Get Your Food Supply Gardening Canning Supplies Now

Posted on September 10, 2011 by celticozarkian

It is time to get your food supply gardening canning supplies now. Part of the joy of growing your own food is canning the bounty for the winter. Now is a great time to buy next years canning supplies as the big box stores and the little mercantile alike make room for Christmas goodies.  If you have never canned before, here is a list of supplies you will need.

There are several must haves and jars are at the top of the list. Think about what you would like to can to decide what size jars you need. Jams and jellies go in the little ½ pint jars for small families. I always put my jams in pint jars when all the kids were home, but now I use ½ pints to can the jams. That is the right size for just himself and me, plus they make great Christmas stocking stuffers for the kids to take to their homes. I must admit the kids could go through a quart jar of apple butter in a weekend when they were all in sports so I canned it that way for awhile.

Quart jars are great for tomatoes, applesauce, peaches and pears. I do not pressure cook can, but if you are going to be canning this way, make  sure to have extra large size jars for green beans and other low acid foods. I have both wide mouth and regular jars. The wide mouths are great if you are going to do peach halves, whole pickles, whole spiced peaches or whole tomatoes. Basically, if the price is good, grab the jars while you can. Jars are the big expense in canning, and the jars can be reused. However, getting jars back when you send jams and jellies home is pretty much not happening, so get a few extras.

Buying jars at an auction is an option too; just make sure that the tops of the jars are completely intact. If there are any nicks, chips, or uneven spots at the top, you jar will not seal. You will need a new lid every time you can. These can not be reused. I mark my lids with the date when I can something in the jars, so I know not to reuse the lid. So grab lids to fit your jars when they are on sale. You will use them.

Rings can be reused; in fact, after the jar has sealed and cooled you will be removing the ring. So you really don’t need more rings than you are going to use in one canning session. I keep my rings on a piece of twine that I hang up in the garage. It is so easy, and I just put the large mouth rings on one string and the regular rings on another string.

While a canner is not strictly necessary, it makes canning your home grown foods so much easier. I have a large canner for quart jars and a small canner for the smaller jars. You can do the smaller jars in the big canner, but I just like the convenience of the smaller one. If you are buying the canner at an auction, be sure the wire rack is included. This makes getting the jars out a breeze.

Then you can get all the fun stuff. A canning funnel is so handy and will make canning less messy. A magnetic lid lifter is great for getting the lids out of the warm water bath. I love my jar lifter; it has saved my fingers for years! A canning ladle will make the process of getting boiling food stuff in the jars it is really a must instead of “fun stuff”. A bubble spatula is nice, but a flexible table knife works well too.

A good canning book is indispensable. If you have never canned because you were afraid of the finished product, this will eliminate your fears. I always have a Ball Blue Book handy when I can and I have canned for years and years. Canning IS an exact science. You absolutely must follow the directions to the T. Do not skip any steps. EVER.

For instance, your Mom probably never added lemon juice to her tomatoes when she canned. Today’ hybrid tomatoes do not have enough acid in them to make them safe to can without a pressure cooker, but if you add a set amount of acid to the tomatoes you will be safe.

Additionally, you can get recipes from university or state extension services that are reliable. I always cast a bit of a wary eye to other canning recipes off the internet unless they are from a very reliable source. Botulism is a real threat if food is not canned properly, and it can be fatal. I still never eat home canned green beans unless I know the person that canned them. Some foods are just dangerous if the instructions are not followed religiously. However, if you are careful, always follow the directions, your garden will feed you well long after the growing season is done.  So, get your food supply gardening canning supplies now.  Here are some extension websites to further research this topic:

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/GH1452

http://www.arfamilies.org/health_nutrition/Food_Safety/food_preservation/handbook/vegetables.htm

http://www.walnutcreek.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=139

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How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places

Posted on September 5, 2011 by celticozarkian

Knowing how to grow your own food in small places is a skill I wish I could pass on to anyone who lives in the city.  These techniques can also work where you live in an apartment or condominium that has no food supply gardening area.

How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places in a Nutshell

Knowing how to grow your own food in small places is really about micro-gardening. That is the term that I have coined to describe gardening on a very small scale. It involves taking the principles of raised bed organ gardening to a level that anyone can use.

Who Should Know How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places?

In the current economy of the United States, where we owe the world as much money as our Gross Domestic Product, we are all in jeopardy of having food prices rise to the point that we cannot afford food. A food supply gardening plan is essential for all of us to know.

Who Should Not Know How to Grow Food in Small Places

I really think, unless you are ultra rich, you should be growing some or all of your food. That brings up a point. Any food you grow saves gives you a way to sustain your food supply, and can help you be less dependent on commercial food supply chains.

