Gardening: Sweetening the Soil with Calcium

Calcium is one of those things we don't usually talk about in terms of garden nutrients, right? I mean, you buy a bag of soil amendments and the big numbers are NPK, but what about the little guys? The minerals and micronutrients that feed soil health? I'm no soil scientist, I don't purport to be an expert, but I can recognize an improperly formed fruit when I see one. (Blossom end rot, anyone?) Funky lookin' fruits can be a sign of calcium deficiency.

Calcium is vital for sugar production in plants, it's part of what keeps your vegetables from being bitter.  

To boost my soil with a bit of calcium I fill empty milk and dairy containers with water to rinse them, but instead of pouring the water down the drain I'll pour it on a garden bed. Working in homemade compost will add micro nutrients, and the addition of bone meal should add a little extra something, too. 

We also have a plenitude of eggshells. After a Sunday of cooking snacks for the week ahead I generally have a small pan full.

Now, if you've ever thrown eggs in the compost bin you know they break down very slowly. When added directly to a garden bed they break down even more slowly, so they don't directly provide much calcium to your plants; something like soft rock phosphate is better suited for that.

This past winter I've been saving the shells from hard boiled eggs and grinding them up. I've also been taking the shells from other eggy exploits and sticking them in the oven to bake when I'm cooking dinner. My theory is to kill off unwanted bacteria and dry the shells out for storage. Next I grind them up in the food processor. In the end, I have something that looks like this: 

The texture ranges from a fine dust to gritty bits that look like pulverized shells on the beach. If you want an even finer texture just process them a little longer. The powder will be more readily available to the plants and the larger grit will slowly break down and give the earthworms a healthy treat.

It's not revolutionary, but I get a little excited about free garden solutions. Do you save your eggshells? What's your favorite free soil amendment?

2810[high]5: Remembering Jeff

Yesterday, Jeff Rieves, friend, Beacon contributor, and exceptional gardener passed away. His final Facebook post was a meme that reads, “The idea is to die young as late as possible.” I guess that’s what he did. Today, we remember Jeff for his insight, humor, and that well of knowledge he loved to share. Our gardens and our lives were and will continue to be, enriched by him.

Turning a New Leaf,

December 2018

“I’ve been “up on the mountain”, as the locals refer to the part of Patrick County, VA, where my mother lives, giving thanks for the gifts in our lives, and helping Ma with some winter lawn and garden chores... ”

How to Read a Garden, November 2018

“Most of my Life has been spent with books and gardens. Even my career has revolved around the the worlds of plants and words. They have informed each other, shaped how I see the world, and helped make me who I am today. ”

The Successful Gardener Says: Go Forth and Multiply, November 2018

“This Old Testament admonition to the children of Israel is a call to action for gardeners in the Fall. While more gardeners are always welcome, in this instance, we are multiplying the plants in our garden.”

Join the Alliuminati, October 2018

“Fall planted garlic gets a light mulch to protect it from the wide variations in temperature that we often experience in winter. Normally I use leaves, but wheat straw is OK, too. Before you ask, pine needles will work, but I personally don’t like using them. (That’s another subject I’ll cover some other time.) ”

Eat, Play, Love*: Edible Landscapes, September 2018

“We tend to segregate our plantings...We plant an herb garden here, a vegetable garden there, a perennial flower border somewhere else, but there are lots of ways to include more food plants into all of our landscape, a technique called edible landscaping.”

Matthews Community Farmers' Market: Putting the Community in the Farmers' Market

Open year-round on Saturdays (rain or shine), the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market kicks off its 28th year this Saturday. Originally a tailgate market open in spring and summer, the market eventually expanded into winter hours. With the spring schedule in full-effect, the market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon until late fall.

To kick off the season the market has Chef Jamie Lynch (of 5Church and Top-Chef fame) booked to provide a cooking demo. Chef Lynch will make something decidedly mind-blowing with ingredients sourced at the market prior to his demo. Riley Nelson will provide a musical backdrop of ukulele and guitar throughout the morning. Come with an empty belly and grab an Austro-Hungarian breakfast pretzel from the ever-popular StrudelTieg food truck.

Because everything is grown, raised, or made within 50 miles of Matthews, (the exception is fish, which is caught off the North Carolina coast by the fisherman selling it), you won’t see baskets of bananas or avocados. Everything is in season and fresh from the farm, often harvested a few short hours before you buy it.

It’s a little easier to know what’s in-season if you garden, but for those of you who enjoy eating more than digging, here’s a general idea for spring crops:

Leafy greens including lettuce, spinach, endive, arugula, and mizuna; root vegetables such as beets, carrots, radishes, and turnips; cole crops such as cabbage, broccoli (and broccoli raab), kale, collards, and cauliflower; some peas and beans—think edamame and sugar snaps; leeks, green onions, and fennel also make an appearance; growers with a greenhouse might even have a few tomatoes at their stands.

