Starting Seeds Indoors (Warm Crops)

Time to plant all those tender crops if you are starting the seeds yourself!  Tender plants include tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplant and other herbs like stevia, and lemon verbena.  I don't recommend starting any of the squash or melon crops indoors because they really do best sown outdoors.  If their roots become disturbed by transplanting they can have a difficult time coming back, possibly stunting growth and decreasing yield production or even die.  I start my seeds under lights.  This way the plants are stronger and don't get leggy and weak.  However, if you only have a sunny south facing window it is possible to start seeds indoors too!

I found this 4 tiered shelf at Costco for $30.  It works perfectly with the T-8 florescent lights/light fixture I bought from Lowe's ($25).  The lights come with chains that hook to the wire shelving as you can see in the picture below.   I love the shelf because I can fit up to 6 trays total and grow a lot of plants with the soil blocker method.

The soil blocker method is fantastic!  All you need are flat trays without holes (preferably with covers), soil, warm water and a soil blocker stamp.  Different types of soil blockers can be seen here http://www.allsun.com.au/Blockers.html 

To make soil blocks, first mix a lot of water in with your potting soil or peat moss with a little osmocote to the consistency of oatmeal. Block the soil (water should come out of the top of the blocker) and place in tray to release blocks.  Plant 2 or 3 seeds in each block and cover with soil according to package directions.  This can also be done in individual pots too!  I recommend using 2 inch pots or soil blocker stamps (less transplanting).

Cover your soil blocks or pots with either a plastic dome or plastic wrap and set in a sunny window seal or over a heat pad (a heater vent will do too)! 

 

Depending on how warm the seeds are, they should take anywhere from 1-2 weeks to germinate.  Once the first seeds begin to emerged remove the plastic cover and place under lights.  If there are other seeds that have not germinated yet, just be sure to keep them moist, they'll make their way up eventually!

Here are a few seeds I started a few weeks ago.  Tomatoes on the bottom, basil next to them and peppers last (which took the longest to germinate).  

These are my heirloom tomato plants I will be transplanting outside in walls o' water in about 2 weeks.  I use an oscillating fan to harden them off and strengthen their root systems. 

As you continue to grow your plants under lights, it is very important to remember a few tips.

- keep the lights 1-2 inches above the actual seedlings

- water the tray for the soil blocks to absorb moisture from the bottom up

-only water when the tops of the soil blocks/pots begin to dry out (too much water can cause fungus and disease problems)

-keep the lights on the plants 12-14 hours a day and a minimum of 8 hours of darkness. 

-fertilize plants every 2-3 weeks with a good organic product like fish emulsion.

-allow an oscilating fan to blow on the plants occasionally to strenghthen the root systems and harden off plants before putting them in the ground outside. 

- be sure to continue to harden off your plants by putting them outside an hour the first day as the time gets closer to transplanting outside.  Increase the time every day after by an hour for about a week before planting in the ground.   Happy Gardening!

Beekeeping Basics: Tools and Tips for the Beekeeping Inquirer!

I am anxiously awaiting for April 6th!  It's the day I will be picking up and hiving my new bees!  I will "bee" getting Carnelian bees this time around!  They are docile like the Italians, but a little more hardier and better apt to getting through cold winters, hopefully keeping the girls around for years to come!  

The Basics of a Bee:

• Bees live for about 6 weeks.

• It takes 21 days from the time the queen lays an egg to the time the bee becomes an adult.

• Once the adult bee emerges from her cell she begins immediately to clean her own area.

• As time goes by the bees take on different jobs around the hive the older they get.  Taking care of the young, cleaning and feeding the queen, fanning when hot, transfer of nectar, making wax, some will become guard bees and eventually forage towards the end of their lives.  they literally work themselves to death!

• The queen lays up to 1500 eggs a day.  Maxing out at peak season of 60,000 bees per hive.

• The difference between a queen bee and a female worker bee is that she is fed royal jelly from a gland found within the nurse bees head while developing in her cocoon.  This ripens her ovaries and changes the shape of her body.  She will then mate with hundreds of drones or male bees (1 male to every 100 female worker bees in the hive) hundreds of feet up in the air.  If she is well mated that will be all she needs to lay tens of thousands of eggs for a good 5 years or so.

Basic Bee Equipment:

I use a Langstroth rectangular box to hive my bees.  It is easy to get into and allows more room than a Top Bar hive would, producing more honey.  For the purposes I keep bees, the Langstroth box works best.

Here is an example of the rectangular box with 10 interchangeable frames. 

The bees are very particular about space and dimensions.  They like everything to be about 3/8 inch apart.  Anything bigger than that and they will just fill in the space with wax.  There are many different places and sources to buy or make your own boxes and frames.  Jone's Bees is a local example of where to get equipment and packages of bees for the Salt Lake area.  I believe IFA is also selling equipment as well as packages and nukes (bees that come with frames that have already been drawn with wax). 

