Loving Nature's Garden

5 Gardening Lessons From Peter Rabbit

Alison Kerr — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:21:46 +0000

Peter Rabbit is that naughty little bunny who likes to steal food from Mr McGregor’s garden.

Peter Rabbit knows a few things about gardening. Here are his gardening lessons.

1. Fresh garden food is delicious. In fact fresh lettuces and radishes are so yummy that you might eat more than is good for you!

2. Remember to plant some herbs. Parsley has medicinal properties and so does camomile. Parsley will counteract the smell of garlic and chamomile is good for nausea and indigestion.

3. Allow space for fruit in your garden. Blackberries, gooseberries and black-currants are all delectable, fresh from the garden. You might need a net to keep the birds off though so you get some for yourself!

4. Basic garden tools don’t go out of style – a rake, a hoe, a watering can, and a wheelbarrow are the essential, and timeless, tools for a gardener. You’ll also need somewhere to keep them.

5. Rabbits are good at sneaking into your garden. Those bunnies will squeeze under fences and gates and take a share of your good food. Chasing rabbits with a rake is ineffective. Peter Rabbit won’t tell you this, but you’re better off using rabbit repellent!

The above Peter Rabbit illustration was taken from the Project Gutenberg eBook of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Here follows the Project Gutenberg license:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net.

Cover Crops – a short guide

Alison Kerr — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:47:29 +0000

Hairy Vetch by homeredwardprice

Don’t leave bare soil in your garden when you could plant a cover crop instead. Here’s why and how.

1. A cover crop is a short-term planting which is used to protect and/or improve your soil rather than for food.

2. Plant your cover crop in the fall rather than leaving bare soil in your vegetable beds.

Alternatively you can mulch with compost.

3. Seeds you can plant for cover cropping include: hairy vetch, common vetch, winter rye, buckwheat, oats, clovers, alfalfa, soybeans and favas.

4. Reasons you want to plant cover include: protecting your soil from erosion; breaking up your soil; adding nitrogen to your soil; and making phosphates available for vegetables you plant later.

If you don’t plant cover or use a layer of weed-free compost on your vegetable beds you will be weeding instead!

5. A cover crop can also be sown in spring or summer – you’re better off watering for a few days to get your cover established than you are weeding later. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there and done that!

Places to get seeds for cover planting: Territorial Seed, Seeds of Change, Gardens Alive.

Sites with more information on cover planting: Organic Gardening Solutions, Cornell Gardening, Oregon State.

Have you tried this? What was your experience?

Are You Willing to Make Your Own Grass Greener?

Alison Kerr — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:49:38 +0000

Been a Long Day Walking by David Masters

What if you could live anywhere you like? Wouldn’t you choose somewhere with a job you love and great schools?

Or maybe you’d want fabulous places to hike and explore nature – mountains, parks, and beaches. Or the best place to grow the flowers and vegetables you dream of.

Making the Choice to Stay Put

The reality is that many of us do have a huge amount of choice about where we live. And you know what they say, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”

But what if by staying put and making your own grass greener you could help to save the planet and the very things you really care about? What if growing your own sense of place in your garden is the the key to solving the environmental crisis?

“When the American poet Gary Snyder was once asked to discuss at length how individuals could best help resolve the environmental crisis, he responded with two words: ‘Stay put.’ Only by rediscovering a sense of place, he suggested, a commitment to a particular piece of ground, will we be able to redefine our relationship to the planet.”

Shadows in the Sun, Wade Davis, Island Press, 1998

“Make Your Own Grass Greener”

Is the epidemic of garden spraying and land despoiling really about lacking a sense of belonging and a sense of place? Could it be that simple? When you stop and notice a bug crawling by and learn the name of a native plant which feeds a butterfly do you feel a sense of connection?

Are you willing to stay put and “make your own grass greener”, or do you have fresh pastures in your sights, somewhere which just seems better, less spoiled, with more opportunities, maybe even with a community more tuned in to gardening, nature, or the environment? Are there things you love about your own little place which you share with your kids, friends, and family?

What are you doing to grow your connection to where you live? Do you feel a sense of place? Is your little bit of ground something you care deeply about? Would you like to care more?

Why You Want to Add a Birdfeeder to Your Garden

Alison Kerr — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:12:33 +0000

New Bird Feeder by ahisgett

If you haven’t already got at least one bird feeder in your nature garden you’re going to want to add one. Here is why.

It’s Easy

Hanging a bird feeder in your garden is one of the easiest ways to get started with nature gardening.

