Growing Poblano Peppers (Capsicum annuum v Poblano)

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Jay White

Each season one particular vegetable seems to out-do all of the rest. This year, the award for most amazing production in my garden goes to the poblano peppers. I planted three poblanos transplants in early April. By late May the plants had grown to about three feet and were beginning to provide me with a steady supply of very tasty and pretty spicy peppers. These plants produced well through the heat of July and August. Then, when the temperature dropped slightly in September, pepper production sky rocketed. I am now harvesting (and sharing) a grocery bag full of peppers every week.

If you have never grown poblanos I highly encourage you to try them. They are easy to grow, fairly resistant to pests and they have an excellent taste that falls somewhere between a banana pepper and a jalapeño on the hotness scale. These peppers are great chopped into a salad or incorporated into your favorite soups. Grill them until their skins blister and they become a soft spicy addition to you burgers. Cook them in hot oil on the stove and then use them to make your eggs, omelets and breakfast burritos really shine. Plus, they are big enough to be stuffed with just about anything you would stuff into any other pepper.

The poblano pepper originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico. It has become a very popular pepper throughout Mexico. Most of us gringos learned about these peppers when we ordered our first chile rellenos. Poblanos are often used in mole’ sauces and each year they help Mexicans celebrate their independence as the green ingredient in the red, white and green dish called chiles en nogado. Poblanos are sold both fresh and dried. In their dried form they are called ancho chiles. The dried ancho is often much hotter than the fresh poblano. Because of this, the dried peppers are often ground into a spicy chili powder that is used in many dishes.

Growing –Pepper seeds will not germinate until the soil warms up to about 70 degrees. In order to get their peppers producing as soon as possible, most pepper growers start their seeds inside about three months before soil temps reach this level. For me, this is early January. Eventhough my Poblanos were transplants, I regularly grow several varieties of tomatoes and peppers from seed. I use special planting trays that have little indentions that hold those dried peat pellets that expand with hot water. To start my peppers I make sure the pellets are fully expanded and then I use tweezers to put three seeds in each pellet. I then place the clear lid over the tray, place in a sunny window and wait.

The seeds can take 10 to 14 days to germinate. I leave them in the trays until the end of February. At that time I take little scissors and cut out the smallest plants, leaving only the sturdiest. I move the plants into a four inch pot filled with a high grade potting mix. Once they are in the pots I put them in a tray saved from previous plant purchases and then place the tray in a large, clear plastic storage bin. This bin allows me to water with abandon and also allows me to easily harden off the shoots by moving the plants outside on warm days. The sides of the container also protect my tender seedlings from wind damage.

Tomato and pepper starts ready for transfer to their 4″ pots

Sometime in early April, when soil temps are right and night time temps are staying above 60, I plant my pepper (and tomato) transplants. Peppers require full sun. They also need at least an inch of water per week and a well drained soil that is very well worked with organic matter. If the soil, sun and water are right, you can expect to start harvesting your first peppers 45 to 60 days after transplant. Peppers will produce well until temps go above above 90, then their production will fall. If you add more organic material at this time and continue to water, your peppers will continue producing right up to the first freeze.

Harvesting-Poblanos are ready to harvest when they are 4” to 6” long and their skin has a glossy sheen to it. Technically, poblanos at this stage are immature. That is fine though because they are less hot when they are green. However, if you want to dry or smoke your poblanos, leave them on the bush until they turn red. If you leave them long enough they will eventually begin to shrivel and turn a deep purple.

A ripe poblano will snap right off into your hand when it is ready to be picked. However, pepper limbs are brittle and if you try and pull a pepper that is not ready you can get a lot of foliage along with your pepper. For this reason I always use a sharp pair of shears or scissors to harvest my peppers.

Pests-Aphids, cutworms and hornworms can all be a problem for peppers. Aphids can be controlled by regularly applying a good shot of water to the underside of the leaves. Cutworms can be controlled by “wrapping” the stems of the young plants in cardboard. Simply cut a toilet paper or paper towel roll into three inch sections. Split these up the sides. Loosely wrap this around the base of your plants after transplant. Stick an inch or so of the tube into the ground and leave an inch or so above ground. Hornworms are always a double problem for me. I know they can wipe out my tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. However, they are the immature form of the hummingbird moths that I love to watch feed on my datura. Regardless of my fondness for hummingbird moths, I pull all hornworms that I find and quickly squish them. If you have a bad infestation you can apply BT but is is really only effective if applied when the caterpillars are small.

As much as I love hummingbird moths, their larvae (Hornworms) can decimate your peppers, tomatoes and potatoes

© 2012 Tomato Season Wrap Up by Bill Adams

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Jay White

There weren’t many new tomato discoveries to brag about this year. What started out as a pretty good season with low insect/mite numbers due to last year’s extreme drought combined with the blessing of occasional rains, wound down with persistent heat and a buildup of stinkbugs—both the Leaf-footed variety and the shield-shaped ones. It does seem curious that the only tomato varieties that are coming back from the spring planting are the hybrids that have nematode resistance and heirlooms that were grafted on nematode resistant rootstock (Emperador from Johnny’s Seeds). Emperador is not in the 2012 catalog but Colosus F1 is listed as a more productive replacement.