Famous People Who Know How to Grow Food in Small Places

Price Charles of England is perhaps the most famous person with a food supply garden. Here are some other folks that might surprise you:

  • Former President Busch
  • Roseanne Barr
  • William Shatner
  • Simon Cowel
  • Candida Lycett

How to Grow Food in Small Places

The techniques are simple, and will allow you to grow a fair bit of food, as well as learn how to grow your own food in small places:

  1.  Figure out how many windows in your home have exposure to sun most of the day.  Use pots to start an herb garden in these areas.  Periodically, you can set those plants out on a porch, or just in the sun, if you feel they need more sun. Use a quality potting soil like Hummerts or Miracle Gro to sustain the food supply for the plants. You can also move them to a bigger pot over time.
  2. For those with space, you might consider a gardening box that is 2ft wide and as long as you can handle by yourself. It needs to be 6 to 8 inches deep with quality gardening soil. Use plywood to close in the bottom.  Cut a small drain hole in a place or two that can let some water trickle out (1/4” holes). Place a bucket underneath. Be very careful with your watering. Use grow lights to help you keep leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, etc., that do not require full sun to grow.  For old hippies, this ought to be a snap.
  3. If you have room outside, build small boxes to set on a porch, under an awning, etc.  Use the size dimensions above.  You can, though, cut your holes bigger, to allow better drainage out of doors.
  4. Use large pots for gardening on the concrete.  My brother owns a condo with no grass, and manages to grow a full summer garden in this manner. Again, you have to use quality soil to sustain this plan.  This type of food supply gardening needs full sun, so you can grow things like tomatoes, peppers, onions.
  5. You can use a barrel to grow potatoes vertically also.  It just needs some holes periodically, so you can reach in and get potatoes. I have seen the same plan with cleaned up tires.  As the potato grows, you add a tire, and use soil and straw to cover the green part of the plant (leave only 4 inches showing). As you cover the green plant, it will make roots that will grow more potatoes.

The Rationale Being How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places.

The rationale behind how to grow your own food in small places is simple:  make use of vertical space and small spaces as much as possible.  There is lots of evidence to show that food supply gardening can happen in non conventional ways (long rows of crops spread over acres of ground.)

The Pros and Cons of How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places

Pros:

  • You can manage a small garden very quickly.
  • No weeds to deal with, because you are using boxed, pots, etc. to grow.
  • This type of food supply gardening can be done anywhere.
  • Some garden can be kept the year round.

Cons:

  • It is very hard to grow enough food this way to sustain the whole family. I have seen examples of gardens in old swimming pools, though, that get close. The theory is that some is better than none.
  • You have to be very careful not to flood plants with water.
  • Not everyone thinks garden plants are pretty enough for landscaping. That would be a trade off.

 Tips on How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places

  •  Use plastic pots. They are cheaper, and can be found in pretty colors, to help perk things up. They can also be replaced easily.
  • Learn to dry your herbs, and save them for cooking. This will keep your plants from getting too large.
  • Use good strong grow light equipment, and use the strongest bulb possible. Leave the lights on all the time (close a door if needed)
  • Take potted plants out into the sun once in a while, on a pretty day. A little extra sun is good. Just don’t forget them.
  • In all things, think vertically. Almost any plant can be trained to grow up.  I’ve even grown watermelon, cantaloupe, butter squash, and other large fruits this way.

 How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places Do’s

You will need to tend your garden a little each day (10 minutes).  Check for pots that are too dry, too wet.  Fertilizer will need to go in between plantings, or every couple of months.  Repair old and broken pots, garden boxes etc. 

How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Places Don’ts

Don’t let your small food supply gardening plan get out of control. I have seen full basements used up to grow light and hydroponic gardening.  Remember, the rationale for food supply gardening in small places is some is better than none.

Links to learn more:

http://www.containergardeningguru.com/

http://homeharvest.com/lightingmain.htm

http://www.motherearthnews.com/city-farming/small-space-gardening-thats-affordable.aspx

http://coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Plants/smlspace.htm

 Links to Food Supply Gardening Communities:

http://www.gardeningclub.com/all-about-gardening/articletype/articleview/articleid/180/growing-lettuce-in-small-spaces

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-Space-Gardening/126719014049308

http://groups.google.com/group/pufn/browse_thread/thread/89362c077fde118d?pli=1

http://doyourpart.com/green-living/small-space-gardening/

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How to Grow Your Own Food In Spite of the Bugs

Posted on August 25, 2011 by celticozarkian

If you are going to be a long term food supply gardener, you will need to know how to grow your own food in spite of the bugs.  This time of year, bug infestations are common. But what do you do if you don’t want to use harsh pesticides?

There are options on how to grow your own food with natural pesticides.  In many cases, bugs are attracted to your lovely food supply garden by the smell of the plants.  A natural tactic, then, is to change the smell of your plants, by using items that naturally repel the bugs.

