I want one of these!

The Straw Bale Pallet Crate Garden – Simple, Attractive – And Cheap!

 APRIL 30, 2013 BY OLDWORLDGARDEN

A simple crate planter made from pallets and using a straw bale for a growing medium

So you have little space, little time, little money and you still want to garden.  Or maybe you would like to add a great looking focal point to your existing garden or landscape to grow something unique.   Even better, maybe you know of someone who still likes to garden but can’t get out or handle as much of the physical activity anymore.

Here is a great solution to all three!  Create your own Pallet Straw Bale Crate Garden.  It’s attractive, simple to build, and best of all, low or no cost to make.

To build on the cheap, you can create the straw bale frame using the slats from a single pallet

With a single pallet, (3) 2x4x8′s, a bale of straw, and a bag or two of soil and compost – you can create an instant garden space that can provide fresh vegetables or flowers all summer long.

You can purchase all the materials you need for under $15.00 – or build for virtually free using pallets and scrap lumber.   We made a few single bale boxes last week for our garden – and will use them along our fence row to grow our cucumbers in.  You can also double the measurements to make a double bale box and plant to your heart’s content.

The straw bale crates have a lot of built-in advantages!  They are easy to maintain – with little weeding ever needed.  The 2’ high design lends itself to less stooping and bending while tending, and the combination straw, compost and soil make for a great instant growing medium – without the hassle of digging up the earth.

The best part of all – at the end of the season – you can add all of the contents to the compost pile –or start a compost pile right in the pallet box to have fresh compost next year when you’re ready to grow again!

Here is how we made ours:

Start by assembling 2 rectangle frames from scrap wood or 2 x 4′s.

Next – attach the two rectangles with four of your slat boards in each corner

Next – screw in additional slat boards to create the crate “look”.

Materials List:

(1) Straw Bale
(4) 2 x 4 x 20”
(4) 2 x 4 x 44”
(1) Pallet – for vertical boards – be sure to use untreated pallets to be “food safe”
(1) bag of compost – substitute your own for free material
(1) bag of topsoil – substitute your own for free material

***The straw bales we use measure 20″ wide, 18″ high and a little less than 46″ long. Bales can vary in length – so be sure to measure your bale to adjust the length and width of frame boards.  You can also reference our previous post’s on How To Disassemble A Pallet Quickly, and How To Make Your Own Compost for more info.

Building The Garden:

Assemble 2 rectangles from your 2×4’s – screwing or nailing together 2 of the 20” pieces and 2 of the 44” pieces.   Once you have both rectangles together – use your pallet boards to attach vertically to connect the two rectangles to create your straw bale box.

We cut our pallet slat boards into 18″ lengths, (we got about 2 boards for each slat) and then screwed them into the inside of the two frames to form the crate. The spacing is up to you – we put about 4” between each board for ours – we wanted the look of an “old-time” crate.

Planting The “Garden”

Next -use a sharp knife, reciprocating saw or shovel to dig out a 6 to 8″ planting hole

Simply place your plant in the hole and cover with more soil.

We like to put a layer of compost or mulch over the top of the bale to complete the look.

Now it’s easy – place the bale down inside the frame – you may need to wiggle a little and cut a little off here and there to get it to fit depending on the size of the bale.

Simply use a sharp knife or blade to cut out your planting holes – we went about 8” deep and 5” around– filling them with a good mixture of garden soil and compost.  Plant, cover up, water – and the garden is in!  Depending on what you plant – you can fit in 5 to 6 tomato plants, or a combination of pepper and tomato plants per bale, etc.  You can plant a little closer than traditional garden rows because of the raised beds.  Only your imagination is the limit to what you want to grow!

You will get some compression of the bale as the season progresses – the bale will slowly decompose, giving even more nutrients to the plants.  Your plant and roots will thrive in the soil, compost and straw because the garden is off the ground – there will be very little weeds that develop, and should be easy with the added height to pick and maintain.

End of the Season :

If you have a compost bin already set up – you can certainly take the contents and throw them into the pile.  The decomposed straw and soil mixture are great for a pile – adding a lot of carbon material. If not – use the crate box as a compost bin!  Mix up the bale and contents right in the pallet box structure – and start adding some shredded fall leaves, coffee grounds,  vegetable scraps , lawn clippings and more.  By next spring – you will have enough compost made to use in the next bale for planting, with extra if you need it.