There will be plenty of free-range chicken eggs, meats (including lamb), as well as cow’s milk and goat’s milk cheeses, and cultured butter. If you’re suffering from the sniffles, put some local honey on your shopping list.

If you’re a gardener, plan out your plots. The market farmers offer plenty of transplants, some Certified Organic, to start your garden, including tomatoes, edible herbs, and soil-building comfrey. Windcrest Farm, one of the first farmers in the area to grow turmeric and ginger, will have “seed” to start your own. Save room in your home garden for a rhizome colony of both Hawaiian Red and Indira Yellow turmeric.

Make sure to budget a little extra for the locally made handmade goods. Have you been admiring the bee sculpture at the Country Place pocket Park? Artist Amy Hart will have her colorful, garden-centric sculptures for sale. Madison Woodworks will have an array of hand-carved spoons and bowls that are functional works of art.

This Saturday, grab your reusable totes, a wallet filled with cash (many vendors accept cards but cash saves them the processing fee), and put on comfy shoes. Even if you’re not shopping, you’re bound to see some familiar faces. The conversation will be good, and the veggies will be even better.

The Successful Gardener Says: Go Forth and Multiply

The process is simple enough: Dig a clump of plants, then pull, cut or break the sections apart into the size you want, then replant.

This Old Testament admonition to the children of Israel is a call to action for gardeners in the Fall. While more gardeners are always welcome, in this instance, we are multiplying the plants in our garden. Many perennial plants can be divided into several new clumps of plants. “Wait a minute”, I can hear you say, “you said we were to go forth and multiply. Now you’re saying we have to divide! I know there’s new math, but I’m pretty sure multiplication and division are two different functions.” In math, that is true. But this is a post about gardening, so I can use the terms literally, not arithmetically.

Seriously, Fall is a great time to divide perennial plants of all kinds. The process is simple enough. Dig a clump of plants, making sure you have adequate root system in the clump. Then pull, cut or break the sections apart into the size you want to plant. This could be a simple division into two pieces, or multiple divisions into individual plantlets. The first divisions can be quite hard, especially if you’ve let the plant increase for several years without division. Some plants are naturally difficult to divide, like Siberian Iris. I’ve had to use a pick and an axe to dig and divide them. But as you loosen the root ball (which is rarely ball-shaped, BTW), the individual plantlets will loosen their grip, and it gets easier.

Plants will bloom more profusely when divided. Irises of all kinds give you more blooms after division.

Why do we divide plants, if it’s so much work? There are “multiple” reasons, of course. First, we all want more plants, and why not create our own? For some plants, division is the preferred method of propagation. If we want a specific hosta cultivar, that’s how we get one. Many plants grow better over time if they are divided occasionally. Shasta daisy, one of the premiere plants in The Living Garden, will decline over the seasons if not multiplied ever few years. Plants will bloom more profusely when divided. Irises of all kinds give you more blooms after division. And if you have a very vigorous plant, division is an easy way to keep it in bounds.

I’ve written earlier about multiplier and walking onions. If you haven’t harvested, divided, eaten (some of them, anyway), and replanted some of these perennial vegetables, it’s time! Asparagus, however, will be much easier to divide once all of the foliage has died back.

You can wait a bit on other plants, too. Hostas, irises, and daylilies are a bit easier to divide once the foliage has gone dormant. You can, of course, go ahead and divide them now, if you want, but it will put more stress on the plant.

One more tip for you. Make sure that you get roots and crown with each division. If you can get some “eyes” or buds for stem growth the following season, though these aren’t always visible. In making sure you get all parts of a plant, you will have a much better chance of success in your planting.

Get out there and divide some of your plants in order to multiply the opportunities to enjoy your garden. It’s that enjoyment that makes you a Successful Gardener!!!

Article and photos by Jeff Rieves

What to plant now

Our regular Friday contributor, Jeff Rieves, is feeling under the weather. He’ll be back next week, but if you’re feeling the urge to plant something there are definitely good options for sowing this weekend.

Our first frost is typically late October, so we’re getting to the planting point where you’ll need to direct sow things with a shorter maturation length. It’s time to direct sow seeds for root veggies such as radishes, and carrots, as well as leafy tender greens such as spinach, and lettuce.

You’ll be safer starting with transplants of veggies that take a little longer to fully mature. Transplant broccoli, collards and hardier leafy greens. Separate bulbs from heads of garlic and plant individual bulbs with several inches of room around each. Onion sets, actually immature bulbs you “set out”, go into the ground now, too. An added bonus of growing collards and kale? With all the mature trees in Matthews, a lot of yards are shady. The broadleaf crops have better ability to absorb the sun in shadier conditions, making them a great crop for this area!

Need a good source for your future food? Our advertiser Renfrow’s (188 North Trade St. Matthews) has a complete selection, and maybe Jeff Rieves will be there to help you pick out what will work best for you.

Time to plant!!!

