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. 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.
This is the latest plant list for 2013. Several plants will be replaced after an early harvest and a second planting of anther variety will follow. The picture below exaggerates harvest time of these early crops like peas and scallions. Pole beans will follow peas and squash will follow the scallions and sweet onions.
This plan will be easier to trellis and to keep weed free. Single rows of potatoes, tomatoes and peas will make cultivation between plants simple and trellising will be reduced by half. The plant count will also be reduced by half. Maybe the improved soil cultivation, weeding and more attention to each plant will raise plant yield some. Still expecting the garden to produce 2,000 pounds this year.
If I have any secrets about gardening, it is chickens. Specifically how to use chicken litter compost to improve soil in a raised bed. In raised bed gardening you will use the same soil year after year so it is important to amend the soil. Once the beds are ready they are filled with the best soil available. Chicken compost can be added to increase nitrogen and organic material. The picture above is a yummy recipe for success. Fresh eggs, heirloom tomatoes and crookneck summer squash all come together in July. I look at composting like a cycle of life. The long days of summer are the best place to start. It takes time to take shape. Egg production is stimulated by long days. Hens are hungry and they love to eat from the garden. Their appetites produce lots-o-littler in the coup. All this poop must be cleaned up. I use a method that reduces the work and yields good quantities of litter ready for the compost pile. Chicken manure needs lots of carbon to compost well and reduce its ‘heat’ before adding to the garden. So I use wood shavings to cover the floor of the coup. After I make a layer of shavings, I add diatominous earth (DE) a powder of finely ground sea shells. DE is a powder that is abrasive to pests, helps dry the litter and really knocks down the stink. Once the DE finds its way into a raised bed it adds calcium to the soil. Once the chickens have made a mess of this I make another layer of wood shavings and DE. Three layers produce two or three large wheelbarrows of chicken litter for the compost pile. We use wire mesh hoops made from old fences to form the piles. The chicken litter is concentrated so we add it in with layers with grass clippings, ground up leaves and residue from weeding around our place. If we have any compost that is done, I like to add a small scattering of it to each layer of the pile to inoculate the pile. My hens help make about 5 piles a year. They are great producers! They also lay from 1 to 3 dozen eggs a day. I think that everyone that gets these eggs really enjoy them too. Turning a compost pile speeds the decomposition. If a pile is left untouched it still makes great compost but will take about a year to finish. A well turned pile will finish in half that time or less. If you turn your pile you will need several piles to work with. Probably the easiest way to turn a pile is to use a garden fork to shovel one pile into another pile. We lift our wire hoops off the pile and set it next to the pile. Then shovel the pile back into the hoop. Two turnings and four months in summer and the pile will be about done. Add water when you turn if it is dry. To really cook, a pile needs moisture. Except in winter our pile really heats up. Dig a hole down into the pile and place a thermometer. Our pile ‘cooks’ at about 140 degrees F. Grass clippings are really hot. This heat of decomposition is a good measure of how quick your pile is cooking down to the rich black earthy elixir that is compost. It will have a rich earthy smell and is fluffy (almost like potting soil). One good pile is enough for about 3 inches of compost in two of my 4′ x 16′ beds. I add crushed limestone to reduce acidity and help tomatoes absorb the calcium. This also prevents blossom rot on tomatoes, a calcium deficiency in the plant sometimes caused by the combination of rich chicken litter and highly acid soil. The soil in each of my beds is rich and loamy. It yields heavy production. I am very happy to give any of this back to my chickens. They only get the C grade fruit but they are delighted with all offerings when it is fresh from the garden. I keep them happy and they me.
