It’s Planting Season: Considerations for Selecting Perennial Plants

The following summarizes the advice I’ve received concerning determining what perennial plants to use in your garden. I limit this to perennial plants because annuals don’t typically represent a big investment (they are temporary, so it doesn’t require as much thought).

Once you’ve decided to add a perennial to your garden, consideration should be given to the following since these will influence the success or failure:

Plant factors

• Choose plants that naturally grow in your area. Native plants are a great choice. They are already adapted to the amount of sun, rainfall, & temperature swings (as well as other climatological factors) in your area. Also, native plants are not likely to create problems for other plants or wildlife by crowding out native plants.
• Select hardy plants that can thrive with intermittent or little care. Choose plants that can withstand variations in watering and fertilization schedules.
• Select plants that are interesting or colorful and/or produce fruit for you or for wildlife. These plants will bring you enjoyment throughout the year. Also, consider plants that create habitat for butterflies, birds, and other native or migratory species.

Other factors

• Be aware of microclimate conditions of your planting site. For example, is it heavily shaded or does it get a lot of morning or afternoon sun? Does it stay wet or drain readily. While the sunlight issues may require relocation, you can amend the soil to address water issues.
• Consider mulching or other weed suppression techniques to prevent your addition from becoming another source of work for you. Mulching has the added benefit of retaining moisture so you have to water less frequently.
   Plan to dig a planting hold that is sized appropriately for your plant (three times the width of the root ball/pot and no deeper than the root ball or pot).
• Amend your soil to suit your plant and soil type. I have sandy soil, so unless plants like that soil type, I always add lots of compost and vermicompost to my planting holes. Some people recommend mycorrhiza additions to aide in root formation and growth.

Naturally, when you water your new addition, consider using vermicompost tea if it is not too late in the year (you don't want a burst of new growth before first frost).

I hope you find this discussion useful.

Cheers,

Mark

Juicing and worms-- a perfect combination

That is, juicing fruit and vegetables and feeding the pulp to the worms, NOT juicing worms! :)

In many ways, juicing and keeping a worm bin is a wonderful cycle:

1. You  harvest fruit and veggies from your garden that is fertilized by your vermicompost.

2. You make juice from the fruit and veggies.

3. You take the leftover pulp and feed your worms.

4. You harvest vermicompost and fertilize your garden

We like the Omega J8004 juicer. 

Omega J8004 Juicer with all the parts

It is relatively small, yet reasonably powerful, and easy to clean. It was a little more expensive than other models, but it feels really durable and the assembly/disassembly of the parts makes sense. I am very happy with the juice it makes, too! The only concern some have is that you have to cut the food into pretty small pieces. It is true, but that doesn't trouble me.


Here is a recipe for a lunchtime juice for 2 people

 Ingredients:
3 small apples
4 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 large beet
2 radishes
Small handful wheat grass
¾ cup chopped cabbage
1 knuckle ginger
2 peeled clementines
1 baby cucumber

Ten cups of a variety of fruit and veggies makes juice for two

Chop it all up to ½ inch pieces and feed into juicer.

Nice small pieces work best

Use tamper (GENTLY!) to push veggies into the feeder tube

The juice falls out of the bottom and the waste pulp goes to the left

The dry pulp goes into your worm bin-- it breaks down really quickly for the worms to eat.

The juice is almost done!

 

This makes 2 pints of juice—a perfect lunch for two! In general 10 cups of chopped material makes 2 pints of juice.

Cheers!

 

Cheers,

Mark

Cold frames

Ever considered building your own cold frame?


Making and operating your cold frame is easier than you probably think and MUCH cheaper than a greenhouse.

First a tip of the hat to Elliot Colman, who showed me how to keep my cold frame going. His excellent book contains information and suggestions to build cold frames. My simple wood and polygal cover is based on his recommendations. I use the garden carts to secure the lids (from both wind and squirrels).

Here are a few photos of my cold frame

As you can see it it pretty well buried in snow.

Photo from the front-- I keep the polygal clear to prevent collapse and let the sun in

A close looks shows just a hint of the greens grown on the left side

Here is a peek under the lid. 

That's claytonia growing. I sowed this in early November when the cold frame soil was still warm. It will cut and come again a little (VERY SLOWLY). I cut the right side and it is gone.

The lid is polygal and not attached to the frame. I keep it closed this time of year and will only begin to open it if the weather really warms and soil temps get above 65F. Usually, that doesn't happen until April (but who knows this year). Come May, I switch to a lighter lid that I can handle more easily and has more ventilation (only closing when we have a clear night with frost).

When the growing season starts (typically June), I put the covers away and refresh the soil in the cold frame with compost. I try to run a summer crop of something completely different to prevent pests. This year, I may sow some wild flowers-- I just have to be careful to cut them before they go to seed.

Cold season seed recommendations for Maine:

Claytonia-- this is VERY forgiving and quite tasty in salads-- even on it's own. It is my favorite for my cold frame.