You don’t need to know precisely which kind of birds live near you, and you don’t need to understand native plants and how to care for them (at least not yet).

It’s Pleasurable

Birds are such a joy to watch. I’ve heard so many stories of elderly folks who practically lived for the joy of watching little feathered visitors outside their window. Maybe you remember too The Birdman of Alcatraz?

Somehow birds have magic which can touch even violent and troubled souls; there’s no doubt that watching birds is a pleasurable and calming hobby. And it’s a great for all ages from infancy up.

It’s Inexpensive

While a good quality, sturdy, squirrel-proof bird feeder can easily cost more than $50, it’s not expensive to get started. You can make a bird feeder from a milk carton or orange juice carton. And when you compare the cost of feeding a few garden birds with the cost of keeping a caged bird, or other pet, complete with vet bills, it’s a really affordable choice.

It’s Educational

Garden birds are the ultimate mini science teachers. They prompt questions in everything from ecology, through nutrition, to physiology, anatomy, behavioral science, geography, optics, acoustics, and aeronautics.

Kids can learn about what different birds eat, where they live, why they migrate, how they breathe and communicate, why their feathers are shiny, how their skeletons are similar to ours, and why they are important to our gardens.

But… it’s just the beginning

But wouldn’t you be better off planting some native shrubs, trees, or perennials which will feed the birds? Yes, it’s really important that birds have natural sources of insect food and native seeds to eat. Trees such as dogwood and crab apple attract and feed a lot of birds. And hummingbirds will love natives such as cardinal flowers. Shifting to greener, organic gardening practices will also leave un-sprayed insects for the birds to enjoy.

All the same, I recommend you mix feeding the birds with gradually adding natives to your garden. Feeders bring birds close in where you can see them from your window. I find that exciting and motivating and it makes me want to do more and more for our beautiful feathered friends. Perhaps you feel the same way?

Next week I’m going to share about Wild Birds Unlimited stores and why you want to visit one.

5 Tips to Designing a Successful Rain Garden

Alison Kerr — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:55:05 +0000

Alison's Rain Garden - August 2010

My own rain garden is thriving, and the hummingbird has been back to visit.

Today I’m sharing with you top rain garden design tips from authors Helen Kraus & Anne Spafford who inspired me to get digging.

I hope they will inspire you to start planning your own rain garden.

Location

Location, location, location! Be sure to site the rain garden where it will catch the most rain.

Take time to study how water flows across your yard in a rain storm. The lowest point on your property is not ideal (unless the ground continues sloping down to your neighbor)—you want to capture the water before it gets to that spot. It is difficult to dig there and expect it to magically drain.

Best Plants for a Rain Garden

Keep in mind that a rain garden will flood for short periods after a rain storm. It also can tolerate long dry periods. The best plants for a rain garden are those that thrive in both moisture extremes.

Rain Garden Style

A rain garden is exactly that—a garden. Whatever style resonates with you (naturalistic, informal, formal) it can be achieved in a rain garden just as it can in any garden. In addition to being beautiful and the envy of your neighbors, rain gardens also have the critical function of capturing and filtering storm water, one of the leading causes of water pollution.

Key to Creating a Filter Bed

The filter bed is the factory of the rain garden. The key to creating the best filter bed is to amend your native soil with compost. Whether you have sandy soil or clayey soil, compost is the ingredient that improves water retention (of sandy soil), water infiltration (of clayey soil) and brings in microbes (those little critters that help break down many pollutants). Moreover, compost provides nutrients that help plants grow and thrive.

If all you do is add sand and/or rock to your filter bed, you aren’t bringing in the bio component. Plants—especially our natives—will not grow well in that media. Additionally, clay plus sand does not improve drainage—that’s actually a good recipe for a brick!

A Four Season Rain Garden

A well-designed rain garden can have four seasons of interest—flowers, fruit, fall color, winter color. Just like any other garden, it can have additional functions (although not for vegetable-growing, which requires steady watering). So if you want to create a rain garden that attracts butterflies, you can!

Bio note: Dr. Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford teach horticulture at North Carolina State University. They are the authors of the award-winning book, Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed Gardens for Droughts, Deluges & Everything in Between (Eno Publishers).

For more information, see my review of Rain Gardening in the South, or visit Eno Publishers. This article originally appeared at Dailypress.com.

