Basil Spots

With my mindset lately, when I saw the subject line on Chris's (a loyal listener of In Your Backyard heard on My790am.com) email, I thought to myself, "Oh no, Chris has melanoma..."  Thankfully, Chris does not but his basil isn't feeling well lately.

Here's his question: 

I planed sweet basil (from __________ )  about 3 weeks ago.  Looks like I am doing good, but I noticed some brown spots.  The soil was amended some with compost and ______________ soil for vegetables and flowers. The plant did stress/droop within the first week of initial planting, bounced back up after watering but is doing good now.  Watering is done by hand now at the base of the plant.
 Are the brown spots normal?  Due to fungus? Nutrition deficiency?
 
Thanks, Chris

Chris, good question and the photograph helps answer the question.  Your basil definitely is suffering from Colletotrichum disease.  The disease is identified by the black spots, black haloed rings, and black stems. It occurs when there is a combination of high humidity, lack of air circulation, and the plants are watered often. You will want to get rid of the basil plants that are affected and plant another herb or plant in that location.

When you use plant with soil amendments, especially ones that hold water well, gardeners can overwater plants.  Always check the soil before watering to ensure that you really do need to water.  Never water the soil if the ground is wet, cool, or damp.  Twice a week watering should be enough for amended garden beds in full sun.   Space plants far enough apart that they have plenty of air circulation. 

Thanks for writing Chris!
Teresa

 

Groveland Volunteers Produce Community Vegetable Garden

UPDATE:

Check out Teresa's an in-depth article on Edilble Landscaping featured in Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

UPDATE:

Growing a Community - continuation of a Community Garden in Groveland.

"This is a new experience for me. Just to see these grow from the ground  --- it touches the soul."  

David Allen is speaking. He's talking about the community garden in Groveland's historically African-American community located south of State Road 50 and east of State Road 33. Allen is the younger of the two men who have taken on the daily care of the garden. His mentor and partner-in-gardening is Willy Dykes, who lives directly across the street from the South Street vegetable garden. As Dykes says of his gardening efforts, "It just makes me feel so good that I'm helping others and myself. They see things growing, big pretty greens, and they ask 'whose greens are these' and I tell them they're yours."  

Dykes estimates that 30 families in the community partake in the harvest from the garden: sweet potatoes, okra, peppers, Georgia collards ("the best," according to Dykes), scallions, Vidalia onions, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, rosemary, and spaghetti squash...  

Support for the garden is high in the community in which it is located, as evidenced by the fact that at the February CRA meeting, at which the spring planting was approved, an estimated 40 people from the community, many of them young people, came to the meeting as a show of support. As Allen said at the time, "They volunteered to come out tonight and show you that this is a real community." Speaking in a recent interview, he added "There is so much respect for that garden, it blows my mind." As Marie Damato says, "the community garden as been a community-wide effort."

See more pictures here.

October 1, 2011

Q. What do you get when a Community Redevelopment Agency joins together with volunteers?

A. A wonderful neighborhood vegetable garden.

City Councilwoman Evelyn Wilson came up with the idea of redeveloping a grassy park area into a community vegetable garden during a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting two years ago.  Finding encouragement from fellow Trilogy residents, Marie Damato and Dr. Linda Jacobsen, Wilson went to the City of Groveland to secure a grant. Along with partners B and H Consultants, Inc,  Zion Lutheran Church,  Thrinvent Financial, Wildflowers of Trilogy Garden Club, Wilson was able to get the city's urban project financed in 2010.

Dr. Jacobsen noted how she was organized finances for the community gardens:

"... along with other members of Zion Lutheran Church, we were able to obtain funding from Lake-Sumter Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for the 2010 planting. "

They were able to purchase plants, soil, raised beds, landscape timber, and hoses with the monies. The food, water, and other items needed were provided by Dina Sweatt and the city of Groveland.

This summer, the year-old community vegetable garden needed revitalization and a sustainable plan.

I designed the vegetable gardens to ensure successful maintenance and long-term future growth.  City staff and Smithwell, Inc. employees helped to remove the older landscape timbers, build the raised beds and prepare the overgrown gardens from the previous year.  Seeds and many of the plants were purchased through Thrivevent. Volunteers from the Thrivevent Financial for Lutherans, Zion Lutheran Church, the Wildflowers of Trilogy Garden Club, along with elected officials Mayor Mike Radzik, Vice-Mayor Jim Gearheart, District 3 Councilman Tim Loucks, CRA member Dina Sweatt, and former Councilman James Smith, helped to install the raised beds and mulched paths and then plant the vegetables that Groveland children grew from seed. HollyLou the clown, pumpkin decorating, making plant markers, and an inflatable bounce house entertained the children (and the Garden Club members). 

