Picking up the threads

I have not been blogging for a while, but as the season turns, I feel the urge to pick up some long neglected threads. One of them is this blog.
 

I think the stirrings of the increase in energy in the natural world around me are "at fault", or to be thanked, depending on point of view. It has been a very hard winter and is not yet showing any real signs of change. The brake job on our truck, Artie, which was the first of a handful of repairs -- for which we have the parts --stopped due to colder weather and Tractor Guy's slowly failing health and energy. Artie still is partly jacket up, half in and half out of the garage, awaiting warmer weather and hope of more energy for TG. If we can at least make him drive-able for a few miles, we can get him to a real mechanic. Hopefully the young man will be willing to work with our supplied parts and can be paid with the CarCare line of credit. But for now, we continue to be thankful for friends willing to carry us to town for food, feed and occasional fun.

Meanwhile, the ol' homestead is limping along. We wintered over only a handful of laying hens, TWO of whom gifted me with eggs this morning. They must have felt the change in the energy 'cause through the winter I had found only one per day, at most. The poultry freezer is still mostly full --including most of the fowl I

harvested for Thanksgiving. I posted Tom the turkey to offer him to someone for eating or breeding and he as gone off to be a yard ornament/pet. As much as I love turkeys, I think I will stick to chickens and add ducks back into the mix. Khaki Campbells are my breed and I will soon be looking for some, hopefully locally. I really miss having a couple of goats (can't have just one!) but not sure if I have the energy to milk twice a day any longer, or to move electric fence in the warm months.

Seed starting season is at hand and actually I *should* be making soil blocks and seeding onions today, but I had not been planning to plant any this year. But I put an order in to Johnny's for storage onions and, for TG, some scallions. I have never had luck with them direct seeded. This year I seeded them into the little soil blocks as well. Johnny's orders are always the fastest to arrive of the local seed companies I patronize so hopefully starting will not be delayed much. We still have a lot of veg in the freezer too. Getting used to the reduced food requirements now that we both seem to be eating like old people is, I think, even harder than when I went from cooking for a family of 7 plus add-ons to just me.

Meanwhile, I continue to love to spin, and to knit and crochet as well... but not nearly fast enough to
use up the yarn I make! I do not want to sell yarn, even if I were to label myself as the "rustic, backwoods spinner." I am self-taught and do not care to try to make my yarn resemble the stuff from the store, even remotely. I love texture... visual and physical... as evidenced by the hat I knitted myself this winter.

Addressing the Seasonal Gardening Questions: PART 2

Once we know when to look for our last spring and first fall frosts (you did write them down, I hope, after our last discussion here!) we are ready to start selecting seeds and planning what to start inside, and what can go directly into the garden, and when to think about doing it. 

I will be using the dates for my location: June 1-10 and Sept 21-30. There is a handy web tool for figuring days between two dates, if you don't want to flip calendar pages and count. I don't so I have brought up https://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html and by comparing the latest spring frost date and the earliest fall one and then the opposite pair, I have determined my growing season averages between 104 and 122 days.

Which, in my thinking, makes those long season, huge jack-o-lantern pumpkins an iffy proposition. But there is more to gardening than just the numbers. And more to many of the numbers than their implied precision.

What does days to harvest on a seed packet or in a catalog actually mean? 

Seeds that get planted directly into the garden, like these green beans, are pretty straightforward if you understand to start counting when you see them peeking up through the earth. Remember, though, that soil moisture (you may need to water them), temperature and even weed pressure can slow them down. Also, though it may seem obvious, they do not all get picked the very same day. I usually get a small picking or two, enough for a side dish for supper as the first blossoms' fruit begins to mature. Of course the plants are continuing to grow and making more and more flowers which leads to a peak production, and then tapers off. In my area, I often do two planting of beans. This is called succession planing and will come up again later.