So how about trying a straw bale pallet crate garden this year!  And if you have a neighbor or relative that loves garden but finds it difficult now – it’s a great gift to let them have their very own garden

Fertilized the youngins and letting them play outside for a while today

Well, decided we needed to help the young ones grow big and tall, so I put them all outside on our deck and fertilized them and am letting them get a little sun this afternoon.  I'll bring them in in a little while and then out again more tomorrow afternoon and so on until time to plant in a few weeks (can't come soon enough).... I am excited to see them grow big and tall and produce yummy fruit and veggies for all of us in the community garden.

Anyway, thought you might enjoy seeing how your garden family is growing....

We're planting the cool weather crops this morning... (and we have been for the last couple of weeks)

Tips For Planting Cool Weather Spring Crops

 APRIL 9, 2013 BY OLDWORLDGARDEN

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Early season radishes can go from seed to table in as little as 21 to 18 days!

Sugar snap peas are among are favorite of the early season crops!

It seems like it took forever to get here – but for those of us in the Midwest – the early planting season for cool loving crops is here!

Peas, lettuce, green onions, radishes, carrots and more are ready to start sowing into the ground here  - and with a little planning, you can have fresh food on the table in just a few weeks until late fall!

Cool loving spring crops are a great way to ease into planting – and almost all of them can be directly sown into the garden or raised beds, making for an easy process.

Some crops, like radishes and lettuce can actually go from seed to table in as little as three to four weeks!  Others, like spring onions are right behind them.  The key to successful spring crops is to get them in the ground early enough that they can come on before the hot summer sun season takes it’s toll.

Tips For Successful Germination Of Seeds

Spring Onions or Green Onions are an easy grow – and great for salads, dips or eating!

We only mulched after the seedling are established – letting the soil warm up and germinate the seeds without interference.  Once up -mulching is the better option than tilling or hoeing between rows. Here carrots benefit from straw mulch – keeping in moisture and keeping back weeds

Spring crop seeds and bulbs like onion sets, can always use a little help in germinating.  The first step is to provide loose, well drained and fertile soil.  The best way to do that – add and use compost!  We like to furrow out a small trench to the required depth, add a little compost to the trench, drop in the seeds or bulbs and apply a little water in the trench before covering it back up with more compost and soil.  Once covered, we water the surface again as well.  It allows the moisture in the soil to build and hold around the seed, and speeds germination.

Hold Off Directly Mulching The Plants:

If you follow are blog – you know how much we love to mulch – but this is one time it’s better to wait!  The soil has not warmed up yet in most parts – so leaving it exposed while they germinate is a good idea.    Keeping the mulch directly off the plants also allows them to not work harder in order to come up through the ground.  We do however still mulch the walking rows, etc. to keep out unwanted weeds – only leaving bare the direct soil area of the seeds that were planted.

Once plants germinate and become established – we will then apply some compost mulch right around the seedlings, which not only prevents weeds but helps to fertilize the plants every time it rains or you water.

Keep Them Watered and Give Them A Boost With A Little Natural Fertilizer:

Crops sewn directly into the soil like carrots benefit from rich,.well drained soil and plenty of water

Speaking of water – its important to keep the soil moist with spring crops.  With their quick growth cycle, they need to stay hydrated.  Nothing special, just don’t let more than 3 or four days go by without a gentle watering to keep them growing strong.  Once our seedlings are up and established for a week or two – we like to give a quick boost with a little compost tea fertilizer to help boost along the growth.  Usually one dose is all it takes to help them grow quick and strong.

Succession Planting – The art of planting what you will need – when you will need it.

Succession planting – it is the key of all keys to keeping fresh vegetables on your table all throughout the spring, summer and fall.  Unless you are growing for the entire neighborhood – you will want to stagger plantings of your early crops to insure that you have fresh goods for your dinner table throughout the whole spring.  There is nothing more disheartening that having a tremendous crop of lettuce, radishes or peas – only to have them for just a few weeks.

