Is Btk Safe for Honeybees?

Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.
Daniel J. Boorstin

 According to the Peninsula Daily News, “State agriculture officials will decide soon whether to propose spraying a biological pesticide over 10,500 acres across seven sites in Western Washington to kill leaf-eating gypsy moths. Washington and Oregon States will be doing a spray program this year (2016). The proposed Washington sites are Kent, N.E. Tacoma, Port of Tacoma, Fife, Milton, Vancouver, Port of Vancouver, Nisqually, Lacey, Gig Harbor and Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Washington would conduct three aerial sprayings, seven to 10 days apart, in April. In Oregon, state officials propose spraying in mid-April by helicopter over targeted areas of Forest Park, north Portland and Hayden Island with three treatments.“ 

There is much talk in my community about government aerial spraying for gypsy moth this year. And there’s a lot of fear about aerial spraying of any kind, especially in the beekeeping circles. We beekeepers have enough trouble with neighbors spraying insecticides, combatting known and unknown bee diseases, raising healthy bees with organic methods and winter die off. Now add the element of overhead spraying…aargh! ENOUGH CHEMICALS ALREADY!!

 But wait…we’re talking about Bt here. What is it really?

According to Rodale’s All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (1992) “Microbial insecticides such as Bt and it’s varieties are effective, slow acting pesticides with virtually no harmful side effects and considered non-toxic to mammals.”

In Garden Insects (2004) Whitney Cranshaw writes “Bt is the best known bacterium…and is commonly  used as a microbial insecticide. Several strains exist, each of which affects only certain types of insects that ingest the bacteria or the toxic protein crystal it produces”. 

On the subject of organic beekeeping, Ross Conrad is my go to guy for my beekeeping questions. He is an author and organic beekeeper. For cases of preventing wax moths in bee hive equipment, in his book “Natural Beekeeping” (2007) he touched on the use of Bt for control of wax moth, a highly destructive insect in bee hives.  He writes “Bt has been used safely by the organic farming community for decades… is a bacterium that, when ingested by certain insect larvae, will kill the host…it becomes toxic only when exposed to the unique digestive environment found within the wax worm’s gut. There are no harmful side effects like with chemical (synthetic) pesticides.  Bt is sprayed directly onto the plant’s leaf. The toxin is not produced until the pests eats a leaf upon which the Bt microbe rests, it is safe and non-toxic to animals, humans, and beneficial insects, and it may be used right up until harvest. Also used by organic beekeepers as a safe alternative to moth balls for preventing wax moth infestations in empty hive equipment.” In this case Bt can be sprayed on frames and hive bodies that will be stored for later use. The presence of the bacterium will kill any larvae that hatches and feeds on the wax.

Gypsy moth, today’s subject, is a major pest known to defoliate millions of acres of hardwood forests annually and perpetually defoliated trees means death. WSDA claims gypsy moth control is often necessary to prevent damage in backyards and many urban areas to help stop the spread into neighboring forested areas. Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki (Btk) is the variety of insecticide of choice for this insect. Btk is a natural soil born bacteria which biodegrades in sunlight within about 10 days, hence the multiple applications and it will likely be done at night, minimizing exposure to people and animals and for sure honey bees who don’t fly at night or eat leaves. What about the leaf cutter bees, our native pollinators...they wrap their nests with leaves but they do not eat the leaves so this poses no harm to them either. And I don’t see their activity in my garden that early in the spring.

 mindfully.org writes “However, in their natural form, acute toxicity of commonly-used Bt varieties is limited to caterpillars, mosquito larvae, and beetle larvae. Bt var. kurstaki which cause disease in moth and butterfly caterpillars.”

 Yes, Btk would mean death to butterfly larvae too. However the spray applications will be in April. I don’t know if our native butterflies breed in temps that cold here in the Pacific Northwest, and those that migrate from warmer climates to our south don’t arrive till June. I did some research on temperatures necessary for butterfly breeding but couldn’t find a definitive answer. If you know, please drop a line in the comments section. The cooperative extension in Wisconsin suggests “If you are concerned about your butterfly garden plants being sprayed (with Btk), place a tarp over them the night before a spray is scheduled. Then, remove it after spraying is completed.”

 Part of the controversy also lies in the fact that caterpillars, larvae and even moths are a food source for birds. While the infected larvae won’t be harmful to birds, the lack of their populations could represent a decline in a food source for birds.

 The gypsy moths found in Washington and Oregon are two non-native species (European and Asian) of insects that have the potential to devastate our forested lands. They have been brought here inadvertently by international trade. In cases like this we must pick the lesser of two evils and I think a timely and occasional spray with an organic control as deemed necessary when populations show sustained increase is prudent. Yes, you will find extreme cases of human illness due to overexposure if you dig deep enough online but I think by and large it’s a safe choice considering the other alternatives. The cases I found were due to overexposure by splashing large quantities of the liquid on themselves as opposed to a focused spray or drift. Naturally if you are highly sensitive, it is suggested that you stay indoors during the spraying.  Maps of proposed spray areas are published online in states that I found using this method, but do keep in mind drift can enlarge targeted areas.

 My personal opinion? I am not a chemist or a scientist. I’m an organic gardener and beekeeper. I use integrated pest management (IPM) practices. I’m sick to death of all the synthetic chemicals in the world and I use natural, organic methods that include biological controls when I have an infestation that the birds and other predators are not controlling. Bt is one biological control that I have used many times. I’ve been using Bt to combat cabbage moth for years. And I think I’m safe to say, most if not all organic farmers have been using Bt to control leaf eating worms and larvae for eons. The way it works is topically. The bacteria adheres to the outside of the leaf and when the larvae eats the leaf it ingests the bacteria. Bt does not penetrate the leaf so will not be effective on leaf miners. Nor is it effective on adult moths. The larvae must be young. It does break down and does not stay of the leaf, so in the case of my cabbage moths, who lay eggs all summer on all brassicas, I spray weekly, in the evenings all summer.