I personally use a spray that is made up of mostly water, but contains a teaspoon of all the following natural pesticides.  My spray bottle can hold 3 cups of water:

  • Vinegar (use a white vinegar, not the other types)
  • Minced onion
  • Diced garlic
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Minced hot pepper (like a habanera pepper)

Be careful getting this nasty spray on your hands, because it will really burn your eyes.  Set the spray bottle just to sprits your plants.  Concentrate on leaves, as this is usually the food of the bugs. The stems are too tough and indigestible for most plants.

The natural pesticides in your food supply gardening spray will attack the mucus membrane of the bugs, and drive them away.  You can also use this as often as needed.  The natural smells of the spray will also get into the air around your garden, and help to repel the bugs that want their share of your bi product of knowing how to grow your own food.

Knowing how to grow your own food in spite of the bugs might just very well save your late summer food supply garden. If you know of other recipes, please feel free to share here in the comments section.

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Canning Your Food Supply Gardening Green Beans

Posted on July 29, 2011 by celticozarkian

Canning your food supply gardening green beans can be very easy, and will give you a way to have great vegetables for the winter.  Knowing how to grow your own food supply is not much good if you can’t preserve the food for use during times when you can’t grow food.

Starting about this time of year, my parents used to start getting the first of the green beans into Mason jars, and canned for the winter.  My mom’s goal was to always have 50-100 quarts of green beans for the winter. Everyone in the family loved them, and I came from a family of four, so we would eat them a lot.

Any type of green bean can be canned, including French style green beans.  My personal favorites, though, are Blue Lake Style heirloom green beans. They grow well, and are easy to keep for seed for the next year. I would simply allow one last section or so of green beans to grow and dry out.  Then, I just store the seed pods to be the basis of the food supply gardening plan for green beans for the next year. Knowing how to grow your own food also involves knowing how to preserve seed for the next season.

But I digress a bit.  You will need 0.5 pounds of green beans to fill one quart jar.  A couple of bushels will prepare 25-40 quarts of green beans.

When it was time to can green beans, we would gather our jars.  We inspect them, to make sure they have no cracks or chips in the top of the jar.  Then, we like to run them through our dish washer, with a high heat dry. You can also thoroughly wash and dry them, then boil the jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them.  We also make sure we have enough lids and rings. Lids can only be used once. Rings can be reused, as long as they are not full of rust and dents. The important thing to remember here is be very, very clean with all your jars, lids, and rings.

I prepare the green beans for canning by washing the beans, and snapping or cutting the ends off each bean. Then, we snap the beans into 1.5 inch pieces. I think this size makes it easy to fit them in a can, and it mimicks the size of canned green beans for the store.

Place your lids into a pan, add water, and bring to a low boil. Then turn down the heat. The hot lids will seal better.

Next, fill your jars with green beans, leaving one inch of space at the top (called head space in most teaching books.) Add about a ½ teaspoon of salt.  Now fill the jar with boiling water up to the one inch line. Add another teaspoon of salt.

Use a cake spatula or butter knife to gently remove any bubbles you see.  If you need to add a touch of water to get back to the line on your rim, do so. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean towel, and place a lid on the top of the jar. Then you put a ring on, and tighten to just a hand tight level. Don’t over tighten the ring. In addition, don’t try to tighten the rings after the canning is done either. They can break the jar easily.

Slowly and carefully pour boiling water into the jar just covering the green beans. Use a plastic spatula to remove any noticeable air bubbles. Wipe the rim and place the flat lid and screw band tightly onto the jar. Don’t twist the lid on with all your might, just snug them making sure they’re tight.

Following the instructions of your pressure cooker, add around 4 inches of water.  I like to use warm water, so the process goes quicker.  Fill your pressure cooker with jars. Bring your cooker to the correct pressure (which is typically around 11 pounds p.s.i). Cook your green beans for 25-30 minutes.  You need to watch the temperate and adjust to keep the correct pressure.

Take your green beans out of the pressure cooker. Place them on a cooling rack. Let them cool undisturbed for a few hours. If a seal does not take, use a whole new jar and seal.  Betting sick from a jar of green beans that was not handled well can be a very bad thing.

How to grow your own food supply will get a whole lot easier as your skill at canning grows.  Pressure canning your food supply green beans can be one of the easiest vegetables to learn to can.  Having said that, keep a few green beans out for a fresh mess of green beans.

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How to Grow Your Own Food from Green Peppers

Posted on July 23, 2011 by celticozarkian

How to grow your own food from Green Peppers could be very important for your family. Green peppers are one of the more popular vegetables that come from the food supply summer garden. There are many good varieties, and they are an easy vegetable to grow.

