The Modern Victory Garden

I am off from work this week and alternating some days spent at home and in the garden with some days away doing fun things with my family.   Had some commitments this morning to keep but spent the afternoon working in the garden.   The broccoli (Premium Crop) and the swiss chard (Bright Lights) seedlings needed to be transplanted out.   I have been hardening them off for the past several days and they were definitely ready to go into the ground.               

I did a quick cultivation and raking of the soil in the bed area to be planted and then used a stick to mark out a grid of 1-foot spaces in an area 5 feet long by 4 feet wide.             

The broccoli plants (20 of them) were then transplanted into the bed and copper collars for slug management were placed around the stems.   These were then watered well and given some protection by putting the grow tunnel cover back up over the bed.         

The swiss chard seedlings (16 of them) were similarly planted up in an 8-foot section of the largest vertical grow bed.                                           

After lunch I got started on the big 2010 potato experiment.   I have been growing potatoes successfully for some time now in raised boxed edge beds using a trenching method.   This trenching method produces a reliable harvest but also wastes valuable growing real estate with the wide spacing between trenches.   The yields I have been getting are good but not superior and I have decided to up my game this year with the potato patch and see if I can significantly increase my harvest amounts per 100 square feet.   I already know my trenching method equals or exceeds the bin, furrow, and heavy mulching methods for production, so I am not going to waste time reverting back to any of those methods.   What I have decided to do instead is give the John Jeavon's method a try.   This entails doing a double dig and planting the potatoes on top of the loosened soil at the bottom of each trench and then covering it with the soil from the next trench to be dug.   The seed potatoes are buried much more deeply right from the beginning (approximately 9 inches or more) but in really loose soil resulting from the double dig.   You do not hill or add more layers, which is appealing in that once planted it is a relatively no fuss method of planting.   The initial planting is more work though since you are double digging the bed as you go.   If the bed has been previously double dug then it really should be fairly easy work.

Before I get too much further in describing this I must post a disclaimer – I have never used this method and do not know anyone personally who has ever done this.   I would encourage anyone interested in this to watch how this goes for me first before committing yourself in any fashion to planting this way.   I am willing to gamble a bit and just dive in and do it because the basic methodology makes good sense to me and is in keeping with the other biointensive methods I employ.   However, I don’t want anyone to think that this is a tried and true method for me because it is not.     I am taking a calculated gamble that this will work and feel fairly confident that it will, however there is the niggling worry about the potato shoots having to grow such a long ways before finally breaking through the surface of the soil.    Disclaimer completed, I will get on with describing how this works!  

The potatoes are planted with a spacing of 9 inches between them.   The next row over is approximately nine inches from the first and the spuds are offset from the prior row to create a diamond pattern.   A while ago I made a planting board for this purpose - which has spacing marked at 9 inch intervals on one edge, and the same intervals marked on the other edge but offset.                                 

The bed was prepared last weekend by placing rock minerals (rock phosphate and greensand), organic all purpose fertilizer, and compost on the surface of the entire bed.   To get started with the planting today I needed a garden spade, a garden fork, a garden rake, the planting board, a standing board (to distribute weight and minimize the soil compaction in the bed while double digging), and a wheelbarrow to hold the soil removed from the first trench.                      

Standing on the board, I use the spade to remove soil across the width of the bed, creating a trench that is approximately as wide as the spade and as deep.      

The soil from this first trench is placed in the wheelbarrow and set aside to be used at the very last step to fill in the final trench.                   

The garden fork is then used to loosen the soil at the bottom of the trench by digging into the soil and lifting.   Since this bed has been double dug before the soil is not that compacted and the digging was relatively easy to do.   It’s been four years now since I originally double dug this bed and I am encouraged by the good tilth and quality of the soil in the bed.              

The planting board is laid next to the trench and seed potatoes are then placed in the bottom of the trench to line up with the marks on the board.    

The planting board is then reversed so it is ready for the next trench.   Standing on the board again, the next trench is then dug with the soil being placed into the first trench.                                               

The bottom of that trench is again loosened using the fork and then the planting board is placed next to it and the seed potatoes are again put into the bottom of the trench.     Because the board was reversed, the potatoes are placed in an alternating pattern to the first trench’s potato placement.       

The process is then repeated for the third and each subsequent trench until you are completed.                           

