Summer-themed posts

Here is a post with links to articles we've written that are relevant to this time of year. Happy Gardening!

Planting a fall and winter garden: Most home gardeners have one major planting in the spring and once these plants reach maturity and die, that's it for the season. By planting succession crops it's possible to increase the yield of your garden considerably. It can seem counterintuitive to start seedlings in the heat of summer for fall and winter crops but seeds need time to germinate before they can be transplanted out into one's larger garden area. Also, having just celebrated the Summer Solstice, each day reduces in length and by September this can have a marked impact on how much growth each plant puts on in a day. Follow this link for many tips on planting a fall and winter garden.

Transplanting Beet Seedlings: A few years ago, we discovered that beet seedlings transplant quite readily. Your nursery soil must be quite loose (so the beet roots don't get damaged when you dig them up) and you need to prep the receiving soil also to minimize transplant shock. This saves seed, and room in the germination process as you only transplant the viable seedlings.

Saving Tomato Seeds: Though for many of us in the northern hemisphere, in early July most tomatoes are only just beginning to ripen, here's a DIY guide to saving seeds for next year's plants. All you need is a half-gallon mason jar (or something similar) some cheese cloth to keep fruit flies from proliferating and a place to dry them out of direct sun and safe from mice (who love to eat the seeds!). Note: this only works with non-hybrid/open-pollinated/heirloom varieties of tomatoes.

Saving pea seeds - a low tech method to prevent 'pea weevil' damage: Pea seeds are very easy to save; most varieties (all?) will 'grow-true' (not cross-pollinate with other pea varieties grown nearby at the same time). The only tricky part is that in many regions pea seeds are susceptible to infestation of pea weevils which can make your pea seeds unable to germinate. Here's a low-tech method to prevent pea weevil damage that we have had great success with.

Tips for Maintaining a Well-Stocked Pantry: We understand that not everyone who follows our blog has garden-space or the ability to apply our gardening tips so here's a post for everyone! Whether your goal is to weather the next short (or long-term) power outage in your area, you want to stock up to hedge against rising food prices in anticipation of crop-losses due to fertilizer and water-shortages and other stresses on our food systems, or you'd just like to be able to open your cupboards and have some variety to choose from without having to go shopping so frequently, this post is for you!

A little farmer/gardener humor:  "Mama don't let your babies grow up to be farmers..." 

A Moneyless life: Living in the Gift Economy:
In 2015 Jo Nemeth left her job, closed her bank account and said goodbye to the last of her money. Eleven years later, Jo lives a healthy, fulfilling life while dramatically reducing her personal ecological impact. In this 16-min. video, she shares her journey from terrifying climate grief to a place of purpose and contribution. "Truly inspiring on so many levels!"

 

Love from Llyn and Chris and the Sharing Gardens (Image by Mike Brunt: https://www.secretlifeofseeds.com/)

Local food: Grow your own beans and grains

It's time to be planting grains and beans in our area (Willamette Valley, Oregon USA, USDA Zone 7b). Every year we grow a yellow corn and a blue corn, two kinds of sorghum and amaranth; all of which we dry down, hand-process and grind for use in cereal and baking. We also grow lots of Scarlet Runner beans (pictured left) and kidney beans to be dried and used for cooking throughout the year. Here are links to show you our methods. 

Grow Your Own 'Blue Corn' Blue corn is higher in protein than yellow corn and it makes a delicious, sweet addition to your hot-cereal mix or baking recipes - Crumb-Free, Whole-Grain Cornbread Recipe . Here is info on growing and processing this heirloom grain, native to north America.

Corn bread made from a combination of blue and yellow corn we grew ourselves.

 Grow Your Own Protein - Scarlet Runner Beans: If you're interested in growing your own beans for winter-storage, this is a great variety to choose. Because the beans are so large, they are easy to process in the fall after you harvest them. They DO need trellising but adapt well to growing on a teepee, giving you a beautiful and fun, shady hide-out through the summer. If picked young, the beans and pods are even edible!

