Something had me thinking the other day about why I write this blog and what I love to do... I also reflected on how it is now beginning to become winter and what I could write of the few plants I have around, cacti and succulents, certainly not meant to be the topic of this blog, nevertheless included.
I thought it would be highly worthwhile for myself and reader to also include the lifestyle of the Old Fashioned Entheo-Horticulturalist; other activities and facets of their life. Therefore I have decided to branch this blog out toward an array of related avenues. In the following weeks I will begin to include writing on wild crafting, gardening and farming techniques, the history of agriculture (in various ways and periods), self-sustainability, and eventually other things as closely related as wilderness survival, building simple wooden items, nature reflection in regards to philosophers like Emerson and Thureau, politics effecting the natural world and tying them in our lives as growers, gardeners, and outdoors folk.
The blog will continue to be a bastion for personal experience with plants, cultivation, and their wonderful gifts. Although I have included material not directly related to North America and Great Lakes culture, I will eventually move that direction as I gain more experience and research. Until then I will continue to be a bit more open and broad regarding my posts, but have that theme in the back of my mind.
Soon I will introduce my webshop as well. This online trading post will be an excellent source for aspiring gardeners or seasoned growers to acquire organic well documented seeds of a variety of types, but almost all focusing on North America and the Great Lakes environemnent. This will include medicinal plants, entheogens, beauty plants, and all of the odd balls in between. Prices will be incredibly fair and selection will grow as seeds are gathered, documented, and made ready. In addition the store will also offer special varieties of seeds that can be included for free in orders with the hope of helping to promote research of a particular lesser documented specimen. Finally, I recognize that there is a demand for some dried herbs, live plants, and such and I will begin working on making these available as well. All seeds will come from one of my three organic gardens or have been wildcrafted with consideration for the environment. A small portion will be of gifts from trusted and responsible members of the horticulture community and will be noted as such. The blog will maintain its roots and only link to and notify of new arrivels in the webshop, otherwise posts will continue in the fashion they have began.
I hope this serves as an excellent transition into what this blog is becoming. I look forward to more feedback and hopefully some new readers and new friends. If you have any questions please leave a comment and how I can reach you. I am working on establishing an email address for this blog soon that can be used to contact for private questions, concerns, or potentail trades which I always invite.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Lettuce - Easy to Grow and Worth so Much More
High in folic acid and vitamin C lettuce or Lactuca sativa is a well known addition to many conventional meals. It seems to be falling out of favor and that is a shame considering its health benefits, how easy it is to grow, and how expensive it is store bought.
Lettuce can come in many different cultivars as seen in the photo above. Seeds are relatively cheap and come with generous portions of the particular lettuce one is aiming to grow. I have always had luck throwing a handful of seeds in to a small tray with a humidity lid on it. The soil I use for this particular plant is just regular potting soil. The seeds germinate almost within a day or two. Following the specific instructions on the seed packet will usually warrant success.
Even though lettuce is a relatively easy plant to cultivate I have run into some problems and it will need some work and attention. The main issue will be lettuces disliking of high heat and light. Lettuce prefers a bit more shaded location than direct light and really suffers in intense heat. Although this makes it seem like a good idea to water more than usual, it is best to stick with suggested watering techniques. To help the problem before it starts study how the sun hits specific sections of your garden or landscape and note those that have a nice protected area during the time the sun is its strongest in early to mid afternoon.
Another maintenance issue rather than a problem is to harvest the lettuce and continually cut back. Lettuce is stimulated in its growth when cut back, after all this is how the gardener gets their harvest! It is old wisdom to cut the outside leaves first, they are usually the ones that get larger first and to cut low to the ground with a clean quick cut. A dirty cutting utensil or a relaxed pull can cause disease or unnecessary stress to the plant.
Have you realized how expensive lettuce is in supermarkets? The average price per bag of ready to go salad lettuce is about $4-6. This is not factoring the cost of organic lettuces. For someone who eats lettuce regularly in their diet or has a family to feed this can be quite expensive and last only for a short period of time. That is why growing lettuce, even if just for the summer months can save so much money. Besides nothing beats the taste of fresh picked lettuce, washed and placed into a bowl with ones favorite veggies, mushrooms, and dressing. Go out and pick a variety of lettuce seed up. Set out a plot and fill some pots. They take up so little room and offer such a great reward.
Lettuce can come in many different cultivars as seen in the photo above. Seeds are relatively cheap and come with generous portions of the particular lettuce one is aiming to grow. I have always had luck throwing a handful of seeds in to a small tray with a humidity lid on it. The soil I use for this particular plant is just regular potting soil. The seeds germinate almost within a day or two. Following the specific instructions on the seed packet will usually warrant success.