 The method of Btk is proven effective and the least toxic available, so is prudent and organically approved.  After all, the goal of organic farming is to use the least toxic method to control pests and disease. Btk is far less toxic than the synthetic chemical choices out there.

 In Bloom In My Garden Today: crocus, Erysimum ‘Rysi Moon’, Heath (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Sarcococca confusa, Hellebore, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops), viola, pansies

 Author’s photo of my bees

Save The Tomatoes!!!

How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.

~Benjamin Disraeli

Tomatoes.

This time of summer they are in full swing, producing like crazy. Paired with freshly harvested basil and garlic from the garden, I think tonight’s dinner will be a fresh tomato sauce over capellini and a salad of dark red “Merlot” lettuce.

Well, anyone who has grown tomatoes knows that even the lightest of summer rains can split all of the tomatoes on the vine. They are of course harvest-able once split if you get them immediately after but leave them on a day or so and they will start to mold at the tear. Oh misery! Oh groan! What’s a gardener to do?

Break out the umbrella, of course!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Agastache, Alyssum, Aster, Astilbe, Borage, Canna, Catanache caerulea, Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daisy(white double), Daphne caucasica, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geum, Gladiolus ‘Boone’ (heirloom 1920’s),Green Beans, Hardy Geranium, Heuchera,Hosta, Hyssop, Kniphofia (torch flower or red hot poker), Lavender, Lily, Lysimachia ephemerum (non-invasive loosestrife), Nandina, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Penstemon barbatus ‘delft blue riding hood’, Phygelius, Rose, Salvia, Sedum, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (meadow rue), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini, Veronica ‘royal candles’

Author’s photos

Collards - A New Favorite

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” ~Siddhartha Gautamav


First and foremost I want to thank all of you who still have my blog feed coming to you. I’ve been absent for many months and so appreciate you for hanging in there, waiting for me to get my stuff together and resume writing. Thank you so much.

It has been an interesting year since my last post; filled with sorrow and emotional soul searching while settling dad’s estate and clearing my parents’ house to prepare it for sale. However, peppered amongst all that was much joy and new beginnings for me.

I went back to work, this time at a nursery, doing what I love most…working with plants, helping people with their gardens and spending lots of time with people who love gardening like me. Thus far it’s the most rewarding job I think I’ve ever had.

In late August, one of my customers came in specifically to buy collard seeds. I remembered her as I’d helped her a few times throughout the summer but hadn’t really got to know who she is as a gardener. Turns out she is a weight trainer, and we got to talking about growing greens for a healthy diet. I’d sold lots of collard plant starts in the spring and knew it was very popular in Southern USA cooking. Now, I love greens… kale, beets, mustards, chard, etc but many greens contain oxalic acid which is fine for some folks but not for those concerned with calcium issues. I had never eaten collard greens nor paid much attention to them. So as she was extolling all the virtues of collard greens I asked her if she knew if it was high or low in oxalic acid. She didn’t know so I made a mental note to do research on it when I got home. Then she gave me one tidbit that sold me on growing collards myself. That it grows all winter in our climate, which means you can have fresh greens all winter and even snowfall doesn’t faze it. She said you simply knock off the snow, pick the leaves and cook them up. Wow, I want to grow some of that! I did some research and found them to be low in oxalic acid. Then I bought a bunch from my green grocer to try them. Yum! So I bought some seeds and got a few starts going. Today I have about 8 plants in various sunny places around the perennial garden to see which locations are best. 

Collards are cool weather plants. They are best grown in spring and fall, like spinach and some kales. I say some kales because I grew a new (new to me) variety of kale this year that wasn’t fazed by hot days in the 90’s F (32+C). But that’s fodder for another post. Today we’re talking collards. Collards can grow between 40-75F (5-23C) with optimum growing temps of 60-65F (16-19C) degrees, and as with many fall weather crops they taste sweeter after a frost. They are packed full of vitamins and minerals and rich in carotenoids. Naturally, as with many greens, they are high in vitamin K so if you have blood disorders they may not be right for you.

Collards are from the Brassica family therefore the cabbage moth is something to guard against. The minute mine were in the ground that little white rascal of a moth was flitting around laying her eggs on the undersides of the leaves. We still had warm, sunny days at planting time and the moths were persistent, so I mixed up some BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) in my 1 gallon sprayer. BT is an organic pesticide that is used to kill leaf eating larvae and caterpillars. It degrades in the sunlight so spray it in the evening hours and re-apply every few days or once weekly, depending on your level of pest control needed. That’s why I mix it up in a gallon sprayer. I just keep it mixed and use the gallon over a period of several weeks. It makes it easy to do a quick spray when I get home from work or after dinner. Frankly the cabbage moths were making a mess of my kale too so every few days I’d spray the whole lot, concentrating on the underneath of the leaves.  And I’ll say this about the collards…the cabbage moths seemed to like the kale more than the collards. Way more egg laying going on with the kale. Now that the weather has turned cold and wet, the moths are gone, so the spray isn’t needed any more.

Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer like seaweed extract organic liquid or a fish fertilizer since it’s the leaves you want and not flowers. I’m excited to see the plants getting bigger. And it is interesting to see which locations are growing bigger plants. Do you ever do that? Plant veggies in more than one location throughout your perennial garden areas? I’ve often done that when my veggie space fills up and am surprised to see some grow better where I least expected them to.

