Moringa Seedling Day 2

This plant really knows how to assimilate, photosynthesize and make itself grow! By day two it's over two inches tall! I've heard this was a very fast growing tree! Click here for a link to a video of this seedling growing.

Moringa seedlings now growing!

It was exactly twelve days since I soaked a pair of Moringa seeds that had arrived direct from India and I was about to give up. Then, like magic, an early morning inspection of both peat pots revealed two new plants!

Now in the meantime, five days ago, I planted another seed in a much larger plastic pot that had a high mix of sand to soil. I’m hoping this one will also yield a new seedling.

For anyone who is not familiar with the Moringa tree which is also known as the drumstick tree in India and parts of Africa, it does have some interesting properties. Not the least of which is the very high nutritional content of the leaves and seed pods.

So, so far so good. I’ll try and post follow up blogs as times goes along.

Moringa seed planting – Day 1

My Moringa tree or ‘Drumstick’ seeds arrived from India yesterday, December the 16^th. I was amazed that while the seeds were inside a regular seed packet, they were also enclosed in a tiny white box complete with packing material. I’m only guessing that this was done to keep them from getting squashed as they are rather large as seeds go.

The directions on the package stated that they needed to be soaked in water for twenty-four hour prior to planting. I decided to place two seeds in between some layers of paper towel that was then soaked with water and placed into a baggie unsealed. After a day, the seeds were then placed, one each, into two peat pots that also have Miracle Gro potting mix in them. I noticed the mix was a little dry when I originally placed it into the pots so I also soaked these in a tray of water for seven hours prior to planting. As per the package instructions, the seeds were planted to a depth of about and inch and were then placed in a larger baggie that was also left slightly open. (I think it best to refrain from sealing the seeds when attempting seed germination to avoid problems with molds and fungi). This whole deal was then parked over my TV set which is warm when the set is on (most always) and which also` allows me to keep an eye on them.

So, now I will have to wait to see what happens. If and when I get germination, I will plant a couple more. I received ten seeds for $4 so I sure do not want to waste any. If they do germinate, I have a dual bulb florescent fixture in the kitchen area that should supply more than enough light early on.

Hopefully, my next blog on this subject will be to talk about two small Moringa plants!

A Moringa tree competition!

A friend by the name of Sunny Miller, who also loves to grow things, was kind enough to lend me a book whose topic is a most interesting tree. The title of the book is Moringa – Nature’s Medicine Cabinet. It was written by Sanford Holst, a ranger in California who works for the U.S. Forest Service. He is also best known for his book called LifeCycle which provides the reader with a healthy and natural approach to life.

What inspired me the most this tree which is native to India, were the stories about its medicinal properties, and the fact that most of it can be eaten or used for other purposes. (Even the flowers can be eaten with some reporting that they taste like a mushroom). Interesting.

So, of course, I just had to try and grow one even though they cannot handle the hard frosts we sometimes get where I live. That will mean growing it in a large container that can be brought inside. (My current thinking will be to get one growing this winter and then take it outside where it will absolutely love the hot summers here in southwest Missouri). By next fall, I can bring it indoors where I also have a sodium discharge lamp that should provide more than enough light. This sounds like it may be a long term project!

I’ve just ordered the seeds from a company called Seeds of India and will plan on follow up blogs, if and when, I get some to germinate. I will be in competition with Sunny to see who can produce the first flower. Her first name may just give her the edge!

Generic corn versus brand name corn

One day while standing in the canned goods isle of my grocery store, I happened to glance at two cans of whole corn that were displayed side by side. One was a generic brand called ‘Always Save’ while the other was a can by ‘Del Monte’ No Salt Added. The price for the Always Save was fifty-five cents while the price for what appeared to be the exact same thing was $1.39. (Note: on the day I purchased this product, it was on sale for $1.15 so I did get a bit of a break).

“Why would that be,” I thought to myself. So, I grabbed both cans to take home with me. I wanted to take a close look at each and to perform a simple test to see just what that extra 60 cents was getting me or not getting me.

After arriving home, I also sent quick emails off to the folks of both companies to see what their views were on the subject of cost versus quality. Both responded in prompt fashion and while Del Monte suggested I do my own research, Always Save informed me that much of the difference in cost was due to differences in advertising strategies.