• For the hive you are going to have a basic set up of a Bottom Board (I suggest screened bottom board to allow ventilation, this is one of the most important things you can do for your bees year round).

• Top Board (some come with an inner cover unattached and others come with the inner cover sealed to the outer cover).  I have the inner cover with outer cover sealed together.  I honestly don't think it matters.

•  Brood Box or "Deep" (bottom box)

•  Honey Supers (anything above the brood box). 

• Frames (usually 10 to each box).

• Partitions are good to have to help close off the entrance to the hive to keep robbers from creating a full out war!  It looks similar to a ruler and is 3/8 of an inch thick and as long as you need it to be.  

Here is a picture of a frame with dark wax.  Propolis (plant sap) is what gives the wax a darker color.  It is a brood frame and is used to lay eggs and keep the babies healthy because of it's anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.  If you can find someone that would be willing to give you some brood frames you are off to a much faster start to producing honey and strengthening the hive.  It will take up to 3 weeks just to draw out these combs and get the frames ready for the queen to lay.   When checking the hive to see how production is coming along look for 4-5 frames of capped brood.  This is a good indication that the queen is doing well.  I do not get into my hive more than 1-2 times a month once I feel like the queen is well established. 

Here is a picture of comb that is a creamy white color.  This is used for honey!  You can also see off to the right they have stored propolis inside the combs to help feed the colony during the winter (good source of protein too)!  We are using a hot capping knife to release the honey, getting it ready to be extracted from the frame. 

 

You will also need a smoker, bee brush and hive tool.  The smoker is really needed from the first part of July until you harvest your honey.  They have more to protect so be sure to wear your bee suit!  I prefer to wear a full body suit.  It just makes me feel better and more relaxed!  Good materials that are used to produce a cool smoke are wood chips wrapped in burlap.  They really only need a few puffs at the entrance and then again as you open things up completely.  The bee brush is used to gently brush off any bees that may be on the frame you are inspecting.  Remember, move slow and gentle and they will hardly know you are there.  The hive tool is probably the most important tool you will need.  I use it for opening up the hive, pulling apart glued (propolis) frames and stoking the fire in the smoker.  Bees don't like to be smoked a lot.  Try making some sugar water of a 2:1 ratio and putting into a spray bottle.  Mist them gently and as you work they will busily lick the sugar off their bodies.  I do however, use the smoker when the time gets closer to harvesting honey. 

 

Below is a picture of my first time hiving bees.  I highly recommend getting a mentor your first year to help guide you through the beekeeping process, it will definitely make things a lot easier and less stressful!

 You can see the bees in their package.  It's a screened shoe box filled with about 4lbs. of bees.  The queen is in her own small cage until the other worker bees become accustomed to her smell (she wasn't their original queen).  There is a candy cork that keeps her separated from the other bees for a time so they don't kill her.  Once the candy cork has been eaten and they are used to her, she gets straight to work!  At the top of the cage was a can of sugar water to feed them for their trip home.  Once removed the bees are ready to be hived.  The bees need to be supplemented with sugar water in the spring especially if you chose not to leave them enough honey to get by on their own.  I have personally decided to leave 8 frames of honey for my girls to get through the winter.  

Recipe for Healthy Bee Sugar Water:

10 lbs. sugar for 1 gallon water.  (DO NOT use high fructose corn syrup)

Place ingredients in a large pot over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved.  

Add 20 drops each of lemongrass, spearmint and lavender essential oils. 

I use a one gallon bucket with a lid that has a few small holes poked in it that allow the bees to feed off the sugar water.  Place it upside down over a hole drilled into the top and inner covers to allow access for the bees.  Knight Family Honey in Orem has a good cover perfect for this type of  feeding method.  I prefer it over other methods because it isn't messy, the bees won't drown in it and they won't be robbed.

One last important thing to provide for your bees is a constant water source.  Make sure it is close by and not your neighbors swimming pool, because once they establish their water source they will always stick with it!   

As you continue to learn more about beekeeping there are many people out there who will tell you all sorts of things that work best for them.  The only way to figure out what works best for you is to jump in and just do it!  I tend to go the more natural, organic route without medicating my bees.  But, that's just me! :) Again, I can't emphasize enough about getting a mentor!  You will be much happier and at greater ease as you learn how to work with your girls.  Remember, bees don't like loud noises, they don't like to be squished and they don't like their honey to be taken from them!  Move slow and gentle and don't walk out there wearing dark colors!  They will think you are a bear and they won't thank you for it!  They aren't interested in stinging you because they know they will die.  They want to do all they can to provide and thrive in their colony.  Oh ya, and be sure to take a shower before inspecting the hive.  They don't like stinky smells either!  Please feel free to ask any questions.  If you made it to the end of this post then I would bet you are serious about keeping bees!  If you are in the Salt Lake area on April 6th the invitation is open to come to my home and watch me hive my bees at 12:30pm.  Let me know and I can send you my address via email!  Happy beekeeping and gardening!

