gardening – Page 5 – Planet B Gardens

market time

Seedlings are ready for the first farmers’ markets of the 2016 season. The Early Golden Crookneck Squash is already full of blooms. The Purple Jalapeno and Goat Horn chilies I started March 22nd are doing great and ready to be transplanted. Only 3 of the Chocolate Habaneros I started March 16th made it to transplant stage. Of the 3, only one has survived. It seems to be doing well. Tomatoes always thrive. The Cherokee Purples above I started from seed 3/28 are already 8″ tall. They are one of my favorite tomatoes so far — they are easy to grow, grow quickly, and the fruit tastes amazing. I’ll also have the usual

May 13, 2016

earth day fun

If you’re local or happen to be in the Whitefish, Montana area on April 23rd, drop by the park by Whitefish Depot between 10 and 1. We’ll be doing a grow-your-own sunflower greens demo for kids (and adults). We’ll also have grow-your-own sunflower greens kits for sale so you can take the fun home! Here are the details: Earth Day in the Park. Hope to see you there!

garden beds getting ready

Decided to do a mix of straw bale and in-ground garden this year. The sheet mulching we did in the fall resulted in a nice, loamy compost. I put 750 lbs of organic soil on top of the sheet mulch today, and will add some more tomorrow. Straw bales are creating a border around the in-ground beds. Next week we’ll be conditioning the straw bales and creating the garden beds. Apple, peach, and cherry trees arrive Monday. They’ll get planted in the new orchard area beyond where you see the far straw bales. I’ll also be planting blackberry and blueberry bushes, as well as installing irrigation, fencing, and tree cages.

April 9, 2016

on food and gardens

Ruth Reichl’s memoirs — Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, and Garlic and Sapphires — are among my favorite foodie reads. If you’re a fan of hers —or just someone interested in food culture, gardening, and changing the way we eat — Ruth Reichl’s Commonwealth Club podcast interview is worth a listen.

spring joy

Today feels like the first real day of spring, and the forecast is for warm weather this week. Time to put the tomatoes I started in January into the sunshine! Some are still in blossom phase. Others are full-on green tomatoes — a bit bigger than ping pong balls at this stage. They’ll go back into the hothouse at night — nights are still pretty cold here in NW Montana. Got the beehives set up outside as well, ready to be populated with new bees in a few weeks. After the dark and cold of winter, it’s pure spring joy here at Planet B.

easter radishes

Celebrating resurrection, renewal, and springtime here at Plant B by planting Easter Egg Radishes for early harvest. Hoping to have ready for farmers’ markets in May.

organic gardener podcast

Jackie Marie Beyer of the Organic Gardener Podcast interviewed me about Planet B Gardens and my first year as a farmer’s market gardener with Planet B Harvest. We talked about how to grow sunflower greens indoors year-round, how to get started as a new gardener, the importance of localizing food production, plus food preservation tips. You can download the Planet B podcast interview here. To subscribe to the Organic Gardener Podcast, search in iTunes for “organic gardener” under Podcasts, or go to Jackie’s episodes page to download the latest.

soil blocks for seedlings

Playing in the mud was my Sunday today. I’ve found starting seedlings in soil blocks is a more economical approach than buying all those seed start trays and transplanting to a larger pot when ready. With a medium- and large-sized soil block maker, you can dispense with pots altogether. An added benefit is seedlings “air prune” — meaning when the roots hit the edge of the block they stop rather than becoming root-bound like they tend to do in a pot. The soil block maker comes with a dibble insert to create pockets in the soil to plant your seeds, or you can attach a block instead of the dibble

March 13, 2016

hothouse blossoms

Tomatoes are starting to blossom in the hothouse. Looking forward to having fresh Kakao, Climster, and Frederik tomatoes in the next month. Only one of my Imperial Star artichoke seedlings survived. I planted 10 seeds, 7 germinated, 5 got to cotyledon stage, and 1 made it to second-leaf stage — despite careful temperature, fertilizer, water, and ventilation control. Artichokes have a reputation for being finicky to raise from seed. The lone survivor looks like it’s doing well, though. If it makes it all the way to maturity, I’ll let it go to seed and save those seeds for next year’s planting. Fingers crossed, the sturdy genes will be passed on….

speaking of miracles…

This book came to mind again with my recent experience witnessing the miracle of microwaved, composted, neglected popcorn kernels coming to life in my compost bucket. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle captured my imagination back in 2007, and is at least in small part responsible for my departure from city life to beginning to cultivate crops and building a homestead in the rurals of Montana. Mixing botanical history, recipes, first-hand stories, and personal dreams, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle speaks beautifully to the power of intention meeting the realities of (the rest of) the natural world. Even if you’re not a gardener, this book is an intoxicatingly-written celebration of the will to life —

February 8, 2016