The Pagan Activist

The Garden Gate:

We would like to introduce to you our regular columist for 'The Garden Gate' - HerbalPagan!

The Pagan Activist

About HerbalPagan:

I have been gardening since I was a teenager, but really got into organic gardening when I had small children to feed. I am a Master Gardener and at one time was a Certified Organic Market Gardener selling at Farmer's Markets and craft shows. I specialize in small fruits and herbs. I also am a crafter and a homesteader, living in western Massachusetts on top of a mountain with my husband and 2 Scotties. Our 5 children and two (and a half) grandchildren visit when they can make it up the long bumpy road to our new home.

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2008:

September

August

July / June / May

September:

Your garden is a treasure trove ! It has all kinds of wonderful gifts for you and it hasn't stopped giving yet. There is still another month of gardening time, if not more for most of us. The tomatoes are starting to turn from green to red, the peppers are growing and the squash and cucumbers are birthing new babies seemingly daily. I've discovered that a Food Saver, vacuum sealer makes "boil-in bags" and makes preserving the abundance of squash very easy. I find that I am running out of fresh dill with all the produce that is being pickled, but you can pick and pick again with Dill, not to mention green beans, squash, cucumber and many other veggies. If you are careful, you can certainly extend your harvest for a month longer than you might expect.

Early this spring, I purchased a couple of "garden blankets" that are poly fiber things I can reuse time and time again. They came to late to be of use this spring, but I plan to try them in the fall, when a light frost can sneak in and steal your garden from you before you are ready. Back in the "old days", I kept a variety of sheets and blankets out in the garden so I could throw them over the plants to keep them growing. If you try this, just make sure that you take them off during the heat of the day. It's been shown that you can snuggle your plants in for the night and have them keep growing even after a temperature drop to 30 deg..

In our house, we are making Dill Bean Pickles, Carrot Pickles, Cucumber Pickles (several kinds), and trying for the first time Pickled Hot Peppers. Of course, we have been able to keep up with the tomato harvest by eating them (fresh tomato sandwiches-YUM), but soon, thoughts will turn to preserving them for sauces and additions to soups for the winter. The blackberries are almost ready, so we will make jam, but I long for the amount of fruit that will let me make Fruit Leathers. I have heard that I can make Tomato Leather to snip and use in salads, soups, dips and many other things, so I think that will be on the list of things to do.

Don't forget that now is a great time to think of the holidays; many people would love to receive a jar of homemade pickles or jam as a gift. We also should never forget our neighbors and coworkers who don't have gardens and would gratefully take any of your veggies that you can't handle. I have also heard that food shelves would love to get your extras, so many of their recipients rely only on canned goods, that when there is fresh veggies donated, they are very welcome!

I had my first harvest from my garden just days before the First Harvest celebration, and I am looking forward to seeing if my last harvest lines up as well. I'm hosting an event for some friends that we are calling "The Harvest Gathering" and one of things we will be doing is making a "Stone Soup"...everyone brings some kind of produce to put in the pot, and it will be a wonderful example of just how easy it is to make a wonderful and nourishing meal from the "dregs" of your garden. Any veg will do, just pop it in the pot and cook it up; use either water or beef/chicken stock as the starting point. A delicious example of how to celebrate with friends, without it costing you a lot.

Since garden season is at it's winding down period, now is the time to start your preparations for next year. I know it sounds like more work, but it actually will result in less work. Keep removing those weeds, as you don't want them to set seeds and lay in your soil over winter. Start gathering leaves and lawn clipping for mulching, and compost the garden refuse and leftovers, so that you can add this to the garden in the spring. I will start working my soil as soon as I am done with a veg. The broccoli is done for me, so I have added some organic amendments and cleaned out any weeds. Instead of letting it sit, I will start dividing my herbs and put the babies in there to over winter. I will put the strawberry babies into the bean bed, and will save on bed for late season veggies, like spinach and lettuce. Next year, I will be planting more of the late season varieties, but this year, I make do with what I have. I'll take the time to weed between the beds and lay down a layer of wood chip mulch to keep the area neat. If you are a person who loves mulch, you can even compost under your mulch! Simply pull back the mulch and add your composting scraps, then return the mulch to the top...it will all decompose under the ,ulch over winter and amend your garden for the spring.

Until next month: keep your hands dirty!

Please note: I welcome any questions or correspondence. I'd love to hear how your garden has grown this year, and if there is anything you would like me to talk about in the column!

August:

It's the "Dog Days of Summer"...which in garden terms means harvesting and nurturing your plants through the hottest time of the year, as well as starting to preserve some of your harvest. This months column will focus on preserving what you harvest. By carefully preserving what you grow, you can still savor the taste of summer into the winter, relishing the fruits of your labor.

