Planting « The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

March 27, 2017

Vegetable garden row direction

Filed under: Garden Preparation,Planting — Tags: east and west, garden rows, north and south, plant rows, row direction — bob @ 1:59 pm

Even though the soil out in the garden is still very cold, we can still plant our garden — on paper that is.

There are several advantages to planning your garden on paper or on an app, before setting it out in the ground. The most obvious is you can get a good idea of how much planting material you need such as transplants, seeds or bulbs. And it is handy for calculating how many pounds of soil amendments you may need to add to the soil.

I was once one of those gardeners who never planned ahead very much. When it came to planting, I just picked out my favorite seeds and planted until it either looked like enough or I ran out of material to plant. I also didn’t pay much attention to which way the garden was facing. Most of the time I had plenty of square footage to use and I could afford some inefficiency. That, however, is not the way to get the most out of a space.

Not long ago, I had a discussion with a friend of mine about which direction garden rows should run.

Sometimes there’s no choice because of the shape of the garden. A long, narrow garden spot may mean the rows have to follow the long axis of the plot. In the past, I’ve had gardens that had an irregular shape so the rows ran in more than one direction because that was the most efficient use of that particular space.

What if you have a square or nearly square garden with one of the sides facing south, should the rows run north and south or east and west?

Imagine the position of the sun in the sky during the growing season. It appears to us to travel across the sky from east to west. As it moves through the sky, the angle of the rays of sunlight changes in relation to the stationary garden plants.

In an east to west configuration, much more sunlight will strike the south side of the plants than on any other side. In other words, the south side will receive more solar energy while the north side is shaded most of the day.

Rows planted north to south will receive sunlight more evenly. In the morning, the east side of the row receives sunlight. The plant is bathed in sunlight all day as the sun moves until late afternoon when the west side gets sunlight. So the plant receives sunlight on three sides instead of just one.

The cross-hatched areas represent rows of garden plants. The arrow heads represent rays of sunlight. Note how just the south side of the plants in the east to west rows receive sunlight. Sunlight penetrates deep into the rows that run north and south and contacts more of the surface area.

Not all gardens are situated facing a cardinal direction in an open area. Take for example a southeastern facing garden that is shaded from the afternoon sun. It should have its rows running northeast and southwest to receive the fullest amount of sunlight. Since the garden would get no direct sunlight in the afternoon, it would be a good idea to try to capture as much of that solar energy as possible.

We have a couple of months before our main outdoors planting happens. So now is a great time to sketch out a diagram of of your garden that, in addition to the size and shape, includes direction, and potential sunlight.

Bob

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May 19, 2016

Remove burlap and twine from balled and burlapped trees

Filed under: Planting,Trees — bob @ 9:49 am

The balled and burlapped method of planting trees is very popular because it allows nurseries to dig, move and sell larger specimens than if the trees were bare-root or potted. It also makes it easier for homeowners and landscapers to plant. In landscaping, like in any other business, time is money which is why it can be tempting for some to cut corners when planting trees.

The most common of these cost-cutting items is dropping a balled and burlappped tree into a hole, replacing the soil, then mulching the new tree. From the outside everything looks wonderful but not taking care of the burlap or twine can prove to be devastating to a tree.

Wire, burlap and twine does not decompose in the soil as readily as some landscapers would like you to believe. To keep roots growing to their full potential, wire must be cut and removed from the root ball. It will not “rust right away” as we are often told.

I had an experience many years ago when someone asked me to move a tree for them that was planted five or more years earlier. It was going to be a big job. When I uncovered the top layer of soil I discovered that the landscaper had left the wire basket on the rootball. It was a simple matter for me to hook a chain onto the wire basket and just lift the entire tree out of the hole with a front end loader on my tractor and carry it to its new location. The tree looked like it just came from the nursery. The wire was still sturdy and the burlap was sound with no roots growing through.

Damage by twine left on root ball.

The twine tree growers use to tie the top of the burlap does not deteriorate very fast either and will eventually cause major damage to or even kill a tree if it is not removed. As the tree grows in diameter, the twine stays in place and acts as tourniquet strangling the tree. It may take many years for symptoms to show.

The tree formed a callus around the twine as it tried to minimize the damage.

Even the roots were not able to develop properly

Finally, the burlap cloth itself should at least be slashed to allow roots a place to grow into the surrounding soil — removing it completely would be even better.

If you landscaper tries to tell you that that leaving twine and burlap on the trees is standard practice, don’t believe it and insist they do it right.

Bob

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January 26, 2016

Fall planted plants off to a good start

Filed under: Planting,Weather — bob @ 7:50 am

Now that normal cold weather is here, it’s easy to forget about the mild fall and early winter we had. That mild autumn and early-winter will probably turn out to be a real bonus for gardeners especially for those who did any kind of fall planting.

The roots of most fall planted plants continue to grow as long as the soil is not deeply frozen. A long, moderate fall and early winter like the one we had this past season, was ideal for fall root growth. That means the plants are now well established and will be raring to go this spring.

Garlic is one crop that is normally planted in the fall. I’m going to predict that this year your garlic crop will be better than normal. We should see larger than normal bulbs with larger and more cloves per bulb at harvest time. That’s assuming all other factors such as weed control, fertilizer and soil moisture are the same as usual.

Our tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus should produce great flowers this spring too.

The same hold true for trees and shrubs. Any woody plants planted this past fall should be in great shape to make excellent growth in the spring. Anyone who planted fruit trees this fall will have effectively gained nearly an entire growing season — as far as root growth goes.

