Cheap Tomatoes

A friend at work told me that she wanted to start growing her own vegetables as a way to cut down on her grocery bill.  I encouraged her to start a small garden but I warned her that she probably would not be saving money by doing so.  She was not to be deterred.  She had done the math!  She would grow tomatoes in hanging baskets that cost $19 each.  Since each plant would produce 10 pounds of tomatoes her cost would be just $2 per pound.  Any fool could see that was cheaper than what Whole Foods was charging for a pound of organic tomatoes.

After a couple of weeks I checked in on my friend to see how her hanging tomatoes were doing.  She was pretty pleased with all things horticultural, but she was a little dismayed about how much she had spent.  The two hanging bags set her back $38, soil and tomatoes were another $20.  Then she had to figure out a way to hang them.  Since her patio did not get enough sun, she fashioned a rolling support out of galvanized pipe and fittings and a patio umbrella stand.  This cost her another $100.  My friend had learned a very important lesson.  Gardening can provide you with many things.  Unfortunately cheap food is not usually one of them.

I am happy to report that my friend did not allow her initial start up costs to deter her gardening efforts.  In fact, she has now expanded her gardening operation and is successfully growing herbs and veggies in giant pots in her yard.  She no longer tries to justify her hobby as a money saver.  She now gardens just for the fun of it!  She is growing her own food, spending time out doors, reading books and talking to other gardeners.  She has definitely caught the gardening bug.

A lovely pot of chard and parsley at Thompson and Hanson’s in River Oaks

Watching my friend get so excited about gardening put me in a reflective mood.  I started wondering, “What is it about watching things grow that makes me, and countless others like me, kind of nutty?”  What exactly does gardening provide that makes us return to this pursuit year after year?  I know this, gardening provides me with a link to my past.  As I get older being connected to my history gets more and more important.  I also get the majority of my exercise and all of my sore muscles and back aches in the garden.  It gives me a place to express my creativity and it provides me with a window into the wonder of life.  Gardening relaxes me, humbles me and keeps me ever watchful and hopeful. It is place where I gather and pass on my knowledge.  I have talked to many gardeners and they all seem to agree.  The garden is a place where we invest our time, talent and resources.  We all receive many gifts from the garden.  Unfortunately, cheap food is not generally one of them.

Here are the links for the vendors mentioned in this article:

http://www.thompsonhanson.com/

http://www.gardeners.com/Outdoor-Planters/OutdoorPlanters_Dept,default,sc.html

Building a Potager

I have a problem.  Actually, I have two BIG problems; black clay and coastal Bermuda grass. These two things have been a pain in my gardening side since the first time I tried to till a portion of an old coastal field and turn it into a vegetable garden. I live on a patch of blackland praire in Washington county Texas between Brenham and Burton.  Over the years I have tried everything to tame the grass and improve the clay. All of my efforts have fallen woefully short. The clay is still either sticky or hard as a rock, and the grass always returns.

Two years ago, I began experimenting with raised beds. I tilled up the clay and added about four inches of mushroom compost. This improved things somewhat but I still could not keep the grass out of the rows, and ultimately the beds. At this point I should point out that I try to be an organic grower. I am not yet 100% weaned off of my traditional ways, but I am now using about 90% organic methods to try and control my weeds and bugs.

My first raised beds

Last year, the additional organic material really started to pay off. The vegetables were great. I simply planted and applied a heavy layer of hardwood mulch. Then I declared war on the weeds and that sticky mud that invariably happens when you water around black clay. I laid down weed paper in the rows and covered this with bricks. I also tilled in beds around my garden fence. I filled those beds with daylilies and petunias and large planters. I also added the weed paper and hardwood mulch to these outside beds. The bricks worked great for controlling the mud. But the Bermuda came back with a passion. Evidently Bermuda and many other weeds, enjoy a little organic matter as much as the tomatoes.

I was now thoroughly frustrated with my grass problem. However, I did note my two big successes. The additional organic material was definitely paying off and the bricks had solved the sticky mud issues. Now I was determined to figure out how to get the weeds under control.