I use all methods of preserving; jams, pickling, freezing, canning and drying. When it comes to my herbs, I prefer to dry the herbs because of the space saving it offers. Many of the herbs I have are used for teas and fragrance, so drying is also practical. I like to use my food dehydrator for this, as I can do a lot in a short time. Food dehydrators are available at most Wal-Mart type stores and only cost about $25. A good investment for such a small price. If you don't have one, nor do you plan to get one, then hanging is a good option. To hang your herbs, gather a small bunch of the herb and use an elastic to secure them. Hang from a hook of a towel bar in a dry dark place (closet, attic etc). If your weather is too humid, you might find it takes longer to dry, the herbs may even get moldy in the middle, so keep checking. Many people like to put a paper bag over the bunch to catch leaves or seeds. This method also helps with finding a dark space! So far, our dehydrator has produced dried catnip, chamomile, mint, basil, and spinach.

The spinach will be used for making dips, and for adding to soups in the winter.

One thing I like to do with my cucumbers is to make refrigerator pickles. I simply take my cucumbers and onions and slice them up. I put them in a bowl of white vinegar in the fridge and add a sprig of dill. You can serve these right away, and keep adding cucumbers as time goes on. The vinegar and the cold takes care of any preserving issues, but I recomend changing the whole dish out every three or four weeks.

Got a bumper crop of berries and don't want to make jam? Berries are simple to freeze; just spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until the next day. Then you can bag them in a freezer bag and scoop out your own fresh frozen berries all winter (no sugar needed!). I again put my food dehydrator to use with extra fruit by making my own fruit roll up, also known as fruit "leather". Take your extra berries and puree them in the blender or food processor, these you can leave as is, or strain to reduce the amount of seeds. Put a sheet of plastic wrap on the tray of your dehydrator and pour on the pureed fruit. Turn on the heat and let it dry to a leather like consistency. This can also be done in the over with wax paper using low heat (250 deg). Have fun with this and go on to make dried apples for snacking, dried cranberries or blueberries for muffins or granola.

This year, try making your own dried tomatoes for pesto or pasta dishes. Simply slice and dry in either the oven over low heat or in the dehydrator. Store in freezer bags or jars with a bit of oil and freeze for safety. Many of your local "pick your own" places are up and going now, and you can go pick your own produce if you don't grow enough on your own.

One last thought: it's NOT too late to throw in some seeds and plant a few things. Many gardeners rotate some crops during the year. I have finished with my spinach and will replant in September where I had my broccoli, but for now, I am sticking in some more beans where I had the spinach planted. There is plenty of time to keep growing!

Until next month,

Herbalpagan

July:

Solstice has come and gone, the days are at their longest and gardens a blooming. It's time to add a bit of fertilizer to the plants to sustain them through the summer. I take a little bit of Kelp meal and work it into the soil around the plants. It's easy to do while you are weeding. Weeding, another chore for the garden that everyone dreads, but if you have used a hand cultivator and worked your soil well, then any weeds that wander in will be easy to pull. Weeding is time for you to spend in your garden, getting to know your plants and soil, don't think of it as a hard chore!

This is the time when gardens are usually getting dryer due to the heat and the sun. Don't over water your garden, as it encourages your plants to have shallow roots. When the weather is hot and dry and you absolutely must water, do it first thing in the morning only. Watering in the heat of the day can scorch your plants, and as much of the water you put on evaporates, it's a terrible waste of water! If you water in the evening, it sits on the plants and can create mildew and encourage diseases. I have recycled large tin cans that I got from a school cafeteria to help with watering...take the large cans (#10, I believe) and punch holes in the bottom and up the side about an inch or two. Sink the can into the soil near your plants and fill with compost, then fill to the top with water. This will both feed the plants and water them slowly! Another trick to water that works well, especially for container plants, is to recycle a 2 liter soda bottle. Fill the bottle with and then put it in the soil with the opening down, the water will drip out as the soil needs it!

This hot weather will also have your lettuce and spinach bolting, also known as going to seed. This will make the leaves tougher and more bitter, so pull up any that are bolting and work the soil and plant something else in the spot. I will replant the spinach again in September. The lettuce, I will plant in a shadier spot and keep growing it a little at a time to keep us in salad through the summer.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor at this time, relax in a chair, meditate amongst the flowers and swing in a hammock while the butterflies visit!

June:

Many may already have their garden started, but it's never to late to start if you don't!

I was talking with a friend who wanted to garden, but didn't have the space and he asked what he could do...well, the obvious answer was to grow in pots! You can get planters in all different sizes at most garden centers. I get many of mine on sale at Michaels Craft stores. However, don't limit yourself to just pots! I had an old caned seat chair that had the webbing broken. I removed the rest of the caned stuff, and stapled a piece of window screening (the cloth kind) in the seat and put a fibre pot in it...filled it with soil and planted in it. It lasted for years and was quite the conversation piece! I have also planted in old boots, and recycled items. For a fun touch, plant oregano in a cut open large can used for olive oil or a giant can that held tomatoes. Remember to punch holes in the bottom for drainage and you can plant in practically anything!

