What I Planted: White Oak Seedlings

Yesterday, just before the big rain, I transplanted a few of the little White Oak Seedlings mentioned in this post.

Photo #1 shows the acorn and root detail, #2 shows them sitting in some of the material they sprouted in (horse stable bedding). This medium made it really easy to use the bare root method to transplant them and made it possible to get the whole root system including the tap (very important). Photo #3 shows the root system in a little more detail, and #4 shows one after it was transplanted. I planted four in the yard. I think they are beautiful.

Trends-Try this for a natural Weed & Feed Fertilizer-Corn Gluten

One of the cutting edge trends in the lawn and garden this year is using corn gluten as a natural weed & feed fertilizer. I'm excited about this because it means that we now have a totally United States produced, renewable source for fertilizer for our gardens and lawns! It is also environmentally friendly and is an organic option. Corn Gluten naturally runs around 10% nitrogen. To gain its pre-emergence benefits, you need to apply it BEFORE the weeds sprout. If you wait until after, you will have paid to fertilize those little nuisances…..

Follow guidelines that are with the product for correct dosage to your specific usage and application.

Nitrogen, by the way, is the “N” value of the N, P, K you see on fertilizer bags and when soil test results are interpreted. It has to do with the lush green color of your plants and is a very necessary nutrient. (I won't bore you in this post with all those excruciating details, but take my word for it. )

Of the other two values, "P" is for Phosphorus. There is a movement to greatly reduce the application of Phosphorus to our lawns and gardens because the runoff of that element into our streams, sewer systems, etc, produces a lot of problems. It really isn't the use of it, it's the overuse, and even abuse. More on that in a future post.

"K" refers to Potash (Potassium). It's the third element in the N, P, K.

Corn Gluten as a fertilizer is a development I am very encouraged by. It has many benefits and implications for future use as it is adopted by lawn and garden owners more widely.  I plan to begin to use it.

The product shown is from www.bradfieldorganics.com and is available locally through some of the chain stores. There are several other brands available too, some organically labeled, and some not.  I won't be surprised if there won't be a lot of “indie” dealers for this product as well, as it should be fairly easy to adopt processing methods to make it.

Have a great week, and happy gardening!

~JB was here.

Seeing Red: Do Tomatoes Really Have a Favorite Color?

Who would ever imagine that plants have a favorite color? Turns, out, Tomatoes do!

According to research work done in the 80's and 90's, tomatoes do have a preference for color! It has been well documented that yields can be as much as 20% higher when tomatoes are mulched with either red plastic, or alternatively, a red colored mulch. I have employed both methods and both have produced excellent results. I must admit that I'm a bigger fan of biodegradable methods, and therefore, have gone to the red colored wood mulch. You'll want to be sure that if the wood mulch is enhanced with color, that it is a good, safe choice to use in your garden....and it will specify on the bag the range of uses it is suitable for.

Here is a link to one of the better-known studies in this area. Some of the most well-regarded studies were done at Clemson University in South Carolina. This is a link to a PDF that will explain why it works, from the light rays and spectrum to absorption levels, and, well, you can look it over yourself to find out more than you ever wanted to know! But red mulch for tomatoes does rock!

http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/18007/1/IND44088287.pdf

How to: Never too Early to Talk Tomato Tips

A Quick Tomato Primer, because, you can never be to rich, too thin, or grow too many tomatoes! This is a quick and basic informational piece on tomatoes that I wrote two years ago. Everything still applies. 

 It's that time of the year......that all gardeners look forward to. What shall we plant, and what wonderful yields will we realize? The coming season is always full of potential. I have had friends ask me in particular about my favorite tomato varieties and some other information regarding these home gardener's favorites. There's nothing like a home grown tomato, is there? I'm pretty passionate about my tomatoes. Anybody that knows me well knows that. So let's talk Tomatoes!

A quick primer on a few terms you see in descriptions~

  Tomato vines are either Determinate or Indeterminate.

• Determinate vines do not need staking and harvest and bearing occurs in a two to 3 week period.
• Indeterminate vines must be staked (they go everywhere!) They will bear fruit right up until it frosts.
• Cracking, which you hear referred to a lot in tomatoes, mostly occurs when they have an inconsistent watering schedule. That's easily cured. Water them in a consistent manner, don't let them get too dry, and then suddenly flood them.

• Blossom End Rot-That's every bit as bad as it sounds. It has to be prevented-there is no cure, and once it happens, the fruit is beyond saving-just very bad. It occurs when there is an imbalance in fertility due to a deficiency of calcium. This can be averted through a good fertilizer formulated especially for tomatoes along with spray that is very effective to prevent it, if you're worried about having this problem.

 FAQ's that I hear a lot are:

Q: What are those little letters on some of the labels? What does V, F, FF, N, and T mean?

