Tag Archives: gardening

Test Your Soil

Posted on by

The soil in my backyard has always been disappointing to me. I don’t think I could ever produce enough compost to turn this dust-like soil into a beautiful loamy soil. Most soil in Brooklyn is considered sandy. When it rains, the water runs through the sandy soil very quickly. It drains a little too soon, which means that the soil is often quite dry. Sounded like my soil, so I thought that’s what I had.

Then I took the Water Garden class at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the teacher mentioned different soil types: sandy, clay, silt (the ideal) and rubble. Wait a second! What? Back before people were a little more enlightened, they used to just tear down a building and leave the rubble behind. They would throw some soil on top, and voila, their problem was buried. I mentioned to the teacher that I’ve been picking bits of broken glass and tile out of my soil for the past 15+ years. Every time it rains, there are little sparkly bits that have surfaced. Well, guess what? Turns out I have sandy, rubbly soil. Wonderful. More reason to keep composting.

So now that I’m trying to raise more veggies than flowers, I’ve been thinking about how safe my soil is. Do I have a lot of lead or other heavy metals in my soil? I sent a soil sample to Cornell Nutrient Analysis Lab to be tested. I’m having them test for general soil fertility and heavy metals. Here’s an article in the NY Times today that specifically mentions Brooklyn as having high levels of lead in the soil. My teacher at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens said airborne lead is more of a problem than lead in the soil. I guess the urban plants have a good chance of getting the lead from either end.

The Times article says that fruiting crops such as tomatoes, squash, eggplant, corn and beans don’t accumulate lead as much as herbs, leafy greens and root vegetables. It also said that you can grow indian mustard and spinach for a few years as a way to leach lead out of the soil. Obviously you can’t eat those greens and they say you need to dispose of them as toxic waste. Yikes.

I think a very good solution is to have raised beds or containers. That is pretty much what I have. I have herbs in an area that has only composted soil. Everything else is pretty much in pots. I might add a raised bed in an area that gets a bit of sun to grow more greens than I’m able to at present. I’m enjoying the veggies so much that I’m crossing my fingers that my soil passes it’s test.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

Scrawny asparagus

Posted on by
asparagus stalk

asparagus stalk

I bought what was advertised as 2-year asparagus crowns this spring with visions of tender fresh asparagus in my head. I was not prepared for these pathetic hair-thin stalks to grow out of my soil. I think I was conned. They look like first year stalks to me. If you look at this video, you can see stalks of different years. I’ve been suckered, which means I’m going to have to wait at least another year or two to be able to harvest them. They need to grow to nourish the crown. If I got impatient and cut them this year, the whole plant will probably die. Bummer.

My friend Stephanie went to visit a friend of hers and blogged about her asparagus. Now I have asparagus envy.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

Creating a Rain Garden

Posted on by

columbine

columbine


Last wednesday I took a class entitled Creating a Rain Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It was a free class through their community horticulture program called GreenBridge. I hesitate for purely selfish reasons to talk about them, because they offer the most amazing classes free of charge and they fill up very quickly. Okay, there, I did it. You should definitely check out their classes. They have composting workshops, container gardening workshops, seed starting, etc. I will be taking their Edible Landscape class in June. I think all of the classes for the spring are filled up at this point, but you can get on their mailing list for future classes.

At the start of the class, we took a walk through the gardens. We walked through the cherry esplanade, which was in full bloom. The garden was closed to the public, so we were alone there at dusk. We passed through the lilacs and their perfume lifted me off my feet. We then walked through the native plant section of the garden, which is a nice, private section of the garden. There were lots of bunnies out and Robin, our teacher, said that there are wild dogs in the garden that come out at night, but are very shy. The walk was magical and now I have to figure out how to get a job there!

So what is a rain garden? A rain garden is designed to soak up rain water, especially from roofs, driveways, patios, etc. They look like a regular garden, but help to prevent valuable water from running off to the sewer system. You chose a site that has a slight downhill grade, or you dig a small depression that encourages the collection of rainwater. Many communities plant rain gardens in the green space between the sidewalk and the street. They cut the curb in front of the garden, which allows the rain running towards the storm drains to water the garden. If that isn’t clear, here is an example, which gives instructions as well.

One important thing to note about rain gardens is that they aren’t ponds, and therefore won’t attract mosquitoes. Sometimes they are filled with water after a rain, but other times they are dry. This requires plants that can handle both wet and dry conditions. That brings me back to one of my favorite topics…native plants! Native plants thrive in your area, which means they are adapted to live with the weather you get. (ie. temperature and rainfall) Once they are established, you won’t have to pamper them as you do with exotic species. You also have the added benefit of attracting loads of wildlife to your garden in the form of butterflies, bees and birds. And probably my personal nemesis the squirrel.