For plants that are usually introduced to the garden as transplants, the timing is calculated from transplanting. So when planning your seed starting adventure, you will need to allow a lead time to get the seeds started and to a good transplant size. But do not worry, we've got tools to help you right on the ol' Internet here. All you have to do is plug in that last frost date (and I suggest you play with timing a bit while you are learning, trying the earlier, later and an average to see which timing works best in your garden. Remember, we are using imprecise numbers! Also, when choosing varieties of vegetables with longer growing seasons, keep that first fall frost date will come into play! Remember my scenario from the previous post at frost time? I am sure you would not be a happy gardener if your tomatoes were just starting to bear well because you did not allow sufficient time between the "days to harvest" date calculated from your transplanting time and first frost to get a good crop.

Garden Timing and Planning Tools

It's time for you to meet one of my three favorite local seed companies, Johnny's Selected Seeds. I have been a customer for nearly as long as Rob Johnston, Jr. has been selling seeds, and

this is their 50th anniversary. I can attest to their commitment to their stated "same day shipping" and when I need seeds in a hurry, I shoot an email order to them as they are always "Johnny('s) on the spot." But today, we will be visiting another part of their web site, their Grower's Library, which is jam packed with info for growers from beginners to professional large market gardeners and farmers. Specifically (so you don't get lost wandering down a rabbit hole, as I often do!) we are going to the Planning Tools and Calculators and then scrolling down to the PLANT section to find the Seed-Starting Date Calculator for Seedlings Interactive Tool. Enter a last frost date from your notes, click ENTER and scroll down to see the updated information below. I cannot say enough about what this simple chart can teach you, because it does not just spit out apparently arbitrary dates, but by reading the column headers, you learn the flow of thought, and various crops needs, as you see, reading columns right to left, who can be set out at or even before frost, who needs to wait until after, and how long and exactly (if anything in this science is exact!) how that relates to your particular average frost date. And then, as important, how long the lead time is for each crop. We do not all grow at the same rate, yanno? And if you think the vegetable info is useful, keep scrolling and check out the huge array of flowers also listed. They also note: * Usually direct-sown, but can be started indoors and ** Specifically recommended for direct-seeding outdoors.  

Click back a screen and check out any of the other tools and topics and catch your attention. If you have wondered about timing of succession planting, like I do to make sure I have lettuce all year long (spring planted lettuce is gone, here, by the time BLT season begins) or want to work backward from first fall frost to make sure your crops ripen, they have tools for that, too. And videos as well, if that is how you learn best.

I cannot just let Johnny's get publicity here, though, as I have two more local seed sellers that I rely on each year. This year, though, with my garden being smaller and my budget as squeezed as everyone's is, I ordered most of my seeds from a much less publicized smaller family business: Pinetree Seeds. I really appreciated their selection of packets with fewer seeds at really great prices. Yes, most seeds will last at least a few years, when stored properly, but if you, like me, are often seduced by new-to-me or different varieties, you know how fast the partially filled packets collect! It was nice to have a pack of 30 storage cabbage seeds, and an equal number of shorter season ones for summer

Clancy  F1 potato

slaw and scalloped cabbage. They are not as quick to ship as Johnny's, but since I planned ahead, I was willing to wait and the savings made it really worth it. They have always been great seeds, too. And just for S&G, have you ever planted a potato seed... as opposed to a seed potato? Thanks to Pinetree, I have 20 potato seeds sprouting right now on my grow rack!

And I cannot overlook our long standing friends at Fedco. Around here, they are almost better know for their trees and a tree sale at their facility in Clinton Maine that was held annually in late April or early May in pre-

pandemic times. But they sell supplies year round, potatoes and onions in the spring and seeds as well. They are very focused on organic methods and active in the community as big supporters of MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.) All of the fruit trees here on my farm have thus far come from Fedco. 

That is it for now, folks. If you still have questions, remember to find your local extension agent! If my rambling verbosity has confused you, though, shoot me an email and I will try to clarify the issue...  with more rambling verbosity, unfortunately. Happy gardening!

 

Addressing the Seasonal Gardening Questions: PART 1

Every year about this time if not earlier, the Internet and especially gardening/homesteading groups blow up with questions. It makes sense, I guess, as we start hitting the pile of seed catalogs that began arriving even earlier than usual this year. I am excited to see so many new gardeners, and at the same time I get a bit sad and frustrated. So many of us, it seems, did not keep any of our "research skills" which I hope are still being taught in school. With the Internet at our fingertips, finding information is much easier than in the "go to the library, hunt in the card catalog and then search the stacks and hope" days of my youth. But with the plethora of information, it is easier, now, to become confused if you do not have any background beyond possibly folk sayings and local traditions. And as mobile as we are, tracking down true local traditions and not ideas imported by folks moving from different climates, produces more challenges. So once (and hopefully finally, since I will be able to reference this blog post in future years) here are all of the questions I regularly answer, answered. 