Mache (Corn salad) also works well, and I will sow this next weekend on the right (vacant) side after adding some aged vermicompost. It is as forgiving as claytonia, but because you harvest nearly the whole plant when cutting and it doesn't come again. For me, it is perfect for sowing in early March for a late April & May harvest. The last crop before turning the cold frame over for the summer planting.

Spinach works OK. I have had mixed success overwintering spinach. I mostly plant it early (before I start the claytonia)

Cheers,

Mark


2013 Cold Frame Update

Here is how my cold frame looked last weekend-- overfull and ready to harvest.


 

I've been battling a case of shingles, and my harvest was a bid delayed.

I switched to my non-insulating cover (ripple plastic instead of the polygal).

Come early May, I will remove the cover completely and clean it all out for the summer plants.

Cheers,

Mark

Building a raised bed

Building a new raised bed is not difficult, but you will want to plan it out before starting. I am putting in a new asparagus bed to correct my too wet old bed. This blog will review my plans installation. I welcome any comments or suggestions.

Materials

Lumber:  I plan to have this raised bed for a while, so I am building it out of hemlock. Hemlock is naturally rot resistant, so I don’t have to worry about ground contact. Hemlock is strong and inexpensive, too. On the other hand, hemlock can warp and will expand and shrink with the seasons. That is not a problem for me. I will reinforce the sides (with some leftover flooring lumber), but a little warping will just give the raised bed character. I purchased 2” x 10” x 4’ dressed hemlock from Maschino Lumber in New Gloucester. You could use rough hemlock to get a more natural appearance, but I prefer fewer splinters. Their price was $4 per board. I used 8 for this so the lumber cost me $32. 

Soil:  I am filling this bed with a combination of finished hot compost, vermicompost, leaf mold, and peat. It is mostly hot compost with a little vermicompost/leaf mold/peat to increase the organic matter content. I made a lasagna style raised bed with these other additions. Because this will eventually become strictly an asparagus bed, I am being very careful about weds (vermicomposting is not hot composted, so I will battle volunteers if I add a lot of it too close to the surface. I will water the plants with vermicompost tea later, so I don’t need to go overboard with the vermicompost now. Compost and leaf mold are free. I used very little peat, but a new bag is $4.

Other:  I used 3” deck screws to hold everything together. Because hemlock warps and shrinks, I chose screws over nails. I already had the screws, but if you were buying them new a medium box costs around $6. I also used hardware cloth (secured with staples). I am using hardware cloth to stop any mice, moles, voles, etc. from tunneling into my raised bed. I’ve suffered from their raids in the past and an ounce of prevention... More on this later.

Design

If you’re going to garden in your raised bed, don’t make it too large. The idea is that you don’t want to walk on the raised bed, so you have to be able to reach the entire area. For me, that mandates a design that is not more than 2 feet from any side. Here a 4’x4’ square that I can walk around is perfect.

I’ve had problems with underground raiders in the past, so I am adding a bit of insurance to deter them to this bed— hardware cloth is stapled to the inside bottom of the frame. ACE sells 1/4" hardware cloth 24” for around $2/foot. I need 16 feet, so $32.

Site Preparation

I removed sod from an area a little larger than my 4’x4’. Then I excavated soil to a depth of approx 16-18”. I want good soil down 2’ deeper than the soil surface, so I have to excavate to this depth. It is hard work, but it will be worth the effort later. Add the excavated soil to your hot compost pile (you can see one of my hot compost material storage piles in the background). I used ground stakes to help me dig straight lines.

Build

When the site is ready, assemble your raised bed. Eight pieces of 2”x10”x4’ lumber is heavy, so I suggest you do this close to where you will be installing. I end screwed the boards (twice each) and braced the centers with a piece of scrap flooring lumber (on the inside so this will be hidden by the soil). When built, place over your hole. As you can see, because the hole is larger, I have to span the corners to position the raised bed frame. I have lots of scrap flooring, and this works perfectly.

Next you staple the hardware cloth to the frame allowing about 10-12” below the bottom. This can be tricky because it is not too flexible and hardware is VERY sharp. Wear leather gloves and a long sleeve shirt.

Filling

Now comes the fun part: adding in your good soil. As mentioned, I am making lasagna layers with leaf mold and peat (over sprinkled with vermicompost). My top layer is finished hot compost. Water down the whole thing when you are finished, and poke with hay fork to remove any air pockets.

Back fill the outside edges to secure the frame, and remove the flooring. Tamp down the soil around the edges and you are finished.

I planted with asparagus and beets. I will add more asparagus next spring. I want to have 2 varieties Mary Washington and Jersey) to give me some diversity for pest resistance.  This raised bed cost me a total of $74 and took 3 hours to complete. Although my new asparagus will take several years to establish, I plan to harvest asparagus from this bed for a LONG time. Great recipes for all your home-grown or CSA vegetables can be found here.

Eventually, I will dig out the surround grass and replace with landscape fabric covered with wood chips.

Cheers,

Mark