Gardening Tips In NJ

The garden is producing!!! And its not just lettuce anymore.

This week the broccoli was finally ready. Because of the cool weather the heads of broccoli were the biggest I've seen in spring in many years. Usually by this time it's so hot that it begins to flower before getting to the size you see in the grocery store. One head of broccoli per meal and you see how quickly you've eaten your crop, especially when you've only planted 12 plants, and here you thought 12 was a lot (broccoli takes up a lot of space to boot!), although the main head has been harvested I know that in just a few days little shoots will begin to emerge and I can have a continuous harvest of little sprouts for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Keep in mind that if you don't pick them in time you'll see little yellow flowers in attempt to push out seeds.

As I was quickly eating up that crop I began to think about how much I consume as a single eater. I tend 9 (4'x8')raised bed boxes in my front yard. To some this may appear to be a large garden. I live by myself most of the time so primarily its just me that is being fed by this plot . As I toil in the dirt I realize that in an effort to grow my own food, it is but a drop in the bucket of what it takes to sustain me on my primarily vegetarian diet. I would need to cultivate my entire suburban plot to begin getting closer to growing what I would need for a full year, and that's just for little ole me!

We are fortunate enough here in NJ to have a rather long growing season and even longer if we extend with cold frames and the like, but even still, it is a stretch to get enough out of our own gardens. I say this as someone who considers herself a serious gardener, and one who does practice what she preaches in the garden. The point I'm making is it brings to light the unsung hero's of the dirt; the people who've made a career of farming. Most likely its the farmer who lives very far away from here who's livelihood is connected to rhythms of the season, planning, planting, managing, harvesting and all the frustration and dirty work in between. What we experience in our little home vegetable gardens is almost quaint compared to a working farm. I express these thoughts not because I think what we do at home doesn't matter, but because it brings to light our reliance upon them and that we appreciate the people who grow our food on a large scale. When we begin to engage in fundamentals of growing our own food we connect to a basic human necessity, one that is unfortunately taken for granted everyday.

In my greatest efforts to grow as much food as I can for as long as I can, I won't get by for an entire year and I still depend on the farmers, and that includes all the immigrants who work so hard doing the jobs most people would not. To all of them, I thank you! And so ........ I will grow vegetables that will keep after harvest for extended periods of time like; winter squash, carrots, beets, onions and garlic. I will also can dilly beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, hot peppers, strawberry, blueberry and raspberry jam. And dehydrate tomatoes, blueberries, herbs and peppers!

In The Garden Now

The Front Yard Farmer

Here are some tips and observations to help you along with your gardens.

Clearly this has been an aby-normal spring thus far, although all this rain is great and we haven't had to worry about watering, its been unusually cold too.
This causes me to be concerned about a few things, but grateful for others.

Firstly, if you are growing cool weather crops like; lettuce, greens, peas, broccoli, etc. this has been a terrific season. These crops love the cool weather and last a lot longer . Usually by now these types of plants begin to bolt (more on this later).

Broccoli has their heads and are getting sizable and ready for harvest. Because of the low temperatures, the heads are able to get pretty big before going to flower, which hot sunny days will stimulate. Remember when you cut that large head of broccoli, leave the plant and for the rest of the summer you will be able to harvest the little broccoli shoots, these will produce the rest of the summer every few days, if left too long these too will go to flower and try to set seeds.

The down side of this cooler weather is a lot of the plants are growing at a poky rate. Tomatoes and peppers especially love those hot sunny days, so you may notice that your plants are slow to get moving. Keep in mind that the soil too needs to be warm too and its still not there. But not to worry, it will warm up and when the sun finally comes out you'll notice rapid growth all around.

So... what you may ask is bolting? This is when your plant begins to set its seed. If this was a typical NJ spring, cool weather crops would be starting to set their seeds already. For instance when spinach wants to bolt you'll notice that the leaves begin to shape shift, getting more pointed and a center stalk will shoot up, shortly thereafter you will begin to see flowers and finally seeds.

This year I have left a few things to go to seed, like my chard, carrots, beets and spinach (all from plants that I put in last fall). Simply leaving one plant of each is enough for you to gather for the next season.