Over the past 15 years I have moved several times. At each home I built gardens. While I hated to abandon a garden to a new owner, I have enjoyed improving the last design. With each new garden, improvements were made. My first, well designed garden is shown below. This first raised bed garden was at our home on Lake Eufaula. We had very little area that was full sun so I put the garden in the front yard. The raised beds are surrounded by pea gravel. This really helps with weed control and allows working in the garden even after a heavy rain (no muddy shoes). Each bed is built with 4″ x 4″ treated timbers and has popup sprinklers for irrigation which are controlled with a timer. A coldframe was used to start seeds and very early veggies like lettuce and cabbage. Notice the electrical outlet. It provided heat to the coldframe on very cold nights. The dimensions were chosen for maximum yield from the timbers and so that I could, while sitting on the edge of the bed, reach the other side of the bed for weeding. Each timber is secured to the one below with wood screws. This helps prevent warping of the timbers over time (treated wood is prone to warping). My second raised bed garden took this concept to a new level. The top picture shows this garden in season. I built this garden is two stages. The front part built the first year. Gazebos and the back portion with a small orchard was built later. The entire garden has a stone raised bed surround with a fence to keep out the deer. This garden was very pretty. I began growing flowers and fruit and had nice places to sit and enjoy the outdoors. My favorite spot was under the wood portico which in summer was covered by a wisteria. In the blue-green ‘folly’ we would sit and have drinks with friends. We even added curtains in the folly for shade. The pea gravel infield had flagstone walkways adding a finished look. Risers were added to the sprinkler system to water pots and fill the fountain. One problem with raised beds built this way is that water can become trapped in the bottom of the bed. Many times while turning a bed a sour smell came from the soaked soil. Under each bed was a small pit was dug to make each bed a little deeper. But this pit retained water and would sour over time. I solved this problem in the back portion (built later) by placing french drains under each bed. The drains were connected and diverted under the stone wall and outside the garden. This solved the pooling water problem. I really hated leaving this garden. Finally, my last garden, much smaller and less elaborate, is made with large cedar timbers. It used timbers to mark the perimeter and to contain the pea gravel. French drains are under each bed. Each bed is irrigated with drip tubing. A riser in each bed has a valve to shut off water when fallow. The width of the timbers is easy to sit upon and the lap joint construction allows large lag bolts to secure each timber to the one below and help prevent warping. The little brick area is used to wash vegetables. The drain is connected to the french drains and keeps standing water away from the area. There is a riser for watering pots. The entire garden is watered with a single automatic timer zone. The drip lines are the best way to water that I have found. They distribute the water evenly without waste and can be fitted with misters to help seeds germinate by keeping the soil surface damp. Misters can be shut off once seedlings have emerged and have developed sufficient roots. I just hope that Elm Tree Garden can be as productive as any of these past gardens.
Substantial trellis support is needed for several crops in the garden. This includes tomatoes, peas, pole beans, cucumbers, tomatillo and pepper. There are 200 feet of 8 double row beds for tomatoes.
We have made some nice progress. The fence is nearly complete and the strawberries and garlic are planted. This picture shows the new fence.
This being the garden’s first year, selection of varieties is a new chore. Yield has not been a big concern until now. I have always planted according to my fancy. But now yield means helping more people. List is updated based on input from Mary.
The idea came to me while in my garden this summer. With too much time on my hands, since leaving work I have a huge vacuum to fill. Happily I have gardening to fill some of that void. And in my little garden, I wondered if I could build a more ‘commercial’ garden. Use modern varieties for productivity, build irrigation and set the garden in a piece of bottom land on our land. Give all the produce to local food banks for hungry people.
People are hungry in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is our hope to provide a source of nutritious fresh food by serving local food banks.
The garden sits in the bottom of Chisholm Creek and shows great promise with great top soil and a nice flat 1/2 acre for cultivation.
Over a long and lucky life I have accumulated a lot...
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People are hungry in Edmond, Oklahoma. There were times as a child that I was hungry. People don't get enough fresh vegetables. It is my hope to provide a source of nutritious fresh food to my community of local food banks, kitchens, friends and family.
The garden sits in the bottom land of Chisholm Creek and has great top soil and a nice flat 1/2 acre for cultivation. We have added a water well, irrigation and electricity.
The setting is my favorite reason to garden here. The old elm tree shades a nice sitting area from which to view the garden and the rich nature that comes and goes in the bottom.
Over a long and lucky life I have accumulated a lot...
Even in prosperous Edmond, food banks do a steady business serving the poor. Most efforts are operated by volunteers. They almost always need help. Please give cash or volunteer.
Great examples:
Regional Food Bank: where you can donate or volunteer.
Other Options, Inc. in OKC
Project66 Community Food Pantry in Edmond