Successful Companion Planting

This weeks post is all about where and how to plant those seeds for successful results!  There are many plants that like and dislike each other and many that repel the bad bugs and attract the good ones.  Let's first go over the importance of planting in raised beds.  A raised bed whether in a box or on the ground will help to decrease impaction.  Why is this important?  The plants need air and deep water penetration to stay healthy and strong!  Raised beds provide these benefits along with allowing the gardener to plant more intensively and prevent weeding too!  The beds should be 3-5 ft wide and as long as you like.  You need to be able to reach from both sides of the raised bed without having to step into the soil and create compaction. In the picture above I intensively planted "The 3 Sisters"; corn in the center with green beans planted around the corn and squash planted around the beans.  The corn provides a pole for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil the corn needs and the squash provides a ground cover to keep the soil from drying out to fast. Also remember, every time you plant anything, add good organic matter to the soil to replenish nutrients.

Here is a fantastic list I got from one of my favorite companion planting books called "Great Garden Companions", by Sally Jean Cunningham (pg. 46-47).  She categorizes the plants in families of similar likes and then lists their friends that help attract beneficial bugs and improve growth.

Tomato Family: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers

Friends: basil, cleome, cosmos, parsley, asters

Potato Family: potatoes, beans, peas

Friends: calendula, cosmos, daises, dill, rosemary

Cabbage/Root Family:

cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, root crops (radish, beets, turnips)

Friends: asters, calendula, chamomile, chrysanthemums, cosmos, marigolds, rosemary, sage, thyme

Squash Family: winter and summer squash, corn, pole beans

Friends: borage, dill, nasturtiums, sunflowers

Roots/Greens Family: carrots, greens (lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard), onions

Friends: caraway, chamomile, cleome, cosmos, dill (not carrots), fennel, asters, rosemary

Perennial Family: strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries

Friends: borage, chives, bee balm, asters, black-eyed Susans, chamomile, creeping thyme, lovage, tansy, yarrow (good for almost all crops), cosmos, dill, hollyhocks

Keep any of the onion family (including chives) away from beans and peas

Peppermint deters the cabbage butterfly and ants (be sure to plant in pots to control growth)

Keep potatoes, sage and rosemary away from cucumbers

The picture above is one of my most favorite beds in my front yard filled with plants that attract beneficial insects!  Yarrow, marigolds, lavender, bee balm, echinacea, chamomille, calendula, cosmos, chrysanthemums, dill, thyme, borage and zinnias.  You can plant these perennials and annuals anywhere and everywhere!  Keep your plants healthy this year by attracting the good to take care of the bad, making gardening less of a burden and more of a joy!

Cold Crops for Planting

It's almost the 15th of March and the weather has been fantastic! This is last years lettuce bed!  Now is the time to start thinking about planting those cold crops!  If your beds have been amended with good organic compost you are ready to go.  Find local seeds that have a reputable history if possible.  I love Heirloom Baker Creek Seeds  www.rareseeds.com!  Here is a list of what you can plant within the next month.

Any root crops like:

carrots

potatoes

beets

radishes

parsnips

turnips
directly seed all these plants

Any alliums:

scallions

red onion

white

yellow

leeks

garlic
starts are best for planting, but can be done by seeding

Cruficerious:

broccoli

cabbage
starts are best, but can  be done by seeding

Leafy Greens:
kale 

Swiss chard

spinach

lettuce
directly seed these plants

Legumes:
Peas

*Plant celery starts at the end of March

Perennial herbs like:

oregano

parsley

cilantro

lavender

tarragon

thyme

chives
chamomile

Getting Ready to Plant the Garden

It has been a full week of pruning, cleaning and preparing!  Here are a few pictures of the "bones" of the garden.  In the shot above you can see the hoop house frames, a vertical trellis in one box for vine plants to grow and chicken coop in the background with my apple trees just off to the right.

Here are all 8 grow boxes on the east side of the house.  This entire area gets at least 8 hours of sunlight in the summer, except for the bed right up against the house.  There I get about 6-7 hours and grow currants and elderberries ( you can also grow leafy veggies in 6 hours of sunlight too).  It is very important to create a plan before just throwing down soil, boxes and plants.  Think about how much sunlight the plants will need (at least 8 hours for most), and if it is functional and easily accessible.  For example, be sure to allow a wide walk way for a large wheelbarrow to bring in good organic compost every year.

