Part 3: Organic Pest Control

I'm trying to think of a pest or disease I haven't contended with.  Okay, that's a little dramatic given this is California.  Our weather is ideal, and when compared to other states, we're practically considered pest-free.  But we do have our share.  

The ones I hate the most are the tomato horn worms, which come at me like this in my dreams:

Well, not seriously.  But that's how they seem when I unexpectedly find one in my tomato vines or pole beans.  They'll do devastation if you don't control them, and they are only one of many things that can ruin a good garden.

I'm a big believer in organic gardening.  Not only for the environment, but because I have more success when I work with nature instead of fighting against it.  But understand that organic gardening is all about prevention.  You'll have a hard time fighting back pests and diseases if you do nothing before the pests arrive.  So the best offense is a good defense, and that starts with:

• Rich, fertile soil
• Healthy, quality plants
• Varieties suitable to the area
• Varieties suitable to the season
• Plenty of sun

You can't plant shitty Walmart greenhouse plants in a pot of last year's dirt and think you can fertilize and pesticide your way to prosperity.  But even the healthiest starts can use a little boost.

Here's my arsenal:

Slugs, Snails and Earwigs:

Sunflowers, artichokes and anything leafy (lettuce, chard, bok choi, etc.) regularly get decimated by tiny slugs in my garden.  New plantings will often get chowed down in one night if I don't sprinkle with Sluggo the moment they go in.  In fact, I've found it's best to start sprinkling the ground with Sluggo a few days before I plant.  That keeps slugs from having a choice between the bait and my plants.

Fungus:

Southern Sonoma County is one big fog belt, and I'm often fighting rust, mildew, late blight and black spot.  And once it's taken up shop, it's almost impossible to eradicate.  There are a few things I do to keep fungus at bay:

1. Plant rotation:  Unless it's a perennial like artichokes and strawberries, I never plant the same thing in the same spot two years in a row.  Many fungus varieties are soil borne and will stay in the soil long after you've pulled the plant.  Fungus also tends to like certain vegetables, so if it's hanging out over the winter waiting for you to plant those yummy tomatoes again, dupe it by planting green beans there instead.  It'll die off for lack of a host.  (This is also a good idea to keep your soil from being depleted of the same nutrients every year, since different plants take different nutrients out of the soil).
2. Drip watering:  As mentioned, many fungus varieties come from soil, and they will harmlessly stay in the soil as long as you aren't splashing them up onto the leaves of your plants.  Aphid defense aside (which I'll talk about below), you never want to water your veggies from above, leaving your plants dripping and dotted with splashed-up dirt.  A simple soaker hose or drip is best, and you can buy inexpensive hose attachments (many with timers!) that can be used for even the smallest in-ground or container gardens.
3. Thinning:  Tomatoes especially can get dense and bushy, making them susceptible to trapping our foggy morning moisture.  When my plants get dense, I occasionally thin them out as they grow, removing some leaves from the center of the plants so they maintain air flow.  Though be careful!  Those leaves will also shade your tomatoes on hot days, preventing sun scald, so you want to focus on only thinning out the center, without removing the outer branches that are shading your fruit.  I also thin out squash plants and vines when they get too unruly, and you definitely want to cut and discard older zucchini leaves if they're starting to turn yellow and moldy.
4. Neem and Copper Fungicide:  Every spring I take a gallon pump sprayer and mix a potion of Neem & Copper Fungicide.  These are both considered organic and won't harm you or the good bugs in your garden. (Though if I do see friendlies out there while I'm spraying, I try to shoo them away.)  I typically wait until my plants are established and beginning to grow (maybe a foot or so) before I start spraying, and I usually concentrate on tomatoes and squash, which are most susceptible to fungus and pests.  I'll do this once every 4-6 weeks during the growing season from about May through July, so we are only talking about a few applications a season.  Fungus, in general, is a classic situation where prevention matters, as once it sets in, this mixture may slow it down a bit, but will rarely cure it.  

