Gardening Snafus

The idea of starting a garden seems like a simple one. Add soil, seeds and water and PRESTO! You have a garden. That process in our case did not go as planned. Below is the best word I've found so far to describe our progress:

Snafu: a normal situation that has become foul.

Our garden project had created a buzz of excitement (ok, so maybe only in my ears, but excitement nonethess). Isaiah, the trusted Ag Assistant went with me to examine the rototiller I had spotted in our shop last week. While looking it over, it suddenly occured to me that assuming this dilapidated machine actually worked was a bit presumptious. It's origins where unknown, and it had come from a department store that has been defunct for over 10 years.

We filled the machine up with gas, and then tried to figure out how to start the thing. About 15 minutes into examining it, we realized the string hanging on the handle should be untied, and wrapped around a wheel on the front of the machine and pulled. On the 8th try (after much coughing) it actually started. Hooray! We were ready to till. We wheeled the machine out to the site and then tried to figure out how to get the tines into the ground...which was when we realized an essential part was missing: the belt connecting the motor to the tines. By this time it was 4:00 p.m. and we had to quit for the day.

The new plan is to have my father (who lives down the street and has been begged) come down with his rototiller and help till the bed tomorrow. If all goes well, we should be working on connecting the irrigation next week. Of course, this is assuming the irrigation parts in the shop are everything we need...maybe I should be planning for a spring garden?

Demo School Garden

I've been working with school gardens for about 5 years, and I'm often asked how to start one. These questions prompted me to begin the installation of a small garden at my work site. It's dimensions will total about 300 square feet. I will be blogging about it here as well as taking photo and video footage of the site.

I'm using the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew to design the garden. The book was was first published in 1981, and it's innovative methods have inspired many gardeners.

Often school and community gardens are created with great enthusiasm, only to fall into disrepair and weediness. Much of this has to do with overplanting, something Mr. Bartholomew's book discusses. Although a packet of carrot seeds contains over 1,500 seeds, don't be tempted to plant all of them at once. The work involved in thinning is eliminated using the square foot gardening method. Thinning your crops is the greatest chore in many gardens aside from weeding. In Square Foot Gardening, gardeners plant less seeds and enjoy their garden more.

You'll be able to watch the creation of the garden through the photos posted here. Please feel free to comment and share your experiences.

Growing Carrots

(photo by Aziz Bauameur)

As both a horticulturist and a gardener, I’m constantly on the lookout for new and exciting vegetable varieties. An article in Small Farm News (Volume 2, 2007) regarding carrots by Aziz Bauameur recently caught my attention.

The University of California Cooperative Extension is researching the performance of various carrot types to determine their yield in a small farm setting. The carrots in the study include shades of white, red, green, yellow, purple and almost black. The reason carrots in grocery stores today are orange dates back to the 15th century. During this time, the Netherlands was in a struggle for independence. The House of Orange developed the orange carrot as a patriotic emblem. The color stuck, and orange remains the most popular carrot color in the Western part of the world.

Locally, I visited several nurseries and garden centers looking for unusual seed colors. I didn't have much luck, but did find a seed packet called “Rainbow” which is a blend of orange, white and yellow carrot varieties. Nursery employees assured me that colorful carrot seeds can be ordered upon request. They can also be found online at Kitchen Garden Seeds, Territorial Seed Company or Kitazawa Seed Company. Each of these companies has a great selection colored carrots. However, at this time I have been unable to locate sources of green or black carrot variety seeds.

In my garden I will be growing “Purple Dragon,” “Atomic Red,” “Yellowstone,” “Snow White,” “Solar Yellow,” “Lunar White,” “Purple Haze,” and “Kyoto Red.”

I’m using Mel Bartholomew’s "Square Foot Gardening" as a guide for planting carrots. He advises not to overplant, which often happens when planting seed. When seeds sprout, many gardeners are overwhelmed with the chore of thinning. Although carrot seeds are tiny, the author does not advise sprinkling them along a row. Instead, in an area that is 4'x4', he divides the plot into 16, 1’squares by tracing it with a finger. He adds a single seed to each small square and covers it lightly.

Carrot seeds germinate best when soil has good drainage and is free of dirt clods. Add compost to the soil and mix to a depth of at least 12 inches. Keep soil moist while seeds sprout, as this can take up to 2 weeks. Carrot seeds can be easily washed away, so water lightly. During this warm month of August, do not let the soil crack or crust over.

We will be installing a school garden demonstration plot here at the Cooperative Extension behind our building. I’ll be blogging about its progress as well as the carrot patch at here. Please feel free to make comments or detail your experiences with growing carrots or gardening in general. Or send me an e-mail at aschellman@ucdavis.edu

Bug Collecting

Photo by John Bokma
One early spring morning as I approached my office door, I spotted a huge black bumble bee on the ground. It had died in such a graceful state, that it inspired me to start a bug collection.

I showed the gorgeous specimen to my boss, who informed me that my bumble bee was actually a female carpenter bee. The way to tell a female carpenter bee from a bumble bee is to look at the abdomen. The abdomen of the carpenter bee is shiny with fringes of hairs on some segments. The bumble bee has a fuzzy abdomen.

The female carpenter bee is mostly solitary, and spends its days foraging for nectar among flowers. The male carpenter bee spends his time defending the home, although ironically he does not have a stinger, but his aggressive behavior wards off most would-be predators.

