatoes marks the beginning of the garden season for me.

     

     

     

     

  • The Garden is Greening

    The Garden is Greening

    You have to look very closely. It is not obvious. The garden is greening! Plums and Pears are blooming!  Spring is in two days, snow is in the 4 day forecast, yet plants are emerging and greening up the garden. If you look closely above, the few herbs and garlic look strong. The onions are beginning to set roots. I expect the peas to come up any minute!

     

    Notice the drip lines are installed, and this 1/4 of the garden is planted. Adrian did the heavy lifting and dug 100 feet of 18 inch deep trench to plant asparagus. We filled 1/3 of the trenches with chicken litter compost and planted Mary Washington and Jersey Knight. The herbs provide instant green. Planted Rosemary, Oregano and Sage. The Chives from seed should go in tomorrow.

     

    The following show a 4 row section of cabbage onion, carrots and potatoes. It is quite a mix of veggies side by side. Crop rotation in the garden is going to be difficult. We have so many peppers, tomato, and potato: these make up over 1/4 of the garden. Each is in the same family and rows should not have any of these for 3-4 years. Will have to be clever with rotation.

    greening garden 2

     

    The grass we planted in October is doing well. It is the greenest success so far. The deer keep it mowed outside the fence and inside almost needs mowing now. The grass mix is annual rye, perennial rye and white clover. The clover sprouted last winter but is scant.

     

    Still planning on getting in some early tomatoes next week (if no snow or freeze in 7 day forecast).

     

  • Tomato fruit set temperature

    Tomato fruit set temperature

    The 2012 tomato season was poor for most people. I even heard about an elderly couple quitting gardening because of very low yield last year, saying, “It is just not worth all the work!” I think last year’s trouble was high temperatures.

     

    Tomatoes, America’s favorite garden veggie, were hit especially hard. They require certain temperature ranges to set fruit. Night time, when the fruit is set, must be between 62 – 70 degrees F. Normally night temps fall into this range frequently and tomato blooms set fruit. But last summer, in June, night temperatures rose above 70 F and stayed there until August 10th. Below you can see that 2009 had days throughout the summer.

     

    Green bars are days when night temps between 60-70 F.
    Green bars are days when night temps between 60-70 F.

     

    In 2009 the last spring freeze was about April 7. But in 2012 the last freeze was March 7. Last year I luckily planted tomatoes early and the plants set fruit in April. But if you planted late, you might only get a few fruit clusters to set before the summer heat began.

     
    I have to admit to “irrational exuberance” each spring. Spring fever is very strong. Today will be 80 F. I want to plant early.

     

    But based on the charts and a generally warming climate, a little risk may reward with a better crop of tomatoes. Or am I simply feverish?

     

    Either way, I have started enough tomato plants to risk a few. In my own little garden I have covered early plants with success. Covering them with plastic has protected them from light frost. Elm Tree Garden is bigger and would be more work to protect the plants.

     

    I think I will start 50 feet of tomatoes next week and hope for the best. I have planned this with some Celebrity and Big Beef seedlings which are being hardened off for that last several days. They are ready. I also planned on enough seedlings to replace these plants if frozen.

     

    Here the “Average” last frost date is April 1. But climate warming is happening and may have pushed the future last frost dates into March. I believe it has. Plant some of your tomatoes early in you are in Oklahoma and spread your risk.

  • Tomato Grafting: after 7 days

    Tomato Grafting: after 7 days

    The tomato grafting project is working. As you can see the result in these pictures. I waited too long to do the grafting and much of the scion (top) seedlings were to big to fit into the grafting clips. Next year I will be ready.

     

    Some of the grafts wilted and are dead. But less than 1/4 of the plants wilted. The German Striped are strong looking despite having poor grafting union. See the bottom right of the following picture. These are German Stripe. The rest are Brandywine.

    Brandywine and German Stripe tomatoes grafted with Colosus root stock. Click to enlarge.
    Brandywine and German Stripe tomatoes grafted with Colosus root stock. Click to enlarge.

