Protect Your Seedlings from Rain with Row Cover

    Rain can be at once a gardener’s best friend and a powerful enemy. Aside from watering the ground (a good thing, k?), it can wash away your soil, beat up and break young seedlings, spread plant disease by splashing dirt on leaves, and wash out recently planted seed. Not to mention making washing vegetables a pain. It seems odd, doesn’t it, that the same thing a garden can’t do without is responsible for some of my worst gardening losses. Mother Nature can be quite a sadistic lady.

    Keeping the negative effects of rainwater off of plants is one of the ideas behind High Tunnel growing. Of course, these growers have to irrigate exclusively. It seems a shame to me to not use all that free water.

    Row Covers are probably one of the coolest things ever (you can quote me on this). The thin-ish (depending on what you get) material that’s stretched over wire hoops performs many useful tasks-

• Protection from many insects (flea beetles and other flying pests most notably)
• Frost protection
• Protection from rain (while still letting rain through)

    This is good, yes?

    For now lets focus on the third benefit.

    One of the main reasons people wait to move young transplants out to the garden is because their small sizemakes them vulnerable. If you grow your own transplants, you may find yourself transplanting one or two times into larger containers before planting them in the garden. Exposed to the elements, a two inch seedling can get destroyed rather quickly. With row cover in place, these transplants can be moved safely out at much earlier stages with (much) fear. This is especially cool if you use cell trays, like I do, where the seedlings become rootbound very quickly.

    Or, if you’re planting lettuce, spinach, mustard, or any other low growing crop, a good rainstorm can be a great way to get your future salad absolutely filthy. Covering the row before harvest is a good way for cleaner veggies.

Using the stuff

    Row covers can be purchased at several gardening outlets, often locally, and it’s relatively inexpensive at that. I just bought a 180″ by 200′ roll for around 40 dollars. The rolls come in much smaller or much larger sizes depending on your needs. For my garden, I know this roll will last me for a loooooong time.
It comes it two main thicknesses- a thin sheet for mainly insect control and a heavier one that’s better for cold protection, but also pricier. What I do is buy the thin row cover, and double it when frost protection is a concern, but use just a single sheet for most of the season.

    The “hoop loops” upon which to secure the row cover is also sold at several sourcess, although if you need a lot of them, you’d be best of buying a roll of smooth #9 fencing wire and cutting them yourself. Any heavy wire that will stand up in a loop with both ends stuck in the ground will do.

    Along one side of the hoops (after they are set up) I dig a little furrow in the soil, pulling the soil back. I stick one end of the row cover in this trench and then spread the dirt over it to hold it in the ground. I use clothes-pins on the other side to attach the row cover to the wire. Wha-lah! I usually have drip-tape running underneath, but if I don’t, I’ll lift up one side to water and feed, or just water through the row cover and let it drip down to the plants.

    While row cover does a good job protecting plants from rain, it’s not perfect, and a heavy rainstorm is still a heavy rainstorm. However, I doubt you’ll be unhappy with it once you start using it, especially with it’s other benefits!

It’s Offical: Supermarket Produce = LOLZ

But is Organic any better?

Although far from the first study on the nutritional value of supermarket produce, Time just posted an article about a report in the Journal of HortScience that claims supermarket veggies are “5% to 40% lower in minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc) than those harvested just 50 years ago.”

 

A quote from the article says:

“Less studied, though, is the “genetic dillution effect,” in which selective breeding to increase crop yield has led to declines in protein, amino acids, and as many as six minerals in one study of commercial broccoli grown in 1996 and ‘97 in South Carolina. Because nearly 90% of dry matter is carbohydrates, “when breeders select for high yield, they are, in effect, selecting mostly for high carbohydrate with no assurance that dozens of other nutrients and thousands of phytochemicals will all increase in proportion to yield..

 Nestled at the end of the article, the author suggests buying Organic produce instead. While I think this is a good idea, in some ways, what is not pointed out is that, more often than not, the same hybrids that have been ‘genetically diluted’ through selective breeding on non-organic farms are grown on organic farms as well.