I would encourage you all to let at least one plant from your groups of plantings to go to seed. Firstly, so you can see what the full cycle of the plant looks like, and the obvious which is to collect your seeds for the following season. If you are so inclined, share with other gardeners. This way too you are closing the loop as a keeper of the seed, to be self sufficient and not reliant on buying your seeds each season. This simple act connects us to all the gardeners and farmers who came before us who kept strains of plants going for centuries.

If you haven't yet staked your tomatoes, do it now. If you planned on doing a space saving option in your raised bed boxes, get that trellis up for the climbing beans and cucumbers as well.

If a crop such as lettuce has reached the end of its cycle, yank it out, put down some compost and put in another crop, such as bush beans.

If this is your first season of gardening keep these few things in mind;
this is a year for learning, if something fails, yank it out and try something else.
Be observant, make an effort to be in the garden everyday, see whats new, different or disturbing, the plants are our best teachers, they will show you what you need to know. Be curious, get up close and be nosey, check under the leaves, what insects do you see? Is it beneficial or is it an intruder?

Remember, your garden is a work in progress, ever changing and always in need of attention. Enter with an open heart and see 'what is'. Yes, it might be weedy but there is something to learn from the weeds as well. If left alone the plants will just do what they do, make flowers fruits in hopes of reproducing themselves. Anyway you proceed in the garden surprises are guaranteed to arise. Enjoy this little ecosystem,!

In the green,

Wendy
www.thefrontyardfarmer.net

Grow your garden up!

This week in anticipation of putting in the warm weather crops I was thinking of creative ways to grow some of the vegetables. As I have a pretty good understanding of personalities of most of the vegetables that I've grown over the years I can anticipate what their needs are spatially. In an effort to bring more whimsy and creativity to the garden,I had a few brain storms!

So, one day early in the spring while visting my brother's house (he has a garden from The Front Yard Farmer that I tend), I saw that he had just trimmed his Corkscrew Willow and the limbs were in the street waiting for removal. I chose about 20 of the discarded limbs, ranging from 6'-7'long and and cut back any side branches off the main limb and left them to dry out for about 4 weeks. Anyone who is familiar with Corkscrew Willow knows that poking a cut limb in the dirt is all you have to do to start a new tree, I don't even think you have to water it. They are super hardy and fast growing.

My idea was to use the willow branches for growing cucumbers. I took about 6 branches that were relatively straight at the bottom and gradually curled towards the top! I joined them together in a tee-pee fashion and zip-tied them about 2/3's of the way from the top. I'll plant my cuc's at the bottom and they will have a work their way to the top. It looks very cool!

At Steve's garden I wanted something creative for his cucumbers as well. I described to him that I wanted to somehow utilize the existing fence which was about 2 1/2 feet from the edge of the raised bed box, with a mulched walkway in between. Somehow I wanted to have a trellis that had its foundation in the bed and arched onto the fence, bridging the cucumbers over the walk way without blocking the walkway.

I planted the seed, so to speak with Steve and then had to leave for a few hours. Upon my return a few hours later he had almost finished his new design. Steve is the kind of guy who saves 'stuff' just because one never knows, it might come in handy one day. In an ah-ha moment it came to him that those old tents up in the attic that had'nt been camping in many moons had the kind of flexible tent poles that would surely do the trick. You know the poles that are joined by a piece of elastic on the inside which makes them able to flex into an arch???? He took 2 of them, spaced about 24" apart, poked them into the soil of the bed and arched them over to the fence, then laid a piece of wire coated fencing over the poles and attached it with tie wire and VOILA!!!! a trellis for our cucumbers, and it was tall enough for him to walk under without ducking (over 6.5 feet high).

Thats the dirt! I'll keep you posted on the progress of the vertical growers!

In the green,

Wendy

Looking up from the compost Pile

The other night when I went to dump the compost, I noticed a fresh pile from the day before. Usually we cover it with some straw but this was exposed. Upon closer inspection I saw something staring up at me and as I focused more closely I realized that they were fish heads! FISH HEADS??????????????? What the heck??????????? I screamed and ran away (quite literally).

Then in a flash I realized what that was about. Steve's dad had been here that afternoon after fishing in his favorite spot; right under the bridge where the fish fish hatchery releases the trout for the season! So after acclimating for about 10 minutes to the natural environment of the wild and scenic rivers of NJ, he skillfully snatches them up for a tastey dinner.