Caterpillars and Hornworms:

These are about the only pests where I'll wait for signs before I spray.  They start as eggs laid by those pretty white butterflies (moths, actually) that float around and land on your plants.  And spraying the eggs does nothing.  You really have to wait for them to hatch into caterpillars, and when they do, I find Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) extremely effective in killing them off before they do much damage.  You find Bt in the stores under the label "Caterpillar Killer" and I've had a container of Safer brand in my shed for years.  Mix it in a pump or hand sprayer and spray at the first sign of trouble.  Because it only kills pests that actually eat the plants, this won't harm any bugs that are just hanging out enjoying the sun.  Again, though, I typically try to avoid spraying things like bees, so when I do spray, it's in the morning before they're active.

Cucumber Beetles:

Do you ever see ladybugs in your garden but they're green?  That's because they're cucumber beetles, and they especially love my pole beans.  To a certain extent, I simply let them share.  They eat holes in the leaves and suck spots in some of my beans, and as long as they don't get greedy, I let them be.  When they do get out of hand, I've found the only way to get rid of them organically is to just pick them off the plant and squash them.  And it's surprisingly effective.  You'll find them more often when it's cool--in the morning or evening--as they tend to hide in the shadows when it gets hot.  They are slow and quite trusting.  I can often catch them in my hand or carefully pluck the leaf they're sitting on, set it on the ground and then step on it.  I was surprised how well this works in keeping them at bay, because in my yard, they don't show up in large numbers.  I only need to squash 2-3 cucumber beetles a couple times a season to stay ahead of them.

Aphids:

I have a rainbow of aphids in my garden, from the classic green to gray to black and even some red.  They are the bane of my existence, and because of them, there are some plants, such as chives, that I've almost given up on.  I find aphids extremely difficult to eradicate entirely, but I have found some things that help:

• Petunias - for some reason, when I started planting petunias I stopped having aphids on my squash.  At first I thought it was a fluke, but I'm now into about Year 5 of petunias and it's still working.
• Water - when aphids do show up, the best way to rid them is to spray them off your plants.  Most get stuck in the mud and die.  This is something you'll have to do often, though, as they come right back every few days.
• Timing - I find aphids are more prevalent in the warm summer months.  So if your short-season veggies like lettuces and chard get eaten alive in June, try an earlier spring or later fall planting instead.
• Explore alternate varieties - I had no idea there was such a thing as aphid-resistant lettuce until I stumbled on it in a seed catalog.  Apparently, Chinese Garlic Chives are also supposed to be resistant to aphids, so I intend to try those next year.

People have also used insecticidal soap that you can purchase or make DIY.  And while I won't dismiss that as an option--even have some in my shed--it's never worked well for me, even when applied after a good water spray gets the bulk of them.  But that is an option if all else fails and you're trying to save a plant.

Inviting The Good Bugs:

I always sigh a little when I see people talk about buying a jar of ladybugs to come eat the aphids that have set up shop.  The problem with relying on this method alone is the ladybugs will eat the aphids then leave when most are gone, leaving your garden defenseless when the aphid army rebuilds.  And that happens fast!  Fun Fact:  A newly born aphid becomes a reproducing adult within about a week and then can produce up to 5 offspring per day for up to 30 days!  Do the math and ask how many ladybugs you want to buy every year.

Instead of buying beneficials, I try plant things that will naturally bring them around and--most importantly--keep them with you all year.

I found this great list of plants that attract ladybugs from a site called BalconyGardenWeb.  Many flowers and herbs on the list not only bring around ladybugs, but other beneficial insects that will help you out.  Which is the primary reason you want to keep to an organic garden.  Sprays that kill bugs will kill ALL the bugs, including the ones on your side.  And in my opinion, working against nature is the quickest way to fail at gardening.  

Some of the things I plant include petunias, which I like because they will trail themselves among my squash:

I also add sunflowers and marigolds, artichokes, and sweet alyssum.

Nasturtiums are another staple, as they self-sow everywhere.  And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.

So while you're planning out next year's garden, make sure you leave space for flowers.  They'll not only help you be successful, but they're just darned pretty: 

Happy Gardening!

