Experiments in gardening

LocalHarvest & CSAs

2009-08-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

I found this awhile ago and thought it was pretty cool. It gives you the location of farms, farmer's markets, and community supported agriculture (CSA) throughout the US among other things. It provides a way to find healthy and environmentally friendly food.

One thing that I've been interested to try out is the CSA. If we participate in it, we pay X amount of money, and the farm/s will package a box of fresh organic groceries every week depending on what's available at the time. The box will either be delivered or can be picked up at a certain time weekly or bimonthly.

I have calculated it and figured that it can be fairly comparable to buying a week's worth of fruits and vegetables on my own. For example, according to this CSA at Garden of Eden, it costs $34.75/wk for a box for 2-3 people, $41/wk for a box for 4-5 people. So, if anyone's interested, we could try it out with the bigger box for around $20/wk/2 person, which is what I'm spending on groceries anyway.

Anyone interested?

Did I mention my new goal? I am going to buy whatever is on sale and try it in a new recipe.

2009-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

So today I'm going to do an experiment. Two actually. I just got some incredibly sweet and delicious raspberries. I barely had the self control to save three of them, which I plan to plant and see what happens. Also, last weekend in San Francisco, I had some pruning plums, which I only found once at the grocery store here, and are a lot more flavorful than your typical plum. Of course, I saved the pits and plan to plant those. I know fruit trees are supposed to be grafted, but I figure there is nothing to be lost in trying.

Announcement

2009-07-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

I think this is very relevant to our long-term goal here: There is a xeriscaping class at the Point Loma Walter Andersen on August 1st at 9am. We should totally go and ask questions.

HOWTO: Build A Milk Crate Toilet Composter

2009-07-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

Ugg. How normal people feel about compost heaps is how I feel about "humanure." Shudders. Although...
I bet with a slick enough marketing campaign you could market 'humanure' (although it needs a better name, like Closed Loop Plant Food - of the body for the ground) for a premium at whole foods. Or better yet, you could just get a bunch of poor people to crap in 'ecofriendly biodegradable whicker carry alls' and have a delivery service for rich, guilty people to fertilize their gardens with. Or rather, for their gardeners to deal with. Or they could just cut out the middle man, and just make sure their gardeners stop using the indoor plumbing... and let nature take its course.
Hehe, now I can't stop thinking of funny marketing names for human excrement:
Miracle Gross
Chocolate Nitrogen
Recycled Food
Chamber Pot brand Fertilizer
This Came From Someone's Butt! (tm)

Sent to you by Lokon via Google Reader:

HOWTO: Build A Milk Crate Toilet Composter

via Boing Boing Gadgets by Steven Leckart on 7/21/09

The folks at Homegrown Evolution, authors of The Urban Homestead, put together a great guide for creating one of these "humanure" Johns out of a five-gallon bucket, milk crate, seat, cable ties, and some scrap wood.

Assembly is straightforward and requires only basic tools, including a jigsaw or keyhole saw.

If you're going to try preparing poop-manure, be sure to read up beforehand.

If you're not interested in compost, this badboy could also make a fine emergency toilet.

Previously:

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Water Resistant Planting

2009-07-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have come across a dilemma. Grass. Having had a lawn of my own for around 6 months, I have seen first hand that lawns are as evil as environmentalists crack them out to be. It was doing great at first, but unbeknown to me, it was being automatically watered 7 minutes every single night of the week. Now it's being watered once a week for 20 minutes and looks terrible. I could go on a long rant about how horrible it is to waste all this water but I won't. I looking for a solution and having a hard time doing it. As dreadful as grass is, I'm having a hard time finding a replacement. Little compared with grass for its "stompability." Ice plant can be gorgeous but would be crushed by even the most dainty of feet. So far dymondia margaretae seems fairly promising. Here is a link to an article:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://freshdirt.sunset.com/images/2008/06/11/dymondia_04.jpg&imgrefurl=http://freshdirt.sunset.com/2008/06/dymondia-margar.html&usg=__pCqDZr_Me1FgKc2R3OigoKy6xUc=&h=308&w=465&sz=34&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=VxDK_OXB3AqlJM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddymondia%2Bmargaretae%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Wow; that was a lot longer than I was expecting! Anyway, I'm seriously considering this ground cover, but will have to seed it rather than plant it as I saw it at a nursery for around $15 for an 18"x18" box. That would add up quite quickly! Tiles/hardscape with planters and mini gardens also seems promising, yet potentially quite expensive...

