After watching the video I had to rush out to check on my tomatoes. Funny – I didn’t come back inside until almost all the suckers were removed.
How to String & Sucker Tomato Plants
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Monthly Archives: June 2012
Learn to see what you are looking at
One of the most important lessons I learned from my time at North Carolina Cooperative Extensions Beginning Farmers classes back in Winter of 2010 – “Pay attention to the weather and full moon. Learn to see what you are looking at.”
Work and till after the full moon. it is believed that when the moon is dark, that the plants will turn towards their roots which allows the sap to move downwards and because of that, this is a period when you should be planting root crops and transplanting other crops.
When the moon is showing light, the plants will pull upwards, which allows the sap to move upward and thus this is a good time to be planting those things that grow well above the ground
It is also thought that the moon draws ground water up from the earth so the plants in the ground will get more nutrients and thus grow better.
So how does farming by the moons work?
Plant crops that produce above the ground during the increasing light of the moon (from new moon to full moon)Plant crops that produce below the ground during the decreasing light of the moon(from full moon to new moon)
Just a bit more detail on that
New Moon To Full Moon
Sow, Transplant, bud and graft.
Full Moon To New Moon
Plow, Cultivate, weed and reap.
pull weeds, cultivate, destroy pests, turn sod, apply compost
New Moon To First Quarter
Good for Planting above-ground crops with outside seeds, flowering annuals.
asparagus, cabbage, celery, endive, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, corn, broccoli, brussel sprouts, barley, cauliflower, celery, cress, kohl rabi, leeks, oats, onions, parsley also seeds of flowering plants.
First Quarter To Full Moon
Good for planting above ground crops with inside seeds.
beans, peas, peppers, squash, eggplant, muskmelon, pumpkin, tomatoes and watermelons
Full Moon To Last Quarter
Good for planting root crops, bulbs, biennials, and perennials.
onions, potatoes, rhubarb, grapes, carrots, artichoke, beets, carrots, chickory, parsnips, radish, rutabaga, turnip,potatoes, bulb flowers,winter wheat and berries.
Last Quarter To New Moon
Do Not Plant
Carl Pleiss and David Goforth.
Moon Phases Simplified
It’s probably easiest to understand the moon cycle in this order: new moon and full moon, first quarter and third quarter, and the phases in between.
As shown in the above diagram, the new moon occurs when the moon is positioned between the earth and sun. The three objects are in approximate alignment and the entire illuminated portion of the moon is on the back side of the moon, the half that we cannot see.
At a full moon, the earth, moon, and sun are in approximate alignment, just as the new moon, but the moon is on the opposite side of the earth, so the entire sunlit part of the moon is facing us. The shadowed portion is entirely hidden from view.
The first quarter and third quarter moons (both often called a “half moon“), happen when the moon is at a 90 degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. So we are seeing exactly half of the moon illuminated and half in shadow.
Once you understand those four key moon phases, the phases between should be fairly easy to visualize, as the illuminated portion gradually transitions between them.
An easy way to remember and understand those “between” lunar phase names is by breaking out and defining 4 words: crescent, gibbous, waxing, and waning. The word crescent refers to the phases where the moon is less that half illuminated. The word gibbous refers to phases where the moon is more than half illuminated. Waxing essentially means “growing” or expanding in illumination, and waning means “shrinking” or decreasing in illumination.
Thus you can simply combine the two words to create the phase name, as follows:
After the new moon, the sunlit portion is increasing, but less than half, so it is waxing crescent. After the first quarter, the sunlit portion is still increasing, but now it is more than half, so it iswaxing gibbous. After the full moon (maximum illumination), the light continually decreases. So the waning gibbous phase occurs next. Following the third quarter is the waning crescent, which wanes until the light is completely gone — a new moon.
Boiling Water: The Instant Weed Killer
Boiling Water: The Instant Weed Killer
This is what the first area looked like right after spraying one side with vinegar and pouring boiling water on the other. You can see how fast the boiling water worked. The weeds started to turn brown right away. The vinegar-sprayed side, however, showed no change.
Two days later, the area sprayed with vinegar did die off a little, but not as much as the boiling water part.
As seen on Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5920582/
Best Ideas for Organic Vegetable Growing circa 1978
Best Ideas for Organic Vegetable Growing
By the staff of Organic Gardening and Farming Magazine 11th printing July 1978
Long before Organic became catchy, before the end of WWII – everyone was an organic farmer.
ASPARAGUS
Can start from seed but look to transplant around 1 year (in the spring).
Soak before planting.