If we have one of those springs where we quickly jump from winter right into hot weather (which sometimes happen around here) those fall planted tress will be able to shrug off the stress. On the other hand, spring planted trees under hot, dry conditions will not fare as well.

Keep in mind that spring is still the best time of the year to plant tree and shrubs. This year however, el nino helped us out by allowing a moderate fall and early winter.

The US Department of Agriculture has developed digital tools that farmers can use to track developments like those of el nino and others, allowing farmers to make better planting, harvesting, storage and marketing decisions. As gardeners we can piggy back on that research and apply it in our own little corner of the world.

I plan to make a note in my garden journal to keep an eye for the next developing el nino and plan accordingly.

Bob

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May 28, 2015

Double your pepper yield (or more) this year

Filed under: Planting,Vegetables — bob @ 9:09 am

If you’ve never had much luck growing peppers, you can vastly improve your pepper yield by doing a bit of extra work now before the plants go into the garden. The secret is to use plastic mulch.

In the past I’ve experimented with several colors of plastic mulch: clear, black, red, blue and silver. All of them showed a huge improvement over organic mulch or no mulch at all.

Using plastic mulch is not a new concept, it’s been around for decades. Commercial farmers and researches have improved yields even more than double.

There are several reasons why plastic mulch works so well. The most obvious is reduced weed competition. Plastic mulch prevents nearly all weeds from growing by blocking sunlight to the soil. The only weeds that you have to contend with are those that sneak up through the hole made in the plastic for planting. The exception is clear plastic mulch. It lets sunlight through allowing weeds to thrive under the greenhouse-like conditions.

Whenever you hoe or till around plants, no matter how careful you are, valuable surface roots get cut. Since plastic mulch keeps weeds from growing, there is no need for hoeing or cultivating except in pathways between the rows of mulch.

Soil temperatures are warmer under plastic mulch which is important in a relatively cool environment like Michigan. Peppers are warm season crops that respond well to warm soil temperatures. Organic mulches on the other hand, tend to keep soil temperatures cool.

Oxygen is critical for plant roots. Garden soil under plastic stays loose, leaving space between soil particles so that air can move. This creates a better environment for plant roots and soil microbes to do their job.

Bare garden soil loses a lot of water through simple evaporation. Plastic mulch keeps the soil from drying out allowing more water for the plants to use when they need it.

Some plant diseases are spread by rain or irrigation water splashing soil up onto the plant. Plastic mulch keeps plants clean and less susceptible to disease infections.

Carbon dioxide is produced in the soil and is a normal part of the soil dynamic. On bare soil it diffuses directly into the air. Since gases can’t pass through plastic mulch, carbon dioxide tends to collect in very high concentrations underneath the plastic sheet. It can only escape by moving through the planting holes resulting in very high levels of C02 right at plant level where the plant can efficiently use it for increased photosynthesis producing higher yields.

Black is the default color of plastic I use in my garden. Mainly because you can find it just about anywhere, although I’m seeing more red plastic around lately. Also, black plastic is available in heavier grades than the colors allowing you to use it for more than one season if you want. I never use clear because of the weed problem I mentioned earlier.

With some care, you can re-use plastic mulch another year.

Lay your plastic before planting, it will be much easier to transplant through holes in the plastic. I had an assistant years ago that transplanted the plants first and then tried to install the plastic. He got it to work but it was a chore.

It’s important that the surface of the planting bed is smooth and flat, sloping slightly so rain water can run off. Rake out all debris and don’t step in the prepared soil.

Farmers use special machines to lay plastic in their fields but we don’t need anything like that in a home garden. I just stretch a string where I want the edge of the bed to be and dig a trench. I unroll the plastic and bury one edge with soil. Then I measure the width I need for the second trench — allowing for covering the opposite edge — stretch the string again and dig my second trench. A 48 inch wide roll gives me a planting bed just over three feet wide.

I cut an “X” through the plastic where I want the plants to go and transplant through the cut.

It takes some time to properly prepare the bed and install the plastic but you will be amazed by the results.

Bob

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May 3, 2014

Planting horseradish

Filed under: Herbs,Planting — bob @ 9:12 am

Horseradish is one of my favorite condiments.

These hot and spicy roots are in an entirely different category compared to hot pepper sauce. I know people who have no problem with the hottest pepper sauce but can’t seem to handle the pungency of fresh horseradish. Maybe it’s because the active ingredient in hot peppers is capsicum, while in horseradish it is mustard oil.

As it turns out, horseradish is a pretty simple herb to grow and is not picky about soil. Of course, like most other plants, the better the garden soil, the larger the yield. Once you get it going, it pretty much takes care of itself.

Right now, is the time to get your horseradish started.

Even though seed is sometimes available, nearly all horseradish is planted by root cuttings. Plant the root cuttings at an angle in a shallow trench, about an inch deep or so, and cover them with soil. Keep them watered during any dry spells.

Horseradish root cuttings must be planted right side up. It is standard practice to make a straight cut ant the top of the root and a slanted cut at the bottom.

Horseradish root cuttings must be planted right side up. It is standard practice for farmers to make a straight cut at the top of the root and a slanted cut at the bottom when they collect root cuttings.

Although I’ve heard of many instances of horseradish getting out control and taking over an area, I’ve never had that problem. The plants can easily reach a height of two feet or more. Two or three plants are enough for most households.

Horseradish roots are harvest during the fall after the first hard freeze. I prepare horseradish the same way most folks do by grating the roots and mixing it with vinegar.

Bob

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