Category Archives: garden

Deep Mulch

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Over the last little while (like the last couple years) we have been collecting a lot of green waste.  Most of it isn’t ours, it is waste that we have brought in.  The thing is, it’s not waste to us, to us it is brown gold.  Beautiful, rich, nourishing brown gold that is going to help us make this desert blossom and feed families.
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In the past we have rented chippers and shredders to process the trees, branches and bushes that we acquire, but this year we decided to invest in our own chipper/shredder. It will pay for itself in about two weeks.
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The shredded leaves and branches will become deep mulch for our gardens, the idea is that we are mimicking the natural fertility found in the forests.  In the most naturally fertile areas of the world you will find deep layers of organic matter, leaves that have fallen, rotting wood, worms and manure from animals. At the farm we are attempting to recreate this fertility, the chipped leaves and branches are icing on the cake, or the top of the sheet mulching.
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The bed above has layers of paper and cardboard, straw and horse manure, we are now adding 6-8 inches of the shredded mulch on top. Along with adding so much organic matter and fertility, we are also preserving water, the water in this dry, dry land will stay put under all the layers of leaves.  The deep layer of mulch will also snuff out weeds and the weeds that do make it through will be easily pulled.  A big bonus around here.
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The bed above is finished and has been planted with our spring peas, all tucked in among the beautiful leaf and wood mulch.
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Garden Boxes

Last fall we were able to salvage part of an old wood fence.  We love reclaimed wood in all its shapes and sizes and conditions.  The old fence posts were too short to be used as fence posts again, but were perfect for making garden boxes. IMG_5982
In our main production garden we use wide rows and sheet mulching, but up in the yard area where I will be planting my flowers and medicinal herbs we are using garden boxes. The boxes will line the whole outer perimeter of the yard area.  Each box will have one type of either herb or flower, the large grouping will keep things neat and create a big visual impact.
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Each box is simply two 4×4 posts stacked on top of each other and bolted together.
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The bottom of each box is lined with several layers of card board to kill the weeds underneath.
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On top of the cardboard goes several inches of dry leaves that we gathered from families in town.
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My little helper, my star child, wetting down the leaves in the boxes.
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On top of the leaves, we layered several of inches of well composted manure.  In a few weeks, after planting, several inches of chipped wood will go in the boxes and all around, helping to conserve water and build fertility.
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All the Little Green Things

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The cabbage are growing green and robust, in another week they will start going outside during the day and an occasional mild night.  I am planning on having them out in the garden in the next three week.  Their secondary leaves are coming and soon they will start to curve inward, the first makings of a cabbage head.
IMG_5960 IMG_5961 The tomatoes are also getting their secondary leaves, I am happy with their progress.  The biggest trick with starting seedling in doors is making sure they have enough light so they don’t get “leggy” where the stem stretches long and thin, trying to reach enough light. It makes the plant weak.  I keep the tomatoes under grow lights, the light hangs about an inch away from the seedlings, to prevent stretching.  Within the next week I will set them out side in the full sun during the days and that too will help prevent stretching.  The tomatoes have to be babied a little bit longer, they are a tender plant and can’t take any freezing.  They will be safe in the garden about mid-May and I will wait until the first of May to start hardening them off, depending on night time temperatures.
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The Not So Common Mallow

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One of my little Mallow plants emerging, you can see the stems from last years plants dead and brown around the new growth. She will be a magnificent plant come summertime.

 

Every spring, when the snow has melted, finds me on the hunt for the first wild greens of the season, Dandelion is usually one of the very first wild edibles, but even before the Dandelion comes the quiet Common Mallow. She lies close to the ground with her delicate little flowers and unique leaves, she is usually called a weed and is sprayed and pulled, but she is much more.  As kids we would eat the little flower buds and call them cheesies, little did we know the whole plant was edible and how incredibly nutritious our little “cheesies” were.

The common mallow is part of the large family of Malvaceae plants that include cotton, okra and hibiscus. It is an edible plant that has been used for medicinal care as well as food. The fruits are round and have cheese-like wedges which give the common mallow its nickname, cheese plant. Mallow stems are flexible and come from a central point, often lounging on the ground. This wild edible is used as herbal medicine in a variety of ways. It is an anti-inflammatory, diuretic, demulcent, emollient, laxative and an expectorant.

Distinguishing Features: Common mallow is a winter or summer annual or biennial, freely branching at the base, with a prostrate growth habit. It is a low growing weed, with a deep fleshy tap root. The seeds germinate through the summer and broken stems can also root. This plant has stems that originate from a deep tap root and are low spreading with branches that reach from a few centimeters to almost 60 centimeters long.

Flowers: The flowers are borne either singly or in clusters in the leaf axils blooming from June to late autumn. They have 5 petals and are white, pinkish or lilac flowers that measure on average, 1 to 1.5 cm across.

Leaves: Common mallow leaves are alternate, on long petioles, circular to kidney-shaped, toothed and shallowly 5-9 lobed, 2-6 cm wide. Short hairs present on upper and lower leaf surfaces, margins and petioles.

Height: This plant can grow anywhere from 10 to 60 cm in length.

Habitat: The common mallow likes to grow in lawns, gardens, roadsides, waste areas and cropland. It originated in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa and is also in the Americas and Australia.