Or just leave in the bed.
Fertilize with lime and compost.
Space 2 ½’ apart.
Mulch with hay, straw, leave, dried grass clippings.
When harvesting – snap off & the stem will break where tender.
For seed saving, pick red berries on female plants. Dry.
BEAN
This is a crop worth sacrificing just to build up the soil.
A good heirloom variety is call Black Valentine.
Mulch with compost when planting. Mulch with grass or hay once plant has 2nd set of leaves.
Use structure to grow vertical (wire).
Pick regularly to encourage new growth.
If bothered by bugs, try planting after 21st June aka Summer Solstice.
Saving seed is easy.
BEET
Good heirloom variety is Detroit Dark Red.
Plant early spring.
Seed close together.
Mulch.
Can start harvesting leaves (thin) for salads. Thin down to 8-12” apart.
Harvest largest beets after 1st freeze. Is generally a fall vegetable.
Other fertilizers include wood ashes which adds potassium which repels slugs and snails.
BROCCOLI
Needs constant water.
Use hay mulch .
Needs nitrogen.
Cut side heads to eat and add manure at that time to push growth.
Stems and leaves are all edible.
Harvest before flowering,
BRUSSELSSPROUT
Cold weather. Hardy.
Slow growing (100 days).
Start in May / June.
Mulch and manure.
Harvest form the bottom up.
Good for frost but NOT freeze.
Take off lower leaves to get buds.
CABBAGE
Want to get 2 heads from 1 plant? Cut 1st formed head. After cutting small heads will appear but after trimming up only leave 1 head.
Wood ashes prevent cabbage worms.
Needs full sun but cool temps.
Needs water and mulch.
CARROT
Mix carrot seed with unused coffee grounds – the odor confuses carrot fry.
Soil must be deep and loose to avoid mis-shaped carrots.
Mulch to control weeds.
Broadcast seeds & weed out the weaker ones.
Thin after showering / watering.
Cover exposed carrots with soil / hay.
Needs steady water.
Wood ashes.
Produce can & freezes well.
Fingerlings taste best (small carrots) so only grow until fingerling size.
CAULIFLOWER
Blanching is the secret. Once head can be seen, gather leaves and tie up over the head. Will mature 5-14 days after tying up.
When cutting, cut with leaves to keep produce longer if not eating immediately.
CELERY
Must never be allowed to dry.
Second crop of celery – cut head high enough to support.
Full sun.
COMFREY
Used as a salad green or cook as a veg.
Needs space – 9 sq. ft. / plant.
Perennial and can tolerate freezing.
Hay makes as good mulch.
Nitrogen.
Cut several time a year.
Mid-May – prune all the way back to 2” above soil.
Deep roots will improve & break up the soil.
Cut crowns to make a new plant.
CORN
4-5 seeds per hole with compost.
Add 4 seeds / pole beans or other bean / pea.
Mulch with straw.
In rich soil can grow compact – 6“ in all directions.
Plant pumpkin and winter squash at sides.
Light green or yellow color means needs nitrogen.
Ready to harvest when silks are dry and brown.
Needs water.
CUCUMBER
Trellis with poultry wire – 6’ tall.
Manure.
Produce mostly grows at the tips of the plant so keep them growing taller.
Pay attention to east-west orientation.
Plant 6-8 seeds every 24”.
Thin to 4” hills.
Mulch with hay and dried grass.
Keep picking to stimulate growth.
Electroculture – metal attracts and helps with growth.
Can plant cans with manure as means of holding water.
DANDELION
Harvest greens.
Can freeze extras.
EGGPLANT
Mulch with hay to retain moisture.
Pick when fruit is glossy.
ENDIVE
Spring planting – together with lettuce.
Compost.
Plant heavy and thin and eat what you are thinning when ~ 4” tall.
At 8” tall loosen soil and compost / mulch.
Eat when rosettes are fist sized.
Blanch by covering from sunlight for 14-21 days.
FENNEL
Start May / June.
110 days till mature – try to time with cool weather.
Needs loose soil because roots.
Compost rich soil.
Needs plenty of moisture for crisp stalks.
Mulch.
Use fennel raw or cooked – like celery substitute.
FETTICUS
Also known as Corn Salad.
Plant in Fall.
Seed heavy and thin when 2” tall.
When outer leaves are 10” long tie-up so center will blanch. Takes 3-4 days.
GARLIC
Plant in Fall.
Harvest end of next year once leaves brown / yellow.
Compost.
Plants “points” up.
Soak before planting.
Cut flowers to encourage bulb growth.
