Mr. and Mrs. G Grow Veggies

I have posted before about the importance of soil health in an organic garden.  Healthy soil is more resistant to pests.  Plants grown in healthy soil require less watering and grow bigger.  Interplanting is a really great way to increase soil health.  Planting different vegetables in one vegetable bed causes less nutrient depletion on the land then planting only one kind.

Another huge benefit to interplanting is land maximization.  While interplanting, many different vegetables can be planted very close to one another.  Since different plants grow at different rates, you are able to get by with less space between rows.

Radishes and Carrots

Another less practical reason for interplanting vegetables is the added beauty that the diversity gives your garden.

If you are interested in doing some interplanting in your garden, there are several things to consider.  If your plants need full sun, it is important not to plant with something that will become tall and shade it out.  Also considering shade, if you would like to plant something that only requires partial sun it would be best to plant something to provide it a little shade. 

Also, it is important to consider the girth of the vegetable you plan to grow.  If you would like to grow large and juicy watermelon radishes, it would not be wise to plant beets next to them.  Beets also are big around and they could crowd each other.  Long skinny carrots would work well next to radishes.

Another consideration is how quickly the vegetable will be ready to harvest.  Our favorite vegetable for interplanting is radishes.  Radishes are very fast growing, so they will often be harvested before the companian vegetable is large enough to crowd it out. 

There are certain plants that are also very complementary to each other.  Some combinations that have proved very successful to us are carrots and radishes, onions and greens and bush beans and potatoes.  Here is a great reference chart for companion planting.

Here are a couple of other excellent posts about interplanting:  From Adventures of Thrive Farm :  Interplanting Vegetables:  Root Depth, Plant Height and Vegetable Gardener Interplanting Crops in the Vegetable Garden. 

One of the biggest arguments that people have against chemical and pesticide free farming is that it cannot be done on a big scale to feed the masses.  Interplanting allows for tremendous yields on small amounts of land.  It is also incredible for the soil and requires less watering.  I believe that this method could provide more than enough healthy and amazing tasting food for everyone. 

What are some of your favorite vegetables to plant together?

When I was a youth in 4H, my sister and I had a garden.  At the beginning of the year, we were very excited about all of the vegetables we would plant.  We hoped for giant tomatoes like the ones at the state fair. 

With our miracle grow and potting soil, we planted many seeds.  We were so excited when we saw our baby carrots starting to grow.  All of our vegetables were growing quickly and we could hardly keep up with the weeds.  Just as our squash was starting to grow, a swarm of squash beetles wiped them out. 

Devestated, we asked our parents how to save the rest of our plants.  A good pesticide would take care of the bugs.  After spraying the plants they did survive.  Some produced vegetables, but none of our vegetables were very pretty or big.

Looking back, our problem was the health of our soil.  We did not know anything about compost.  A healthy soil produces healthy plants and is less susceptible to pests or fungus.  Now my husband and I grow vegetables like this.

Our radishes and carrots are huge!  All of our plants look healthy and pests are not to much of an issue.  This is due to our healthy compost, crop rotation, companion planting and compost tea.

Compost tea is our secret spray that brings life to our plants.  Although compost is great on the ground, when sprayed on the leaves it prevents disease, helps breakdown toxins and increases the amount of nutrients available to the plant.  Making compost tea is really simple if you have the right equipment.

The first thing you need is quality compost.  If you are new to composting, my favorite book is The Rodale Book of Composting:  Easy Methods for Every Gardener.  Our compost is divided into three “bins” based on the level of decomposition.

 We also have several piles of compost that is ready to use.  If you do not have any compost you may be able to get some from your local lawn recycling center or a grass-fed cattle rancher.  To make the tea you need mature sweet-smelling compost.

The easy way to make compost tea does not require any special equipment.  Start with a large clean bucket.  We get free pickle buckets from the local sandwich shop.  Fill the bucket about half-full with compost and the rest of the way with water.  Add about a half cup of unsulfured molasses.  Stir-daily for five days.  After five days, strain the tea with something like a cheese cloth.  Now it is ready to use!

If you are making large amounts of compost tea, it may be helpful to to get an aquarium bubbler and air stone.

The best time to apply compost tea is before your plant matures.  Do not apply within several weeks of your planned harvest.  It is best to use the tea once your plant is established and still growing.

Next time your plants need a little boost, try some compost tea to make your plants healthier.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a method to plant leeks using a dibbler.  While the leeks we planted using the dibbler are growing fantastically, that method was extremely time consuming.  Since Johnny’s Selected Seeds was so generous with the leeks, we had many more to plant. 

The method that we used last night is the same method that we use to plant our baby onions.  It is simple and relatively quick. 

The first step is to make your rows.  We have 3 1/2′ wide beds that fit five rows nicely.  As before, we are planting them very close together.  Some of the starts will not survive and others will be harvested early.