 

 

Part 2: When To Pick Those Tomatoes

There are four reasons I never leave tomatoes to fully ripen on the vine:

1. If you've got critters such as mice, squirrels and birds, they're most likely to steal your wares once the tomatoes are fully ripe and juicy.  And trust me, there's nothing more infuriating than spending weeks watching that "perfect tomato" develop on the vine, deciding that "tomorrow will be the day I bring that baby in", only to find a mouse or squirrel had the same idea just one day earlier.
   
2. I gift a lot of my tomatoes to friends, family, and food banks, and when I do, it's nice to provide a mix of varying ripeness so they'll have several weeks of tomatoes to enjoy.
3. Super hot days and too much sun can sun scald any tomatoes that aren't shaded by leaves.  And tomato ripening season is also when we get some of our hottest days.
   
4. There's nothing to gain from leaving them out there.
   

Many people think that tomatoes need to ripen on the vine in order to have the best flavor.  And that's true.  But "ripe" isn't the red ripe you think it is.

If you're an information junkie like me, this is an excellent blog post about tomato ripening myths.  I don't intend to repeat what's already written there, but I will bottom-line it for you.

Tomatoes are fully ripe when they come to what's called the "breaker point".  That is the stage when the tomato stops pulling nutrients from the vine, and is basically just sitting there exposed to the elements and critters that can ruin your hard work.  Here is a great chart that illustrates:

You'll see that breaker point is when the fruit is still green.  Since it's not always easy to tell from the outside, I pick my tomatoes at the "Pink" stage, or sometimes the "turning" stage when I know I'll be too busy to go out for a few days.

Here's the haul I have on my counter right now:

 

The other bottom-line from the article I linked:  Don't bother with fancy ripening techniques.  They don't need to be put in a bag with a banana, and absolutely don't set them in a sunny window.  I pile these in wide bowls and leave them on my counter.  Room temperature (in the 70's), dry shade out of direct sunlight is ideal.  Today is Wednesday.  Most of the tomatoes above will look like the red ones on the right by the weekend.

So there you have it.  Mythbusting the vine ripened tomato theory!  Protect those babies and bring them in before you lose them, and until next time, Happy Gardening!

Melons!

One of my favorite quotes about vegetable gardening is something like, "It's often easier to learn to love what you can grow than it is to grow what you love".

When I think of this quote, melons come to mind.  I loves me a good, sweet honeydew or deep juicy watermelon.  But being coastal here in the Bay Area--and those melons need lots of inland heat--I've been sticking to melons I have a fighting chance with.  And for us in Southern Sonoma County, that's cantaloupe and Crane Melons.

For about 3 years now, I've been growing a variety of cantaloupe the book "Golden Gate Gardening" recommended, which is Sugar Cube.  New to me this year is Crane Melons, which I tried because I live less than 4 miles from the Crane Melon Barn.  So that seemed an obvious choice. 

And these have not disappointed.  As you can see, they're much smaller than what you find in the store.  But they pack a surprising amount of fruit that is juicy and delicious. 

Unlike the store bought, you don't lose the outside inch to heavy skin and flavorless fruit.  I literally pare these like I would an apple.

Cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and you get a pretty decent amount of fruit. 

And they beat anything you'd buy at the grocery store.

This was my first time growing and eating Crane Melons.  While larger than my Sugar Cube cantaloupe, mine still ended up smaller than the ones I've seen on line.  But oh, are they juicy.  Not quite as sweet as the cantaloupe, they are still tasty and worth the effort.

So who knows?  Maybe now that I've gained a few years of success with melons, I may scour the internet for a good variety of watermelon to try.  I gave Honeydew a try last year, and was not impressed with the sweetness, and I may find the same fate with watermelon.  If so, that's okay.  I'll be happy with my Cranes and Cantaloupes. 

As the saying goes, learn to love what you can grow!

Happy Gardening!

In Search of The Perfect Dill Pickle

Friday was devoted to fast and easy refrigerator beets.  Today, I went full-homestead and processed a batch of cucumber pickle chips.