 Organic farms also regularly harvest vegetables prematurely for longer shipping and shelf life, just like non-organic farms. There may be something to be said that a wider range of nutrients are present in organic soil, but that’s not the main culprit here from what I understand.

 This is why it’s so important to preserve and grow Heirloom vegetables!

Keeping Seeds Warm

As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s important to keep your germinating seeds (for plants sown indoors early) at the right temperature to optimize your germination rate. The ideal range for the majority of vegetable plants in 75-85 degrees.  If you are a good person who cares for the world you live in (and you are, right?), you have no excuse to keep your house a 85 degrees in the winter just for a few flats of vegetable seedlings. This would be dumb, k? K.

Still, the plants would appreciate the tosty-ness, so there’s a few different ways of achieving this-

1. Heat mats-

   Although they work great, I view these as impractical because of the cost. I’ll have several flats of seeds germinating at a time, so at $20ish dollars per mat, having a mat per flat (that rhymes!) would cost too much. You can control the temperature by thermostat, which is nice, but not a necessity. Being an electric heat source, it’s not the most efficient or sustainable either.

2. Make a “Seed Oven”

    There’s likely a real name or something for this, but I don’t know it, so I guess we’ll let “seed oven” suffice for now. The basic idea is a box with a heat source that you can place your seed tray in. Here’s mine, it a little, well….makeshift, being thrown together by scraps of whatever recyclablerific item I could locate…Here’s the basic idea

   I used the bottom-most plastic shelf on my rack of gro-lights, which is basically a set of plastic shelves from Lowes or someplace. The top is covered with plywood, and a thick-ish blanket graces the front. I bolted some pieces of wood across the side post for extra shelf support, and I used some sheet metal from the barn to cover the bottom shelf…

 

….and at the bottom sits a concrete block (for fire hazard protection or whatever) with a red-painted lightbulb in a simple fixture wired in place to hold it up.

  The idea is the lightbulb warms the bottom shelf, which warms the whole box, which in turn warms the soil your seeds are in. It’s around 82F in there now.

 A setup like this is ideal if your seed flats are numerous and in an unheated building like a potting shed or something. It’s still an electric source of heat, so not the most efficient, but it’s cheap and it works. You can change the temperature by using different wattages of incandescent bulbs.

 -HOWEVER-

  The easiest and best seed warming implement for most of you guys might very well be the top of your…

   3. Refridgerator! It stays pretty warm up there, depending on the temperature of your house. Stick a thermometer on top and see what you get.

 A bit cold for my purposes, but for early spring, when the world warms a bit, it might be better. There’s also the issue of having to clean potting soil of your fridge rather frequently.

 

  Keep in mind some vegetable seeds like it colder. Like Celery and a few others. But most seem to do best at that 70-85 F range. Here’s an awesome resource that lists minimum, maximum and otpimun temperatures for vegetable plants- http://www.seedman.com/veggerm.htm

Varieties I’m Excited About for My ’09 Garden.

Of all the seeds I’ll be planting this year, I’m most excited about the following!

“Flashy Trout Black” Lettuce-

  Okaaay..will someone  tell me what is up with this name? Flashy Black Trout? Lettuce? What?

 Anyway, this is a real funky looking lettuce, although I’m not sure that it looks like a trout. I planted some today at Luther’s farm. It’s a green butterhead lettuce with….spots. Pretty little red spots all over the leaf. Really pretty, actually. I hope it tastes good too.

“Emu” spinach

  I’ve all but given up on growing spinach, with Louisiana’s short springs and long, hot summers. But  this slow bolting spinach variety looks like a winner. Just offered by Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It’s said to be a quick grower as well. I’ll be giving this one a try. Who comes up with these names, by the way?

“Bush Baby” Zucchini

I usually pick my zucchini small, at least when they don’t get away from me. One or two always manages to hide and get 1,000 feet long in a couple of days. This variety is market as a “true miniature’, so I’m assuming they won’t get as long before starting to change color. I Wonder if the plants are smaller too? This one is going in my garden this spring.