Vegetables and herbs planted included late summer and cool seasonal crops.  Cabbage, corn, collards, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, different kinds of peppers, okra, onions, rosemary, snow peas, spinach, and varieties of tomatoes, like Beefsteak, Cherokee Purple, and Super Sweet 100's. Cleome and salvia were used in the raised beds to fill in around the herbs. Fruit trees will be planted in the corner of the garden. A Kadota fig tree, Ficus carica, provided by Wendel Martinkovic, of Wendel's Farm & Nursery in Lake Panasoffkee, was planted. Wendel also donated the flowers and many of the vegetables from his permaculture nursery.  Assistance with mulch and garden soil were supplied by Reliable Peat of Leesburg.

Dr. Jacobsen said a huge grateful credit goes to Janet Shira of B and H Consultants, Inc for keeping all the diverse groups working cohesively together throughout the urban project.  More BIG thank-you's to all the volunteers and partners, those who helped on other days preparing the gardens, and today's planting day, including 8 year old Mollie Robinshaw, Master Gardener Barb Schroeder, Louise Willim, and Gigi Klemash from Thrivent Financial.

November events to celebrate the Community Vegetable Garden will include a Harvest Day and Picnic. The garden will be planted twice a year with spring and fall vegetables.  Future needs of the garden include arbors, fencing, irrigation system, signage, and fruit such as blackberries, apple, olive, peach, and pear trees.  If you would like to contribute assistance for this neighborhood project, please contact Janet Shira with B and H Consultants, Inc. in Clermont.

Preliminary Concept

Before and after photographs of the David Blanks Park Community Vegetable Garden.



Groveland Community Vegetable Garden

More great photos from Planting Day.

Read past Earth Shattering Gardening posts on vegetable gardens.

Winter Loving Strawberries

Strawberries, Fragaria × ananassa, are one of my favorite berries. I love strawberries with angel food cake and whipped cream, strawberry jam cookies, and strawberry ice cream. Strawberries are also one of the easiest fruits to grow in your garden.

Florida has three seasons, autumn, winter, and spring to grow delicious strawberries. They need temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees and shorter daytime conditions. Raised beds are best so that the crowns of the strawberry plant are kept well-drained. The soil pH for good growth should be between 5.5 and 6.8, but will tolerate acidity levels 5.0 through 7.0. Ensure your strawberries have adequate fertilizer by digging a balanced N-P-K into the soil before planting. Then using a slow-release fertilizer once a month. Water one to two times a week in the winter and two to three times depending on the temperatures in the spring.

Protect strawberries with frost blankets when temperatures go below 32 degrees. Recommended varieties for Florida include 'Caramosa', 'Sweet Charlie', and 'Festival.' I found beauiful white flowered 'Camarosa' and hot pink flowers  "Lipstick" at my local nursery.  Lipstick strawberries have long runners spreading to five feet if allowed, and can make a lovely groundcover for edible landscaping.  Strawberries can be used in containers, window boxes, and in rock gardens.

Pest issues include fungus, spider mites, and nematodes. Check leaves for any pest issues before you buy your plants. Using rich organic soils will reduce nematode populations.  Apply a proactive fungicide if you think your plants may be susceptible.  Check labels before using any pesticides or fungicides for use on strawberries.

Camarosa strawberries

Lipstick Strawberries

More Links:

Growing Strawberries in the Florida Home Garden.

Growing Strawberries Hydroponically

Fragraria 'Lipstick' Strawberries

Would you like to read more on Edible Landscaping? Check out my in-depth article on Edilble Landscaping for Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

Question: Planting Vegetable Seeds, Nematodes, How To Propagate Copperleafs

This week's email:

Jayne has two questions.

You have a great program on WLBE !!! One thing that confuses me is when you recommend vegetable and flower plantings, I'm not sure if you're talking about sowing seeds or planting transplants. I usually grow everything from seed, so I'm looking for that time table.

Your email is a very common problem here in Florida - thank you for writing and the kind words about "In Your Backyard." 

You want to plant seeds approximately 14 to 28 days (depending on species) before you want to transplant them in your garden. When I talk about vegetables this time of the year, I mean that you should either purchase or use your transplants that you seeded in July and August.



Tomatoes planted from seed 5 weeks ago.



Five different species of peppers planted August 27th.

This UF publication will make it easier for you to determine when to plant: Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide.

I brought my weird looking carrots into the extension office in Tavares and was told I had nematodes in my 12 ft. square foot garden (3 ft. off the ground). I also had green and yellow bush beans that didn't do well at all, but onions and shallots doing great! It has only been the second season of growing crops in this garden and I am so dissappointed. Do I need to kill the nematodes before planting again? If not, what vegetables would you suggest? If I need to kill the nematodes, how do I do that? I grow, eat, live, organically. 

