Garden Update and Request for Help With Deer

In this video I asked about preventing deer from entering my garden.  Since then I have begun to build a strong fence.  The minimum height is 6 feet.  My hope is that deer will look at the area inside as too difficult to jump into, and go elsewhere.  Many people talk about using smells and tastes to drive deer away.  My experience with hair, lion dung, dogs, dial soap, garlic and pepper is that these methods do not work. 

I hope you enjoy the tour.  Im looking forward to posting more updates later this summer

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A Warm Place In The Garden

I feel a garden should be made beautiful with flowering plants, patios, ramadas, water features, and comfortable retreats.

Rocket Mass stoves are a great way to retain the warmth of a fire. Broaudio has built this warm entertainment area where his guests will remain comfortable well into the evening

The mass surrounding the flue provides a warm place to sit

He has even come up with a great way to cast the fire box out of clay.

Of course Rocket Mass Stoves are a great way to keep your garden house warm too!
For more about Rocket Mass Stove Click Here

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Do You Know Your Garden Insects

Dont get these confused 

Squash Bugs- Bad

Damsel Bugs - Good

Damsel Bugs really love to live near alfalfa fields

Colorado Potato Bug

Cucumber Beetle - 1

Cucumber Beetle -2

Mexican Bean Beetle

Beneficial Lady Bugs

Learn to associate the moths in your area 
with the caterpillar

.  You have most likely seen these moths.  Here is the association.

Cabbage Loopers

There are simply too many moths and caterpillars to show them all,  But this site has an amazing collection of images.   http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/gallery

 

Should we kill it?

The white cocoons of the parasitic braconid wasps (Hymenoptera) hangs on the back of this tobacco hornworm. It would probably be better to let this one live in order to let the braconid wasps hatch.  I dont want to get into pest management but plant pollen and nectar producing plants attract Braconid Wasps.  So plant flowers for a beautiful garden defense.

Swallowtail Butterfly

Swallowtail caterpillar

Swallowtail caterpillars are beneficial insects; however, if you are a parsley farmer, you may have a different opinion!  Caterpillars forage heavily on their host plants, but they also serve as a food source for songbirds and other wildlife.  After their metamorphosis into butterflies, they become pollinators, which is important because one-third of the world’s cultivated crops depend upon the work of pollinators like butterfly and bees.  In addition, butterflies are beneficial to humans for their aesthetic qualities.  Many species are brightly colored and so capture the attention and marvel of many people.  Just watching the whimsical flight of butterflies is enough to lift the spirits!  - Joseph 

The Bug Guide is a good site for insect identification

The less pesticides you use, the more beneficial bugs you will see in your garden.
More flowers bring more beneficial bugs.
Malicious insects dont like healthy plants.
Use compost tea with molasses, essential micro-nutrients, and grow your soil.
Attract Soldier Beetles with goldenrod, hydrangeas, catnip or milkweed in your garden.

Soldier Beetles

UC Davis has very good information about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/index.html

 and

IPM Images is my favorite! 

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Hot July Garden Pics

Its been about 4 months since I built this garden

I just harvested 29lbs potatoes.  Red, Blue, White, and Yukon Gold

Im not sure if its time to harvest this corn.  The ears are kinda small.

The corner seems to be getting dry.  I took two ears off.  One was immature and the other was missing quite a few kernels.  No bugs.   Im going to let it go a bit longer, The stalks are better than 7 tall.

 

Beautiful tomatoes are ripening everywhere in my garden.  These are hydroponic.  No worms!

I think these are Muskmelon.    They are growing up the arched trellis and hang down inside.

Guatemalan Blue Banana Squash hanging from the curved trellis.

The Kratky Method is great!  Its totally hands off, and fool proof.  Just set it up, and come back for the harvest when the plants are ready.  No watering, fertilizing, I never even did anything for pest control.  These were grown in the July heat where every day topped out near or over 100F. Several days were 110+.

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A Garden Update

This is my garden layout.  Its an odd shaped lot, but Ive made it work.  Im experimenting with wicking beds, hugelkulture, aquaponics, bioponics, hydroponics, and bio-char.

The greenhouse is for seedlings,

The propagation room uses aquaponic beds in a well insulated grow room with a 400W ceramic metal halide bulb, but the south facing window is generally all I use.  This room has media, deep water culture (DWC), and wicking beds for propagating by cuttings.

The hoop house has a bioponic system and a hydroponic system in it.  During the summer I can use a shade cloth and in the winter I keep the rain out with plastic which offers just a little freeze protection, but the ends are left open.  There are also to DWC beds connected outside of the hoop house.

