In My Cottage Garden — Happy Earth Day!
By Linda Kellen Biegel
How are you celebrating? My Earth Day celebration involves the fact that the snow is gone off of the raised beds!
Of course, we can see exactly how trashy we left the place before the snow flew (note the unrolled hose).
I haven’t quite ventured out there yet because it’s a total swamp at the moment (you can see a little standing water in the picture). Luckily, this is the south side of the yard which dries up much faster. I’m dying to do get out there and do something, but there isn’t much need at the moment. While I have all of the brassica family seeds I plan to put directly in the soil, I’m waiting for my order of garden fabric so that I can cover them after they are in the ground. The nights are still quite chilly (in the 30’s) and it seems that the only place I’ve found that sells the fabric locally, Alaska Mill and Feed, only does so in 150 ft rolls.
On the north side, Josh started using his “pumping system” last week…a sump pump in a bucket sunk into a hole with a hose extending to the street to get rid of the water. He turns it on a few times a day and we’ve noticed a HUGE difference in the standing water in, not only our yard, but I believe our neighbor’s yards as well. The summer before he first tried this, the neighbor in the back had a nasty pond full of mosquito eggs up until about July. That next spring, the pond was gone by late May and we noticed a huge decline in mosquitoes that next summer. Of course, this is not a scientific conclusion but all of our yards are small enough that what one person does really effects the others. I belive that if Josh didn’t pump the water, our mosquito population would be huge.
As you can see, my seeds are also making good progress.
Baby Sage
Even the slower-germinating strawberries are happy little seedlings:
Strawberry Seedlings
Of course, some of the seedlings are about ready for transplant:
I’ve bought several containers meant to be used with my future 10’X 21′ hoop house. We should be able to get started on that in a little over a week. We’re saving out enough from the dedicated-to-bills tax refund for the hoop house and the garden.
I guess my thoughts regarding Earth Day revolve around the things I’ve learned this year. Workshops by folks like Eliot Coleman, Tim Meyers, Dohnn Wood, Verna Pratt, etc…have convinced me that we need to stop treating this as a hobby and more like an investment…an investment in the family. The more food I can grow using the least overhead possible (i.e. starting my own seeds, organic practices) while doing the most I can to extend the season is a big improvement for our diet and our pocketbook. Committing myself to cooking our meals mostly from what we grow in the garden while it’s available will also make all of the difference. I want to be able to show that anyone can do “urban farming” anywhere…even in a trailer park.
As always, comments are for any gardening or agricultural issue you want to discuss.
Note: For those of you who might have missed it, (it wasn’t up very long) here is last week’s Cottage Garden post on Dohnn Wood’s presentation to The Anchorage Garden Club. He has many season-extending tips and innovative ideas.
Alaska Gardening & Agriculture News:
There were two articles on Gardening in the Anchorage Daily News.
—Sheila Toomey and Marya Morrow wrote a nice article on Alaska-friendly perennials.
—Jeff Lowenfels column was on gardening “crazes.” It looks like organic gardening may be here to stay.
Mastergardener Jeff Lowenfels also discusses a wide variety of gardening issues on his Anchorage KBYR AM 700 radio program “Garden Party” Saturday’s from 10:00 am to noon. You can also Listen Live on the Web.
–There was also a really interesting piece regarding one Palmer chef’s vision of grazing livestock and a thriving Valley meat industry.
Alaska Garden Clubs:
–Ketchikan Gardening Club is having a “Potting Party” April 28th.
This is a wonderful book, and it is free on Kindle! If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free app for your phone or computer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P9XC30/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
The book, “The Seasons on Henry’s Farm”, is a look at one year in the life of an extended family’s organic farm. Just chock full of great information along with a darned good story. Great chapters about their hoop houses, too.
We too are in the thawing and draining stage of the spring. With snow still off in the corners and in the tundra but spring is definately here.
I am giving leeks another serious try this spring, along with some artichokes. The tomato seedlings have been transplanted into larger pots and a few more weeks of warm before going out into the high tunnels.
More seedlings are under the LED lights and the last spring seed order is going in within the week.
Linda…I too have to look at all the expenses for seeds, starter materials and lights as an investiment in our overall health. Given there is so much to be aware of in our food sources doing more of our own can’t hurt.
I also have to think they less we ship in has to help the overall health of the earth too. Nice to have our Sunday garden post…I peek in all day until I see it:-)
We went to a Green Expo for Earth Day, although Friday was our big Earth Day event. We brought an ethical fashion display to a large corporation’s Earth Day Fair, and it was terrific. Tuesday is work-in-the-garden day; ought to be fun.
We came into the year with stage 1 drought restrictions hanging over from last year. With no rain lately we head for stage 2 restrictions. That doesn’t bother people who can afford the fines, they water any way.
I have only 2 raised beds, with flowers. I can’t raise veggies with my back problem. I spend time pulling oak sprouts from the one bed. Wish I had some where to plant them and make a forest of trees. 🙂
I came home from work to this post and its lovely celebration of new beginnings – what a treat!
We have had a series of brown bag lunch presentations by our local Master Gardeners here in the last few months which have really revved me up to expand use of Eliot Coleman’s methods in light of experience local people have had
http://www.seakmg.org/Past-Event-Info.html
The films of the Feb and March events are good- wishing the Jan one had been filmed as my notes are almost unreadable (agh) and it was a jam packed informational session.
Happy gardens to all!
oops- DEC one on greens was the biggie!
Merry, the white picket fence around the box is to discourag the cats. It seems to work.
I planted corn, carrots, peas, beans and edamame this week. I also put out two early tomato plants. Thursday, I picked red lettuce, romane and spinach. First for this year. I have more to plant and more to go get at the nursery. I’m not having much luck with starting my own seeds. Between the feral cats using the trays for litter boxes, loss to damping off and me forgetting to either water, cover or uncover, I’m going to need a hand.
It’s all a learning process. Our local public television station has been showing all kinds of cool shows and documentaries about gardening and sustainable farming. I’ve been enjoying them.
Try the dusting of cinnamon on your soil which one commenter mentioned a couple garden threads back for damping off- I looked round and there is a fair amount of literature which supports it as a remedy.
Also, too, even, and as well- I snap bamboo garden stakes in half and stick them at competing angles in soil with seedlings and/or emerging perennials to keep neighborhood kitties out of my beds. I yank em out when stuff is up and filling the beds.
It is not as attractive as Linda’s lil picket fences but it works and creates opportunities for making-stuff-up when people ask about em 🙂
Currently I’m calling them garden performance art…
Your raised bed reminds me of the Eklutna Spirit Houses!