2012 was a bad year for stink bugs

The most outstanding new heirloom for us in 2012 was Marianna’s Peace. This large, somewhat oblong and cherry-red tomato had some slight folding but not a drastic amount of core typical of these large heirlooms. It had good acidity and the complex, sweet tomato flavors that we lust for in a tomato. In short it was “lap over a burger wonderful” and “lick the juice off the plate tasty”. These large fruits are produced on a potato-leaved plant and production continued into early August. This variety will definitely be tried on hybrid rootstock this year.

The most outstanding new heirloom for 2012 was Marianna’s Peace. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

I had almost forgotten how good Juliet is. This small saladette type tomato has excellent flavor and it is extremely productive, often surviving into the fall. The skin might be a bit tough but it’s really not objectionable. Restaurants even mention it on the menu—“Bibb lettuce with Juliet tomatoes”.

Viva Italia is almost like a big sister to Juliet, great flavor, bigger and productive long into the season. Gets some Early Blight in a wet spring but usually recovers for production in late summer and fall. Fungicides can keep it productive throughout the season.

Jaune Flamme has good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Speaking of fall—this year we planted Fourth of July a Campari style tomato (golf ball size/large clusters) with great flavor. This is one of Burpee’s best and here it produces long before Fourth of July when planted in early spring and it often lasts into late summer and fall. Planted in June/July it looks like a good fall targeted tomato.

Purple Calabash is a great black heirloom with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Rowdy Red is supposedly a favorite of Clint Eastwood and though not much larger than a baseball with a nipple end it has great flavor and production. Our plant is still alive in October and trying to produce more fruit. We would plant it again—maybe I’ll set an empty chair next to it for support.

Kosovo was a great tasting oxheart but the plants faded in the heat. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Kosovo, a big Oxheart type was a surprise. It not only grew well and was fairly productive, it tasted great too. Might have to try this one on nematode-resistant rootstock since it did fade out in the heat. Thinking about using Celebrity or Better Boy since the seed is cheaper compared to the specialty rootstock varieties from Johnny’s.

Tycoon looks like it could be our new mainstay tomato variety. Grown commercially and harvested green, is not much to brag about. But vine ripe out of the garden, it is delicious. My Champion tomatoes got ringspot virus rather quickly this year so they may not be a good main crop choice anymore where you’ve grown tomatoes for a long time. Celebrity is still a good main variety too.

Cherokee Purple is a great tasting heirloom with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Some other good candidates for hybrid/nematode resistant roots include Persimmon, Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, Flamme, any of the black tomatoes like Black from Tula, Purple Calabash, etc. Brandywine has been a disappointment in this area—on its own roots or when grafted. Even some standard and hybrid varieties don’t claim nematode resistance anymore—perhaps too much emphasis on breeding for virus resistance—so don’t rule them out for nematode-resistant roots either. Check out Johnny’s website for tomato grafting info, pick up some single edge razor blades and order some clips from Johnny’s.

German Johnson was another great tasing tomato with good nematode resistance. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

The 2013 catalogs will start arriving soon. Don’t wait until after December 21 to order (word is the Mayan’s ran out of rock and scientists have found an addendum calendar rock) or you may not get the varieties you want. If you plant early (Mid-February in south-central Texas) you need to start seed in January.

Black From Tula is a great tasting slicer. Plus, it is very resistant to nematodes. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Edible Landscape Tour

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Jay White

Currently, one of the hottest trends in landscape design is called “Edible Landscapes”. Edible landscapes seek to incorporate vegetable, herbs, berries and fruit trees into urban and suburban landscapes.

The backyard of one of the homes on the tour. Photo by Bruce Leander

I can attest that it is pretty easy to create an attractive outdoor space using a mix of fruiting plants and ornamentals. Each season my little potager contains lots of vegetables mixed in with daylilies, salvias, justicias and dianthus. The structure and color that these ornamentals add make the less showy vegetables much more attractive to look at.

I strive to make my spring and fall potager as attractive as possible. While the aesthetics are important, there are a couple of side benefits to this combination of plants that make the garden much more efficient and productive.

Pansy, viola, carrots and shallots in my 2011 fall garden

First, since this is a vegetable garden, I mulch everything fairly well. This mulch moderates soil temperatures and reduces water lost to evaporation. Because of this, I am able to keep a fairly large amount of plants alive on MUCH less water than would be required to keep up a lush lawn of the same size.

Increased pollination is another side benefit of mixing vegetables and ornamentals. Since I have a wide range of flowers that bloom throughout the year, my potager is always full of bees and other pollinators. In addition to giving me something else to watch while I am in the garden, these pollinators make sure that I get lots tomatoes, squash and cucumbers every season.