The engineered septic system (ESS) takes up a large part of my nursery.  I cant plant in it so Ive utilized the area by building a half hoop over it for vines to grow on.  This should create a very nice place with shade during the summer heat.  There are twi wicking beds up on the ESS which is raised 2 feet above the rest of the area.   I used livestck panels to create a curved trelis over this area.  Here is a picture from my friend Vlad in Serbia which shows the vines with fruit hanging down from above.  This is what I am hoping to achieve in order to create a shady area where I can sit and enjoy my garden

The plot map shows the potting table all the way around back of the workshop.  I moved it behind the greenhouse and hung some shade cloth.  This has worked out a lot better since it is closer to my potting resources.

This is my bioponic/hydroponic hoop house

 

 Panoramic shots

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Garden Update

Its been a week since I added Epson Salts.  While I dont see significant growth the Epson salts have brought vibrant deep green color to the leaves.

These plants may be a lost cause since they were stunted so young, but Ill continue to observe their recovery.
I am experimenting with 8 different methods of growing.  AP, Bioponics, Bio-Char, Hugelkuture, dirt, Wicking Beds, Hydroponics, and  Kratky Method.  The tomatoes from the wicking beds, hugelkulture, hydroponic and wicking bed systems taste very good.  Given the problems Ive recently encountered with my bioponic system its not fair to judge the taste from that system.

Of all the methods I have come to like wicking beds the best.  Water levels must be maintained, but the reservoir allows one to be less attentive and if the soil web is good the plants take care of themselves..

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Money In Your Garden

If you can relate with this image, you may want to read this article. 

Many vegetables can be expensive to purchase by growing the most expensive vegetables in your garden and buying the least inexpensive vegetables at your grocery store you can easily help drop your food budget.  This especially important for people like me with very limited space to grow everything that I consume.  [READ MORE]

Vegetable	USD Value/SF
Cilantro	$ 21.20
Arugula-Roquette	$ 20.92
Green Salad Mix	$ 17.55
Chives	$ 16.40
Dill	$ 16.40
Lettuce	$ 16.20
Tomato, Cherry, small & medium	$ 15.57
Turnip	$ 9.90
Tomato, large	$ 9.50
Squash, Winter	$ 8.40
Tomatillo	$ 8.00
Cucumber	$ 7.74
Basil	$ 6.63
Radish, Red	$ 6.22
Pumpkin	$ 6.20
Chard, Swiss	$ 6.14
Celery	$ 6.00
Squash, Summer	$ 5.96
Choi	$ 5.70
Peas, Snow	$ 4.50
Pepper, Jalapeno	$ 4.50
Squash, Summer, Zucchini	$ 4.17
Onion, Bunching	$ 4.14
Pepper, Bell	$ 3.60
Brussels Sprouts	$ 3.59
Carrots	$ 3.56
Rhubarb	$ 3.25
Squash, Winter, Butternut	$ 3.20
Kale	$ 3.07
Grass, Lemon	$ 3.00
Peas, English	$ 3.00
Onion, Bulb	$ 2.63
Radish, White	$ 2.60
Bean, Bush	$ 2.51
Peas, Edible Pod	$ 2.50
Artichoke, Globe	$ 2.40
Cabbage, Chinese Napa	$ 2.24
Squash, Winter, Delicata	$ 2.10
Spinach, Spring/Fall	$ 1.80
Leeks	$ 1.75
Potatoes	$ 1.50
Parsnips	$ 1.50
Garlic	$ 1.37
Squash, Summer, Yellow	$ 1.34
Parsley	$ 1.31
Corn	$ 1.25
Squash, Winter, Acorn	$ 1.20
Squash, Winter, Hubbard	$ 1.20
Eggplant	$ 1.10
Greens, Mustard	$ 1.10
Rutabaga	$ 1.00
Beet	$ 0.89
Cabbage, Savoy	$ 0.80
Broccoli	$ 0.80
Kohlrabi	$ 0.75
Cauliflower	$ 0.60
Broccoli, Chinese	$ 0.60
Cabbage	$ 0.50

Sources: http://www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/ppatch.html for plant yield information, http://shop.safeway.com for current produce prices

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Garden House

Ive built several garden houses and have always thought I could do it better next time.   Im going to collect some resources here.  I like that term "garden house" better than green house 

The video above shows some good ideas for making a strong poly tunnel.  He also said he would use metal conduit next time.  I too  have built this type of tunnel and found that the wind eventually shifted the tunnel such that the whole thing became lopsided.  An important thing to notice is how low he installs the brace.  If placed too high rain will begin to collect on the top and pull the plastic down until you have large ponds of water hanging down above your head.  Make sure the brace is low enough that the water will run off.

Here are a couple more links I like:
http://www.greenhouse.cornell.edu/structures/factsheets/pgm.pdf
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/hoop-house-zm0z11zmat.aspx

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