 

I've only made dill pickles once, and while they turned out perfectly crisp, my husband hated the pre-mixed pickling spice I'd used.  I confess, it wasn't what I'd expected either, and I'm guessing the culprits were cinnamon and possibly star anise.  So I'm coming back this year with a much simpler recipe where I control everything that goes into the mix.

I started with a plain old Hamburger Dills recipe from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving.

Then made the following adjustments (because c'mon--I gotta make it my own!):

• I replaced 1 quart of white vinegar with 3 1/2 C white vinegar and 1/2 C apple cider vinegar.  This wasn't intentional.  I ran out of white and was too lazy to go to the store.  But maybe it will be brilliant!
• I also added red onion slices, as a carry-over from last year's batch.  Not only are they pretty in the jar, pickled onions are delicious in everything you would use pickles for.  So why not combine the two?
• I doubled the peppercorns because two per jar seemed chintzy.
• I added a few dried hot pepper flakes.  Hopefully, not enough to make these "hot" pickles.  But I wanted a little bite.
• Added 1 small dried bay leaf per jar.
  

Another thing I've learned about myself:  I don't have the energy to plant both slicing cucumbers and pickling cucumbers.  

I tried that a couple years ago and never had enough pickling cucumbers to make a batch of pickles.  Mostly because I refuse to give up too much space in my garden for pickles.  So last year I tried just pickling my regular slicing cucumbers, and they turned out fine! 

So that's my plan, at least while I'm experimenting with recipes.  If I get a real winner, maybe I'll play more with the varieties I'm growing, either by growing pickling cucumbers again, or just keeping to my slicing cucumbers but not letting them get so big.  For sure, pickles are harder to pack when the slices are large, not to mention the seeds.  But without a winner-winner pickling recipe, my slicers are doing perfectly fine double-duty.

So we will see how well this recipe turned out.  I like to give them 4 weeks before I open a jar and see what I've got.  So now we wait!

Beets! Beets! Beets!

I pulled in another crop of beets this morning and made what is now my official favorite pickled beet recipe.  Not only does this make delicious slightly sweet-slightly sour, slightly spiced pickled beets, the process doesn't involve canning.  And due to the vinegar content, the batch will last in your fridge for up to 6 weeks.  Though usually they are gone long before then!

I found the recipe on a site called BellyFull.Net and you can find the original version here:  BellyFull.Net Refrigerator Pickled Beets  But because websites often disappear on me, here is my own copy for saving: 

 Refrigerator Pickled Beets

• 4 medium roasted beets, cooled, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• 5 whole black peppercorns

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and mustard to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Simmer for a few minutes, take off the heat and allow to cool a bit.

Add peppercorns and beets to a clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid.  Pour the brine in, covering all the beets.

Cover and set aside for several hours before transferring to the refrigerator.

You Dirty Rat!

 We have a rat!  Thankfully, not in the house, but in the second place I least want them:  In my vegetable garden!

This isn't the first time I've had mice and rats in my garden.  After all, they don't coin my town "Rodent Park" for nothing.  But it has been a few years.  I thought I'd solved my rodent problem by rat-proofing my compost bin.  And indeed, it's not the compost they're in.  Curiously, I can't find any signs that they've been eating anything--YET.  But we do have the telltale droppings around our garbage cans and through this garden path:

Luckily, I already had today off work.  It gave me the chance to go out and quickly take some corrective measures.  

The first one was to pull in all the tomatoes I can at the moment.  In the past, rodents have only come for my tomatoes or my compost, and the tomatoes they prefer are the juicy ripe ones.  So I'll be picking just as they turn on a daily basis until we stop seeing signs of rats.

Then I spent the morning doing a major garden clean-up, knowing that rats prefer areas where they can take shelter and hide.  I did my best to clear out what was spilling onto the paths, pulling out plants that had reached their end, and cutting back what was growing out of control.  After all, one can only eat so much spaghetti squash!

The bright side is new planting space for my fall garden.

And a full wheelbarrow of greens to add to my compost bin, with the loving help of my hubby!

