DECIDING WHAT TO PLANT (seeds continued)

Southern California is a great place to live.  Yes our educational system is to deteriorating to the level of that of a third world country. And true the state is almost bankrupt with enough unemployed people to equal the entire population of the state of Nevada.  Of course there are also enough liberals here to melt a large glacier with one big exhale of their collective hot air. BUT we look good! We have got beaches, mountains and deserts all within a couple of hours of each other.  There aren’t many places you can wake up in the morning and surf for a couple of hours before heading to the dunes for dirt bike riding, only to end the day with an evening session of night boarding in the mountains. It can be done in Southern California if you are 19 and your parents pay your bills. Just ask my son.  However I think the best part of being a So Cal resident is the gentle climate. With the average temperature about 75 degrees at any time of the year, the conditions are perfect for year round vegetable gardening.

Of course that doesn’t mean that you can plant whatever you want, whenever you want. Some things just don’t grow as well in summer as they do in winter and vice versa.  Because it is time for spring planting let’s first talk about what NOT to plant right now.   

Beets, Turnips, Rutabagas-basically most root veggies, Cabbage, Peas-all types, Lettuces-all types, Spinach, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and most Greens-mustard, collard etc. are cool weather crops and they won’t do well in the spring/summer season.  You will want to plant them in LATE summer for early winter harvest.   They can also be planted in February for spring harvest, but it is too late for that now, so if you have them put them away.  Don’t just toss them in the garden shed either. Store them away in a cool place. The refrigerator is best but a cool place in the garage will work. The garden shed is NOT the best option.  Think about how hot it gets in there in the summer. Would you want to be stuck in there for three or four months under those conditions? Your seeds don’t either so find a better place.  Go now before you forget and ruin them.  Oh and remember if you aren’t sure how old your seeds are, or they have been imprisoned in the sweat shed, throw ‘em out and get new ones.  (See my post Seeds are created equal.....)

Below I have listed a few of my favorite things to plant for Spring:

Radishes grow REALLY fast and do well all year long (great for winter) and are really fun for planting with kids because they do produce so quickly.  The only problem with kids is radishes are spicy and not always so fun to eat.

Squash/Zucchini is perfect for the gardening newbie.  These plants are adaptable and hardy but do need some room.  There are summer and winter varieties but both can be planted at the same time. The winter varieties just take a bit longer to grow for Fall harvest (think pumpkins). Squash leaves do tend to be prone to mold so make sure you check out my "HOT TIP" on how to prevent and eradicate garden mold.  Here is another hot tip....ONE to TWO squash plants are sufficient unless you are feeding the whole neighborhood.  If you are going to over plant, make friends now so your neighbors don't think you are creepy later when you try to pawn food off on them.  And it goes both ways, I think people who don't know me well and take food from me are a little creepy themselves.  Sometimes I offer veggies to strangers just to see who the creepers are.  No! not really, I'm just kidding, but test the waters. You may not want to have that kind of relationship with all of your neighbors. First you share your zucchini and the next thing you know the Joneses want to borrow money or your car.  All I'm saying is be careful! Oh and one more thing.  If you are going to share squash, please pick them when they are small to medium size.  Three foot long 20 pound zucchinis are really hard to wash and slice. Not to mention that the larger they get the more bitter they can become. 

Bush Beans are the only green beans I plant. They grow fairly quick, are easy to grow, don’t take up a lot of room and don’t need to climb up a trellis or pole contraption. They taste great.

Carrots are another easy to grow crop that does well all year long. Root veggies are just great for winter so save some seeds for planting in late summer too.  I plant my carrots in a raised bed because the soil is softer and it keeps my carrots from becoming deformed.

Tomatoes are a garden staple. And I am going to completely ruin my credibility here by saying that tomatoes hate me.  Until last year I really didn't have good luck with them.  I think that is because I really didn't like to eat them until recently.  Which proves my point, if you don't eat it, don't plant it.  You won't be inspired to take care of it.  Despite my problems tomatoes are fairly easy to grow and there are tons of varieties, in all sizes, shapes and colors.

