Care for the Earth by caring for your earth
Cold frame for raising seedlings in cold weather. Photographer D Gasteiger
First day of Spring is 1st September Down-under. Gardeners in temperate zones will be looking forward to getting summer vegetables started with the weather warming up. However a cold snap will kill many summer varieties also they have a minimum soil temperature germination requirement, so take note of the planting calanders advice of starting them indoors or in a greenhouse if planting this month. There are a few other ways of providing the required warmth so read on and select which works for you or just wait and plant outdoors once the minimum soil temperature has been reached of 15.5 degrees Celsius. Wait untill it is 21 degrees for the optimum temperature for most summer crops. Use a soil/compost thermometer or some weather stations have this information, for Australia go to http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/. Alternately plant after the date of the last frost in your area.
A well designed greenhouse attached to the sun facing side of the house can store solar radiation so doesn’t require heating artificially. Solar greenhouses are great for starting your summer seeds in, although there wont be enough heat to grow winter tomatoes only cool-weather crops.
Put your seed trays on a table by the window that gets sun most of the day. No cost method.
Cold frames or sun boxes are designed to collect heat for extending the growing season. They are easily to make of a low box with an opening sloping roof made of a glass window . The best location for maximum solar absorption in the southern hemisphere is North facing while in the Northern Hemisphere it’s South facing and sheltered from cold winds.
Insulation may be needed in cold temperate zones. Use the earth for insulation by building the frame into the ground, or bales of straw or hay may be stacked against the frame. Alternatively use passive solar heat storage like black containers of water placed around the frame. To protect against frost at night cover the glass with a blanket or newspapers.
This method requires a little daily maintenance. To prevent the buildup of excessive heat inside the frame raise the glass window in the morning then lower in afternoon to conserve some heat for the evening.
A cold frame can be converted to a hotbed by providing a heat source either electrically with soil-heating cables or from the heat generation of composting fresh manure. For a manure-heated bed dig out 60cm deep; add a 45cm layer of fresh horse manure or grass clippings; cover with 15cm of good soil if you are growing in it directly but its easier to transfer seedlings by using seed trays and pots.
A cloche is lightweight, portable structure that shelter plants from wind and cold. They trap solar radiation and moisture evaporating from the soil and plants. Normally a cloche is a clear plastic tunnel for whole rows. Simple ones are cut off clear plastic bottles put over individual plants. The design should be able to be closed completely at night to prevent frost damage and opened or completely removed during the day for good air circulation.
After carefully nurturing seedlings with one of the above methods you can be planting your summer vegetables outdoors in 4-6 weeks. Happy Spring gardening!
photo by Julie Bass
Julie Bass was inspired to install a vegetable garden in the front yard after the lawn was dug through for sewerage pipes. Her garden shown here is 5 neatly laid out beds, where she grows a mix of veggies including squashes, corn, tomatoes, and flowers. The City of Oak Park (Michigan) is prosecuting Julie Bass for noncompliance with a city ordinance that states that only “suitable” plant material is allowed on the lawn area of residences.
While the insanity of using precious water on lawns is recognised in many dry areas of Australia so it has been made illegal, how about making lawns illegal instead of veggie gardens? Alternatively tax them out of existence. What will replace the lawn?
Petition to support Julies veggie garden (Julie goes to trial on July 26th 2011)
hat is perfect compost?We make compost to provide a complete natural plant food. It needs to retain a high proportion of the original nutrients. Nutrients are retained by having the right Carbon (C) to Nitrogen (N) ratio in the mix of compost materials. A ratio of 25 or 30 parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen is needed. If the C:N ratio is too small at the start of the process it gets excessively hot, there will be losses of nitrogen which can be smelt as ammonia.
The easy way to work out the C:N ratio is use the online calculator at: http://www.klickitatcounty.org/solidwaste/fileshtml/organics/compostCalc.htm
When the compost has reached the final stage of decomposition of organic matter to form the stable colloidal complex called humus. Time varies with technique, temperature and material used, a minimum of three weeks up to one year.
To study the art of making perfect compost choose from experienced biodynamic authors:
Available at www.acresaustralia.com.au/bookstore
Just released is the DVD “Perfect Compost -a Masterclass with Peter Proctor”. Available from Cloud South films -creators of “One Man One Cow One Planet” documenting Peters biodynamic outreach work in India. DVD available at: www.perfectcompost.com
Happy Composting!
Noticed the increasing incidence of extreme weather event? This post is about climate resilient gardens so you can worry less about a break in food supplies by having your own home grown supply.
However a vegetable garden is vulnerable to natural disasters -flooding or cyclones will flatten annual plants. Plan for replacing a decimated vege garden by having a store of seeds to replant, for quick replacement focus on early maturing crops like radish, lettuce, rocket, peas, bush beans and edible weeds -Purslane, Fat hen, Nettle, Dandelion etc.