Test One – A nutritional comparison

The first thing I would think about two identical products that were so dissimilar in price was that perhaps one was less nutritional than the other. Here are some differences I discovered:

Weight: Always Save 432 grams versus Del Monte also at 432 grams so both are the same as far as contents go. After opening the cans, I found both to contained about 2/3 of a cup of liquid. The Always Save had about ten grams more kernel by weight but I cannot count this as a factor since my technique to remove the liquid from each was not very scientific.

Ingredients: Always Save has listed on its label as having Corn, Water, Sugar and Salt versus Del Monte's with only Corn and water. The No-salt added bit is definitely a plus for the Del Monte product as salt acts as a flavor enhancer at the expense of your health.

Calories: Always Save had 80 calories in a 125 gram serving versus Del Monte at 60 for the same size serving. Once again, I’d score the Del Monte product higher for the fewer calories.

Salt: Always Save with 310 mg per serving versus Del Monte at 10 mg. While I’m not sure why something that has less of an ingredient should be worth more, this is another reason why you might consider paying a little extra.

Test Two – Appearance

OK. Let’s take a look at appearances. After all they do count.  I dumped both cans out into identical bowls and took a hard look. You may or not be able to make out one immediate difference. The Del Monte kernels are definitely fuller and of a darker yellow color than the AS kernels. Score another one for the Del Monte product.

Test Three – Taste

After sampling both, I gravitated toward the Del Monte mainly because the kernels were fuller with more flavor than those of the Always Save. This test was done without salt, pepper or butter so the overall taste of both was bland. Although an interesting point is that the Del Monte with no added salt did taste richer.

Conclusion

OK. I can hear some out there in the blogosphere that are saying this was not a fair test as the generic product had salt whereas the brand name did not. But, that is part of the point here I think. You get often a better choice from the branded cans than you do from the generic. In practical terms, if you are not concerned with sodium levels or calories, then by all means go for the cheap stuff. In my case, while I would use the generic as part of a recipe like Chili Con Carne, I would want the more expensive Del Monte when presenting this vegetable as a side and where my health is concerned.

Disclaimer: This test was not of a scientific nature and may or may reflect reality. This work and the results obtained in this comparison are the sole opinion of the author.I feel both products are made using the highest of standards and represent viable, good tasting products to the consuming public.

Homemade scalloped potatoes taste great!

Even though I am late in life, I’ve never prepared scalloped potatoes from scratch! In the past, whenever the urge hit me, I would just grab a package of Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes from the cupboard and twenty minutes later they were ready to go. But this Thanksgiving, things changed. I had been invited across the street to a neighbor’s house where everyone was to bring a covered dish. My thought was, sure I can do that!

Thanksgiving Day can and I began to have second thoughts, but then came across a simple recipe on the Internet for Scalloped Potatoes. I had all the ingredients and decided what the heck. I would give this a try. You can view the results in my You Tube video.

The problem was, after making the dish, I chickened out and grabbed a box of the commercial stuff so I could make a ‘safe’ dish. You see, never having made this before I was afraid to be serving it to friends. So, I made up a second batch to take with me. Well, while I was making the boxed preparation, I happened to glance at the nutritional label and was shocked to see that the sodium level was through the roof. I think it was something like 600-800 mg of salt per serving (depending on serving size)! My dish was nowhere near that much at something like 173 mg per ‘generous 123 gram’ serving. Also, once I began to think about it, making the recipe from scratch was not really harder to do, but it was definitely cheaper!

So, the next time you are thinking about what to make for dinner. Give scalloped potatoes from scratch a try!

The high cost of commercial seed purchases!

I had occasion to go to a seed website today to look at some seeds for my planned spring garden. What a surprise to find that a package of just 30 Red Cayenne seeds were going to cost me $3.95 for the package and $4.95 to ship them to me. That’s a cost of .30 cents per seed! I then tried adding four packets of seeds (bean, tomato, melon and cucumber) into the shopping basket to find that the shipping was now $6.96 for a total cost of $18.75! Folks, that is just too much money! And yes, there is a cheaper way around this problem.