With Summer Solstice coming up, a traditional meal would be your fresh garden peas and a salad you grew yourself...both these items are quick growers and can be planted in pots. But with peas, everyone thinks that you need to erect a big fence. I used sticks that were laced together casually and they worked fine, other times, I just let them grow without fencing, and had equally good results. I had an accident when I was planting my salad veg this year. I accidentally left my seed packets in a bucket and it rained. When I picked them up, all the seeds fell out into the bottom of the bucket together. I was very upset, but decided to make a "mystery salad" bed. I made a wide row, smoothed the soil and broadcast all the seeds together over the top and then sprinkled soil over the top. It will be a most interesting section of the garden, but it will be useful! Cutting spinach and lettuce together, while dodging the radishes and carrots will be fun.

Wide rows are another space saving measure...a plant can grow without the "row" spacing; just use the spacing between plants that has been recommended. Your wide row can be any width...mine are 4'. An added bonus is that once the plants are up, they tend to shade out any weeds, so they make gardening much less work. If you are going to plant in pots, the principle is the same, just scatter the seeds the recommended distance apart and let them grow!

Pots can also be moved about, and if you do a ritual for the sabbats that are "fair weather", then you can bring them to your alter and add that earth element in style! Another trick with pots is that they can be arranged into shapes...if you've always wanted an herbal pentacle, then you can do it with pots!

To keep your potted plants watered well, I recycle soda pop bottles. Simply fill with water, and turn them upside down and insert into the soil. You can get fancy inserts for the bottles, or just let it drip naturally.

Be creative and have fun, but most of all - GARDEN!

May:

It's SPRING! The time that all gardeners have waited for (some, not so patiently). This will be the first garden going in at our new place, but the procedure is still the same.

Since this is the first column, I'll start at the beginning and state that there is one thing that all gardeners do, and that is to grow organically! I didn't know the difference when I started growing gardens 25 years ago, so when I picked up a book by Robert Rodale, I was very surprised! Mr. Rodale asked a simple question: If you are going to take the time to grow food for your family so that they can be healthy, then why would you want to poison them in the process? It turns out that along with soil nutrients the plant takes in, they also take in any poisons and chemicals that you use on your garden and pass them on to you in the food you are eating. Well, didn't I feel foolish! I've never used chemicals on my gardens since. There really is no need to either. Healthy gardens are not prone to diseases or insect invasions in general. There are tons of natural means of feeding your plants and treating any random insect with out having to haul in the heavy chemicals. I'll address those more in future articles.

So, it's spring, but it's not planting out time yet for most. For me, here in the frozen tundra, there is still nasty white stuff on the ground. However, I have a nice garden already in the works. I started many of my plants in garden starts and have them under a light shelf that my husband made for me. You don't need a fancy lighting system, but you little plants will need light for a good share of the day and daily turning to make sure they grow straight and healthy. Seed starters are available from any home and garden store and the ones I use have a tray, individual peat disks and a clear cover over the tray. I add warm water to the tray with the discs and wait to watch them plump up. The next step is planting. Then we wait until the "babies" pop up and we take care of them till planting time. Starting your own seeds is much more economical than going to a greenhouse to pick up the plants. Plus you get to choose the varieties you want.

The best part of winter is the gardening catalogs. Most garden catalogs are now available on line, so you need never have a ton of paper delivered to you that you will then need to recycle. Go online to find a seed catalog that suits you. I try to also take a look at the latest issues of my favorite organic gardening magazines before ordering, to get the news on the latest and greatest of varieties. In some places, there are some great seed co-ops that you can take advantage of as well. One thing I have noticed is that more and more companies are listing their organic and non GMO seeds. GMO, is a term for seeds that are genetically altered (genetically mutated organism). Yes, there are genetically altered seeds out there! The idea originally was to help farmers by finding ways to make plants more resistant to diseases and that will grow bigger and produce more. But, honestly, I don't feel the need to have fish genes spliced into my tomatoes. It isn't natural nor is it necessary. So, when it comes to choosing your seeds, take the time to look at the sites available and make your lists. Most gardeners find that they choose way too much and have to cut their list way down. If you do this, congratulations! It's a time honored tradition.

One other thing that I have found helpful when getting ready for the garden season is to make a garden plan. A piece of paper with an outline of your garden plot and where you are going to put things is very helpful. Garden plots should get a minimum or 6 hours of sun daily, and it helps if your rows run north to south for the least shading.

As you envision your garden, envision one more important thing along with it....your compost bin. Composting is a means of taking your garden (and kitchen) waste and turning it into a dark nutrient rich amendment that will feed your plants for years in a healthy, organic way. Composting is easy, simple and since compost is known as "black gold", you can tell it is very valuable to gardens. I'll provide details about maintaining compost bins and the many ways to use compost in future articles.

Enjoy your garden dreams, find your seeds and get those hands dirty!

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