Shelling dried Scarlet Runner Beans is a favorite activity in the fall....

 

Grow your own Sorghum for grain and flour: Sorghum is a relatively easy grain to grow and process on a small to medium scale. It doesn't require heavy-feeding/fertilizer nor lots of water. We grow two varieties, BaYeKi, short-season, short height, less sweet; ideal for chicken feed but also fine for human consumption. And Kassaby, tall, long-season (often needs trellising to prevent lodging); it has a sweet, wonderful flavor. Canes can be used for making syrup (but you have to choose either syrup or grain; you can't have both).

 

Kassaby sorghum being laid out to dry before being removed from stalks.

Most seed-saving doesn't happen till the fall but, if you want to save seeds from your crops, here are some things to be thinking of as you plant your crops in the spring:  Basic Seed-Saving on a Small Scale. Happy Growing!
 

Image credit: Seed abundance! Mike Brunt

Seeds of Abundance - early spring garden Links

Good day to you all. Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (USDA zone 7b) spring planting has begun! Since we have large hoop-houses, we are able to start some cool-weather-loving crops even in January (see below) but for most folks, even with greenhouses, seed-starting doesn't usually begin until some time in February. This post contains links to info you may find useful in your own gardens at this time of year. Happy spring planting! (Image: Llyn Peabody "Radiance")

Organic solution to slugs: Here in western Oregon, slugs and snails can have a devastating effect on early spring plantings. Interestingly, the native Banana slug is a composter and only eats dead material but several species of non-natives prefer live foods. Iron phosphate is considered safe by organic standards. Effectively, it constipates the gastropods, interrupting their reproductive cycle. To read more:  Organic solution to slugs

Coffee Grounds and Wood Ash for Soil Fertility: At the Sharing Gardens, we have weaned ourselves off commercial fertilizers and other soil amendments. In our search for readily available additives to the composted leaves and grass that make up the majority of our soil's fertility, we have found that wood ash in particular, has really helped to keep our soil's mineral-content high. And, since we heat our home with wood, it's an abundant and free resource. Here's a post about using wood ash (and coffee grounds too).  Coffee Grounds and Wood Ash for Soil Fertility  (Image: Digging in wood-ash to our raised beds)

Why sunflowers are so great for bees: We all know that many species of bees are in trouble; both the imported honey bees and the diverse native varieties. In fact many other pollinating insects are also showing steep declines worldwide. They need all the help they can get! Researchers have found that there is a specific ingredient in sunflower pollen that acts as a boost to bees' immune systems. Growing sunflowers is great for birds too as their seeds come ripe in the fall when birds need to store up on a diet high in protein and fats for migration and winter health. Why sunflowers are so great for bees

Growing Celery from seed: We began growing our own celery many years ago with great success. The seeds are extremely slow to germinate but once established, a celery crop can be harvested multiple times (cut and 'come again') This feature extends this highly nutritious food with diverse uses well into the following early spring. The crop we have now (early March) is now on its third harvest and we're still cooking it into soups and juicing it fresh. Growing Celery from seed (Image: Chris and Donn take a celery snack-break mid-summer)

Growing Kale from seed: Kale and collard greens are the two most nutrient-dense foods (per calorie) available! Kale is easy to grow, can be harvested over and over again and fall-crops will often winter-over providing fresh greens during the early spring 'hunger gap' (a traditional term for the time when storage crops may be running low). When kissed by a touch of frost, the plants increase in sweetness and tenderness and, as they begin to flower in their second year, this 'raab' (pronounced "rob") is even more packed with nutrition than the leaves alone! No-Fail Kale: The Powerful Health-Benefits of Kale and How to Grow It (Image: Bella loves kale!) 

Planting techniques we use: Over the years we've developed different techniques for germinating seeds. Here are a few...