So between this and traps, our rat problem will hopefully be a fleeting one!  Every year, it's something.  I thought I was doing pretty well with only an occasional tomato horn worm and a few cucumber beetles.  As always, nature insists on reminding me it's out there!

Happy Gardening!

When You Can't Go Out Go UP!

I recently snagged this metal garden arbor from Hay & Needle for $90 and free shipping.  I buy a lot from this company and they've never let me down.  This latest purchase will be my 5th arbor, so no doubt, I have a thing for vertical gardening!

You see, as I was planning my upcoming season, I ran into a familiar problem:  I want to grow too many things for the amount of space I have.  Add the challenge that I never plant the same thing in the same space two years in a row, puzzling out my garden plots can be a big challenge.

So with more plants than space, my only options are:

1. Add more space (nope, too much work)
   
2. Grow fewer things (haha yeah, no)
3. GROW UP!

A-hah! #3!!

My vegetable garden already has three arbors and two 4' X 6' trellises.  About half of what I grow, grows UP, and that includes most tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, peas, and some varieties of squash and melons.  I absolutely love trellising for it's space-saving benefits, but I also love that it creates interest and a "secret garden" feel to the space.

Here's a photo from early in the season when you can easily see the structures:

And here is later, when it's all in full swing:

While trellising has many benefits, thought has to be given to placement.  You don't want tall plants to shade out any sun-loving plants north of them.  And I've made some mistakes.  In the photo above, I've joined two arbors to form a bean tunnel.  And while my bean tunnel ended up being everything I'd hoped, I found that pole beans--growing very thick and tall--were shading out too much of my garden late in the day.  So I've had to adjust.  Now I only plant lower growing tomatoes, cucumbers, melons or peas in that spot.

On the flipside, plants such as carrots, beets, lettuce and many herbs are very tolerant of--and even prefer--some shade, especially in the hottest hours of the afternoon.  So shade isn't always a bad thing.  You just need to think about and plan for it.

Here's a copy of my garden plot with the planned placement of my new arbor shown in red.  I won't be able to install it until fall, but knowing I have it helps me figure out my garden plots for the upcoming seasons. 

I know next summer seems like a long way off, but if you're planting things like garlic, onions or shallots, they will go in well before Halloween and will stay there until at least June of next year.  So I was quite serious when I said I have to "puzzle this out".  With my summer crop in the ground now, a fall crop, things that will over-winter and more vegetables I want to plant for spring, I have to use several iterations of this plot map to help me puzzle it all out.

Fortunately, I'm very fond of puzzles, love plotting, planning and scheming.  So for me, this is one of the funnest aspects of vegetable gardening.  AND I get to do it at the comfort of my kitchen table with a nice glass of wine, which makes it one of the easiest of garden tasks! 😄

Happy Gardening!

    

August Garden Activities

Here's what's on my garden to-do list for August:

• Planting one final succession of pole beans this weekend.  I've been staggering plantings since April, planting a handful of beans every 60 days.  Right now is probably the last I can stretch that growing season, but I'll give it a try.
• Planting snow peas around mid-month.  If you want to order on-line, now is the time to get them.  Look for varieties resistant to powdery mildew or otherwise recommended for fall.  I've purchased Oregon Giant from Johnny's, but many varieties are suitable for the season.
• Planting broccoli and cabbage starts later in the month.  Look for fall varieties such as Arcadia, Marathon (broccoli) and Gonzales (cabbage)
• Planting carrots, again--look for varieties suitable for fall planting.  This year, I'll be giving Kyoto from Baker Creek a try.  
• Starting bok choi seeds indoors toward the end of the month for transplanting in September.  My favorite is Mei Qing Choi from Johnny's.

How do you know what varieties are suitable for fall?  Most seed companies will give you those recommendations in their catalogs and on their websites. Reputable nurseries, like Cottage Gardens and Harmony Farms will only put out the appropriate varieties for the season. 

Also, if you're ordering seeds for fall, now would be the time to pick up some lettuce, arugula and beet seeds so you have them.  I won't be planting mine until September, but the best varieties often sell out, so grab 'em while you can.

