Step Four – Transplanting out

Step Four of my five step program blog.

By this point in the season, I'm usually asking myself if maybe direct seeding isn't the way to go after all. This business of starting seed indoors has been a lot of work... Stuffing cells with mix, planting tiny seeds once at a time and then watering on a schedule takes a bit of a toll on a guy my age! But, then again, I was able to take a seed that cost less than a penny and (magically) turn it into a small plant that is ready for the rigors of the outdoors. And, I know my plants have been organically grown and that any fruit they bear will be pesticide free. So, onwards I go...

Weather considerations

I'm going to assume that you have now hardened off your plants for a week or more, insuring they will not drop dead the day after they go into the garden. If you did your planning earlier on, you also should have a good idea of where they are to be planted. Now, before you actually commit the plants, is a good time to take a look at what the weather is going to do in the near term. You're looking to see if you can transplant on either a cloudy or rainy day if at all possible. Try and avoid a really windy or sunny day as this will only add to the shock the plant will experience big time. (You can always leave your starts in the cold frame until conditions improve). In a similar vein, if the soil in your bed is saturated with water, wait for a dry period before going on. (Digging in it now will only serve to compact the soil which destroys soil structure). If you have to, take a tarp and cover the area to prevent more rain from getting in. Once again, gardening is all about adapting, improvising and overcoming!

Hold off on fertilizing

Prior to transplanting, you also will want to cut back on adding any fertilizer either on the plants themselves or in the soil where they're destined to go. Your starts will have enough on their hands (roots) getting adapted to their new home in the soil without suffering potential root burn from improper applications of nitrogen to the soil around their roots. You want the root ball to got after the nutrients on their own. (The faster new roots are established, the brighter the future for a good harvest).

Look for some worms

Now, if you prepared the bed correctly (last fall) and have been adding homemade compost to the soil from your compost bin, when you dig down just a few inches, you should see some earthworms. As many as ten or more per square foot indicates a healthy and well balanced soil medium. Earthworms will not hang out in soil that is nutrient poor or which is too acid or alkaline. They're like little chemical engineers in that respect. If you don't see any at all, it might be a good idea to check the pH of the soil to see if it is out of bounds for good growth. The soil should be on the slightly acid side of the scale. Say about 6.7 with neutral being a 7.0. If that checks out and still no worms, then consider getting a soil analysis done to see if there might be other problems going on and move the starts to another location. Just remember that by composting your own scraps and adding them to your raised beds on a regular basis, you can correct most problems naturally. Compost helps to adjust the pH and adds all important humus which improves the soil crumb structure. (If your garden is really large, then consider getting compost from reliable local sources. As a last bet, buy commercial compost from local garden outlets).

Maintain the root ball

Assuming that everything is a go, the act of transplanting usually goes very rapidly. If you have your starts in one of the reusable plastic trays, just take a kitchen spoon or knife and carefully dig them out. If you have used peat pots, then plant out the entire pot and if you used peat trays, then break these apart being careful to remove a portion of the bottom of the cell to allow the roots to 'escape'. Peat pots will break down on their own, so you really don't have to worry about the roots getting trapped. In the case of the reusable trays, but make sure to try and disturb the root ball as little as possible. Make a small opening in the bed and then plop the plant into it. Try and avoid burying the stem up to the leaves and don't over compact the soil when replacing it around the plant. Also, just add enough water to dampen the soil, don't super saturate it as this will only serve to decrease the all important air spaces in the soil around the roots. (Yes, roots also need air to breathe). So go easy greasy.

Keep a diary

That's all there is to transplanting as far as the essentials go. Just make sure to keep an eye on everything for a few days to make sure they are happy in their new home. You might also want to cover them with a cover of reemay to help add a little bit of protection in the early going.

I also like to keep a daily diary on the garden in which I keep notes on anything and everything that comes to mind. This can become invaluable on those years where you achieve either great success or have what amounts to a disaster. Fill it with diagrams, soil comments, what worked and what did not. That way, come the following season you will hopefully enjoy even better results!

My next topic will cover Step Five – Pests!