Planting seedlings in raised beds (for later transplanting): For crops that can germinate in cool soil, and that transplant easily, such as lettuce, cabbage, kale and beets, this method works very well. We plant dense lines of the seeds directly in our raised beds (see image at right). It's easier to maintain temperature and moisture-levels more consistently than by some other methods. When the seedlings are large enough to transplant well (and before their roots get too entangled or deeply established) we gently tease them out of the bed and transplant them into pots, egg-cartons (see below) or into their permanent growing spaces in other beds. (Note, this only works if you have very loose soil). Planting seedlings in raised beds 

Planting lettuce in egg cartons: Whether we start our lettuce seeds in raised beds (above) or tofu-containers (below) they need an interim planting before they can go into the ground in their permanent spots. Egg cartons work really well for this. They use less soil than plastic 6-packs and, because the egg cartons are biodegradable, the seedlings' roots grow right through them. This makes transplanting them very easy (even for children and inexperienced volunteers) without causing root-damage or transplant shock. Planting lettuce in egg cartons

Starting seedlings in repurposed tofu containers: We try to garden with a minimum of environmental impact so, if we can repurpose things, keeping them out of the waste stream, we're all for it! Being vegetarian, we eat a lot of tofu. For many years, our favorite brand came in plastic tubs (image, right). By drilling holes in the bottom, we can use them to start, and grow-out many varieties of seedlings. The tubs are re-usable and use less soil than small plastic six-packs which extends our use of this precious resource. Starting seedlings in repurposed tofu containers 

Best video on pruning table grapes: Early spring is the time for pruning grapes. For many years we struggled to find a method that was easy to understand and implement, and that had great results. The following post links to a video which is the best, brief explanation for this process that we've found. Best video on pruning table grapes

Why we grow and eat organic food: There's an old saying..."You can pay your farmer or pay your doctor". Eating foods grown without the use of toxic chemicals or genetically engineered seeds just makes sense! But if you need some more evidence-based reasons to increase the amount of organically-grown foods in your diet, this post is jam-packed! Why we grow and eat organic food (Image: all, organically grown at the Sharing Gardens!)

May this spring season be full of abundance and blessings in your life and all those you touch. (Chris and Llyn in front of our first Monroe greenhouse, 2011 - with a spring rainbow)

Abundance through Sharing: Our goal is to teach and demonstrate not only the 'how'  and 'why' of growing healthy food but also to communicate the philosophy that underpins our project. We aim to: 

Follow this LINK to read a brief quote from a Lakota Sioux elder on the importance of 'teaching the children a helping way'.

Winter Garden Tips & Inspiration!

Hello dear friends of the Sharing Gardens and welcome to our February Digest with timely "How To" articles on: Growing Peas, Onions, Kale, Milkweeds and other Winter Crops from Seed and Grape Pruning. (Image, left: Llyn Peabody 2020).

And, even if you're not so interested in gardening topics, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for links to "An Amazing Synchronicity!" and a short video about the connection between 'sharing' and the 'experience of abundance'. Both are very inspiring and thought-provoking!

The back of our house, workshop, Oz-greenhouse and garden shed.

Here is our latest new post on Starting Early Spring Crops from Seed (lettuce, kale, cabbage etc) (but wait a bit on broccoli and chard because if they're kissed with frost they have a tendency to 'bolt' - got to seed). In it we offer step-by-step instructions using our method of starting seeds in re-purposed tofu-containers with holes drilled in their bottoms (left) inside a grow-tunnel or greenhouse.

We've also been having a lot of success starting seedlings directly in the raised-beds of our greenhouses (left). Read here about our methods.

PEAS: There's just nothing to compare with the delicious sweetness and crunch of edible-pod peas. Many years ago we discovered a method to get a head-start on pea-planting. Read this post to learn how: Valentines Day - Time for Pea Planting!