Year 1 update 1

2009-07-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

New sugarbaby watermelon sprouts at day 8...I think. Will be planting them not this weekend, but the next.

Waltham butternut squashes at day 16 or so with their first true leaves! Will be planting them this weekend. I think I planted one of them too deep. I don't know.

I am also conducting an experiment on the roma tomatoes. Since romas are determinates, there is conflicting information on whether to prune or not. So, for three of them, I got rid of all side branches below the first flowers; the others I have left alone. Supposedly, that will strengthen the main stem. And we'll see how that goes.

Hyperlocavore Creates Yardsharing Connections [Garden]

2009-07-14T17:19:00.001-07:00

Not saying we'd want to be part of this, I think we probably have enough a good yard/people ratio as it stands without having to invite a bunch of hippies... still seems like a nifty project though and maybe we can meet people we can swipe sprouts from (hehehe).

Sent to you by Lokon via Google Reader:

Hyperlocavore Creates Yard-Sharing Connections [Garden]

via Lifehacker by Erin Schwendemann on 7/14/09

If you'd love to grow fresh veggies but live in an apartment with no yard or you're just too busy to maintain a garden of your own, web site Hyperlocavore connects you with an active yard-sharing community.

By allowing members to post classifieds for land, Hyperlocavore gives people who wouldn't normally have access to such amenities the ability to enjoy gardening and growing their own food.

Once you've become a pea (member), you can then create a pod (group) for an existing yard share, for requesting yard/garden partners, or for announcing you have a yard to share. If you're concerned about privacy, you can set up groups to use a moderated membership system; if not, you can allow anyone to join.

When your group is created, the next step is getting people together and gardening. If you need help with what works best in yard sharing, hit up their forums for yard-sharing best practices—lots of information on setting up and starting a local growing community.

Do you have any experience with yard sharing? Tell us what works and what doesn't in the comments.

Hyperlocavore

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Tomatoes

2009-07-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

Tomatoes can be divided into two types: determinates and indeterminates.

Indeterminates can grow and bear fruit throughout the whole summer season up till first frost or so. They grow like pseudo-vines, (I call them "pseudo" because they can't climb themselves.) so usually they seem some sort of support such as trellis or cage. They don't need to be pruned. Many cherry tomatoes are of this type.

Determinates tend to ripen their fruit all at once and then die. They are bushier and more compact. Can be trellised as well. There are conflicting accounts on whether these need to be pruned or not. Currently conducting an experiment right now. Will be reporting results.

As far as I know, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes are indeterminates, and romas are determinates. I've never planted determinates before, so what I wrote are simply what I read. I will update this with my experience at the end of the season.

Tomatoes are very versatile. Cherry and grape tomatoes are often eaten off the vine or in salads. Romas and other sauce tomatoes tend to have fewer seeds and more meat that when cooked, produce thicker sauces. The big ones such as beefsteak or celebrity are used more for general cooking or for slicing for sandwiches or hamburgers. However when cooked, they pretty much dissolve.

For my garden, I think it's a good idea to have a mixture of the three. Generally, two to three cherry or grape tomato plants are more than enough for one person to eat like a 6oz box a week. I know my mom has six cherry tomatoes plants (don't ask me why she planted that many when she self-professed that she hates small tomatoes), and they are producing enough tomatoes to fill a 16 oz box per day...if we bothered to pick them...which we don't...because it's too much work. So they languish on the vines. Oh well. This is my first year planting romas. I don't have enough experience yet with the other to advise on their yields.

Varieties of tomatoes that I planted this year:
Sweet 100 (cherry): high yield. Very sweet when ripened on the vines.
Beefsteak: not growing as big as I thought it would. Seems to need more water than others. Probably still need to tweak a few factors.
Roma: quite vigorous. Produces flowers and fruits rather easily.

Varieties of tomatoes I would like to try:
Celebrity (determinate): similar to beefsteak
Rosalita (grape tomato)
Sugary (grape tomato)
Momotaro: supposedly very good
Suncherry extra sweet (cherry)

I would definitely want to try different types of heirloom tomatoes each year and try to optimize yields for each variety.

Awesome nurseries

2009-07-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to do write about this for awhile. I found two great nurseries down in San Diego. One is the Walter Andersen Nursery which has two locations, one in Point Loma and another in Poway. The other is City Farmers Nursery. Both of these have excellent, knowledgeable staff who are friendly and happy to answer all questions. They also have a wide selection of plants, more so than places like Home Depot.