Petit Gris De Rennes Melon

This is an ooold variety. Grown by some French Bishop dude in the 17^th century. The Bishop of Rennes, hence the name. So far, my experience with small French melons has been pretty positive. So I’m excited to try this variety as well. 

“Buttercream” Sunflower

Judging from the picture, this is most beautiful sunflower I’ve ever seen. Me wants.

“White Lightning” Eggplant

Available at TomatoGrowers.com- I don’t remember seeing this one in last year’s catalog, but it looks interesting. The only white eggplant I’ve grown is “Casper”, and the fruits are kinda small. A big white eggplant? Hmm.

Red Choi

    Not much of a Pak Choi fan myself, but these maroon-tinged leaves sure look pretty.

Balloon Pepper

WEIRD!

6 Seed Starting Tips

  It’s that time of year now! For some of us, at least. Time for seed starting! Huzzah!
There’s something so awesome about nurturing a plant from seed to harvest, that I never buy plants anymore, if I can help it.

  But starting seeds can be a frustrating and sometimes fruitless task, so I’ve put together a few tips to make the whole thing easier and more likely to produce good results…

 Get The Right Trays-

Recycling rocks! I think it grand when I hear of people using soda cans, milk jugs, newspaper, and other creative ways to make their own pots- and I used to be among them. I’ve spent [wasted] more time rolling newspaper pots than I’d like to consider. Probably made a thousand of the things; but when you come down to it, having nice dimensional seed starting trays with individual cells is sooo much nicer. 

    A friend of mine has turned me on to 200+ cell trays, like this one. They are very helpful in several ways-

• They make very efficient use of space, especially for seeds that are less than easy to germinate. Drop one seed per cell, and even if only half come up, you don’t have your greenhouse or window or whatever overcrowded with flats or pots filled with seeds that never germinate.
•  They water easily from the bottom, They only need to stay in a shallow pan of water for a little bit before soaking up enough water. You can water quickly this way without worrying about displacing the seeds or beating up young seedlings
•   It makes transplanting a snap, just pull the plug out by the stem of the plant. You don’t have to worry about it messing up the neighboring plants’ root system.

There are disadvantages, of course. For one, you have to transplant them fairly quickly, since the cells are small and shallow and the plant become rootbound in no time….Also….well….maybe that’s the only disadvantage!
Afterwards, you can transplant into regular 3-pack seedling containers. Like what your tomato plants from the garden center come in. You can usually pick up a slew of them on ebay for a very cheap price usually.

Speaking of Watering From The Bottom- this is also a helpful tip. Watering seeds or seedlings from the top via a watering can or even a spray bottle can displace dirt, or beat down the leaves, which can potentially stress or even break the young plant. Not to mention it takes a few gazillion pumps of a spray bottle to adequately water a tray. Shallow trays can be watered from the bottom up by simply placing the tray (as long as it has drainage holes) in a container full of water. A plastic tub big enough to fit stardard sized trays can be picked up from a store like Dollar General or Wal-Mart inexpensively. The process can be sped along with already-sprouted plants by tilting the tray in the water and letting it run over the top

Get The Right Seed Starting Mix, Then Mod it Out

   I’ve personally given up on soil-based seed starting mixes, at least for the present. I used to mix compost, garden soil, and liberal quantities of vermiculite, but I decided the results weren’t worth the effort of mixing it and started buying soiless commercial stuff. Not that it can’t be done, and you can save money, and you certainly don’t have to listen to the crap about heating the soil in the oven to ‘sterilize it’. Give me a flippin’ break.

Most soiless mixes I don’t like very much. Usually the peat is not fine enough, and perlite is obnoxious (those hard white pieces), and it dries out way to fast. I personally like Redi-Earth. Good product overall, stays wet much longer than most others.

