June 4, 2008
I ran across a friendly cashier one day at the grocery store and I happened to blurt to her in conversation that I was not in the mood to till my garden for spring planting. She was thrilled to be able to tell me (and I was thrilled to hear it), that we don't have to do that every year, in fact, it isn't beneficial. "Like a lasagna," she said. "A layer of newspapers and then a layer of grass clippings..." I'd heard that once before some time ago during my URI Master Gardener training and must have forgotten, but this year, in a much busier time in my life, I made a decision to go that route.
Not even a week later, before I began this new gardening method, my landscaper dropped by to see how things were progressing with last fall's plantings and he asked me about my garden. I told him my plan and he agreed with the cashier, adding that the worms don't like it when you dig up the soil and that disturbed soil is an invitation to weeds. For 32 years, I've been breaking my back every summer needlessly?
Green beans (my dad may get some of these, too).
An heirloom tomato, but I can't remember the name...
Well, whether or not it was the right option to choose, that's what I've got this year. And the best part is that it is D-O-N-E! It isn't pretty, but it's looking pretty healthy. It took me the better part of one Saturday. As it grows, I'll post new photos. I put in peas, lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, basil, spinach, peppers, potimarron squash, butternut squash and pickling cukes (for my father).
Hopefully this is going to keep the weeds down so I can spend more time with the family – at the beach, eating tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwiches, of course! Anyone know where I can buy mozzarella plants?
Just threw in this photo because the colors of these flowers always impress me!
Posted by Beth Heaney 
at 3:42 PM | Permalink
January 15, 2008
I don't know where my strong desire to preserve came from. But I can recall my first "saving" experience. When I was about 5 or so, a small plastic box came into my possession and I put dandelion heads in it and buried it. I couldn't understand why they looked so bad when I dug them up later on! So this need to preserve things must be ingrained in my soul.
That must be why I enjoy making pickled beets. We eat a lot of them in my house -- right out of the jar, with dinner and in toasted sandwiches with cheese and mustard, something my husband introduced me to when we were dating.
Beets, ready to peel.
It starts in October, when I call to get a bushel of beets from a nearby farm stand. They tumble them (wash them) for me, so they're dry and clean when I get them, a big time-saver, as you'd know if you've ever grown beets. So I boil them up in batches and let them cool. They need to be peeled, which is really very easy. If you just squeeze the beet in your hand, the skin slips off and what's left is a truly beautiful slippery purple and very, very sweet gem of a treat. Once you've eaten your fill, you can begin. By now, your hands are dark purple and it will be a long time before the color leaves your fingernails, but just think of the rewards.
Once peeled, the beets have to be sliced or cut into chunks. I use an old slicer I got at a yard sale (cooks can find great treasures at yard sales) to give them wavy edges. Once they're all cut up, I put them aside for canning.
Cut into chunks with the curvy cutter!
The liquid that will fill the jars.
At this point, I've got everything else ready as I don't want to waste time with such a time-consuming project. The big water bath is boiling, the jars are washed and kept warm, the countertop totally clean and free of clutter, the utensils at hand, the lids in hot water. And even more importantly, the boiled liquid that will fill the jars around the beets.It contains water, vinegar, whole allspice and cinnamon sticks.
My daughter Claudia helps me fill the jars in 2005.
And it's all set up in an efficient order. A couple of years ago, my daughter Claudia was at my side to help out. By the way, I can attest to the fact that bonding between mothers and daughters does still go on in the kitchen, despite recent reports that shopping is the new method.
Jars of beets in the canner.
So, from bowl to jar takes a couple of minutes, then 7 jars in the pot boil for 15 minutes and I'm doing about 40 jars, so you do the math. You can't start this project late in the day or you'll be up all night and the family will think you're mad. But at the end, no matter the hour, you have a heap of glistening, colorful jars of beets, lids snapping as they seal themselves once they begin to cool, a familiar sound in my house late summer and fall. To a fan of preserving, that sound is everything.
A countertop covered with the glistening jars of beets. I hate to pack them away!