Now it is worth mentioning that hot peppers can be grown in the same manner.  They are still part of the pepper plant family. So, you may want in include some banana peppers, hot chili peppers, cayenne peppers, or even some habanero peppers. By definition, peppers that are low in capsaicinoids are considered to be sweet green peppers. For those of you who like a little heat in your life, you may want to know how to grow your own food with hot peppers as part of the overall plan.

I like to grow green peppers that have a short growing season. It is what I got used to in the Ozarks. Now that I am living in the part of Arkansas that borders the Ozarks, I have still decided to use the short season pepper, just in case two seasons worth can be grown. I like the Early Red Sweet variety, or the Early Niagra Giants.  I also use the Bell Boy some. There are many varieties available.

Another reason I like the short growth period of these type of green peppers is that the heavy heat of the Ozarks can change the flavor of the pepper. As a rule of thumb in how to grow your own food, the hotter and dryer you keep peppers, the hotting and more bitter they will be.

Another factor for choosing your food supply garden green peppers is the issue of hybrid versus heirloom.  Many of the store bought hybrid peppers do not do well for overall growth of a food supply. For one thing, the hybrid may be totally wrong for your area of the country (they are often grown and distributed all over the world).  Another issue is that peppers need to be kept growing well throughout their whole life.  When peppers at your local Walmart store become very root bound, it can stun the growth of the plant, thereby delaying your food supply. A good heirloom pepper can give you quality good, as well as seeds that can be grown again in another season, which is critical to food supply gardening.

Peppers like to grow a very large and fibrous root system.  So, you will want to very aerated soil. Make sure there is lots of organic matter also, as green peppers are heavy feeders of nutrients. This is something you need to keep in mind while learning how to grow your own food. Peppers also need a lot more water than does, say, the squash or tomato, that may be part of your food supply garden. Water the peppers twice a s much, and you should be pretty close.  Every time you let your peppers wilt, you are decreasing yield.  So, your eyes can teach you a lot.

While giving nutrients to your green peppers though, avoid putting too much nitrogen into the soil. Excess nitrogen causes green peppers to grow pretty green leaves, but very few green peppers. If you get a fair bit of snow in your area, you will have all the nitrogen a green pepper needs from the snow. The compost will be much better for the peppers. You can also use a fish emulsion to get phosphorous to the plants.

If you plant from starters, make sure you dig a deep hole, and plant the pepper up to the first set of leaves, the stem will root quite quickly. This can also help your green sweat peppers from getting stunted by soil that is too cool (50 degrees or less and your plant is shot. (This is a tropical type plant.)  By contrast, soil temperatures that get above 85 degrees will also kill your pepper plant.  Again, this is another great bit of knowledge to tuck away on how to grow your own food.

One last bit of information on how to grow your own food with green peppers. Pick off the early flowers that come on to your green pepper. Green peppers tend to produce fruit in cycles. The plant will ripen all this early flower set first, before it every ripens anything else.  Picking off the lower hanging early flowers will cause the next batch to flower more uniformly across the whole plant.  By sheer physical size of the plant, it will produce a better first crop, and  that type of thing can be critical to the food supply garden.

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Canning Peaches from Your Food Supply Gardening

Posted on July 9, 2011 by celticozarkian

Canning peaches from your food supply gardening can be an incredible way to preserve peaches from your trees. I have enjoyed have a few fruit trees in the yard for years. Often, I still get more fruit than I really need for the year, so I get to share with others. Consider having some fruit trees at your house.

So, let’s talk about how to can those peaches.

Things You Will Need:

  • Peaches and sugar (the canning syrup is made with sugar and water)
  • water bath canner
  • canning jars
  • canning seals and rings
  • jar lifter
  • canning funnel
  • large pot or blancher
  • bowls
  • large spoons
  • sharp knife
  • towels and dish cloths
  • ladle

Making A Syrup for Canning

One of the first things you can do is make the syrup for your canning process. I like to make a light syrup, but I am also including a recipe for heavy syrup. (My dad always said the heavy syrup made better cobblers. I just think he liked them sweet!)

To  prepare a light or medium syrup, heat water and sugar in a sauce pan until sugar dissolves.  Here is the ratio of sugar to water:

  • Light – 2 cups sugar to 1-quart water
  • Medium -3 cups sugar to 1-quart water

Getting Ready to Can

Start by preparing jars, and get water in your canner heating.  The jars need to be very clean. We use the dishwasher often, with the heating element on for drying. You will also want to get your canner about 2/3 full of water, and get it boiling. Once you add the quart jars, you will need to make sure there is enough water to completely cover the jars for the boiling phase.

Peel the Peaches 

Dip the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute. Do around 4 to 5 peaches at a time.  Once they are blanched, you also want to make sure your peaches get into ice water to stop the cooking. Then, the skins will come right off. If you have some green peaches, you can use a paring knife to help get the skins off.

You will then want to slice the peaches in half, and take out the peach seed, plus anything other stem matter or bad spots. You only want clean peaches.