ONIONS: Some years we have better success than others in growing onions. With gardening, there are always so many variables so, what works one year, may not work the next! Here are posts that outline the methods that have yielded the best results over many seasons:

Onions - Growing from Seed - Using heat mats and shallow pots

Onions - Growing From Seed - deep pots 

The following article was written in the heart of summer but the first part of the post details onion harvesting and curing so we include it here. Growing Onions from Seed - It takes a Village

Kale is one of the easiest plants to grow in the Pacific NW; it is hardy through the winter and, if mulched and watered sufficiently can even withstand the hottest parts of the summer. Along with Collards it is the most nutrient-dense food per calorie! Unfortunately, it is also one of the most highly pesticided plants as well. Follow the links below to learn:

Why it is so important to only eat organically grown kale: Kale again in the "Dirty Dozen" - 2024  

Excellent info on the nutritional value of Kale and tips on growing it! "The King of Vegetables; 'Kale' to the Chief!" 

One of the pleasures of growing your own food from seeds is to begin to save your own seeds. With most varieties, it's not difficult and the seeds you save yourself will naturally select/adapt to be more perfectly suited to your local climate and conditions. Saving seeds also contributes to having a greater sense of local food-security in case there ever comes a time when seeds are not distributed over long distances, or there is a seed-crop failure in another part of the country. Read here for more tips on Growing Kale and Saving and Storing Kale Seed.

Cathy, Danielle and Llyn with Red Russian kale - a powerhouse of nutrition!

Another important mission of the Sharing Gardens is to provide habitat for the wild species of flora and fauna that call this land 'home'. Though we are at the very farthest northern reaches of the Western Monarch population we have established three perennial patches of Showy Milkweed, the host plant for the Monarch (and sole diet of the Monarch's caterpillars). We've yet to see a Monarch in our yard but there are plenty of other pollinating insects that just love it's sweet nectar. Here's a How-to post for growing milkweed from seed: How to help the Monarch Butterflies - Starting milkweed from seed

Adri and Kaylyn with Showy Milkweed plants

February is grape-pruning time in our area. Below is a link to two resources we've found to be incredibly helpful in learning the proper ways to prune grapes. The post includes both a video and an article with excellent pictures and descriptions to guarantee your success!

In previous years, we had experimented with different methods of pruning. Our theory was: the more fruit spurs we left behind, the more fruit we'd get from them. It can be a bit anxiety-producing to cut off a lot of plant material and reduce your grapes to just two canes and two renewal spurs (for next year's growth)! In truth, by cutting back the plants so radically, you may get fewer bunches but the ones you get will be larger and more filled out and easier to harvest. Click here for The Best video and article (we've found) on Pruning Grapes.

A fraction of our harvest following the cane method of pruning.

And lastly, we read an inspiring article about a woman who has been living without money for ten years. She said:

“I actually feel more secure than I did when I was earning money, because all through human history, true security has always come from living in community and I have time now to build that ‘social currency’. To help people out, care for sick friends or their children, help in their gardens. That’s one of the big benefits of living without money.” (To read the full article, click here: An Amazing Synchronicity! (and a woman who's lived 'money-free' for ten years!)

And, if you've any doubt about the connection between 'sharing' and 'abundance', please enjoy this marvelous, short video by our friend and partner in sharing Nick Routledge:

(In case this newsletter was forwarded by a friend, or you've just stumbled on our website for the first time and you would like to be added to our list to receive future newsletters, send us an email at the Sharing Gardens: shareinjoy AT gmail.com) "Bee" well!  Chris and Llyn

Sharing Gardens Founders and Stewards: Chris and Llyn

Starting lettuce from seed *(re-purposing plastic tofu containers)

Red Iceberg Lettuce - a summer rose!

This post gives generic information for starting cool-weather crops (lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale etc) from seed.

 

Note: Though this was originally written and posted in 2011, and some of our practices have shifted (for example we no longer use rabbit manure - or any animal by-products - in our garden or soil-mix - LINK: Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms) - the core of the information is still accurate and useful so we have republished with minimal editing...