Jayne, I'm so sorry!  Certain plant species release alleopathic chemicals that make growing some species next to others very troublesome.  Check out this great chart of compatible and incompatible garden plants.  I think it will help explain why some of your plants didn't do well.

Also, because of Florida's sandy soils in certain locations, destructive nematodes are a vegetable gardening problem. The key to controlling nematodes will be with your cultural practices.  Jayne, you can do one or all of the following:

1. Change out or sterilize your vegetable garden area with solarization next spring before you plant for the summer.
2. Add amendments to your soils, which will allow beneficial fungi to control nematodes.
3. Add beneficial nematodes to your soil which will provide about three months of control against root-knot nematodes
4. Buy nematode-resistant plant varieties. Look for the N in plant description (V = virus-resistant, F=fungal-resistant, N=nematode-resistant)
5. Rotate your crops. Don't plant carrots or plants in the same family (tomato and peppers) in same location year after year.
6. Last but the best way to grow vegetables in Florida's sandy soils? Raised beds -whether you build them yourself, use containers, or purchase a kit.

 More information on nematodes:

  

Nematodes and their management - UF/IFAS - Florida

Managing Nematodes For The Non-Commercial Vegetable Garden UF/IFAS - Florida

Root-Knot Nematodes In the Vegetable Garden - Clemson University, South Carolina
Control Root-Knot Nematodes in Your Garden - University of Arkansas
Marigolds for Nematode Management (pros and cons - read before planting) UF/IFAS Florida

Nematode Control in The Home Vegetable Garden - Alabama A & M, Auburn University

Roberto asks:

Can you explain to me how to take a clipping from one of my existing Copper Leaf plants and use it to grow another plant?

Roberto, easy way to get more plants! Take a cutting of a soft tip of a stem of copperleaf approximately 5 to 6 inches. Cut the stem diagonally and place in Root-tone and then plant in potting soil. Moisten and keep moist (not wet) and in the shade. You can put the plant and pot into a clear plastic bag to keep the humidity in. Within six to eight weeks you'll have roots and can repot into a bigger pot. I would wait until spring before putting them in the ground as its so close to winter.

Here's more information with photos.

These are Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' Smoke Tree cuttings that I took about four months ago. 


Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' cuttings

Vegetable Garden Planted

Well, its done!  Our front yard, in the unused portion of our driveway, is now home to our vegetable gardening.  Due to the large oaks and "North Carolina" themed landscape in the backyard, the front and side yard is one of our sunniest locations.

We used a pre-cut cedar raised bed product from Home Depot. At approximately $80, the raised beds were reasonably priced factoring saving time, labor, and cost versus buying the materials and sacrificing to the wood gods. We also reused our cleaned aluminum tubs and rectangular plastic containers from springtime.

We checked last season's low-volume irrigation, changing out the emitter heads for good distribution uniformity.

What are we expecting to harvest from our edible landscaping?

First bed:

• Pasillo Bajio Chile Peppers
• Cow Horn Peppers
• NuMex Joe E Parker Peppers
• Cubanelle Peppers
• Ancho/Poblano Peppers

Second bed:

• Supersweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes
• Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
• Beefsteak Tomatoes
• Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomatoes
• Grape Tomatoes (saved from the grocery bought tomatoes)

How many tomatoes does it take?  Check out how you measure your fresh tomatoes for your cooking recipes.

First Tub:

• Gourmet Baby Greens Mesclun Lettuce
• Bibb Lettuce

Second Tub:

• Bloomsdale Spinach
• Red Malabar Spinach

Rectangle container:

• Onions
• Leeks

We only used half or less of the seed packets so we will save the seeds in dry envelopes and place them in our refrigerator to keep for spring.  As the plants emerge, we will thin them out and place some in containers for our children and the neighborhood, and keep some for our table.

We have to wait about ten days to see any green shoots! Will be taking photos from sprouting through harvesting.  Let us know how your vegetable gardening is doing.  We'll post your photos.

Updated - Don't Eat Your Vegetables In The Front Yard!

UPDATE:
I wrote an in-depth article on Edible Landscaping for Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

7/18/11 Update: Drudge Report is now reporting that the city of Oak Park, Michigan has seemingly dropped the anti-veggie fines but now wants to impose an unlicensed dog fine equivalent to the same fine and incarceration time. Sounds like a vendetta to me...