Robin and I typically can peaches in halves but you may also cut smaller  pieces. I would not cut them smaller than the sliced peaches you see in the store though.  You may also want to pack peach halves with cavity side down. They pack better,  and you will be able to get more peaches  in each jar.  Another nice tip is to use wide mouth jars for peaches. It makes it easier to place the each peaches in the bottom of the jar cavity side down.

The Canning Process

Now we need to get down to business. We need to quickly fill jars and get them covered with syrup.  You will fill the peaches and leave ¼” margin of air at the top.  This process helps to prevent the peaches from browning.  Another way to prevent browning is to treat with ascorbic or citric acid.  Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean, wet towel. This helps the jar lids to seal well. Place a seal and a ring on your jar of peaches and hand tighten.

Water process the peach jars in your canner for 25-30 minutes. You may need to adjust for higher altitude.  Start the timer on the process when all water is boiling, and you have all the jars covered. You may have to add water occasionally to keep everything covered.

After processing, place the jars out to cool.  If all goes well, you will hear a “ping” for every jar. That is the sound of the seal closing tight.  You are then ready to move your canned peaches to storage.

If you would like to know more about the whole canning process, my favorite book on the subject is Ball Blue Book Of Canning And Preserving Recipes .

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The Fall Food Supply Garden

Posted on June 26, 2011 by celticozarkian

The month of July officially starts the beginning of the fall food supply garden. And food supply gardening does not stop, just because summer is coming to an end. In fact, many parts of the United States will have good weather well toward Christmas.

In the Ozarks, it is certainly got enough, but it will not be too hot to start the process of growing food in the fall.  There are garden plots to prep and fertilize, seeds to propogate and start, etc. So, get yourself a cool glass of sweet tea or lemonade, and let’s grow some food this fall. Knowing how to grow food would not be complete, if we let go of several months of growing season.

If you already have space available, or some summer items that are finishing, the first step is going to be to clean all the junk plants, weeds, etc. out of the space. You can clean the bed well, and then get ready for fertilization.  Once ready, thoroughly water the garden bed, and let the ground sit for about six weeks in the hot sun. This will help to kill off any roots, plants, and harmful insects in the garden. Yes, there is a madness to doing this in the hot sun.

Now lets do some fertilizing to the space. Mix in as much compost as you can get your hands on. Add well-decomposed animal manure, fertilizer and lime if soil tests indicate a low fertility or pH, and work all ingredients into the soil. You can also use my fertilizer recipe to get this done, by making some up ahead of time, and having it ready to go.

If you are in an area that can get two crops, the tomatoes and peppers need to be planted soon – by the first of August – if they are going to make a good crop before first frost.

Grow fast maturing tomato varieties for the fall harvest. Look for varieties with less than 75 days to maturity. Cherry tomatoes are a good choice for this. Most cherry tomatoes will bear within 65 days of transplanting, and people love being able to add them to a salad.  Fall lettuce will go well with them.

Timing is very important for a successful fall garden. Heat tolerant/cold sensitive crops need to be planted in time to mature before cold weather slows and stops growth, while cool season/heat sensitive crops are planted late enough to avoid the heat, but early enough to take the first frosts of winter. So, I want to share a time table with you that works in the Ozarks, and into Arkansas.

The following are optimal “windows of time” for planting fall vegetables:

Beans – 8/1 – 9/1 (lima beans 7/15 – 8/15) Muskmelon (Cantaloupe) – 7/15 – 8/1
Beets – 9/1 – 10/15 Mustard – 9/15 – 10/15
Broccoli plants – 8/1 – 9/15 Parsley – 8/15 – 10/1
Brussels sprouts – 8/1 – 10/1 Peas, English – 8/15 – 9/15
Cabbage plants – 8/15 – 9/15 Peas, Southern – 7/1 – 8/1
Carrots – 8/15 – 10/15 Pepper plants – 7/1 – 8/1
Cauliflower plants – 8/15 – 9/15 Potatoes, Irish – 8/15 – 9/15
Chard, Swiss – 8/1 – 10/15 Pumpkin – 7/1 – 8/1
Collard/Kale – 8/15 – 10/1 Radish – 9/15 – 10/15
Corn, Sweet – 8/1 – 8/15 Spinach – 9/1 – 10/15
Cucumber – 8/1 – 9/1 Squash, Summer – 7/15 – 8/15
Eggplant plants – 7/15 – 8/1 Squash, Winter – 7/1 – 7/15
Garlic – 9/1 – 10/15 Tomato plants – 7/15 – 8/1
Kohlrabi – 8/15 – 9/15 Turnips – 10/1 – 11/1
Lettuce (leaf) – 9/15 – 10/15 Watermelon – 7/1 – 8/1

Seeded vegetables can be difficult, though, in heat. Soil can get very crusty on top.  One trick I like to use is to place a board or wet burlap over the seed row to provide constant dampness to encourage germination and emergence. You need to check every day for signs of emergence. Once this happens, you’ll need to remove the covering when you see the first seedlings breaking through.