Of course, we don't eat ALL of these beets. We hand them out to family and friends who wait for these beets to be ready each year, seriously. People ask me about them. They go into bags for Christmas.
And don't forget -- your mother was right -- they're good for you!
Posted by Beth Heaney at 8:27 AM | Permalink
July 16, 2007
As one who changed from a field-type vegetable garden to raised beds, I strongly recommend others do the same.
Raised beds have a number of advantages:
1.The plants are higher and easier to reach.
2.Likewise the undesirable plants (weeds) are easier to reach.
3.Raised beds warm up faster in the spring (soil temperature is more important than air temperature to many plants).
4. It is easier to amend soil in raised beds. Likewise for watering.
5. You can make raised beds any length you want. The width is usually no more than four feet so you can reach the middle from either side. The height can be anything you wish. I have seen raised beds of wheelchair height.
6. Having raised beds means you do not have to walk on the planting soil, thus compacting it.
7.You do not need heavy-duty tilling tools. In fact there is more and more evidence that heavy tilling, by hand or machine, destroys the soil structure and harms the tiny critters that amend the soil naturally.
The most frequently asked question is what do you use for edging a raised bed?
Pressure treated lumber will last but many gardeners prefer not to use it even in its new, more benign formulation (arsenic-based materials are no longer used in PT wood that is commonly available to homeowners)
Ordinary dimension lumber (2 by 10s 2 by 12s etc. made of hem/fir, pine etc) can be used but it will rot out in 10 years or less. If you don't mind replacing it, this is the most economical way.
At the Master Gardener Veggie Demonstration Garden on the main URI campus, we have three types of raised beds that will last a long time.
Several of them are made of Trex (a composite material that is designed for decks. It is made of wood fibers combined with recycled plastic). Trex (there are other brand names sush as Choicedeck) lasts but it has very little lateral strength and thus you have to build in vertical supports every four or five feet.
There is one bed there made of cedar. Liberty Cedar of West Kingston donated these boards which seem to be holding up well. Cedar is more expensive than PT or regular lumber and can be more expensive than Trex
Finally there is a bed made of PlasticLumber donated by PlasticLumberRI.This is a solid plastic material (all recycled stuff) which has multiple uses such as decks, bleachers, docks. Since it is solid plastic it does not get mildew (as some composite materials will) and seems to have superior lateral strength. It is also the most expensive but will last indefinitely.
This garden is located off East Alumni Avenue which is off Upper College Road. The garden is enclosed in a picket fence adjacent to the College of the Environment and Life Sciences Outreach Center (formerly the URI Cooperative Extension and Education Center).
A final note: Don't overlook materials that Mother Nature provides. If you have a lot of rocks (who in RI doesn't) use rocks to make the walls of a raised garden. They heat up during the day and give off heat at night. They look the most natural and of course they will never rot and the price is right!
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 1:56 PM | Permalink
July 10, 2007
Master Gardener Martha MacBurnie has one of the most creative, beautiful landscapes in South County. It was recently featured on the cover of a national home and garden magazine, has been on numerous garden tours over the years and will be on public view again this coming weekend (July 14,15) during the Gardening with the Masters Garden Tour (see the details here).
One of the ways Martha keeps her landscape healthy is to spray them every two to three weeks with a very dilute solution of "aspirin water" -- that's right, aspirin water
First a little history: Martha is a major coordinator in the Master Gardener Demonstration Vegetable Garden at URI and a couple of years ago started an experiment treating vegetable plants with a solution of aspirin water. She diluted three ordinary aspirins (uncoated is best) in four gallons of water. Put the mix in a sprayer and sprayed each plant. Sounds nuts?
No -- there is science behind this. Aspirin contains a synthetic form of salicylic acid. Plants manufacture salicylic acid to activate their natural defenses against bacteria, viruses and fungi. There is also evidence that seeds soaked in aspirin water will have a higher germination rate and that some plants thus treated stand up better against heat stress.