I have a 32 foot bed that I am planting up in potatoes and to avoid undue stress on my back, I am pacing myself with the planting process.   Today I completed an 8-foot section of the bed or 1/4th of it.   I used a rake to smooth and level the soil over the bed sections I had completed.              

A side benefit of this method is that the planting bed is given a rejuvenating double dig in the process.  This picture does not do full justice to the quality and texture of the soil in this bed - it is really outstanding.                       

I will be working on this periodically over the remainder of the week to get this planting up process completed.   Then, as the growing season progresses, I will provide updates on how this is going.   Hopefully this will work as described - but if not, then I will have to resort to purchasing potatoes for one year.   Would not be happy about that but it would not be the end of the world either.   Wish me luck!

Today was a full day of garden related activity.   The weather was not particularly good (off and on rain all day) but I managed to catch the short window of time this morning that it was not raining and got some bed prep work completed that needed to be done.   First, I applied rock minerals (greensand and rock phosphate) at the rate of 6 lbs per 100 square feet to all garden beds except for one - which currently has crops planted in it.   I will use up the last of my rock mineral supply to do this bed just before I plant it up with potatoes (about a month from now).   In addition, I broadcasted plain alfalfa pellets over several beds that previously had a green manure crop but did not have an application of compost.   Alfalfa pellets are a good soil conditioner - adding organic matter plus nitrogen and other nutrients too.   A 50 lb bag is quite inexpensive and can be purchased at most livestock feed supply stores.                              

You may recall that about a month ago (January 10th) I attempted a salvage operation on the bed of overwintered spinach.   I had failed to get it covered with a grow tunnel prior to our deep freeze in December and then to add insult to significant injury - the marauding rabbit ate most of what remained of the feeble plants.   My salvage attempt included covering it with a grow tunnel and giving it a drink of fish emulsion tea.   Well, today my assessment was that the few plants that had revived were not worth the effort to keep nursing along.   I pulled all of the plants out and composted them.  The grow tunnel cover has definitely warmed up the soil in that particular section of garden though and I intend to take advantage of that and do a very early sowing of spring spinach.   Today I did the bed prep necessary to get ready for such a direct seeding.   I pulled the grow tunnel cover off long enough to do the re-mineralization (greensand and rock phosphate) and to broadcast the bed area with organic all purpose fertilizer.   I used a hoe to cultivate it all into the top six inches of soil - removing any remaining plants and weeds as I went.   Before putting the grow tunnel cover back on, I raked and watered the bed.   Since it has been covered with a grow tunnel for over a month now, it was getting dried out.   I will check the soil temperature in the bed tomorrow afternoon and if it looks good (at least 45 degrees) I will plant it up with spinach using one of my new planting jigs (the 4 inch spacing one).                

Before I did the bed amendment process, I removed the remaining over wintered kale plants.   They were still producing fairly well but I have new kale plants that went into the greenhouse today that will soon be harvestable and these were in the way.   The plants provided a nice final harvest and combined with a few fresh harvested carrots made a good addition to tonight's dinner menu.             

While I was working in the garden, I noticed that the blueberries and the bush pie cherries have significant bud and bloom swell occurring.   These are a few branches of the bush pie cherries.                                   

By the time I finished up with the outside chores it was starting to rain pretty hard and I was getting quite wet.   Luckily, the remaining items on my to do list were indoor items.   First up, I needed to plant the kale and Chinese cabbages in one of the half-barrel containers in the greenhouse.             

Moving these out of the shop to their permanent location in the greenhouse - made room in the shop to do the seedling shuffle necessary to get ready for the next big round of seed starting scheduled for today.   The tray of pac choi, lettuces, and onions were moved to the overflow light set up (much smaller and no heat pad) where they will stay for about a week before moving out to the greenhouse to start the hardening off process.   With that move, that left only one full tray of other previously started seedlings under the main light setup.   This left enough room to add the three full trays of seedlings I started today. Here's a run down of what went into those trays.

• Six 6-packs tomato - Celebrity
• Two 6-packs tomato - Cherokee Purple
• Four 6-packs tomato - Early Girl
• Three 6-packs tomato - Fantastic
• Two 6-packs tomato - Market Miracle
• Seven 6-packs tomato - Oroma
• Four 6-packs broccoli - Premium Crop
• Two 6-packs celery - Red
• Two 6-packs celery - Utah 52-70 Improved
• Four 6 packs swiss chard - Bright Lights

The areas under the lights are completely full right now.   In about two weeks I will need to start the basil and peppers but by then one of the trays will be ready to rotate out to the overflow light set up and I should be good to go.  