I started reading and I came upon two concepts that I hoped my help me solve both of my problems: square foot gardening (the Mel Bartholomew method) and potagers. Mel Bartholomew and his method of creating super rich soil and close quarter plantings seemed to hold some promise. As I read more about both topics, I began to feel that combining Mel’s ideas about soil and close quarter plantings with the French concept of a kitchen garden might finally give me dominion over the weeds and the mud.

A real French potager

The term potager comes from the French term jardin potager. The potager is designed to provide all of the vegetables, herbs and flowers for a household. The potager is not just functional; it is expected to be beautiful as well. Because of this, annual and perennial flowers are grown right along with the vegetables. Plants in the potager are often selected as much for their form and texture as they are for their nutritional value.

Another thing that I have learned about gardening (or any other endeavor for that matter) is that it helps to have a plan. Since the creation of my potager would require an investment of time, talents and money, my wife insisted I have a detailed plan. I was lucky on this one. I am currently taking a Landscape Design class with Casey Krueger at Texas A&M. With his help, I created a very respectable and doable design for my potager.

Day 1 – Armed with my plan and an army of future son-in-laws (I have four daughters so I really do have a small army of future son–in-laws), we literally dug-in and started to build. First, we built the forms for my raised beds. This required a few carpentry skills, a few basic math skills, and a lot of manual labor.
Day 2 – Since the beds were now in place, we began to dig out about five inches of soil from the bottom of all of the walk paths. After this was done, we covered the walk paths with approximately 8 layers of newspaper and five inches of decomposed granite (take that weeds!). We then laid the bricks. Once the bricks were in place, we added a thin layer of decomposed granite to the top and used a broom to work the granite dust into the gaps between the bricks. After a good watering, the unplanted potager was ready to go.
Day 3 – This was the day for soil preparation and planting. To prepare the beds I used a modified version of Mel Batholomew’s formula. Since my clay has no problem holding water, I left out the suggested vermiculite and peat moss. What I did add was compost peat, cotton bur compost, farm style composted cow manure, mushroom compost, and an alfalfa and humate mix. I bought all of these items from the Plants N Things nursery in Brenham, Texas. We mixed all of these ingredients together on a couple of big tarps. Once it was mixed we wheel barrowed it into the raised beds. Finally, we used my Mantis tiller to mix it all into my existing soil. Now it was time to stick things in the ground. I planted tomatoes, squash, watermelon, and bronze fennel that I had purchased from the Texas A&M Horticulture Club’s Annual Plant sale. I also planted Contender bush beans, Swiss chard, sunflowers, apple and egg gourds, Chinese long beans, and Hyacinth beans for the trellis. One bed stayed intact throughout the build. In it I have onions, shallots, radishes and lettuces. Once all of the seeds are up I will again put down about six inches of hardwood mulch.

My unplanted potager

I am very excited about the promise my new garden. I am hopeful that the granite base and the bricks will keep the weeds and the mud at bay. I also believe that if a few weeds do pop up in the raised beds they will be easy to pull. Remember how I said I was about 90% organic? Well I hope to keep that percentage. However, after all of the time and effort that went into this potager, I have decided that organic or not, at the first sign of a weed invasion I am buying weed killer!

A version of this article was published in the May 2010 issue of “Hort Update” (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/may/)

Welcome!

Welcome to the Masters of Horticulture!  My name is Jay White and I am a 49-year-old non-traditional student working on a Master’s of Science in Horticulture at Texas A&M University (Whoop!). 

Coming to A&M has been the second best decision I have ever made.  I am the round peg that finally found the round hole.  I am surrounded by the best and brightest of the horticultural world and  I am truly blessed to be able to learn so much from so many talented people. 

While at A&M, I discovered that I liked writing about gardening almost as much as actually growing things.  That led to this blog.  I chose to call my blog “The Masters of Horticulture” because it was my intent to document all I learned on my path toward my M.S. in Hort.  The blog has evolved into a place that not only highlights the amazing things I am learning, but also highlights the many amazing horticulturists that I encounter as I wander down this horticultural path.  I call these people “Masters of Horticulture”.  By listening to and working with those that are masters of the horticultural arts, it is my desire to one day be just like them.

I hope you like the blog.  It is my sincere desire that, somewhere in its pages, you will find the tips, tricks and tools necessary to help you become a master of horticulture too.  I will be posting weekly, so check back often!