Water if rainfall is scare. Mulch.
HORSERADISH
Does well in poor soil.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE
Can mulch with pine straw, grass, etc.
Does well in poor soils.
Out competes weeds.
Plant tuber.
After plants flower in fall – 3-4 weeks can dig up tubers. Longer they stay in the ground the better they taste.
These plants practically raise themselves.
KOHLRABI
Cool weather – spring / fall crops.
Needs plenty of moisture.
Mulch / compost.
Grow fast and pick early.
LEEK
4-5 months to grow.
Sow seeds in the spring.
Benefit from transplanting.
Mound soil to blanch stem.
Plant in a trench and pull in when time to blanch.
LETTUCE
Can harvest 10 months a year.
Cold frame early spring / late fall.
Goes to seed in dry / hot weather.
Needs plenty of nitrogen rich organic matter.
Leaf will stand crowding, romaine less and head not at all.
Grow under netting or shade cloth for all summer long crops. 45% heat reduction.
Mulch.
LUFFA
Organic sponges.
Warm weather. Cold sensitive.
Support with trellis.
Water for good growth.
Can eat young leave and fruit until it is cucumber size.
Harvest once turns yellow. Hang to dry.
Better fruit produced by picking off all the first flowers and any poorly shaped fruit.
MUSHROOM
Horse manure mixed with equal parts humus and several handfuls of greensand.
Grow in darkness; synthesize food from compost NOT sunlight.
OKRA
Compost.
Pre-soak seeds.
Pick early other day in hot weather. 4” pods.
Mulch.
Prune 1 of each 3 leaves.
ONION
Mulch with hay.
Manure.
Grow from seeds in small flats with 60% clean sand and 40% leaf mulch.
6“ apart in rows of 12” apart.
Needs lots of sun.
End of August – harvest when tops fall over.
PARSLEY
Indoors – best in cool room with plenty of sun.
Permanent parsley.
Soak seeds overnight.
Over-winter in place & will come back in spring.
Bi-annual.
PEA
Secret is to plant early with cool weather.
Electroculture.
Plant with corn and tomato as natural trellis.
Mulch with hay.
Soak seeds.
PEANUT
Plant in the shell or out.
Frost kills then dig up.
PEPPER
Full sun.
In fall get some clippings to overwinter.
Root in sand.
POTATO
Place cut potatoes on ground and cover with straw (or on top of starter leaf pile).
4-24” (6-8” ideal) deep straw. Old straw will work better.
14” apart- double rows.
Harvest when blossoms fall, Dry.
If cutting, allow time to heal in cool and dark damp place.
Number of sprouts will determine potato size.
Plant with onions.
PUMPKIN
When fruit appears, plastic underneath to prevent insect attack.
Grow in rows of corn for shade.
RHUBARB
RUTABAGA
Great winter storage vegetable.
Plant around July after peas and lettuce go.
Harvest after light frost.
Cut tops 1” from crown for storage.
Secret for texture and flavor is rapid growth.
SALSIFY
SEA KALE
SOYBEAN
Nitrogen fixing nodules.
Good for poor soil.
SPINACH
Shade like lettuce.
Cool weather.
Water.
SQUASH
Plant mid-summer (heat).
Produces all season until frost.
Pull up after 4 weeks and cucumbers too.
Beets and nasturtiums for pests.
SUNFLOWER
Variety of choice.
Plant with eye on the calendar.
Space well.
Fertilize generously.
SWEET POTATO
Only plant sprouts.
Make sweet potato sprout in spring – indoors by sticking in water 2/3 covered.
Cut potato in ½ long ways. Should sprout 10+ days.
Can also break off tips of growing plant vines & plant.
SWISS CHARD
Both hot and cold weather OK.
Pesttrouble free.
Deep roots good for soil improving.
Cut and come again veg.
TOMATO
To for ripening – prune. Clip every end back to 1 leaf about the second fruit spur.
Remove most of the sucker shoots that shade first formed fruit.
Indian method – dig holes 18” deep – lay corn cobs / corn stalks + 2” manure – 4” compost soil – plants at least 12” tall with leaves removed except top leaves. Bury.
Tomatoes and potatoes grow together.
Window garden from cutting as houseplant. Can bloom and fruit but will need support in windows.
Transplanting – remove all but top 3 leaves, bury in soil sideways.
TURNIP
Mulch with grass clipping.
Does well in cool weather.
Year round crop.
WATER CRESS
Quick harvesting plants.
Water is important.
YAM
Make slips from existing yam.