Cucumbers can be a pain but they are so worth the effort.  They need lots of water, and are climbers so you will need a trellis to keep them off the ground. They are also prone to mold.  Keep them away from brick wall corners.  The heat from this type of placement just sucks the life out of your cucumber plants. There is nothing like a fresh from the garden cucumber in your salad or homemade pickles for the more ambitious.  With so many varieties to choose from there is something for everyone.  Japanese and English are my favorites because you don't have to peel them.  However, even cucs that are labeled as "pickling" taste great fresh. In fact my Dad likes these in his salad better than any of the others. The flavor is incredible. You will just have to peel the pickling types because their skin can be very tough.  Also remember that the larger they get the bigger the seeds inside get. 

Cantaloupe/Melons/Pumpkins take up a LOT of room. They need to spread out, far. Before you plant these guys make sure you can commit to the space they need. These aren’t the best choice for a novice either. Pumpkins need help with the mating process (see below under corn). And most of you will pick your melons before they are ripe.  


Things I don't always plant, I find to be difficult or not worth the effort:

Onions  really work well year round. But they take FOREVER to grow into an onion.  Two options with onions.  I plant seeds and use the green stalks as fresh chives or scallions (see picture at left). For actual onions I use onion bulbs from the garden store, you can get a bunch in a net bag and these take less time to grow. But considering the money you will spend in water, and especially if you are tight on space, you may not want to plant onions. 

Bell (Green) Peppers are a good choice but can be temperamental and also grow very slowly.  If they don’t like where you plant them the blossoms will fall off or the peppers will be really small.  You may have to play with location and yes a few feet can make a difference. Because they grow slow you may want to buy a couple of plants from your local nursery instead of starting these from seed. Bonus! if you want Red Bells just leave them on the vine a little longer.  The longer you leave them the sweeter they get.  

Corn needs to mate, pumpkins aren't the only ones having sex (I mentioned this in my very first post A Blog is Born.  Professionals would say they need to be hand pollinated but that sounds kind of kinky. Besides "pollinate" didn't get your attention the way “sex” did and that’s why you are reading my blog and not a professional’s. Geez I can’t seem to stay on task. ANYWAY with Corn you will need to plant a lot of it for it to pollinate properly or you will have to do it by hand. If it doesn’t pollinate, then you will have some really neat stalks to use for Halloween decorations but no corn to eat. 
Potatoes are a LOT of work! And they too need a fair amount of space. Taters aren't for the novice gardener.  There is lots to say about potatoes so I will cover them later. 


I will eventually be covering most of the plants in individual posts but for now I wanted to give you an overview of the things I am most likely to plant.  Coming next: 

• getting your seeds in the ground, how low can they go
• planting seeds versus adopting plants
• should you start your seeds in pots and transplant to the garden? I can answer that now. You can, but I don't. Its too much work and unnecessary in our climate 
• how I plant to maximize my water usage 
• and whatever else I think of that might fit this theme

Also next week I will share pictures of my own little plot of land.  

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SEEDS ARE CREATED EQUAL THEN MAN MESSED WITH THEM

 I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I’m a Mormon.  We like to call ourselves Latter Day Saints or LDS for short.  Unlike my rant on hormones, being LDS has a lot to do with gardening.  Mormons tend to be very big in the arena of food storage and emergency preparedness, with gardening being a huge part of that arena.   Our women’s organization, called the Relief Society, has a  person who handles emergency preparedness for us.  Our EP specialist is Linda.  Linda is awesome. She makes sure we get the best deals on water barrels, dehydrated foods, portable toilets and even a handy emergency “washer” for laundry.  It was really a stick with an odd looking plunger thingy on the end. We all laughed at it and then bought it.  The latest and greatest from Linda was this huge bag filled a bunch of smaller bags of non-hybrid seeds.   One interesting thing about LDS women is we set our own trends.  Back in the ‘70's no self respecting Mormon mom was without her glass grapes and wheat grinder. Enter the‘80's and most LDS women had a quilting frame (that didn't mean they were quilters).  In the ‘90s scrapbooking started, resurrecting much needed kindergarten skills.  Although food storage/emergency preparation has always been a hot topic in the LDS community there are "sub" trends.  Not to be left out of the latest "sub" trend, quite a few people bought these bags of seeds. It really was a great deal and I’m sure there is real support for being prepared and for gardening.  But! if I were a gambler (Mormons don’t gamble) I would bet some serious cash on the fact that half of the people who bought these seeds did so because they thought they should. Many of my friends won't even use them. Others will plant only a fraction of what they bought. Most won’t store the seeds properly and they won’t keep.  Still others will plant but will eventually neglect their gardens.  Proving that blind obedience won’t get you fresh veggies or save your butt in an emergency; only planning and hard work will do that.  Gardening can be simple but it will always be hard work.