As far as cooking collards, I’ve seen many recipes and only a few ways to cook them. Thus far I have only chopped the de-stemmed leaves and sautéed them in olive oil and spices, just like I do kale greens. Quite delicious I must say. The flavor is hard to describe but for sure nothing like kale. Collard greens have an earthy flavor to me.

Our winter is forecasted to be warmer and drier than normal so I may not get the fun of knocking off the snow before I harvest them but I can’t wait to cook my fresh winter harvest.

Since I’m new to this beautiful green I’d love any and all thoughts on cooking and even your favorite recipe if you care to share.

Thanks ever so much for reading!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop),

Alyssum, Cyclamen hederifolium (fall),Daisy(white double,) Daphne caucasica, Echinacea, Eupatorium rugosum ‘chocolate’ (joe pye weed),
Fuchsia, Heath (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Kirengeshoma palmata, Nepeta, Rose, old English ‘reine des violettes’, Salvia

 
Author’s photo

Grilling from the Garden

And remember that monotonous work – weeding the garden, sorting beans – allows the brain time to contemplate, question, and be in awe.

~ David Bradshaw

Meals just don’t get much better in the summer and fall than those of grilled just-picked vegetables.

Our weather here has gone from a long wet and cool spring to hot and dry almost overnight which means an abrupt end to a long and delicious snap pea crop.

 

Normally I grow ‘Cascadia’ snap peas which are an edible pod pea meaning you eat the whole thing, no shelling. If you do shell the peas you lose the sweetest part. These peas are best if left on the vine long enough to make a fat, juicy pod. My favorite way to eat them is to toss the freshly picked peas in some olive oil and spices and put them right into my preheated grill basket with other veggies.

 

Last year I discovered this grilling basket.  It is made of stainless steel without non-stick coating and the sides are high enough so when stirring and turning the veggies don’t jump out over the sides. I find it best to toss the raw veggies in a bowl with olive oil and spices while the basket is heating up on the grill rather than oiling the basket directly. Tossing the oiled veggies into the hot basket is less messy and I don’t have any problem with food sticking. I use this basket for quick cooking veggies like zucchini, snap peas, asparagus, chopped kale leaves, mushrooms, and chopped tomato. Toss on a few oiled, raw, shelled and cleaned prawns in the last minutes…ummm delish!

I buy a dark green olive oil and cook on low temps. Even on med/low I haven’t had any problem with the oil burning and I do get a good sizzle. My go to spice mixture has been freshly ground fenugreek seed, garlic powder, dried rosemary, dried basil, dried thyme, sea salt and pepper but lately I’ve been adding anise seed. I love the aroma and flavor anise gives. I tried chopping fresh garlic but it falls through the holes of this basket and burns on the flame so garlic powder is best. Whole garlic cloves don’t cook enough for my tastes by the time these quick cooking veggies are done.

Hot weather stops the pea plants from flowering so with this onset of summer heat the plants are pretty much done for. When it’s time to remove the vines, don’t pull them out. Cut them off at the soil level as the roots have nitrogen rich nodules attached. Leaving them in the ground is enriching for both the soil and crops to follow. In my case I’ll be planting my kale seedlings in that spot soon. It is generally not recommended to compost your pea vines in your own compost pile unless you know it gets really hot. There could be undetected viruses or fungi on the old vines. I just cut all the vines off and toss the whole tangled lot into the city pick up bin.

For a few years I grew purple potatoes and paired them with carrots for a beautiful dish, steaming them on the grill in parchment/foil packets. I just can’t get over how gorgeous the two colors are together, the color in the photo doesn’t do justice. I drizzle olive oil over the top then for the spices here I used freshly ground fenugreek seed, whole garlic cloves and freshly ground rosemary. It all cooks in about 30 minutes on low. Looks like I was out of parchment paper that day as I usually I put it between the food and the foil.

 

Next carrots are paired with red chard stems and my fresh garden leeks.

 

I was having problems with the bottom burning so I now put loosely crumpled foil ‘pillows’ under the food/foil packets. Problem solved.

And then there is our corn steamed in its jacket. Follow this link to a previous post. Yum, can’t wait for this year’s corn to be ready for the picking. I’ve got 6 stalks growing, one of which is just beginning to tassel!

 

 

What have you got growing in your garden for grilling season?

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Alyssum, Asiatic lily, Astilbe,  Begonia ‘bonfire’, blueberries, Daisy(white double), Daphne caucasica, Digitalis grandiflora, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Green Beans, Hardy Geranium, Heuchera, Hosta, Kniphofia, Lavender, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Purple poppies, Rose, Salvia, Sedum, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Thyme, Tomato, Veronica ‘royal candles’, Zucchini

Authors photos

 

Another Peat Free Alternative

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
~ Margaret Atwood

I’ve been experimenting again. And since it is time for many of us to get seeds started for some fall vegetable crops I thought I’d give you another peat free option for indoor seed starting.

Hydroponics is the process of growing crops in water with no soil. Well known to those who grow hydroponic is rock wool. Historically rock wool has been used for decades in some European countries for housing insulation. Today it has been adapted for commercial applications around the world to grow our vegetables in greenhouses. Rock wool is a product of super heated rock until it sort of explodes into fine filaments, kind of like cotton candy (candy floss), then is formed into a usable material. At least that’s my loose translation of what it is. You can get a more detailed explanation at http://grodan101.com/about-us.