Radishes are an easy grow ,and germinate easily in the cool conditions of spring

We plant a couple of rows or half rows – depending on how much we will eat –  then repeat a duplicate planting about 10 to 14 days after the first.   That way, we have fresh veggies coming on throughout the entire season.

It also allows us to switch to more heat tolerant varieties as the season progresses.

A great example is lettuce.  We will plant Black Seeded Simpson lettuce now and for the next few weeks – it is ready in about 40 to 45 days and loves cool weather – and then as the summer heat picks up, our later varieties like Vivian and Iceburg (70 to 85 days) are ready to harvest. Then as we head into fall, we go back to seeding and planting the early season varieties that love the cooler weather and we stay in fresh salads throughout the spring, summer and fall.  The same goes for peas, beans, radishes, etc.

Concept – a Summer Crisp lettuce is a great choice to sow in late spring because it can tolerate more heat than most lettuce types

So get out there and get those gardening gloves on and get some spring crops in – the rewards can come in just a few weeks and you will be on your way to a successful garden season!

Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary

Just documenting it all...

So, just went and closed up the greenhouse to lock in the warmth for the night.  Tonight will be the first night that I am leaving the tomatoes (and one flat of peppers) in the greenhouse overnight.  PRAY HARD!  I called a nursery and they told me they close up their greenhouses at 5 p.m. at night to "lock in" some of the warmth.  That is what I was thinking, so maybe I am starting to catch on to these procedures.  They said we should be fine with them in there tonight.  If not, then "Houston, we have a problem!" I'll check them before going to bed tonight and first thing in the morning, but I really think they need to stay out there tonight.  

I have been hardening off the cold weather crops (broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage) and today they have been out there half of the day... so tomorrow I will keep them out even longer and by Saturday, we should be ready to plant them in the main garden -- YEH!!!!  They are beautiful! In the picture below, it was taken about a week ago and the cabbage and others have grown SO MUCH ... it is exciting to me!

I'll post tomorrow morning and let you know how their first night in the greenhouse went.

5 Simple Tips To Grow A Healthy, Vibrant And Organic Garden!

 JANUARY 22, 2013 BY OLDWORLDGARDEN

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Green onions fresh from the garden…it’s hard to beat the taste!

The color and vibrance of fresh radishes pulled from the soil

Between all of the frenzied arguments on both sides of the organic vs. non-organic fence – there are some simple, basic processes that we can all follow to improve the fertility and viability of our backyard gardens and raised beds…naturally.

Mary and I do not practice as chemists, scientists or biologists in our spare time –  nor is our garden officially certified as “green” or “organic”.   But we do have senses - and the sense to know that the food we grow organically tastes and looks great, doesn’t contain any pesticides or sprays  - and grows abundantly.

How? by following one simple rule.  Take care of the soil that takes care of you.  Oh, and by the way – it also make good “cents”…because it’s much cheaper to grow our food organically than buying and applying expensive fertilizers and pesticides.

So through it all…we simply choose to grow organically.  And no…we’re not weird!  Well, our kids might not agree with that last statement – but in all honesty, we’re a regular couple who just wants to grow and know where our food comes from – and more importantly – know what’s in it, and what’s not.

So with that in mind, here are 5 simple and practical tips we use in our gardens and landscape to grow all of the fruits and vegetables we need – without chemicals or pesticides.

1.  Composting:

Compost is the key to organic gardening.  It adds valuable nutrients and structure to your soil.

Composting is the backbone of any organic garden. In fact, compost comes straight from the word decomposition..the very heart of organic matter breaking down into fertile soil.  Plant matter, leaves, food, etc. all eventually break down into the soil to add nutrients.  However, once you turn that soil and plant your first garden – you begin to take nutrients back out of the soil.  So adding compost is a must to keeping your soil strong and vibrant. By adding compost – you are in essence recharging your soil.

Here is how we use it:  Every year – we will work a 2 to 3” top-dressing of compost into each of our raised bed rows.  Then, at planting time – we will put another cup or so in the average vegetable planting hole, mixing it in with the existing soil. We use it one more time to top dress and mulch our garden plants – doing this once the plants have grown for a few weeks in the soil.  We put a good shovel full or two around each plant’s base.  This not only provides great weed control and moisture retention – but the compost slowly releases additional nutrients when it rains or when we water – providing a natural fertilizer for the plants.