Okay, back to the rain garden…Think of the garden as a bowl, or as my teacher said, a pie plate. In the center of the garden, which is the bottom of the depression, you will collect the most water. You will want plants that can handle wet conditions. On the edges of the garden, there will be a slight incline, so the conditions will be dryer. You pick different plants for the dry conditions. Here’s a list of native plants that thrive in the different conditions in NYC. Actually these plants would be appropriate for most of the Northeast.

solomons seal

solomons seal


By the end of the class, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to handle the quantity of water that runs off my roof when it rains, so I’m going to concentrate on planting more native plants that require less watering. I think I may also plant around the tiny tree in the pit outside my apartment. Right now there’s just dirt around it. Other people could think about green roofs as a way to absorb rainwater and prevent runoff.

Here are some factoids to encourage you to think about rain gardens:
* In the summertime 40% of our water use goes to watering lawns and gardens. Rain gardens rely soley on rain, so they don’t waste valuable resources.
* Rain gardens allow 30% more water to soak into the ground than a regular lawn.
* 300 million gallons of sewer overflow (rain runoff mixed with good old regular sewage) are diverted to the Gowanus canal each year. Other overflow goes to Orchard beach, Jones beach and others, causing them to close due to unsafe bacterial counts. Euw!

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

Getting started: What you need to grow vegetables

Posted on by

The following article was on newsday.com today
by Jessica Damiano | Garden Detective

Planting your own vegetable garden can really save money. And that’s not just my opinion; the U.S. Department of Agriculture concurs, estimating that every $100 spent on vegetable gardening yields $1,000 to $1,700 worth of produce.

Expect to harvest about a half-pound of edibles from every square foot of garden, according to the National Gardening Association. That means a 15-by-15- foot garden can produce more than 100 pounds of vegetables.

Supplies: Hoes, rakes, spades, hoses and a fluorescent light kit for indoor seed starting are practically one-time purchases. When spread over their lives, their costs become negligible. Assuming you don’t buy any fancy composting bins, raised-bed kits, greenhouses, cold frames or other high-end gear, growing your own can be quite the miserly endeavor.

A $70 investment in seeds and supplies can yield, on average, a $600 return, assuming a $2-per-pound market price for produce, according to the National Gardening Association. All you really need are seeds and seed-starting mix, containers to start the seeds in (be creative and recycle yogurt containers and egg cartons), fertilizer, compost, water and mulch. It’s late in the season to be starting seeds indoors, so if you haven’t, buy nursery-grown starter plants for this year.

Time: Plan to spend 30 to 40 minutes a week tending every 100 square feet of garden. That’s about 10 minutes a day, plus time for watering.

Sun: When it comes to sun and vegetables, more is better. Locate your garden where it will receive at least six hours of full sun each day, especially if you’re growing the plant for its fruit or root. If you don’t have a site that offers full sun all day, no worries. Just stick to green leafy vegetables like lettuce, collard and mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach and kale. Broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beans and beets can handle a little shade, too. Herbs require full sun. And always transplant seedlings outdoors on a cloudy day.

Soil: Before you do anything else, dig down 4 to 6 inches into your planting bed and scoop up a cupful of soil for a pH test. You can do this yourself with a store-bought test kit or you can bring a sample to your county Cornell Cooperative Extension office, where they’ll test it and provide specific instructions on raising or lowering the pH and give suggestions for improving the soil. The optimum pH level for vegetables is between 6.2 and 6.8. For herbs, it’s 7.0.

Next, clear the bed of weeds and enrich the soil. Add lime or sulfur if indicated by your pH test results (lime raises alkalinity, sulfur reduces it). Spread 4 inches of compost – the best organic matter available – on top of the soil and till it 6 to 8 inches deep.

If you’re planting in a newly created bed, incorporate 3 pounds of 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 slow-release fertilizer per 100 square feet. If you’re using the same bed you planted in (and fertilized) last year, mix in 2 pounds per 100 square feet. Herbs generally don’t need fertilizer.

Space: Vegetables planted in wide rows perform and produce much better than those that are crowded together. Ideally, rows should run north to south for best sun exposure, but don’t sweat it if that isn’t possible. Transplant starter plants or seedlings exactly as deep as they were growing in their pots. Only tomatoes can, and in fact, should, be planted deeper; they send out roots from the buried portion of their stems that actually make for sturdier plants.

Mulch: Even though it makes the garden look nice and tidy, mulch isn’t purely decorative. Its real purpose is to discourage weeds, maintain even soil temperature and retain moisture. Apply 2-3 inches around plants. Consider shredded bark, wood chips, salt hay or black plastic sheeting.