     

    I hope to have enough Brandywine to do a good A/B test. I will plant 2 half rows (25 ft). Half of regular Brandywine (A) and half of grafted plants (B) will be planted in these side by side rows. Each 1/2 row will have 15 plants. I hope to have a few for my smaller garden too. There I will do a smaller similar test on the German Stripes.

     

    In the background of this picture are the (A) tomato seedlings. They will have a big head start. Notice they are twice as tall as the grafts. I will also be able to plant the (A) seedlings on their side, burying most of the stems with just a few leaves above the soil. This helps the plant produce roots along the buried stem.

     

    The grafted seedlings (B) must be planted with the graft above the ground so that all the roots are Colosus roots. But this will not be as effective as planting it on its side. I hope this does not skew my test.

     

    Unless there is a frost in the 10 day forecast, these tomatoes will be planted in 2 weeks or about April 1st.

  • Grafting Tomatoes

    Grafting Tomatoes

    After a bit of preparation, it is time to graft tomato plants. The seedlings are about 20 days old and some are already too big to graft.

     

    In addition to tomato seedlings, grafting clips and a razor, a healing chamber is needed. In this picture you can see my seedlings and lighting. Near the middle of this picture is a cart with seedlings on top and a healing chamber built on the lower shelf. The chamber is wrapped in shrink wrap plastic to make a moisture ‘proof’ enclosure. This healing chamber is where the grafted seedlings are placed while the graft heals (3-7 days).

    Healing chamber in center cart on lower shelf.
    Healing chamber in center cart on lower shelf.

     

    To get a good graft, you first select plants with similar sized stems that will fit into the grafting clip.Brandywine and German Stripped are the fruit varieties I am grafting with Colosus root stock. I had plenty of good stem size matches. The top picture shows 4 Brandywine tomatoes ready for grafting.

     

     

    To reduce moitsure loss from leaves and to reduce the weight on the graft several leaves are also removed. The result looks very much like mutilation.

    A grafted tomato. Click on the image for a better view of the grafting clip. You can see the 45 degree cut that forms the graft.
    A grafted tomato. Click on the imageto view of the  45 degree cut of the graft.

     

    Once several grafted seedlings are ready they are placed in a healing chamber.

    The chamber is kept at 80 degrees F and at 90% humidity. Too much water flowing through the graft is not good. The high humidity keeps leaf respiration low.

     

    Here are about 30 grafted seedlings in the healing chamber. It is kind of hard to see through the shrink wrap plastic, but you can see the plants inside.

    Grafted tomato seedlings in healing chamber.
    Grafted tomato seedlings in healing chamber.

     

     

  • Snow and seedlings

    Snow and seedlings

    A heavy wet snow is falling, reminding me that plenty of time is left before real work begins in the garden. I was all up tight about my things to do in the garden. But now, seeing this snow fall, I am more at ease.

    seedlings-with-light

    I have about 8 flats of tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce started. Many of the tomatoes are to be grafted with Colosus root stock (which are also well started). The plan is to place about 15 grafted Brandywine tomatoes in one row and regular seedlings in the next row and have an easy comparison of yield.

     

    I have re-potted the cabbage into 6 packs. These will be ready for the ground in a week or two. So will the lettuce I’ve started for my smaller garden.

     

    In a week or two (March 1st) peppers can be started. And tomatoes will need grafting for some and re-potting for most. This is going to stretch my enclosure’s capacity to the max. My florescent lights can support 4 flats and the new metal halide light about 10 flats.

     

    The new 650 watt metal halide light is working well. I did attach a venting line to the light but it is not needed. The line is attached to a 6 inch fan, which is far too loud and far too much volume to just keep the bulb cool. I wanted to use the heat of the bulb as a second heat source.

     

    Heavy wet snow on Feb 20th.
    Heavy wet snow on Feb 20th.

    The snow is great news for our area. It is expected to be equal to about 2 inches or rain. We really need the moisture.