 

Here at the Sharing Gardens (in the Pacific NW) we have several ways of starting seeds. This post is about starting them in a grow-tunnel or greenhouse using re-purposed tofu containers to get them started. (To read about Starting Seedlings Directly in Greenhouse Raised Beds - click here).

We're vegetarians and end up with a lot of these white, plastic, square tofu containers. We've found they make great tubs to start small seedlings. We drill holes in the bottom for drainage and fill with a finely sifted, moist, organic potting mix.

This method presumes you have a greenhouse though it doesn't need to be very big. Seedlings will need sun and protection from wind and severe cold once they have germinated. In 2010, we started everything we needed for three 50 x 50' garden-beds in an 8'x10' greenhouse (below). We just had to time everything so that the first seedlings that were less cold-sensitive (lettuce, peas, cabbage etc.) could be brought outside in time for the hot-weather crops (tomatoes, peppers, melons etc.) to be started inside.

Of course if you have a much larger greenhouse, you can start many more seedlings!

In 2010 we started everything we needed for three 50 x 50' garden-beds in this cozy, little 8'x10' greenhouse. We just had to time everything so that the first seedlings that were less cold-sensitive (lettuce, peas, cabbage etc.) could be brought outside in time for the hot-weather crops (tomatoes, peppers, melons etc.) to be started inside.

First step - Soil: In the early days of the Sharing Gardens we purchased soil by the trailer-load. We chose an organic soil that didn't have any nutrients added, and added an organic fertilizer. We mixed up batches in a wheelbarrow. Later, once we were more established, we began to make our own potting mix but most people don't have that capacity. Just be sure you use 'organic' potting mix from a reliable source.
 

In the early days, we bought organic soil by the trailer-load and added commercially-made fertilizer. Now, we make our own. Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms

Sifting Soil: The key here is that, if your potting mix has large chunks of organic matter, your seedlings will struggle to grow. We sift our soil through a nursery flat with tiny holes to remove all large chunks.

We use a nursery-flat to sift our potting mix. This gets rid of larger chunks of material that would make new seedlings struggle to grow.

Be sure your soil is moist, but not wet. Fill with a good potting mix, using the bottom of another tofu tub to pack the soil firmly and make a flat surface for the seeds. This is important as, if the soil level is uneven you will get varying germination-times for your seedlings. You want them all to come up at once.

Planting seeds: After misting the soil so it is good and damp, we sprinkle the seeds with our finger-tips trying to distribute them evenly and not too thickly. If the are planted too densely, it's hard to tease them apart when you transplant them to larger pots.  

 

Seedlings germinating in re-purposed tofu containers. We try to sprinkle them evenly and not-too densely.

 

Lastly we gently sprinkle a thin lay of cover soil over the seeds and lightly mist to settle the seeds. They must be kept moist but not overly wet or the seeds and starts may rot. Lettuce and brassica seeds germinate best in a cool soil so you shouldn't need to put it on a heat mat or under a lamp to get it to germinate. If you do apply bottom heat, check seedlings frequently so they don't dry out.

 

Chris and Donn transplanting seedlings into tofu containers; six to a 'pot'.

When the seedlings are about 1/2" - 1" (2 cm) high, they are ready for transplanting. We put ours in regular or "jumbo" six-packs, or in the same tofu-containers (six to a container). We use a basic, organic potting soil and add our own fertilizer. To each wheelbarrow of soil we add about two cups of all-purpose organic fertilizer and about a half-gallon of sifted rabbit manure. (Note 2025: We now make our own potting mix from the compost 'harvested' in our greenhouse paths, wood-ash and perlite: Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms). For the Sharing Gardens, where we might grow 1,000 or more lettuce plants per season, transplanting is done in large batches. Being systematic in the nursery will save you time and materials and you will have much better results. Have labels ready so you keep track of the varieties you are transplanting. 

 

Being systematic in the nursery will save you time and materials and you will have much better results.

Fill a flat of six-packs (or tofu containers) with soil and mist them with water. Wet soil is less shocking to transplanted roots than dry. 