Step Three – Hardening off

Step Three of my five step program blog.

Earlier in the season, if you are following my plan, you've made some garden plans. You've decide what your going to grow, how many of each plant, and when and where everything will go. Good for you! By this point you also have quit a few trays of young seedling all vying for space under grow lights. With yet more seeds to start, the pressure is now on to get the older ones transplanted out.

This is the point in time, where many of us (including yours truly) sometimes drop the ball and end up injuring or killing the very plants we've worked so hard to get to this point. While that lettuce plant or cucumber may look strong on the outside, it's actually a weakling on the inside. Every since germination, each plant has been inside, coddled and care for. Transplanting them outside, without first going through a hardening off process, can guarantee problems. In the springtime, conditions outside can be chaotic to say the least. Temperatures can quickly go from nice and warm to very cold. Rain can fall in torrents and high winds will desiccate the unprotected or weak. This is no place for a newbie plant!

Graduation

I look at it this way... So far, your young vegetable charges have been in grade school. While they have been growing by leaps and bounds, they are still naive to the harsh ways of the world. They need to go to Plant High School where they can learn to be independent, strong and productive. That's where a cold frame of some sort comes in (please see my video series on making a simple one). A cold frame is actually nothing more than a boxed in area with some sort of cover that can be moved on top of or off of as conditions dictate. If you lack a formal cold frame, grab a cardboard box, cut it down and place a thin towel over the top. Improvise, adapt and overcome! Viola, you've made a cold frame on the fly!

Cold frames

Place your trays outside into the 'frame' initially for just a short time, say a few hours with the cover on to give maximum protection. Then, after a few days of this, most the tray outside permanently. Use the cover during the nighttime hours to maintain a constant temperature. During the daytime, make sure that the young plants do not get too much sun or heat at first. I like to keep a wireless thermometer inside one of my frames so I can keep an eye on what's going on. (There are even ways to get your readings over the internet if you are at work). In general, though, once you get past the first few days, you can leave your starts pretty much on their own, making sure only to water them as needed. After a week or so, the plants can be taken out an placed close to where they are to be transplanted. I like to then keep an eye on the weather and wait for a period when it will be overcast and or rainy to transplant them out. If, you follow this procedure and if you have a bit of luck, you will have avoided any of the dreaded 'checks' I mentioned in earlier blogs.

Reemay

The last thing you need to watch out for, once the seedling tray is transplanted out, will be garden pests. This includes the family dog who will want to dig the whole area up! A cover of reemay comes in really handy. This very thin and lightweight material, will cover the plants without harming them, while letting in light and moisture. It's real strength, however, is its ability to keep pests at bay!

My next topic will cover Step Four - Transplanting out.

Step Two - Indoor germination and growth!

Step Two of my five step program blog.

The really successful gardener is the man or women who can bring in a harvest that costs significantly less than what the same produce would have cost at the market. Through good planning practices, they rarely have excess and when they do, they have developed a ready market of other gardeners who will be glad to swap one veggie for another.

Professional in this bracket also protect the seed they do have as if it were gold. (Have you checked out the cost of seed packets online lately)? But hey, if you find yourself with lots of excess seed (or money is no object), then by all means skip this section and proceed to direct seeding. Just be prepared to use lots of seed in order to insure enough germinate. Outdoor conditions can range from ideal to horrible and can change in just one day. This can play havoc on germination rates and can result in too many seedlings (ideal conditions) or too few (cold and or dry conditions). If you get lucky and most of the seed does germinate, then you face the unpleasant task of having to thin (kill) perfectly good seedlings. That's something I absolutely hate to do!

One way to avoid the thinning problem altogether is to germinate your seeds indoors where appropriate. Most seeds can be done this way. Exceptions would be plants that have really sensitive root systems like carrots. Most other common vegetables can handle being transplanted just fine. Potatoes are another example. Some, like tomatoes seem to thrive when handled in this manner. When you proceed in the manner, you have many advantages; plant production control not being the least of them. Because you have elected to start your plants indoors you get to fine tune the amount of light, heat and moisture each plant gets. You also have removed the tender seedlings from the harsh conditions (and pests) that are often encountered in the cold, cruel world. As a result, the seeds you do sow come up fast and, in general, grow quickly. They also rarely suffer from a term called 'checks'. A term that is used to indicate some factor that interrupts plant growth. Such 'check' can result in weak or stunted plants later on.