Hey you non-Mormon readers don’t get off the hook. I bet (not really, I don't gamble) that you have your share of seeds that you bought and ended up never using.  And should we take a poll to see how many of you are plant killers?  If you aren’t careful you are going to end up just like the Forever Gardeners above.  

 What is a Forever Garden? The Lord created non-hybrid seeds. In that context they are perfect. Then man got scientific and created hybrids. Man never does anything as well as the Lord. Non-hybrid seeds reproduce.  See after you harvest your vegetables, fruits etc. a plant can be left to continue to grow until it “goes to seed”. Seeds that you can harvest, dry out if necessary and use to plant for next season. (click here to learn more). Hence the name Forever Garden. And you thought it had to do with eternity.  Nope. Eternity has more to do with life after mortal life. Sorry but I’m pretty sure the garden falls into the “can’t take it with you” category.  We have no time to cover eternity here but if you want to know more  http://mormon.org/ may help.

Hybrid seeds are not bad they are just one hit wonders. You won't get as much bang for your buck but there are really cool varieties of hybrid plants that I would encourage to try.  Think about what your needs are, what you have time for and choose accordingly. 

If you already have seeds then check the dates on them, they do expire. If you aren't sure how long you have had them and/or you didn't store them properly, throw them out and get new ones. Old seeds, improperly stored seeds won't grow well, if at all. The worst part is, you may end up thinking you did something wrong and it has nothing to do with you. Your seeds are just bad.  Good garden seeds are worth investing in. I did get the Forever Garden bag this year but I usually buy my seeds from a catalog or online.  I think you get a better quality from online companies than you do from the local stores. Also most of the store bought seeds are hybrids and therefore don't reproduce. There are many web sites to choose from and I don't really have a favorite.  

The next post will be coming soon because I know many of you are ready to plant.  I will be discussing what to plant and what not to plant for the summer season.  You may want to wait for the next post before you go seed shopping. 

MOLD

Occasionally when the mood strikes I am going to offer a random hot tip. My husband will be the first to tell you I am terribly moody so I could be posting hot tips rather often.
Here is the first one!  I have been doing some intense research on mold in the garden.  I have a problem with mold. My backyard is on the north side of our house and it always seems to be damp.  There are chemical options to eradicate fungi, but I'm not sure any of them are safe for veggie plants. Besides I have dogs and kids, I don't want chemicals in my yard at all. My research tells me that mixing CORNMEAL into the soil will help keep the mold out of your garden.
PREVENT MOLD -- Now I have to confess I have never tried this, but even if it doesn't work it won't hurt anything.  Cornmeal from the store will work just fine, as does horticultural grade cornmeal.  The meal from the grocery store runs about  $2.00 per pound or $4.50 for a 40oz box.  I have no idea where in Orange County you can purchase the horticultural grade but it is cheaper.  You can buy it in bulk over the internet, however the shipping cost more than doubles the price. Most of you should be able to make due with one or two boxes from the store.
IN THE SOIL
The recommended ratio is 2 pounds of cornmeal for every 100 square feet (or 10' x 10') area.  Spread it out, mix it into the soil and water it well.  The water activates the fungus killing properties so you gotta water it.
Or if you already have plants that are prone to mold:

CORN MEAL JUICE

Mix one cup of cornmeal with a gallon of water and let it soak overnight.  Strain the liquid and place in a spray bottle to spray susceptible plants.

