Apple Picking in Vermont

Fall is my absolute favorite season. The clean crisp air, the woodsy smell of leaves, the aroma of wood stoves. It's a time to finish harvesting from the gardens, saving seeds for next year, cleaning the gardens by gathering up and composting withered plants, and covering the garden with crushed leaves to protect it during it's winter rest.  

One place I love to visit, especially in the fall, is Vermont. Just a short drive, it's like traveling to another world. The skies are deep blue and clear and the air seems so clean and crisp. You are welcomed with the colorful fall foliage and smells of leaves and pine trees. 

Earlier in the week we took a trip to Woodstock VT, and on the way back we stopped at the Green Mountain Orchards in Putney, VT. to go apple picking.

The Green Mountain Orchards is a great place to visit. You can pick your own apples and pumpkins, and they sell their own apple cider, donuts, and apple & pumpkin pies, which are absolutely delicious! They also sell their jams & jellies, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, pears, and sweet corn, when in season.

It was a perfect fall day to go apple picking. The skies were slightly overcast and the temps were in the low 50's with that crisp Vermont air. The apples were unbelievably delicious and sweet, most likely due to the cooler Vermont weather.

Vermont is a special place. 

If you are ever in the Putney area, be sure to stop at the Green Mountain Orchards, it's worth the drive!

Fall in New England

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.  For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.  ~Edwin Way Teale

 

 

Seed Saving

Saving seeds from this year's plants will help save you money next season and help preserve some of your favorite varieties.

Each year, in late winter, I used to pull out the seed catalogs and start making lists of what I wanted to plant in the garden in the spring. The costs of seeds would start to add up and with more and more people putting in backyard gardens each year, it was harder to get the varieties I wanted.

Hybrid vs. Heirloom

Saving seeds is a fairly simple process, although it can vary greatly from plant to plant. The first thing to remember is to start with the right type of seed when choosing a variety to save from. You want to make sure it isn't a hybrid or GMO seed.  Hybrids are created by crossing two different parents to create a variety that will produce certain traits, give higher yields and are resistant to diseases, but they should be avoided for seed saving because they won't grow true to the original plant. Seeds from hybrids will either be sterile, incapable of producing any fruit, or they will revert back to one of the parents and won't give you a true variety. Hybrid varieties are usually labeled as "F1". Open-pollinated and heirloom seeds will produce "true-to-type" (produce plants like their parents) if they don't cross with similar varieties nearby. There are several places to buy organic, open-pollinated, heirloom seeds such as Baker Creek Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.

The Process

For this example I am saving Basil seeds. The plants were grown from organic seed so I know they will produce true. I harvested most of the basil throughout the summer, but left some plants to produce flowers, which in turn produce the seed. Each flower produces four seeds, and as you can see from the photo, there are quite a few seeds per stalk. The flowers mature from the bottom to the top of each stalk, so when the flowers at the bottom start to turn brown they can be cut and dried. I cut the stalks when they are dry (not in early morning or after a rain), tie them together in bunches and hang them upside down inside brown paper bags. Some of the seeds will fall into the bag as the stalks dry, but to get the rest, rub each dried flower gently between your fingers and the seeds will fall out, or rub over a fine mesh. Once the seeds are separated I store them in paper envelopes in a cool dry place until next spring. A great resource on seed saving is Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. 

Saving seed is a fairly simple process that will save you money next season. Just be sure to start with open-pollinated or heirloom seeds. Having a hand in preserving a certain variety and preserving our food supply will leave you with a good feeling.

Greenhouse Plans Now Available!

Plans for the 6'-10" x 8'-0" hobby greenhouse are now available for purchase!

The plans come as a 33 page, 8-1/2" x 11" spiral bound booklet that contain:

- Full Materials List

- Full Cut Lists

- Step by Step assembly drawings

- Detail drawings for greenhouse and benches

- Templates to help cut angles

- Sources to purchase the greenhouse covering and vent opener

All the information you need to build a greenhouse for yourself!

This greenhouse design was developed out of the necessity for an inexpensive, sturdy, functional and aesthetically pleasing alternative to the aluminum and plastic panel greenhouses kits on the market today. It is easy to construct and the plans are broken down into simple steps with diagrams so that anyone can understand them and build a greenhouse for themselves.