Keep your eye on the bottom line

If you are just starting out, you will necessarily encounter some start up costs in order to get going. This might include items like peat pots, planting trays, lights and sterile starting soil. Just make sure to keep your operation as simple (and cheap) as possible. Over the years, I have accumulated quite a few reusable starting trays of various configurations and cell size. Since they can be used over and over again, the once time cost is spread out. Make sure to shop around for these as prices can vary a great deal.

Seed packets are another item that it pays to shop around for. I've discovered that I can often purchase the exact same seed package for half the cost by visiting seed racks at garden centers as opposed to buying the same thing online! One store I've found to be great for this is the Home Depot where I live in southwest Missouri. Another technique that works is to share the seeds you do have with other gardeners. It's amazing how generous people who garden are! And, if you grow heirloom plants, you can always let a few reach maturity and then collect some free seeds at the end of the season. This works especially well with green beans, tomatoes, radish plants and bell peppers! If you develop a system, it will soon be a rare day when you have to go out and buy seed. The only times I will purchase anything now is when I want to try out a hybrid variety I think I might like. (Hybrid seed generally breed true only once and any seed produced will not be as good).

Getting your seeds off to a good start

In her book, The New Seed Starters Handbook, author Nancy Bubel does a great job at guiding both the novice and experienced individual to new heights of success in the art of seed starting. The key is to begin with clean equipment, sterile soil and fresh seed that is stored properly from season to season. In her book, Nancy cover the entire spectrum of why, who, how and when. I picked up her original book many years ago and read and reread it until it feel apart. Be sure to check out the section on raised beds and cold frames for some hints on how to make your growing efforts not only enjoyable but also hyper productive while requiring little work. Way cool.

My next topic will cover Step Three: Hardening off.

Squash: My new discovery for 2011!

It wasn’t until a friend (a person from whom I get lots of free stuff) mentioned that she just ‘loves’ squash, that I decided to investigate the subject. (Brandy, you owe me)!

Firstly, I freely admit that I’ve never eaten even a morsel of any of the many varieties out there. As a member of the cucurbit family, botanically speaking a squash is actually a fruit (perhaps that’s the reason I've shied away?). In America, we often divide it into summer and winter varieties. So-called summer squash is harvested while it's still immature. These varieties can be served raw in salads because the rind has yet to toughen. This group includes zucchini, patty pan and crookneck. Their tender state requires they be eaten soon after harvest.

Winter squash varieties, like the Butternuts and Hubbard’s, are simply squash that are allowed to fully mature to the point where the rind becomes tough. (This allows the fruit to be stored until winter before being consumed; hence they are called winter squash). Duh! These guys must always be cooked first and the flesh scooped out.

I’m thinking, for my first go around, that I will want to try out the immature (summer) stuff first. Squash, from a nutritional standpoint, is often given an 'A' grade. So, I guess it does have something going for it. It’s prepared in numerous ways (you could say tortured) by mashing it, slicing it, frying it and baking it. It’s served raw on salads, in soups casseroles and yes, some weirdo’s even stuff the crap out of it! Sucks to be squash I guess. For my part, I think I’ll try Southern Fried Squash for my first go. I am a gentleman, after all. Now all I have to do is find someone who plans to grow it this season. Ah, that’s where my friend with the free stuff comes in. My plan will be to offer to buy her some squash seeds as a way of settling old scores (both her and her mom have plied me with lots of fresh eggs over the winter).

I hope to see you all later this growing season, when I plan to author a truthful and complete blog on the joys of eating this veggie that has a name which sounds like something you'd do to a bug! (Actually, in other parts of the world, notably in Central America where it originates, it’s called ‘Marrows’). I think I start calling it that. So, see you all to-marrows.

Well, I got some beans planted, anyway!

