Horace Glump On Gardening

ESSENTIAL GARDENING TOOLS SERIES - I

2009-09-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Over the years I've discovered a few tools that are absolute essentials when if comes to working around the yard. On top of my list is the Leatherman Wave® mutli-tool which sports a plethora of handy little tools all in one compact package. I've become so accustomed to having my Leatherman® on my belt that my hand naturally reaches for it when a yard challenges presents itself. If for some reason I don't have it on my belt, my day is ruined.

Around the Glumpstead, I find I use the Wave's® pliers/wire cutters more than any of the other tools. I'm always cutting fence wire, fixing something with bailing wire or cutting weedwacker line. The pliers also come in handy when the need arises to tighten a bolt on the lawn mower or other yard equipment. The two different knife blades (regular and serrated) which feature one-hand deployment, also get a lot of use cutting rope, cutting flower stems, harvesting asparagus, etc. For tightening/loosening screws on the fly, the Wave's® various sizes of screw drivers are just the ticket, often saving a trip to the garage to drag out the toolbox.

Here's a list of the Leatherman Wave® features:
• 420HC Stainless Steel Clip-point Knife
• Needlenose Pliers
• Regular Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Hard-wire Cutters
• Wire Stripper
• Extra-small Screwdriver
• Small Screwdriver
• Medium Screwdriver
• Large Screwdriver
• Phillips Screwdriver
• Scissors
• Diamond-coated File
• Wood Saw
• Bottle Opener
• Can Opener
• 8 in | 20 cm Ruler

As for the Leatherman® brand, I can't say enough. The Wave® comes with a 25-year warranty and if you ever have to return your tool for warranty work, you'll find super fast service. Check out the complete line of Leatherman products at www.leatherman.com. I've got my eye's on the Leatherman Genus® landscaping tool which includes a bypass pruning shears. The only problem is, I'm afraid of having to decide which one to carry.

GLUMPISM- "You'll find that life occasionally breaks down, so be prepared to make some repairs."

Lite Lasagna Beds

2009-06-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in previous posts, I really like the Lasagna Gardening method. It is by far the most pragmatic approach to building a new raised bed. But there are times when you don't want to build an entire new bed or you may have a little corner of your existing garden where you would like to add some small plant starts. For instance, I like to start perennials in my greenhouse (2-3 year old perennials get expensive) and then set them out in a spot that needs some extra color, texture or height. By the way, perennials started inside in late winter or early spring often bloom their first year. Since I am planting young plants, they need a little extra help against the competition around them which can sometimes crowd out the little guys. In this case I utilize what I call a "lite" Lasagna bed.

My Lite Lasagna bed is built up inside a recycled cardboard box; placed in the ground; planted with young plants. The walls of the cardboard box help keep existing mature plants from invading. After a year or so the cardboard will be decompose just about the time your new plants are becoming established and need more root room. This method also works great for transplanting volunteers or cuttings from existing plants.

Here's a step by step:
1) Find a cardboard box that will fit your space and your plant starts. (Photo A)
2) Build your soil using the lasagna method- (layers of peat moss, compost, crushed leaves, grass clippings, etc.) Or if you want to cheat, you can fill with a store bought potting soil or top soil mix. (Photo B)
3) Dig a hole in the ground to accommodate the box so that the top edges will flush with the surface.
4) Place the box in the hole and add some mulching material over the box edges if desired. (Photo C)
5) Plant your plant starts. (Photo D)
6) Hey, don't forget to water them regularly.

There, you're done. By this time next year the cardboard box will have become part or your bed and hopefully you're plants will have survived the winter ready to grow like crazy for another season. See Photo "E" for some purple coneflowers that were planted the year before in a Lite Lasagna bed box. (Photo E)

-HG

GLUMPISM: "Darkness cultivates fear but light cultivates freedom."

A Map to Gardening Success

2009-04-20T12:29:00.001-07:00

After a few years of gardening, it doesn't lake long to discover that some things work and some things don't. You don't get a lot of second chances to get things right during a growing season so its especially wise to remember your garden's history. While you may be blessed with an elephant memory, it became apparent to me a few years back (I can't remember when) that I needed to keep a written record of my gardening activities from season to season. Good gardening records are helpful to recall what you planted--where and when, which seeds or plant varieties worked best, the best time to harvest, etc. To maintain healthy and beneficial soil practices, it is also wise to rotate your crops from year to year which is another dandy reason to keep track of your garden's life.