Another yard on the edible landscape tour. Photo by Bruce Leander

If you would like to learn more about edible landscapes, you can join my wife and I at the Travis County “Edible Gardens Tour” In Austin. My friend (and fellow MOH blogger and Texas Gardener writer) Patty Leander will be giving a presentation on the healthy aspects of vegetable gardening at the Agrilife Extension Center. If you don’t want to start your tour at the Extension office, feel free to start at any of seven houses that are on the tour. You can get your tickets, schedule and map to the houses online. The tour kicks off at 9:00 and there will be short presentations at each one. This is a great opportunity to see and learn from some very good gardeners that are doing great things by combining edibles and ornamentals in their yards and gardens. As an added bonus, some of houses on the tour also use water wise gardening practices. With the constant threat of water restricitions, this will be a great opportunity to pick up some of the tips and tricks you need to continue growing food when the rains don’t come.

The tour costs $15 per person in advance and you can reserve your tickets on the event website (Click Here). The tour will start at the Travis County Agrilife Extension Center located at 1600-B Smith Road in Austin. Hope to see you there!

P.S. If you can’t make the tour in person be sure to watch KLRU’s “Central Texas Gardener”. Their October 13 show will feature many of the gardens and the gardeners that are featured on the tour. Their schedule is below.

Channel	Day	Date	Time
KLRU	SaturdaySunday Monday	Oct. 13Oct. 14 Oct. 15	Noon & 49 a.m. 5:30 a.m.
KLRU Q (18/3)	TuesdayWednesday Friday	Oct. 16Oct. 17 Oct. 19	6:30 p.m.7:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m.
KLRN (San Antonio)	Saturday	Oct. 13	11 a.m.
KNCT (Killeen & Waco)	Saturday	Oct. 13	1:30 p.m.
KBDI (Denver, CO)	SundayTuesday	Oct. 14Oct. 16	2 p.m.2:30 p.m.
KPBT Midland (Permian Basin)	Monday	Oct. 15	12:30 p.m.
KAMU (College Station)	Saturday	Oct. 13	5:00 p.m.
KRSC (Claremore, OK)	SaturdayTuesday	Oct. 13Oct. 16	10:30 a.m.1:30 p.m.
KTWU (Topeka, KS)	multiple days & times

also on UNCMX Raleigh-Durham and K32EO Colorado Springs

Make Room for Cool-Season Peas by Patty Leander

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Jay White

Plump full pods of Mr. Big Peas. Photo by Bruce Leander

A few months ago I wrote about heat-loving Southern peas (Vigna unguiculata), but now that September is here and temperatures have begun to cool off ever so slightly, it’s time to switch gears to cool-season peas (Pisum sativum): sugar snaps, snow peas and garden peas.

Peas have been in cultivation around the world for thousands of years, but the sugar snap pea that we enjoy today is American-made, thanks to a plant breeder named Calvin Lamborn of Idaho. In the 1970’s he crossed a garden pea with a snow pea, resulting in a tender pea with a crisp, sweet, edible pod. This new pea was introduced to the public in 1979, and has been a sensation ever since. ‘Sugar Snap’ was the original introduction of edible-podded peas. It is a vining variety that can reach 5-7 feet. ‘Super Sugar Snap’ is an improved version with resistance to powdery mildew. Both varieties mature in 62-65 days.

Cascadia Peas ready for harvest. Photo by Bruce Leander

Most peas are compact bush types that grow 24-30” tall and begin producing slightly earlier than the vining types. A few reliable sugar snap varieties include ‘Cascadia’ (58-60 days to maturity),

‘Sugar Ann’ (52-56 days), ‘Sugar Bon’ (56 days) and ‘Sugar Sprint’ (55-58 days). If garden or shelling peas are more to your liking try the heirloom varieties ‘Wando’ (68 days) or ‘Little Marvel’ (62 days). A more recent introduction is the 2000 All-American Selection winner called ‘Mr. Big’ (58-62 days), a vining variety which grows 5-6 feet and produces large pods filled with 8 to 10 plump green peas.

Wando shelling peas ready for harvest. Photo by Bruce Leander

Sugar snap peas can be eaten at any stage of development; the entire pod is edible when the peas inside are small and immature. Fresh, crunchy pods can be served with dip or sliced and added to salads. Whole pods are delicious sautéed or roasted (see accompanying recipes). Peas that are allowed to fully mature can be shelled and prepared like any garden pea, by simmering in a small pot of water just until tender.

Peas can be a challenge to grow because they are particular about the weather and must be planted during a short window of opportunity. Too hot and they will wither away, too wet and they succumb to powdery mildew, too cold and they will drop their blooms and potential pods. Plant peas at least 8 weeks before your first average freeze in fall so plants have time to grow and mature before the cold weather sets in. In my Central Texas garden I usually plant peas in early September, and again a week or two later. Then I keep my fingers crossed and hope that the peas grow fast and our first frost comes late.

Cascadia Pea blooms. Photo by Bruce Leander

The soil will still be hot at these recommended planting times, so try shading it with row cover, shade cloth, burlap or several layers of newspaper for a week or so before planting to help moderate the temperature. Planting after a rain is ideal, but if you are not so lucky be sure to irrigate a day or two before planting so the soil will be moist and ready to receive seed.