For the Walter Andersen Nursery, the staff are on a first name basis with the owner of the place. From talking to them, it seems like they have tried a lot of the products there. Hence, I do trust their recommendations for the plants. The types of products they carry are very similar to a regular nursery but with many more choices, especially in fertilizers. They also sell worms for vermiculture, something I'd definitely like to get started again.

City Farmers Nursery is on an acre and a half piece of land. It is family owned. In fact, the family lives right on the property. As far as I know, they own one horse, two goats, two coops of chickens, three tortoises, three rabbits, baby turkeys, a colony of bees, tilapia, and other varieties of fish. They practice aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture, the practice of raising fish, and hydroponics, growing plants in a watering medium. On the lot, they also have a patch of their own garden with corn, tomatoes, squashes, and other plants. They have a water garden section, succulents, bonzais, berries, tropicals, and, of course, vegetables.

When Kathryn and I went there, we met both Sophia and Bill, the owners. Sophia was extremely helpful in answering all of our questions about blueberries. She gave us a little manual to help us determine the difference between the different varieties. She did not try to sell us anything. In fact, she told us to just experiment with different things and see what happens. Bill was extremely friendly as well. He was manning the cash register and we chatted a bit about plants. Will definitely go back again if I need seeds.

On a completely separate note, I found out a while ago that each San Diego resident can pick up two cubic yards of mulch or compost if we self-load. That's 12 32-gallon trash bags worth of compost for each person. Total score.

2009-07-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

The temporary home of the new mint plants. There's a regular mint as well as a bunch of peppermint.

It seems like mints grow by rhizomes right underneath the soil. I dug some up and Patty told me to pull some more up. So I did, and hence the giant long thing in the back. I think as long as they can establish their roots in the next few days, they will be able to thrive...until they are moved to their permanent homes.

Oh yes, did I mention that I will be getting some worms? Very excited. Love worms and seeing things decompose.

Like minds

2009-07-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I found out that Sprite's friends have their own garden as well.

They grew some fruits such as avocadoes, kiwis, and mangoes from seed. It amazed me that it did not occur to me at all to grow what we want from seed. I now want to find the best avocado ever and sprout it.

Note to Kat: for the mangoes, if you'd like to try it, they said to scrape off the furry stuff around the outside of the mango pit. Dry it and split it open. The seed is inside. Then you can plant it. We should go on a perfect mango hunt. Also, they have extra kiwis plants if we want them. I have no idea whether kiwis are a tree, bush or vine.

Anyway, they also have various herbs including two types of mint. I'm going to see it we can get both.

It's amazing how many different varieties of vegetables are growing from their garden. They already have small watermelons growing. We are still waiting for ours to sprout, which I hope they will do soon.

I've also invited them to comment or maybe even guest author an entry. I think they have lots of different ideas, and we can all benefit from each other's experience.

Year 1 Beginning of summer crops

2009-07-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

These are the current edibles in the garden:

Six roma tomatoes. They are determinate, so no staking needed. Planted two weeks ago.

Garden beans. Seeds from my mom. Planted two weeks ago, and staked last night. I can't believe how great they look after transplanted two days ago!

Dwarf lime tree.

Dwarf lemon.

Zucchini squash.

Mango tree.

Washington navel orange.

Basil plant. We were thinking about planting another batch. I've kind of noticed that if they are grown in sun, they flower faster than if planted in shade. So we'll try shade next time.

Butternut squash. Planted last Sunday. Finally sprouted. Now we are just waiting for the rest of them. I think we are only going to plant three of them. Can't wait. Mmm...Butternut squash soup. Or baked.

Brussel sprouts. Lady at nursery said to plant them in partial shade.

Current state of compost pile. Need to chop it down a bit.

Future site of blueberry bushes. Thinking about planting eggplants during this season to prepare the soil for the blueberries. Speaking of which, better get started with planting the seeds.

7/16/09: the palm is archontophoenix alexandrae.

Canby raspberries.

Misty blueberries.

O'Neal blueberries. I forgot which is which, but one of them is supposed to be more flavorful and the other is smaller and sweeter. Having two is nice since they can cross-pollinate, something blueberries need.

A pepper plant. (I think.)

Beefsteak tomatoes (indeterminate). Staking is good.

Another pepper plant or maybe eggplant? I'm not too sure.