However, like all soiless mixes it has no nutrient value for the plant. Plant don’t start needing nutrients until they get their first true leaves, but you’re going to probably keep your seedlings in pots until long after that, so you need to mod out your starting mix with elite fertilizer products! Especailly nitrogen-rich ones that won’t “burn” the youn plant. Here’s a few ideas-

•  Compost
•  Driend cow manure
•  Pelletized chicken manure (this stuff rocks hard)
•  Kelp Meal
•  Feather Meal
•  Blood and Bone Meal

 Using Worm Castings in the Mix

Worm castings are actually known to increase the germination rate of seeds when included in the mixture. I have heard that 20% (or one part casting, four parts everything else) worm castings in your seed starting mix is best. Worm casting can be hard to come by if you don’t have a worm bin. I do [nah nah!]. If you don’t, you may want to look into making one or buying one- it’s a great way to make your compost all that more extraordinary! I frequently include worm castings in my mix, and while I haven’t done any scientific controlled studies in a lab coat, it does seem to do the trick nicely.

Keeping an Optimum Temperature

Different types of seed germinate better under different ranges of temperatures, some of them being quite high. Most seed packets have this information, or it can easily be found online. I really recommend hopping over to Johnny’s Seed and requesting a catalog. Each type of vegetable in it has a chart that shows the optimum germination temperatures. Some are suprising- for instance, cabbage is shown to have an peak germination at 86 degrees F. And cabbage is a cool weather crop!

Paying attention to temperature is important. Heat mats are sold in all garden supply stores or catalogs, and they work well, but they are an investment, especially if you need to heat multiple flats. Other homemade solutions work as well, such as a little ‘seed oven’ box that’s heated by a lightbulb or heat lamb. More on this in a future post.

Get a Hand Sower

Small seed can be a pain to sow individually. Lettuce, broccolli, leeks, all tiny seeds that make life difficult..

Heirloom Acres Seeds sells a hand ‘Dail-A-Seed’ sower for a couple of bucks. It works amazingly well. You turn the dial to adjust the gate for different seed sizes, and holding the thing flat in your hand you tap it with your index finger, and the seeds come out through the spout. There’s a trick to using it, and it takes a little practice, but in the end it’s just as good as a professional vibrating hand seeder.

Anyway, I thought I’d throw this few tips together that have helped me in my seed starting journeys. Hopefully they’ll help you!

Fava Beans For Food And Good Luck!

 
  New Orleans, my hometown (sort of), is one of the few places in the U.S. where St. Joseph’s day is celebrated in a big way. The tradition was brought over in the late 1800s by Sicilian immigrants, among whom were my great grandparents.

  At one time in the Middle Ages, there was a severe drought in Sicily, during which the only crop to survive was the fava bean, which was previously considered animal feed. Out of desperation, the fava bean became invaluable as a source of protein to the starving population. During this time, the people all prayed to St. Joseph that the drought would end and rains would come. The rains did come, and the famine ended, and the holiday known as St. Joseph’s day was born, when, among other things, Fava beans are always placed on the St. Joseph’s Day altar.

My grandma always used to carry a fava bean in her purse. Fava beans from a St. Joseph’s day altar are supposed to bring good luck. A person who carries a fava bean on them will never go without the basic necessities of life.

Growing Fava

 As a plant, Fava has a unique look in the garden, more like a pea plant than a bean plant, but with large squareish stems and pretty white flowers with dark streaks …it definitely stands out! It’s a bushy plant, growing to about 2 and half feet tall- or higher, depending on conditions.

Planting

 Fava beans are also a delicious food crop that can be planted now in many parts of the U.S. In the Gulf South they can survive throughout the winter depending on temperatures.

A cold season legume, it’s cold hardy to- reportedly- 15 degrees F. Pretty impressive for a legume.

Time of planting really depends on where you live. Many parts of the U.S. can get away with a fall sowing of fava, while others need to wait till spring. Even though it can technically survive periods of cold temperatures, it would do any growing or producing if the temperature is consistently dipping below freezing. So here’s what you do. Fava is a 60 day crop (although lets say 75 to be safe), right? So grab a calendar, count 75 days forward, and see what the average temperatures are on weather.com’s monthly view. If you occasionally dip into freezing temperatures, but stay relatively warm during the day time- give it a shot. If not, then you had better wait till spring, just don’t wait too long, as they dislike intense heat as well.