For one thing, you can frequent the local mega-marts like Lowe’s and Home Deport where you can often find the exact same packages fro the same company for less than half the cost. Plus there is no shipping charge! What might cost $2.95 on-site may only be $1.95 at the store. That’s a real bargain.

Another way to get around this is to plant only heirloom seeds and then allow some of the plants to go to seed. I’ve done just that this past season with hot cayenne peppers, sweet Banana peppers, Kentucky Wonder beans and even Cherry Bell radishes. I’ve carefully dried these and then stored them in small packages in the bottom of the fridge. I now have plenty to plant and even to share come next spring.

I was thinking also, it might be fun if other began traded seeds via the mail or even started selling them to other interested parties. One idea I had was to offer ten seeds if someone sent an order. I would only request that they also include an extra .41 cent stamp, by way of payment, for each packet of ten seeds processed. Such a transaction would not include actual money, but would allow for the seller to ship out ten seeds at a cost to the buyer of .82 cents while the seller makes a profit of .41 cents. Additional batches of seeds could then be purchased at a rate of ten seeds for every stamp included. Anyone out there who might want to comment on this, I would appreciate hearing from them. I'm just trying to think outside the box.

A fall mini romaine crop!

There must be something about cold frames and cool fall weather that brings the best out in crops like lettuce. I realize my best quality and largest leaves by growing plants in this manner. As you can see, this is one healthy group of plants! The leaves are so dark and crunchy that they make a solid impact as a base of any salad.

I’ve been growing a small amount of romaine and even spinach this way for some years now. I usually will start a few lettuce plants in early August and will have the resulting seedlings to transplant size by the start of September. Before I know it, I’ve got myself an award winning crop. My only regret is that I didn’t build some more of these frames over the summer. Still, by mixing these in with some store bought iceberg lettuce, I’ll have enough to last me into December.

A pleasant garden surprise - Curly Kale!

One of the biggest surprises to me for the gardening season that just ended was a plant called curly kale. I figured it to be a rough tasting thick skin offshoot of the cabbage family and really failed to understand why anyone would like to steam it as part of a dinner. Well, I was wrong again as it turns out. (Something I’ve gotten used to over the years). This plant tastes awesome when taken fresh from a steamer and then lathered with a bit of butter, salt and pepper. It has a wonderful texture with just a hint of the taste of cabbage. I’ve added it to my evening meals and plan to grow three to four plants next year. (Just one plant provides an awful lot). And did I mention it can fend off really cold temperatures? One morning it got down to 24F and while that pretty much killed everything else that wasn’t covered, the kale brushed it off like water off a ducks back.

Cherry Bell Radishes

I harvested a few Cherry Bell variety radishes from my cold frame on Election Day (yes, I did vote) and thought I would document one of them for my records.

The radish pictured here weighed in at 23.5 grams and was over a foot long. The roots were about four inches in length and the plant sported a total of nine leaves. The radish itself was about one inch wide by one inch long. And yes, it was delicious!

I'm not sure why I like to grow these. Part of the reason must be the fact that from sowing to eating can be as quick as one month. The other reason, for me, is the color they add to a salad.

Halloween Veg Soup with Spooky Ingredients

Actually there’s really nothing very spooky about this homemade vegetable beef soup other than the low cost per serving. It’s also easy to throw together, takes about an hour on a stove set to low and is very nutritious. My only admission is to be careful with the cayenne pepper. You might want to eliminate it all together and just stick with a little salt and pepper. Personally, I like my soup to fight back!

You’ll note that I also include the gram weight of most of the ingredients. This is for anyone that wants to check this recipe for nutritional impact.

Ingredients:

1 cup beef chunks, rough cut, 201 grams

1 medium potato, russet, rough chopped, 188 grams

2 carrots, chopped, 110 grams

1 stalk celery, chopped, 66 grams

1 quarter white onion, chopped, 64 grams

1 can deiced tomatoes, 411 grams

3 cloves garlic, minced, 7 grams

1 fresh cayenne pepper, minced, 12 grams

1 small wedge cabbage, chopped, 76 grams

1 tblsp beef bouillon powder dissolved in 2 cups water

1 tblsp vegetable oil

Directions:

I begin by taking a 2 ½ quart stock pot and adding a bit of oil just to coat the bottom of the pot. I placed this on a stove burner set to medium high. Let it get hot and then added the chunks of beef that had been cut down to bite-sized pieces. I braised the meat until it was brown, about three minutes, reduced the heat to medium and added the rest of the ingredients. I then raised the heat to high to bring everything to a brief boil, then went to low heat and covered the pot.