Using this treatment at URI, Martha showed that plants grew better and had fewer problems. She tried variations on a theme including some commercial products that claimed to have the same benefits but aspirin was the winner. She even tried Alka-Seltzer (which contains aspirin) to get a better dissolve (aspirin does not dissolve easily) but still pure aspirin was the champ.
To dissolve the aspirin, she places a tablet in a little bit of cider vinegar before mixing it in with the water. Others crush the tablet between two spoons.
Martha has a background in science (she has a degree in meteorology) and is always tinkering with organic solutions to plant pest and disease problems. Admittedly the aspirin she uses is not strictly organic since it is a synthetic (purists would seek the sap from a willow tree which produces the purely organic stuff). But her aspirin-water treatment has garnered a lot of adherents and the attention of gardening newsletters nation-wide.
As for the headaches -- plants probably don't get them. But plant owners who use aspirin water seem to have fewer of them.
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 3:46 PM | Permalink
July 1, 2007
Journal photo / Kris Craig
Master Gardener Rudi Hempe at a woodchuck hole at URI's East Farm in South Kingstown: In their battle with growers, the woodchucks are winning
The blog editor recently posed this question: "Are you just watching your veggies grow at this point or is there tending to be done to promote a better harvest?"
The answer is there is plenty of tending to be done.
Watering
We have had a dry spell (at least in southern R.I.) and so make sure you keep up with watering. Water the root zone, not the foliage, and the best way is to use soaker hoses or, better yet, drip irrigation. The latter method takes some planning and initial outlay so it may be too late for this season.
At the Master Gardener Demonstration Vegetable Garden at East Farm (Route 108 1/2 mile south of Kingston) we have a model drip irrigation system that can be viewed by visitors any day (although on August 11 we will have an open house there). Drip irrigation installations put the water right at the root zones. Water is conserved and evaporation is eliminated. Dripworks is one supplier that will even devise a drip irrigation plan for your garden if you send them a description and drawn layout. Many farmers are using drip irrigation these days to conserve water and reduce costs.
To conserve more water, put down a mulch of straw (not hay!) -- shredded straw works best but is more costly.
If you lack soaker hoses (which do not last very long) or drip irrigation it is best to avoid overhead sprinklers which wet leaves and can promote diseases. Rather, use a watering wand and place the water at the bases of plants.
Pests
It is best to avoid spraying vegetables to control pests. Rather, pick them off by hand and drop them into a can of soapy water. Look for pests under leaves. Remay (a spun cloth that transmits light and rainfall) tents are good devices to protect some crops likes broccoli from egg-laying moths.
Critters
Watch out for woodchucks (the Projo will have has an article on them at East Farm next week Here it is: In their battle with growers, the woodchucks are winning ) and rabbits. Good fencing is a must. Deer are also a problem in many areas. Again fencing is the answer. The East Farm garden has examples of woodchuck and deer fencing.
Weeding
No one likes to weed but it is a must in a vegetable garden. I use a hoe with a small sharpened blade (one inch high and 4 inches long) to get in close around the vegetable plants. Shreaded straw mulch helps keep them down. These weeding hoes are pricey but should last for many years. Some suppliers offer replacement blades. Sources are garden centers, or on line at Johnny's, Gemplers, A.M. Leonard.
Fertilization
I use an organic drench on my vegetables (fish and seaweed emulsion which is mixed with water) every two weeks. To this I add powdered kelp.
For tomatoes, make sure you side dress with some kind of fertilizer when the blossoms appear. Clip off the lower branches to promote air circulation at the bases of tomato plants to reduce the chance for disease.
Supports
Make sure all your vegetable supports are in place and secure. Use bamboo poles and rough twine for pole beans, climbing netting for cukes and peas and if you use tomato cages make sure the branches are well enclosed. I have given up on the regular tapered tomato cages as they tip when the plants get heavy. At East Farm we made our own cages years ago out of heavy duty-fencing but this was expensive.
Coming soon
Suspend, don't cage your tomatoes and treat your veggies so they won't get a "headache"!
Posted by Rudolph A. Hempe at 12:00 PM | Permalink