Space them a little farther apart than regular bush beans. Around 8 inches in a row or 1 per square foot in beds.

Care

Fava is fairly simple to grow, not requiring any nitrogen fertilization as it supplies it’s own. Adding more will discourge the plant from flowering. If your soil is less then perfect, you can sprinkle some Organic Sulfate of Potash and Soft Rock Phosphate, but I really wouldn’t bother.

No severe pests reported either, nothing that an occasional Garlic Spray wouldn’t prevent.

Havesting

Fava Beans can be harvested at three different stages.

• Very small pods (like 2 inches or so) can be harvested and eaten raw, or cooked like snap beans.
• Larger pods may be shelled and cooked like peas.
• You can let the pods dry on the plant and use them as a dry soup bean. 

Fava also makes a great cover crop, performing very well in trails by Oregon State in both amount of dry matter and N added to the soil. 4.5 tons of dry matter and 200lbs N respectively

Finally, just so you’d be aware, a small minority of people are affected by an enzyme deficiency called Favism- people who have this deficiency can experience severe effects after eating broad beans like Fava. 

Garden Tools I’m Drooling Over

  I love shiny stuff! I’m always following after the latest tech gadget or cell phone or whatever. I’m a geek like that, even though I never buy anything. I guess I’m blessed in the fact that I can partake in the joy of new shiny things without actually owning any.

 There’s a slew of really cool and shiny gardening tools and equipment I spend too much time drooling over in catalogs. Like, for instance-

 

Glaser’s Wheel Hoe:

    Wheel hoes, while a little difficult to use at first, are a great gardening tool! It’s impractical for small gardens, or for raised beds, really, unless they aren’t framed. But for small market gardens or a large family garden it’s nearly a must. By pushing with both arms you can exert for much more force more quickly than with other kinds of weeding implements. Like so:

 

It’s almost as quick as one of those mini-tiller things, but doesn’t use gas, is (almost) cheaper, and doesn’t bounce around like a crazed chihuahua. Maybe it’s not cheaper. The price tag on this jewel is a tad steep, if you ask me, considering there’s not all THAT much to it. But it definetly qualifies as shiny stuff and the price tag only adds to it’s considerable drool-worthiness. Also, I’ve also been told these Glaser tools are built very well

 An Austrian Scythe-

  Scythes RULE. I’ve always wanted one, but never got around to actually making the purchase. American sythes suck- being heavy and awkward- but this light, hardwood, European style scythe is much easier to use.  There are several misconceptions concerning this implement, or at least poor associations. The Grim Reaper carries one, and that’s enough to repel most people from relacing their weedeaters. Okay, maybe not.

  Fact is, a skilled scythe user can cut grass faster than a weedeater can. Weedeaters use lots of fuel, and make loud obnoxious noises, so why do people even bother? Well, partially, I suppose, to the fact that scything is more of a art to be learned that a tool to pick up and put to use. Keeping the blade level, correct sharpening, not hitting things, etc, take a little time to master, I am told. I have no elite scything skills as of yet. I would like to, chicks dig dudes who can scythe.

 Felco pruner-

   This is the Cadillac of pruners. Maybe the Lambo. This pair of shears will last a lifetime. Several lifetimes, maybe. The shininess factor of this tool is very high.

BCS 722GX 8HP Tiller-

 

   Okay, okay, I can dream, can’t I? I saw this waaaaaaaaaaay cool tiller last January at the annual SSAWG conference in St. Louisville. Totally blown away- big, powerful, fast tine spin, and it looks like a giant Fisher Price toy to boot!

  The really awesome thing about  BCS tillers is not the so much the tiller itself (although it’s great), but the myriad of attachments that go with it. Lawn mower, sickle mower, chipper/shredder, power sweeper, snow thrower (comes in real handy in south Louisiana) and- of all things- a dozer blade(!)(?). With the sticker price of $2499.00, and the tiller coming it at just under $500, I think I’ll be waiting a long time for this bad boy.