Future site of raspberry bushes.

And just because. Rabbits.

Potato Growing

2009-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

I like Potatoes.

I am also a geek, and as such will try to mix in a little engineering when it comes to producing a crop. So here is my proposal for the garden: The Hundred Pounds of Potato producing garden High Rise! Maybe using the term 'High Rise' to describe something 4 ft cubed is a bit of unmitigated hyperbole, but I read it on the Internets somewhere...

I think Potatoes are fascinating because they grow where the branches/stalk of the plant are submerged in dirt (supposedly this is why the Irish grew potatoes to such a huge degree, because they are one of the few crop that will remain edible even after some army marches over your field). Problem being, traditionally potatoes are labor intensive and involve a lot of digging up and replanting the satisfy the demands of the thrice cursed spud. The basic idea is that you plant seed potatoes in the earth, and as the plant grows you keep submerging the plant as it grows. The planks divide the growing mass into layers, which will help you keep track of what potatoes will be ready when.

The hope is that this construct skirts the labor intensity issue by giving ready access to all the different layers of tubers.

My only concern is the feasibility of all this. I tend to trust the experience of your experience B^2 and that of your green-fingered mother, and I believe when you discussed Potatoes with her it was decided that they simply weren't worth it. On top of that , I don't know how down Kathryn will be with erecting a squat shrine to carbohydrates.

I still think it's a nifty idea, although maybe I should focus on growing a potato instead of diving right into making the monolith.

Linky Seattle Times
Linky Lifehacker (they have a cool diagram of the potato box thingamabob)

My vision of a perfect garden

2009-07-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

My perfect garden should be mostly edible, self-sustaining, and pleasurable.

Because my garden will be mostly edible, there is very little use for lawns, except as a tool to keep the dust level down. However, there are other ways to accomplish that. Ornamental flowers sometimes can be edible. Plus, they fulfill the pleasurable aspect.

As for self-sustaining, I want animals as well. Chickens for eggs and meat, alpacas for their fibers, goose for eggs and watchfulness, horse to ride to neighbor's place, bees for pollination and dogs for herding and companionship. Of course all of them except bees provide fertilizer as well. I will raise them all together so they can hang out. Thus, their waste can be composted along with everything else and then go back to the soil.

One may argue that many of these, vegetables and animals alike, may be purchased in a grocery store. However, with the commercialization of food production, less emphasis is placed on flavor and healthfulness as on quantity and speediness to ripeness. Hence, flavors of vegetables and sweetness of fruits are often sacrificed. Sure the strawberry is beautifully big and red, but why such tartness? I prefer sweetness over size. As for animals, we really don't know what long term effects of all the antibiotics and hormones have on the human body. I'd rather not find out. Plus, one really doesn't need to eat all that much protein anyway.

In the garden, I would also love to experiment with a new plant each year. See what comes out.

I think I would love to have about two to two and a half acre of land. Seeing how much can be done on an acre and a half land, think about the possibilities of a 2 acre piece of land. So many fruits to plant, avocado, lime, lemon, orange, mandarin, kumquat, jujube, blueberry, apple, and pear. And maple trees for maple syrup. More to be added later as they come up.

Why Garden? Why Blog about it?

2009-07-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

I recently realized that I don't know how to do many things.

I make my living in a way that would be impossible to explain to my children and or my ancestors. Hell, I don't even understand what I do for a living half the time. There's nothing wrong with that per se (times change, and I imagine the first farmers felt that was about their huntergathering ancestors, or imagine a scribe trying to explain his career path to his preliterate parents) but for that the limits of my expertise and work feels terribly limited .

In recognition of that, I have told my friends that I would love to learn with them/be taught by them how to Garden. We're going to make the world a slightly better place, do our small part to save the planet. On second thought, that sounds kinda hippy. OK, in that case we're going to spew forth monstrous mega-fauna! We shall master the dark arts of Plantomancy! Extreme!

All the jokes aside, I just want to be more efficient well rounded person. I want to do more with what I and my friends already have. And I am pretty sure I/we can.

So here is my plan: I am going to work the land. I am going to learn a new skill. I am going to turn waste into food. I am going to eat something I made happen. I am going to play in the dirt with my friends. And I'm going to catalog it all right here.

It's already begun truth be told, we're just finally getting around to providing evidence of our fun for the all seeing eyes of the internet and for our future selves. Hell, I've already learned a valuable lesson: I'm pretty dang awesome at digging holes, rocks and gravel be damned. Seriously, ask anyone.

