Garden Journal 2010. Garden is 0.4 acres with several beds of fruit and vegetables,in Zone 5B, Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The Journal is mostly pictures with a short explanation.The Journal is updated daily depending upon something of interest appearing. I add material from previous years if it has enduring information.
Garden Journal for 2009
6 March 2010 Maple Sugar Bush
A Maple Sugar Bush in Woodstock, Ontario. There are about 400 taps (taps are used instead of the number of trees). The sap flows from February to 15 of April in this area, depending upon the weather for about a six week period. Sap is collected in buckets, and some areas have plastic pipes utilizing gravity feed, and sometimes assisted with pumps. The reduction to syrup is about 40 to 1, and uses a modern boiler system, to which there was no access. The pictures depict various photographs of the area. The outside temperature was about 5 C, and it was cool in the bush so the sap was only dripping, instead of running freely.
Knee Pads with accordion flex that don’t slip down the leg in use.
Knee pads are indispensable in the garden. For years the pads sold were almost useless, since they always slipped down the leg in use. This type depicted does not slip, due to the accordion type flex at the top. These are readily available in most box hardware stores in the tools section.
Cold Room in Basement. 30 August 2009 Cold Room Construction
Cold room construction in the utility room in the basement. Purpose is for storing garden produce. Potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets, etc.
This is the cold room built in my basement. Space was at a premium so I did the the best with what was available.
The floor space is 18 square feet, and 80 inches in height. A four inch outside air vent was installed. The hole was cut with a rental tool. The one plug in the room is split and the light is switched from outside. Paneling was construction grade spruce 5/8 plywood. Insulation of the inside wall is R14, and a vapor barrier was installed on top of this insulation, then covered with5/8 plywood. The roof was insulated in the same manner.
Tables are plastic, the same as I use in my greenhouse. Vegetables will be stored in the common plastic milk containers. The air inlet will be controlled by stuffing a rag in the inlet if it get too cold. The exhaust went is four inches diameter, and is in the roof of the structure. Humidity will be controlled with a pan of water, if necessary.
Time to build about 48 man hours. Started 25 August and finished on 30 August 2009.Cost $565.42 I had some help for about 16 hours.
31 August 2009. Outdoor temperature 10C, House temperature 20C, Cold room 15C. This is the first temperature measurement.
1 September 2009 Cold Room Organized
Some milk carrier container were obtained today, and vegetables stored in the cold room. These containers are ideal for the home gardener; in that, the containers are a manageable size and they are well ventilated.
The Small Roto-tillers. My Experience.
26 May 2008 Planting Redhaven peach Tree. Honda in action.
These small machine reduces the labor for backyard gardening by a guess-a-mate of about 80%.
Small Cultivators Honda FG110G.
I bought mine last year 2005 (Honda) and it has to be my most valuable tool in the garden. I use it like a shovel, hoe and rake combined. To plant trees, shrubs and to make a simple hole for some plant, for edging, and working established beds, and for breaking up chunks of earth it cannot be beat. The tine shaft runs about 180 RPM, which is much much faster than larger tillers. Note: No rototiller made will break up sod sufficiently to prevent grass growth. The Honda is four stroke and the Mantis is two stroke. I don’t have a two stroke garden tool, due to the misery in starting if the oil gas mixture is slightly off, which is common.
The Honda FG110 was used to work reasonably good soil, clay with much compost with no rocks. The area worked was over 1500 square feet. This little tiller did a perfect job. If the tiller got clogged with fibrous plant strings, I simply removed the outer tines and cleared the obstruction within one of two minutes. The tiller engine starts with one or two pulls of the starting cord.
To plant onions, and other vegetables, I removed the outer two tines and pointed the remaining two inwards and got a perfect row for planting about 4 inches wide. I use the tiller by gently pulling backwards without the drag bar. All the work was done at full throttle as it should be with such a small engine. I consider the operation to be effortless, and the result on the soil is simply not achievable with hand tools.
The noise level is for all intents and purposes not noticeable, since it is a four stroke engine. It is well built, and has no appearance of fragility or poor workmanship. I simply carry the tiller from place to place as required.
To use this small tiller amongst large rocks is misuse in my opinion. I have no rocks. Used with common sense, and not attempting to work it in conditions where a larger machine is clearly required this little machine should last a long time.
To make a small bed I remove the sod with a kick sod cutter, spade the compacted earth to the proper depth, then put the tiller to work to condition the soil. On large chunks it jumps around a little and reduces the chunks, but that is to be expected. A larger machine simply kicks them out without beating them into small pieces. The result is near perfection.
Worrying about turning a garden into flour like soil is probably little to worry about. I have spend my life trying to get the chunks small enough for a good garden. Usually I have had clay, but by adding compost and composted wood chips the soil is friable.
