School Garden

Back in October I applied for a $2,000 garden grant from the Whole Kids Foundation. I was just informed that the school received the grant and will receive the funds mid-March. I'm excited to expand on the little garden that exists and to promote healthy living by teaching the children the magic and wonder of gardening.

Here is the existing garden area.

Hardy Hibiscus

 

Hardy hibiscus is a beautiful, tropical-looking perennial that tolerates the cold.  All they ask for is full sun, decent soil, and some pruning at the end of the season. They leaf out very late in spring, so don't think they're dead and give up on them.

Hydroponic Gardens for Small Spaces

1.  This indoor/outdoor hydroponic garden comes from  Zero Mile Farms and is called a Fizzy Farm. It is compact and perfect fro small spaces and beginning gardeners.   When temperatures get too cold, you can attach an energy efficient bulb and move the farm indoors.

2. For the do-it-yourself group, there is a the Eliooo Manual with step-by-step instructions on how to build a hydroponic garden from Ikea products.

3. Modern Sprout offers beautiful and stylish hydroponic boxes that would be great for growing herbs in a window sill.

Micro-Gardening

Great article by NPR about the potential of micro-gardening and, specifically, a product known as Nourishmat. "The Nourishmat makes it easy to grow a lot of food in a 4-foot by 6-foot space by turning a plastic mat into a garden planting guide. The mat comes with seedballs (seeds mixed with clay and worm castings to enrich the soil, and chili powder to keep pests away). To plant, you simply lay out the mat on top of a bed of soil, then stick the seedballs for the 18 different vegetables and herbs in their respective holes." 
The inventor of the Nourishmat estimates that users can grow $200 worth of produce in one season and 25 to 30 pounds of food in a year. The mats can be replanted for three to five years.

Growing Celery

This is my first dip into the realm of celery growing.  I'll be honest, I have always hated celery but a co-worker made me promise to try the home grown stuff. Celery is also part of the dirty dozen, 12 plant foods that consistently test with high levels of pesticide. So if you are going to eat celery, it's a fantastic idea to try the at-home- organic-route.
 I sowed my celery seeds in a seed flat in late February.  I didn't bother to cover the seeds with any soil. Celery generally takes 14-21 days to germinate.  It is recommended that seeds are soaked overnight in warm water because the seed coat releases a germination inhibitor.  But my middle name is lazy so I didn't bother and just sowed the seeds non-soaked.  I watered the flat like crazy and in 20 days I noticed precious little celery babies.  I transplanted the babies into 32's about a month later and, unfortunately the babies are still in the 32's.  I'm not sure how this new growing experience is going to turn out. I  still haven't bothered to stick the celery starts in the ground and it is mid June with temperatures in the 90's.  I'm going to call this a learning experience.  

Planting

•  For the best success rates, celery seeds should  be started indoors around 8 to 10 weeks before the average last frost date for your area.
• In areas with very long growing seasons, seed may be planted directly in the garden and later transplanted at the appropriate spacing.
• It is recommended to soak seeds in warm water overnight prior to planting, to reduce germination time.
• Before planting incorporate 2-4 inches of well-rotted manure, organic matter or compost, and a complete fertilizer (16-16-8) at a rate of 2 lbs per 100 square feet. Work the compost and fertilizer into the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches, then smooth the surface for planting. Celery prefers fertile, well drained, organic sandy soils with lots of organic matter for best growth.
• Harden off seedlings before transplanting by reducing water slightly, and keeping them outdoors for a couple hours a day.
• Transplant seedlings 10 to 12 inches apart, direct sow seeds ¼ inch deep. These will need to be thinned to 12 inches apart when they reach about six inches high.
• Transplants should have 3-4 mature leaves and a well established root system, before they are planted in the garden
• Mulch and water directly after planting.

Care

• Celery is a heavy feeder and requires lots of water.  Make sure to provide plenty of water during the entire growing season, especially during hot, dry weather.
• If celery does not get enough water, the stalks will be dry, and small.
• Add plenty of compost and mulch around the plants to retain moisture.
• Fertilize regularly. Add mulch as needed, to help retain soil moisture and add nutrients.
• Tie growing celery stalks together to keep them from sprawling.