A: The little letters on many of the wonderful modern varieties of tomatoes indicate resistance to common diseases that afflict tomatoes as follows: 

• V: Verticillium Wilt
• F: Fusarium wilt, Race I
• FF: Fusarium Wilt, Race I and II
• N: Nematodes
• T: Tomato Mosaic

Without getting into a long discussion in this post, let's just say, all those things can afflict tomatoes in the Ozarks, or really, anywhere. They're bad and ugly. They can ruin your crop. And after all your hard work, who wants that? If you select a variety that is resistant to some of these things, you have just raised your odds of a successful crop. That is the beauty of modern plant breeding and varieties. Can you say Bio-Diversity? I knew that you could. :)

Q: I want to raise heirloom varieties of tomatoes and they don't have any of those letters on the labels. Is that bad? 
A: No. A good strategy for success is to select a few different varieties of tomatoes, some with resistance and some of your favorite heirlooms.The old saying is really true-don't put all your eggs (or tomatoes) in one basket-and don't rely on one variety of tomato! Depending on the weather and the conditions, you may not have any trouble at all with those things, but if you do, you have your modern resistant varieties to fall back on! Yay!

Q: What are some of Julie Brown's favorite varieties?

 A: Some of my favorites that seem to make a nice mix of varieties and have a high success rate include: 

Arkansas Traveler-actually an heirloom variety, this long time standby does have some resistance to diseases. Length to harvest: 85 days-tolerates heat and humidity well. Juicy mild flavored fruits resist cracking. Indeterminate vines resist disease. 

Jubilee-Ahhhhh, my favorite yellow. Very dependable-1943 All-America Selections Winner! 72 days. Plant produces high yields of golden-yellow tomatoes. Excellent for making tomato juice and canning. Also good in salads and cooking. A low acidity variety. Indeterminate.  

Celebrity-VFFNT Quite disease resistant! Another dependable, moderately sized red. 72 days-Consistently strong yields of deep red 8 oz. fruits. Determinate. 

Early Girl-52 days VF-Ripe fruit fast! Sets early, great tasting fruit all summer. Firm tomatoes, up to six ounces, resist blemishes.Indeterminate.  

Big Beef- 73 Days VFFNT-Old fashioned flavor and colossal size. The top beefsteak! Extra-heavy yields of 10to12 ounce fruits. Indeterminate.  

German Pink Beefsteak- 85 days – A very sweet variety that produces large, meaty, 1 to 2 pound fruits. This German heirloom resists cracking and has few seeds, making it a great canning tomato. Indeterminate vines. *I am not sure this is the exact variety I have grown-mine was a pink beefsteak-but this should be representative of it.

Those are my all time, most dependable, favorites. I like a beefsteak type, some yellow tomatoes are a nice change of pace, and I like a few different varieties, some early, some late to have all during the season. In 2010 I also added Rutgers and Delicious for new varieties (for me, anyway). Add to this a grape tomato-they will be the very earliest-they can go into your salad and tide you over until the big ones are ready-and maybe a cherry, some roma, and the specialty heirloom of your choice (I like the yellow pear), and you've pretty much got tomato garden paradise on your hands.

Photo Credit: MaplelessInSeattle on Flickr

 ~Coming Soon-Do Tomatoes Prefer Red? 

Happy tomato gardening! ~JB

How to: Create A Summer Place (For Butterflies)

If you are like most gardeners, you enjoy beneficial garden guests. What 's not to love about Butterflies? They float in and out, and seem so carefree. They add so much to animation and aesthetic value of any flowerbed or garden. This year, I'd like to expand my efforts and have more Butterflies in my garden. I thought I would share some information resources.

Butterflies are indeed beautiful, but did you know they also play an important role as pollinators, along with honeybees? How can you encourage these floating jewels of the air to make your garden their "Summer Place"?

  Photo Credit: Don Sutherland. Used under a Creative Commons license.

1) Plant attractive species for them. Seen above and below with these butterflies are butterfly weeds, which grow in natural habitats, and are a good choice for home gardeners seeking to attract butterflies. Depending on the variety of butterflies in your area there are literally dozens of plants that serve as butterfly food (nectar-bearing plants). If you're going to choose the all-time best "top three" that will attract a variety of species, go with Butterfly Weed, Purple Coneflowers, and New England Aster.Your goal should be to encourage, attract, and retain butterfly populations in your garden.

Photo Credit:  Used with Permission of Julie A. Brown at Flickr. All rights reserved.

2) You need to plant host plants for the baby butterflies!  Baby butterflies are caterpillars, and they are born hungry and need a particular kind of plant to feed on. 

Remember that before you see the beautiful colors of their wings and enjoy them, they look like this (this is a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar):  

Photo Credit: Vicki's Nature at Flickr, used under Creative Commons License.

One area that you may want to change your thought process on is, planting a little extra, for purposes of sharing.....I'm not kidding!  In most cases they won't destroy your garden plants (althought there are a few exceptions). A further reconstruction of your gardening thought process may be the methods you use for pest control and timing of application. Be careful that pesticide (organic OR conventional) does not cause unintended consequences of eliminating species you meant to attract, retain, and encourage, or their young.  For a list of Butterfly host plants that Butterflies can lay their eggs on and which make good sources for the caterpillars, try the extensive information at The Butterfly Site. Further advice on plants can be found at Wildflower.org through the work of the University of Texas at Austin. There, you can search by state to find plants native to your area that are compatible with particular species of Butterflies.

Learn about what you can do to conserve and encourage populations of Butterflies in your area! They are under intense pressure from factors that include changing climate, over-use and misuse of pesticides, and lack of knowledge in some cases. You will be rewarded by their beauty and their role in the pollination of plants that is so critical all around the world to produce the food and flowers that we enjoy.

Have a wonderful week! ~JB was here.