I think the motto for the Marines goes something like ‘adapt, improvise and overcome’. I heard that phrase in the movie Heartbreak Ridge and have tried to make it my mantra for gardening this year. During every new season there are usually some problems that are encountered and this year was no different. Somehow, due to a family emergency, I was unable to get my onion sets in on time and now the local stores are out of them. I would order them through the internet but abhor having to pay the shipping costs which have been rising due to fuel costs. The same deal goes for seed potatoes, but in that case I plan to use potatoes that come in the bag at the store. I’ve heard they have an organic retardant sprayed on them, but also that this works for only a short time before they sprout anyway.

Also, my lettuce and pepper starts that I usually begin in late February are really behind the curve this year. I may actually have to buy some starts at the local garden center which really defeats part of the purpose for growing them on my own. Guess that’s where the ‘adapt’ thing comes in.

I did manage, however, to get some bean seeds planted on time during a windy and warm early spring day this March. I prepared a small raised bed area and planted about twenty Kentucky Pole beans in a two by two foot area. At least I think that’s what they are. These seeds were collected last fall from plants I let fully mature. (A character flaw that prevents me from marking the bag I placed them in). So, I’m really only guessing these are pole as opposed to a bush variety. Time will tell and anyway, it will add to the mystery of the harvest. As they say.

Beware of bargain seed packets!

By now most of us are aware that more is just shrinking besides the dollar. Have you had a Big Mac lately? It’s now more like a Little Bud if you get my drift. A hamburger that used to fill two hands, now rests comfortably in just one!

The same is true of seed packets. The seeds packets are the same size, but not the contents. I recently purchased a packet from American Seed (they also make the NK brand) from my local grocery store. It contained radish seed known as Sparkler White Tip. For fifty nine cents plus tax, I got 86 seeds. That’s pretty close to a penny a seed! (Check out my article on the high cost of seed here). Did you know you can let a few plants go to seed in the summer and then harvest them for free? I did this last season a variety call Cherry Belle which is open pollinated and not a hybrid.

As a matter of fact, you can save the seed from many of your common veggies and reap huge saving in the process. Happy Gardening!

Fast and loose produce! Victory gardens in the 21st Century!

When times get tough (like now?) and you and yours are seeking a way to make the food budget stretch….

I say get down and dirty and grow it yourself! And right now, brothers and sisters, is a damn good time to start. You know, when vegetable prices are skyrocketing! (I just paid a dollar fifty for a green pepper)!

Home grown vegetables can cost just pennies a pound. Something your forefathers knew very well. (As a species, we’ve survived for millions of years by living off the earth and there’s no reason why we can’t in this day and age).

Back during the dark days of World War II, Americans answered the call when food was rationed for all as part of the war effort. Magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and Life printed stories about victory gardens, and women's magazines gave instructions on how to grow and preserve garden produce. Families were encouraged to can their own vegetables to save commercial canned goods for the troops. In 1943, families bought 315,000 pressure cookers (used in the process of canning), compared to 66,000 in 1942. The government and businesses urged people to make the practice of gardening a family and community effort.

The result of victory gardening? The US Department of Agriculture estimated that more than 20 million victory gardens were planted. Fruit and vegetables harvested in these home and community plots was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables. So, the program made a difference then and it can make a difference now!

Hey everyone, we’ve been there before and we can get through these tough times again by working together, sharing our resources and having a great faith in God.

Amazing Kale!

After surviving a pretty hard winter where temperatures did get below zero, I have to admit being simply amazed at the hardiness factor I’ve seen in one lone plant. A member of the cabbage family that not only came through in shining colors, but which has also provided me with a few good meals this spring.

The variety, according to the seed packet, is Dwarf Blue Kale. I picked it up at my local grocery store last year with the idea of seeing if I would even like the stuff. To my surprise, I loved steaming the leaves and eating them with a little butter, salt and pepper. While Burpee Seed is selling a packet on line for $3.25, I got mine for fifty nine cents from a company called American Seed. They sell seed under various names including the familiar NK label. It does pay to shop around!

What interested me the most, was the fact that the leaves, after stripping them from the stem and steaming for fourteen minutes, was really awesome! I would have thought they’d be a little bitter, but that was not the case!