Well, this particular night Steve's friend John was joining him and his dad for dinner when John mentioned that fish guts are really good for the garden. So Steve's dad did me the favor of dumping them right on top of the compost, because naturally you would'nt just dump FISH HEADS directly in the garden. So off to the compost they went. No chance that they might begin to stink to high hell, or bring in varments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well now, I know that Joe was just trying to help. My dad used to love to put fish in the garden as well. After a day of fluke fishing, he'd come home and filet the fish in the kitchen sink and then take all the guts and put put them in the food processor for a whirl while the rest of the family was trying to quell the gag reflex. Then he would gingerly spoon the guts onto the base of each individual tomato plant in the the garden (and cover it with some soil, of course). Later in the summer when slurping his fresh tomatoes he would reflect on how it was the fish guts that made them so tastey! Just like when the Indians showed the Pilgrims upon landing on Plymouth Rock. (remember???).

Gardeners Note.... ground up fish guts or fish heads looking up at you from the compost? I'll pass on both!
Wendy

Welcome to the Front Yard Farmer

Meet Wendy, my friend, The Front Yard Farmer:

Make a connection to the earth and experience the satisfaction of growing your own food, all in your front yard.

The Front Yard Farmer will design, build, plant and nurture organic flower and vegetable gardens in YOUR yard or property. People are returning to home gardening and the Front Yard Farmer can make that happen.

Description of Services

>build 2 raised beds, consisting of 2" x 10" Douglas Fir Pine
>8'long x 4' wide, to be set in a sunny spot on site
>deliver and fill the raised beds with a soil and compost mix
>plant seedlings and seeds
>make regular visits to the client to instruct and advise in all matters of >gardening;
>planting
>thinning seedlings
>watering
>weed control
>pest control
>harvesting






Benefits of this Service

>A connection to the earth and the experience of growing your own food
>lightening your carbon footprint
>learning the skills towards self sufficiency
>expanding your pallet




Our Mission

The Front Yard Farmer wants to teach you the skills of growing your own food using organic methods. When you have a first hand experience at choosing what you will eat by literally starting from the ground up, you begin the to see your food in a whole new light.

We will procure all the materials needed from local sources and build the beds where you choose in your yard. All seeding and planting will be done by the Front Yard Farmer; you decide how much you want to be involved with the process.

In the early stages, we will visit your garden 1-2 times a week, seeding and planting, weeding, watering, installing structures (trellises, tomato cages, etc...) and laying down mulch.
The Front Yard Farmer wants to work directly with you to teach you the skills it takes to maintain a garden, you are encouraged to look over our shoulder and ask questions.

Tasting the fruits of your labors is one sure way to make the leap of all the obvious benefits of having your own vegetable garden. A freshly picked salad, a tomato warmed by the sun, peas that are picked off the vine that never make it to the kitchen, the sweet aroma of basil, these are tangible experiences that will take your palette to a new level. A gratifying connection to growing one's own food and the earth itself becomes self evident right away.

The average vegetable/fruit travels 1500 miles before reaching your local supermarket, growing your own food is the most direct and powerful way you can reduce your carbon footprint. Growing a garden is your piece in the larger picture of making a difference in the world.

Wendy's Bio / Experience:

12 years personal gardener - tending perrennial gardens for homeowners and businesses

2 years farming for a Community Supported Farm

3 years growing medicinal and culinary herbs to the market

4 years working as a lab technician for an renown herbal manufacturer

a lifetime home vegetable and herb gardener

Mother of 2 adult sons

Traveler

Athlete; cycling, mountain biking, skiing

Yoga instructor





After spending many years tending the gardens of homeowners, businesses and family members I've realized that teaching individuals the basics of growing their own food is skill that needs to be revived. I've taken a basic blueprint of my own gardens, which has been my personal training ground and simplified it so that I can easily take it to an average
homeowner.

Growing vegetables intensively in a manageable space, offers new gardeners a rewarding experience, one that will create a direct connection to growing one's own food and a reconnection with nature. With the changes we are seeing in the world as we know it, fresh food is no longer a commodity to be take for granted. Between the chemical inputs of large factory farms, lengthy transportation, and carbon output, our food comes at a great price, one that is not always apparent, to say nothing of lack of freshness. The time is right for to grow our gardening skills and have a relationship with our food, possibly right in your own front yard.