INCOMPARABLY FRESH & COLORFUL !

Last Updated on Sunday, 3 April 2011 12:58 Written by Phillip Sunday, 3 April 2011 12:58

The following is a reprint of an article I did for the local healthy living magazine, called Radish. It was a strange twisted road to the finished product, but I am happy with the way the article looked when published. It was edited to look like an interview with the writer, Candy Czernicki.

Add veggies to your diet – and your landscape

The first day of spring has come and gone, even though it’s still pretty hard to tell. But to get your mind off the mud and muck, you might want to start thinking about this year’s garden. And now’s as good a time as any to start thinking about veggies as well as flowers.

“If you’ve been trying to add more vegetables to your diet and find yourself lacking enthusiasm for the taste of grocery store veggies, maybe you need to discover the taste of fresh vegetables,” Phillip Nicklay, owner of Viola Nursery in Viola, Minn., said. “It doesn’t matter if you are getting your vegetables from the freezer, a can or even the fresh produce shelf – none of these is going to compare to the taste of a fresh vegetable. There is an easy remedy to this: grow your own. It really is easy, and more important, it’s fun.”

As with anything else in life, planning is key.

“Make a list of what you are actually going to eat, along with a few new vegetables that you would like to try,” Nicklay said. “The next part of your pre-planning will be figuring out where you’d like to grow them. An old-fashioned, tilled-up piece of earth on your property is the Cadillac of vegetable growing systems. You should know that this type of gardening (requires) the most maintenance, but can produce the largest quantity of food. If this option isn’t available or if you don’t care to put that much time into your vegetables, (there are) smaller options. If you have flower beds or an active landscape, one of your options is to grow your vegetables along with your existing plants.”

The different colors and textures vegetables can bring when integrated with flowers will help enhance your garden’s look, Nicklay said.

“I like to use vegetables in existing beds the same way I would other plants,” he said. “Vegetables can be blended into landscapes as single plants or in blocks or in waves. Shrubs or trees with edible fruit are a great way to add another value to your landscape. Try a hedge of high bush blueberries or Nanking cherries. You or the birds will enjoy whatever fruit is produced by these plants.”

If neither of the above options works for you, or if you live in an apartment or condo where no garden plots of your own are available, you’re still not out of luck, Nicklay said. And you still have no excuse not to eat your veggies.

“The third way to grow your vegetables is an above-ground container,” he said. “This would include anything from a raised bed to a flowerpot. All of these environments will work for growing vegetables, with each having their pros and cons.”

No matter how you grow your veggies, there are some things all of them require, such as at least 6 hours of full sun, good soil (loose, with lots of organic matter) and consistent of moisture.

If you’re a novice at growing or are an old hand at growing your own fresh vegetables , and want to take things to the next level, you can try organic gardening.

“The term ‘organic’ can mean different things to different people,” Nicklay said. “There are the stringent guidelines of the organic associations, which have the strongest parameters for items to be labeled organic, to the people who think that a plant being grown chemical-free is organic. You have to decide how far you want to take the organic concept.

“To do the most basic growing of chemical-free vegetables, you must start with quality soil, free of commercial fertilizers,” Nicklay added.

But organic soil is only the beginning. “You then need to purchase organically grown plants or seeds,” Nicklay said. “Luckily both of these are more readily available at certain garden centers. While the cost may be slightly higher, the confidence and satisfaction of growing healthier, organic vegetables is worth the extra pennies.”

And organic vegetables aren’t limited solely to tomatoes anymore. Lettuce, peas, peppers, zucchini, beets and carrots have become popular as well.

“With the increase in demand and awareness by growers, there is an ever-increasing variety of plants and seeds to choose from,” Nicklay said. “Knowledgeable garden centers know that the naturally grown vegetables are not just a fringe fad but a more desirable way of life for many people.”
Photo courtesy of my friend Christina Salwitz

Planting your ‘Garden’

Last Updated on Friday, 25 February 2011 07:55 Written by Phillip Friday, 25 February 2011 07:53

Most home owners nowadays don’t have lots of acreage in which to plant a garden,so I’m going to keep my discussion to planting smaller gardens. Whether you are growing in a raised bed or tilling up a spot in your yard, the ideal width is no wider than four feet. This will give you the ability to reach across your garden with out having to step in it. The less you step on your garden soil, the less chance of compaction. As we talked about earlier loose soil is the best medium for growing anything. With a width of four feet or less you are going to want to get the most vegetables possible from that area. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. No matter what you are growing, succession planting works anywhere. Succession planting means to plant new vegetables as older ones come to the end of their life cycle. Many of  your early season crops such as lettuce and peas will stop producing when the hotter weather arrives.You can plant your beans, cucumbers or tomatoes after the weather has warmed sufficiently. Go ahead and plant these in between the rows of early season crops. When those early season crops are done producing, carefully pull them out or cut them off at the base. The warmer season crops will quickly take over that space. As the weather cools in the late summer you can then plant those cool season crops again for a second round of vegetables.

Another way to get more vegetables out of a limited area is by growing vertically. By using a trellis or fence you can grow your vine crops upwards. This saves you space while actually creating a better environment. When vine crops are grown on a vertical surface they have better air circulation, which helps to keep diseases away. Vertically grown vegetables ripen quicker and picking the fruit is made easier. If your garden runs West to East, you will want to place your trellis on the back side of the garden. This will be necessary so as to not block the sun from part of your garden.

Be warned that growing your own vegetables can become addicting. Growing your own vegetables can also cause:

• improved health through better diet
• improved health through more exercise
• improved mental health
• increase in friends by sharing vegetables
• more family time with a spouse or children

Now that you have been given the basics in planning, creating and planting your garden….just go do it!

Creating the right soil for your vegetable garden

Last Updated on Monday, 21 February 2011 04:07 Written by Phillip Monday, 21 February 2011 04:07

Today I want to help you create the most important part of your garden….Soil. I seldom refer to soil as dirt, simply because dirt is such a generic term. I also have grown to have a huge respect for soil and everything that it contains. In an earlier blog I explained to you all of the things that make up soil. It might serve you well to go back and reread that post, while you are planning your garden.
Using existing ground:
If you are using an area of ground in your yard for your garden, you will need to determine what type of soil already exists. A productive garden requires soil that is loose and full of organic matter. Take a spade and dig a circle down about one foot. Try to lift this clump out as one piece, so you can closely examine the composition. You will want soil that has a dark color, along with air pockets throughout. These air pockets are created either from the organic matter in the soil or earthworm activity(those  two usually go hand in hand). If your soil is hard to break apart in your hand, it is probably lacking in this quality. This type of soil can be improved with generous amounts of compost and worm castings, being incorporated into the soil. Because most vegetables do best with a least a foot of quality soil, this is a good depth to start with. As you continue to add organic matter to your garden through the years, the depth of quality soil will gradually increase. Another thing you will want to do is take a soil sample to your local garden center or extension office. An analysis of your soil will give you and accurate picture of what nutrients are exist. Most analysis will come with recommendations on how to correct any problems that might exist.

Creating new soil in a raised bed:

Starting a new bed, whether it a raised bed or any type of container, is an easy way of starting your veggies off right. I like to use a mix of soil less potting mix and compost. To this mix I add generous amounts of worm castings. This type of mix creates a loose nutrient rich medium for your vegetables to produce a large bounty.

Next blog will show you how to place the vegetables for maximum production.