TO GET RID OF EXISTING MOLD --  Use this recipe to get rid of powdery mold. (See photo)
Baking Soda Recipe
First, water the infected plants WELL a couple of days before applying 
then mix together
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap
1 gallon of water
Mix well and spray on affected plants.
The liquid soap helps the soda water to stick to the plants


DO NOT STORE THE UNUSED MIXTURE -use it right away then toss any leftovers
CAUTION!! This mixture can burn the leaves of some plants so test it out in a small area first AND DO NOT APPLY IN FULL SUN. I recommend applying at the end of the day.

And one more tip. If you decide to remove any foliage that is infected with the mold, be careful! Wear a mask of some kind, gloves and some sort of eye wear. The powdery mold is just that, powdery, and when disturbed it will fly everywhere.  If you have asthma or allergies this can even be dangerous.  You don't want your garden making you sick.

Dirt Is Not Soil, Soil Is Not Dirt

One thing I have noticed recently is that every time I get together with girl friends we have a rousing chat about our hormones.  We can be talking about my garden blog or one of our kids and the conversation can flip in an instant to the state of our hormones.  Just last week I was at lunch with a group of girls and it took less than 30 minutes for us to spin ourselves right into talking about night sweats, the ebb and flow of our menstrual cycle, how many periods we have had in the last year, and most importantly what drugs we are taking to make/keep ourselves feeling sane. This was over LUNCH but it felt more like a 12 step group meeting where I could have stood up and said, "Hi my name is Mary and I am a pre-menopausal freak."   Thank goodness for my girl friends because I find out in those therapy sessions disguised as lunch that I am not alone, yes it CAN get worse, no it won't kill me, and I should probably jot down notes during my next hormonal moment so I can have a good story to tell at the next "lunch"!
What does all this have to do with gardening?  Absolutely nothing. But now that I am heading into menopause I have found that I can talk about it whenever I want. No one will stop me because it seems that most people, especially men, are scared to death of a woman when she says she is "hormonal". Perception is power, don't ever forget that.

Rant over, on to gardening.  Last week we talked about dirt.  This week we are going to talk about soil.  Dirt should not be confused with soil.  Soil is amended dirt. Here this might help. Dirt is like the B cup that the Lord gave you, soil is like the push up bra you bought at Victoria's secret to give yourself a C cup.  You just did a little amendment and you got something better.  Some people are okay with a little amendment others want complicated implants.  But implants require testing, invasive procedures and you really need an expert to make sure things don't get screwed up.  Why go and get implants when a push up bra will do?  Seriously though amending your soil can be tricky if you aren't careful. Too much nitrogen can produce beautiful green plants that don't bear fruit. Too much phosphorus hinders a plants ability to take up nutrients from the soil.  There is also much debate about the accuracy of home soil test kits.  I just try to keep it simple. It is really all I have time for and simple hasn't failed me yet.
In my area of Orange County the dirt, when dry, is like baby powder. You get it wet and some of the dirt floats up; it also takes forever for the water to soak in and become really well moistened. Once wet, the dirt becomes thick and clay like and can end up drying into hard clumps.  I found a quick and easy push up bra (solution) in the picture above.  This Kellogg garden soil comes in a huge bag that will cover 3 cubic feet.  In English -  it will cover about the length and width of your average picnic table if you make it about as deep as your middle finger.  See there are other good  (I mean better) uses for that finger.  If you want to make the soil deeper obviously you will need a smaller picnic table.  Spread the contents of the bag out on dirt that you have moistened pretty well.  I said moist not muddy, if you can plaster a house with it you got it too wet. Then use a large pitch fork or hoe to mix it in with the dirt. What it will do is add nutrients to your dirt, making it soil that will not only be healthier but will keep the moisture content more consistent.  Actually that is the gauge that I use to judge how deep/thick to make the amendment, is by how well the new soil hangs onto the water. If it still has that silty, baby powder texture that turns into clay I will add more.  The Kellogg garden soil can be found at Home Depot. I haven't check the prices recently but at one time it was the cheaper choice when figuring in cost per foot.
Having soil that retains moisture well is important. Whether you amend your soil with something like the Kellogg mix or you just top the area with a mulch after planting, you want to hang onto as much water as possible.  In fact when I amended my soil I was more concerned about keeping the water in than I was  about nutrients.  Water in So Cal is expense. We are in a perpetual drought. If you don't do something to maximize your water use it is going to cost you a fortune.
I just got my non-hybrid seeds today so I will be planting soon.  If you are going to amend your soil then do that this week so we can all plant together next week.