To secure a permanent food supply you need to plant perennials. Look into permaculture as a system of cultivating permanent food crops. In a nut shell you would plant nut trees, fruit trees, berries, perennial edibles and incorporate animals -in a backyard this could be rabbits, chickens or fish. Annual vegetables would only be a small part of the system. More about the permaculture system in future posts.
The ideal disaster resilient crops are perennials with edible roots, like Sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke, or Yams, as even if the leaves get destroyed, you will still have a harvest underground.
Select varieties of perennial vegetables to suit your climate at www.perennialvegetables.org
Do you have a new years resolution to start a biodynamic/organic garden, to become more sustainable, to be more self sufficient? You may have read books and websites on the topic but feel you lack the necessary skills. Up-skill with hands on learning by enrolling in a workshop in your area. Sydney beginner gardeners can join Eileen Kaufman for a summer school of seven workshops starting soon on 3 January till 9 January 2011.
Topics covering all areas of sustainable gardening:
-Getting a Vegetable Garden Started
-Permaculture for the Backyard
-Seed Saving
-Backyard Carbon Gardening
-Successful Compost Making and Worm Farming
-Pest and Disease Control
-Backyard Biodynamics
More info at www.bioorganicgardener.com
Peter Proctor has worked as national field advisor for the New Zealand Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, and tutored for the Taruna College Diploma in Biodynamic Agriculture.
Aged in his seventies, Peter Proctor energetically set about to save the world one farmer at a time. Travelling across India, he trained farmers to train other farmers. Peter’s teachings on increasing soil fertility using manure concentrate (cowpat pits) and horn manure (500) were readily taken up by the Indians who already knew the sacred cow is a source of fertility. Large scale manure concentrate pits were set up across India, and the excellent results were shared with the rest of the biodynamic world to further popularise Maria Thun’s method. Thanks to Peter’s efforts, there are 10,000 biodynamic compost heaps in India (and counting).
Biodynamic compost is a sustainable substitute for chemical fertilisers, providing nutrients, building biologically active soils and also preventing carbon from cycling back into the atmosphere as CO2. The biodynamic method has restored degraded soils in India, and because it requires no external inputs has helped to release Indian farmers from their debt cycle. Peter’s work in India and the story of Indians disastrously affected by big business agriculture is documented in the award winning film One Man, One Cow, One Planet.
Now back in New Zealand, Peter is continuing his work. Peter is now producing a DVD, How to Make Perfect Compost – A Master Class with Peter Proctor. Presales can be secured at onemanonecow.com by donating to the project. Investors are also sought for this project.
See also Peter Proctor’s practical guide to biodynamics, Grasp the Nettle – Making Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Work.
Seed saving has been an agricultural practice for thousands of years and has created millions of varieties of food plants. However, during the 20th century a rapid decline in the number of varieties occurred as monopolies took over the world seed supply market.
Maria Thun developed a method to improve varieties by working with planetary constellations. When the moon is in each of the star constellations (the zodiac) it has an effect on a particular part of the plant rather than the plant as a whole as in the other moon rhythms. The plant can receive an enhanced influence if work such as pruning, manuring, hoeing or preparation spraying is done on particular days.
These planetary correspondences are discussed in the post The science of moon planting. See our weekly planting guide for a southern hemisphere guide to which influence rules that day. These rules apply even if you are planting only to save the seed. For example, if you want to save lettuce seed, sow your initial seed and do all your work on the plant on a leaf sign, and harvest the seed on a leaf sign, because this is the part of the plant of which you want to improve the qualities. If you did everything on a seed sign, the resultant saved seed might produce plants that quickly bolted and went to seed producing little leaf.
The specific seed saving techniques for each plant species are varied. For details of techniques, see:
The Seed Savers Handbook by Michelle and Jude Fanton.
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.
The Seed Savers Network collect and maintain rare varieties, publish resources and have a contact list for Australian local seed exchanges.
Biodynamic techniques aim to create balanced growth and strengthen a plant’s pest defence mechanisms through nutrition and BD preparations. Pests preferentially attack stressed and weak plants, and by doing so, are participating in the process of natural selection. Whenever you see a pest problem, ask yourself what is the underlying problem or stressor. Address any imbalances before using organic pest control methods.
Sometimes, despite trying everything the pest remains a problem. At this point you may consider using the biodynamic method of peppering.
Peppering energetically excludes a specific pest from the area you treat. The pepper is prepared by capturing a pest and burning it to ash. The ash is then sprinkled like pepper around the perimeter of the affected area. The timing is specific to the type of pest and what planetary influences rule their reproduction:
Consult Brian Keats’ Astro Calendar for specific dates.