Rock wool for seed germination is formed into cubes. It is all natural and chemical free. Each cube is wrapped in plastic which makes it easy to write your planting date and seed variety on the side. It is said to be a biodegradable plastic, but I prefer to remove it when I plant them into the soil, so the roots that emerge out the sides are not hampered in any way. I doubt it biodegrades very quickly. After all plastic is plastic and I don’t want it in my garden. Maybe someday they will change it to a paper wrap. In my situation I don’t need it to be wrapped at all but I suppose commercially the big growers do.

The manufacturer states that rock wool is recyclable but, I think more likely only at the commercial level of use rather than for the average home gardener. Since it is made of rock it does not decompose so as we use a few each season they are more likely to end up in our compost piles after we clean out our vegetable beds at the end of harvest. Crumbling them up into smaller pieces as you find them, they will provide a means of looser soil structure adding to your soil’s tilth, much like stones or sand provide, helping drainage and bringing air down into the soil.

Rock wool cubes are a good choice for starting seedlings because of its air/water transferability. There is little risk of rotting seeds from being too wet as long as it is not sitting in water. I also think they are not so quick to dry out like peat pellets do. I started this tomato Willamette on March 16 and today it is growing and blooming beautifully in my garden.

 

 

If you study this option on the internet, you’ll find lots of rules and do’s and don’ts. For instance there is talk of initial Ph level adjusting, lemon juice remedies, and some chat groups say you can’t transfer these into soil growth, etc. I didn’t do any of that and I did plant this tomato into the soil and had no problem at all. The only thing I did do prior to putting the seed into the cube is rinse it well in running water. If you are used to using peat pellets, I used the rock wool in the same way. I moistened it thoroughly first, inserted the seed, kept it moist but not soggy wet and waited for the seed to do its thing. I’ve used them on a heat mat or not, either way.

They cost a little more per each than peat pellets or coir pellets. I didn’t really shop around, I just went to my local hydroponics store for the sake of convenience and time so you may find better prices. If you are looking for peat free alternatives, I encourage you to experiment with rock wool cubes.

Cheers!

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Alyssum, Armeria pseudarmeria latifolia ‘joystick mix’, Asiatic lily, Baptisia, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Bletilla pink, blueberries, Carnation, Daisy(white double), Daphne caucasica, Digitalis grandiflora, Fuchsia, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Hardy Geranium, Heuchera, Hosta, Kniphofia ‘little maid’, Iris, Lavender, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Peas, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Sedum, Thyme, Tomato, Veronica ‘royal candles’

Author’s photo

 

Woohoo! Landlords Again!

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment,

while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
 

Yay! We have a resident!  This birdhouse has been unoccupied for several years. The last occupant was a Bewick Wren which was fun to have, but sadly no one’s been interested in our ‘rental’ since. I was about to take it down to see if it needed some maintenance when I noticed these Chickadees checking the place out. Now, weeks later, they are bringing in loads of live bugs so we’ve got a baby or more inside. I love that! This one is flying away after feeding baby.

 

I’ve seen the adults gathering bugs and larvae all over the garden. This morning they were uncurling the leaves on the lilac to find larvae in the webbing which some bug made. Off they went to the nest. And by the looks of the green worms I see going in the Chickadees are keeping up easily with what may be the cabbage moth larvae/worm that is doing this to our broccoli. If you see little white moths flitting around your vegetable garden, they are cabbage moths and they are looking for all your brassicas. They land for a second on the leaf and lay an egg. If you look underneath you’ll see tiny yellowish dots. Those are the eggs. Left undisturbed they will hatch into a worm which will do this to your leaves.

 

A regular spraying of BT or a peppermint soapy spray, both organic controls, will curb the problem too but putting up a few birdhouses is by far more fun. While I see eggs and the worm damage, when I go to pick off the worms…I can’t find any. No doubt they are feeding that little baby bird well. 

In Bloom in my Garden Today: Armeria pseudarmeria latifolia ‘joystick mix’, Baptisia, Bletilla pink, Chive, Daylily,  Daphne caucasica, Dianthus, Digitalis grandiflora, Fuchsia, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Hardy Geranium, Heuchera, Iris, Kniphofia ‘little maid’, Lavender, Lobelia, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Peas, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Pyracantha koidzumii ‘victory’, Rose, Salvia, Saxifraga andrewsii (irish saxifrage), Sedum, Tellima grandiflora (fringecup), Tomato, Vancouveria hexandra (inside out flower),

Author’s photos

A Better Way to Get Your Peas Started

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation.  It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a row of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse

In years past I used to start my peas outside in late February with not so great success. Here in the Pacific Northwest our damp cool weather is great for pea germination but also heavenly for slugs that usually ate more than their fair share of my emerging seedlings. So I began sowing my peas indoors in a variety of cell trays and soils, experimenting to find the right mix.  A couple of years ago I began soaking the seed 24 hrs before planting to plump them and speed up the process of germination. I’d been doing this soaking method with corn for many years with great success. Planting the plumped peas and watering them after planting seemed to work ok but I only usually got half germination and the other half rotted, gooey seed every time. Clearly too much water. As I stated in the previous post, moisture, air and temperature is a delicate balance for good germination. I should add here that old seed does not germinate well either but I knew my seed was still viable.

 Fast forward to last year when I used to work with Sarah, a horticulturist at the greenhouse where I volunteer. She always grew her crops on the drier side of usual. A week ago while buying a new package of peas, since more than half of those I sowed on February 15 have now rotted, I talked to the proprietor about soaking pea seed. He suggested never soak the seed more than one hour and rather than watering them into the soil, use a mister to keep the soil barely moist but never dry. If you are using peat-less potting soil, it may have some moisture in it straight from the bag, mine did. Keeping what he said in mind and the success Sarah had with her drier growing methods I tried it. I sowed the seed on February 26 and now 8 days later nearly all have emerged with the few remaining beginning to push up the soil so I can already see I have 100% germination success!

