Food Garden For Defense

My Best Garden Helper

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden. ~Robert Brault

Summer is the best. Ellie Jane is a great helper in the garden. She helped pull, dry and cut the garlic. We had so much we gave some to Nana and Grandma. She also loves to cut fresh greens for salad. She is an expert.

Winter Looms

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:41:00 +0000

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens

It is still really cold in the northeast. That didn't stop Ellie Jane and I from getting started planting in the basement. We got some great heirloom purple tomato seeds, patio tomatoes, pimentos and cayenne peppers from one of soccer players parents. Thanks Dave! We tried something different this year and used Christmas light under the flats to keep them warm. Garlic broke ground a couple weeks ago and it looks like we have about 40 heads going. Yay. Hopefully Pictures soon.

Snowy February

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:27:00 +0000

"There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter.
One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues."
- Hal Borland

I dont know about a January thaw, but the east coast was rocked last week by a major winter storm. the "snowpacalypse" that hit Washington DC also blanketed South Jersey with 2 feet of snow. It made my zone 6-7 backyard look more like zone 2.

I am thinking about maybe growing some microgreens inside because after last week the cabin fever is setting in. I am still a few weeks away from seed starting indoors for most of my garden and a month away from any chance of planting the first peas. the Farmers Almanac predicts a cool dry summer in the northeast so Im looking at plants that will suite those conditions. I hope that doesnt mean I wont get any peppers this summer. In the meantime it is all about not going stir crazy , reading seed catalouges, and getting my summer plan together.

My Bicycle

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Nothing to do with gardening just an update on what ive been wasting my time with. Fixed gear made from totally salvaged parts. laced my first wheel, only thing I purchased was the flip/flop rear hub complete with 16t cog and lock ring. craigslist 20$

Mild November

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:55:00 +0000

"In gardening, all things useful are beautiful." --Tovah Martin

November has been mild. I have been pretty relaxed about moving plants in because we haven't had to worry about frost yet. That said, I moved the banana into the garage and brought in my two peppers that I managed to save. They look pretty bad but a little tlc and water should help them last over the winter in the basement. We got a dehydrator from my parents and had great success drying peppers so I decided to cut and dry all the herbs in my herb bed.
I dried marjoram, oregano, chives, basil and parsley. I didn't have near enough oregano and I must say that was my favorite. I had a bumper crop of parsley and my beautiful and useful daughter Annie cut a second crop of parsley for me this weekend and we dried it overnight.

Bicylces............

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:34:00 +0000

I still feel that varable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer?
We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!
--Henri Desgrange, L'Équipe article of 1902

I have gone bicycle crazy this summer. I am collecting old road bikes, tearing them apart and putting them back together in new and fantastic ways. I dont have any pictures yet but there will be more to follow. my latest mission is to create a fixed gear from totally salvaged parts. I am also on the lookout for a trashed bmx frame. my daughters bike was stolen a couple weeks ago and she is devastated. I want so bad to get a cool bmx back together for her. also, she has started a blog (she is only 8) and I told her one of her goals should be to post to it as much as possible. That is the idea of blogging right? so I figured whats good for the goose is good for the gander, I am going to also try and keep this updated. that said, I will try and have pics of the garden , the bicylce garden art and all kids of other nonesense.

Moving The Garden Indoors

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:57:00 +0000

"Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast."
- Sara Coleridge

Garden chores for November:

Turn the cold frame to face the front yard and fix the holes... check
Fill the cold frame with the finished compost and turn remaining compost ... check
Change Billy Goat oil and pile up leaves, leaves leaves ... check
Mulch the freshly sprouted Garlic and the Strawberries ... check
Bring the banana, rosemary, oregano, sage and Hibiscus indoors .. check

I need a new camera, the one I have take pictures that look like there from the 1970's

My wife is a wonderful person for letting me play garden in the house:

All Summer in a Day

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:29:00 +0000

"The sweet calm sunshine of October, now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The purple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold."
- William Cullen Bryant

I like that quote and I think this weekend will bring weather that will make the above seem so right on. Well summer came and went without one post from me and as noone reads it I really wont waste time apologizing. I wanted to make this site as interesting as possible and chasing a 1yr old around this summer along with everything else didn;t give me much time to write.