Some gardeners like to keep an extensive journal of each and every season's successes and failures. Because I am more picture-oriented and somewhat lazy when it comes to writing down every detail, I have developed a simple system to log the season's garden activities. I drew up a map of my garden on my computer--you don't have to get too fancy. The diagram includes my annual vegetable beds as well as perennial plants including fruit trees and berry plants. For perennials, I show their general location, date originally planted and estimated time of harvest. For annual veggies, I show the bed location, type of plant (specific variety is helpful) and the date planted.

Come next year when I'm planning the new garden. I simply copy and save as the new year (i.e. Garden 2008 becomes Garden 2009). After I figure out what I want to plant for the new season, I drag things around accordingly. After planting, log in the date you sowed the seeds (so you'll remember when to do it next year!) With the garden map it is easy to rotate your crops to the best position based upon what was growing in the bed last year. For example, if you grew green beans (good nitrogen producers) last year, you might want to plant corn (heavy nitrogen feeders) in that bed. I also like to keep track of plant varieties that have failed or have not done well so I don't make the mistake twice, so I note that on the map. After a few years of garden maps under your belt, you can look back and see what worked best, what was the best time to plant, etc.--it really makes planning and maintaining a healthy garden a snap.
-HG

GLUMPISM- "Spring is born when you plant a garden in your mind."

Leftover Lasagna

2009-04-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in my earlier post "Lasagna Gardening," I am an advocate of the Lasagna Gardening method. With this method, It is super easy to build a new garden bed. You can even plant the same day you build one if you like. The first season of gardening in a Lasagna bed, you'll quickly see the benefits--no tilling, virtually no weeding, and healthy plants with robust harvests. At the end of the growing season, add a few layers of peat moss and other organic matter and you're done. Come next growing season, you'll discover one more added bonus benefit.

After a long hard winter, when you sneak out to survey the garden, you'll discover that your Lasagna bed soil has become even more beautiful than last year. All that is needed to get ready for planting is to fluff up the soil with a cultivating fork and perhaps add a couple of layers of compost and peat moss. To fluff the soil I prefer to use a long-handled, four-tine cultivating fork so you don't even have to bend over. The only down-side is that you'll miss out on all the quality time that you and your rototiller used to spend together each spring trying to restart your relationship.

-HG

GLUMPISM- "Gardeners are the only people I know who enjoy dirty looks."

MY TOMATO WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

2009-03-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

My quest to find the perfect tomato growing regime has been a journey which has often times paralleled my own life's journey. The promise of spring's warmth with a spot of fertile soil readily awaiting a tender tomato plant. Then an early spell of warm weather igniting rapid growth and the anticipation of an early gift of the coveted red wonder. But then a cold snap with a plunging thermometer come to disrupt my plans. The fiendishly frigid air becomes a metaphor for life's struggles as you dash madly about the tender plants covering them with plastic and hoping beyond hope they will survive the night's below freezing temperatures.

Unfortunately, because of the cold mountain valley I live in, this scenario has played out all too often. So I went to battle against the stream of a logical gardener and instead of giving up on growing tomatoes, I began to devise ways to make it work...TOMATOES AT ALL COSTS! I tried them all--cold frames, tenting, Walls of Water, you name it. I finally came to the conclusion that I'd best cut my losses and grow the little prima-donnas in a container in a greenhouse. Finally, success! But I soon discovered that my little greenhouse had become an unruly jungle of tomato plants. I'd heard of growing tomatoes upside down in 5 gallon buckets which required no staking and increased the air flow around the plants. "What the heck," I thought, I might as well take my tomato insanity to the next level. To my surprise and wonder, this method of growing tomatoes actually works and solves a number of container growing problems at the same time, here are a few advantages:

Upside down tomatoes don't require staking.
Pruning off suckers is much easier.
Airflow is increased around the leaves of the plants--less opportunity for disease.
Insect pest problems are virtually eliminated.
Monitoring soil moisture is easier as you can check at the top and the bottom of the container.
Harvesting is much easier too--if you mount your containers high enough, you don't even have to bend over to pick the fruit.