The Fall Food Supply Garden can be full of wonderful items to eat and can for the winter. So, don’t let the heat of summer stand in the way of your food supply gardening.

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Food Supply Gardening with Summer Squash

Posted on May 22, 2011 by celticozarkian

Food supply gardening with summer squash cannot be beat. It is, by far, one of the best sources of food you can grow during the summer. If you look at most survival gardening manuals also, you will find summer squash listed as a must grow item.  The best new is, they are easy to grow, and  provide a large yield.

Summer squashes are are warm-season annuals. The most popular varieties for food supply gardening would have to be the crookneck, straightneck, and zucchini. I like to grow yellow crookneck and zucchini. The color variety is nice, and both have a good taste.

Make sure you use a good heirloom variety seed, so that you can save some of them for the next year’s harvest. Do this, and you can grow your squash for the rest of your life. Plant two squash plants per member of your house. Sow squash seeds in the garden when the soil has warmed to at least 60°F, usually no sooner than 3 weeks after the last frost in spring.  In the Ozarks, I wait til the first of May. They handle the summer weather well, and will appreciate lots of sun. Sometimes, very hot weather can cause the flowers to drop though.

Grow squash in a very loose raised bed garden type soil. You want the soil to drain well, and be rich in organic matter.  Squash prefers a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Summer squashes will sprawl slightly, so make sure they have room.  You can use any safe vertical lift like an A Frame holder, or train them up some garden fence. You can tie the plant with panty hose. It will not hurt the plant. If you grow the plant vertically, make sure you do not damage the main stems trying to force it into an awkward position.

Sow squash seeds 2 to 3 inches deep. Sow squash in raised hills 4 to 5 seeds set 3 to 4 inches apart. When they get around 4 inches tall,  thin to the two strongest seedlings. Space hills 6 to 8 feet apart. In raised beds, you had better plan on each plant taking up a 4′ by 4′ square.  They are a space hog, but will produce a lot of fruit, if cared for well. 

Squash grow best in soil that is kept evenly moist. Squashes require a lot of water in hot weather, so be prepared to water a little every day. Plants may wilt on hot days as they use water faster than the roots can supply. As long as water is regular and deeply applied, wilted plants will liven up as the day gets cooler. Squash that is wilted in the morning needs immediate water. I also try not to get too much water on the leave and flowers, as this can cause rot. Let your hose get to the main part of the root, and water from there, unless you are hand watering.

Add aged compost to planting beds before planting and side dress squash with aged compost at midseason.  Too much nitrogen is bad for squash, so use a fertilizer with a 5-10-10 mix. I also like to put a little straw around my plants, to help with moisture preservation.

Once fruit starts to grow, you can prop the fruit with a piece of dry wood. This helps to keep the fruit from getting rotten.  I like to pick when they reach around 8 to 12 inches in length, but the bigger thing for me is not letting the fruit get much more than 2″ in diameter. You have to watch summer squash a lot, as it can grow very large very quickly. When one gets away from me, I usually use it for seeds, or process it in a shredder for making zuchini bread in the winter.

 

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Patio Pots for Food Supply Gardening

Posted on May 14, 2011 by celticozarkian

Ever use patio pots for food supply gardening? Well, let me tell you that you can grow an incredible amount of food from those pots on your patio.

Now is also the time to get those tomatoes planted, if you want to be able to grow your own food. You may think you are too late because your neighbor has had theirs in the ground for a few weeks, but now is a great time to get them in. Tomatoes are tropical plants. While there are some things you can do to fool them, they are not really happy until the nights are above 55 degrees all the time. And they must have warm ground to grow in.

If you don’t have a garden to grow tomatoes in, try tossing on in a big pot in a sunny spot. I have grown cherry tomatoes very successfully in a big garden pot by the kitchen door. Like any tomato, you will want to plant them as deep as possible, to make the most roots. If I am buying a tomato plant from the store, I like to get one that looks vigorous and is at least 6-8 inches tall.

When you plant your tomatoes, in a pot or in the ground, you want to gently take off all the leaves except the top two. Then bury the plant to within about an inch of the top two leaves. This will let that whole stem turn into a root system for your growing tomato plant. Be sure to leave enough space between the top two leaves and the soil so that the leaves don’t get damp when you water the plant.

Tomatoes are really easy to grow in patio pots for food supply gardening, but there are a few things you really need to be careful about. First of all, when you water, no matter how big or little your plant is, try to keep the leaves dry. This will keep your plant as healthy as possible. Second, keep your tomatoes watered faithfully.  They do not like to be drowned, so let the soil dry a bit between watering.  However, in the hottest part of the summer it is hard to over water a tomato plant in a pot. They dry out very rapidly. In July when the plant is really setting on tomatoes, I usually had to water my tomatoes in pots twice a day.