This was allowed to cook for about one hour. Serve immediately or place in the fridge and reheat which makes this soup even better tasting.

Rival Model 4310 Rice Cooker and Vegetable Steamer

I've had this Rival Rice steamer and vegetable cooker in my family for decades and decades. Even though it was made in Thailand (or perhaps because it was made there), it has been one of the most reliable appliances I've ever owned. It's easy to clean and using it is a no brainer. Just add a little water, some veggies from the garden. Hit the little button and then wait for the lower orange light to go out. Even I can do that! It's too bad this unit was discontinued. Anything with a life span of over forty years which still works was a good buy in my opinion.

A Sunny Breakfast

Life is good when you have friends like Sunny Miller over in Rockaway Beach, Missouri. She has been very gracious to give me farm fresh eggs from chickens she has started to raise. While still small, they taste fantastic!

I threw together this breakfast which consists of bread with a circle in the center. After browning the bread, I then inserted an egg and cheese mix. This deal is also known as a Popeye Egg. In addition, I made a small amount of spaghetti topped with a low sodium sauce. This six and a half ounce breakfast had only 287 calories, so I didn’t break the diet on this go around either!

Perennial Coreopsis?

While walking in the woods near my home I came upon a group of bright tallow plants I think are perennial Coreopsis aka large-flowered tickseed. What attracted me to take a picture was the large number of bees that were all over the place. This is the first time in a long time I had observed any kind of bee. Now, I’m not sure if the bee pictured here is a honey bee or perhaps some other variant. It was just good to know they are still among us.

Micro fauna found on the lower surface of Sycamore leaves

While walking, one afternoon, in a park close to my home in southwest Missouri, I happened to spot a low hanging branch of a Sycamore tree nest to the path. Out of curiosity, I examined a leaf. At this time of the year (October) many of the trees have leaves that are just beginning to change color. The veins of the leaf were just beginning to show a little bit of yellow but, that’s not what peaked my interest.

As I turned the leaf over, I observed a literal community of bugs populating the lower surface. There were tiny little leaf mites crawling over the surface in addition to many spider mites and leaf hoppers. Intrigued, I took this leaf home to examine under my microscope. The drawing represents what I assume to be a leaf mite that was about the size of the head of a pin. Not being an entomologist, I’m not sure what they are. The fact was that every tree I examined had large population of this bug on the undersides of many of the leaves.

Unknown weed

I have this plant growing in abundance in a park behind my house. I don't think it's a dandelion, yet it releases similar airborne seeds this time of year. Right now even a gentle wind causes thousands to be release in the are. Sort of pretty, but some are finding their way into my front yard!

If anyone can fill me in it would be appreciated.

The leaves, they are a falling!

It’s already October the 1^st, can you believe it? The weather service is even talking about the likelihood of frost across the northern parts of Missouri by the morning of Monday, October the 4^th.

I got up this morning to the reality that the leaves have begun to fall off some of the trees. Always a sad time for me as it means winter is next on the agenda. I’m much more a spring personality type. That’s the time of year when nature re-awakens and puts on a burst of new growth. This time of year is more about the ending of growing things as we all get ready for a cold chill in both the air and ground.

Cold weather also means longer nights, shorter days and a severe restriction on my garden activities. Thank goodness I have the two small cold frames in the front of my house. They will become a focus for me and a continuing spark of life while everything else slumbers. As you can see, the romaine lettuce starts which don’t look like very much right now are actually growing rather quickly. Interspersed among them are Cherry Bell radishes that should be ready for harvest by the end of October.

Unknown worm

After reading another blog concerning horn worms, I went out to my little garden and immediately spied a worm of my own. I don't think this one is a horn worm, but it sure is pretty. I found this guy eating one of my carrot tops. Since it's so late in the season I decided to let him go. They are rather pretty and anyway, I figure they have just as much right being here as I do.