I got lots accomplished today and am ready to relax and enjoy an evening of watching the winter Olympics.

There are many of us who have limited space availability for food production gardening and yet still manage to produce a tremendous amount of our own food supply.   This post is the final segment of a blog series devoted to exploring the many techniques available to optimize food production gardening.   There are quite a few topics that relate to this pursuit - including (among others):

• Crop Selection
• Intensive Planting Practices
• Season Extension
• Soil Management & Fertility

Focusing on Crop Selection kicked off the blog series, which was then followed by a four-part exploration of Intensive Planting Practices - including the topics of Raised Beds, Closely Spaced Planting, Intercropping & Succession Planting, and Vertical Growing.   The next segment was devoted to a discussion of Season Extension and now this week we will wrap the series up by talking about the topic of Soil Management and Fertility.   You can see all of these blog series posts by selecting "Blog Series" from the Categories in the side bar menu on the right side of the screen.                    

Soil Management and Fertility -                                                   

Soil is so much more than just an anchor for our plants to grow from.     It’s a living breathing environment that if carefully tended will continue to provide garden production for future years, despite intense planting practices.   Soil that is regularly replenished with organic matter and depleted nutrients will ensure that the food we harvest is truly nutrient dense.   On the other hand, poor soil management generally results in more plant diseases, declining production levels, poor water percolation and moisture retention, crops that do not contain maximum nutrient potential, and plants that generally fail to thrive.                     

There are three main points I personally focus on as it relates to soil management and fertility.

1. It is incredibly important to replenish organic matter in the soil.
2. The structure of the soil and it’s layers should be maintained – or at least as much as is possible within the artificial environment of the garden.
3. Vegetables and fruit plants deplete the soil of nutrients, which must be replenished to maintain fertility of the garden beds.

The Importance of Replenishing Organic Matter

Decaying and decomposing organic matter in the soil provides several important benefits.   First, it releases nutrients as the decomposition process occurs – both major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur) as well as others generally referred to as trace minerals.   Second, the organic matter itself acts like a sponge to hold water (needed by our plants) and prevents soil particles from densely compacting down (particularly clay or silt soils) which then pushes out air (also needed by our plants).   As gardeners we want the organic matter to decompose to provide the nutrient benefits, but that same decomposition process means that the organic matter must be periodically replenished or we face reduced soil fertility and declining soil structure.   If we do nothing else for our gardens, regularly adding organic matter is probably the most effective action we can take.   As a general rule, we need to strive to keep organic matter at 4% to 5% levels in our soil.   This translates into an annual addition of approximately a ¼ inch of compost (or equivalent organic matter) to replenish what is lost through normal decomposition processes.   A new or depleted bed that needs rejuvenating will benefit from greater amounts being added.   Hot and/or wet climates will also benefit from greater additions of organic matter than the general rule, because heat and moisture speed up decomposition.                                   

Adding organic matter must be done thoughtfully because high carbon organic matter that is added directly to the soil will initially utilize all available nitrogen to break down and if plants are in that bed too, they will be robbed of needed nitrogen until the carbonaceous material has largely decomposed.   One method to deal with that is to compost materials in piles and then add the finished compost to the garden.   However, some of the nutrients from the decomposition process in compost piles is lost in the form of leaching and off gassing - particularly cold compost piles that are just heaped and allowed to naturally decompose over a fairly long period of time.   Hot composting (which requires frequent turning and careful balancing of the nitrogen to carbon ratios) is more effective in that it reduces the amount of lost nutrients but requires considerably more attention and work.   Green manure crops can also provide needed organic matter replenishment.   Turning a green manure crop over into the soil several weeks prior to the bed being used for crops – allows the vegetation to decompose sufficiently before the plants are introduced into the bed.   The warmer the soil, the shorter the time needed to finish that first major decomposition process.   When I turn my winter cover crops over in the very early spring, I try to do it six weeks prior to the planned planting date for the bed because the soil is so cold that the decomposition process is achingly slow.   One can also compost directly in the garden bed (known as sheet composting) but again, it must be done in advance of planting to ensure that nitrogen is available for decomposition but not at the expense of a crop planted in the bed.               