Do not forget to put a cage around your tomato plant growing in a pot. The tomatoes are so much easier to care for when the tomatoes are growing upright. Plus your tomato plant will be healthier with good circulation around the leaves and fruits.

Okay, you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned taking the suckers off the tomato plants. Well, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t  and I really haven’t noticed any difference in output. Some folks swear by it, and I do occasionally in an absent minded way when I am working with the tomato plants. I suppose taking off the suckers, will allow for more air circulation and decrease water and nutrition needs for the plant. I must say though, that I am not just adamant about getting it done. If I get the plants watered and the ripe tomatoes picked, I have done my job.

If you are having trouble with the plants setting blooms, in other words you get blooms but no fruit; you may have a couple of different issue going on. One of the biggest may be the lack of bees or pollinators in your area.  if you think this might be an issue, take a cotton swab and rub each tomato blossom gently with it. This will answer the pollination issue. Temperature may also be your problem. If it is too cool at night your blooms will not set.

I do fertilize my tomatoes with vermiculture or worm castings, and I also add a bit of Epsom salt for the magnesium.  I feed my worms lots of egg shell so there is plenty of calcium available. Do not add more than a healthy sprinkle of the Epsom salt or it will disturb the calcium up take of the tomato. It sounds more complicated than it really is. Here is a link to an article about the use of Epsom salts and gardening to help you decide about whether to use it or not:

There is nothing on this earth like the taste of a fresh, sun ripened tomato. It is so worth any work that you put into growing in patio pots for food supply gardening, and the best part is you know exactly what has been put into or onto your food.  So go get a nice patio pot and a tomato plant and give it a try. You are going to love the results

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Raising Worms to Make Natural Fertilizer for Food Supply Gardening Part 2

Posted on May 8, 2011 by celticozarkian

As promised last week, here is raising worms to make natural fertilizer for food supply gardening part 2.

This is part two of raising worms to make natural fertilizer. We talked about choosing a worm bin and bedding material. Now we are going to get into putting your bin together. Chose a spot for your worm bin that will maintain a comfortable temperature and be convenient for you to check your worms daily, at least until you get good at maintaining the correct moisture level.

The next big step is finding your worms. I found a worm grower in my area so I just picked up my worms at a lawn and garden show in town. Surf the net and see if there are any local growers available and get your worms locally if that is an option. I love to buy locally when I can. However, there are several reputable mail order places to get red wigglers.

Getting the correct worms is absolutely essential. As I have noted before, worms are fussy little critters. Different worms eat different food stuffs and live in different environments. You cannot teach worms you dig out of the yard to eat garbage. They will just die in these bins. You absolutely must have Eisenia foetida. The common name for these worms is red wiggler. Once you have found your worm supplier, it is time to get your bin ready.

Your bedding will need to be moist. Your worms breathe through their skin and this can only be accomplished if it is moist. They will have a small amount of mucous on their skin that also aides in locomotion. I use newspaper for bedding and keep it moist enough that you can ALMOST wring water out of it. I put the shredded paper in my bin and using a spray bottle, I mist the paper with water. I turn it frequently and keep misting until it is the right amount of moisture.

I then add a bag of lettuce that I get on sale at the store because it is getting old. That is perfect, because you are going to let it pretty well soft and even soupy before you add your worms.  Dig a hole in your damp bedding about 2 inches deep and put your lettuce in there and then cover it with more damp newspaper.

The ideal situation is to get your bin ready and then order your worms. By the time they arrive, the food will be ready to eat. Worms have no teeth but do have a gizzard. Because of this the food needs to be fairly well decomposed before the worms can eat. That is why I start my bins with aging lettuce. They will also eat the cellulose in the newspaper.  I also add a handful of cornmeal for the worm’s gizzard. As you add the crushed egg shells, the cornmeal will not be needed.

You can feed you worms any fruit or vegetable matter. Meat and animal products will smell in your bin as they decompose, so never feed these to the worms. Egg shells are the exception. I usually throw my shells (from boiled eggs) in a bag and then crush them up finely. This will add calcium to your bin and help neutralize any acid from acidic fruits such as tomatoes or citrus fruits. Left over coffee grounds and tea bags can also be thrown in. Coffee filters are fine to throw in the bin, but be sure to remove any staples from the tea bag.

You will want to be sure you do not add too many acidic scrapes. The pH of your bin needs to be between 6 and 8 to keep the worms happy. I never put my tomato canning scrapes, pineapple or more that an occasional lemon slice in the bin. That all needs to go to the outside compost bin with the leaves and grass clippings.

