Another reason to buy local and in season

I just found a map of large corporations involved in organic food. It looks like several of the brands I like to buy are no longer little guys. Boca, Arrowhead Mills, Kashi, Horizon, Rice Dream and West Soy to name a few. I know some of these are owned by Hain Celestial which appears to have the common good at heart, but it shares alliances with Cargill and Heinz which have less than savory reputations including genetic engineering and toxins. according to profiles at Responsible Shopper.

So if you really want to know what's in your food grow it yourself or get to know the people who do.

christopher

so much going on!

The past month has seen everything from freezing temperatures to the current temperature of 81°. Some how the yard manages. I have added more seeds to the veggie plots: radishes, spinach, carrots, lettuce, maybe some kale. The front yard received a nice layer of leaf mulch.

Many blooms over the past two months, in rough order of appearance: crocus, daffodils, serviceberry, blueberries, columbine, violets, wild strawberries (real ones, not mock strawberries), fothergilla, foam flower, woodruff is just starting. The beat up azaleas look as though they’ve not given up. Several ferns have returned as well as solomon’s seal, tradescantia, the hostas, echinacea, some form of white Joe Pye weed, and the cardinal flower seems to be regaining strength.

I’ll have to post some photos soon. Until then,
christopher

Not out of Winter yet

I’m so glad I put those seeds in the ground. Now they’ll be safe from the squirrels under a covering of snow and/or ice. Whoohoo!

The weather is also reminding me how much water pools up around the raised veggie bed. Maybe I should move that to the higher side of the yard. Then think about a rain garden with blueberries and cranberries! Time to pull out more graph paper.

First seeds of the season

gardenstart_031107.jpg
Originally uploaded by mr_christopher.

Alright, so I have finally started sowing seeds for the new season. I figured I’d start with early vegetables, because a) it's early in the season, and b) they should be done, by the time we figure out what we’re going to do with the yard.

I planted the 1st and 3rd rows with a mix of radishes and kale, then I added spinach to the 1st row and beets to the 3rd. The beets are a long shot since the seeds are a few years old. Heck, the whole venture is a long shot, but it gives me something to do. I also figure that since I am logging it here, I’ll see it next year and decide whether it was a good idea.

I plan to sow rows 2, 4, and 5 next week. I’ll also sow lettuce in the big bed again. Woohoo!

g'nite.
christopher

Flickr

This is a test post from , I'm not sure if this worked right...

Heat zones!

I've been doing my homework and found a useful tool called the Heat Zone map, which shows the average number of days per year above 86°F (30°C). This is different from the USDA Hardiness Zone map that gives you the average minimum temperature. I’m basically in the same zone, 7 for heat and 7a for hardiness. Both maps are fairly detailed and you can find ones that will indicate your county, if you know the shape of your county, which I’m sure we all do... ahem, yes. I like the color of the heat zone map better, 7 is a refreshing green, which I’ll call lymon after the popular soft drink flavor. 7a is a pale salmon, mmm, pale.

Now I must warn you, zones are known to shift a bit from year to year, so don’t get fond of your color. Of course, if you have read or heard about the recent climate reports you’ll know that you can soon look forward to growing plants from zones far south of your current region in the not too distant future. Woohoo! Time to order some new catalogs. You may also want to pick up some salt tolerant species if you live in low-lying areas (20-30 ft above sea-level), those of you near the coast may want to inspect your PFDs.

Alright enough talking about climate change unless I’m going to do something about it, which at 22:27, I can only accomplish by reducing consumption through powering down the computer.

cheers,
christopher

Chugging along into the New Year

We’ve finally received some snow, quickly followed by ice and blasting wind. Since we started the year with spring many of the bulbs and buds in the area began to wake up, hopefully the damage will be minimal.

I added a few links to this page, mostly sites or magazines I find useful. I’ve also revised the yard map and am memorizing the seed catalogs, WOOHOO! Miriam is not sure how so much work can be relaxing, I consider it more like exercise or pre-season warm up.

My winter was spent reading about organic farming and landscape design in hopes that I can apply some of the techniques this year. I have few (I stress FEW) delusions that I’ll be sustaining the household with the backyard’s bounty, but I am interested in how cover crops could be used to build the soil. Also trying to figure the benefits and feasibility of crop rotation coupled with companion planting in maintaining a healthy yard. So much to do, but the ground is frozen solid. Maybe I’ll try starting seeds indoors in the meantime. On that note, the Washington Seed Exchange is tomorrow and it has been moved from the National Arboretum to Montgomery College, Takoma Park campus. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Right then, I must get to work.
christopher