We made the rows with a garden hoe.  Once covered, the leeks should be 6-8” deep.

The next step is on lay the leeks in the rows. 

Once all of the leeks are placed into the rows, you can begin covering.  I found that it is easiest to do four at a time.  I use my hand to cover with the dirt closest to me.  This should cover them about 3”.  Next, I bring the dirt from the opposite side of the leeks and make them about 6” deep.  Then you may use your fingers to pack the dirt around the leeks.  Note:  This is also a great way to plant onions.

While this method was much faster, it was not easier.  The dibbler method gave us perfect upright leeks, while this method left them pointing in different directions.  This is a great method to use if you have hundreds of leeks to plant.

Happy planting!

Saturday was our first farmer’s market of the year.  Although getting our products ready for the first market is very stressful, we love the beginning of market season.  This is our third year selling items at the farmer’s market.  Each year we become more successful and find it more enjoyable.

We live in a community that is not very supportive of organic products and agriculture.  Sometimes we feel really out of place in our community.  However, when we are at the farmer’s market we are at home.  There are several other like-minded vendors and each year more people come with organic products.  It has been such a pleasure to see our community begin to respond more to organic foods and start to question where their food is coming from.

We have two stands at the farmer’s market.  One stand has our organic tea blends, T’z and Tizanes.

The other stand houses our produce called Love Dirt Farms.  This weekend we had several varieties of lettuce, kale, carrots, radishes and microgreens.

This past weekend was our most successful market ever!  We sold out of produce by 10:00.  Our new tea flavors were also a big success.  Since we are three seasons in, I would like to share some tips for success for other potential vendors:

1. Sell a product that people want to buy.  Visit your local market and see what products are successful.  If vegetables seem to sell well, find out what people are growing.  If you can grow the same vegetables organically you may have a new market.  Also, you could look for unique heirloom varieties.  Is there anything missing at the market?  If there are no crafts, baked goods, or ready to eat food vendors you could sell those things.  Sell a product you are passionate and knowledgeable about.  If you love your product, you can convince others to love it also.
2. Have a great display.  Your display should show off your product and should not detract from what you are selling.  Tiered stands make great use of space and add visibility.  You should have very visible clear signs and some touches of character.
3. Be nice!  If you are kind to your customers they will come back.  It is better to loose a sale then to loose a customer.
4. Do not make promises you cannot keep.  If you promise a customer a certain product, have that product for them.  We have lost several customers because we could not deliver on time.
5. Establish a good relationships with other vendors.  If you can work well with other vendors they can help your business.  Make friends and help direct your customers to other vendors.  For example, if we are out of carrots, we can send our customers to another vendor that has them.  They will send customers to you in return.
6. Be early!  You can never show up too early.  Get there early enough to set up and have some downtime.  Be ready for the early shoppers.
7. Do not leave early.  There are many sales that can be made in the last minutes and fewer vendors to choose from.
8. Price your product right.  This takes a lot of practice and studying.  Check out other similar vendors and markets.  Do not undercut other vendors, but do not price so high no one will buy.  Make sure you are making money.
9. Prepare for the elements.  Bring tarps to cover your products in case of terrential downpours, even if it’s not in the forcast.  Make sure you have weights to hold your tent in case of wind.  In the summer, bring water and other things to keep you cool.  In the winter bring many extra layers. 
10. Know when your product is not working for you.  Keep track of the money you make on each product.  If a product is not selling well, fix it or get rid of it.  We used to sell nut butter, but our hours of hard work were not paying off so we stopped.  Now we can focus on products that actually sell.

Bonus:  Have fun!  It can be very fun to get to know customers and other vendors.  If you are having fun, you will attract more customers.

After a busy first farmers market weekend, we are taking an easy Sunday.  The winds are intense today and there is a storm looming in the sky.  We feared that transplanting small plants or starting seeds outdoors would be a lost cause with the crazy weather.  Fortunately, we had a lovely box full of leeks that were big enough to withstand the elements.  We buy our leeks as starts because they can be tricky to grow from seed.  These were purchased from Johny’s Selected Seeds.

We used this dibbler to make about 6” deep holes very close to each other.  Disclaimer:  this is not the normal spacing for leeks.  The full sized leeks will not be ready until fall.  However, we would like to harvest some baby leaks when we thin them out so we have some earlier.  We purchased this dibbler from Amazon

After making the holes you can place one leak into the hole.  Do not fill in the hole.  The holes will naturally get filled in with rain and wind.  We found that it was much easier to make the holes with a flat surface when the ground was slightly moist underneath.  If it is too loose, they will easily fill in before you get the chance to put the leaks in.

We ended up with six rows of leaks in each bed.  Each row will be thinned out individually and by fall there will only be three rows left of large leeks.  Leeks are simple to plant and grow and do not seem to be bothered too much by pests, which makes them a wonderful plant for organic gardeners.  Have a great Sunday and pray for rain!