Here is all Summer in a Day, this should make up for summers neglect.

Corns and beans flopped in my shady garden. We grew tomatoes on the patios and in the raised beds. The peppers I wintered in the basement are hot as hell!
The raspberries are finally showing up , they are a sweet treat but im fighting with the squirrels for the limited crop.Squash and Zuccini had massives leaves and flowers but despite my hand pollination efforts the pickens were small.

the banana went in a pot this year, shot up some voulenteers and survived a hail storm but no fruit or flowers.
Hibiscus, Asters, Massive Marigolds and Blueberry were the patio mainstays this summer and. Flowers on the Hibiscus next year I hope.

If it stays warm ill be eating frexh letuce and radishes on Halloween from the late summer planting.

May Day

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:46:00 +0000

The worlds favorite season is the spring
All things seem possible in May
--Edwin Way Teale

Alot got done in the Garden this month. I prepared my three raised beds. Soil Free Mix, homemade compost and as much worm dirt mulch I could carry away from the Township mulch pile near my work. These beds became the home to radishes, lettuce and the basement hot peppers from previous posts. I also mulched the strawberry patch and its single strawberry flower. I put in two rows of bush beans and picked a nice size bag of spinach to keep it producing.

Then I got busy on the patio. I put together a window box of herbs for nancy.
All the herbs that didn't fit went on the back steps.
Took a minute to praise the blooms on the azaleas in the background and curse at the primrose and the lack there of in the foreground.
Cleaned and cut three old refuse bins for my patio Tomatoes, more soil free mix and compost.
Paused again to admire my lonely, containered blueberry. I have been mulching with pine needles to raised the acidity. Man I really hope we have some good fruits this summer.

Finally I went out front and took a picture of the birdnest being built on my patio and the awful lawn I grow every year. I imagine most people would have a problem with that nest and the dandelions. However, I contribute every pansy bloom in my front yard to guano that falls around the nest and gets swept into the garden bed out front. Also, Every person that doesn't have a single dandelion on my block uses chemicals. My shabby dandelion yard (grass always cut two inches longer that everyone elses) is my protest against putting things on your yard that need a warning.

Bloomin

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw
-Henry David Thoreau

A mild first week in April has kicked the garden into gear. I have gotten outside early a couple mornings and did some garden chores. I put the hibiscus plants that lived through a winter in the basement in fresh pots and put them outside in the sunroom. I also put my wintered hot peppers in the cold frame to harden off. My plum tree is blossoming and really brings colour to a backyard that the dogs have decimated over winter. Thanks to the band HorseFeathers for the background music on this short clip.

My peas have sprouted and my radishes are just coming out of the ground. The squirrels are messing with the lettuce I've direct sowed so I covered the lettuce and radish beds with 4mL plastic. Below is a blurry picture of the little blueberry bush that could, and a shot of some lillies that are up early and collecting the energy they need to hopefully pull off some rocking blooms this year.

Easter Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:29:00 +0000

It was a very busy Easter weekend. Major home renovations in the kitchen and a 15 seat Easter Dinner kept us moving the whole time. Every one had a great Easter. After things settled I was able to sneak outside and put some spinach and broccoli I bought Saturday out in the cold Frame I built this winter.
I also bought some Perlite and Vermiculite

I am going to add this to my peat moss. My lettuce looks really scrawny and I want to see if aerating the soil will help the rooting.The chives we planted last year made it and they look really happy after a week in the frame.

Finally, I planted the onion transplants that I planted too deep last year and didn't come up till late summer. I don't hold out hope that they will produce but companion wisdom has said onions and strawberries get along. Hopefully we'll have some tasty strawberries this here. Here is a fuzzy picture of my sleeping strawberry patch.

Spring Is Not Yet In The Air

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:37:00 +0000

We need spring. We need it desperately and, usually, we need it before God is willing to give it to us.
- Peter Gzowski, Spring Tonic

Despite our best efforts Spring has not yet sprung. Which is clear from the fact that the freezing +40MPH winds took the power out around here Saturday night. Not to mention is was 30 degrees and very windy sunday.My beautiful daughter Annie and I had time earlier in the Day to check on the worms and start the first of the spring flats. Annie Planted beefsteak tomatoes and spinach. I planted all the lettuce, green peppers, red peppers and eggplant.