 

 

 So from now on I will be keeping to this procedure:

• I start my pea seed in plastic cell packs indoors to keep slugs from mowing over the emerging crop.

• I soaked the peas for 1 hour or a little less, not more. This time I am planting Cascadia snap peas.

• I used standard organic potting soil as pea seed is large enough to push through the chunkiness of potting soil, (tiny seeds like basil, lettuce and tomato will do better in a fine seedling mix which contains peat). Make sure your soil of choice is organic with no fertilizers or wetting agents added.

• I used a mister to add moisture rather than a watering can only as needed, keeping the soil barely, slightly moist.

• I put the planted cells in a recycled “clam shell” food container (I think it had baby croissants in it from the bakery originally) to hold in moisture so I actually didn’t have to mist much at all. If you don’t cover your cells you may need to mist a little more often. A plastic dome  like cover works like a greenhouse and recycles its own moisture which will collect on the top and drip back down to the soil.

• I did not use a seedling heat mat this time but have in the past. Peas don’t really need it.

My peas are well on their way to being happy vines! As they get a little bigger and some leaves start to form I’ll harden them off for covered outdoor temperatures so I can put them outside under my little plastic cover on the south side of my house where they will get better light. When they are a good 6 inches (15cm) or so tall I’ll harden them off again for no protection at all, and then plant them around my bamboo teepee. I’ll be picking peas in no time, woohoo!

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Tete-a-Tete daffodil, Crocus, Cyclamen coum, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops), Heath (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Hellebore, Rhododendron, Sarcococca confusa,

Author’s photo

Quite the Leap from Campfire Girls to a Seedling Tray

Flowers and fruit are only the beginning. In the seed lies the life and the future.

~Marion Zimmer Bradley, author 1930-1999

It’s that time of year again in the USA. Campfire Girl mints are for sale, if you can find them. I used to be a Campfire Girl (Wo He Lo to all you alumni) way back when, way before they allowed boys into the groups and when that box of mints only cost 50 cents US. As I rose through the ranks from Bluebird to Campfire Girl I’m sure I must have earned a bead or two for gardening. After all, I grew the best pumpkins in my neighborhood in sunny California…at least that’s what mom always said. And I sold my fair share of those mints too. Going door to door mind you…none of this sitting in front of the grocery store and letting customers come to you. No, I had to wheel my cart of minty boxes and go knocking on doors, hoping somebody would be home and buy my mints so I could get that blasted bead and be done with it…well at least until the next year. Bless you, each and every one that bought mints from me. Oh, the agony February brought. You have NO idea!

Well times were different then, it’s true. I wouldn’t let my little one go door to door alone these days so I guess grocery store staging is for the best. I do still buy the mints and as I was ready to toss out, er, I mean recycle the plastic tray sans devoured mints I noticed it looked to be perfect to hold the peat pellets that I use to germinate some of my seedlings.

 It will hold 16 and the whole lot can then be easily slid into a clear plastic bag to maintain a level of moisture. Don’t allow the plastic to rest atop the pellets though. It will deform and rot emerging seedlings.

To prepare your peat pellets, soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes or until wetted completely through. Do not peel off the netting. There is an open top and closed bottom. Let them drain, give a little squeeze which releases extra water and gently roll it between your fingers to slightly break up the peat allowing a little air into the mass and you can create height to the pellet if you are planting larger seeds like beans. Place your seed in the top indentation and scrape some of the peat over the top to cover it. For bigger seeds, press the seed down into the center of the pellet and again, cover with some of the peat.

Peat dries quickly, so you want to keep them moist but not wet. Do check now and then to make sure there’s no mold forming. If so, they are too wet and the seed could rot so you’ll need to open the bag or poke a few holes in the bag to let in more air, it’s a delicate balance. Once seedlings emerge remove the plastic, they don’t need it and a drier environment help deter rotted stems at the soil level.

Place your seedlings in a southern sunny window. Monitor the moisture of the pellet, not too wet but moist. As you see roots escaping from the sides of the pellet, pot them up, pellet, netting and all, into a 4 inch pot (which you kept from those annuals and veggie starts you bought last year) in organic potting soil with no fertilizing or wetting agents added, and keep them moist but not wet. Keep them on that sunny sill till you can plant them outdoors. If you are the cold north like me you may need to pot them up into the next size pot again and again till temps moderate.

Timing is important for sowing your seed. The further north you are the longer into spring you must wait to transplant them into the garden. If you must keep potting them up, you risk leggy seedlings since window sill sun isn’t the same strength as true outdoor, overhead sun. Read your seed packet for germination times and know your local last frost date. If you are blessed with a greenhouse, you can move potted up seedlings into that after of period of ‘hardening off’. That simply means getting the little plantlets accustomed to the new cooler temperatures in which they will be growing. For about a week, move them into the new location during the day hours and back ‘home’ at night. Then a few more days of leaving them out 24 hours. Keep an eye on them, if they wilt, it's too cold or the sun is too strong. They may need more of an adjustment period.