Visit my website to purchase the plans!

I hope you enjoy building your greenhouse and I hope you get the pride and satisfaction of doing it yourself!

Happy Gardening!

Greenhouse Plans

Greenhouse plans will be available soon!

I have had a lot of interest in the greenhouse that I built and wrote about in some of my posts so I have decided to offer plans for those who are interested on building one for themselves. This is a project that I have been working on for a while and now that the gardens are winding down and fall is settling in, I can finally get back to finishing. I hope to have the plans available soon!

 

The plans will consist of:

• A full size set of drawings with all details to build the greenhouse, including the benches and optional roof vents (which I will be adding to my greenhouse this fall).
• An 8-1/2" x 11" spiral bound instruction manual that will include step by step instructions with assembly drawings, materials list, templates, cut list, and resource to buy all the components like the (optional) automatic vent openers and plastic covering.

If you are interested in the greenhouse plans be sure to check back soon. I will post when they are available and you can also check the website where you can download the free cold frame plans.

September Book Review

I just finished reading another great book called "The Heirloom Life Gardener" by Jere & Emilee Gettle. It's a book about a man's passion for saving  heirloom, open pollinated seeds which turned into a mission to preserve as many varieties of heirloom seeds as possible. The author, Jerre Gettle, is co-founder of The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company where they sell over 1400 varieties of heirloom seeds. He also owns two other retail operations, The Petaluma Seed Bank in Petaluma California and Comstock, Ferre & Co. in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
In the book, Jere talks about how his passion for farming started at an early age, planting his first seeds at age 3. When he was 17 he started his first mail order seed company from his bedroom in Missouri, which quickly turned into a very successful business. He talks about his travels to Mexico, Thailand and other countries in search of new heirloom seeds to bring back to grow on his farm.

Jerre decided to start preserving heirloom seeds when he discovered that most of the seeds available today from big seed companies are either GMO (Genetically Modified) or Hybrid (which won't breed true and will revert back to one of it's parent types when saved). He began to realize that a lot of the old favorites were no longer available and set out to preserve as many as possible and to educate people about the importance of preserving seeds.

There is a food movement underway and more people than ever are starting to take back control over the quality of the food they put into their bodies by planting backyard gardens or buying locally from their organic farmers markets. Another step in that process is to grow heirloom varieties and save the seeds for next years garden. Heirloom varieties are open pollinated, non-GMO, non-hybrid and will grow true every time.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about gardening, is interested in growing heirloom varieties and wants to learn more about saving seeds. This is definitely one that I will be adding to my library!

Tomatoes in the Mini-Greenhouse

The mini-greenhouses, or cold frames, have been working out extremely well as seen by the healthy tomato plants now growing inside! 

The tomato seedlings had been sitting in the greenhouse in their soil blocks waiting to be planted in the garden. I wasn't able to transplant them earlier because the weather wasn't cooperating, but they seemed to be holding up just fine. I was getting concerned because some of the plants were starting to flower early, but as you can see from the photo the soil blocks allowed the roots to grow thick without becoming pot bound and the plants were healthy despite their longer stay in the greenhouse 

 I previously had kale growing in the min-greenhouse which I planted last fall. I harvested everything, gently cultivated the soil and topped with 6" of homemade compost before planting the tomato seedlings. The mini-greenhouse has been working well, keeping in the heat and moisture during the colder nights and days, as seen by the condensation on the plastic. I am careful to monitor the temperatures so it doesn't get too hot inside. During the warmer sunny days I open the roof vents for ventilation and to allow the bees get inside to do their job.

 These tomatoes were planted on  5/13/12 and you can see how small they were when they went in. In just a few weeks they have become dark green with vigorous growth, almost ready for pruning.

The plants on the edges of the mini-greenhouse are starting to reach the roof line, but the days are getting warmer so I can either leave the vents open all the time or move the mini-greenhouse off the plants and put in plant stakes.

If you would like to build your own mini-greenhouse, the plans are available on my website for download by clicking here. I am also putting together full size greenhouse plans that will be available in both downloadable pdf form and paper print set that you can order so you can build your own inexpensive greenhouse! 