More August Activities:

Want to start a compost pile?  Now is the time to start thinking about it, as fall is the best time to start composting!

I've done several blogs about my experiments in composting.  I had to do a lot of trial and error to find what worked for me, but I'm so glad I kept at it.  Composting is the absolute best way to get good soil in your garden, make use of all your kitchen and garden waste, and save money in the process (quality compost is EXPENSIVE!)  

Though I have many more composting discussions planned, you can see my past experiments here: Lori's Compost Posts

The most recent post is about the double-bin rodent-proof compost bind I'd made myself.  I can tell you three years later, it's still rodent-free and is working fantastic!  But if that is a little too aggressive for your needs, I've also discussed other things I've tried and how well they worked.

So there you go for August!  Enjoy this summer weather and Happy Gardening!

Tomato Series Part 1: The Basics, Starting With Food

It's important to know these basics about growing tomatoes:

1) They're heavy feeders and will easily deplete the soil of nutrients in just one growing season.

2) They're sun lovers and need at least 6 hours of full sun (though 8 is even better).

3) Most varieties have deep roots and need space to grow.

4) Consistent watering is critical.

5) Wet leaves are tomato killers.

Ideally, I would have started this tomato series at the beginning; where to plant them, the importance of soil, what varieties to choose.  Unfortunately, it's August and all those decisions have been made for 2020, so I'll save those topics for spring.  Instead, I'll address what's most useful for people growing plants right now, the first one being plant food.

Asking tomato growers about fertilizer is like asking elderly couples what's the secret to a lasting marriage. You'll get a hundred different answers and all of them will be right. I've heard everything from filling the holes with fish heads to mulching with egg shells and coffee grounds, to bi-weekly doses of Epsom salt.  There's no shortage of tomato wisdom and lore out there, so rather than trying to give you the definitive be-all-end-all must-haves for tomatoes, I'll simply tell you what I do.

When it comes to plant food, here's me being cheesy with my pantry:

No, I don't use these all at once.  Think of them as infant formula, special supplements, and the daily multi-vitamins.  Of importance is the numbers on each container, shown here (L-R) as 5-1-1, 0-5-4, 4-4-4 and 3-4-3.  These are percentages of the following:

Nitrogen (N) -Phosphorus (P) -Potassium (K)

So for example, the Fish Fertilizer on the left contains 5% Nitrogen, 1% Phosphorus, and 1% Potassium.  The ratios are important depending on the situation:

Nitrogen (N):  This gives your plants that lush green foliage.  If you've got pale, spindly tomato plants, they could be hungry for nitrogen.  Be careful, though, because too much nitrogen will cause the plant to produce leaves and no tomatoes. 

Phosphorus (P):  The middle number helps your plants set good roots, and also gives them a boost when they begin to flower and set fruit.  Either the Happy Frog or Down To Earth 4-4-4 are good choices to add to your soil at planting time to encourage good root growth and get them off to a healthy start.

Potassium (K):  The last number, potassium, is also needed when plants are flowering and setting fruit.  But Potassium is also important for continual growth throughout the season and to keep them free of disease.

My Fertilizer Time-Table

At Planting Time:  Both the Happy Frog and Down To Earth Vegetable Garden are granular mixes that I work into the soil when I plant. If you're planting in raised beds or in the ground, you'll want to dig your hole deeper than you need it, toss a couple tablespoons in the bottom, incorporate it with some dirt then place your plant on top.  If you're planting in containers, you'll want to mix it throughout all the soil if the pot is on the small side, or follow the in-ground rules if you're planting in half-barrels.  You don't need both of these fertilizers.  Either one is sufficient to get your plants started off on the right foot.  And while these brands are my favorite, the important thing is finding a fertilizer where the N-P-K numbers are in roughly equal proportions.

Between Planting and Flowering:  If you're starting out with rich, organic soil that you've amended since the last growing season and then boosted with fertilizer at planting time, you probably don't need to fertilize again until the plants start to flower and fruit.  But if your plants don't seem to be taking off at all since you planted, I'd recommend periodic doses of Fish Emulsion, which I'll talk about below.