Most of us tend to think of Spring as the best time to plant. For some things, that is true, but our hot (and often dry) Summers tend to put a lot of stress on Spring planted specimens. So why not plant all kinds of trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial flowers? When you plant in the fall, you give plants a 7 or 8-month head start on the hot, dry weather. Roots are growing during that time, even if other parts of the plant are dormant. This allows the plants to be well on their way to being established in the landscape before they have to face the stresses of Summer weather. So, now’s the time to plant!

Last week I posted a list of great plants to use to create an edible landscape; a yard/garden/orchard hybrid, if you will. Nearly every single one of them is a perennial plant of some sort, which means they continue to grow over the years. Some, in fact, live quite a long time. In fact, the oldest known cultivated muscadine grapevine was planted in the 1500’s on the Outer Banks Of NC!

Native grapes such as muscadines are hardy and easy to grow here in Matthews.

One of the best things to plant in the fall is a tree, preferably a fruit tree. My preferred method of tree planting is fairly simple. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball of your plant is thick, and twice as wide. For example, if you buy an apple tree in a “3 gallon” container, the root ball will be approximately 10” wide and 14” tall. So you’ll need to dig a hole 20” wide and 14” deep. Remove the plant from the container, and loosen the roots from the tight ball they grew in while in the container. This allows the plant’s roots to spread out faster. Fill the planting hole with 3-4” of native soil, and firm it a bit. This will raise the top of the root ball above the surrounding grade, and lessen the settling of the soil. In our clay soils, you want to plant most things a little high to prevent root and crown rots caused by rainwater puddling around tree trunks. Set the plant into the hole, and backfill with native soil. You might irrigate the soil and root ball when about half the planting hole is filled. Continue backfilling, and fill the planting hole up to the top of the root ball. Make sure the root flare (the area of a tree trunk that widens into the root system) is visible just above the soil. You can water a bit more, then add your preferred organic mulch. This simple method should get your tree off to a fine start, and a long life.

Fruit trees blend seamlessly into yards.

If you want to learn more about fall planting, join me at Renfrow Farm next week for my class on “Edible Landscaping”. The cost is $20 per person.

Edible Landscapes, Tuesday, October 9, 6:30-8:30 PM * Renfrow Farm, 409 W Charles Street, Matthews, NC * Details and registration here.

Remember to enjoy your garden, because THAT’S what makes you a Successful Gardener!!

Eat, Play, Love*: Edible Landscapes

Fruit trees provide shade, their flowers attract pollinators, and the fruit fills our bellies.

Everybody loves to spend time outdoors, especially in a beautifully landscaped yard. We tend to segregate our plantings, though. We plant an herb garden here, a vegetable garden there, a perennial flower border somewhere else, but there are lots of ways to include more food plants into all of our landscape, a technique called edible landscaping. Many of our food plants give us shade, seasonal interest, flowers, and a lot more. As an example, here’s my list for “The Top 10 Plants For Edible Landscaping”. You’ll notice that not all of these plants actually provide food. However, they do make it easier for you to grow more food with less fertilizer and pesticides. So, here’s the list.

1. Pecan trees - shade, food.

2. Apple/pear trees – shade, flowers, food.

3. Rabbit eye Blueberries – seasonal color, food.

4. Muscadine grapes – shade, screening, fall color, food.

5. Strawberries (perennial matted-row culture) – groundcover, food.

6. Fig trees – structure, winter interest, food.

7. Living Garden plants:

   Aromatic herbs – beneficials, foundation planting (some), seasonal interest, food.

   Daisy flowered plants – beneficials, aroma, flowers, beds/borders.

   Umbrella-flowered plants – beneficials, aroma, flowers, beds/borders, food (some).

   Nectar plants – beneficials, aroma, flowers, beds/borders.

   “Beetle banks” ornamental grasses – beneficials, seasonal interest, beds/borders.

8. Perennial vegetables:

   Asparagus

   Perennial onions

9. Pole beans – food, seasonal screening, soil improvement, some color.

10. Clover/buckwheat/vetch & other covers – soil building, ground covers, flowers, seasonal interest.

Honorable mention:

Blackberries – food, seasonal interest, screening, security.

Malabar spinach – seasonal interest, color, screening, food.

Persimmon trees – seasonal color, understory, food.

Pomegranate trees – seasonal color, understory, food.

Sunchokes (a perennial sunflower) - flowers, beds/borders, beneficials, seasonal screens, food.

Cover crops feed the soil, attract beneficial insects, and look pretty, too!

If you want to know more about these great plants, come join me for the next Successful Gardener class at Renfrow Farm.

Edible Landscapes, Tuesday, October 9, 6:30-8:30 PM

Renfrow Farm, 409 W Charles Street, Matthews, NC

We tend to look at our food crops through a single purpose lens. How much food will this plant yield? But many of our fruits and vegetables look great in the garden! Come learn how to add these plants to our landscapes. We’ll feed our souls beautiful gardens while we feed our bodies good food. Details and registration here.

Remember to enjoy your garden, because THAT’S what makes you a Successful Gardener!!!