Scrambled eggs right off the farm!

I really enjoy living in a rural southwest corner of Missouri. One of the perks to living life in the country is the opportunity to score fresh food ‘right off the farm’. So it was a happy surprise when a friend’s mom (appropriately named Sunny) was kind enough to give me a dozen eggs from chickens she is raising. Thanks Sunny and Brandy!

Wow! I got them home and decided the next morning to treat myself to some scrambled eggs loaded with mushrooms, green pepper and cheese. I decided toast and some fresh fruit would round out the dish. Nutritionally this was a good deal with the exception of the high cholesterol reading. But, was I worried? Actually no, as some studies have shown that eggs may not be the bad boys on the block we were told they were. Test subjects in Australia, ate four eggs a day for a month and actually recorded large drops in blood LDL levels. As a matter of fact, the mobile cholesterol testing unit they used failed to record any number at all! Some scientists now believe that a better connection can be made to heart disease and the amount of saturated fat in a diet, but even that can be misleading. Peanut butter and peanuts for instance have relatively high levels of saturated fat and yet are currently thought to actually fight heart related problems.

So, maybe Thoreau was right after all. Just do a diet that is moderate, get some exercise and maybe you’ll squeak through.

Hey! What happened to my summer?

It’s like some big switch that was thrown somewhere as I slept. My hot summer has turned into cool autumn and now I miss the heat. (I’m finicky that way). This morning I awoke to a reading of only 57 degrees. Because I’d left my window open, my bedroom felt somewhat like the inside of a malfunctioning fridge. Guess I’ll have to break out the Long John’s before too long. Thank goodness, though, I had the foresight to plant out my lettuce a week or so ago. This is perfect weather for them to grow in. Also, I don’t have to air condition on days like this. Note to self; is it cheaper to air condition or heat a home?

My neighbors across the street, God bless them; already have a fall motif in place on the front yard. While cute, it is yet another grim reminder of what is to come…winter. In answer to this insult, I ran a string of Christmas lights around a front facing window. Take that you fall fascists!

According to the Almanac, this winter might be a beast. Any extra cold and damp weather will no doubt make for some slick country roads. (I’m stocking up on cat litter as I write this). I reside in southwest Missouri, a geographic location that sees the confluence of as many as three distinct climazones. Down here, ice storms are always a possibility and they can be killers. Then there are the rare but heavy snowfalls followed by balmy seventy degree weather. I generally get a cold right about then.

Down in the neighboring recreational park, a large motorcycle swap meet is also being held on this date. An event, I understand, that has been planned for months and which now may suffer in attendance due to the lousy overcast and cool regime. I attended a similar event in April and have to say that not only were there some cool items for sale, the real attraction was the bikers themselves. You see a real cross-section of Americana when you attend a biker event. Some of the dudes look like they just got out of prison while others talk as though they were educated in Princeton. If you’re a people watcher like me, this is nirvana central.

So, it’s off we go into fall. This last summer was a ball, but now it is past, and I’m left out in the cold, holding a bag of cat litter.    

Coneflower in Glass

Paper Wasps are good guys for the most part!

My neighbor Jean, called me over to her property this morning to ask what the heck was hanging in a tree over her garden. Her friend Louis had guessed it was a wasp nest and she was right. It was evidently a paper wasp nest.

 

Paper wasps are 3⁄4 to 1 inch (1.9 to 2.5 cm)-long wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct water-resistant nests made of gray or brown papery material.

Unlike yellow jackets and hornets, which can be very aggressive, polistine paper wasps will generally only attack if they themselves or their nest are threatened. Since their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and because their stings are quite painful and can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some individuals, nests in human-inhabited areas may present an unacceptable hazard.

Most wasps are beneficial in their natural habitat, and are critically important in natural bio-control. Paper wasps feed on nectar, and other insects, including caterpillars, flies, and beetle larvae, and they are often considered to be beneficial by gardeners.

I'm pretty sure that, it being so late in the season, that the wasps that built this ting are now long gone. One can only marvel at the abilities of something so small as a mere insect. 

End of season notes.