One other point. Just a few plants can really produce a good harvest. Also, the leaves make a great garnish and companion to other meals. Sort of like parsley.

Spring lettuce seed starts!

While life has gotten in the way of my garden plans for this summer, I am still making an effort to begin a few plants to help ease what happening at the grocery stores. This year I am once again planting a variety called Little Caesar romaine lettuce that is offered by Burpee Seeds. Romaine’s cannot be beat for nutrition and taste!

I elected to start my plants, this season, in peat trays that can be purchased at local garden stores. They help make the process fast and simple. For a stating soil mix, I’m using Miracle Gro potting mix which is sterile and already has fertilizer in it.

In the first picture, I’ve planted single seeds, one per cell in to the soil mix which has been dampened prior to planting. The whole process takes maybe a half hour with most of that time spent waiting for the soil to get damp. The seeds are then covered with a simple plastic baggie ( I like to re-use old baggies this way) and placed under a two bulb grow light to await germination. This usually just take three or four day as you can see in the second picture here.

Step One – Planning your garden.

 Step One of my five step program blog.

The winter time is a great time to get your thoughts and plans about what you want to do for a garden that coming spring. It’s at that point in time that I make some decisions as to what I actually want to grow and why. I start by making a list of vegetables after looking through a seed catalog. Generally, this list is quite long. One year I remember listing a certain variety of squash only to remember later that I actually don’t like squash all that much. So, after you make your list, give it the ‘taste test’. Mark off any veggies that no one in the family is likely to eat. Next, I do the ‘savings test’. I figure, if I can purchase a particular vegetable cheaply during the growing season at the local market, I might want to consider not going to the trouble of growing it. An exception to this rule would be the fact that my garden is an organic garden. That is to say, I never use any harmful pesticides for fertilizers when growing my bounty. In the past, I’ve skipped growing iceberg types of lettuce in favor of the more expensive (and nutritious) romaine’s and Bibb varieties. (That may not stay true as a head of lettuce at the market where I shop was selling for close to two dollars a head). Finally, I like to give each item on my list the ‘happiness test’. This would include any plants that are either hard to grow or that do not do well in my locale. Cantaloupe fits into this category for me as they take up a lot of space, are routinely attacked by squirrels and have given me mixed results in terms of taste. Ergo, I buy mine at the store.Same goes for broccoli, Brussels sprouts and celery!

So, at the end of all this, I have whittled my list of candidate plants down to a relative handful. In general, I will end up with just a few varieties of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, beans, potatoes and other such items as strike my fancy that year. Next, I make a diagram of all the growing areas in my garden and indicate what will grow where. When doing this, I try and avoid planting the same crop in the same location from one year t the next. This is just a good practice so as to avoid allowing a disease that is unique to that plant from getting a foothold. For this part of the plan, I like to refer to books that show how I can grow the most vegetables from the smallest space. I learned this from people like Mel Bartholomew who published a book years ago call ‘Square Foot Gardening’. His method often employs small raised beds where the amount of weeding is kept to a minimum. After a while you will get a feeling for how much produce (and therefore space) you’ll need to feed yourself and other in your family. I’ve found that in good earth an through using intensive techniques, you can easily achieve anywhere from a half pound to a pound of edible produce per square foot. Some have boasted much larger figures than this, but I suspect that they use expensive apparatus to attain it.

My next move, in early spring, is to make sure that the beds are ready to receive transplants when they are ready to go in. Starting in March here in southwest Missouri, I work the soil, but only after it has dried out and can be turned without ending up with concrete. A cheap plastic tarp can come in handy when it rains if you cover your beds early on. Note that none of my beds are larger than four feet by eight feet. This size is easy to construct with lumber and everything is easy to reach from any side. In addition, during the early part of the growing season, I use a material called ‘reemay’ that does a great job protecting young seedlings from damage by insects and other pests.