 

As you may have noticed, all these products come from GrowOrganic.com- which is a great gardening resource for tools and fertilizer. I’ve ordered from them multiple times and they’re great. They actually make me wish I lived in California, since they have all of the great organic fertilizer products that no one in the south carries- like Chilean bat guano and soft rock phosphate.

One more thing to add to the drool-list. How about a high-tunnel from Grower’s Supply? I want to do a full post on high tunnels soon. I’m currently apprenticing on a farm that grow veggies almost exclusively in high-tunnels. They’re basically oversized unheated greenhouses, and are a MUST for growing good cool weather crops year long in climates like mine. Again, pricey yet green-ilicious!

 

Oh yes, like any hobby- or obsession, if you will-  there’s plenty of shiny stuff for gardeners to lust after. This is only a small sampling of my mental wish-list. 

Making Candied Kumquats

 

  Today I ventured into the kitchen. I do this as little as possible as cooking absolutely terrifies me. However, I promised myself I’d make candied kumquats from my current kumquatious bounty, so make them I did.

  Finding a recipe was easy. Third result from the top on Google Search was this site and recipe. Four ingredients? One of them water? I think I can handle this.

 It was a rather straight forward process, although I had to rush out in the night to buy a candy thermometer. I’ve never made any kind of candy before, so this was new, and my sister scared me with warnings about the temperature having to be absolutely perfect in order to get the sticky sugary stuff to the soft ball stage- or whatever. She really did frighten me, so I spent the entire lengthy trip from lukewarm to 238 degrees F with my head in my hands and my elbows glued to the counter; staring at the little blue line on the thermometer that seemed to move at a rate of 1 cm every 30 minutes.

 For all that, they seemed to come out all right. Many people serve candied kumquats with meat- like chicken or ham, but I enjoy eating them right out of hand for a sugary sticky goodness with a sharp bite at the end. Om Nom Nom Nom…

 There are other great kumquatiatory recipes out there, including a page on KumquatGrowers.com that includes tasty names such as Kumquat Oat Meal Cookies, Kumquat Pound Cake, Hawaiian Chicken /w Kumquat, and many others! 

Growing Kumquats

 Today I’ll be talking about the sweet and sour goodness that is the Kumquat fruit!

 Kumquats are a uniquely delicious fruit. They look like thumb-sized oblong oranges because…well…that’s what they are!  Originally from China, they’re now grown all over the world in tropical and subtropical climates. They’re pretty fun eaten fresh as you simply pop the whole thing in your mouth- skin and all. It takes awhile to convince kumquat newbies that they don’t have to peel the skin. In fact, some people just eat the skin and throw the pulp away (the skin is actually the sweetest part of the kumquat-Weird!). I happen to like the contrasting sweet and sour flavors, so I don’t do that.  It’s a great taste experience.

 Kumquats are often candied, something I haven’t tried to do yet, but will soon since I have so freakin’ many of them.

   The two main types grown in the US are Nagami and Meiwa. I don’t know the difference other than the shape: Meiwa is rounder than Nagami.

    One of the  crazy-cool things about Kumquats is that the fruit ripens (depending on variety) in mid winter to early spring. Fresh fruit in Feburary? Awesome!

 Cold Hardiness

  Kumquats happen to be among the most cold-hardy citrus trees on the planet, and probably the only cold-hardy citrus that is more than barely edible. There are many species of citrus that can take the cold, such as the trifoliate orange, but most are blatantly inedible. I mean, would you like to eat something called a ‘trifoliate orange’? Give me a break.

 Kumquats can take temperatures down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit when they are dormant. At least, that is what I’ve been told. Since planting the tree four years ago we have not experienced temperatures that low, and I hope we never do. When they are dormant is the key term here. You won’t be protected against any early or late freeze, and sometimes, during a winter warm spell in the South, the trees will ‘wake up’ before they’re supposed to, only to take serious damage during the next round of cold weather.