There are a million ways to go about making compost – in a bin, a tub, a barrel or a plain old pile in the middle of the garden.  But whatever you do – get that pile started!  Add all of those kitchen remnants – potato peels, coffee grounds, egg shells and more.  You can find out more about composting at our link here : Composting 101.  Remember that finished compost should be fine and sweet-smelling and cool to the touch. If you are turning the pile and still feeling heat – it’s still cooking and not ready to use on or near plants just yet.

2.  Cover Crops:

Our raised bed rows planted with their fall blanket of cover crops.  These help protect the topsoil through winter, keep weeds from germinating, and add tons of organic matter when we turn it under in the spring

Cover crops are really the key to a long-term garden’s success – and are easy to plant!  Just like the big time farmers on big time farms – our gardens and raised beds get all the same benefits of a well-grown cover crop.  They add back tons of nutrients including Nitrogen to the soil, keep other weeds from getting established in your beds, and build organic matter back into the earth. They also play a key role in keeping soil erosion to a minimum.

So what are they and when can they be planted? Cover crops are a planting of an annual crop like annual rye or clover to your empty garden beds. Early fall is a great time to plant a cover crop in your garden or raised beds.  A crop like annual rye will emerge in just a week or two and create a thick, grassy bed that will fix nitrogen levels in the soil and keep the beds from being exposed to the winter elements that can erode precious topsoil.  In the spring, you simply dig them under to add organic matter back into your soil.  You can even plant a quick spring or mid summer crop and turn it over into the soil before planting your summer garden.  This is called a “green manure or cover crop” and can be a great boost to the plants going into the space.

It’s easy to plant one. No need to till your soil – next, rake out your rows, existing garden, or raised beds  – and scatter the seeds as if you were throwing grass seed on your lawn.  Rake it over and you’re done!  It’s okay if you still see seeds on top – they will sprout soon enough and you will have a great cover crop growing!  We don’t use a tiller at all in our raised row beds – just a pitchfork to turn it over, and we are ready to plant.  We actually have a complete tutorial dedicated to cover crop benefits that you can check out here :  Planting Cover Crops

3.  Crop Rotation:

The 2013 Garden Plan – with plant spaces rotated from last year’s plan

If you keep planting the same pepper, tomato or cucumber plants in the same spot, year after year – you won’t keep getting the same results.  Why? Because plants use certain specific nutrients from the soil - and the soil becomes depleted of those nutrients if the same crops keep going into the same place.

In addition – soil borne diseases that are prone to affect a certain type of plant have a better chance to become established with repeat plantings. So, in addition to providing compost and cover crops to recharge your soil – it’s important to rotate your crops each year so that they give the soil time to recover from that specific crop.

For us – we have 34 raised beds in our garden – and we flip and rotate what we grow so that the same crop will not go in the same space until every fourth year.  With just a little planning – it’s easy to do.

4.  Mulching: 

We use mulch around our plants and in our walking rows to keep the garden clean and weeds to a minimum

Remember that statement about plants using nutrients from the soil?  Well guess what – weeds are plants too – and they compete for the same nutrients and water your vegetable plants do.  So the less weeds they compete with – the more nutrients in the soil for the vegetable plants.  And you can suppress those weeds naturally, without spraying, and keep your garden looking great.

How? By mulching.  Mulching is a great way to keep out unwanted weeds.  We like to mulch around our plants with a healthy dose of finished compost.  It not only hold conserves moisture in the soil, but it blocks out weeds, and adds valuable nutrients back to the soil while it decomposes.  If you don’t have compost on hand yet – then mulch with straw, shredded leaves or grass clippings. They all accomplish the same thing – keeping moisture in while suppressing weeds.  We also mulch all of our walking rows with straw and shredded leaves to keep weeds out from there as well.   When after a few weeks we get a few weeds popping up here and there…we simply use a weed-eater and cut them down, add a little more straw, and the garden looks great.