Even though lettuce is a relatively easy plant to cultivate I have run into some problems and it will need some work and attention. The main issue will be lettuces disliking of high heat and light. Lettuce prefers a bit more shaded location than direct light and really suffers in intense heat. Although this makes it seem like a good idea to water more than usual, it is best to stick with suggested watering techniques. To help the problem before it starts study how the sun hits specific sections of your garden or landscape and note those that have a nice protected area during the time the sun is its strongest in early to mid afternoon.
Another maintenance issue rather than a problem is to harvest the lettuce and continually cut back. Lettuce is stimulated in its growth when cut back, after all this is how the gardener gets their harvest! It is old wisdom to cut the outside leaves first, they are usually the ones that get larger first and to cut low to the ground with a clean quick cut. A dirty cutting utensil or a relaxed pull can cause disease or unnecessary stress to the plant.
Have you realized how expensive lettuce is in supermarkets? The average price per bag of ready to go salad lettuce is about $4-6. This is not factoring the cost of organic lettuces. For someone who eats lettuce regularly in their diet or has a family to feed this can be quite expensive and last only for a short period of time. That is why growing lettuce, even if just for the summer months can save so much money. Besides nothing beats the taste of fresh picked lettuce, washed and placed into a bowl with ones favorite veggies, mushrooms, and dressing. Go out and pick a variety of lettuce seed up. Set out a plot and fill some pots. They take up so little room and offer such a great reward.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wonderful Christmas Gift: Heirloom Variety Seed
I was just first exposed to the wondrous possibilities of heirloom variety vegetables, herbs, and flowers only several months ago. Sure, I had heard of them but had never the opportunity to pick them up. I have actually been able to collect a small handful for my online shop which will be up and running in January and feature such heirlooms as scarlet runner beans, calabash gourd, Amish paw-paw, Kazakh lettuce greens , and so on. These will be available in small numbers only just as I collected them.
Growing heirloom varieties offer the gardener or horticulturist the opportunity to grow a plant that seems to be something straight out of history. Many of the varieties of tomato, pepper, and pumpkin available from the Amish or local greenhouse has not seen the shelves of a market or superstore in generations. This is due to the American shift in agriculture towards selects strains and varieties of fruits and vegetables only. This is due to these certain abilities to hold well being picked mechanically, holding well to particular temperature, surviving shipment, and so on. But certainly, because certain varieties were chosen over others for these abilities does not mean that they are better for one, health wise and anyone who has had experience with heirloom varieties knows where the taste is at! The other wonder from growing these seeds is collecting them after the harvest, showing off your wonderfully exotic and unknown plants to the world. Do not forget that heirlooms exist of cuttings from fruit trees and berry bushes. Imagine growing a cutting from an old farmhouse of the American Civil War, untouched for generations.
Although heirloom varieties may be a bit more expensive and take a little hunting to find, their purchase is far more of a better investment for us small scale farmers, horticulturalists, and gardeners. There are all sorts of heirloom varieties for all sorts of zones, color combinations, and needs for space restrictions.
Growing heirloom varieties offer the gardener or horticulturist the opportunity to grow a plant that seems to be something straight out of history. Many of the varieties of tomato, pepper, and pumpkin available from the Amish or local greenhouse has not seen the shelves of a market or superstore in generations. This is due to the American shift in agriculture towards selects strains and varieties of fruits and vegetables only. This is due to these certain abilities to hold well being picked mechanically, holding well to particular temperature, surviving shipment, and so on. But certainly, because certain varieties were chosen over others for these abilities does not mean that they are better for one, health wise and anyone who has had experience with heirloom varieties knows where the taste is at! The other wonder from growing these seeds is collecting them after the harvest, showing off your wonderfully exotic and unknown plants to the world. Do not forget that heirlooms exist of cuttings from fruit trees and berry bushes. Imagine growing a cutting from an old farmhouse of the American Civil War, untouched for generations.
Although heirloom varieties may be a bit more expensive and take a little hunting to find, their purchase is far more of a better investment for us small scale farmers, horticulturalists, and gardeners. There are all sorts of heirloom varieties for all sorts of zones, color combinations, and needs for space restrictions.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Getting the Most out of Morning Glory Growth
From my experience, morning glories have been a plant that is just as frustrating and disappointing as much as they are wonderful and rewarding. The particular morning glories I am speaking of are strictly those of the Ipomoea genus as those are the only ones that I have growing experience with. When writing about getting the most out of these I am referring to their growing potential, for them to become larger plants, take up greater space, produce a greater number of flowers, and let a generous amount of seed.
To grow from seed or buy plants?
This is something that I have experimented with several times at several different growing zones in order to find my particular liking and to be honest I was not sure for a bit, but favor growing from seed to buying plants. My first year growing these I purchased 4-5 fully developed Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea tricolor. The former tended to grow more aggressively but outwards, while the latter grew at a slower, but more steady rate and far more upwards and then out. This growth is all in relation to a fence.
These photos are of plants purchased from a local greenhouse for about $8. This is the size they increased to after being in the soil for roughly 3 weeks.
One of the major rules of morning glories is that they do NOT transplant well at all. This is what I realized after this plant was transplanted to the fence more than two months ago and remained at that health and level of growth to the end of the summer.
Sadly this is what most of my purchases looked like. Perhaps I thought it may have been the supplier although this one has been extremely reliable for many other plants. Another greenhouse, of which I bought eight 'Grandpa Ott variety the following season also proved the same as five of the eight died before the start of June while the other three did not start developing until the end of August and early September.
This leads me to the other method of growing, from seed. The best manner in which to do that is to allow the plants from the previous season to reseed themselves as can be seen on these wonderful morning glories.
When growing morning glory from seed is it better to toss seed in the ground and watch them hoping for the best or is it more beneficial to start them off in seed trays and then place them in the ground?
As stated earlier transplanting seems to almost always kill morning glories, especially seedlings. Sowing seed to ground directly is the horticulturalist best bet to have a handful of good size plants. Perhaps one can scratch the seeds with a file and soak them in water overnight. This would allow the germination to speed up.
Here is a small collection of morning glories around a mailbox. Only 6-8 seeds were set in the ground, after the weeds were all removed within the area of the mailbox. If I were able to get to this location more often the weeds would not have taken over. Regardless they still began to take off as seen in the photo.
Once established successfully, there is much lore and often less interest in how to maintain the health of morning glory vines. Often times these are seen as invasive or weed-like so homeowners will fail to water them or fertilize them. As a result of placing mine in rocky locations where little to nothing else grows it was easier to not have to worry about weeds. However because morning glories are grown in full sunlight and should be watered 2-3 times a week there is great potential for weeds. This is why growing them out of a rocky area is preferred and in general has a great aesthetic appeal. The best thing about them though is that they can tolerate a lot of water or a lot of forgetfulness.
Please post any advice, tips, or points with growing morning glories. I know I make them a lot harder to handle than they actually are but I really enjoy growing these and have been gifted a handful of a variety of rare crossbreeds and color combination's. Contact me if you have some of your own or are interested in trading.
To grow from seed or buy plants?
This is something that I have experimented with several times at several different growing zones in order to find my particular liking and to be honest I was not sure for a bit, but favor growing from seed to buying plants. My first year growing these I purchased 4-5 fully developed Ipomoea purpurea and Ipomoea tricolor. The former tended to grow more aggressively but outwards, while the latter grew at a slower, but more steady rate and far more upwards and then out. This growth is all in relation to a fence.
These photos are of plants purchased from a local greenhouse for about $8. This is the size they increased to after being in the soil for roughly 3 weeks.
One of the major rules of morning glories is that they do NOT transplant well at all. This is what I realized after this plant was transplanted to the fence more than two months ago and remained at that health and level of growth to the end of the summer.
Sadly this is what most of my purchases looked like. Perhaps I thought it may have been the supplier although this one has been extremely reliable for many other plants. Another greenhouse, of which I bought eight 'Grandpa Ott variety the following season also proved the same as five of the eight died before the start of June while the other three did not start developing until the end of August and early September.
This leads me to the other method of growing, from seed. The best manner in which to do that is to allow the plants from the previous season to reseed themselves as can be seen on these wonderful morning glories.
When growing morning glory from seed is it better to toss seed in the ground and watch them hoping for the best or is it more beneficial to start them off in seed trays and then place them in the ground?
As stated earlier transplanting seems to almost always kill morning glories, especially seedlings. Sowing seed to ground directly is the horticulturalist best bet to have a handful of good size plants. Perhaps one can scratch the seeds with a file and soak them in water overnight. This would allow the germination to speed up.
Here is a small collection of morning glories around a mailbox. Only 6-8 seeds were set in the ground, after the weeds were all removed within the area of the mailbox. If I were able to get to this location more often the weeds would not have taken over. Regardless they still began to take off as seen in the photo.
Once established successfully, there is much lore and often less interest in how to maintain the health of morning glory vines. Often times these are seen as invasive or weed-like so homeowners will fail to water them or fertilize them. As a result of placing mine in rocky locations where little to nothing else grows it was easier to not have to worry about weeds. However because morning glories are grown in full sunlight and should be watered 2-3 times a week there is great potential for weeds. This is why growing them out of a rocky area is preferred and in general has a great aesthetic appeal. The best thing about them though is that they can tolerate a lot of water or a lot of forgetfulness.
Please post any advice, tips, or points with growing morning glories. I know I make them a lot harder to handle than they actually are but I really enjoy growing these and have been gifted a handful of a variety of rare crossbreeds and color combination's. Contact me if you have some of your own or are interested in trading.
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