Because peas are legumes they have a special relationship with a beneficial soil bacteria called Rhizobia. The peas allow the bacteria to live on their roots and the bacteria extract nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form the plants can use. If you are planting peas in a new garden, a container or an area of your garden that has not hosted legumes before you can encourage this relationship by inoculating the pea seed before planting to ensure that the bacteria is present in the soil. The inoculant is often available at garden centers or it can be ordered through most seed catalogs. The process is simple and involves nothing more than coating the dampened seeds with the inoculant powder before planting.

To harvest pods: hold the vine in one hand and pull pod with the other. Photo by Bruce Leander

Plant the seed 1-1½” deep and 3-4” apart. Bush-type varieties that grow 24-30” are considered self-supporting, but I find that they are easier to tend and easier to harvest if given some kind of support. They will also get better air circulation (therefore less prone to disease) if grown upright and off the ground. Try using string or chicken wire tied between stakes or insert pruned branches next to the plants for support. The tall, vining varieties, like ‘Super Sugar Snap’, must have sturdy support and should be planted at the base of a tall tomato cage, a fence or a trellis. Once your peas start producing, harvest them frequently for peak quality and to encourage more production. And be sure to use two hands when harvesting or you could easily pull up an entire vine (been there, done that).

Your home-grown peas that travel from garden to kitchen in mere minutes will look better, taste better and cost less than any fresh sugar snap pea that you can buy at a grocery store – yet another reason to grow-your-own!

Sugar Snap Peas with Mushrooms. Photo by Bruce Leander

Sugar Snap Peas with Mushrooms

Some peas, especially heirloom varieties, have strings, so be sure to snap off the end and peel the strings off before cooking.

½ lb sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 T olive oil

½ lb mushrooms, sliced

Sauté peas in olive oil 3-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

1 lb sugar snap pea pods, trimmed

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Toss pods with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 475° oven for 12-15 minutes.

Sustaining My Health, My Soul and My Sanity by Patty G. Leander

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Jay White

Save seeds from this year’s crop or order from seed catalogs for planting next spring

There is a lot of talk these days about sustainable gardening – gardening in a way that builds soil, is gentler on the environment and makes the most efficient use of resources. But after a crazy, busy and hot summer that involved relocation moves for my daughter, my niece, my mother and my in-laws, followed by my husband’s back surgery and topped off with an emergency room visit for my father-in-law, I barely had the time or energy to work on sustaining my vegetable garden. But I was amazed – yet again – at how my garden sustains me.

‘Calico’ crowder (also known as Polecat)

Because of some unanticipated – but completely appreciated – rain in July (almost 8” in my south Austin backyard!) my garden was producing a decent supply of okra, eggplant, crowder peas, butter beans, Malabar spinach and winter squash. By August the rain tapered off and when we left for South Carolina to help with my in-laws’ move to Texas, I figured that was the end of my summer garden. I didn’t have the heart to ask a neighbor or even my daughter to go out and tend my vegetables amid the mosquitoes and the heat, and I was prepared to let it all go in anticipation of a re-start in fall.

Southern peas (left) and butter beans (right) are allowed to dry on the vine, after shelling they are ready for cooking or storage

Not surprisingly, upon my return, the okra and eggplant had withered (they were in pots and never really had a chance) and the winter squash was overcome by squash vine borer damage, but miraculously the crowder peas and the butter beans continued to yield. The pods were not as plump and numerous as production in early summer, but still they kept coming, and I kept picking. Every few days I’d have enough for a small meal, and even after I had picked the last of the green pods, there were plenty of dried pods on the vines.

A mix of ‘Jackson Wonder’ butter beans and ‘Dixie White’ butter peas

Shelling peas takes a little time but the results are well worth the effort. And cooking field peas is a cinch – they require very little preparation and as they simmer they create a rich potlikker that is nourishing and delicious. Dried peas can be stored in glass jars, plastic bags or any other airtight container and should be consumed within a year for best quality. Believe me, a meal of crowder or black-eyed peas, home-grown and dried from your own garden, dished up with a slice of hot, buttered cornbread in the middle of winter, is really a treat and will garner all kinds of compliments. Serve with a side of simmered collard greens (from your fall garden, of course) for a down home-taste of Texas terroir.

Plain and Simple Southern Peas

My dad used to say that “everything tastes better with a little pig meat” and it certainly applies to these Southern peas. He grew up in a time when families subsisted on what they produced from the land and nothing from the farm was wasted. As a result, all kinds of vegetables prepared in southern kitchens were flavored with bacon or ham hocks, which add a hearty goodness. But if you are not a fan of bacon you can sauté the onion in olive or vegetable oil or just throw all the ingredients into a pot and let them cook together until tender. They are so good they practically cook themselves.