So are your ready to turn your tomato world upside down? It's really easy, I know there are several upside down tomato growing products out there but all you really need is a 5-gallon bucket. Here's some simple steps to setting up your upside down planter:

Acquire a 5-gallon plastic bucket with a secure handle. You can buy buckets at Home Depot or recycle thoroughly cleaned drywall compound, paint, food container buckets.
Cut an approximately 3-3.5" hole in the center of the bottom of the bucket.
With the bucket sideways, take a small tomato start (4" pot), removed the nursery container and gently thread the plant through the hole in the bucket bottom, dirt side first.
To keep the plant's root ball from falling out, it's a good idea to place some layers of newspaper around the plant's stem between the soil and the bottom of the bucket.
Flip over the bucket (so it's right side up) and place it on something to keep the plant from getting crushed, a couple of cement blocks work well.
Fill the bucket with your favorite planting mix of soil all the way to the top of the bucket.
Secure the bucket's handle to a sturdy overhead beam with some heavy wire.
Water thoroughly and add additional soil as it will settle.

Now let her grow! Monitor the soil's moisture on a daily basis in hot, dry weather. You'll be able to check the top and the bottom (around the stem base) to see how damp the soil is. Add plant food as you would a normal container plant.

-HG

GLUMPISM- "Unlike a garden, a fertile mind requires no manure."

BUILDING CEMENT BOARD RAISED BEDS

2009-03-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

Raised garden beds are a proven method for producing bountiful harvest. Although you can actually make raised bed gardens by simply building mounds, it is much more efficient to build walls to hold the soil in. Traditionally, raised bed planters are made out of wood or cement blocks. Wood is great but it will rot over time and can be very expensive if you want to use rot resistant redwood or cedar, especially when you are building high beds (higher than 8"s,) You don't want to ever use old railroad ties or pressure treated lumber for vegetable gardens as they contain chemicals which will leach into soil. Cement blocks will work but they are expensive and heavy to move around. I was looking for a cost-effective alternative and I decided to try and build raised bed frames out of cement backer board (brand names: Wonderboard, Durorock, etc.) cement board is usually used as underlayment material for tile floors and walls.

Cement board is basically cement with a fiberglass mesh on each side. It is available in 1/4" or 1/2" thickness, usually in 3' X 5' pieces. It is fairly easy to cut by scoring and snapping, similar to sheetrock. Using the concrete board, I built a series raised beds that were 20' long and 3' wide. So to build a 20' X 3' X 12" bed (4 - 3'X5' sections), you'll need five 3' X 5' boards. (you'll have a partial board left over.) Obviously, if you want to make smaller or shorter beds, you'll need less material. To connect the cement board together I utilized inexpensive hurricane ties and concrete board screws although you can also use more costly L brackets or other similar strapping material. Since I have problems with pocket gophers and voles I decided to layout 1/4" hardware cloth at the bottom of the the beds to help keep them out. Hardware cloth comes in 3' widths so that works out pretty well with the 3" beds. So in summary, here's a list of materials you'll need to build a 12" X 3' X 20' bed and the approximate costs of the material.

5 - 3' X 5' X 1/2" Cement Board (I used Wonderboard brand) @ $8.95 ea
16 - Hurricane Straps @ .29 ea
1 - box of 1-1/4" Cement Board Screws @ approx. $6
1 - Cement Board scoring tool @approx. $6
20' - Hardware Cloth (optional) @ approx. $20
8 -Flat framing straps (optional) for joint support between sections.
You'll also need a cordless drill with a square head screw bit (some concrete board screw boxes come with one in package with screws.)

Okay here's a step-by-step on building the frames, One person can do it but it'll be easier with a helper.

1) Score and split your cement boards into 1' X 3' sections (fig A). If my math is right;) you'll get of these sections our of a 3' X 5' board. TIP- It works well use a T-square to guide your scoring tool and it is easier to split the boards over a the edge of a solid even surface like the edge of a deck.

2) Prepare a level area to accommodate whatever size bed you are building. I dug down a few inches as my garden area has a slight grade. If you are building 12" high beds, you may want to dig down a couple inches so the sides have a little more support (fig B).

3) Begin assembling the corners by placing the metal straps on the first two outside corners, Place the the straps roughly centered between the top and the bottom of the beds. Or if you dug the beds down into the ground a few inches, adjust them up so they are a couple inches form top top of the frame (fig. D).

4) Finish assembling one (3' X 5') by repeating step 3, screwing in the 3' end piece with straps. If you are going to add another 3' X 5' section, place the straps on the inside corners. If you're going to be adding more sections, you will need to offset the straps so you can screw another set on the other side. At this point, double check to be sure all the sides are level (fig. C).
5) Lift the up sides and slip in layers of damp newspaper (about 1/4" thick) or cardboard so that it extends an inch or so outside the bed frame (fig. E). Then fill the entire bottom of the garden bed section with newspaper or cardboard. This will help keep weeds or grass from coming up into the bed from the bottom.