While I’m doing all this, I like to keep a sort of diary. In it, I list what veggies are going where. How much they cost, the weather and what my end results were. I even go so far as to weigh my produce as it is harvested during the season. Information, like this, is valuable during successive seasons in helping me to plan. Overall cost is a big issue for me and many others. Over a five year period of time, much of the initial cost of tools, seeds and beds is spread out pretty well. At that point I can really begin to see some savings over the store bought produce. Also, I know that my food is pesticide free.

There! I’m now ready. I’ve got a plan, have some tools and lots of hope in my heart. Next stop, the garden center where I hope to score some good seeds at cheap prices. This is also a good time to hook up with a friend who has similar interest. That way you can both share the cost of seeds and tools. Then, later in the season, you can also trade produce!

My next topic will cover Step Two: Seed germination and growing techniques.

My five step program to growing success! An introduction.

At one time or another, I think anyone who has planted a vegetable garden has probably tried growing some of their crops from seed. The temptation to do this is easy to understand. Seeds are relatively cheap when compared to the cost of starter plants.

I can also remember thinking this years ago, while standing in a nursery looking at the full color pictures of giant cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers that adorned seed packets in a revolving turn style that gee. What could be so hard, I thought, about planting some a few seeds and then reaping a big harvest? I mean how hard could it be? Well, they do say that naivete is bliss, don’t they?

Since that day, long ago, I’ve learned some lessons. One of which was what I call my five step program to raising great vegetables without doing a heck of a lot of work. The five steps are:

Step 1 - Proper planning
Step 2 - Indoor germination and growth
Step 3 - Hardening off
Step 4 - Transplanting out
Step 5 -Controlling pests

Each of these steps is important in its own right. They are all designed to get a plant off to a great start whereby the gardener strives to prevent ‘checks’ to growth. A ‘check’ is anything that briefly interrupts the growing cycle of a plant. Interruptions in the smooth growth curve which can often lead to problems latter on in terms of over all health and productive capacity.

In step one, you might note that I do not spend any effort on addressing direct seeding. I’ll go into some reasons why in my segment on Step 1. Briefly, I will state that unless you are a commercial grade gardener, then as part of your planning you will want to control what when and how your crops are grown. Crops like beans which can be direct seeded are addressed here as are crops that will need all the help they can get early on. A plan, in other words, that is always keeping an eye on overall timing and production you have envisioned for you and yours.

In step two, I will be addressing the equipment you might want to consider for germination and early growth of seeds destined to go outdoors. You won’t need all that much, thankfully, as I like to keep an ever present eye on overall cost. It makes not sense to me to end up growing a head of lettuce that cost three dollars.

In step three, I will cover some concepts to hardening off a seedling prior to its being transplanted into the cold cruel world. This step is one that many of us, including myself, don’t perform properly and which results in the stunting of even death of your plants early on.

Step four is a fun step for me. This is the day that all my planning really pays off. The realization of a crop of whatever which will sometime soon grace my table with wonderful bounty. In this section, I cover some of the pitfalls and tips that I have discovered over time to either avoid or use.

Step five contains some of the not so pleasant realities of growing vegetables outside. It seems sometimes that just about every critter is out to destroy what you have worked so hard to create. There are entire books devoted to just this single topic and I don’t try and pretend I can do this area justice here wither. Rather, I will cover some really simple and stupid moves that can perhaps save you some grief as the season progresses.

So, that’s it. I will be adding these segments in no particular order as the spring progresses. I hope to have some readership and would be excited to hear any comments that my readers would care to make. Gardening is a great outdoor activity that is meant to be shared. It is also very rewarding when the day comes to make a harvest no matter how large or small.

Pepper seed germination test!

One of the ways to test seed you have from the previous season is to place a few on a damp paper towel that is placed into a plastic baggie. I did this with five Long Red Cayenne pepper seeds from peppers that were grown in my raised bed garden last year. The seeds took just as long to germinate as they would have in soil, but I had the benefit of watching them for germination every other day or so. As soon as a seed began to show a root, I would transfer that seed to a peat pot under lights.

In this experiment, I achieved germination of 4 out of 5 seeds. That, I felt was pretty good and plan to sow more as the growing season approaches. As you can see, after a month of growing, they are looking pretty darn good!