  Kumquats, like all citrus, are risky even in the deeper parts of the Southern US. Cold weather happens, and unless global warming decides to kick into full gear soon, you risk losing your lovingly tended tree that you’ve watched grow up for all these years. While they can be protected (more on that later), sometimes there’s only so much you can do. I wouldn’t try it below zone 8 outdoors. But, as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained, and a Kumquat tree only costs 15-20 bucks so you really have nothing to loose and lots of small, oblong, sweetly sour fruits to gain.

  For many of you, if not most, citrus killing temperatures are a frequent occurrence. For such folks, growing kumquats in a container is a viable option; letting them live outside on your patio during the summer and bringing them in for the winter. However, you will likely have to find a kumquat on a dwarf rootstock for this, as a full sized tree would quickly become rootbound.

Growing

 Kumquats grow well in most soils, though a sandy loam is ideal. They, like all citrus, appreciate a few doses of nitrogen each year, most easily applied through foliar spray with Fish Emulsion. I personally let my chickens in the citrus orchard once a year. Their nitrogen-rich manure does the job nicely.

  Pruning isn’t necessary, as the tree will take a nice shape on it’s own. Your main concern, once again, will be keeping it warm. There is nothing more unpleasant that being out a 8:00 in the evening on a cold winter’s night spreading drop cloths over your kumquat tree, but it’s a worthwhile sacrifice. I protect mine whenever the temperature drops to 24 degrees or below, although you could probably let it get a little colder before worrying about protection. I like to be on the safe side. Here’s some ideas for covering-

• “Banking Up” the soil around the trunk- This is good to do anyway when winter starts. Simply  mound up soil 6 inches high or so around the trunk, then put mulch on top of that as an added precaution. Remove the dirt mound in the spring.

• Blankets, dropcloths, quilts, etc. When it’s cold at night, what do you do? Why, you snuggle under the blankets, of course! Kumquats appreciate this tactic equally. If it’s a windy night, be sure to tie the blankets on the branches or use string. If you’re blankets fall off at night you can pick it up and wrap it around yourself again, Kumquats don’t have this luxury. The heaviest blankets are the best. Don’t use plastic sheeting like Visqueen as it could actually exacerbate the problem.

• For extra cold weather, try wrapping Christmas lights around the tree before spreading the blankets. You neighbors may think you strange for stringing Christmas lights in February, but there’s nothing you can do about this.

• For really cold weather, some people place an electric or propane heater near the tree, under the blankets. This is probably the most unsustainable thing you could possibly do, as well as a significant fire hazard. I personally would just let the darn thing die, but in theory it should work well. Your neighbors at this point might start making phone calls about you.

•  Overhead irrigation is used often in large commercial citrus farms. You could simply run a sprinkler at night, making sure most of the branches are hit. This method will not be effective at very cold temperatures. This might not make immediate sense, but the following explaination is helpful-

    The latent heat of water, released when the water freezes, is the principal factor involved in protecting the plant. One gallon of water at 320 F, changing into ice at 320 F, gives off approximately 1200 BTU’s (British Thermal Units) of heat. Some of the heat released goes into the plant leaves and blossoms, some goes out into the air and some goes to the soil. The heat absorbed by the plant is enough to keep the plant above its freezing point, except when the air temperature is very low or when heat is removed rapidly by a cold wind. There is some transfer of heat because the water temperature is above freezing, but most of the protection comes as the water freezes and latent heat is released. The slush ice and the increased humidity also increase protection. -source    

 

• Flying a helicopter continuously over your tree at night will also help, as the rotors will push warm air downwards. Laugh if you will, but I know of a fellow blueberry farmer who has done this. You neighbors might not appreciate this tactic either.