A warning!  Starts that won't grow could also mean that you've planted too early.  No matter when you put them in the ground, tomato plants will sit there stagnant until night time temperatures are well into the 50's and day temps are in the 70's.  And most nurseries put their plants out long before it's time to plant them.  So if you thought you'd get a jump-start but those days and nights are still chilly, you may have just planted too soon.  Wait until temps are optimal before boosting them with fertilizer.

When They've Started To Flower And Set Fruit:  I happen to love the Gringo Rasta.  You'll notice it has no nitrogen, so it won't encourage the plants to keep making more leaves.  Instead, it's heavier on the Phosphorus and Potassium to encourage bud growth, and will encourage good sized tomatoes as well.  I try to fertilize every two weeks, alternating between the Gringo Rasta and the Fish Emulsion.  I think the Gringo gives a continual boost to tomato flowering and production, but the Fish Emulsion also has very important trace minerals (calcium, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, and sodium) that the plants need to stay healthy and fight disease. 

Both the Gingo Rasta and Fish Emulsion are to be mixed with water, so be sure to follow the container's measurements and instructions.  When watering, I typically give each plant somewhere between 1-2 gallons of fertilized water that I apply using a 2 gallon watering can.

The Importance of Water

Never--EVER--fertilize dry soil!  You will burn your plants.  Instead, make sure you've watered well and let it drain off for a bit before watering with liquid fertilizer or sprinkling granules around your plants.  I also sometimes give the plants an extra dose of plain water after, just to soak it deep into the soil.  I tend to think that's more important with dry fertilizer than liquid.

Organic vs Chemical

You'll notice my pantry of fertilizers are entirely organic.  You'll also notice that I use relatively low N-P-K numbers.  If you browse through garden aisles, you can find fertilizers in concentrations of 10-10-10 and higher.  So why not more of a good thing?

First, I'm not a MiracleGro hater.  I've got a box of it in my shed, and use it from time to time.  But I look at chemical vs organic fertilizers the same as I look at vitamins vs healthy eating.  It's best to get nutrients naturally, and organic fertilizers typically include many trace minerals you don't find in chemical fertilizers.  They also tend to be milder, so you run less risk of over-fertilizing and harming your plants.  Also, those fertilizers with high numbers are often designed for a special use, often when a soil test has been done and a specific amendment is needed.  For the average person growing a typical back yard vegetable garden, I prefer higher frequency of a milder, organic fertilizer.

Can't I Buy Just One?

Absolutely!  For many years, I only fed my tomatoes with Fish Emulsion Fertilizer, and if you only want one product, that's the one I'd choose.  Though I also like the Down To Earth products, a whole series of which you can find at Friedman Brothers and Harmony Farms.  They have one specifically for tomatoes, and I'm sure it would be good.   It is powdered granules, so you would water then sprinkle it around your plants then water again to get it soaked it.  I haven't tried it, but it would probably be my choice if tomatoes were all I'm growing. 

A Caveat On Containers

My schedule is based on plants grown in-ground, I heavily amend my soil between planting seasons, and I rotate my plants around so tomatoes aren't grown in the same spot two years in a row.  Most all this advice on fertilizing can be applied to container growing as well, the only difference being containers will need more frequent fertilizing.  If you're growing in pots or half-barrels, I'd recommend fertilizing weekly, and alternating between a 5-1-1 fish emulsion and something else where the ratio favors the (P) and (K), such as the Gringo Rasta that is 0-5-4.  Or go with the Down To Earth All Purpose pictured here:

There you have it!  You made it to the end!

Next Week I will be posting about pests and diseases and what you can do about them, so I hope you will come back.  In the meantime, please leave questions in the comments if you have any.  I'm glad to help!

Happy Gardening!

Coming Soon: The Tomato Series

If there's an upside to Covid-19, it's the newfound interest in home gardening.  Though it made garden supplies scarce this year, I'm excited so many are giving this hobby a try.  I hope for most, it won't be short-lived but a life-long venture into growing your own produce. 

