Grow Your Own Food (and do it as Organically as possible)

by Jack & Joanne

Even if it's just a tiny amount. Really! The toughest thing about gardening is remembering to water regularly (which also means not too often in fact the key is to water a lot infrequently). Maybe the next hardest thing is actually taking the plunge. Putting those seeds or plants in dirt. It’s risky. They might not come up, they might die. You might forget to water them. You know what? Just do it and see what happens.

Buy organic seeds/starter plants and organic compost (*not* soil starter, not miracle anything!). Organic compost is the soil and it’s all you need for soil. Really! If you don’t have some already it can be purchased in bags at your nursery or for larger quantities - delivered to your house by the yard (a cubic measurement) from nursery/landscape material providers. (Check under Landscape Materials in the yellow pages).

Seeds are a lot of cheaper to plant but organic starts will get you up and running faster. If you can’t find a nursery locally which carries organic plants try your local Natural Foods Store – in Northern California Whole Foods offer a limited selection of organically grown vegetable starts and also usually sell organic seeds. The starts are usually from Sweetwater Organics and the seeds from Renee’s Garden (not organic – but some heirlooms) and Seeds of Change. Or choose to help save heirloom varieties from extinction by buying heirloom seeds and planting them!

1. Because Organic seeds had organically farmed parents the seeds should result in happier, healthier and stronger plants which are more naturally disease resistant.
2. Non-organic seed can also be coated with chemicals or pesticides.
3. Non-organic seed likely comes from parents who lived a pesticide and chemical lifestyle – I would think some of that is going to get into the DNA eventually.
4. By buying organic seeds you are supporting organic farming.

I’ve found every gardener finds their strengths and weaknesses. Some types of plants work better for some than others. Try tomatoes (water initially deeply every second or third day – not every day…you want the roots to go deep), peas, strawberries and squash.

We have two pages on our site, Fork & Bottle, which might help you: Organic Gardening Basics and Organic & Heirloom seed sources.

Container Gardening:
Don’t have much space? Build a bed or raised bed using cedar or redwood that’s at least 12” high and 1” thick. We’re not sure about the rest of the US, but here in wine country you can buy wine barrel halves for (roughly) $14 each. They have more than enough depth to make for an excellent little porch garden – just remember to drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Strawberries can go in a windowbox – as well as most herbs. A medium pot will grown tomatoes, or peppers, miniature carrots, peas, potatoes. You’d be amazed what you can grown in a pot.  - Jack & Joanne

Jack & Joanne live in Sonoma County – not just wine country, but food country! They create/write the website Fork & Bottle which focuses on artisan food, wine and cheese but also offers information on gardening, what to feed kids, gourmet food reviews, local foods, etc., etc.

Comments

[Tea]

This is great, thanks!
Another thing to keep in mind for people thinking about building raised beds for gardening--my mother recently bought some wood to do this, but a friend told her that most wood is pressure treated and has serious chemicals in it. Not what you want leaching into your carefully selected organic compost and seedlings. Apparently redwood is the best type of wood to buy (or so I've been told).

[Joanne]

Ah, we should have said, "Never use pressure-treated wood...for anything!" - because it can have nasty chemicals in it which may leach into the surrounding ground. Redwood is widely available on the West Coast, but I don't think it's as available/affordable in the rest of the US - but I think cedar should be. Thanks for pointing it out Tea!

[Birdsong]

I would add to watch for local plant sales, where home gardeners and small-scale speciality growers get together, often with their table rent benefitting a charity. There is a great one coming up in Nevada City on Mother's Day weekend, and famous herbalist Kathy Keville will have plants for sale as well as a few dozen other growers; these starts are often 1/3 to 1/2 the price of those offered at commercial nurseries. Do you save seeds? Want to do a post for us novices?

[SuzanneM]

I was born without a gardening gene in my body, and as part of my evolution to eat local I'm trying a vegetable garden this year. I'm renting a half-plot at the Davis Community Garden.

I laughed when I read in your post "the hardest thing is taking the plunge." How true! I was actually nervous when I planted seeds.

2 points of irony: I bought both organic and inorganic seeds and the organic seeds did 100% better (as in, the inorganic stuff didn't come up at all).

2nd: Our community garden is across the street from the Monsanto offices. So I see it as my small protest against terminator seeds, GMOs and other horrific Monsanto products as I weed the cilantro.

[cookiecrumb]

Suzanne, be careful Monsanto doesn't try to sue you for copyright infringement! :D

If your garden space is small -- I only have a fenced patio -- you might consider putting your container plants on wheeled platforms so you can chase the sun as it traverses your area.