NOTE: this will be long and if you are a southern climate gardener with no frost/freeze season, much will not apply. I do write from a Northland perspective. 

Meet your County Extension Agents

Yes, you have them, even if you do not live in a rural area. "Extension provides non-formal education and learning activities to people throughout the country — to farmers and other residents of rural communities as well as to people living in urban areas. Based in each state's land grant university, they extend the knowledge and reach of their services into communities across the state, with local staff ready and willing to answer your questions about gardening, food safety, and a myriad of other topics from a base of scientific research. The Old Farmers Almanac has a current (2023) list of links for each state. They should be your first "go to."

Hardiness zones, their meaning and relevance

htps://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

This map of hardiness zones (you can search by zip code on the government web site) is often misunderstood. It codes your climate based on average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones. It is very relevant if you are choosing perennial plants, especially fruit trees and other fruiting crops that you expect to survive and produce food year after year. It does not speak to the length of your growing season, first or last frost or truly anything for annual plants — those you plant from seed or seedlings into your garden in the spring, harvest during the year and remove to compost or till in late in the fall.

Catalog and online sites selling perennials should indicate a range of hardiness zones in which each plant variety can be expected to thrive. As always, taking note of the plants and if you can, the varieties growing in your local area will help you become familiar with your "micro-climate." An open, unprotected area may challenge a tree that would otherwise be suited to your zone, and likewise, if your land has some protection from the winds and storms, you might be able to successfully grow a variety that would prefer to be a bit farther south. My land here sits on what is locally known as "storm hill" but I have a small area that is somewhat protected and am trying a hardy northern variety of peach, which is a decided gamble.

last frost date map, Maine

Average frost dates

These are the important dates you will use to plan your garden. They will tell you when to start various seeds in the house, when to transplant them into the garden and when to direct seed other crops. Coupled with the "days to harvest" info from seed packets, they will also clue you in to the fine art of succession planting, and help you make sure that you pick vegetable varieties that will actually ripen a crop in our northern gardens. The farther south you live, the longer the growing season, in general. In truly frost-free or nearly frost-free locations your challenges will vary, as you will likely find you have 2 different garden seasons: a "winter" garden season which favors cool season crops like lettuce, spinach, peas and the brassica family and a "summer" garden season for corn, beans, tomatoes, and okra. This will require irrigation and mulch is recommended.

The average Last Frost Date in the spring is the first one to consider. There are a myriad of sources out there on the web, but I have always used https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-maine-last-frost-date-map.php and have found it accurate. If you are NOT in Maine, you can copy the URL and replace "maine" with your state, hyphenated if it is a two word name. Once in, you can look at a color coded map like shown above, and even zoom in to pinpoint your exact location, which I did because my "town" covers a large geographic area. Or you can scroll down and search by town name, where the average range is listed numerically on a background of the associated color code. Write down the range, you will need to remember it. 

The average First Frost Date in the fall pretty much determines the end of our garden season. I say "pretty much" because the "killing frost" or even the threat of it, sends many of us scurrying to the garden with baskets, boxes and carts to harvest tomatoes, both ripe and ripening, at the very least, if not also the last of the beans, zucchini, cucumbers and maybe even the winter squash. But the late spinach, if we planted any, the remaining lettuces and the brassica will probably be fine and the Brussels sprouts and Swiss chard will even welcome the nip of cold weather. They allow us to get to them later, after we deal with the mound of produce that frost warning generates. https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-maine-first-frost-date-map.php will give you a heads up on when to begin looking for that frost, and when compared with your last frost date, will give you a good handle on what we typically consider the growing season.  Make a note of that date range also, as it will be useful to know in the future.

In the next installment, we will find powerful online tools to pair with these two frost dates and meet three of my favorite local seed companies.