Nature Mom Brings Out the Best

Alison Kerr — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:57:12 +0000

“There has never been a more important time for our children to understand their connection with nature and to learn how to protect the Earth. Indeed their very survival, along with that of every other creature around us, depends on it.” Alison Kerr, 2010

Do you remember wild outdoor adventures you played as a kid? Children today spend more time playing indoors than at any time in the whole of human history. And it is not good for them. What you do in your garden is really important to the next generation.

America’s Great Outdoors

On April 16th, 2010 President Barack Obama signed a memorandum establishing the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. It was a landmark move in the quest to reconnect kids to nature.

But President Obama’s initiative could be said to be of little consequence to Marghanita Hughes, one of the active adult players in the #playoutdoors movement. Not only does Marghanita live in Canada, but she has been publishing books which connect kids to nature since 2007.

The Little Humbugs

I first met Marghanita online during 2009 under her @littlehumbugs Twitter name. I was new to nature blogging and seeking out connections with others who believe in the power and joy which comes from everyday interaction with wild things in our gardens and communities.

I have to admit that at first I thought the name Little Humbugs was a bit quirky – aren’t humbugs a type of striped hard candy? And, being new to Twitter, I was very wary of being pitched at by marketers. But Marghanita immediately distinguished herself as a generous and supportive mom and artist who really cares. Indeed, I’d say she is an exemplary person.

Many of us grew up believing in the importance of nature and our place in the world. Marghanita Hughes is one of these people. But Marghanita goes far beyond simply admiring nature.

Protectors of Mother Nature

Marghanita blends her love of nature and children, her knowledge of the forest, and her considerable artistic abilities to create her Little Humbugs books, her environmentally conscious soft toys, and her inspiring website and blog.

“We’re the little humbugs, protectors of Mother Nature.” Jasmine and her friends Chloe, Chou, Lucy and Nika are Little Humbugs. They are magical creatures: like you, but with just a little extra. They are Butterfly Girls and Dragonfly Boys and they talk to the animals and birds of the forest; they are the protectors of nature. Through the words and illustrations of Marghanita Hughes they share their stories.

Bringing Out the Best

Often it is the little things that count. Marghanita takes this principle into the production of her products. Little Humbugs chapter books and picture books are printed in Canada on 100% post consumer waste paper (chlorine free and old growth free). They are printed using vegetable based inks. They are bright, engaging, and attractive to kids.

Little Humbugs Dolls come with minimal packaging and are stuffed with 100% recycled content, made from recycled plastic bottles. And Kati, the Canadian Doll, gives back to Monarch conservation in Mexico through Global Releaf.

And Marghanita brings out the best in the people she touches through her own writing and her connections with both kids and adults. Marghanita’s blog is an absolute inspiration, full of gorgeous, but manageable, nature craft ideas, beautiful stories of wild things in Canada, gardening tips, tales of her own family, and well-crafted guest posts from experts in nature, gardening and the outdoors. She is an artist through-and-through.

So, don’t wait, go and visit Marghanita and her Little Humbugs and get inspired to strengthen your connection with nature. You might even rediscover your inner child!

Gardening Patience Brings Rewards

Alison Kerr — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:48:08 +0000

Hummingbird_0001 by striderp64

There is no patience like that of a gardener, unless it’s the patience of a parent.

Both kids and gardens take a long time to truly bloom; there is really no substitute for the time and energy you need to invest to do the job properly.

You’ll Be Rewarded

While your garden, just like your kids, may never end up being precisely the way you first dream of as a new gardener, there will be plenty of rewards along the way.

Story of a Rain Garden

I first heard about rain gardens several years ago. And for the last 11 years I’ve dreamed of seeing a hummingbird in my garden. So, last fall I was out in the garden hauling on ropes and pulling down cedar trees to make space for a rain garden and to let in the sun to plant something for the hummingbirds.

Then today I was out in the garden admiring the red blooms on the Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower), just thinking how neat it would be if a hummingbird flew in, but not expecting to see one, when zoom, in flew the cutest, little, skinny, ruby-throated hummingbird. He looked very like the one pictured above.

Rain Garden - August 2010

Just Right Imperfect

Now, my rain garden doesn’t exactly look picture perfect. It’s not something you’d see on the cover of a gardening magazine.

But my garden was just perfect for that skinny little hummingbird who needed a few nectar-rich, trumpet-shaped, red blooms to feed on.

Do Just One Thing

My friend Carole Brown is a great believer in doing just one thing for wildlife in your garden. These few blooms in my rain garden may not look like much, but to that little hummingbird they may have made all the difference in the world.