[Marc]

A way to keep your garden healthy and also create a little "closed nutrient loop" between your kitchen and garden is to put a worm box in your backyard, garage, or balcony. In goes vegetable scraps, out comes "castings" or "tea" that can be added to soil. Many government waste management agencies have discount programs and workshops to help you get started.

[lucette]

"Not miracle anything" is a good gardening rule.

[Sarah (Mrs. Irani)]

What should we do if we already have raised beds made with treated lumber? Is there anyway to amend it or protect our food? It is a small garden, but nonetheless.

*nervous*

[Joanne]

PRESSURE TREATED WOOD
There have been improvements to the treated lumber market since the early 90s when the EPA got involved - the main concern was wood used for playground equipment - the treated lumber of which most of it is CCA-treated (Chromated Copper Arsenic) was causing lead and arsenic to be found in the soil around the play gyms and even residue could be found on clothing and skin of children playing on them. There were developmental and health issues associated with the exposure.

Flash to the present. To read more about the EPA's present stand:
http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/reregistration/cca/

Directly to respond to Mrs. Irani - if the wood used was new wood and the beds are recently built I would strongly suggest you 1) Try and track down which exact lumber was used - and go from there.
2) Strongly consider changing the bed to another sort of non-treated lumber and refilling with fresh compost.

If the lumber was older and you don't know how old you will have to make the call - Do you believe that the lumber was old enough that any traces of arsenic, lead etc. were likely gone before you used it? How concerned are you with small traces of arsenic or lead etc. in your backyard/food - are there small children in your backyard often?

There is no way I know of to get rid of the problem but to change the wood and soil - or let time dissipate the chemicals... There is no amendment or "fix" that I know of. I would be concerned the EPA doesn't suggest pressure treated wood for drinking water or honey apiary construction - that sort of red flags food production as well for me - although they don't list that as a dangerous use.

Sorry there is no easy answer.

[Marc]

Any advice on what to look for when buying compost, peat, and other soil improvers? The two beds in my backyard have terrible soil and need a few cubic yards to get up to a decent height in the bed. I don't want to buy material trucked in from across the country.

[Joanne]

Marc- If you are in Berkeley you can ask for Sonoma Compost or Organic Mango Mulch
http://www.sonomacompost.com/delivery.shtml
(in Petaluma)

(Mango Mulch) - Grab-N-Grow Soil Products(707) 575-7275
2759 Llano Rd Santa Rosa, CA 95407

I would call them and see which lansdcape/nursery supplier in Berkeley carries their product.

I would suggest 100% organic compost - it really should be all you need. Why organic? Because it should be free of pesticide and herbicide residue which can hamper plant growth and health.

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. My grandparents always had a huge garden, and I don't remember them ever using any pesticides or chemicals on their plants, which were the healthiest ones I can ever remember seeing!

[Jack]

Pana - I too remember my grandmother's tomato garden - huge red tomatoes. I don't remember using pestisides either. I think there was some kind of trap for the japanese beetles, though.

[Jack]

Pana - I too remember my grandmother's tomato garden - huge red tomatoes. I don't remember using pestisides either. I think there was some kind of trap for the japanese beetles, though.

[Jack]

Pana - I too remember my grandmother's tomato garden - huge red tomatoes. I don't remember using pestisides either. I think there was some kind of trap for the japanese beetles, though.

[Clyde Majerus]

Spring is coming!! Please consider telling folks about our Vegetable Gardening Slide Chart.
Chart has a sliding frost line, works all over North America and comes with a
National listing of frost dates, $3.50 postage paid.
It is an excellent tool for teaching vegetable gardening.
And very handy for the experienced gardener as well.
See web site: http://cdmplanning.hypermart.net
Site has a video & slide show explaining chart.

Thanks, Clyde

Clyde's Garden Planner
THE Vegetable Gardening Slide Chart
We Trust in the Finished Work of Christ
417-589-3117

[rebecca]

So, if I am planning on starting my own garden on a balcony that is north facing in Berkeley that measures about 4-5 by 10... What is the best way to get started? IS planting still possible since it won't get much direct sunlight?

[Joanne]

Yes, you can grow things on a balcony without direct sun. Use large deep pots. You will either have to rig up a watering system or water almost daily. Herbs should be no problem. Lettuce should work fine, although you might want to use starts rather than seed. Peas should also work for you. Make sure that your pots get lots of airflow - don't put them too close together. If you try tomatoes, try the hardy varieties for a short summer like Oregon Spring or Early Girl.