My Early Elberta peach tree with scallions planted all around to help deter peach borers (any allium family member should help).  Another great way to deter pests, including borers is to cultivate the soil every 2 weeks, 2-3 feet from the trunk out and about 2-3 inches deep.  This will interrupt the life cycle and kill off eggs and larva.  It has been pruned as an open center tree to allow sun light into it to ripen the fruit.  In the background is another vertical stand for my grapes to grow up and out. 

This week I have been busy getting the soil ready to plant my cold crops tomorrow!  The weather has been fabulous!  Whether you grow your produce in garden boxes or in the ground you need to make sure the soil is workable.  A simple test to see if it has dried out enough is to take a handful and squeeze it, if it retains the shape of your hand mark then it may still be too wet.  You can also drop the handful to the ground, if it stays in a clump it isn't ready.  If it falls apart you are good to go!  Any raised bed method is going to dry out much quicker than just straight from the ground.  If you want to speed up the process of heating up the soil, put down some clear plastic, anchored with rocks for about a week.  This will heat up the soil and dry it out faster for planting earlier. 

As far as soil preparation goes I bring in good organic compost every year, like Nuri-mulch or Furti-mulch.  I dump wheelbarrow loads into every garden box along with a good, dry, ORGANIC, low number fertilizer (usually containing beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae (beneficial fungus)).  The low numbers in the fertilizer won't burn the seeds and give the plants the healthy head start they need.  I do not use chemical fertilizers for the reason they kill many micro-organisms that actually help protect and keep the plants healthy from disease and pests.  Besides who wants to eat chemicals anyways?  I don't till my soil.  I use a vertical till process that is gentle on those precious micro-organisms.  Take a shovel or garden spade (large fork) and gently turn the soil.  Smooth out with a rake.  It's as simple as that!  I also recommend watching a wonderful documentary called "Back to Eden"  found online www.backtoedenfilm.com  it is a no till method all together.  The weather is perfect this week in Utah!  Get out there and plant something new!  I will be posting on the cold crops I plant tomorrow!  Happy gardening! 

Spicy Mexican Salad Bowls

This is one of the best meals I have ever eaten! 
My mom made it for me the other day and I just had to share! It's a healthy version of Cafe Rio's 

big salad with a yummy version of the green tomatillo ranch dressing!  Make it with meat and cheese if you want or go the vegetarian route, it is good any way!  This recipe serves 6.

Cilantro Lime Rice:

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

zest of 1 lime

2 cups chicken broth or water

Cook all ingredients above in a rice cooker or over the stove in a pan according to directions on the rice package.

Off the heat add: 

2 limes juiced

2 teaspoons agave or organic sugar

3-4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (1/2 bunch)

Set aside.

Fresh Tomato Onion Salsa:

In a large bowl mix together:

5 large tomatoes

1/2 white onion, minced

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Set aside.

 

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:

1 cup water

1 cup cashews

Blend well.

Add:  

2 tomatillos

1 jalapeno, seeded

1 lime zested

2 limes juiced

1 bunch cilantro

1 package of 'Simply Organic' brand ranch dressing mix

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas: (found this great recipe from a friend.  It makes 6 large or 12 small tortillas)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic canola oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup warm water

Beat ingredients in an electric bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and mix for 3 minutes.  Divide dough into 6 or 12 pieces, roll out into circles with oil on the counter and grill on a hot flat skillet that has been seasoned or oiled.

*Place lots of fresh organic lettuce on the tortilla (melted with cheese, optional)

Add rice and black beans or meat if using

Top with fresh tomato salsa and dressing and enjoy!

Healthy Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This is such a treat!  You can't even tell it's good for you!

1 3/4 cups whole grain flour mix (spelt, brown rice, barley) 

1/2 cup organic sugar, xylitol or agave

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon groung nutmeg

3 large ripe bananas mashed (measuring 1 1/2 cups total)

1/4 cup organic canola oil or applesauce if you want to keep the fat content down

2 large eggs

1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325`.  Lightly coat a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan with vegetable spray.  Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl mix all other ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Don't over mix and fold in the chocolate chips at the end.   

Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  

Vegan Asian Rice Bowls

These rice bowls are so good!  And packed with lots of veggies!  

The best part is you can make them anyway you want!

Dressing:

In a small sauce pan bring the following ingredients to a quick boil.

6 tablespoons rice vinager

6 tablespoons cooking white wine

3 tablespoons agave

Add off the heat:

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 orange zested and juiced

1 lime zested and juiced

Rice Bowl Toppings:

Cooked brown rice

Black beans

Fresh chopped pineapple or mango

Fresh chopped tomatoes or red peppers

Fresh chopped scallions

Freshly chopped or shredded carrots

Fresh sliced radishes

Fresh chopped cucumbers

Fresh chopped avocados

Crumbled seaweed

Add any tofu, chicken or fish to the dish too (optional)

Pour dressing over the top and enjoy!