2 slices bacon, chopped

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups dried Southern peas (crowder, black-eyed, cream, purple hull)

4 cups water

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2-3 teaspoons sugar

1-2 teaspoons salt

1-2 teaspoons pepper

Cook bacon until crisp; remove from pan and set aside. Sauté onion in drippings. Add remaining ingredients, adding enough liquid to cover peas by one inch. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 2 hours, until peas are tender and liquid has deepened in color and flavor. Add more liquid and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with crumbled bacon, chopped onion or chow-chow, if desired.

Yield: 4-6 servings

2012 Fall Gardening Tips

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Jay White

Right now it is so hot outside I work up a sweat just walking to the garden. Photo by Heather White

August 1 is the official kick off date for fall gardening in my part of Texas. In reality, I actually start working on my fall garden around the middle of July. Like most of us in zones 7-9, my tomatoes are basically done by July 4th. When your spring tomatoes stop setting fruit you have two choices. Pull ’em up and replace with new plants in August, or trim your exisiting vines up, give them a little shade, a few nutrients, and wait for the temperatures to drop.

In my opinion, the best way to ensure a fall tomato harvest is to keep your spring plants alive through July and August. These mature plants will flower and bloom much faster than new plants put out in August.

Ever since the November night that I was late to my anniversary party because I was building cold frames out of old windows around the tomato plants I planted in August, I have been in the tomato trimming group. Little tomato plants planted in the 100 degree August heat will not always produce red ripe tomatoes before our first freeze. Because of this, I try and keep my spring tomato plants alive through July and August. To keep my spring tomato plants alive, I prune them by about a third to a half in mid-July. I then add a thick layer of composted chicken manure, mulch and put up some sort of shade. For me, this has been the best way to ensure a harvest of a few fall tomatoes.

While I am out trimming tomatoes I also do a good garden clean up. July is when I pull down any vines on my trellises that have stopped producing. This can included beans, gourds, cucumbers, cantelopes and squash. I also pull up any old mulch that is still lying on top of the ground. I take all of this dead vegation directly to the burn pile. Many of those bugs that caused you so much grief earlier in the year are sleeping and laying eggs in the mulch and plant liter under your plants. Because of this, removing it and burning it twice a year is a good pest control measure.

Put out a fresh layer of compost on your clean Fall beds. Animal manures like cow manure and chicken manure are a little higher and nitrogen than the palnt types. I use these to give a boost to my newly trimmed tomatoes.

After my beds and trellises are clean, I amend the soil. I add about 3″ of whatever compost is on sale to the tops of my beds. I don’t usually till this compost in. I actually kind of use it as mulch. The compost will eventually get worked in when I plant or it rains or through the natural processes of all of the tiny little animals in the soil that feed off of the compost.

Finally, to conserve moisture, cool remaining roots and protect all of those micro-organisms in the soil I add a fresh deep layer of hay mulch. If you mulch with hay you need to be careful. Alot of herbicides that farmers use to control weeds in their hay crops are very persistent. There can be enough residue is some hays (particularly bermuda hays like coastal, Tifton and Jiggs) to kill your new plants that are trying to germinate or become established. I typically use rice straw as my mulch. In my experience rice hay has no residual herbicides and very few weeds.

A large $70 roll of rice hay will supply me with all of the mulch I need for an entire year of gardening

After doing all of this prep, I spend a lot of time on the internet figuring out what I am going to plant and when I am going to plant it. This year, I found the best planting guide/calendar I have ever seen. This guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. (they also have one for herbs). Instead of a list of dates, this calendar is a graphical representative of the entire year. It’s easy to read format allows you to quickly look up any plant you want. The headers show every month broken down into weeks and the rows are an alphabetical listing of all of the vegetables we can grow in this area.

This very good planting guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. This graphical guide is the easiest to use that I have found. They website has one for herbs as well.

My grandmother used to say you could find something nice to say about anything. So, I am going to say something nice about Texas summers. Even though it is 106 in the hot Texas sun right now, that sun is what is going to allow me to grow some of my favorite vegetables over the next six months. I know it is hot out there, but now is the ideal time to get that fall garden going. All of the sweat of July and August will pay off big in September and October. So suck it up and get busy. You will forget all about how hot July was when you are OUTSIDE in your garden harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and cabbage in January!

Gardening With Chickens

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Jay White

Based on all of the press I see, I am convinced that almost everyone in America is either raising chickens or gardening. Notice I said “either”. While both activities are a ton of fun, they are very difficult to do together. You see, chickens will eat anything and everything; especially fresh produce. Because of this, most people that have both chickens and gardens do everything possible to keep the chickens far, far away from their plants.

Carol and Andy KMetz in front of their root cellar. This cellar was a labor of love given to Andy by his son for Father’s Day. Note to my own children: THIS WAS A VERY GOOD GIFT!!!!!

I recently met a couple that has overcome this problem. They have created a way to combine their love of chickens and their love of gardening in a way that is equally beneficial to the plants, the animals and the people. I was so impressed by this very simple and ingenious method that I had to share it.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to moat on the other side!

