Freeze Warning Tonight!

The weathermen are calling for a low of 26 degrees tonight in Northwest Arkansas.  Harvest all summer crops (tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers, etc.) and cover the more fragile fall crops (lettuces, chard, etc.).

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

The garden

Much of the garden is now fallow.  A pending freeze Thursday night will pretty much do away with the summer crops like tomatoes and peppers.

This tomato plant became too heavy for the wire cage to support

This plant was a volunteer Roma from the spot where our compost pile was last year.  We left it in the spot it sprouted in and put a wire cage around it and mulched the base with grass clippings to help keep the grass away from its roots.  This was our largest, healthiest, and most productive tomato plant.  Fusarium wilt affected all of our tomato plants except for this one.  This is a reminder to rotate crops.  Next year, we will not grow tomatoes in the same locations as this year.

Green tomatoes

We've harvested 10-12 reddish tomatoes over the last couple of days.  The pending freeze Thursday night will have us out collecting all tomatoes that we can.  Hopefully they are mature enough to ripen up inside.

The daily bounty from our molting flock

Our chickens have given us 1-2 eggs per day for the last week.  They have been eating a lot more feed over the last several weeks.  They require a lot of energy to replace their feathers.  Their consumption will remain somewhat elevated over the winter as wild forage availability will decrease with cooling temperatures.

Blueberry bush

 Our blueberry bushes had a severe case of leaf spot earlier in the year.  We lost two of the five to it.  The remaining three are flourishing after a few treatments with Serenade.  We've discussed this organic treatment before here and still highly recommend it.

Late season jalapeños 

Rocky Top lettuce

We practice the cut and come method with this lettuce.  We harvest it to 1-2" high and it regrows again quickly without replanting.

The first year apple trees

From leafless sticks to a 3 foot tall, multi-branched trees our two new apple trees have survived Japanese beetles and drought. We treated them with neem oil once a week while the Japanese beetles were arround and that kept them at bay.

Over summered kale

The kale absolutely did not regrow when cooler weather hit as we had hoped it would.  Next year we will pull it as soon as it bolts and plant something else in its spot.

Weather outlook:

-Highs in the mid to upper 60s with a chance of a freeze Thursday night.  Clear with no chance of rain through the week.

-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:

-Green onions

-Lettuce

-Peppers (We will likely harvest everything on Thursday)

-Tomatoes (We will likely harvest everything on Thursday)

-Chard

-Basil, mint, and other herbs (We will likely harvest everything on Thursday)

Weekly Gardening Outlook - Empty Nest Syndrome, Indian Summer, and Transitioning into Fall

We apologize for the brief interruption in egg laying...

Empty nest boxes and feathers strewn about means it's molting season

The girls are not looking their best

See the new feathers growing in on this chicken's chest and throat

The chickens have been molting for the last two weeks.  This is a normal process where the chickens lose and replace their feathers.  It takes a lot of protein and energy to replace the feathers, so unfortunately for us the hen's body shuts down egg production to compensate.  It usually occurs once a year in the fall and lasts for 2-4 months.  Our chickens began their first year of production last December and this is their first molt.  That is 10 full months of production.  Because Black Australorps are known to be prolific layers and the fact that our flock produced for 10 straight months, we are hopeful they will be back into production by mid December.  Our flock of 6 hens has produced 1,500 eggs for us over the last 10 months.  I think they have earned a rest.

Eggs!

Update:  While this post was still under construction, I made my rounds checking on the garden, dogs, and chickens and checked the nest boxes just in case.  Look what I found!  It seems a couple of the girls are coming back into production after two weeks off.  This isn't unheard of as commercial egg laying operations are able to force molt their flocks in two weeks.  We have chosen not to do this though as it requires confinement and starving the birds for an extended period of time.  However our girls are doing it, we are thankful for some eggs!

Indian summer:

A bounty of green tomatoes in late October

Frost, frost, stay away

An unusual warm period is extending the summer crops a few weeks past the average first killing frost date.  As you can see, our tomatoes are loaded with fruit.  With the lowest predicted temperature in the next 10 days at 38 degrees, it looks like we are going to get an unexpected bounty!

Swiss chard, beautiful as always

Lettuce mix is growing well

Pink Beauty radishes are ready to eat

The Serrano peppers haven't handled the cooler weather well

The jalapeño peppers are doing a little better 

The bean pods saved for seed are drying out

The green onions are winding down

Prepping for fall gardening:

Trellises put away for winter

Being prepped for fall gardening

It's getting to be time to either put your summer garden to bed for the winter or begin making preparations for fall gardening.  I recently helped a customer harvest their sweet potatoes (look for a post on that soon).  While I was there, we removed the trellises, cleaned up the garden, and built a straw bale cold frame (also look for a post on that soon). They are going to grow kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, and turnips in the cold frame.