(bucket of finished compost)                

Maintaining Soil Structure

Soil is actually a delicate living substance.   It’s ability to hold sufficient water (without getting water logged), and provide nutrients through organic matter decomposition and from living organisms feeding and excreting “stuff” - is very much a function of it being maintained properly.   Microbial activity in soil is what makes all this magic happen and sufficient organic matter to fuel it is the primary input.   The other major soil management task (after sufficiently replenishing organic matter) is to protect the soil structure from excessive compaction and excessive tillage.   The living web in soil is extremely important in that it works in symbiosis with roots to improve uptake of water, air, and nutrients.   Heavy duty tilling on a regular (annual) basis and walking on garden bed soils both have the affect of damaging the soil structure and disrupting the microbial activity in the soil.   Once a raised bed has been prepared initially, it really should not need more than an annual aeration with a broadfork and a cultivation of the top few inches with a three-tined cultivator to mix in compost, fertilizers, and to create a fine textured bed for direct seeding.   Compaction will naturally occur just from gravity, rain, snow, etc but the annual aeration process with a broadfork helps to counter those forces.                                                    

(broadfork)                       

If soil is composed of heavy clay (which is inclined to compact readily), or has suffered from other compacting activity, then it may require another double dig process to rejuvenate it.   Luckily, digging a bed subsequent to the first bed-establishing dig is much easier and faster than an initial double dig process.   Walking on the soil or using a rototiller is obviously not the end of the universe, but avoiding both has been proven to increase soil fertility and soil health.            

Replenishing Nutrients

While regular additions or organic matter to the garden provides nutrients for plants (both macro and micro), the depletion of nutrients by heavy feeding plants (such as corn) can outpace the slow and low level release of nutrients provided by decomposing organic matter.   In addition, not all compost or organic matter is created equally.   The inputs to the compost pile, the care by which it was tended, and the amount of heat and rain it was subjected to – all determine it’s relative value as a provider of nutrient replenishment.   In general, most of us do not have the skills or inputs available to ensure our compost contains a uniformly consistent and properly balanced level of nutrients.    Many of our common vegetable garden crops are classified as medium to heavy “feeders” and can place a significant demand on the available nutrients in our garden beds.   I have found a three-pronged approach to nutrient replenishment works best for me.   First, I add lots of organic matter through either compost or green manure crops.   Second, I add rock minerals to the soil when initially establishing a bed and then periodically re-mineralize the beds about every three years or so thereafter.   I add rock phosphate powder (phosphorous), and green sand (potassium and many trace minerals) at the rate of about 10 pounds per 100 square feet for the initial application – generally less in later additions.   I also use dolomitic lime when the soil ph needs raising - which adds calcium and magnesium while affecting the soil ph as needed.   If the soil ph needs lowering I use garden sulfur (which as the name implies adds sulfur!).            

(rock powders)             

Rock powders are long-term resources that provide needed nutrients slowly over time.   Because these rock powders break down so slowly, it is difficult to put too much into your garden - so if you get heavy handed you will only be wasting some money rather than potentially harming your soil and plants, which can happen with a heavy handed application of organic or chemical fertilizers.   Finally, I use organic fertilizers and fish or kelp emulsion drenches to provide a more fast acting nutrient replenishment or to specifically add more nitrogen or phosphorus for plants that require more of those nutrients.   I generally use a general-purpose balanced organic fertilizer when I first plant up a bed in the spring or when transplanting out seedlings – adding more nitrogen (generally leafy greens) or phosphorous sources (fruiting or root crops) if the crop needs one or the other in larger amounts.   Good nitrogen sources are alfalfa pellets (50lb bags from the feed store are fairly inexpensive), blood meal, or fishmeal.   A good phosphorous sources is bone meal.   I use fish emulsion or kelp emulsion drenches to give a mid season fertility boost if a crop indicates it needs something more – otherwise, I generally no longer use a mid season side dressing of fertilizer.   I have found it to be generally unnecessary once soil has been sufficiently amended and improved – particularly if rock powders are used and organic matter is kept high.                               

There are certainly many more aspects to soil management and fertility than this brief discussion has touched upon, but these three elements are from my perspective the most important to pay attention to.   What are some of the methods and practices you use to manage soil health and provide nutrient replenishment?