5.  Proper Watering:

One of our green peppers after a gentle summer rain. Proper watering is the key to a good garden

No matter how good your soil is – without water – plants struggle. Too little water and plants shrivel up.  Too much water and they won’t develop the good and deep root structure needed for healthy, mature plants.  A good rule of thumb is that a garden plant typically needs to receive about 1 inch of water a week.  If mother nature isn’t supplying that  - then you need to supplement.  But that doesn’t mean the 1″ of water should come all at once.  If you are experiencing a prolonged dry spell – water every two to three days with a slow, soaking 1/2″ of water.  This allows enough water to go deep into the soil and build deeper roots – and gives the plants more consistent watering.  Why not every day?  The plants never send their roots deeper to look for water – and you end up with underdeveloped roots, and a weaker plant.  Call it tough love watering  to develop stronger plants – but it works.

Water early in the day or in the evening to keep evaporation to a minimum. Try to water the ground around the root area and not the foliage – wet leaves can become burned from the sun’s rays. When our plants are young – we use a 2 gallon sprayer (see, there is room for a sprayer in an organic garden  )  – and water directly to the plant’s base to conserve water and get right to where it’s needed most.

There you have it.  Our 5 simple, organic tips to a healthy, vibrant and chemical free garden!

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No Sugar Strawberry Jam!

Strawberry Honey Jam Recipe – Just 4 Natural Ingredients With No Sugar Or Pectin!!!

February 22, 2013 by oldworldgarden

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Canned Strawberry Honey Jam

I have had enough of Winter!  Snow continues to fall almost every day and my Spring Fever is in full go!  In order to get me through those February gloomy days in Ohio, I decided that this week I would dust off my water bath canner and put it into use.  Nothing makes it feel more like summer than hearing those jars “pop” as they cool on the counter top.

So, in my quest to break the winter blues, I decided to buy strawberries from the grocery store and begin my experiment for the perfect strawberry jam.  As most of you know, we are trying to make most of our food from natural ingredients.  We are trying to eliminate as much white flour and white sugar from our diet as we can.  If you have ever made homemade strawberry jam, you know that for about every 2 pints of strawberries, you need 7 cups (yes, 7 cups!) of sugar to make traditional jam.

Spreading the jam – it is a little thinner than traditional jam, but much better and healthier!

Although I love a PB&J sandwiches as much as the next person, I don’t like the fact that the sweetness of jam comes from that much sugar.

I have to say that for a first attempt to make an all natural jam – it’s become a huge hit in the house! It’s a touch thinner than traditional jam since pectin is the traditional thickening agent, but oh so good!

The best part is it’s simple to make and uses only 4 natural ingredients, using apples, which are high in pectin, to thicken the jam.  It is the perfect consistency for that PB&J sandwich or the perfect topping on that bowl of ice cream.   Whatever you choose to do with it – you can rest easy knowing that all the ingredients are natural and not full of white sugar!

Strawberry Honey Jam

Strawberries, Grated Apple, Lemon and Honey – 4 simple ingredients for All Natural Jam

INGREDIENTS:

6 lbs of fresh strawberries

3 3/4 cup raw honey

2 small granny smith apples

1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 of a large lemon)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

As the ingredients boil, skim off the foam and discard.

1. Hull strawberries and cut in each strawberry in half (or quarters if large), place in a large stockpot

2. Cut the sides of the apples away from the core and grate the apple leaving the skins on.  (I used my food processor) Place in pot with the strawberries.

3. Juice a lemon until you get 1 1/2 tablespoons of juice and poor into the stock pot.

Pour into hot mason jars to begin the canning process.

4. Pour the honey into the pot and stir.

5. Heat mixture on high until boiling stirring occasionally.  As soon as the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to medium low to simmer.

Water bath for 10 minutes, remove from heat and let cool overnight.

6. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the strawberries become soft.  Using a potato masher, mash the strawberries so there are no recognizable sections.  If you have an immersion blender, you can use this instead.

7. Simmer for another 15-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The longer the mixture simmers, the thicker the consistency.  (Remember, this will not be as thick as the consistency made with sugar and/or pectin).

8. Strawberry Honey Jam can either be placed in freezer safe jars, or canned using a water bath for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

More info on Compost...