Book Review - Turn Here Sweet Corn

Lately I find myself reading many books about organic farming. I seem to have this drive to learn as much as I can about organic growing and no matter how much I read I just can't seem to quench this thirst.

I just finished reading "Turn Here Sweet Corn" by Atina Diffley. Atina outlines her life from earliest memories, growing up on her families farm, leaving home at age 16 to find her own path in life, getting married, and then divorced. Through all these events she has a drive, a passion, for organic growing and to provide nutritious food for others. Wherever her life takes her she always has her hand in growing, whether it be an apartment garden, working at a co-op or working as a hired hand on a farm. She ends up meeting Martin Diffley, fifth generation farmer, who cares for his family's land, 120 acres of organic farmland which has never touched by chemicals. His family has always farmed this way because they believed doing things naturally was the best for the soil and plants. They believed they should leave the land in better condition than when they started there. They were growing organic before "organic" became certified by the USDA. Atina talks about her connection with the land, soil and seed, the importance of wholesome food, and how they love the land they are farming. Their farm becomes threatened and their land is lost, all but one acre, to development. They find another property to farm and again their land is threatened by an oil company that wants to put a pipeline straight through their farm. Throughout the story they are threatened by development, damaging storms, the threat of chemical over spray for neighboring farmers and an oil company wanting to take their land, but they continued to fight for what they believed in. Their deep connection to the soil and nature gave them the drive to overcome these battles and even write policy to protect organic farms land. The events in Atina's life all led her to where she is today, an organic vegetable farmer who also educates others about organic farming through their consulting business Organic Farming Works LLC.

This book was so captivating it was hard to put down and I didn't want it to end. It gave me the power and drive to keep working towards my goal of becoming an organic farmer and the realization that the event s in my life all seem to be leading me along this path. While I don't have a desire to run a 100 acre farm I do want to run a small 5+ acre micro organic farm. I feel the same connection with the land and also have the same philosophy that if you care for the soil naturally and organically you will feed it instead of depleting it. I agree with Atina, we should leave this land in better condition that when we came here.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who want to become an organic farmer or believes in the health benefits and importance of organic food!

Scenes from the Garden - May 26th, 2012

Back to Front - Lettuce, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli and Kale.

Romaine lettuce almost ready to pick!

Broccoli starting to form heads.

Kale and Broccoli in front of cold frame with tomato plants.

Chives in Bloom.

Cauliflower.

Even the ducks are getting bigger!!

Planting using the Grow Biointensive Method

A few years back I came across a book called How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons and learned how to plant using  the Grow Biointensive Method of sustainable horticulture. By using this method I have been able to grow more vegetables in less space, improve the conditions of my soil organically, spend less time weeding and watering and have been getting better yields.

The first step is to prepare your beds properly by double digging them, adding organic compost and loosening up the soil to a depth of two feet. The organic matter holds moisture and feeds the plants, so you don't have to water as often. The plants roots will grow deeper to reach the water and nutrients and create stronger, healthier plants. It may seem like a lot of work in the beginning, but you only have to do it once. Once the beds are prepared you don't have to double dig them again, just loosen the soil and add more organic matter each year before you plant.

The next step is to plant using a hexagonal spacing pattern. By planting this way, as opposed to rows, you can fit more plants in an area and the leaves from the plants create a canopy which holds moisture in the soil and prevents weeds from growing by shading the soil below.

I have used this method for the past few years and have had excellent results! More vegetables, less watering and less weeding all while I build healthy soil and replacing the nutrients used by the plants.

Lettuce planted using the Grow Biointensive method.

I use wire cages to protect the plants from squirrels and other pests until the seedlings grow larger.

I also put row covers on my cages to keep insect pests from attacking my seedlings. I remove the covers when the plants reach the top of my wire cages.

To learn more about the Grow Biointensive method visit the Ecology Action website. You can purchase How to Grow More Vegetables and other books on the Grow Biointensive method from Bountiful Gardens. The book contains all the information you need to maximize the effectiveness of time and space and also contains charts that include information on seed starting, germination temps, plant spacing and average yields for each vegetable. This book, as well as the other Ecology Action books, have been valuable additions to my growing library.