Growing In The Bathroom

 

 I recently converted my bathroom into a seed starting and winter growing room. It didn’t take much, really. I built a drain-pan by nailing some 2×2s to the floor and lining it with tarpaper and plastic sheeting. I then bought a bunch of shop lights and plastic shelves from Home Depot. Wha-lah! Instant plant room-

 

 

  This is a great place to start my spring vegetables, since the temperature inside the house is next to ideal for tomatoes and other veggies. It’s a tad cramped in there… Okay, it’s really cramped in there, but I can squeeze my slender frame through with relative ease and still manage to take a shower each day. I still prefer this to a greenhouse, at least for right now. Although the space is very limited I don’t have to worry about heating a separate structure. It’s greener, since I only have to heat one building instead of two. Also, building a greenhouse would have taken much more work and work = unpleasantness.

 Although I’ll be starting my spring plants relatively soon, right now I’m using it to overwinter some of my more interesting edible plants; mostly tropicals.

 Neem Tree Azadirachta indica

    

  Neem is a miracle plant. It’s used for a myriad of purposes in many places all over the world; including such uses as treatment of snakebites, an ingredient in toothpaste, flea and tick control in pets, as well as many other things.

 In organic agriculture, it’s used as a mild organic insecticide and fungicide. That’s the main reason I’m growing these plants. I’d like to try my hand at making my own Neem Oil for pests since the commercial stuff is pricey.

   I tried to germinate Neem seeds once before, and failed. I think I had old seeds. The Neem Trees I’m growing now are from Neem Tree Farms (descriptive name, no?) based in Florida. They sell older plants, but I bought a dozen young seedlings for $7. Not a bad price for 12 amazing plants. So far they have all survived, I potted them in 1 gallon plastic pots filled with a mixture of compost, vermiculite, and a little garden soil sprinkled with blood meal.

   Neem is tropical and must be kept inside during the winter.

 Natal Plum- Carissa grandiflora

 

 I got these seeds from a GardenWeb trade. I had never heard of the plant before this, and I still know very little about it. It originates in South Africa. It’s supposed to be a quick grower and a candidate for hedges in other regions. It’s tropical, taking cold damage at 28 degrees or lower, so I’m figuring I’ll end up growing these guys in pots. The fruit is supposed to be tasty, although I’m not sure if it reliably fruits in sub-tropical Louisiana. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?

Cranberry Hibiscus- Hibiscus acetosella

   This is an interesting Hibiscus with edible fruit, leaves, and flowers and unique red foliage.  The leaves are similar in taste to sorrel, and the calyx of the flowers are often used to make a cranberry-like drink (when I get flowers I’ll post on how to make it). It seems to be widely used in tea as well. Huh.

 

Purple Passionflower- Passiflora incarnata

  

 Passionfruit is awakening in the U.S. public consciousness. Many grocery stores sell this tasty fruit now, as well as flavored juices. Passionfruit is a tropical plant, and can take no frost, unless you’re growing it cousin Maypop, the only perennial passionfruit in our region.

  Passionfruit sets after the ever-popular, wild and crazy passionflower that we all know and love. So aside from the tasty fruit you get to enjoy the really freaky looking blooms.

  I got these seeds from a seed trade. I know nothing about the variety other than it’s purple, because that’s what the seed envelope said.

Cherimoya Annona cherimola -

 

  A tropical fruit tree that I doubt can successfully be grown in a container, but I’m doing it anyway. Also called Custard Apple, Cherimoya grows to 25 ft or more. While tropical, it does need a period of cooler temperatures in order to keep it from dormancy. The fruit is kinda freaky looking and the size of a large apple. It’s a relative to the PawPaw- which I can’t seem to grow successfully either.

 

 

Chaya Cnidoscolus aconitifolius -

 

  I’ve talked about this before, and I finally bought one. Chaya is a tough, frost hardy (to a point) tree that has edible spinach like leaves that must be eaten cooked due to some toxin or other. Many tropical trees have edible leaves, but this is the only deciduous one I know of other than Fragrant Spring Tree.

 That all that’s in the Bathroom right now, other than some heirloom lettuce and some pepper plants I’ve kept in containers and brought inside.

 Sorry for the lack of postage going on around here. Holidays and all that. I’m looking forward to posting more frequently now.