Andy and Carol Kmetz of Sapulpa, Ok are avid gardeners that have developed a unique way to use their chickens to improve their garden and their gardening experience. Andy grows vegetables and berries in a 60’X40’ garden that is enclosed by two fences. The second (or outer) fence is an incredibly brilliant idea that allows him to use his chickens as a natural pest barrier, weed barrier and garden waste disposal system. This second fence creates a 6’ border (or run) around the outside of his garden. This run is connected to his chicken coop by an underground tunnel he calls a moat. This buffer space between the plants and the chickens is beneficial to both he and his hens. The chickens patrol this area and eat any insect that dares to try and move through it. They also eat all of the weeds that try to pop up. This creates a very effective barrier that keeps weeds from encroaching from the perimeter of the garden. In addition, as Andy works in the garden, he can quickly and easily dispose of weeds and over ripe produce by throwing it over the fence to the hungry chickens that will literally eat anything that hits the ground.

The girls enter the trench that connects their coop with the vegetable garden on the other side.

This moat idea took a while to get just right. Initially, Andy dug a trench and placed a concrete conduit in it. The chickens didn’t like it. Turns out chickens are “chicken” of the dark (why is that when I write about chickens I am compelled to use bad chicken puns). When he discovered this he dug another trench, walled it up with two deep cross-ties and covered it with heavy gauge welded wire. This open topped design was all the chickens needed to make them “cross the road”.

The girls are in the moat. Note how the edge of the fence by the garden is almost devoid of vegetation

Andy’s chickens aren’t the only thing special about his garden. Each year, Andy grows tons of produce on plants that are so healthy they look like they were grown in a greenhouse. His skill as a gardener surpasses his families ability to consume and Carol’s ability to can. So, each year he and Carol distribute the fruits of their labor to their friends and those in need. Andy achieves these results through a combination of diligence and organic growing methods. He credits his success to three things: a very special compost, mulch and drip irrigation. Every year, before he plants anything, Andy feeds his soil with a humate mixture that that he gets from Humalfa. This compost is made from feed lot waste and blended with composted alfalfa to create a very nutrient dense mixture that is great for the vegetable garden. Andy is so in love with this stuff that he makes a 500 mile round trip every spring so he can buy this product in bulk directly from the manufacturer.

After Andy feeds his soil, he makes sure that all of his plants are serviced by his drip irrigation system. Once the plants are up he mulches them with grass clippings and pine needles that he gathers from his yard. His efforts do two things; conserve moisture and they extend his growing season. Andy has gardened in this plot for many years. Before the mulch and drip system went in, his garden was done each year by July 4. Now, his deep mulch and drip system extends his garden production well into August.

Andy and Carol were excellent hosts and kindred spirits. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time to spend with them. In my opinion, their chicken moat borders on genius. It is a simple solution to a problem that vexes many gardeners across the world. I am so thankful that they allowed us to learn from their experience. I was so impressed by the chicken moat that I am willing to bet, it won’t be too long until I get to write a post about one at my house! Many thanks to both Carol and Andy for taking the time to teach this old gardener a few new tricks!

This post has been shared on the Homestead Barn Hop and the HomeAcre Hop. These Hops are a source of great information from some of the top homesteaders and gardeners across the web. Check them out!

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Jay White

Fouth of July is a great tomato for both the spring and fall garden. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

I continue to be amused but somewhat aggravated by the tomato descriptions in catalogs and on seed packets. For example, Royesta, a European hybrid that is described as having “wonderful flavor” was my hope this year for a tomato to replace Dona and Carmello. It is a strong, productive plant but the tomatoes aren’t worth eating. “Flavor Challenged” would have been a better description. The tomatoes are big, and tempting, but they’re compost fodder in my opinion. Now I realize that rain or overwatering could have diluted the flavor, but I’ve been eating them all season and they have been consistently lousy. Perhaps the long summer days and milder nights in Europe improve the flavor, but I doubt it.

Royesta was a disappointment this year. While it produced big, vigorous vines the tomatoes were not worth eating. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Mountain Magic, a North Carolina variety sounded promising. It is described as having “wonderful flavor”. The plant is a healthy monster, with lots of Campari-size (golf ball) tomatoes that are sort of edible but a little too acid and lacking the complex tomato sweetness that makes for a good tomato. In short they are not worth picking in this busy season. Also tried a Campari seedling—a little better but not worth the effort.

Mountain Magic was another disappointment in the taste category. While it grew a mammoth bush and lots of tomatoes they were just too acidic. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Gregori’s Altai was my big effort this year. I ordered the seed twice before it was shipped and I planted two plants on their own roots plus two grafted on Emperador rootstock from Johnny’s Seeds. It is supposed to be a pink beefsteak but mine are shaped more like an Oxheart. The flavor and texture are good and I’ve harvested quite a few but I’m suspicious of the seed. Heirlooms can be rather variable so the seed may be a mix-up. May have to try another seed source as a couple at one of my Arbor Gate lectures really raved about it.