5 Ways To Use Compost Effectively In Your Garden and Landscape

 APRIL 23, 2013 BY OLDWORLDGARDEN

Compost is the key to healthy, beautiful and productive plants and flowers – like this knockout rose at the farm.

Almost everyone has heard about the incredible benefits of compost. In fact – everyday – more and more people are starting backyard compost piles and bins to create their own “black gold”.

Compost is THE key in adding healthy nutrients to your soil naturally! It’s full of life and teeming with beneficial bacteria and organisms that can help keep your soil productive.

But what is the best way to use it once you have it?  Here are 5 ways we use compost to keep our plants growing strong and healthy – and keep our soil fertile:

1. When You Plant

Using compost in your planting holes can get your vegetable plants off to a great start.

This is number 1 on the list – and for good reason!  There is simply no better way to get your plants off to a great start than working in compost at the time of planting.  No matter what we are planting –  flowers, annuals, perennials, shrubs or vegetables in the garden - we mix in generous amounts of compost to the hole!

For our tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other vegetable plants – we fill each hole with a good shovel-full of compost before we drop in the plants.  With our apple trees and grapes – we use a 50 / 50 mix of soil and compost to go back in the hole.  It is the single best way to give added nutrients to your new plants. The compost helps hold in moisture, and gives valuable nutrients to the to roots of developing plants.

2. To Make Your Own Incredible Potting Soil

Make your own incredible potting soil from your compost!

If you want to save money and have your hanging baskets and potted plants go crazy with growth – use compost!  We make all of our own potting soil with a mix of 4 parts compost, 4 parts topsoil and 1 part sand.  It becomes the perfect medium for growing all of your potted planters, hanging baskets. and containers. The best part of all – it can save you loads of money!

What about those commercial bags that contain slow release fertilizers to help?  You simply don’t need them with good soil. With the added nutrients of the compost in the mix – your plants will grow strong.  And when you do want to give a little boost of all natural fertilizer – try the next tip!

3. To Make Compost Tea – The Amazing All-Natural Liquid Fertilizer

You can make your own organic fertilizer “compost tea” – simply by steeping water in fresh compost.

Compost tea or “black liquid gold” is an all organic “miracle-growing” solution to fertilizing the garden – minus the chemicals and high salt content that commercial fertilizers add to your soil. It works its magic in two ways – feeding your plants through the roots (soil zones around plants) and the leaves (foliar zones). Unlike synthetic fertilizers, it won’t build up chemicals and salt levels that can slowly destroy your soil structure.  Instead, adding nutrients that build it!  You can see how we make our’s here :  Making Compost Tea.

We apply with a watering can or a simple garden sprayer – soaking the area around the root base and the leaves of each plant with the solution.  The minerals and nutrients are then absorbed through the leaves (foliar absorption) as well as through the root zone – doubling the effect.  As with watering, it is best to apply early in the day before the sun is too hot and the tea can burn the leaves of plants.

4. As A Mulch

1 to 2″ of compost as a much around your garden plants can pay huge dividends.

Compost is simply incredible to use as a mulch around your plantings!

We mulch all of our annual plantings with an inch or two layer of compost about 6″ in diameter around each and every plant.  Not only does the compost act as the perfect mulch, keeping moisture in and weeds out – but it also adds valuable nutrients as it breaks down in the soil.

Another benefit – every time it rains or you water – those nutrients are leached out of the compost and into the soil around your plants – feeding them even more.  It’s the ultimate win-win of composting and mulching.

5. As A Fall Or Spring Top Dressing:

We incorporate 3″ of compost into each bed in late fall or early spring each season – keeping our beds productive.

If you make enough compost – you can use it as an excellent top-dressing for your garden beds each year.  Every fall or spring, (or both if you have enough) we like to add a 2 to 3″ top-dressing of compost to all of our raised row beds.  We then will work it in easily with  a pitchfork or shovel and incorporate it into the top 6 inches of soil.  Each and every year, our soil becomes easier to work and more fertile with the added compost.  Even if you can only make enough to put an inch or so on top of your beds to work in – it will pay huge dividends over time to increase your soil’s fertility and vitality.

There you have it – 5 ways to use compost in your garden and landscape this year!  Time to get composting!  You can find more tips on how to compost here – Composting 101

Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary