The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Lookie who I found, nicely disguised against my green cabbage plant. What the heck?! I had these plants outdoors for only a few hours this week. How did this guy hunt down my plants so quickly?

Research tells me that this is the bloody CABBAGE WORM! And he brought friends--I found three others so far. With nearly 200 cabbage seedlings in the works, this aint a good sign. Cripes. Caterpillars are cute in kids' books, but not so much on my heirloom plants.

OUT YOU GO ... to the birds! Before you're pecked to death, tell your friends to GETOUTTAMYYARD.

In the meantime, I understand that caterpillars loathe white flour. Upon eating it, they bloat and die. So our Cabbages and Brussels will get a flour dusting this week.

It's getting closer to outdoor transplant time ... I have a feeling that insects are soon to become my worst enemy. This means that it's also almost Jerry Baker tonic time. Do you have other natural bug control recommendations? 

The Sun Was Warm But the Wind Was Chill

Geez Louise, it's windy out! I know that wind is important, especially in the Spring--many plants rely on it to disperse their seeds. But wind is tough on vegetable plants, especially on new seedlings, so it's been a challenge to keep my plants healthy this week. The wind has been whipping about, tree branches falling all around, and after seeing my snap peas' twines get ripped from the trellises, I brought them inside.

I know, though, that pea plants love the cool weather, and they need at least 8 hours of sun. Keeping them indoors under a hot grow light wasn't doing them much good in the long run. I'm an admitted over-protective mother to my daughter, and now an effort is on to "toughen her up" ... a little. I want to do the right thing for my pea plants and not coddle them too much early on. So back outdoors they go--but not without a little wind protection. Bubble wrap comes to the rescue again! I placed the pots in a slightly sheltered but sunny area next to the house and created a simple wind shield with the bubble wrap. The wrap is not touching the plants.

I tried taking my more fragile and heat-loving seedlings outside for a while yesterday afternoon, but the wind started to sock them pretty good (they were wilting in less than an hour), so they'll stay snug indoors on their windowsills for another few weeks yet. Or at least until the wind dies down.

Filderkraut Cabbage on the first-floor sun ledge.

Sugar Baby Watermelon on the second-floor sill.

And just for kicks, a lovely pansy in my yard (photo taken by Mackenzie, age 9).

The sun was warm but the wind was chill

You know how it is with an April day

When the sun is out and the wind is still

You're one month on in the middle of May

--Robert Frost

Snappy-Growing Snap Peas

Vining plants amaze me...twining vines even more so. Never is it more evident that plants are *aLiVe*! 

The heirloom Amish Snap Peas seeds that I purchased from Annie's Heirloom Seeds develop into just that: a twining, vining plant, and so I was excited to get them going. I expected a lot, but I tell you, these guys caught me off-guard. They are developing incredibly quickly...I swear I see them growing before my eyes. The photos seen here were taken just 13 days after sowing seeds.

On April 4, I planted the seeds in two large pots. Nighttime temps were still dropping to the low-30s, so the pots were in the house except for the warmest hours of the day. Before taking them outside most days, the tops of the pots got a loose application of bubble wrap. Nine days after sowing, clumps of dirt were being pushed aside by green pea plants. The seeds had germinated. Two days after that, the plants were already reaching about three inches tall, and thin shoots were searching for something, anything to grip onto to get them closer to their almighty god and savior: the Sun.

The plan is for the plants to grow up the metal framing of a canopy that's on my brick patio. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, the pea plants' shoots are working up metal trellises that I placed in the pots just this morning. In fact, within an hour, the shoots seen above were fully gripping the trellis--so fast, it's creepy. It brings to mind Cleopatra, the fast-moving, man-eating plant on The Addams Family. I'll do everything in my power to ensure the health of this plant, but I'm going to watch my back around these fabulously vigorous, snappy-growing snap pea vines.

DAY 24: April 12: Wide Open to the Sun

Look who is growing up big and strong? The cabbage, the Brussels sprouts, and nearly all of the heirloom seeds that we sowed indoors. Given the grey weather, it's been somewhat of a challenge to keep them warm and in good light (sun or grow lamp) each day, but I'd say we're succeeding. Aren't they cute?

They're starting to bump into each other. That, and the fact that some plants are starting to get their true leaves (their second set of leaves), means that they're about ready to be thinned out, or as some say, pricked out. The seedlings will be separated and placed in larger containers so they have room to better develop their roots in preparation for a final, outdoor transplant in May.

For now, I'm quietly enjoying the sight of them as they soak up the sun. And thank goodness for the sun today.

The windows of my soul I throw

Wide open to the sun 

-- John Greenleaf Whittier

Soil Science: I'm Neutral!

A successful garden needs nutrient-rich soil, not just a pile of dirt. Soil is a combined mixture of dirt, organic matter, and minerals. I could get overly scientific here--soil is complicated--but I won't. I only want to research and document enough to ensure that my own heirloom garden is healthy and fruitful.

It feels pretty terrific to get my hands in the soil this Spring. The stuff is magical. Soil is ever-changing, fertile, alive ... full of air and water and all kinds of natural STUFF. Forget cremation and burial vaults; when I die, I want my body to go straight into the ground so the roots and worms can return me to Mother Nature asap.

Breaking soil down to its most basic components:

• Texture, or the size of soil particles. Soil with fine particles is known as sand, and on the other end of the spectrum is clay. Good soil texture should fall somewhere within the two. A good test for texture is to take a handful of soil and gently squeeze it. It should clump together. Upon squeezing harder, it should break apart easily.


• Fertility, or the level of mineral nutrients in the soil. The three primary nutrients used by plants are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Funky things happen to plants that don't get a balance of these nutrients.


• pH, or the measure of  acidity or alkalinity. This is probably the most important of the properties. Below is a generic pH scale. Plants typically grow fine at a level of about 6-7 pH, but some plants can be picky. Incorrect pH level can retard a plant's nutrient uptake, so if pH levels falls to the extreme, either way on the scale, hang up your overalls this season. Your soil will need some serious amending.

Upon investigating my soil, I feel confident that the texture is fine. I had successfully grown shrubs in this bed, so the mineral content is likely pretty good. But what about the pH? I know that I have to get this right for growing veggies. Thankfully, the Easter Bunny came to my aid this year with a digital pH reader in my basket.

It seemed like a perfect science experiment to bring my 4th Grader in on, so we both put on some garden gloves and spent late afternoon outside.

 Testing Our Soil's pH Level

1. We pushed aside the top few inches from our first planting bed and collected about two cups of the soil below, digging to a depth of 4-6 inches. We sifted the soil to remove rocks and debris.

2. We poured a little more than a cup of distilled water into the collected soil and stirred to create a nice, thick mud. (My gal loved this part, and wanted to make mud pies for dinner.)

3. We polished the pH Meter's probe, per manufacturer's instruction, pressed the "on" button, and gently pushed it into the mud, holding for 60 seconds. 7.0 pH. Repeated Step 3 in a separate spot in the mud. 7.0 pH.

  

A measurement of 7.0 pH means that my soil in this bed is smack-dab NEUTRAL, falling in the high end of the general range for positive plant growth. This is the bed in which I plan to cultivate heirloom tomatoes, though, and tomatoes do better with a lower pH level, more in the 6-6.5 range. 

Based on this reading, I'll do some amending, starting with some rich compost from my neighbor's yard and pine needle mulch gathered from my mother's mid-Michigan property. Both are said to lower soil pH. My other two main planting beds will be tested next.

I may decide to test the nutrients in my soil as well. Many states and universities offer soil tests for sale. You get the test kit, follow the proper instructions for gathering a soil sample, and send it to their lab for research. It takes a few weeks to get results. Michigan State University's Extension program offers kits for $20. You'll find more info here: http://www.css.msu.edu/SPNL/Faq.cfm. 

Sources:

Davis, Ph.D., Jessica, "How to Lower Your Soil pH," Organic Gardening, http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/how-lower-your-soil-ph.

"Gardening in Michigan," Michigan State University Extension, http://migarden.msu.edu/migarden/soil.

Iannotti, Marie, "Amending Your Garden Soil - Making Good Soil Out of Bad," http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/a/Amending_Soil.htm.

James, Russ, "Tomato Growing Tips," http://tomato-tips.com/soil-ph-how-to-correct-soil-ph-in-garden-soil.html.

"What Is Soil?" National Conservation Resources Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

http://soils.usda.gov/education/facts/soil.html.

Time to Make the Beds

"The best fertilizer for a piece of land is the footprints of its owner." -- Lyndon B. Johnson

More heirloom seedlings are up and smiling. Currently growing are Filderkraut Cabbage, Red Rock Cabbage, Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts, and (just yesterday) my beloved Lacinato Kale.

The time for transplanting to the great outdoors is coming, and there's a lot of prep work to do. The next two weeks will be all about the soil: Digging into it, testing it, weeding it, and amending it. In addition to containers, I have three main planting areas that I'll focus on this year: BED 1, along the south side of the house; BED 2, along the south side of the garage; and BED 3, along the east side, or back, of the garage (the crude drawing is not to scale, but I will use this basic sketch to start noting plant locations).

In previous years, the only area that I used for edibles was BED 1, along the south side of the house. You'd think that this area would be the easiest to prep, but I was silly to plant invasive bamboo here a few years ago, and these tough guys, along with an overgrown butterfly bush and spreading annual grasses, will make for some backache...and that's just not acceptable on a Monday. So I started with BED 2, the area along the south side of the garage.