Gregori’s Altai has been a great pick, however I am not 100% sure of the seed I used to produce this very nice tomato. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Kosovo is very similar and also good—maybe I mixed up the seed—not likely, I’m a professional, though I do enjoy an occasional brew. It did produce one of the most erotic tomatoes I’ve ever seen—in fact I’m blushing now. Think of it as something Georgia O’Keefe might have painted when she was feeling really naughty. My wife says I can’t show anyone the pix and I’ve already consumed the fruit—slowly and sensually.

Kosovo turned out to be a pretty good tomato. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Amsterdam is a new hybrid, small plum tomato from Seminis. It’s touted for high Brix levels (sugar indicator) but it is also rather acid, almost sour and that seems to mask most of the sweetness in my taste tests. Amsterdam is very pretty but not sure I would plant it again. Also have Yaqui, a flavor challenged saladette type, Caramba an Italian, green-shoulder type (haven’t tried it yet) and Poseidon 43, a pink tomato (also waiting for the taste test).

Nyagous-a black, plum-shaped tomato-suffered from a lot of fruit rot this season. It has been a complex sweet favorite in the past but not quite as good this year. This may just be a different seed source of a variety that isn’t very genetically uniform.

Nyagous has been a favorite in the past but suffered a lot of fruit rot this season. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Super Boy was a disappointing addition to the “Boy” series. Apparently it is “boy” in size—a little larger than a golf ball, angular, fairly tasty (the stinkbugs love it) and hard. Hard like almost crunchy. Apples I like crunchy, tomatoes I like at least medium-soft, never grainy, preferably with a melting flesh.

Super Boy is a disappointing ddition to the “boy” line of tomatoes. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Sun Pride was a nice, determinate-sized plant with a few medium-size tomatoes that weren’t very tasty.

Sunpride produced a nice determinate bush but their flavor was little flat. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

My next blog entry will be more uplifting with raves for the good varieties this year. In the meantime if you’re contemplating a fall tomato crop you should have good luck with Juliet, a small, saladette-type tomato or Burpee’s Fourth of July, a campari type with great flavor and production. If you just have to try a slicer in your fall garden, go for the early varieties like Early Girl, Black Krim or Moskvich.

Black Krim is a very tasty addition to the fall garden. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

Juliet is always a great choice for the fall garden. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.

No Rest for the Weary-Summer Gardening Chores by Patty Leander

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Jay White

Well, is it hot enough for ya? The sweet corn ain’t so sweet anymore, the spider mites have set up camp on the underside of my green beans, the squash vine borer has mutilated my zucchini and the mockingbirds keep beating me to the tomatoes. It’s a jungle out there and usually by late June or early July I’m ready to pull out these weary spring plantings and give most of the garden (and the gardener) a well deserved rest. Take advantage of the summer ‘dormant season’ to dream, plan and prepare for the upcoming fall season.

A planting of buckwheat makes a good summer cover crop, the blooms also attracts pollinators. Photo by Bruce Leander

If you are not the type to hibernate in air-conditioned comfort for the next few months there is still plenty to do in the vegetable garden. Summer tasks might include removing spent crops, planting a cover crop of cowpeas or buckwheat or mulching fallow beds with leaves, hay, dried grass or compost. Organic matter burns up quickly in hot weather and a layer of mulch or compost will help add and/or conserve organic matter in the soil so it will be ready to receive your plants in the fall. Red Ripper or Iron & Clay cowpeas make vigorous summer cover crops – I get mine from Heavenly Seed (www.heavenlyseed.net). Johnny’s (www.johnnyseed.com) also carries Iron & Clay, buckwheat and a wide selection of green manures.

A compost bin located in the garden row makes for easy distribution later. Photo by Bruce Leander

Be sure to keep your compost pile going through the summer, and if you don’t have one why not start now? Composting has many benefits for the soil and is an excellent way to reduce, reuse and recycle waste from your garden, yard and kitchen. Most compost guides suggest placing the compost in an inconspicuous corner of your yard, but over the years my compost piles (yes, I have more than one) seem to inch closer and closer to the garden where they will eventually be used. Sometimes they inch so close that they end up IN the garden – I place a square or round compost bin, made of chicken wire or fencing material, right in an empty garden bed or in the row. Over the summer I fill it with kitchen scraps, grass clippings and garden trimmings, keeping it moist to encourage microbial activity (if it’s in full sun cover with an umbrella, tarp or shade cloth to help hold some of that moisture). Come fall I’ll loosen the bin and remove it, freeing up the contents for incorporation into the soil or for mulching crops.

The author using bricks to secure a layer of plastic for solarization. Photo by Bruce Leander

Another task that is well-suited to our hot days and warm nights is solarizing nematode infested soil with plastic. Use clear plastic that is 2-4 ml thick and anchor it in place with bricks, U-pins or bury the edges with soil. Before putting the plastic in place, turn or till the soil, rake it smooth and water well. The moist soil covered with clear plastic will create a greenhouse effect that will elevate the soil temperature enough to kill nematodes. Leave the plastic in place for 4-6 weeks during the hottest part of the summer. It may get too hot for soil microbes under that plastic so after solarizing be sure to amend the area with 2-3 inches of compost, turn it under and you’ll be ready to plant for fall. To discourage nematodes even further, I’ll usually follow solarization with a nematode resistant crop, such as onions, garlic or corn.