 

Adri, filling 6-packs with soil. A fun, relaxing job, at any age!

Using your finger, a stick or some other object, make a generous hole in each of the cells of the six-packs (or whatever you're planting into).

Lettuce seedlings in a tofu container. Using a pen to make holes for transplants.

To remove seedlings for transplanting: Cupping your hand over the whole tofu-tub of seedlings, flip it over and tap the bottom, catching the whole clump of soil and seedlings in your hand. Gently flip it back over and place it on a tray to catch the loose soil as it drops off.

 

From the tray, pull off a clump of seedlings and, holding them by their leaves, tease apart a single plant with its roots. 

 

It is very important that all the roots go down into the soil and are covered. If they stick out from the surface, this is called 'J-rooting' and  will often kill the plants as they dry out too easily. This is why you want to dig a generously-sized hole so the rootlets don't catch on the sides as you lower them in. After pressing the soil in around each seedling, water them in gently to settle the soil. Label the tray and move onto the next.

Transplanting seedlings. Note: Hold seedlings by leaves, not roots or stems.

Depending on warmth and sunlight, and the size of the six-packs you use, your lettuce will be ready to plant in garden beds in six to ten weeks. If you stagger your plantings it will mean your lettuce doesn't all come ripe at once. Ideally you wait until the root ball has filled the six-pack cell enough to hold the soil as you pop it out, without being totally root-bound (roots coming through the bottom of the six-pack).

A variety of seedlings growing in tofu containers; six to a pot.

 A week or two before you transplant into your garden, bring the starts outside and begin "hardening them off". Put them where they will get plenty of sun but not too much wind. They will withstand a light frost but if it is going to get very cold, or doesn't warm up in the day, bring them back into the greenhouse till conditions improve. During this hardening-off period, prepare garden beds so they are ready to receive transplants. In our "deep-mulch/minimal till" gardens, we pull a row of mulch over to the adjacent path (with a pitchfork) and, with a trowel dig a small hole just the size of the lettuce's root-ball. This leaves worm holes intact and lettuce seems to thrive without any roto-tilling needed.

Seedlings "hardening-off".

Here in our area, slugs can be a real problem in the spring. Follow this link for ideas on how to re-use milk cartons or soy-milk containers to thwart off their feasting: Re-Purposing Things. Here is another way to deal with a slug problem: Organic Solution to Slugs - Iron Phosphate. 

Transplanting peas and lettuce

We don't find that additional fertilizing is necessary for lettuce plants. They receive enough nutrients from the soil. But heavy feeders such as broccoli, cabbage or any of the other 'brassicas' would benefit from added compost or some organic fertilizer mixed in at the site you are planting out your seedlings - just don't use too much or the plants will grow quickly and have thin cell walls making them more susceptible to pests.) 

Several weeks after transplanting. Picking individual lettuce leaves for salad.

We hold off on mulching them because we want the sun to warm up and dry out the soil and mulch provides habitat for the slugs. Sometimes, after the lettuce or other seedlings are well established and the soil is warmed up, we mulch with a few inches of grass clippings around our plants. Ideally, let the clippings dry out for a few days on a tarp or in a bin. Fresh clippings, if piled thickly, can heat up considerably and burn your plants.

Chris Burns with beautiful lettuce harvest! 2011

We plant our lettuce spaced about 6" - 8" (12 - 15 cm) apart (brassicas need more room: 18" seems to work well...). We harvest the lettuce intermittently, giving the remaining lettuce room to grow. In the early stages, before the heads are fully formed, we harvest one to three leaves off each plant, rather than clipping whole heads. As the heads become full-size we harvest by cutting them off at the root with a paring knife, leaving the roots in the ground to feed the worms.

 

We hope this post has helped take some of the mystery out of starting spring crops from seed. If you've been interested in learning to save your own seed, lettuce is one of the easier crops to save seeds from. Here's a post we wrote about the process: LINK: How to Save Your Own Lettuce Seed Enjoy!