Don’t worry about building a massive, beautiful, picture-perfect native flower garden. Do new parents put off feeding their kids until they are perfect parents? I hope not! Don’t be put off by the covers of gardening magazines. It doesn’t matter that you don’t really know what you are doing yet. The butterflies and hummingbirds won’t know the difference, or care. Just be open to adding one or two native plants to your garden. After that you will surely want more!

The most important thing is to be patient with yourself. Start somewhere and little by little you will start to reap the rewards.

How to Plant a Back to School Garden

Alison Kerr — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:24:15 +0000

Have you ever tried summer vegetable planting for a fall harvest? Back to school time is just the time to try this.

It really seems counter intuitive to go out into the summer heat and plant spring, cool season vegetables. But it works! Give it a try. Here’s how.

How to Know What to Grow?

The trick to planting a back to school vegetable garden is two-fold. You need to know the date of your first frost and you need to know how long vegetables take to mature.

Here’s what you need:
1. your web browser;
2. a calendar;
3. a pen (or your keyboard, if you are using a digital calendar).

4 Step Frost Date Calculation

Here’s how you calculate what your frost date means:

Look up your first frost date with the Victory Seed Company state locator.
Mark the first frost date on your calendar (that’s the fall date they give in the chart).
Count back 30 days from your first frost date. Write 30 days in this spot.
Count back 60 days from your first frost date. Write 60 days in this spot.

Now you’re going to learn what you can plant based on these dates.

30 Day Crops (and less)

Many spring vegetables are early to mature, taking around 30 days. These are the same vegetables you want to plant in your back to school garden, at least 30 days before your first fall frost. There is some variation between varieties of the same vegetable. You can get that information on seed packets, or in the catalog you order from.

Radishes take 22-30 days to mature, depending on variety. Shop online from Botanical Interests (just search for radishes) or Generic Seeds.
Greens and mustards - a few of the wild varieties will produce a crop within 30 days. If you are short of time, plant in a container and move them inside before frost hits, or grow greens which can be eaten at the baby stage. Look for arugula, roquette, winter green mixes, salad mixes, and wild kales.

Territorial Seed Company has a fall and winter seed page.

50-60 Day Crops

With 50-60 days before your average fall frost you can grow a wide variety of greens. Some of the root vegetables typically planted in spring will also work in your back to school garden.

Lettuce comes in a wide variety of styles. Most mature in 55 to 60 days. Plant the seeds thickly and you can thin out and eat the yummy extras earlier.
Kales, Chards and Greens – most mature in 50 to 65 days. Look for spinach, oriental greens, such as pak choi and Chinese cabbage, mustards, corn salad, collards, and many varieties of kale. I have found cabbage white caterpillars to be more problematic in the fall than in the spring, so if they are a problem in your area avoid kale and collards.
Root crops, including carrots, beets, and turnips take 50-75 days to mature. Carrot tops and beet tops can be eaten, as well as the roots, making them doubly good. I find carrot tops to be a bit of an acquired taste, but they work well in stews and soup where they add a tart flavor.
Onions can be planted from seed during August. Bunching onions and scallions mature in 50-60 days and are great for soups and salads. Larger onions are planted for overwintering in your garden – you harvest them the following summer.

Whether you want a new outdoor project for your kids, or something to do by yourself when school heads back, a back to school garden could be just the thing.

Do you need more help with planting for a fall harvest? Check out Second Harvest – Organic Gardening.

Good places to look for seeds include local garden centers, Seeds of Change Certified Organic, Territorial fall and winter seed page, Botanical Interests, Generic Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange.

Why You Need a Neighbor Who Grows Potatoes

Alison Kerr — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:32:07 +0000

One of the hardest things about doing something new is understanding what is realistically possible.

Take, for instance, growing potatoes. If I were to hand you a potato and suggest that you grow it how would you know what to expect?

Potato Expert?

Now, if you happen to be a potato growing expert, please do skip down and leave me some great tips. If not, read on.

Of course it needn’t be potato growing you’re new to, it could equally well be tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, butterfly milkwort, oak trees, or hedgehogs.

No Gardener is an Island

I’m sure you get the point. We could all talk until the cows come home about growing wonderful potatoes, but, when it comes right down to it, none of us operates successfully in an experience vacuum. We all like need someone to learn from, or at the least to learn with, and an example of what is possible.

Conducting our own gardening experiments is a certain amount of fun, but it gets ‘old’ right about the time of crop failure. Fortunately most of us are not dependent on the harvest to feed our families. I’m thankful for that at least (you’ll see why in a moment).

2010 Potato Harvest

This beautiful line of potatoes is my 2010 potato harvest. Don’t they look nice?