Fall Comith

Well, lo and behold, it’s now almost fall now. Actually the official start will be a couple of days from now on September the 23^rd. That’s the date when the sun crosses the equator on its voyage to the southern parts of good old planet earth. If I remember my geology correctly, about the only continent that wholly benefits from the warmer weather will be Australia. Blimey mate. (At least the Roo’s will be happy as they hippy-hop all over the place).

Here in the northern latitudes (36 degrees north for me), the days are now getting noticeably shorter and cooler. The chart above represents the actual drop in temperature in the late afternoon to evening hours. The sky, that night, was slightly overcast to partly cloudy with a very light to no wind from the west. I was able to turn off the AC and open the doors! After surviving a very warm summer, temperatures like these are most welcome. (I guess radiative cooling is not a bad thing at this time of year. It’s when we get into winter that it can be a bit brutal).

A Late Sowing of Little Caesar Romaine

Since I had some seed left over, I thought it might be fun to plant a couple of rows of romaine in the outdoor garden even though it is kind of late to be doing that. Arguably I have plenty of time (sixty plus days). Problem is that the beds out back are close enough to the north facing back wall that the sun will not be getting to the plants come sometime in October. I figure if the plants are of any size at all I’ll try transplanted then out in front of the house where I have a little space. I’m not sure how well they will transplant but that will be another lesson for me to learn when the time comes.

Factors that affect romaine growth in a cold frame.

Ah, the joys of gardening. What is supposed to be a relaxing hobby for most can be laborious if you are a compulsive person such as I am.

So, today’s topic will have to do with my previous article on growing romaine in small cold frames. The question is will I have enough time to bring small starts to maturity considering that it is now past the middle of September and time is a wasting.

In order to answer the question, I need to start with some assumptions and some observations. The first is the time it will take for my small starts to mature. That’s an easy one as the published figure is about 65 days. Therefore from the planting in mid September I have until let’s say the end of November to get them grown. That comes to about 75 days, so at least I know what my target is. That is no longer than the end of November.

Next, I want to examine the major factors that will influence plant growth; length of day or sunlight, angle of sunlight or intensity and lastly the ambient temperatures I can expect.

Length of Day

The first thing I wanted to figure out was just how much sun the plants would get. As it gets later in the fall the amount of sunlight decreases as the arc of the sun’s travel dips ever lower in the south. Here’s what I found

As you can see my location here in southwest Missouri only gets a little over twelve hours (12.2) of light at this time of year. By the end of October I’m down to 10.6 hours and then as the end of November arrives my plants will only have 9.7 hours. The times are from official sunrise to sunset, so the actual usable times are much shorter. That is why it is so important to get time your romaine starts begun in such a manner that you hit the window of maturity right before it begin to get really cold which is mid December. (I’ve found that planting indoors anytime prior to the end of August seems to work).  By that time growth pretty much stops and yet the plants don’t seem to age if protected properly. That is as long as you maintain a temperature of at least the low forties in the interior of the frames themselves. I’ve accomplished this over the last couple of winters by using a small forty watt light bulb on a timer and then covering the frames with blankets whenever I knew it was going to get really bad outside. Perhaps surprisingly, whenever it has snowed, I’ve found I don’t need the lights or the blankets as the snow acts as a great insulator and the warmth coming up from the soil does the rest.

Angle of the Sun

The next consideration would the angle of the arc of the sun in your particular locale. The chart here shows how high the sun gets at particular from June through December at my latitude. As you can see, right now in September they’re enjoying pretty decent sunlight angles which can be also described as sun intensity. Too much intensity like I find in mid July will actually burn the plants up, while lesser intensity such as exists this time of year is optimal for growth. That seems to be true until about mid October when the angles begin to get pretty severe. On a side note, I decided for fun to verify that the sun’s angle at noon was a little over fifty degrees by quickly constructing the device you see here. It just a piece of cardboard with a circle drawn on it (I used a dish) and a thin length of metal punched through the middle. The angles I drew were on the rough side, but as you can see fairly accurate. Just make sure to align the board in a true north and south direction (use a compass) and insure the cardboard is level.