  • Seed germination tent

    Seed germination tent

    The shelving arrived the other day so we could finish a seed starting greenhouse. The seed catalogs are full of great varieties. Starting plants from seed and growing them out to about 6 weeks is a way to garden in mid-winter. If you are like me the itch to garden is strongest in winter and even seeing small plants growing is satisfying.

     

    The spot we picked in the barn is perfect. It was a washing station for horses so it has water and a drain in the middle of the space. Below is a peek through the door at the potting station and water faucet.

    A simple potting bench with soil basin made with a blue tub.
    A simple potting bench with soil basin made with a blue tub.

    We used 4 mil plastic to form a vapor barrier. It will act to keep the humidity in the space and does help insulate too by forming a small air space between the wall and plastic. I also thought the condensation would form on the plastic and roll down the plastic on the walls and drip to the floor. I hope this will save the paneling.

     

    The rest of the space is for plants.

     

    seed starting enclosure 004

    More lighting will be needed for the racks on the left. These shelves, plus a 2′ x 4′ cart will accommodate 12 flats. The single shelf to the right can hold 4 more flats for seed germination of 300 or so individual plants. The rolling cart will be used to take the near ready plants outside to begin hardening them off. Scheduling the seed starting will be the trick, so that plants are ready for the garden when the weather allows and having ample room for all the plants we want to start.

     

    The black trays on the shelf are planting flats. They are perforated so 6 packs of plants can be detached easily from the flat. Each pot is about 2″ x 2″ x 2″.

  • Forget thinking and pull weeds

    We all get into thought loops. Over and over the same thoughts. Many times this is our mind examining a problem or evidence and forcing current facts into some previously solved problem or situation. I imagine people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with horribly repetitive mind looping, a circle with no end. Really tight, inescapable loops. Yikes.

     

    In our busy lives we are called on for new thinking to create new things to solve today’s problems. I find that creativity comes best when my mind is quiet. Real change in thinking is possible when looping thought stops. For me, creativity comes from this silence (comes out from the silence), from the place where those looping thoughts were. As a professional, I stuck to certain loops, and solved old problems without creating anything new. Many professions will have a mantra for repetitive thought. In marketing the mantra was “test, measure, refine, test, measure, refine, …

     

    That mantra served me very well on old problems. Pulling weeds helped me solve new problems.

     

    Getting my mind to shut off is pretty easy. I weed in the garden. Pull up weeds and set them in a pile. It is mechanical, a physical loop: hand to weed, grasp root, pull, shake, pile (repeated). I lose hearing first and some looping thoughts stop. Tunnel vision begins and my field of view narrows: I see only the top of one weed. My sense of awareness shrinks to the bed being cleared. Taste and smell are dull and more loopy thoughts stop.

     

    It is in this very unfocused state that often would bring the: “Oh”. The ah-ha moment of clarity.

     

    So if you need to solve a new problem or new situation, take up gardening and weed your garden often.

  • Seed Starting Schedule

    This is one of my favorite garden chores. Starting seeds in a coldframe or enclosure is the true beginning of a gardening year. This year we have built a nice 10′ x 10′ enclosure and just now getting shelving installed. We will be starting lots of tomatoes, peppers and melons.

    Spring seed starting schedule. Not shown are fall crop replanting.
    Spring seed starting schedule. Not shown are fall crop replanting.

     

    Have planted (Jan 21) a few tomatoes for a grafting test. The diameter of grafted tomatoes must match well for the graft to take. So I have planted Colosus root stock and along with Brandywine and Striped German.  If any grow more quickly then they will be planted later than the rest of the grafting stock. After 21 days, grafting can begin, so vigorous growth varieties will be slightly younger (18 days maybe). This will help keep all stems nearly the same diameter. Here is a link to Johnny Seed describing the process of tomato grafting.

     

    I am planning on a small test for tomato grafting. Will focus on heirloom varieties (Brandywine – 25 plants and 2 German Striped for easy comparison ). They usually have the least yield compared to hybrids. I am expecting a 50% mortality rate on the grafts too, so I will plant extra heirloom fruit stock than shown above.