Make cut and place cut side down in 1/3 dirt 1/3 compost and 1/3 sand.
Moisten and keep moist.
Cover.
Habits aren’t destiny
I am currently on the library wait list for this book as “we” always have room for improvements. I am interested in learning about “The key to exercising regularly, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.”
We need to remember that Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives. Time to get start – the longer you wait for the future the shorter it will be.
Saving seeds part deux
In follow up to yesterdays post about saving seeds don’t get discouraged but………….upon further examination from the notes gleaned from The Save Our Seed Project Workshop – Southern SAWG Conference Louisville, Kentucky 1/22/06 by Cricket Rakita saving seeds like your life depended on it you would also need to take into consideration:
1. Population size. For Superior seed, it is important that enough plants be grown to insure genetic diversity
•Corn requires at least 2000 plants
•Brassicas require at least 500 plants
•Beans and peas should have at least 60 plants, but some cultivars need fewer. This need can be assessed by observing the variability from plant to plant
•Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, squash, cucumbers, melons, and gourds require at lest 45 plants.
Don’t get discouraged if your garden can’t accommodate 2000 corn plants. Do it anyway.
Why Can You Always Save Better Seed Than You Can Buy? Because you only need a little seed. The companies you buy seed from need to produce a lot of seed. Therefore, you can select much more heavily for what you want.
*It is important to isolate seed crops from other crops of the same species to avoid unwanted crossing.
**Some cultivars need more isolation than others
It is best to encourage seed crops to cross within the population. Plant seed crops in a square shape when possible. This will reduce the distance between plants with in the population.
***If you are saving seed from anything that is at all insect pollinated, it is best to encourage natural pollinators in your garden or farm for maximum crossing within your population. This will give you a more healthy, genetically diverse seed stock.
2. Rouging vs. Selection.
•Rouging is the removal of plants from a seed production population before the plants flower
•Selection is the active choice to save seeds from the best performing plants and/or fruits after flowering has occurred
•Rouging is always preferred for seed saving, but it is not always possible.
Importance of Rouging and Selection, an Example
•In a tomato crop, if seed is saved from every fruit, the variety will deteriorate
•If through rouging and selection, the best 2/3 of all fruits are used for seed saving, the seed crop will be similar to the parent crop
•If you only save seed from the best half or fewer of tomato fruits, the crop will improve with respect to the selection criteria you use.
•If heavy rouging and selection pressures are applied to a large population of plants, marked improvement will be made in a small number of generations
THE KEY!!!
Never ever eat your very best tomato, as you would never slaughter the goose that lays golden eggs for meat, for in it are your seeds. Keep your mind focused on the goal and in a few years, your average produce will exceed your above average produce today.
3. Horizontal VS Vertical Resistance. See a cool article about this athttp://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/international/pan-am_don/nov04/chapingo.shtml
•A plant is vertically resistant to a pathogen when it shows no signs of the pathogen while under pressure. Vertical pathogen resistance is often overcome by mutation or evolution of the pathogen. Vertical resistance is associated with one gene.
•A plant is horizontally resistant to a pathogen when the plant show mild signs of infection under pressure but continues to grow. Horizontal resistance will be less susceptible to to mutation and evolution of the pathogen. Horizontal resistance is associated with a broad array of genes. Horizontal resistance will generally increase through generations of selection.
4. Seedling Vigor.
Try planting five or ten seeds per pot for every seedling you wish to raise. Save the first healthy seedling to emerge and kill the rest. After 2 generations, you will notice marked improvement in seedling vigor, I guarantee it.
5. Don’t Select For Early Bolters
How Much Seed Should You Save?
For the most marked improvement, it is advised saving seed from the best 5-7% of your plants. If you will save seed form that few number of plants, make sure to follow the population size minimums mentioned earlier. For most crops, this will provide more seed than you need to replant the the crop again.
****Don’t Select For Good Soil.
If there is a section of your plot with poorer soil than the rest, it may be your tendency to not select any seeds from that area. Always give some deference to the seeds that come from the plants that are doing the best in your worst areas. They have a genetic strength that you will have no chance to see and select for in the rest of your crop.
As always – document what you do.
For an interesting story of how man is trying to preserve our seed history before it is too late check out
Join the ritual responsible for civilization
I n t e r n a t i o n a l S e e d S a v i n g I n s t i t u t e
saving seeds, seed-saving education and permaculture
Note that when growing your own food it might be alot easier (although somewhat expensive) to buy your own seed stock from the folks who are good what they do. I’d like to recommend reputable sources such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds http://rareseeds.com/ and Johnny’s Select Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/. Buyer beware not all seeds are the same and while expensive you can find some unique and delicious foods worth tasting and preserving. As far as what has happened in the seed industry, check out this graphic. 