The bees make their home in wood that has depressions or cracks in it. This makes it easier for them to chew their tunnels, which can be up to 10 feet long! Here is a photo of both specimens from my collection:

If you would prefer not to have these bees living in wood near your home, avoid keeping extra wood near your house, and paint over depressions in wood-based structures. For more information, see UC publication:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7417.html

School Gardens

School gardens have existed since the advent of kindergarten (1840). Activity-based learning was the idea of educator Friedrich Froebel. He believed that observing and nurturing plants in a garden stimulated a child's awareness of the natural world.

The development of childhood obesity in our society has prompted educators to look at school gardens with renewed interest. A garden can easily become an "outdoor classroom" where students learn about history, literature, math, reading and writing. It's also a place where they can develop healthier eating choices by growing their own food. Current UC Davis research proves this, in the work of Morris and Zidenberg-Cherr's which shows that 4th grader's school knowledge of nutrition and preferences for some vegetables can be enhanced by using garden-based curriculum. There are many other studies that show how growing food helps children make healthier food choices and exposes them to food they may not have tried before.

I've recently taken a part-time position to advocate better eating and nutrition through the use of school gardens. I will be visiting local schools and demonstrating the use of UC Davis curriculum to teachers. Researchers aim to make curriculum easy to use, while basing it on California State Standards. The idea is to help teachers fulfill their duties while at the same time addressing the issues of obesity. For more information, contact me at aschellman@ucdavis.edu

Insects in Your Garden

In California, more than 30,000 types of insects are known. In spring, it may seem that most of them are in your backyard. This is because warm temperatures are ideal for many insect lifecycles. After just a few warm days, large populations can hatch and inhabit fruit trees, shrubs and vegetable beds. Aphids, for example, may seem to multiply overnight. Hoplia beetles are another insect frequently seen in the garden, especially on light colored roses.

While trying to eliminate these pests from your garden, remember that other insects live there too, and frequently consume insect pests. The use of insecticides, even organic ones, may have a negative impact on beneficials. Always read labels carefully, and avoid spraying when beneficial insects such as honeybees are active.

The number of destructive insects in general is actually quite small in comparison with those that are beneficial or neutral. Beneficial insects eat pests, pollinate crops and decompose waste material. These insects include ladybugs, preying mantids, spiders, assassin bugs, and ground beetles.

Beneficial insects feed in two ways: predation or parasitism. Predation is the method most gardeners are familiar with, the typical ladybug eating an aphid. Parasitism is not as easy to spot. To find an example, observe that same population of aphids, but look closer. If you see small, round, papery-thin objects with a tiny hole, you’ve spotted an example of parasitism. This remnant was actually an aphid, and is now known as a “mummy.” When it was alive, this aphid was parasitized by a tiny wasp (not the same kind that inflicts a painful sting). The wasp laid an egg inside the aphid, the egg hatched, fed on the aphid from inside, and then crawled out, leaving a small exit hole.

Spiders are another creature commonly found in the garden, and sometimes the house. They are not considered insects, but are in a class known as arachnids. Spiders are excellent predators and can be very helpful in the garden. Two “spiders” that are often confused are the harvestman (not a true spider) and the cellar spider.

Harvestman and Cellar Spider

Both of these creatures are reputed to have poisonous venom, which is not true. The harvestman does not have venom, and the cellar spider’s venom is harmless to humans.

In closing, knowledge is the key to overcoming myth and fear. Now that you know how harmless these two species are, having them in your garden or home might be considered a bonus. :)

Garden Journals

Growing vegetables is hard work, and should not be attempted by couch potatoes, according to Robert Norris, a retired weed science professor from UC Davis. Norris has been gardening in the Central Valley for over 30 years, and through trial and error, has discovered many valuable insights. I had the opportunity to hear him speak in Stockton this past week.

What impressed me most about Norris’ presentation was that it was based on his garden journal. Every year he recorded planted varieties success and failure rates. He even kept track of how many pounds of vegetables harvested from each plant to help him determine the most productive varieties.

During his speech he made this interesting statement: “There is no such thing as a bad tomato year.” Norris noted that when many gardeners report low quantities of tomatoes harvested, tomato farmers never seem to have this problem. Why? “Farmers know which varieties to plant, while home gardeners are planting the wrong kinds of tomato.

When a tomato plant fails to “set”, the blossom drops off instead of developing into a fruit. As a horticulturist, I (the author) tell people this has to do with temperature fluctuations. During cold weather, a gardener can spray blossoms with a fruit setting hormone to prevent blossom drop; however, nothing can be done to prevent a tomato plant from dropping flowers when daytime temperatures exceed 92°F.

Norris has yet to have a bad crop of tomatoes, because he chooses varieties that have the ability to set fruit in hot weather, the most critical factor for ensuring a good harvest. Most heirloom varieties do not have this ability, which is why success with fruit set may be spotty.

Norris has had success with varieties such as Big Beef, Burpee 4th of July and Park’s Whopper. Local nurseries and garden centers also carry tomatoes successful in our area, such as Better Boy, Early Girl and Ace. Norris also mentioned that he only chooses tomato varieties with the acronyms VFNT or at least VFN in the name. This is because tomatoes are susceptible to verticillium and fusarium wilt, nematodes and the tobacco mosaic virus. Varieties with the mentioned acronyms are resistant to these problems.

None of Robert Norris’ work is University researched material, it’s simply information he has learned over his lifetime. He noted that it would be difficult for him to remember past gardening experience without the reference of his garden journal.

It’s easy to get stuck on a certain variety, for example my favorite, the heirloom tomato Brandywine. It tastes like it has been salted and is extremely juicy. Unfortunately, in certain years I have limited success in getting fruit set. So although I haven’t given up on Brandywine, I plant plenty of other varieties