Why on earth would I use peat you ask? Yes, I am familiar with the controversy over peat products for our gardens but I use it quite sparingly. I never buy large bags of compressed peat to use in the garden or on the lawn, it is too environmentally costly and I believe compost to be quite superior in every way, not to mention far more renewable. I use peat in pellet form, a few per year, and only for certain seeds that seem to germinate most reliably in them. Coir pellets have not provided consistent germination in my experience, though I have found coir pots to be comparable to peat pots so I use coir pots for starting seeds that do not want their roots to be disturbed by transplanting like those of the squash family. I have also found regular potting soil, providing it’s not too chunky, to be quite satisfactory for starting many seeds. You can find potting soils that do not contain peat. In the USA, potting soil bags usually list ingredients. If no such listing is provided, shop for another brand, preferably organic. I believe it’s important to consider what we put into our gardens and as the soil is what feeds the vegetables and fruits that we eat and the seeds, nectar and pollen that bugs, bees and birds consume.

On a final rant note. Camp Fire Girls became Camp Fire Girls and Boys and ultimately ended up Camp Fire USA in this country. While I think a certain amount of gender separate activities at certain ages is a good thing, that's a tad off subject. What I really want to know is what happened to the dark chocolate mints? When I was selling them the box contained BOTH milk chocolate and dark chocolate mints...a row of each! What happened to the dark chocolate? Clearly today’s science has proven dark chocolate to be the healthier alternative, so…any chance the duo will make a comeback? Just asking.

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Crocus, Cyclamen coum, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops), Heath (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Hellebore, Rhododendron, Sarcococca confusa, viola

Author’s photos

The Best Veggie Scrubber

"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field."
~Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969, 34th US President

This may seem an odd subject to blog about but if you scrub as many fresh veggies as I do, this is important and I’ve wanted to write a short post on it for quite some time. If you have a lot of vegetables to scrub, a good scrubber will not only clean the food you are about to eat but will not cause bodily fatigue as you use it.

I’ve used a lot of things to scrub my vegetables, everything from nail brushes to those green Scotch Brite pads. Most things I’ve tried worked well, except the loofa sponge. It got soft as soon as the water hit it. The Scotch Brite pads conform well to a variety of odd shapes and crevices but they break down over time and need to be replaced often throughout the year. As I said most cleaned well enough but many also caused some thumb or finger fatigue after a while. Some even caused wrist pain due to the amount of pressure needed to really get the dirt off. Carrots for instance can hold onto a lot of dirt stain, even those store bought that had already been rinsed.

Last year while shopping for my organic veggies at my local health food store I saw this little gem. It has become the only one I use and it shows no signs of wearing out.

The coir bristles are good and stiff. I wondered if they would hold up when wet unlike the loofa.  They do. The store offered the brush in two sizes. The one shown here is actually marketed as a nail brush per the tag but I thought it a perfect size for my smallish hands. There is another larger size marketed as the veggie scrubber this one was a better fit. The bristles are so tough I actually wouldn’t want to use it as a nail brush. That skin surrounding your nails can be pretty tender. Matter of fact these bristles are a bit too rough for the tender-skinned new potatoes or freshly dug sweet potatoes but are great for the tougher potato skins.

I also like that it is made from all natural materials and distributed by a company that is local to the Pacific Northwest, committed to quality, its employees and selling products made mostly of materials that are recyclable or biodegradable.

So if you do a lot of scrubbing like I do, I hope you find and like this brush. Scrubbing vegetables isn’t such a chore with it…well it’s at least a more enjoyable chore.

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’, Rhododendron, Daisy

Author’s photo

Tomato Willamette - A New Favorite

August, for me, was the beginning of three months of intensive harvesting and food processing. Kettles of salsa, tomato sauce, and corn dominated the kitchen in endless relays through the fall. Three large freezer chests were packed with cider, berries, and meat.

At the time, I believe this was referred to as returning to the simple life. Good for a laugh.
~ Ani Gurnee

I’ve talked to people here in the Pacific Northwest that have given up trying to grow tomatoes in their gardens, saying we just don’t have the hot weather for it.  Or do we?  We actually have a long growing season but is considered cool till August.  Forget Beefsteak or Brandywine here unless you have a greenhouse.  They need a long, hot growing season to reach their size, you’d be lucky to get one to ripen before frost.  So cool and iffy is our growing season for tomatoes, many gardeners stick with the cherry tomatoes. Such a small tomato doesn’t need a long, hot summer to give ample produce.  But read on and I hope to convince you to try growing larger varieties that prefer our cooler summers.

I’ve also talked with shoppers in the grocery store.  One man saw me choosing organic tomatoes and he complained that “tomatoes here (in the Northwest) have no flavor”.  He was from the east coast.  I told him he might try growing his own, so they would be fully ripened on the plant yielding more nutrition and flavor when he picked them.  The tomatoes in the grocery stores have been picked for transport so they are green, firmer so as not to bruise or crack and will ripen during transit or in the store.  Because they are picked green they never fully develop the nutrients and flavor of an on-the-plant ripened tomato.  Also the growers who supply grocery stores use those varieties that have been developed for more disease resistance and to have a sturdier fortitude for shipment.  The commercial world calls these “shipping tomatoes”. Flavor wasn’t necessarily the goal for hybridizers.

I have mentioned a few times on this blog that after trying several tomato varieties that Stupice, a roma type, became my favorite for its early production in my climate, meaty not too seedy, prolific harvest and reliability.  It’s the perfect tomato for growing in our cool, cloudy, unpredictable spring weather.  A Czechoslovakian heirloom, cold doesn’t set it back like most hot weather tomatoes.  Stupice has a 65 day maturity rate and is an indeterminate type, meaning it is more sprawling with vines that will need support and will produce longer into the season giving you a lengthy harvest. 