The area is nearly a blank slate. About 10 years ago, I planted a neat row of Goldflame Spirea shrubs, but not only have they grown to a not-so-neat state, they do nothing for the vertical space here. It's interesting to note how much larger and healthier the plants are close to the gutter downspout--it's clear that the bushes farther away from it did not get enough water. Before the heirlooms go in, a better irrigation system will be installed.

I dug out all but one out of the Spirea shrubs. I figure that the one adds some visual interest, and, from the front side of the garage, this Spirea has always looked great. Once the garden plans come together, though, it may have to come out as well. While digging, I noticed lots of worms here...that's a good sign.

The bed will be widened yet, and I'll need some stepping stones so the little grass that's in my yard stays put. I'll create a framed-in mesh netting, which will run vertically right up into the roof eaves. This will allow the plants to grow up, not so much out.

The plan for plants in this space (BED 2): tomatoes, for sure, and likely peppers, since the two both thrive in the same soil type. What kind of soil is here, I currently do not know--that is my next task, and one (hopefully) made easy by the handy dandy digital soil test kit brought to me yesterday by the Easter Bunny.

Digging into .. the History of Cabbage

In honor of the Filderkraut Cabbage being the first of my heirloom seeds to sprout, I decided to look into the history of cabbage ... where the plant originated, and how it got to my region of the world. 

I love cabbage. I'm Polish, and so, of course, kapusta was a regular on my dinner plate growing up--it's an undeniable great partner to pork or kielbasa, and it is delicious stuffed in delicate pierogi dough or piled high on top of a Ball Park frank. About the time when my Filderkraut and Red varieties are ready for harvest, I'll share some favorite recipes.

Cabbage, a member of the Brassica family, has been identified as one of the oldest known vegetables. Stories of ancient mythology have cabbages springing from the tears of Lycurgus, King of the Edonians. Egyptian pharoahs reportedly ate large quantities of cabbage before nights of partying, believing that the vegetable would prevent the ill effects of consuming mass amounts of alcohol.

Cabbage was also loved by both the Greeks and Romans, who used it not only as a food source but for medicinal purposes. Cato the Elder, Roman general and author, praised cabbage for its medicinal properties, declaring: "It is the cabbage that surpasses all other vegetables." He believed that there were great health benefits from bathing in the urine from a person who eats cabbage. Roman philosopher and naturalist Pliny the Elder recommended the juice of the raw cabbage combined with honey for sore and inflamed eyes, among other ailments. People from many cultures have used cabbage leaves to soothe and heal--they have been wrapped around sore throats and placed over swollen breasts of nursing mothers.

Nutritionists praise cabbage for its nutritional value. It is low in calories and high in vitamins--as such, it has become a dieter's dream (remember the Cabbage Soup Diet of the 1980s?). Cabbage is high in vitamin C, iron, and calcium. It has anti-inflammatory properties, has been used to treat ulcers and digestive issues, and is even believed to fight against cancer.

Early cabbage plants were not as we know them today, but were weedy and spindly, more like kale, which is in the same family (as are broccoli and Brussels sprouts). Today's cabbage forms a head, which is the edible part of the plant--it is believed that European farmers developed this adapted version during the Middle Ages. Cabbage was brought to North America in the mid-1500s by Jacques Cartier, and the first written record of it in the United States was from 1669. As it is a cold crop, cabbage is grown primarily in the northern and coastal regions of the United States and Canada.

I chose two varieties of cabbage for my inaugural heirloom garden:  Filderkraut Cabbage and Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage. Filderkraut, also known as Spitzkohl, is an ancient German heirloom that grows in an impressive cone shape, and per Annie's Heirloom Seeds, makes for the best tasting sauerkraut. It's one of the sweetest of cabbages and is supposed to be easy to grate. I plan to use the Mammoth Red Rock, a variety introduced in 1889, in mixed green salads and coleslaw, in its fresh form to best enjoy its crisp texture and sweet flavor.

Sources:

"Cabbage," Gardenology.com, http://www.gardenology.org/wiki/Cabbage.

"Cabbage," Herbs that Heal,  http://herbalsimples.com/cabbage.htm.

"Cabbage: Cabbage History, Cabbage Facts & Cabbage Recipes," http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART_II/food_history_and_facts/cabbage.html.

"Cabbage Quotes," http://www.foodreference.com/html/qcabbage.html.

Cheney, Garnett, "Rapid Healing of Peptic Ulcers in Patients Recieving Fresh Cabbage Juice," Western Journal of Medicine, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1643665/?tool=pmcentrez.

Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge, "Cabbage Lore and Legend," http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodlore/a/cabbagelore.htm.

"Nutritional Value of Cabbage," Livestrong.com, http://www.livestrong.com/article/243474-nutritional-value-of-cabbage/.

Salloum, Habeeb. "Cabbage: One of the Most Nutritious Vegetables," Countryside & Small Small Stock Journal, http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/91/91-4/Habeeb_Salloum.html.