The collected pest may have to be stored in the freezer until the appropriate burning time. For large animals, such as foxes, only the skin needs to be used. For small insects, many need to be gathered. If you are dealing with weeds, the ripe seed is needed. The pest is burnt completely to a grey ash on a hot wood fire.
The ashes are then sprinkled like pepper around the perimeter of the affected area. As the quantity of ash is small it is either mixed with sand or made into a homeopathic preparation which can be sprayed out and has the advantage of lasting for years.
Reported results of peppering are highly variable, from all pests leaving immediately to no result. Pest plants take four years to see results. As our understanding of how the method works grows, some helpful suggestions have been put forward:
Please share with us your understanding and experiences with peppering.
Chickens are a domestic animal suited to a back garden. Keeping chickens is rewarding – they provide fresh tasty eggs, and entertainment especially for children.
There are a number of aspects you need to consider before deciding to keep chickens. Fencing and housing needs to be well designed to prevent predators from getting in. Please don’t underestimate the abilities of predators – losing all your flock can be very distressing. Predators in Australia include foxes, dogs, snakes and quolls. Boundary fences are not predator proof, as foxes are good climbers and jumpers and can dig under them. All effective predator-proof fences are electrified, so in a suburban backyard the alternatives are to completely enclose a run; keep a dog capable of protecting his territory and the chickens; or only let the chickens out when somebody is home to keep an eye on them, as predators may attack during the day.
Fence designs for a chicken enclosure for rural properties are available at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/catalogue.pdf.
Build your coop strongly – don’t use staples, and screws are preferable to nails. Chicken wire keeps chickens in but does not keep predators out, so you will need heavier gauge 12-24mm mesh, welded rather than woven.
To prevent predators digging under the coop, use a concrete floor or lay a 30-45mm mesh apron pegged to the ground and attached to the coop, or raise the coop 1.5m off the ground. For portable pens, use a strong mesh floor.
Chickens need to be locked in their coop every night so you need to get someone to do this for you when you are not around.
If you are now thinking that having free ranging chickens isn’t possible, consider a portable pen that can be moved around the lawn. The advantages of a portable pen are that it avoids the bare soil that results from a permanent pen and also prevents the build up of parasitic worms. The portable pen can be put on the vegetable garden when a crop is finished to clean up pests and weeds, and provide manure for the next crop. This method is called a chicken tractor. However, chickens do need enough room to exercise, take a dust bath, forage for greens, insects and so, so please don’t keep them in a small pen like battery farmed caged hens. Many different coop plans and more information is available at www.backyardchickens.com.
Check your local government regulations around keeping chickens. Roosters are not allowed in residential zones. There will be minimum distances from the coop to a boundary fence or food preparation area. And be considerate of your neighbours.
Once you have built a safe home for your chickens you can look forward to the best tasting fresh eggs, and you will have little helpers for weeding, fertilising and pest control in your garden.
1 whole pumpkin
1 head of garlic
8-10 baby shallots
2-3 bay leaves
2 fresh red chilis (de-seeded)
Olive oil
150g feta cheese
Pumpkin seeds (This dish can be served with a number toppings, such as sunflower seeds, peanuts and pinenuts. Interchange them depending on your preference but remember to toast them to release the full flavour.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°c.
2. Chop the pumpkin into eighths and remove the seeds. Peel the tough outer skin from the flesh. (It is easier to peel your pumpkin if you chop it up into more manageable chunks.)
3. Slice the eighths into smaller pieces to make crescent shaped slices.
4. Heat some oil in a flat bottomed frying pan and add the pumpkin. You just want to brown the pumpkin slightly on each, not cook it through. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl.
5. Break up the head of garlic and crush each clove with the back of a knife to release the flavour. Add to the pumpkin pieces.
6. Peel the shallots, keeping them whole, and place them in with the pumpkin.
7. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and then transfer to a baking tray. Add the bay leaves and roast in the oven at 180°c for around 30-40 mins. The pumpkin, garlic and shallots should be just tender.
8. Meanwhile, make the chili oil for dressing the salad. De-seed the chilis, cut into fine strips and then finely dice. Add to olive oil and let sit while the pumpkin is roasting.
9. In a fresh pan, dry roast the seeds or nuts until golden and set aside.
10. When the pumpkin is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
11. When cooled, place on a serving dish and top with feta cheese, nuts or seeds of your choice and drizzle the chili oil over the top. Parsley is also great chopped up and sprinkled over this dish for added colour, contrast and flavour.
Backyard Biodynamics is a place where you can learn, share and be engaged by biodynamic gardening in your own backyard. 