Vegetable gardening can be a great joy--but also a great disappointment (often both at the same time!)--regardless of whether you're tilling out a plot of land or just setting out a couple wine barrels.  Size doesn't matter!  But it's the determined gardener who succeeds.

So after nearly 30 years of gardening in Sonoma County, I've got a blog series planned to share what I've learned, starting with the Veggie Garden Queen:  The Tomato!

Normally, a series on growing would start at the beginning:  Soil prep, seeds vs plants, what varieties to choose, etc.  But given it's nearly August--too late to start if you haven't already--I'll start the series with subjects targeted to those who already have plants in the ground this year, and what you should be doing to keep those plants healthy and thriving through October--possibly even Thanksgiving!

So the topics I'll go over first will include:

• Fighting Mildew In Our Dreaded Coastal Fog
• Feeding, Fertilizing and Watering
• Pests and How To Evict Them
• Preserving Without Canning

And that's just for starters!

So I hope you will join me in this venture.  If you aren't growing tomatoes now, maybe I can inspire you to try them next year.  If you are, there is no such thing as TMI when it comes to gardening success.

Until then, Happy Growing!

Shhhh, hear that? Yeah, me neither.

Before social media, back when kids were on MySpace and parents were still reading books, there was blogging.  As a communication tool, it was flawed in that--unless you were in that special 1%--you were mostly talking to no one.  Indeed, this blog has a crowd-gathering 19 followers, and I'm sure 17 of those are gone.  But blogging was also perfect in that--unless you were in that special 1%--you were mostly talking to no one.

I'd come to blogging through my former writing career.  It was what you did to create a following, or if nothing else, have a web address to slap on a business card.  And when I stopped writing, I abandoned that blog in favor of this one.  Titled "LoriBees Garden" this was the place I recorded and shared my hobbies, not to create a following, but simply to entertain myself.

Then came the next shiny object:  Facebook.

Unlike blogging, which is primarily talking AT people, Facebook was about talking WITH people.  It was fast, it was easy.  You could throw out a photo, an observation, a memory, and start a discussion.  You didn't have to be a writer, and you didn't need to have a point.  You could just toss things out and see what stuck.  And when the world was light and happy, it was fun.

But like everything during these last 4 years, I'm watching Facebook corrode as we all seek shelter within our clans.  Real discussion and thought has been abandoned in favor of easy labels like "snowflakes" and "racists", "Libtards" and "Repugnicans".  I disagree, therefore I "drank the Kool-Aid".  My world view doesn't match yours, thus we must be watching FOX or MSNBC, because clearly, our environment and experiences couldn't possibly shape our opinions.  We can only be brainwashed by either Hannity or Maddow. 

I don't really blame people for this.  What I blame is that little icon on everything that lets you "Share" with one click.  Facebook has given us the capability of throwing content on our news feed in a fraction of a second.  And because it's so easy, rarely do we stop to ask questions such as, "Is this fake?" or "Why am I sharing this?" or "Who is my target audience?"  We see something that makes us angry, so we put up a retaliatory post, forgetting that most of us have hundreds of people lurking our news feed, and no one knows if that post was for them or someone else.  Was it intended to get a rise out of people, or are we desperate for someone to listen?  Was it supposed to be funny?  Is it supposed to enlighten?  Rarely, does anyone clarify, thus we as the recipients are left to make those assumptions ourselves.  So we respond in kind.  And thus perpetuates the swirling toilet flush that has become the average Facebook news feed.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I'm sick of it.  And unfortunately, I don't see a restoration of civility happening anytime soon.  And since my attempt at ignoring all the screaming or somehow rising above it keeps failing, I'm feeling the desire to go back to the simpler times when I blogged and talked to no one.  No, I'm not swearing off Facebook.  That kind of grandstanding always seems like such a transparent plea for attention.  And right now, I'm not interested in attention.

So hello Blogger, dear friend.  I'm back and happy you're still here for me.  Thanks to Covid, I'm doing lots of gardening and photographing and cooking and art.  So I have lots to talk about, even if it's just to myself.  😁