Amazing Willows

The Contorted Willows used in the tomato cages have pulled off a tremendous trick. The horrible ice storm took them down on January 20th. I stored and then cut them in March. They were put in the garden as bare stakes in April. But wouldn't you know, they have sprouted and now I have green leaves on my tomato cages! The vegetation was still green (and frozen) during/after the storm, yet did not show signs of life this spring. As soon as the branches had contact with soil though, they started to grow! I don't so much mind right now, but I was not thinking I would have multiple willow trees in my vegetable garden...

Vegetable garden update

This is a quick update on the vegetable garden. The heavy rains have taken a toll on the garden. The potatoes have gotten tall and the rains caused them the fall over, so I am trying two methods to get back on track: cutting them back and staking them up. I'll report back with how the methods work out at the end of the season. The tomato cages have worked out great; the Contorted Willow stakes and Wild Grape vines created a sturdy platform and the plants are growing great. The beans have put on a lot of growth and have taken to the willow branches. The pumpkins, squash, watermelons, and cucumbers are enjoying the warm temperatures and steady rains. The carrots and taller greens have been knocked over though. Hopefully it will all balance out in the end...

Urban ecosystems

There is a really great interview with Os Schmitz the Oastler Professor of Population and Community Ecology in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. The interview follows his research on the timescale needed to recover a damaged ecosystems. His research suggests that damaged ecosystems can recover in about a lifetime rather than a much longer period of time. He goes on comment in the interview about the role that urban people and places have in the larger scheme. "It’s really important to get [urban people] to think that they're part of an ecosystem -- be it an urban or other ecosystem-- rather than simply be drivers of ecosystems. When we restore parks, or when we think about creating green spaces, we have to be careful and get our values in order and identify collectively what it is that we mean by green space. For example, I can imagine that we could restore shrub lands in cityscapes. We could also have small forests throughout cityscapes."

Waiting for decomposition

Well based on the article I wrote in November on compostable take-home restaurant products, I should have seen some decomposition of the products by now. The ones either lined with PLA (Polylactic acid) thermoplastic or made from PLA thermoplastic are taking a bit longer. The burgasse (paper) products broke down pretty quickly. Once I see more decomposition, I'll repost some photos.

Landscapers, Gardeners Prepare for Warmer World

I was a part of a recent radio broadcast discussing preparations for our changing weather on Louisville's Public Radio. You can find the audio archive and written form at this link.

Weed Killers

You have weeds that need killin'. The first question you should investigate is why are they there in the first place? Typically it has to do with the lighting, soil condition or soil nutrition. This link shows you what the weeds can tell you about the conditions in which they are growing. If you can change the condition then it will make it harder for the weeds to come back after the current batch of weeds are destroyed.

So how do you kill the weeds without poisoning the ground for the next thousand years? Well, there are a few alternatives. There are a number of commercial products based on some old, tried and true recipes. One of those is called Burnout. One can make a simple form of this by combining lemon juice, vinegar, clove oil and some sulfates. Another formula is 1 cup of salt, 8 drops of detergent and 1 gallon of vinegar. Heat the vinegar to dissolve the salt, then add the detergent. In either case, using a spray bottle will work as an applicator. Baking soda can suppress emerging weeds but won't work on young plants. Corn gluten can also be a suppressant, but it may add undue amounts of nitrogen to the soil. But some weeds, like dandelions, are easily pulled by hand or with root tools.

Tomato Cages

The garden plants are finally all in the ground! What was holding up the show was the construction of the tomato cages. The January Ice Storm brought down many trees around Louisville, including a Contorted Willow (Salix var. pekinensis 'Tortuosa'). I took the branches and joined them with wild vines (Wild Grape Vine and Ivy Vine). I am experimenting with jute twine and nylon twine to hold it all together. So far I like the jute better because it offered more friction. The sturdy cages will house tomatoe plants on the inside and will have pole beans running up the outside, thus maximizing the garden size. We will see how it all progresses.

Companion Planting in the vegetable garden

Companion planting is combining vegetables, herbs, and flowering plants for beneficial effects. The right mix of plants can deter or distract pests, attract the right kind of insects for polination/bug control, provide a better soil environment. One example is the use of beans/peas/clover can "fix" nitrogen which makes it available as a fertilizer in the soil for other plants. here are two charts that list what plants do well with others.

Seeds of Change (Organic Seed Supply) Companion Planting
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, Companion Planting