Harvest/Storage

• The parts of celery that are harvested are mainly the stalks.
• Harvest stalks from the outside in. You may begin harvesting when stalks are about 8 inches tall.
• To achieve the light color on the celery stalks, place a light barrier around the stalks like a bottomless waxed milk carton. Make sure the leaves are sticking out of the top to gather energy from the sun.
• Celery can be kept in the garden for up to a month if soil is built up around it to maintain an ideal temperature. Note: Celery will tolerate a light frost, but not consecutive frosts.
• Tip: The darker the stalks become, the more nutrients they will contain. Texture changes with color, dark green stalks will be tougher.
• Keep celery in a plastic bag, in the refrigerator. It should be used within two weeks.

Vintage label from thelabelman.org

Recommended Varieties

• ‘Utah’ good for gardeners with limited space. Will only reach 18 inches tall.
• ‘Alfina’ slender stalks, dark green, quick variety (60 days to maturity)
• ‘Conquistador’ and 'Tango' are tolerant of higher temps and withstand  moisture stress better than other varieties. 

My synopsis: Celery grows sloow from seed.  Wish me luck.  I'm not sure how this is going to turn out.

Goji Berries Gone Wild!

I had never seen, eaten or heard of a goji berry until three years ago, when my husband suggested we venture to the local nursery in the hope of finding a start. As I perused the herb isle there, I surprisingly came across a 4" gojji berry plant (Lycium barbarum).

My husband is a health fanatic and I have come to learn that goji berries are highly nutritious with all that antioxidant potential any popular super- food would expect to boast. Traditional medicine holds many amazing claims about the use of this fruit, one being they are beneficial to the eyes. Modern science says that this particular claim is not entirely without merit, as this amazing super fruit is loaded with carotenoids like zeaxanthin. Another scientific discovery about this fruit is that it is loaded with an interesting precursor to vitamin C which turns into vitamin C once ingested, needless to say, a few supplement manufacturers, always on the lookout for new and novel supplements, have taken interest in this form of vitamin C which is already available for eating in the amazing goji fruit.

Despite what marketers of high priced bags of dried berries might tell you, goji berries don’t grow exclusively in the highlands of Tibet. “Goji” is simply the name given to the highland variety of lycii berry, also called wolfberry. That package of dried berries you might see selling at your local healthy grocer probably came from a lowland variety grown on a farm. The differences between the two edible varieties seem insignificant as far as eating and nutrition is concerned.

As with so many other foods, anyone interested in eating goji berries might also be interested in cultivating the plant. Well, I discovered that are quite easy to grow, a bit too easy, maybe! In some areas they have even gained the reputation as being invasive. Interestingly, the plants I obtained from my local nursery came from a cultivar not halfway around the world, but one happily growing and adapting to the Utah climate for well more than a century, growing not far from the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Willard, Utah. And how in the world did goji berries end up there? The seeds were brought by Chinese immigrants who came to Utah to help build the Transcontinental Railroad in 1881. However, the seeds were not intentionally planted but germinated after being digested by the immigrants.

Did I say easy to grow? Yes. One important thing to know, is that the plants I transplanted were quite delicate for the first few months, goji plants have extensive root systems that need lots of assistance with transplanting. Those poor transplants looked like they were about to die each and every day they didn’t get copious amounts of watering. By the time they were 12 months old, they had completely transitioned from the delicate specimen into a fierce garden competitor. By year two, they were in need of a severe pruning. Well, I chopped them to the ground and they happily came back.
So here's my synopsis: an easy to grow edible that isn't the prettiest plant around, but produces berries that chickens and health connoisseurs enjoy. Only concern I noticed is the bush seems prone to powdery mildew so overhead watering should be avoided. Oh, and I forgot to add that it has sharp thorns!

Here is a mid-summer day’s harvest from one plant we had growing in a container. Because goji bushes have an extensive root system, growing them in a container is not recommended long term. This plant had already outgrown its pot and was later transplanted into the garden.

Inconspicuous purple flowers on a bush that comes back with vigor in the spring after being chopped to the ground in the fall.

Coexisting

Dog, chickens, and vegetable garden coexisting. Sort of. As long as cabbage has a tomato cage protecting her.