The author’s cat reminds us that sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, water and cooler with cold washcloths will help keep us cool and safe while working in the Texas heat. Photo by Bruce Leander

I know you know this, but it is worth repeating: if you do work in the garden this summer, wear sunscreen, take breaks and drink plenty of fluids. It is easy to fall victim to heat exhaustion this time of year. If you are going to spend some time working outside, try this tip – wet some wash cloths, roll them up and put them in a cooler with ice or a couple of ice packs. Then when you take a break, you’ll have a nice, cold cloth to wipe down your face and neck or drape over your head. Ahhhh, sweet relief.

Growing Potatoes

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jay White

This weekend I had one of those experiences that remind me again why I love to garden. My daughter Heather came out for Father’s Day. Since she loves going into the garden with me I always make sure she has something to pick. This weekend, I saved her a special treat; blue fingerling potatoes.

Of all of the things I harvest in the garden, potatoes are my absolute favorite. Each time I dig them it reminds me of an Easter egg hunt. I get so excited when I stick my fork in the ground and turn over the soil and find all of those spuds. Since I like doing this so much, I knew she would too. And, since they were blue, I knew it would make our dig a little more like an Easter egg hunt for her as well.

My daughter is fueling up on fresh peaches before we started digging the potatoes

I have absolutely no idea what type of potatoes we harvested. I got them from my mentor Cynthia Mueller last fall. I tried to grow them in my potato box and they didn’t seem to make. However, this March, I looked in the box and I saw several little potato vines popping up so I immediately dug them up and moved them to my row garden.

Potatoes of all sorts are pretty easy to grow. There are well over 800 varieties of potatoes in the world so there is a variety that will grow in just about any condition. Basically, potatoes come in three maturity types; short season, mid-season and long season maturation types. To determine which ones are best for you, pick one that will mature between a planting date of three to four weeks before your last freeze and a harvest date before temperatures get up into the 90s. Potatoes can take some cold but they shut down completely in high heat. Since it gets so hot so quickly where we are, the mid length maturation types seem to do best. The two I most often grow are Kennebec whites and La Soda reds.

Digging with a shovel. I prefer to use a spading fork but this was handy and we didn’t have too many vines to dig.

The rule for planting potatoes is three to four weeks before your last frost date. In reality, here in the Gulf South, we can plant our potatoes anytime after Christmas. In fact, a friend of mine grew up next to an older gentleman that “planted” his potatoes on December 26 each year. I say “planted”, because he would scatter his seed potatoes on top of the ground and then cover them in about a foot of spoiled hay. I tell that story for two reasons. One, it shows that you really can plant potatoes very early here and it also says something about how adaptable potatoes are.

Freshly dug!

I have heard people say that you have to plant potatoes in sandy soil. Not true. While sandy soil allows potatoes to grow a little bigger and makes them a whole lot easier to harvest, you can grow them in clay (or on top of the ground heavily mulched in hay). Potatoes have just about everything they need to grow stored in that tuber so if you can figure out a way to get them covered and watered, they are usually going to produce something for you

Last year I tried growing potatoes in a box. I constantly “hilled them up” with compost. I think the compost gave them too much nitrogen. As you can see I got great vines and exactly one potato.

For best results when you plant your potatoes, plant them in loose, well worked soil. If your soil has a good amount of organic material in it, don’t worry about adding any supplemental fertilizer. While they appreciate nitrogen as much as any plant, too much of it will cut your tuber production. Too much nitrogen will result in great big healthy looking vines but very few potatoes.

Some of our “blue” potatoes in my favorite Texas Ware bowl. My wife roasted these with fresh rosemary and thyme from our garden, a little EVOO, salt and pepper. They were awesome!

When your plants get about a foot tall, you should “hill” them by pulling soil or mulch up over the base of the plant. Cover leaves and everything but leave at least half of the plant exposed. Continue to do this until your plant is about 2’ tall. Hilling does a couple of things. First, if your variety is the type that will produce potatoes all along the submerged stem then hilling will increase your yield. This works great for some varieties and not so well for others. However, no matter what type of tater you have, it is good to keep sunlight away from the developing tubers that try to grow at or above the surface of the soil. If sunlight hits these developing tubers they develop a green “rind” under the skin. This rind is full of solanine. Solanine is a toxic substance that can give you a tummy ache in small amounts, or kill you in large amounts. There is not enough in a potato to hurt you but it is a good idea to peel that green layer off before you eat it. BTW, potatoes are not the only plant to produce solanine. All members of the genus Solnum produce it. Members of this family include potatoes, tomatoes, egg plants and the deadly Night Shade.

Very few vegetables are as productive and easy to grow as potatoes. Plus they are incredibly good for you. If you have a milk cow and pile of potatoes you can keep yourself and your family alive indefinitely. With so many varieties out there, and their adaptability to soil types and pH, there is surely one out there for you to grow.