But wait a minute, those six potatoes are the harvest from one 5 gallon bucket which I spent considerable time nurturing.

Their combined weight is an impressive unimpressive 13 ounces. Which, if I’m lucky, is about 3 times the weight of the original potato which I planted.

Laughable Potatoes

Needless to say, on the day I harvested these potatoes, I was the butt of quite a few jokes at the family dinner table. My son even told me that if we wanted to eat potatoes every day for dinner I’d need 365 buckets next year, which totally put it in perspective.

But the harvest from this single bucket is actually an improvement on the results I got last time I tried my hand at potato growing. Yay, at least I’m going in the right direction!

Learn From My Mistake

So, learn from my mistake. The trouble was, until I dug up those potatoes, I had no clue what I was going to get. I don’t know anyone in my community who grows potatoes and I wasn’t seeing what a really healthy potato plant looks like.

We all benefit from working with others – kids especially learn a lot from other adults in your community. Try it, it’s amazing! Don’t try to operate your gardening in an experience vacuum. As well as reading about gardening, try to connect with neighbors. Share your photos and videos online too. It’s more fun that way.

I think I’m going to have to start a gardening community. What are you growing? What do you think about connecting online and offline?

How to Grow Beautiful Roses Organically

Alison Kerr — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:59:15 +0000

Roses Over the Back Fence by aussigall

There is no denying the beauty of a rose. Do you have roses in your garden?

If you already have roses, or you feel that your garden could not be complete without them, then this post is for you.

If you are more interested in choosing rose plants, I have planned a post all about beautiful native roses. Stay tuned.

Rose Diseases

Roses are vulnerable to surprisingly few diseases. While the diseases don’t kill, they do look unsightly and need to be taken care of if you are to fully enjoy your roses.

The best organic rose disease protection is to choose resistant rose varieties. Beyond that, both pruning and mulching are effective ways to reduce disease. If these are not sufficient, there are some organic control products you can use. The major fungal diseases of roses are:

blackspot – most severe in the eastern United States where the summers are warm and moist
powdery mildew – becomes a problem where summers are cool and dry – particularly common in the coastal areas of the western USA
rust – a major problem in the Pacific Northwest where summers are cool and humid

Both black spot and rust require wet foliage to take hold. Here are some things you can do to help keep your roses healthy, and free of fungal disease:

plant roses in full sun
plant 3 to 4 feet apart
prune to make open centers
avoid wetting the foliage during irrigation

New growth is the most vulnerable. If you need more than the above, take a look at least toxic fungicidal sprays for roses, which contain soaps and either copper or sulfur. Products to take a look at include Soap-Shield Flowable Liquid Copper Fungicide, Shield-All Broad Spectrum Fungicide (made from neem oil), or Sulfur-Guard Fungicide.

Rose Pests

The most common pests of rose plants are aphids and small caterpillars. Japanese beetles can also be problematic (the adults attack flowers and strip off leaves). Some effective forms of control are as follows:

lady bugs and lacewings will keep down the aphid population, but they will not completely rid your garden of aphids – they are fun to watch, and make a great project for kids, even if they’re not 100% effective
soaps such as Plant Guardian Insecticidal Soap are least-toxic spray controls for aphids and caterpillars when they can’t be easily removed by hand
the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is fatal to caterpillars and does not harm other insects (the caterpillar will be affected when it eats the bacterium)
adult Japanese beetles can be removed by hand, or you can use pheromone beetle traps to attract and catch adults – counting the trapped beetles makes for a great science project for kids
juvenile Japanese beetles live as grubs in lawn areas and can be treated with nematodes – a good way to reduce the population

For help in diagnosing rose pests and diseases visit this University of Minnesota extension page. There are some additional rose pests and diseases which may affect your roses – try the Olympia Rose Society pests and diseases page.

It’s worth noting that while pruning is a good treatment against some rose diseases, disease can also be spread through pruning (that last link explains the correct precautions to take).

Organic Fertilizer for Roses

Roses do require some fertilization. You want to avoid quick acting fertilizers which cause a lot of new growth and make your roses vulnerable to fungal disease.

Manure and mushroom compost are good organic fertilizers for your roses – here’s a short explanatory video on how to fertilize your roses with manure. If you don’t fancy using manure, take a look at Roses Alive!, which is an environmentally responsible fertilizer formulated specifically for roses.

I hope these organic rose gardening tips will help you to enjoy your roses and keep them looking beautiful. Do your roses have pest or disease troubles? What have you used to help them?