Next Monday is St. Patty's Day which is the day to plant peas. More on that here http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/16/garden/16natu.html

We are putting in some sugar snaps. I am going to try (weather and time permitting) to finish my cold frame construction and get the soil loosened around the pea trellis I made last year.

Hanging on in February

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:49:00 +0000

"Keep your faith in beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone."
- Roy R. Gibson

February is coming to a close. This weekend im starting my spring seeds. I still have more than two weeks until I plant the St. Patty's day peas. I have not blogged in a long time and I will try and do better. below are two fuzzy pictures of hibiscus and peppers that I haven not killed yet.

Winter has Arrived

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:48:00 +0000

January is here, with eyes that keenly glow,
A frost-mailed warrior
striding a shadowy steed of snow.
- Edgar Fawcett

Christmas has come and gone. We had a week of very mild temperatures. I was able to take advantage and get my daughters Arbor Day tree in the ground in the front yard. I was also able to put the mini Christmas tree's we bought in the back yard. I don't think all of them will make it. Unfortunately, some of the trees we bought are not suited for our zone. I think we might be able to save two of the five. I will try and have pictures soon.

I lost one of the hibiscus transplants over the winter break. I am trying to put more care into the two remaining pots. I would love to have a flowering hibiscus shrub this year.

I think I was able to save my worms. Im going to check them this week but it looks like they were able to move from one bin to another.

Also I got my first two installments of Organic Gardening Magazine, What a great publication. Full of great information.

More pictures soon.

Mike

Wintering the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:16:00 +0000

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

The two sycamore trees in my neighbor yard are dropping leaves like crazy. I had a chance Sunday to run the Billy Goat. I love that thing it does a really nice job of chopping up the leaves which leaves them perfect for the compost pile. I will easily be able to fill my new raised bed Next Spring. I think I am going to plant a cover crop in the areas of the garden are not raised beds. My Mom agreed to take my three small Hibiscus plants. She has great windows in the living room and I hope the plants stay in good enough shape to flower next year.

I am gonna try and bring my hot pepper plants in again. I didn't have success last year but the first year it was so great to have hot peppers in the first week in June I can resist.

The plants look really good this year so I have hope. They also produced a ton of late season peppers that are gonna be awesome in chili for the Monday night football game.

I also planted 8 x 4" Pansies in the front yard. Picture to follow.

I broke my cheapo camera so I haven't blogged in a while. I am gonna try and keep up with it more now. I have a bunch of wintering and projects I have to do so I will try and keep up.

Busy Busy Busy

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:55:00 +0000

A baby is a blank cheque made payable to the human race. ~Barbara Christine Seifert

Yes it is true that the weather was hot here in Southern New Jersey for the past couple weeks. The bark and leaves were falling off the neighbors trees enough to warrant running the Billy Goat (leaf sweeper and mulcher)twice. It is also true that the hot weather has not stopped the tiny patch of bush beans from growing like mad.

I can't tell you that I didn't make another raised bed, put my banana tree in the ground and transplanted the mini hot peppers to put them on the patio.

But who cares!!!! My daughter Ellie Jane was born Friday at 429pm. She is beautiful, healthy and I love her.

Summer's Lease

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:37:00 +0000

"Summer's lease hath all to short a date."
- William Shakespeare

This is definitely a quote that is resonating in me right now. It has been at least a month since my last post and it feels like that time has whipped by. I could come up with 100 different excuses why I haven't posted. Not the least of which, would be that my wife beautiful wife Nancy is going to have our 3 kid any day now. These would ,nonetheless, be excuses. So, Ive instead decided to move forward. Forget the past and my neglect for this blog and get right down to brass tacks.

I've pinched and pinched my basil. For the last two weeks I've given up. Thus the basil has gone to flower. According to what I've read this changes the taste of the basil. Frankly, I have not eaten that much of the basil. Some made it into Marinara Sauce my wife made (Ala Giada De Laurentiis) It was really good. I have tried to dry some, we'll see. However, at least at this point in the summer I was tired of pinching. Truth be told I like the flowers.
The patio tomatoes we planted have done well. We had a number of nice ripe tomatoes. They were gigantic but you can't beat the flavor or fresh garden tomatoes. It has been dry that last couple weeks so we've had to keep their feet wet.