Weather outlook:

-Wild temperature swings from a high of 63 degrees today to a high of 81 degrees on Thursday.  It has been raining today and there is a good chance of rain as we approach the weekend.

-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:

-Radishes

-Lettuce

-Peppers

-Tomatoes (Loaded with full sized fruit.  We are closely watching the overnight low temperatures)

-Chard

-Basil, mint, and other herbs (enjoying them while they last)

Celeriac

Celeriac in early June

Celeriac in August

Celeriac is a variety of celery that produces large, flavorful roots and much smaller stalks than traditional celery.  We grew it for the first time this year and it grew without special attention and was free of pest issues.  During the growing season, we used the foliage in place of parsley and it added a nice flavor to our recipes.

We started from seed inside in late February (8 weeks before the last frost).  We planted them outside in mid-May.  The only peculiarity of celeriac is that it is biennial.  So if it's planted outside too early and experiences several cold nights in a row, it can be tricked into thinking it has gone through a summer/winter cycle and is now in year two.  In year two, biennials put energy into flowering instead of root growth.  Try to plant it late enough in the season to avoid multiple sub-50 degree nights and you should do well.  Keep it well watered and somewhat weed free.

Celeriac in September, nearing harvest time

 Celeriac appreciates cold nights, but because much of the root is above ground, it should be harvested before a killing frost (28 degrees).  Harvest by pulling the root, cutting off the greenery, and shaking off excess dirt.

Harvested celeriac root

We dried our celeriac for easy addition to soups and other recipes.  Other storage options include blanching (as described below) and then freezing or you can store the whole root in a root cellar environment (~55 degrees and dry).

Dehydrating Celeriac:

Partially peeled celeriac root

Shredding peeled celeriac root 

• Peel the root, removing all of the brown skin
• Shred the root
• Blanch in boiling water for 4 minutes and then immediately immerse in ice water to stop the cooking
• Dry in a dehydrator on its lowest temperature setting (ours was 95 degrees) until the pieces readily break into two pieces when bent
• Grind into powder and store in an airtight container for later use

Blanching celeriac root with ice water waiting

In the dehydrator before drying

In the dehydrator after drying

Grinding dried celeriac into powder

Workshop Notes: Extending Home Vegetable Production Beyond Summer

We attended a workshop last weekend to learn more about fall/winter gardening.  It was put on by the Fayetteville Community Garden Coalition, in conjunction with Ozark Alternatives and The Blackberry Farm Community Garden.

Here are some highlights:

Cold Frames:


Cold frames are semipermanent enclosures that trap solar energy during the day and retain it at night as outside temperatures drop.  This allows the gardening season to be extended late into the fall and begin earlier in the Spring.  On frosty nights, a few hours before sundown, close them allowing heat to become trapped inside.  On very cold days, they can stay closed all day long.  On warm, sunny days the temperature inside can rise too too high.  On these days, open the cold frame to allow the heat to escape.

Straw bale and glass door cold frame

A simple, cheap, and effective cold frame can be built from a recycled glass door, six bales of straw, and a stick.  Simply form a rectangle around the bed with bales of straw to serve as insulated walls of the cold frame.  Elevate the bales on the north side of the frame about 18" to achieve a 35 degree slant towards the south.  Place the glass door on top of the bales of straw to form a transparent roof.  The weight of the door will hold it in place.  The stick is used to prop the roof of the cold frame open when necessary.  During expected freezes, stuff straw into any cracks to seal out cold.  The bales absorb moisture and will decompose over time requiring replacement.  On the bright side, they provide the backyard gardener with a source of compostable material.  Do not use hay in place of straw.  Hay generally contains a lot of weed seeds and you will spend several years battling them.

Total cost of door (free) + straw ($4 a bale) + stick (free) = about $25.00

Wire and plastic cold frame

This cold frame design is built from 2x8" boards, concrete reinforcing wire, and greenhouse grade sheet plastic.  Simply cut one board in half, forming the 4' long ends.  Screw the boards together to form a 4'x8' box.  Make a arching roof out of the wire, making sure that the maximum height of the roof is no more than 2' tall.  Remove any sharp edges on the wire that could snag the plastic sheeting.  Cut two sheets of plastic wide enough to cover about 2/3 of the roof as measured from the ground.  Cut these sheets long enough to leave 4' of plastic on each end.  Tack the long edge of a sheet to the board on one of the long sides of the cold frame.  Repeat this with the other sheet on the other side.  Cut three strips of plastic 2' wide and long enough to go all the way over the arch of the roof.  Leave enough extra length on the ends to provide for tacking it down.  These strips are folded twice lengthwise to give a three sheet thick, 8" strip.  Put these strips over the larger plastic sheets at each end and the middle of the cold frame and tack it down tightly at both ends.  The larger plastic sheets can now be adjusted as needed.

