photo credit: net_efekt

Cover crops can be particularly important if you have a small garden or weed problems. I have a terrible problem with crab grass so I’m hoping that by planting fava beans I will be reducing the growth of the crab grass because the fava beans will grow up and compete for light. If you have a small garden like I do you can never get too many organic fertilizers. I make compost for my garden, but I don’t have a lot of time or money to spend collecting or buy soil additives for my garden. A “green manure” crops enrich the soil in a similar way to animal manures.

If you have the time and the space I would highly recommend keeping some small animals to produce manure for your garden. Rabbits or chickens can be good sources of manure. Even if you just have a child with a small animal pet like a guinea pig or a hamster you can add that bedding to your compost pile. However, if you are like me and live in an apartment or don’t have the time to commit to keeping animals, green manure crops are a great option for improving your soil.

photo credit: lobo235

Saturday was one of those rare sunny days here in Eugene, a perfect day for planting peas. Back in the day, by which I mean when I was running the community garden at my tiny college in Ohio, Saint Patrick’s Day was the favored day for planting peas. Here in Eugene I’m still experimenting to find the ideal time to plant peas.I was reading the Seed Ambassadors planting calendar for the Southern Willamette Valley last week and was excited to see the peas could be seeded here even in early February.  Last year I didn’t get started in my yardshare garden until April, but the first thing I planted was peas and they were one of my most successful crops. So Saturday I spent the afternoon hoeing down the tiny weeds that had started and planted a whole bed of peas. Peas are one of my favorite vegetables and definitely worth planting because they are expensive in the stores and tastiest when eaten fresh from the garden! So here are a few tips for getting started when planting peas:

1. Always coat your pea seeds with inoculant. Peas, beans, and other legumes form a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the soil that helps them get the nitrogen they need to grow. They can only do this if there is a nice community of rhizobial bacteria already living in the soil. The inoculant is a black powder made of these live beneficial bacteria. Before planting your peas get them a bit wet and then roll them around in the powder to coat them.

2. Plant your peas close together. Unlike many garden vegetables that have trouble growing if planted too close together, I have never had problems with planting peas too closely. I plant tall peas in a double row on either side of whatever structure I’m planning to let them climb, about one inch apart. I don’t worry too much about spacing the seeds exactly and they always seem to do fine. Dwarf peas I plant in blocks of four rows, each only a few inches apart. This way the little pea plants grab onto each other and help hold each other up. This also makes it more difficult for weeds to grow in between them.

3. Don’t thin your peas. Peas don’t like to have their roots disturbed and pulling out the tiny seedlings weakens the roots of all the seedlings next to them.

4. Put the climbing structure for your peas up at the same time you plant. Again, tiny pea seedlings don’t like it when their roots are disturbed. If you wait until the peas have sprouted to add something for them to climb on you will risk killing some of your tiny seeds.

5. Protect your seedlings from hungry animals. If you have ever gone to a fancy Asian fusion restaurant you know that pea sprouts are very very tasty! Peas are one of the plants that birds, squirrels, and other animals seem to love to munch on. Once your pea seedlings are a bit bigger they toughen up and there is less chance that a hungry animal will come by and eat them all up. A bit of netting or floating row cover will protect your tiny treasures.

Anyone else have tips or tricks for growing peas? Last year I had good luck growing the snow pea “Oregon Sugar Pod II” and the snap pea “Sugar Sprint” but “Sugar Daddy” didn’t come up very thickly. Any favorite varieties?

I’m waiting for March and warmer temperatures before planting my patio garden. When it’s warm enough I will begin planting culinary herbs, greens, and edible flowers. I’m also putting in an application for a community garden plot. The community garden plot will be where I grow the majority of our vegetable for the year. Here in Eugene, there is a lottery for community garden spaces, so wish me luck.

photo credit: tillwe

I’m still getting my patio garden set up and arranged, but one of the first things I bought to plant was some herbs. Herbs make me happy. They are beautiful, they like to grow in pots, and they then I don’t spend a bunch of money when I need some fresh herbs for cooking. I don’t know about you but I always feel like it’s such a waste to buy fresh herbs from the store. A small bunch of herbs costs $1-$1.50. I use a few springs and then the rest rots in my fridge, it’s such a waste. A small herb plant only costs $2-3 dollars and you can continue to pick sprigs off it almost year round here in Eugene.

Here are a few of my favorite perennial herbs for a patio…

The picture above is Thyme, which, like many Mediterranean herbs likes hot, dry conditions. Below are kitchen sage, oregano, and rosemary. All these herbs would enjoy a nice spot next to a sunny, warm wall.

Although these are shown planted individually, you can also plant herbs in large pots mixed with other herbs and flowers. I like to grow a tall herb with a trailing flower like nasturtiums or a trailing herb like thyme with an upright flower like geranium or marigolds.

photo credit: The County Clerk

photo credit: yashima

photo credit: ceejayoz

Technorati Tags: edible landscaping, Growing Herbs, kitchen garden, kitchen herbs, Patio Gardening, Small Garden Design

photo credit: dawnzy58

Many people think of fall as the time to put your garden to bed or take a break from gardening, but fall is a great time to get a head start on your spring garden. Part of sustainable landscaping is planning your garden work so that it is personally sustainable for you. Getting a jump on your landscaping in the fall will save you a bunch of time in the spring when you will have more gardening tasks than time to do them.

If you want a winter vegetable garden, it might be kind of late, depending on your location. In many mild climates winter vegetables are planted in August and September for harvesting during the winter. I’m planting on a few winter greens on my patio, especially fast growing ones like mustard, chard, various chinese greens, and my favorite – arugula.

Things to plant now for your sustainable landscape:

• Bulbs – Tulips, daffodils, irises, crocuses. Bulbs can provide interest in your garden when other things aren’t blooming. Plant under trees or around roses.
• Garlic, onions, shallots – You can plant garlic, onions, and shallots in the spring, but you will get larger harvests next summer if you start them now.
• Shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs – Lots of nurseries are having sales right now, so it’s a good time to find deals on shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs. Just make sure that you have time to get your new babies settled in their beds before a hard frost. Planting in the fall allows plants to get their roots settled and growing a little over the fall and winter and get a jump-start on the spring.
• Covercrops – Leaving your garden beds bare all winter exposes your valuable soil to erosion. The last thing you want is for your topsoil to wash away. Cover crops help add nutrients to your soil as well as holding it in place throughout winter rains and snows.

Technorati Tags: bulbs, cover crops, fall gardening, Organic Vegetable Gardening

Technorati Tags: Organic Vegetable Gardening, vegetable gardening, victory gardens

Amaranth is an easy to grow summer annual. In fact, in many parts of the country members of the genus grow as weeds as the name “pig weed” indicates. I wouldn’t recommend trying to grow it to harvest the seeds unless you have an exceptionally large garden, but the greens and flowers could both be pleasant additions to the home garden.

Technorati Tags: greens, growing amaranth, Organic Flowers, Organic Vegetable Gardening