I also have a larger tiller but hardly use it anymore.
Since writing this summary, I have had the experience of using the much touted Mantis. The Honda is superior in every way, but the Mantis is also a good unit in some applications.
6 August 2008 Rototiller. Honda versus Mantis.
The double tines on the mantis make removing vines and stones difficult if between the first and second tines, and much effort is sometimes required. The Honda has separate tines, so obstruction removal is relatively easy, by removing the tines from the drive shaft. If the obstruction is between the inner tines and the drive housing, both units are about equal.
7 August 2008 Comparison of Honda and Mantis minitiller tines.
There are four tines on the Honda, and the outer two can be removed for making a row to plant seeds, or cultivating between close rows. The Mantis width is fixed, due to the tines on each side being one piece. To me this is a distinct advantage for the Honda over the Mantis. Various tines are available for the Mantis at extra cost.
Beets 17 April 2009 Beets (Detroit)
Pictures depicting the method used. Applicable for most seeds.
A layer of non-perforated toilet paper, available from a janitorial supplier, is laid in a a row and if wind is blowing large nails are laid to keep in place. The paper is dampened using a spray can. Seeds are then carefully spaced on the paper. This eliminates thinning later, and is worth the effort. If nails have been used, they are removed. Another layer of paper is rolled over the first and pressed down lightly. There is enough moisture to keep in place. The seeds are now covered with a layer of soil, and the row dampened with a spray can.
The row is dampened as required to keep the moisture level high and constant. The seeds are all at the same depth, and germination is maximized. The paper tends to encompass the seeds and keeps moisture contained around the seed.
21 September 2009 Shed Roof Replacement with Suntuf Panels.
In 2004 a shed was build and typical PVC panels was used for the roof. Similar to Palruf, but am not certain of the name at this time. It may even had been Palruf. This was desired for having ample light in the shed. The material went through about two seasons then it got brittle and cracks appeared. Clearly this material is almost useless for building. The roof was replaced with Suntuf, which is supposed to have a long life and is UV resistant. Both products appear flexible and strong when new. Suntuf is about $50.00 for a 2 by 12 foot sheet, whereas the old PVC panel is about $30.00 for a similar sized sheet.
8 October 2009 Planting Garlic (Allium sativum, Hard neck)
Planted using 2009 best and largest cloves. Seventy five cloves were planted for the main harvest.
Forty five bulblets from another garden, and fifteen one year old cloves, which grew from bulblets last year in another garden, were planted as an experiment to see how large the bulbs will get.
Spacing is 6 inch centers, and depth is about three inches for the base of the clove. The bed was prepared on the 10 of September and covered with wood chips to diffuse rain water and to reduce moisture evaporation.
After planting the wood chips were raked over the bed to limit frost heaving of the soil during the freeze and thaw cycles during the winter. The mulch will be moved away from the emerging shoots in the early spring.
Goji berry, Chinese Wolfberry, Lycium barbarum
The Chinese Wolfberry pods were planted on 10 February 2008. Due to ignorance the whole pod was planted, but it is only necessary to plant one seed per plant. They were thinned and the stronger plant will be kept as they get larger. Germination was about 14 days and it appears maybe planting the pod is a good idea, since the germination was probably 100%. The plant is a perennial. Fruit production is in the third and fourth year, according to the literature.
Goja Berries. Various views of the berries and plants.
Inspecting the garden after the first severe frost, six goja berries were discovered on one Chinese Wolfberry plant. This is after 18 months from seed growth. There are three plants in the garden. Two are thriving and the other is healthy but stunted, since a rabbit ate the top in the Spring of 2009. Taste was pleasant.
General overview of preparing a garden bed which is basically grass covered to begin. The various operations are simplified with the right tools. Most can be rented at a reasonable cost, if the size of the garden doesn’t warrant purchasing.
Spray can for garden use. This spray can is made from a propane tank. It uses compressed air to propel the liquid. It is an improvement over the manual pump up commercial tanks in my jaundiced opinion. Construction is described in detail in the pictures. Little Giant SV-18 Snifter Valve, 1/4″ Pipe Thread.
Asparagus Bed.
16 May 2008 Making Asparagus bed. Note: An asparagus bed is a long term effort. It should last many years, and the third year full Spring harvest should commence..
The bed is 41 inches by 102 inches by 12 inches deep. About a cubic yard of soil was removed. Time taken three hours from start to finish. Compost, sand and a bit of bone meal was added and mixed prior to planting the Asparagus Millennium Rhizomes. There were a total of eleven rhizomes. The bed will be filled in with compost, sand and a bit of normal soil as the plant grows. The rhizomes were spaced about 16 inches apart, and covered with two inches of soil, with the crown just protruding above the soil level.