Total cost of three 2"x8"x8' boards ($15) + wire ($15) + plastic ($10) = $40.00

Low tunnel covered with thin, perforated plastic

Framework for a low tunnel

A temporary low tunnel can be built over rows (or beds) to provide frost protection.  It is not well suited to small, backyard gardens because it is somewhat labor intensive to cover a small stretch.  If you have 100' rows to cover, it would be a good option.

Every 4-5' on each side, pound 2' long pieces of reinforcement bar into the soil at an inward angle.  Make a cross support for the tunnel by placing a piece of flexible underground piping over the reinforcement bar.  Stretch the perforated plastic over the framework and secure it by weighting the edges down with 5' pieces of 1/2" reinforcement bar.  The speaker emphasized using 1/2" instead of 3/8" because the increase in weight really helps hold the plastic down in a wind.

Cut up an old piece of garden hose into 3" sections and split them on one side.  Put two of these on each support bar over the plastic and hold them in place with a piece of baling or electric fence wire poked through the plastic.

Cost depends on length of rows.

Tips and Tricks:

• A cold frame should never be higher than 2 feet tall inside or any heat trapped will rise too high to be of any use in warming the plants and soil
• In the northern hemisphere during the winter, the sun travels low in the sky to the south.  When building your cold frame, angle the transparent roof (if possible) to be perpendicular to the sun.  In Northwest Arkansas, the winter sun's angle is about 55 degrees, so build the cold frame such that the roof is tilted towards the south at about 35 degrees when closed.
• Any foliage physically touching the cold frame's exterior plastic or glass during a freeze will turn black and die.
• Wet the soil just before a frost/freeze.  Hydrated plants handle it better and the moisture helps conduct warmth from the subsoil.
• Place dark colored jugs that are filled with water into the cold frame.  They will absorb heat during the day and radiate it back out during the night.  This can make a difference of a few degrees.
• On cold windy nights where it gets into the mid 20's, throw an old blanket over your cold frames to provide extra insulation.
• On nights where it gets into the low 20's or colder, a supplemental heat source will be needed if you wish to continue gardening.  A 100 watt incandescent light bulb, a can of Sterno, or even an electric heater can be used.  Use all caution where fire and electricity are involved.

Vole Trap:

Vole trap

Entrance to the vole trap

Have you ever had a pepper plant wither and die for no apparent reason?  A fruit tree not leaf out in the Spring when it had looked fine going into the fall?  You may have a vole problem.  These small, mouse-like creatures love to eat the roots of pepper plants (and other plants) and during the winter, they will even eat roots and the bark from trees.  One of the speakers showed us this simple, nontoxic vole trap that he claims is very effective.

Construct a wooden box about the size of a shoe box with a removable top.  Cut a small (~1 inch) hole in the side at the very bottom.  Put the box in your garden with a snap-type mouse trap inside.  Bait it with small pieces of cut sweet potato.  That's it.  Pretty simple.  The voles like warm, dry environments like the wooden box and the box will keep your children or dogs from getting caught in the snap trap.

Various Other Notes:

• Green beans will grow in soil that is too cold for it to germinate in.  So, in early Spring, start them inside and plant outdoors after the last killing frost.  A good time to put them into the garden for Northwest Arkansas would be the middle of April.  This will gain us almost a full month of growing season.
• Asparagus, with its 15' deep root system, can withstand high levels of salt once it is established.  Because of this, salt can be used as a weed inhibitor in your asparagus beds.

Time to Plant Garlic

Garlic cloves removed from the bulb for planting

It's time to get the garlic planted for next season.  It's quick and easy to do and the weather is perfect for being outside.  Here's a link to everything you need to know:

http://www.backyardfreshfoods.com/2010/06/garlic.html

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section.

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

Jalapeño and Serrano peppers with a solitary tomato.

Harvested celeriac root ready for blanching and freezing

Maturing green beans

It's officially been fall for almost 2 weeks now. A light frost the last three mornings reminds us that a killing frost (28 degrees) is soon to come.  We harvested all remaining peppers, tomatoes, and celeriac.  The green beans are going to remain on the on the vine to mature into next year's seeds.

Rocky Top lettuce mix (week 4)

Rocky Top lettuce mix (week 4)

Pink Beauty radishes (week 4)

Scotch kale

The lettuce and radishes are lush and beautiful.  Visions of fresh cut salads are dancing in our heads.  It appears the kale revival experiment is not going to be productive.  As seen above, they aren't leafing out as we had hoped and what leaves they have produced are unpalatable.

Weather outlook:

-Beautiful fall weather.  Cold at night; warm and sunny during the day getting up to the low 80's.  Dry with no chance of rain.
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:

-Peppers

-Tomatoes (They are loaded with small, green fruit that are destined to be turned to mush by freezing temperatures)

-Chard
-Celeriac root

-Basil, mint, and other herbs (enjoying them while they last)