After Oak Park City failed in its bid to charge Bass with violating a local ordinance for using her front garden to grow organic vegetables, no doubt put off by gargantuan media attention on the case, they are now pursuing Bass for a similarly ludicrous misdemeanor that carries an identical penalty, 93 days in jail, for owning unlicensed dogs.


However, Bass’ dogs are fully licensed, the city is merely reinstating an earlier charge that Bass has already complied with.

7/15/11 Update: The city of Oak Park, Michigan is delaying any further action on the Bass's front yard vegetable garden.

7/11/11 Update: My interview this morning with Julie Bass on WLBE 790am (My790am.com)  was very informative. Not only did Mrs. Bass check with the city of Oak Park, Michigan regarding any ordinances restricting raised beds, they told her there should be no problems if she did it. There is Michigan legislation that protects people who want to grow their own food.

And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.

- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels

Has the world gone mad? In an amazing turnip of events, Julie Bass, homemaker, mother of three, and simple gardener, could go to jail for three months for growing vegetables in her front yard. The Oak Park, Michigan resident was only trying to make a sustainable garden out of the front yard that had been demolished by the City of Oak Park utilities fixing the sewer system in the spring. Passers-by admired her efforts. A single complaint from a neighbor not green with envy - but with mean-spiritedness - encouraged the Code Enforcement department to issue a warning to Mrs. Bass to remove the raised beds of warm season annuals and vegetables.  When Mrs. Bass didn't comply, she was issued a ticket and charged with a misdemeanor. She goes to a pre-jury trial on July 26th. 

"In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it.

- Frank McKinney Hubbard

The reason for the citation is a code that says a front yard has to have suitable, live, plant material.  Oak Park City Planner Kevin Rulkowski stated: "That's not what we want to see in a front yard."  Is Mr. Rulkowski a horticulturist, landscape designer, or a landscape architect?  Does the City of Oak Park have a horticulturist on staff to help them dig through all the dirt on what is a suitable plant or not?  Is it based on USGBC green certification, best management practices, asesthetics or personal opinion?  Is turfgrass a suitable plant? Are cookie cutter designs a government regulation? Everbody has to have the same landscape?

See Julie Bass's edible front yard here.

Edible landscaping is still a popular gardening trend in the United States with 43% of households surveyed by the Garden Writers Association Foundation planning on establishing a vegetable garden this year. Vegetable gardening is even being encouraged by the White House - why does the City of Oak Park even want to get involved in such a pickle?

 

This is not the first case of gardening interference between a regulating body and residents.  Confrontations between HOA's and homeowners has increased over the last few years with homeowners emboldened by new water conserving ordinances.

• Not In My Backyard On In Your Backyard
• Yard Wars - Homeowner, City Declare A Truce 

I'm interviewing Mrs. Julie Bass on "In Your Backyard" tomorrow, at our new day and time: Mondays at 11:30am to 12:30pm.  Please plan to tune in  about this outrageous attack against individual homeowner's property rights. You can also check out the Bass family's Facebook page: Oak Park Hates Veggies.  You can also sign the Bass's petition to stop the persecution.

 

The word 'vegetable' has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been employed as vegetables - roots (carrot and beet), stems (Irish potato and asparagus), leaves (spinach and lettuce), leaf stalk (celery and Swiss chard), bracts (globe artichoke), flower stalks and buds,(broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (tomato and squash), seeds (beans), and even the petals (Yucca and pumpkin).

- Charles Heiser, Seed to Civilization

More with Teresa on edible landscaping: Edible Landscaping: So Good You Can Eat Them Right Up

More resources: 

• Lawns are a European invention.
• Napa-Valley Landscaping - Florida Style, Green Builder magazines, Jan 2011, Feb 2011, April 2011,
• Edible Landscaping
• "TheEdible Landscape" - An Urban Farming Renaissance?
• Florida-friendly Landscape Guidance Models For Ordinances, Covenants and Restrictions
• Edible Landscaping,  University of Florida/IFAS
• Edible Landscaping, Ohio State University
• Gardening Quotes - The Spirit of Gardening
• Carrot Juice Is Murder - Arrogant Worms

The garden should be adorned with roses and lilies, the turnsole, violets, and mandrake; there you should have parsley, cost, fennel, southern-wood, coriander, sage, savory, hyssop, mint, rue, dittany, smallage, pellitory, lettuces, garden-cress, and peonies. There should also be beds planted with onions, leeks, garlic, pumpkins and shallots. The cucumber growing in its lap, the drowsy poppy, the daffodil and brank-ursine ennoble a garden. Nor are there wanting, if occasion further thee, pottage-herbs: beets,herb-mercury, orache, sorrel and mallows, anise, mustard, white pepper and wormwood do good service to the gardener.- Alexander of Neckham, Of the Nature of Things, 1187