Same with the peppers.

It looks like three of the six variegated hibiscus cuttings that I transplanted are gonna make it. The plant that I took the cuttings from was really cool and I'm hoping that I will be able to pot these through the winter. I also number of hot peppers that I started from seed this year. There is little chance they are gonna make fruit this year so they are going in the basement with the banana plant. I was really hoping to get some flower on the banana this year but oh well. The leaves are still really cool.
Finally this wouldn't be my blog if I didn't lament some problem I'm having in the garden. Right now its tomato blossom end rot. The dry weather seems to have plagued my raised bed with what looks to me like rot. I hope I still get a few good tomatoes. Last nights rain should have helped.

No Potato

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:15:00 +0000

I noticed potato barrel didn't seem to have that much green growing out of the top. Curiosity got the best of me so I dug into the barrel a bit and didn't find anything. I didn't want to wait the rest of the way through the season if there weren't some potatoes in there so I dump that bucket and found nothing except potatoes I put in there. They were liquefied to the point they were like goo. It was quite fascinating actually. So the Solanum tuberosum barrel was a no-go. I wonder if I should let the plants flower before I covered them again. I think I'm going to continue to wonder because I'm done with potato barrels. I am going to get seed potatoes next year and do a more traditional planting.

As the Garden Grows

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:46:00 +0000

"Though an old man, I am but a young gardener."-- Thomas Jefferson

I don't know if I have used this quote in any of my other blogs. However, this is a quote which really resonates in me. Every year it seems that I for every success there is a failure. I imagine that as the years go by there will always be a certain ebb and flow to the success I experience plating things and helping them grow. while I am not an old man per se, I do feel that I know a fraction of what I need to know to be a successful horticulturalist.

Nonetheless, I cannot complain two much about the state of things this year. My sugar snap peas climbed my trellis and the girls and I were able two pick a dozen and a half over the weekend. My radishes bolted and none of the radishes developed. I really wanted spinach in the garden this summer. Every bit of spinach didn't make it out of the flats. I think I need to thin more. I couldn't help it I had to start more flats. Also, in the above picture you'll see some mounded rows. That is some sweet corn I planted. I am trying to grow the "Three Sisters" Corn, beans, and squash. Corn give the beans something to climb on, and the squash should thrive in the shade of the former two. I planted in two areas to help ensure the corn cross pollinates.

I think I vine borer got a hold of my cucumbers last year. I think I now what to look for this year. This years crop seems fine, so far. Finally I am really anxious to see which tomatoes are gonna come up. I had quite a selection of heirloom seeds. I am really hoping for an orange or a black tomato.

Herbs and Tomatoes on the Patio

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:50:00 +0000

Things are coming along at the FGD. We haven't had a good rain in a week or so. Memorial Day Weekend came and went. Given the nature of this blog and the nature of Victory Gardens in general Memorial Day is on of the quintessential Victory Garden holidays.

I was thinking about our soldiers a great deal this weekend. This blog is called Food Gardens for Defense which is a synonym for Victory Gardens. According to wikipedia these Victory Gardens are "to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort" during WWII. I want to document a years planting and harvesting and somehow relate it to the things that are going on around me in the world. I have not done anything to relate this blog to America's War in Iraq. This weekend really made me think about the our troops. Ten troops died in Iraq on Memorial Day alone. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3221050&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

It is interesting to me that during the Second World War this notion of a Victory Garden, and rationing seemed so integral to the War Effort. Wikipedia states that 40% of the vegetable produce consumed in the nation came from home gardeners. The idea is that the War Department could buy produce from commercial growers more cheaply. I wonder what would happen if people in this country adopted that attitude today, and grew their own Tomatoes, Oregano, Parsley and Chives on their patios.

Would it even make a difference? Would the war efforts be adversely affected. I've heard people talk about "boycotting" gas for a day. I have heard that these boycotts don't make a difference. If you used the Victory Garden logic wouldn't it benefit the War effort if people bought less gas. The DoD could buy the gas for less.