And you are...?

2009-07-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been trying to learn the names of the commonly seen plants around San Diego such as in landscaping. Though I would also love to learn the name of native wild plants as well, I just do not know where to find their names. I am horrible at learning from print. Where is a botanist professor when you need one? Anyway, so far, I have been learning by trying to pay attention to them while in nurseries. Such as...

Agapanthus/lily-of-the-nile. Not particularly pretty flowers I think and I don't know if they are water-wise plants, but I suppose there is something to be said about the overall effect of a row of them planted together as they provide depth to the landscape. Their branches of blue or white flowers looks like they are floating above the sprouting green leaves as if tethered to them like balloons. Not fragrant. (Image)

Speaking of fragrance, Luis was complaining about a smelly plant by the entrance of the apartment complex that he cannot stand. Found out that it is society garlic, no relation to edible garlic bulbs. Some people describe the smell as sweet, I do not find it to be sweet at all, just pungent, like BO. Not necessarily bad, but not distinctly pleasant either. (Image)

Oh yes, and one more note on fragrant flowers. I love the smell of gardenias. However, they are such needy plants. Not only are they acid loving (meaning I can't just plop you down in any soil for you to grow beautiful), but they also attract many persistent little bugs. My mom finally found a way to keep the leaves glossy by spraying the plant with water everyday. And by spraying, she means blasting, blasting hard enough to knock the lot of little buggers off the leaves. Talk about too much work. (Image)

And on with the brain dump.

I think Kat has a sweetgum tree in her front yard. I think the burrs as well as the beautiful foliage colors come fall make them rather distinct . (Image)

Jacarandas are beautiful except when the flowers drop. They form sticky, gummy messes on the sidewalk.

Japanese flowering plums (Prunus cerasifera) are really pretty plants. I love waiting for their flowers in spring. Their dark purple leaves are quite striking amidst general greenery. It is quite a mystery to me that some people's tree are naked with only blooms in spring, whereas others grow both leaves and flowers at the same time. What is controlling that? (Image)

Fragrant flowers

2009-07-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

Just to get it off my head...I found out what 白兰花 in English is: Michelia alba. Of course, I have no idea how to pronounce the first word. It's times like these that I wish I took some rudimentary latin. Anyway, michelia alba is a member of the michelia family (obviously), and is distinguished from others by its white and intensely fragrant flowers. It's a shade tropical tree with light, glossy green leaves. Hence, they do not deal very well with frost when young (meaning less than 4ft tall). They start blooming in spring and lasts till late fall. They can grow into trees towering above a one story house or pruned to bush-shape about 5ft tall.

I love them and will definitely try to grow them as I love the fragrances of the flowers. They bring back memories of Shanghai where old ladies sell them on the streets enticing young women with promises of elegance and beauty, like the michelia flower that wilts at the slightest crimp. (Image)

Another fragrant flower that I love is 桂花 or osmanthus. I have yet to find the exact variety that produces the fragrance I remember. These can grow as hedges or a bush. I'm not sure if they can be trained to grow in vine or tree form. They are small flowers. I remember my dad plucking some flowers off and putting them in his coffee and singing his Chinese songs from the revolutionary days. (Image)

And finally, lilacs, the house sized tree in Ruby's backyard, and the stunted bush behind Khoa's old house. Fragrant for about a week or so, it heralds the onset of what little real spring we have in southern California. Though people might disparage the delicate bunches of pink-blue blossoms for their transience, I love waiting for them and their charming wafts of light fragrance. When the blooms are gone, I can't wait for the next year when it happens again and look forward to a whole new growing season in the garden. (Image)

As you might have noticed from my three choices, they are all flowers from my childhood. They have a way of capturing me that whenever I see or smell them, I have an urge to pluck one and hold them in my hand all day just so I can smell them whenever I'd like. I play a little game with myself: I fill my nostrils with their fragrance molecules and feel like my whole world is filled with them. As I feel saturated with their scents, I breath out to recalibrate my nose. And repeat. Nostalgia. Happiness.

Welcome

2009-07-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

...all to this new blog. I want to start a project to 1) keep track of the progress in the garden 2) document our successes and not so great successes and 3) thoughts on future plans of plants we'd like to try. So this will be it. This is a place where I'd love to go on and on about my new found love for plants and sustainable micro-farming in the city.