Temperatures

OK, so I have the feeling that I will have long enough days at good sun intensity for at least two more months. But what about the temperatures? I would like to keep the frames open as much as possible. Well, according to data taken from last year (2009) that should not be a problem. The graph represents the actual reading taken by a local weather station just a few miles from my home. The blue line represents 32 degrees or freezing. However, that is not really a problem with romaine as it has actually survived temperatures as low as 27F in previous years outdoors. So, assuming this graph of highs and lows is pretty close to what I can expect for 2010, then I should be good to go.

So that’s the plan Jan. I will do some updates as the season progresses. If everything works out, I hope to have a picture of me enjoying some fresh lettuce out of the garden on New Years Day 2011.

Growing romaine lettuce through the winter!

I think I’ve alluded to the growing of lettuce in cold frames in some earlier blogs. Not sure, but that's part of getting old I guess. My mind goes, comes back and then goes again. But, if you're wondering whether it can be done. The answer is yes! Just make sure to check out my seed starting video.

So OK, any earlier blogs not withstanding, I decided to start twenty romaine plants from seed about three weeks prior. (I choose romaine because they can withstand cold temperatures and are generally healthier than leaf lettuce). These have now grown to transplant size (about 2 to 3 inches tall) and have been transplanted into both of my small cold frames (10 in each) that were originally built in 2008. (I produced a You Tube video on these in case you might be interested). Over the last few days, I have refurbished the frames by adding some fresh paint and resealing the glass panes in the window frames that cover the top of each. As you can see, the end result looks pretty good.

During the past two fall and winter seasons, I learned that if I started my plants early enough, I could grow them to close to maturity and then hold them in a kind of suspended animation until I got a chance to harvest them later in the year. The key to doing this was to monitor the inside air temperatures (I used a wireless thermometer to monitor changes from inside my home) and to add heat via a forty watt bulb when needed. I’ve found that by keeping the air temperature in the frames in the forty to fifty degree range, I could keep the plants healthy for a long period of time. I also had to make sure not to let the leaves touch the window panes above the plants on cold days as that would turn their tips brown. That’s one of the reasons I decided to add a little height in one of the frames (designated as CF1). It was only four inches or so, but I think that will help. We’ll see this winter how that works out.

Head-space Increase

By adding a quickly made frame made from 2x4’s onto the top of CF1, I was able to increase the head space appreciably. In CF2 and CF1 the growing surfaces are the same at about 32 inches wide by 21 inches deep (roughly 4.7 square feet each). Head space, however in CF2 is eight inches in the back which tapers to 3 inches in the front compared to CF1 which now has 11 inches in the back versus 6 in the front. The increased area should allow for larger plants. That is one thing I hope to quantify as we go through the fall. By mid November all growth will have basically stopped and I’ll do a follow up blog at that time.

Soil Condition

At the last minute, I decided not to add any amendments to the soil in either frame. A casual inspection revealed to me that the soil is dark with a high crumb structure. It also appeared to be high in humus content, so I will wait to see how well the romaine starts grow before making any changes. If needed, I have blood meal available to increase the nitrogen content. (I may elect to do a full soil test by the end of the month, but for now I want to go with my gut instincts).

So that’s the deal. I’ve cleaned up my cold frames and transplanted the young lettuce starts. All that’s left to do is hope these plants get big before the cold stops them.

September means cooler weather!

September is here and not a month too soon! Magically, the brutal temperature regime we had been experiencing in southwest Missouri has now moderated considerably. (As I write this tome, the mid-day reading was a very comfortable 72F). Part of this was due to overcast skies heralding arrival of the remains of tropical depression Hermine. (A much diminished low pressure system whose name could well be changed to Hermie).

With the official first day of fall arriving on the 23rd of this month and with a few days of rainy weather pending, I thought it might be a good idea to transplant my small romaine lettuce starts out into my small cold frames. Right now I have about twelve small starter plants with about ten more on the way. I plan to put a few out every week or so until I have the eleven square foot combined space used up. The soil will be amended with a little leftover blood meal I have in the basement and that will be pretty much it.

Sometime around mid October I expect to have some edible plants to harvest. Any remaining plants will be covered with window panes by the end of that month to help keep them warm and happy when the weather gets cold.