That is all there is to it. Keep the lid on, but slightly askew to allow for good air exchange. If your bin gets too damp, leave the lid off for a bit to let the bedding dry out and then turn it a bit to re-moisturize the top layer.

I start feeding my worms at one end of the bin and gradually work the food to the other end over the course of six months or so. As the worms turn all the food into vermicompost, it can be removed a little at a time and then put on the garden. As the worms grown and reproduce you will be able to start another bin if you want, or give the extra worms away.

To harvest your vermicompost bin at one time, simply empty the bin on a large piece of plastic in a well lit area. The worms will crawl deeper into the vermicompost to get away from the light. Harvest the compost gently from the top, and let the worms crawl deeper into the compost again. There are harvesting screens available or you can build your own for not much money that you can use instead of doing this step. This is just an easy method that worked for me. I then return the worms and about the last ¼ of the original compost that they are hiding in to a cleaned out bin that has new moist bedding in it.

Here is a fun link to read while you are waiting for your book to arrive. I hope you give raising worms a try. It really is easy and fun. And the fertilizer is fantastic!

This is part two of raising worms to make natural fertilizer. We talked about choosing a worm bin and bedding material. Now we are going to get into putting your bin together. Chose a spot for your worm bin that will maintain a comfortable temperature and be convenient for you to check your worms daily, at least until you get good at maintaining the correct moisture level.

The next big step is finding your worms. I found a worm grower in my area so I just picked up my worms at a lawn and garden show in town. Surf the net and see if there are any local growers available and get your worms locally if that is an option. I love to buy locally when I can. However, there are several reputable mail order places to get red wigglers.

Getting the correct worms is absolutely essential. As I have noted before, worms are fussy little critters. Different worms eat different food stuffs and live in different environments. You cannot teach worms you dig out of the yard to eat garbage. They will just die in these bins. You absolutely must have Eisenia foetida. The common name for these worms is red wiggler. Once you have found your worm supplier, it is time to get your bin ready.

Your bedding will need to be moist. Your worms breathe through their skin and this can only be accomplished if it is moist. They will have a small amount of mucous on their skin that also aides in locomotion. I use newspaper for bedding and keep it moist enough that you can ALMOST wring water out of it. I put the shredded paper in my bin and using a spray bottle, I mist the paper with water. I turn it frequently and keep misting until it is the right amount of moisture.

I then add a bag of lettuce that I get on sale at the store because it is getting old. That is perfect, because you are going to let it pretty well soft and even soupy before you add your worms. Dig a hole in your damp bedding about 2 inches deep and put your lettuce in there and then cover it with more damp newspaper.

The ideal situation is to get your bin ready and then order your worms. By the time they arrive, the food will be ready to eat. Worms have no teeth but do have a gizzard. Because of this the food needs to be fairly well decomposed before the worms can eat. That is why I start my bins with aging lettuce. They will also eat the cellulose in the newspaper. I also add a handful of cornmeal for the worm’s gizzard. As you add the crushed egg shells, the cornmeal will not be needed.

You can feed you worms any fruit or vegetable matter. Meat and animal products will smell in your bin as they decompose, so never feed these to the worms. Egg shells are the exception. I usually throw my shells (from boiled eggs) in a bag and then crush them up finely. This will add calcium to your bin and help neutralize any acid from acidic fruits such as tomatoes or citrus fruits. Left over coffee grounds and tea bags can also be thrown in. Coffee filters are fine to throw in the bin, but be sure to remove any staples from the tea bag.

You will want to be sure you do not add too many acidic scrapes. The pH of your bin needs to be between 6 and 8 to keep the worms happy. I never put my tomato canning scrapes, pineapple or more that an occasional lemon slice in the bin. That all needs to go to the outside compost bin with the leaves and grass clippings.

That is all there is to it. Keep the lid on, but slightly askew to allow for good air exchange. If your bin gets too damp, leave the lid off for a bit to let the bedding dry out and then turn it a bit to re-moisturize the top layer.

I start feeding my worms at one end of the bin and gradually work the food to the other end over the course of six months or so. As the worms turn all the food into vermicompost, it can be removed a little at a time and then put on the garden. As the worms grown and reproduce you will be able to start another bin if you want, or give the extra worms away.

To harvest your vermicompost bin at one time, simply empty the bin on a large piece of plastic in a well lit area. The worms will crawl deeper into the vermicompost to get away from the light. Harvest the compost gently from the top, and let the worms crawl deeper into the compost again. There are harvesting screens available or you can build your own for not much money that you can use instead of doing this step. This is just an easy method that worked for me. I then return the worms and about the last ¼ of the original compost that they are hiding in to a cleaned out bin that has new moist bedding in it.

Here is a fun link to read while you are waiting for your book to arrive. I hope you give raising worms a try. It really is easy and fun. And the fertilizer is fantastic!

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