6 August 2008 Asparagus (Millennium)
This indicates the growth over the summer. The bed was gradually filled in with good soil, as the asparagus fern stems grew.
18 June 2009 Asparagus (Millennium)
All originally planted eleven plants are now growing. The end of the bed with slow growth may be due to being wetter at that end.
13 September 2009 Asparagus bed.
Growth is excellent for one year. The bed was planted in May 2008. Only a few spears will be taken in 2010, then the main harvest will begin in the Spring of 2011.
Crosne (Stachys affinis) Final Harvesting and Processing.
Crosne were dug a total weight of 15 pounds from the row, around 40 plants. Seven liters of the crosne were pickled in vinegar for future use, and a liter was left out for eating fresh. The blue tarp under the plants has no real advantage, and will be abandoned next year.
If the climate is congenial, the tubers can be left in the ground and dug as required, but this is not an option in my cold region (Zone 5). Next year, placing the tubers in soil and placing in my cold room will be tried for storage.
Last year most tubers got ruined, since they were kept under water in a pail, and taste and color changed. Crosne change to a dark color quickly in the refrigerator, so pickling seems like a good choice for storage.
Some tubers were placed in a pot and buried in the ground for seed in 2010. This same practice was successful last year.
Blender Vitamins Juice Fiber
Blender Vitamins Juice Fiber Pictures of the process.
Various fruit and vegetables are cut into pieces and blended to make juice. I use enough water to blend easily, and to make the juice liquid enough to swallow similar to canned juice.
The initial blending is then mixed by dumping back and forth into two pots, and blending a second time, then putting into containers and stored in the refrigerator.
The quantity shown is about a 7 to 10 day supply for one person at a consumption rate of one or two glasses per day.
The whole fruit is consumed so the fiber is also present, as opposed to just squeezing the juice, and some of the fruit and vegetables have almost no juice.
I utilize what is readily available from my garden or the supermarket in the off season. Usually the soft, pulpy fruits are avoided, since they fiber usually floats, meaning it does not mix well.
Total preparation time about 50 minutes.
This support at first look appears to be ideal for supporting tomato plants in the home garden. The ring is 9 inches in diameter and diameter is about 1/8 inch and is stiff and very strong.
One of the sides of the ring can be easily removed to facilitate circling an existing plant, particularly if a support is required lower than the those installed.
The plastic clamp is well made and of strong construction. I use rebar for support, but wooden stakes up to about two inches could be utilized.
Using this home method, at least one knows what they are drinking. It is a simple procedure.
A simple method of making Natto, fermented soil beans, which supposed to have beneficial nutritional benefits. Eating is an acquired experience.
A simple method of making tofu. Pictures depict the method.
Processing Soy Beans.
31 August 2009 Processing soy beans
Soy bean constitute a portion of my diet. Breakfast consists of a bowl of soy beans and a bowl of oats.
Soy beans are prepared for about a seven day supply for one person. Four cups dry beans are washed and cooked in a pressure cooker. Pressure cooker is used to minimize cooking time. If boiled on the stove, it takes about 6 hours to cook the beans. Soy beans never get mushy with cooking, just soft.
Beans are removed from pressure cooker and water, and sugar added to taste, and boiled about five minutes to mix the contents. The beans are then blended to a fine consistency, and stored in quart jars and kept in the refrigerator. Beans will keep for about ten days. A bowl of beans with a bowl of oats is breakfast. This is low cost and nutritional.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?ZELNG 21 August 2009 How a Potato Plant Grows
Potato growing test box was opened today. The pictures literally speak for themselves. Clearly there is no advantage in carrying out excessive hilling when growing potatoes. The purpose of hlling is to insure the tubers are covered. For comparison one Pontiac Red was dug in the same row, which was almost identical to the test box potato in appearance.
Watering Plant Roots 28 May 2009 Watering Plant Roots.
This method gets water to the root area of the plants. The hydraulic effect of the water makes pushing the wand into the ground effortless. The device is made by cutting off the end of a typical water garden wand as sold in most hardware stores.
Weed Puller 6 May 2009 Weed Puller.
This marvelous device is utilized for pulling weeds, mostly dandelions. It actually works and is effortless to use. Price $29.95. Don’t leave home without it.
Downspout Rainwater 8 April 2009 Downspout Rainwater
Pictures indicating a simple, practical method of utilizing downspout rainwater. Barrels cost 15 dollars and all parts and tools are readily available. Any urban downspout system must address the overflow problem during rainfall. The large bung hole is a reasonable compromise for overflow. The height is such that a hose may be utilized for watering plants. The system is readily expandable. I have four barrels, two on each side of the house.
Pictures 16 April 2009 Downspout Water Connection
The downspout water system was switched over to Summer mode by connecting the downspout to the storage barrels.