Iris all around

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Tue, 22 May 2007 16:38:00 +0000

Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacredflower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields. - Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

(excerpt from http://www.gardendigest.com/flowers.htm)

I finally got around to watching this week's Victory Garden. It was all about Iris. For me the Iris is the symbol that summer is right around the corner. Iris means that your tomatoes should be in the ground. I think they are my favorite flower. The main entrance to the University where I work was closed today so I parked all the way across campus. It was an absolutely wonderful May Day. As I made my was across Campus I noticed patches of beautiful yellow flowers along the pond. Closer inspection made it clear I was looking at Iris pseudacorus L. – Yellow Iris. I am so getting some of these for a perennial border in the garden next year. I've been thinking about a small water feature and the yellow would be perfect.

Well on its Way

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:55:00 +0000

"Gardening is an exercise in optimism." Anonymous

The weather here in south Jersey has taken a turn for the hot. For me this mean the mosquitos are out at night, the grass is growing out of control , and the cold frame is too hot a place for the lettuce so the lid comes up.

I lost one green pepper plant because I was away last weekend. Everything in the Garden needed weeding and water. As I look at the onions I fear that the ones I buried too deep will bolt before they let the onion grow in the ground.

Rainy Days

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:36:00 +0000

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Author Unknown

New Jersey is coming out of a long long stretch of gross weather. Inches and inches of rain fell on the entire north east. Before that we had along stretch of really cold weather. My family and I took a advantage of being stuck in doors to get started on the indoor planting. We moved the wintered plants and thwe worm bin to the sun room. All of the seeds I started and the greenhouse came upstairs too. My wife and I spent too much money at Lowes (on the lowes card) and got just about eveything we need ( at least for a couple weeks). the dining room is shaping up.

My beautiful, 24 week pregnant wife made this totally awesome light house for the seedlings and cuttings that Im trying to root. She Rocks!

The kids each got a spray bottle to make sure the plants stay happy. Our Frost Free date is right around the corner!

The Plants Point of View

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:25:00 +0000

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. - H. Fred Ale

I aspire to develop a green thumb following this sage advise. Many times I feel as though I do more wrong than I do right. I do try however, to observe life more and more from the plants point of view. I have been gardening for about 4 years now and I finally bought a soil pH/nutrient test.

I'm curious to see where my garden soil stacks up. I will test the garden, front yard, dog run, worm castings from the bin and the potting soil i made this weekend. (Peat, Vermiculite and Plant tone Organic 5-3-3 measured to taste and mixed.

My daughters bought Aster, Poppies and Petunias and I couldn't help my self I bought cucumber , plum tomato and cherry tomato seeds. The tomatoes got their start this weekend and the flowers will go in homemade milk container pots when the weather breaks. Which by the looks of things wont be until later this week. Seems like South Jersey got off a little better than Chester County PA in terms of snow.

Busy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (FoodGardenForDefense) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:40:00 +0000

The weather still stinks out. Almost the entire country is still caught in lower than normal temperatures. It was cold (40 degrees) on Easter. That didn't stop me from going to Lowe's and spending too much money. 3 cubic Yards of Peat, 1 bag of Vermiculite, 1 10lbs bag of Plant-Tone 5-3-3, one jar of Rootone, some peat pots and seeds. Spinach, hot peppers, basil, oregano, parsley. I fertilized everything in the garden , radishes, the wintersown seeds, and all of the lettuce. This is my first foray into using any kind of fertilizer, I really hope it doesn't burn the plants. I really hope this plant-tone stuff is not a harsh fertilizer. I read a number of publications that say don't let the fertilizer touch the plants. I didn't do that. Also, I took cuttings from each of my azaleas, my neighbors rose, my blueberry bush and our holly tree's out front. Each of the cutting got dipped in Rootone and planted. It will be between 2 and 4 months until they get moved so you wont here about them for a couple months.

I also thinned my lettuce in the green house. The lettuce is really scraggly and I'm not sure if I planted it too shallow. I will have to figure that out because I'm gonna start more.

All I know Is that I want the weather to get nicer. I'm running out of room in the greenhouse and I need to get stuff into the sun room. If anyone reads this and has any stories about Espoma's Plant Tone, I would love to hear them. If the fertilizer hurts my precious tomatoes, I might cry. The wintersown seeds are doing great the pots that didnt germinate got pepper seeds to we will see.