Water: Most vegetable plants require one inch of water per week. Set an empty tuna or cat-food can into the garden to catch and measure rainfall, and gauge supplemental irrigation accordingly, timed for early mornings to avoid fungal diseases. It’s better to water very deeply once or twice a week than to water just a bit every day, which results in shallow root systems. Use soaker hoses to water the soil, not plants, as sprinklers and overhead watering can lead to fungal diseases.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

Indoor Composting

Posted on by

compostingro1

Here’s a product called the NatureMill that’s been getting a lot of publicity lately. The company says that it will turn your food scraps into garden-ready compost in 2 weeks.

I am a bit skeptical about this product for a few reasons. My first doubts are with their claim to speeding up the decomposing process to only take 2 weeks. I’ve generally found that compost happens on its own schedule. A good hot pile takes a couple of months.

My second issue with the product is the fact that it uses electricity. They say that the machine uses about $.50 of electricity a month. I just think it’s weird to take one of the most natural processes on Earth and make it use electricity. When most people start composting, it’s because they are concerned with the environment and want to reduce the amount of garbage that’s going into a landfill. The rich garden soil is a bonus.

However, if people begin to compost with this product who would never have composted before I think it’s a positive move. If the amount of electricity is offset by the reduction of waste hitting a landfill and all of the energy costs involved in that process, I will keep my mind open. Anybody use the NatureMill or know of anyone who does? I’m curious to hear feedback on it.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

Happy Earth Day

Posted on by

spinach sprouts

spinach sprouts


I hope everyone is having a great Earth Day and thinking about how great our little planet is and what they can do to help it out. I just bought some Marcal toilet paper, which is recycled. So far so good. Feels good not to flush trees away.

Meanwhile things are sprouting in our garden. I planted a dwarf apple tree, which the squirrels promptly chewed on. I also planted some seeds, which were dug up by the marauding squirrels. I had to take drastic measures and have now put my plants in jail to protect them. My little apple tree is starting to bud, which makes me hopeful that they will survive the damage. How do you stop these delinquent squirrels? I feel sorry for them in a city like this. They are probably just so excited to find some nice, clean soil that they go nuts. I can hardly blame them, but it still aggravates me that they choose my garden to destroy.

So here are some photos of my prison block garden. You can see some of the chomps on the trunk of the little apple tree. Yes that twig sticking out of the planter is a tree. I swear it.

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare

The Backyard

Posted on by

backsteps

When I first mentioned to Neil that I wanted chickens, his initial response wasn’t very positive. He grew up in the Berkshires and sometimes the farm aesthetic was pretty awful. We have a small yard, so any chicken coop we got (I was working on him!) had to be attractive. We spent way too much money on the Eglu by Omlet. It’s a beautiful coop and very easy to clean, which was a big bonus for me.

So everything was going well in our beautiful backyard farm until I took a couple of composting classes at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The teacher was great and very inspiring as to how to scavenge materials in the city. Coffee grounds from your local coffee shop, bales of straw from neighbor’s Halloween displays, etc. It was armed with the information from this class that I purchased a Toro leaf blower and decided to vacuum and mulch my leaves. It actually took a lot of restraint not to become the crazy leaf lady and walk up and down my block vacuuming up the neighbor’s leaves. Hey, I only have a finite amount of “browns” for my compost bin!

Well then I happened upon an autumnal display (this was in October) that had bales of straw and quickly asked them if I could have the straw when they were done with it. I was able to cart off 2 bales. Those suckers are big and heavy and you definitely look like the crazy straw lady when you are wrestling them down the streets of Brooklyn on a cart. I generously spread a layer all over the backyard and piled the straw up in the plant beds. I was glowing with how the straw would break down by the springtime and help my crummy lifeless soil become rich with nutrients and life. Neil was skeptical, but has gotten used to my crazy schemes, so he didn’t grumble too much.

It is now spring and as you can see from the photos, I have plenty of straw on the ground and in the beds. It has shown very little signs of breaking down. The grumbling has gotten quite audible. I planted grass seeds and there are tiny little green hairs peeking up. Hasn’t shown any sign of covering up the straw.

backyard

Even I have to admit that my fabulous composting endeavor looks pretty awful. People who come over think that the straw is for the chickens and this is exactly what Neil wanted to avoid in the first place. Neil encouraged me to pull out the leaf blower to suck up some of the straw and grind it into smaller pieces. That seemed to work, but I didn’t put it all back. I think I will dig it into the beds over the summer and fall and add it to my compost bin. I think the grass will grow through what’s left and my backyard will look a little less like photos from the Dust bowl fairly soon. Cross your fingers!

FacebookTwitterGoogle+StumbleUponShare