In the beginning there was dirt.

I went to a networking for professionals event last week and I learned that a blog is born about every 1/2 a second. After only a week and now two posts I think that makes my blog at least middle age. Gosh by next week it will be OLD and by the end of the month it could become the subject of an archeological dig.
Hey speaking of digging (keep up we're switching gears), have you started pulling weeds and/or clearing your space yet?   March is here so it is time to start figuring out where in your yard you are going to plant. Make sure the area you pick gets at least  6 hours of sun everyday, however 8 hours is best for optimum growth.  Try to stay as far away from brick walls as you can, they can create heat and cold extremes in your garden which will cause poor plant growth, and diminish vegetable production. If  there is no way around a brick wall then plant low to the ground plants like bush beans, root veggies (carrots,potatoes etc.) broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage nearest the wall and taller plants like tomatoes and cucumbers farther away if possible. 
Next start thinking about what you want to plant and does your budget allow for young plants or seeds.  Plant what you will eat.  If you don't like bell peppers then don't plant them.  I can't tell you how many baskets of chili peppers my neighbor Lydia got from me one year because I had no idea what to do with them.  Actually Lydia didn't either but I heard her mom sure did! Those chili plants looked really cute in the garden but they weren't practical and not everyone has a Lydia.  Don't be wasteful no matter how cute the red chilies are.  
If this is your first garden start small to avoid overwhelming yourself and your neighbors. Because what you can't eat you are going to try to pawn off on them and then you are going to need more than a Lydia. You are going to need an Alice, a Melissa, a Kathy and maybe even a Cindy.  They are mine, you can not have them.  Also the more complicated you make your garden the less likely you are to actually maintain it.  That is a fact. You are either going to quit before you even get started or you are going to end up with more stuff than you can handle, annoyed by the amount of money you have spent and overwhelm yourself to burnout before the first green bean sprouts. I know what I'm talking about.  A couple of years ago I graduated from gardening to farming.  I had the space so I felt an obligation to fill it.  I found myself wishing for barnyard animals, rabbits, deer or anything I could allow in there to blame on the demise of my abundant undertaking.  I didn't want to look like a quitter after all but I was exhausted.  Moral - gardening, farming know the difference and know your limits! I am a gardener once again, farming was not for me. 
A good rule to follow is clear enough ground for planting that you are willing to pull weeds from and regularly maintain in the coming months.  If you can only work in your garden a couple of days a week then keep it fairly small.  

A big concern for most gardeners is healthy soil.  Unfortunately when I hear talk about nitrogen and phosphorus content, alkalinity, or soil testing my eyes start to cross.  Yes I know healthy soil begets healthy plants.  They say the same thing about healthy eating producing healthy children, but after 7 months of being able to eat little more than watermelon with my first child, he turned out fine!  Sadly the watermelon diet doesn't work for gardens but there are other just as simple solutions. 

The first couple of years I had a garden I couldn't afford a bunch of soil amendments, I could barely afford to buy the seeds. I just planted them in the dirt that the good Lord gave me and you know what? everything grew just fine. I had tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and zucchini and they all did great! No fancy testing, no pricey amendments just a little liquid plant food, when I could remember to use it. Yep it can be that simple.  And if that is all you have time for, then I give you permission to not make it complicated.  Of course some of you may be ready to venture into soil improvement, so I will talk about that next week. Even when you decide to start adding things to improve the soil there are some really easy things you can do.

For now the recent rains have softened the ground for optimal weed pulling. Couple that with the low temperatures and you have got yourself the perfect time to build a relationship with your dirt. Go on, get your butt out the door before it warms up.