6) (Optional) Roll out hardware cloth and cut to length of the section leaving an inch or so extra on each end. If you're using 3' wide hardware cloth, you won't have any extra on the sides so it will have to fit perfectly.Next, drill in a cement board screw about every 2', approximately 1" from the bottom of the frame. Don't drive the screws all the way in so you can use some bailing wire to loop under the hardware cloth and twist around the screw (fig. F). This will keep the hardware cloth from shifting around.

7) If you're building more sections that will butt next to one another (fig. G), you can save money by utilizing one common end piece for two sections. So you'll have to add the side sections to the existing end. If your doing several sections end to end, you may find it necessary to add some addition support on the outside by adding some inexpensive flat metal framing straps over the joints.

8) Once you've completed the boxes and checked to make sure they are level, it's time to fill the box with soil. I like the lasagna method (see lasagna gardening post) for doing this or you can purchase clean top soil or top soil mixes to fill the boxes. The lasagna layers are built with a layer of peat moss between each element such as soiled barn litter, crushed leaves, compost, grass clippings, composted steer manure, etc. The lasagna method creates very light loamy soil which will be less pressure on the sides of the boxes. Be careful not to use heavy soil mixes in or you may experience bulging sides. Fill the boxes to the tops as you'll get a lot of settling.

There you have it. You may want to snip off any screws that are protruding out of the boxes to avoid being scratched. Also note that the cement board makes an excellent base for stone if you'd like to add a more finished look to your garden beds.

-HG

GLUMPISM- "Instead of planting seeds of discontent, plant seeds of carrots-they are much better for your vision."

LASAGNA GARDENING

2009-03-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my premiere article "Glump On Gardening", I like to approach gardening in a pragmatic way. There seems to be an endless variety of techniques to gardening but when it comes right down to it, you need to find what works for you and your situation. I've tried many different gardening methods over the years including the old standard, tilling, fertilizing, tilling, weeding, weeding, mulching, weeding and more weeding method. Did I mention there is a lot of weeding in traditional garden methods? Now I don't mind pulling a weed here and there and now and again, after all it is somewhat therapeutic. But having to spend your entire weekend pulling weeds just to have the little beasties reclaim their territory by the next weekend, is not for me. I also like to keep it organic-no sense spending extra money just to enjoy more chemicals in your food. So after years or fighting my stubborn clay-packed soil, I finally discovered the book "Lasagna Gardening" by Patricia Lanza (yes I know you can't grow lasagna).

Lasagna Gardening is a method that involves building your soil from the ground up instead of amending your existing dirt. It is basically a marriage of "sheet composting" and "raised bed" gardening. Sheet composting involves laying out organic waste material (The same kind of stuff you'd put in your compost pile) over a large area to let it cook. Utilizing the lasagna method, you start a new bed by laying down newspaper or cardboard to kill weeds and grass below. Next, you add layers of different organic material like spoiled hay, peat moss, composted manure, crushed leaves, grass clippings, etc. Once you build your soil up, you've basically got a raised bed which has its own set of growing benefits (more on that in another post.)

So invite the family over for "Lasagna" and after you make them go to work in the garden, maybe you can actually feed them some lasagna.

-HG
GLUMPISM- "Growing a garden is good for the soul, harvesting from your garden is good for the stomach."

GLUMP ON GARDENING

2009-03-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

With these tougher economic times, there's been a lot of buzz going around about planting a garden to help supplement the family grocery budget. There are also those that desire to get more of their produce locally to cut down on their carbon imprint. Well I think gardens are great to have for whatever the reason. They're great exercise, mental therapy, worry distractions and for overall mind cleansing. And, there's nothing quite like walking out to the garden and grabbing an ear of corn off the stalk and dropping it into a waiting pot of boiling water.

That being said, there are many out there who would love to garden but don't have the time or desire to spend every waking hour of the growing season, fighting weeds, watering and battling the elements. I have to concur, but I've been gardening many years now with the proverbial gardening odds stacked against me (a short growing season and stubborn soil) and have been able to triumph! With this blog, I hope to pass along my pragmatic approach to gardening by offering some handy tips and encouragement to help you get into the dirt!

-HG

GLUMPISM- "There's a mini-miracle patiently awaiting in every seed."