My new favorite is Willamette.  It is a determinate type, with a 70 day maturation after transplanting your seedling into your garden.  Determinate tomato varieties tend to be more compact, shorter and bush like that may not need staking and will give you more fruits all at once…great for canning, when you want to do batches.  However my experience with Willamette is that I wanted a trellis to support the vines, the tomato is so heavy it pulled them down.  The tomatoes are GEORGEOUS!  And double the size of Stupice with a beautiful multi-lobe shape like the beautiful heirlooms.  Willamette was developed at Oregon State University for our short growing season.  I will mention that while their maturity rates are registered at only 5 days difference, I think Stupice gave me ripe tomatoes much sooner than a 5 day difference.  Both last summer (Stupice) and this summer (Willamette) were cool, and wet well into July.  I had tomatoes way earlier last summer (Stupice) than this summer.

 

Like Stupice, Willamette is more meaty than seedy.  I don’t like tomatoes that ooze out half their weight in goopy seed stuffs before you actually get it onto your plate.

 

Both Stupice and Willamette fit well into the small garden but in my experience Stupice is a bigger plant which may need some pruning to keep it in its allotted space.

To have the best tomato variety to meet your specific needs and for your location I suggest you forgo the plant starts at the nursery or garden center and study seed catalogs for your region.  Then choose one or two varieties that have the characteristics you want, buy the seed and start your own.  That said most reputable nurseries do carry the most popular varieties that will grow in your region but you are limited to what they choose to sell.  I rarely find Stupice and haven’t seen Willamette for sale as plant starts.

I start my tomato seeds pretty early by most standards.  I start them indoors in February mostly because I’m antsy to get going in the garden again but it’s still way too cold.  As they grow I pot them up so they don’t get root bound so by the time mid May rolls around I’ve got a gallon size plant to transplant.  Now is when you start your countdown.  If the seed packet says 70 days to maturity, begin counting when you’ve transplanted your plant into the garden. Not when you sowed the seed.  So 70 days from my May planting date will be sometime in August for harvest.  Poor weather shouldn’t be a factor since I’ve chosen varieties that perform well in my climate, which can be cool and wet well into June.  Frost however is another issue.  My last frost date is April 15 so again it shouldn’t be a factor but be prepared to cover your plants if a late frost is predicted.

I don’t do canning, and I only cook for 2 so I don’t need a super prolific plant.  Even though one is a determinate and the other an indeterminate, both these varieties yield an easy amount, spaced out just right so I can share a few with neighbors and enjoy them on our plates without feeling overwhelmed by tomatoes!

Stupice is an heirloom, meaning its been grown for many years and the seed has been saved because of certain qualities of the plant/fruit and has been passed down through the generations.  Seed Savers is a company committed to preserving that tradition.  Willamette is a hybrid tomato, meaning a tomato that was recently (40 years ago) cross bred with other tomatoes for certain desired tomato qualities.  Make no mistake…hybrid is not GMO.  Genetic modification (GMO) is the controversial science and practice of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another, ie: animal genes inserted into plant genes. I do not use GMO seed or purchase GMO foods at market.  Never.

So, to recap. 

Stupice: indeterminate, a bigger plant (may want to prune it to keep it in check for a small garden), medium size roma type tomatoes, needs staking, harvest over a long extended period, cool weather friendly.

 Willamette: determinate, a compact plant, large meaty tomatoes, minimal staking but still recommended, harvest over a more concentrated timeframe, cool weather friendly.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Cimicifuga simplex ‘brunette’, Colchicum, Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen coum, Daphne aucasica, Echinacea, Fuchsia magellanica ‘hawkhead’, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Hardy Geranium, Heather(Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Hosta, Kirengeshoma palmata, Kniphofia ‘echo mango’Lobelia, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Oregano vulgare compactum ‘humile’ (compact oregano), Perovskia ‘little spire’, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylus, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tomato, Veronica ‘royal candles’,

Author’s photos

The Much Anticipated Lettuce Harvest!

Weather means more when you have a garden.  There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans.

~Marcelene Cox

Much of my vegetable crops are still in their baby stages of a cold spring.  No way will the “corn be knee high by the 4^th of July” in my yard, but already I’ve harvested some snap peas and asparagus stalks, several artichokes and finally my lettuce is ready!  I have 8 heads of an heirloom green leaf with sturdy leaves on the left, a few of the diminutive butter head Tom Thumb in center, so soft and delicate the quickest to grow in my collection with a 34 day maturity and a new one this year…Rouge d’Hiver - this beautiful red Romaine type with a 48 day maturity on the right. 

I pick a few individual large, outer leaves off each head of the Heirloom variety.  That way the plant will continue to send new leaves out from the center.  You don’t want to harvest the whole plant like you find at the market.  You will get a much longer harvest this way. But for the red Romaine here it’s way too soon for the heads to have matured and formed into what you’d recognize as a long, lean Romaine head so I’m picking out tiny whole plants early in order to thin out the bed.  That will make room for the rest to form full heads.  As you can see, I didn’t have time to grow and plant individual seedlings, I just scattered seed over the soil surface.  Kinda messy looking but successful none the less.  I could also just treat the red leaves like a Mesclun mix and snip leaves off with clean scissors, being sure to cut well above the growing point so the plant will send out new leaves again.  Known as the cut-and-come-again method, you just grasp several leaves and cut.  Or if you prefer you can individually hand pick the biggest leaves for your daily harvest like I am doing with the Heirloom.