Soldier bug eggs

What a cool little critter. The spined soldier bug AKA Podisus maculiventris, is a species of insect that is commonly found in North America. They are predators of gypsy moth caterpillars and the larvae of beetles such as the Colorado potato beetle and the Mexican bean beetle. Due to the fact that they eat Mexican bean beetles, they are regarded by me as very good things to have in the garden. A female picked yesterday, for her own reasons, to lay her eggs on my front door storm window. I was lucky enough to be there at just that time and the process was both fascinating and pretty neat to watch. I also decided it might be well worth my time to collect a few of the eggs and then observe them as they hatched under my microscope.

I wanted to do this in a way in which I could both observe the eggs mature, while at the same, time not harm them in any manner. To this end, I decided to try and move them to a microscope slide that would be kept securely in a covered Petri dish until they hatched. I wanted to observe their development and then would release them safely outside after hatching. (In my way of thinking, all life is precious). Following is some additional information I gleaned of the net.

Adult spined soldier bugs are brownish, about the size of your fingernail and have a prominent spine on each "shoulder." (This is not the origin of the name spined soldier bug . . . the "spined" refers to spines on the legs!) They overwinter as adults, hiding in leaf litter in woods around fields, and begin emerging around mid-April in Indiana. Females can lay up to 500 eggs and live up to 125 days. Males are slightly smaller than females and live up to 180 days. Females begin depositing eggs 4-7 days after emerging. The number of eggs a female lays depends on how well she is fed the more she eats the more eggs she lays and on the type of prey she eats (Colorado potato beetles are particularly "bad" prey; Mexican bean beetles are "ok"). Survival, development, body weight and longevity also depend on the type of prey and the frequency of feeding. Females in the field eat about 1 prey every 2 days, which is a lot less than they can eat when food is readily available. Females fed too much often die earlier than those fed less perhaps a health lesson to us all!

The eggs are deposited in masses of 15-70, and range in color from cream-colored to black. Eggs hatch in 4-7 days, depending on temperature. The brick red first instar spined soldier bugs are not predaceous (indeed they eat nothing at all!), whereas the remaining 4 instars (immature stages), are predaceous. Development from newly hatched to adult takes 25-30 days. There are 1-3 generations per year.

At right is a slightly blurry picture I took of the actual eggs.

I had already taken eight eggs from the window leaving the rest alone. The cement that the female bug used to attach the eggs was as tough as any super glue I’ve ever used. Credit Mother Nature for that.

On the 14th, four of the eggs have hatched as you can seen in the picture below. The bugs were tiny, but also were exact copies of their parents. After getting some pictures, I took the slide out to the front yard and released the bugs. A very cool thing to see. Thanks Mother Nature.

Another Mystery Vine – solved… or… maybe not!

Here in southwest Missouri, it’s now getting to be late summer. Bummer. It’s been a pretty good growing season for me and I’ve had lots of great veggies as a result. But as of now (early September), most of my plants are pretty much done and seem ready to throw in the towel. That is, with the sole exception of another vine plant that began to grow spontaneously by a rear retaining wall a few weeks back. I noticed it back then, but decided what the heck and let it be. Well, it continued to grow and thrive as though it was springtime!

Fast forward to this now and my goodness how large and sprawling this vine has become. (I suppose it must of really like that particular spot). When I checked among the large leaves, I was surprised to see a pretty good sized watermelon growing there with another just getting started. Wow! At least I think it’s a watermelon. Now the question is will it make to maturity before the weather get cold? Another good one will be whether or not it will be edible? This is a ‘parent unknown’ case to be sure.

The Great Microscope Experiment

For some reason that I’m sure will be made clear to me, I ordered myself a microscope from a company in California named AMScope. My reason for this bit of insanity was my desire to take a close look at some of the soil microbes in my garden. If the scope works out, to plan to buy a digital camera attachment so I can take pictures and then post them on this blog. What I did not count on, however, was all the extra stuff I needed to buy to make that happen.

It became apparent to me, after browsing a book on microscope technique, that I would have to order special glass slides called ‘well slides’ in addition to stains, cover glasses and eye droppers in order to proceed. I plan to do this as soon as my scope arrives which should be this coming Friday via UPS.