Edible parts: All parts of this plant are edible. The leaves can be added to a salad, the fruit can be a substitute for capers and the flowers can be tossed into a salad. When cooked, the leaves create a mucus very similar to okra and can be used as a thickener to soups and stews. The flavor of the leaves is mild. Dried leaves can be used for tea. Mallow roots release a thick mucus when boiled in water. The thick liquid that is created can be beaten to make a meringue-like substitute for egg whites. Common mallow leaves are rich in vitamins A and C as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and selenium.

Similar plants: Marshmallow.

http://www.ediblewildfood.com/mallow.aspx

I have never used Mallow medicinally, but this year I will, I have a large patch in my garden area and her little leaves are calling to me, I feel like there is a treasure waiting to be discovered in my little Mallow.

Mallow’s repute as a ‘cure-all’ medicine in the earlier times was owing to the fact that the herb, particularly its roots, encloses substantial quantity of mucilage (a glue-like substance secreted by some plants that are rich in protein and carbohydrates). Owing to the high presence of this jelly-like substance in mallow, rural herbal practitioners recommended the herb to heal digestive and urinary tract swellings and irritations (inflammations). However, mallow is more popular for its therapeutic qualities of relieving the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory system, particularly when suffering from colds. In addition, the mucilage present in mallow also has the ability to control coughs set off by irritation or inflammation. Mallow is popular even today and is beneficial in healing several other ailments. For example, American Indians as well as modern herbal practitioners recommend using poultices (moist substances applied to injuries) prepared from the herb or its derivatives to alleviate pain or soreness from insect stings as well as swellings in the body.

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_mallow.htm

I am a voracious user of medicinal herbs, I have dozens sitting on my pantry shelves, and I make and drink herbal infusions (and make my family) daily.  It is exciting to me to find an herb, such as this, growing not only in my garden, but in abundance.  I take it as a sign, that she is to be harvested, used and loved.

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Cabbage

I usually don’t start seeds indoor, I find it tedious and I tend to forget them and I have a hard time finding a place with enough light.  I think is much easier to just direct sow in the garden and that is what I do for 90% of my plants.  There are a few exceptions, I do start tomatoes inside, because the need a longer growing season than we have, and cabbage.  Cabbage can actually be sown directly into the garden in the early spring, even before the last frost date and I have done it many times.  I have found over the years that the delicate seedling of the cabbage have a hard time withstanding the springtime winds that rip through here and I have much more success starting them indoors and protecting them until they are a bit stronger.

IMG_5899 These little guys are our summertime meal of cabbage sautéed in butter, this autumn’s baked cabbage with sausage and next winter’s sauerkraut.  We love our cabbage. IMG_5897 IMG_5896

Cabbage, a week later

Cabbage, a week later

Tomatoes a week later

Tomatoes a week later

Composting in Place

I have built and maintained compost pits and piles for many years now, when we bought our first home in 2002 one of the first things I did was mark out the garden plot and start a compost pile. I’ve long been a believer that we should use the things around us to their fullest capacity, while keeping in harmony with its order of creation. It never made sense to me to wrap kitchen scraps in plastic to rot in a landfill, or grind it up and send it down the drain. I feel that sending the leftovers of our fruits and vegetables back to the earth is honoring, and giving thanks to that which has been provided to us.

For a few years now I have flirted with the idea of composting in place.  The idea is that you don’t create a compost pile that needs to be watered and turned over and then eventually moved, you actually add the material to be composted in the place that you will eventually need it. I’ve never done it, I didn’t want to attract vermin, I worried that it would look horrible and that the organic matter wouldn’t break down fast enough. This year I decided I would give it a try. It’s a grand experiment. IMG_5900
I collected about a days worth of kitchen scraps, onions peels, banana peels, eggs shells and herbs used in infusions.  I didn’t add any meats or leftover cooked foods.
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For the first layer I lay down old newspapers and old homework papers, some egg cartons and left over bits of cardboard. A lot of organic farmers and backyard hobbyists won’t use certain types of paper or cardboard in their garden, saying that the glues and dyes are bad for the enviroment.  I don’t completely agree with that and I put all sorts of paper products in my garden and compost.  I think, with a few exceptions, that the earth is entirely capable of cleansing itself.  If you put concentrations of garbage and papers a central location, yes the ground will be poisoned, but that is not what I am doing, I am taking the bit that our family uses and facilitating the breakdown and cleansing.  They will be processed by microorganisms and turned into beneficial nutrients for plants.

After the layer of newspaper I spread out all the kitchen scraps, gross……
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And on top of that, straw, that will help absorb moisture and keep the mixture from getting too hot.
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Then on top of that, aged horse manure.
IMG_5904I got about two feet done in a fifty foot row….this might take a while….

Peas Please

This past weekend we were able to get the first seeds of the season in the ground.  As always the inaugural vegetable is our little lady The Pea. She is a fabulous little addition to the garden, her seeds can be planted very early and then they wait patiently for the right moment to germinate and send their crinkly green leaves into the early spring sunshine. She is happy to spread her roots in areas that aren’t the most fertile, creating green beauty, leaving more that she takes. Peas are a legume, they take nitrogen from the air and fix it into the soil, preparing the way for other, more delicate plants to make their home. Peas a great for crop rotation, they will travel the garden through the years making the ground better because of their presence.   IMG_5887 Because of the size of her seeds she is very easy for little fingers to sow. There is much excitement when the first blossoms and peas pods appear on her bushes, for the children know they had a part in their creation.  IMG_5882In the warmer days of May, when the summer heat starts flirting on the backs of our necks, we will be out picking our peas, giving thanks for the bounty and sharing it with others.