Did you know that if you harvest your lettuce at temperatures over 65 F (18 C) degrees it will often have a bitter taste?  That’s why you will often see advice to pick your lettuce in the morning hours.  At the cooler morning temperatures the plant is hydrated, not stressed, and the sugars of the plant are at their peak.  Morning harvested vegetables are crisper, juicier and sweeter.  This is a good rule of thumb for all your vegetable harvesting…not just lettuce.

To wash fresh garden lettuce I just dunk the leaves into a sink of cold water with about a cup of plain white vinegar added.  The vinegar will kill any bugs and gnats that you don’t want to find in your salad bowl later.  They will drop to the bottom of the sink so I give the leaves a second dunking in plain cold water.  I wouldn’t want to live without a salad spinner with as much lettuce as I grow.  Getting most of the water off the leaves allows the salad dressing to coat the leaves better. 

You get the most nutrients if you eat it the day you harvest it but when I get too much I store them in the refrigerator drawer for vegetables.  I never put veggies in regular plastic bags, but rather the green plastic bags made for refrigerating fruits and vegetables.  They truly do prolong freshness in the fridge.  And the bags last a long time.  I keep using mine till a seam gives way and tears.  One box lasts me more than a year.

 

Happy Harvesting!

In Bloom in My Garden Today: Alpine Strawberries, Armeria, Baptesia, Bletilla pink, Chives, Columbine, Daylily, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’, Dianthus, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Hardy Geranium, Hosta ‘sum and substance’, Huchera, Kniphofia (torch flower or red hot poker, Lavendar, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Peas, Peony, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Primrose vailii, Rose, Salvia, Saxifraga andrewsii (irish saxifrage), Sedum, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Thalictrum rochebrunianum (meadow rue), Tomato

Author’s photo

Rutless in 2012

A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.
~Welsh proverb

Ruts are easy to fall into.
I don’t mean the kind along the road but the kind that keeps you from trying new things.

Today as I am watching the snow fall on my Tuscan kale and Brussels Sprouts, I am deciding which new and which old favorite varieties of vegetables to grow this year. So far I’ve got 3 new to try.

With our Pacific Northwest growing season, there are many things to consider when selecting what to grow. For one thing, we have a short growing season so varieties needing over 100 days to mature are not necessarily going to make it before the season changes and the plant begins to decline.

Another, being only a mile from the water, the temps in my garden don’t necessarily get hot enough to ripen many vegetables like in those gardens more inland. With both those factors, melons, peppers and many others just will never produce and ripen for me. Some veggies need a certain number of heat units for full maturity. Some summers that isn’t a problem but for the last two it has been.

All that to say we are unpredictable in the weather department so tried and true varieties take much of the frustration out of gardening. Not a bad idea, as a matter of fact I’ve said many times on this blog that learning what works and what doesn’t from the more experienced gardeners around you is a great way to go.

However, experimentation can lead you to find something you’d never have found otherwise. For instance I’ve settled into only growing Stupice tomatoes for several years now. Stupice, with 65 days to maturity, is an heirloom variety that grows and ripens consistently in both sunny, warm conditions as well as in our often wet, cloudy and cool summers. That’s early for a mid size tomato so I’m getting ripe fruit sooner than most. While perusing my Nichols Garden Nursery catalog this year I’ve decided to try Willamette, a hybrid developed by Oregon State University for short season areas like ours. A medium size tomato with a 70 day maturation, it claims “good production in spite of false springs, late chills, damp or dry summers”. How can it fail I wonder, so I’m going to plant it instead of Stupice this year and see what I think of it.

Over this past winter I also have been preparing more squash for our meals. I’ve never been a fan of squash, with the exception of zucchini (courgettes) but Shari’s blog has peaked my interest in cooking with squash since she writes about how healthy it is. I’ve found I like acorn squash more than delicata and butternut, so I thought I’d try growing Sweet Reba, an acorn bush variety with a 90 day maturation.

I’m also going to try cucumber Rocky which I found in Territorial Seed catalog. At 48 days this hybrid is a tad earlier than my old standby Marketmore at 55 days. Rocky is a one bite size seedless variety.

Last but not least…the bees. This year I wrapped the beehive against the coldest of winter temps. The only warming efforts I’ve taken in winters past is to strap on a plywood wind break and plug in 2 strands of Christmas lights (the old style that heat up) under the box for some bottom warmth. It’s not a lot but it can add a few degrees to keep a tender perennial alive so I do it for the bees too. Beware if you try this, you may get laughed at by some beekeepers but I didn’t care when they laughed at me. Mine survived that winter when many of theirs didn’t. Dale, my beekeeping friend down the street convinced me to try a wrap this year. He found 4’ x 8’ (1.21 x 2.43 m) sheet polystyrene at the hardware store that cut down would be perfect to use. I opted for the 1 ½ inch thickness. Hive wrapping is a common practice in the upper Midwest and Northeastern U.S. but not so much here. In our temperate climate with mild winters, depending on who you ask, some beeks will wrap and some adamantly will not, believing a wrap gives the bees a false sense of warmth with detrimental results. I’ve never done it, even told new beekeepers not to do it because of the death stories I’d heard. That said, I have given it much thought over the years. If you consider the natural cavity of a dead, hollow tree is probably inches thick and that is a natural cavity honeybees will use in the wild. The standard Langstroth hive body box is ¾ of an inch (1.78cm) thick. The BeeMax polystyrene hive bodies available from Dadant claim better insulation in both summer and winter, and are thicker than a wood hive box but I can’t find the actual dimension in the catalog. Sooo… I decided to give a wrap a try. I may only leave the wrap on in the most frigid of temps…that is yet to be determined.

It’s a new year. What will you try new in your garden?

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Sarcococca confuse, Heather (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), winter pansies


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