Step 1 – Inspiration Anyone can begin to re-elevate the gardening experience to a sustainable level. You should grow what you like to eat and try to incorporate something new because it is highly likely that the store bought variety will taste much different and I’d be willing to bet not as good.
Rejoin a ritual as old as civilization, a ritual in many ways responsible for civilization. Select seeds from only those plants or flowers that exhibit desirable characteristics.
The Importance of Seed Saving.
It is believed that we are on the verge of losing in one generation, much of the agricultural diversity it took humankind 10,000 years to create. As late as 1900, food for the planet’s hungry was provided by as many as 1,500 different plants, each further represented by thousands of different cultivated varieties. Today over 90% of the world’s nutrition is provided by 30 different plants and only four (wheat, rice, corn and soybeans) provide 75% of the calories consumed by man. Where once diverse strains strengthened each local ecosystem, currently, a handful of “green revolution”, super-hybrid varieties are “mono-cropping” farms and gardens worldwide.
Start off with some simple beginner vegetables: bean, lettuce, pea, pepper and tomato.
Move onto more experienced varieties: corn, cucumber, muskmelon, radish, spinach, squash / pumpkin.
Mastered that, try expert vegetable seeds: beet / swiss chard, cabbage, carrot, escarole, onion, radicchio, turnip.
Not matter what you do, first and foremost have fun. Then try journaling and writing down what you are doing and have done so you can remember it later when needed. Now go and get your hands dirty.
Creativity starts in the kitchen
Simple site with handy recipes. While we are not totally advocating being vegan we are not also growing animals on our farms yet. Maybe that is in the 7-year business plan but the 5-year plan has us staying busy enough. For the food you grow yourself vegan cooking can be made without extensive ingredient lists and involved recipes.
Remember that recipes are only templates and the creativity starts in the kitchen.
Extreme Honey
I am all about honey but the Honey Hunters of Nepal take it to a new level.
THE HONEY HUNTERS OF NEPAL POSTED BY BRAD WOODARD http://www.visualnews.com/2012/06/04/the-honey-hunters-of-nepal/
This is not just any honey, and it does not come from just any bee. The Himalayan honey bee, or Apis dorsal laborious is the world’s largest honey bee – measuring up to 1.2 inches. They exist only in the Himalayas and build their nests in high altitudes (from 8,200 to 13,500 ft). The nests can contain as much as 130lbs of honey and interestingly different types of honey can be found at different altitudes. Himalayan honey bees make spring honey, red honey, and autumn honey. Red honey, made solely by Himalayan honey bees and found at the highest altitudes, is the most valuable because of its intoxicating and relaxing qualities. The Gurung men can import this honey to other parts of Asia for five times the price of the other honey.
Harvesting the honey is a tradition that the men of Nepal have been doing for generations. They go twice a year, dropping harnessed ladders and ropes from the top of the cliff to a base below where a fire is lit to help smoke the bees away from their hives. A “honey hunter” then descends the ladder and cuts the large honeycomb nests down in chunks. This dangerous mission brings food and money to their villages when the honey is sold.
Eric Valli photographed the photo story “Honey Hunters of Nepal” in 1987 and won first prize at World Press for it. He subsequently published a book of the same title and shot a documentary about the Honey Hunters. Valli is a award winning photographer, writer, documentarian, and director from France. His work on the honey hunters in Nepal was inspired by the time he lived there in the 70′s. Valli has spent much of his life documenting the lives of people in Nepal with his photographs, books, and films. See more of his work at ericvalli.com.
Bad food is better than no food
See the connections between poverty,obesity and food insecurity.
As a skinny guy I am always compelled and interested in articles related to our nations and worlds growing obesity epidemic.
I believe that how we got here is a result of capitalism and the shifting trends of quantity not quality in nearly everything that a dollar can buy. I am saddened and amazed at how our priorities have changed over the years and it is not a good thing when bad food is better than no food. Where did we go wrong?
Food access, poverty, and obesity are all linked in a complicated web of problems. We are working to help enable individuals get back to their roots. Lets take charge of our diets and get our hands dirty along the way.
Planting a garden is one of the quickest ways to improve food access and once you have the taste for local its hard to enjoy industrial. Eating what you grow will hopefully be a step forward towards battling obesity.
We have a long way to go and a short time to get there
Fisher Family Farms 