A Jekyll and Hyde December

.09 Acres is having an identity crisis this December, and I fear that Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde are living in my garden shed.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the well-appointed garden shed at .09 Acres. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Let's start with Dr. Jekyll, shall we?! The vegetables at .09 Acres are much like Jekyll. They are mature and respectable. The lettuces and chard are good looking, tasty, and protected by the mini hoop house. The carrots, beets, and broccoli are doing just fine while prominently exposed to the elements. At this point in the year, they are all content in their beds until harvest. I'm not one to boast, but my greens look like they belong in a gardening catalog. If you were to walk by the lettuce bed, you might even respectfully tip your cap as if you were passing Dr. Jekyll on the street.

On the flip-side, my fruit trees, shrubs, and brambles are behaving in an irrational and unpredictable Hyde-like fashion. The inconsistent weather, much like Mr. Hyde's strange potions, is triggering all kinds of strange reactions from the plants. Raspberries continue to mature on a  semi-regular basis almost like it's early fall. The Celeste fig tree and espalier dropped all their leaves weeks ago. In contrast, my Violette de Bordeaux and Negronne fig trees are still covered in leaves and figs. It is quite grotesque to see them growing side-by-side. My Red Russian pomegranate is the only "normal" tree in the yard, having gone dormant in November. But who knows...it may be inwardly lusting for some sinister transformation.

A little bit of Jekyll, but certainly a lot more of Hyde at .09 Acres.

If .09 Acres is Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), I guess that makes me Jekyll's loyal servant Poole. This December I've been out in the yard early in the morning and late in the evening to cover the greens in plastic. I've also changed quite a few things in the yard to keep Jekyll happy and productive. I dug up and potted my in-ground blueberry bushes and replaced them with a young Angel Red pomegranate tree (visible on right side of above picture in middle of straw mulch). I also transplanted a Peter's Honey fig and an unknown fig from my yard to my aunt and uncle's property and replaced them with Strawberry Verte and Hardy Chicago figs (visible on left side of above picture in middle of straw mulch).

Hopefully this will decrease the likelihood that Mr. Hyde shows up again at .09 Acres, but I may be losing my mind in the process...

Frost Protection

We had our first frosts of the year in late November. Two or three of them. Fortunately all the fall/winter veggies survived, but I'm making preparations to protect the crops once the temps remain consistently cold.

Last year I constructed two experimental mini hoop houses in mid January after the frost had already taken a nasty toll on the greens. This year I expanded the idea by building one long, continuous hoop house.

PVC hoop house frame built over raised beds of lettuce, spinach, chard, and other tender greens. Plastic will be attached soon.

Currently only the PVC has been added to the raised beds. I used 10-foot sections of 1/2" PVC pipe and pushed it directly into the soil within the raised beds. I bent each pipe by hand over the bed, forming the "ribs". I then attached the "ribs" to a long "spine" with plastic zip-ties. The structure is fairly strong and will withstand wind and snow. We are expecting warmer weather for the next 5 days so I likely won't secure the plastic covering until sometime next week.

Note how the PVC is pushed into the soil against the interior sides of the raised beds. No screws, brackets, or fasteners are required. It's an easy, effective, and inexpensive setup.

I only opted to cover my more tender vegetables like lettuce, arugula, spinach, and chard.  I did not cover the kale and root crops like carrots and beets. They are, however, heavily mulched with a thick layer of wheat straw for protection. They withstood just about everything last year and I'm hoping they do the same this year.

From left to right: Buttercrunch, Winter Density, Parris Island Cos, and Rouge d'Hiver lettuce. Spinach is barely visible farther down the bed. This hoop house will function like a mini refrigerator once it is covered with plastic, protecting the vegetables and keeping them cold but not frozen.

Colorful head of Rouge d'Hiver lettuce.

Ruby Red Swiss chard. I planted these seeds on September 15, but they took a long time to germinate because of very hot temperatures in late September and early October.

Not everything in the garden looks great right now. I had a heck of a time battling  caterpillars on my broccoli and kale. Fortunately they only seemed interested in those two plantings and not the other veggies, but it didn't take long for them to completely defoliate this poor plant.

Kale that was completely devoured by caterpillars. Lots of carnage and not a lot of leftovers.

There are a handful of chemicals and products (organic ones too) to battle these beasts. I did buy a bag of powdered Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), an organic bacteria that is effective on caterpillars, but I got lazy and never applied the stuff.

Now I just need somebody to play Taps on the trumpet while I add these remains to the compost pile and pay my respects.

Fresh Air and Water

It was a mild and sunny day so I decided to open the roof of my convertible.  Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but I have been keeping my hoop house / low tunnel plastic tied open for the past few days.  I folded and tied the plastic to the center PVC pipe with twine in order to allow rain to soak the beds.  I decided to keep it open since the weather hasn't dipped below freezing recently.

Raised bed with plastic covering tied in place.  Arugula is growing in the center and lettuce seedlings are also growing in this bed.

The weather forecast for the next 10 days varies between the mid-30s and low-60s.  No sign of really low temps but I will leave the plastic fastened to the pipe.  The weather in Virginia in March and early April is very unpredictable.  I will only remove the setup when we are definitely in the clear of snow and hard frost, which may be a few weeks from now.

Benefits of Winter Protection

This is the first year I've used my low tunnel/hoop house hybrids.  I installed them on January 16.  Now I'm seeing substantial benefits just over a month later.

Two varieties of chard under winter protection.

The picture above shows the drastic change of condition in the health of my chard.  Every chard plant appeared wilted and dry when I first installed the low tunnel.  You can still see the original dead leaves on the ground.  I deliberately left them in place hoping that new growth would emerge from the crowns if they received enough protection from the cold.  Sure enough, here it is.  Large and lush new chard leaves are growing through the old leaves, just like a phoenix rising from the ashes.  That may be a dramatic comparison, but the difference in results between leaving plants to fend for themselves or offering them winter protection is also dramatic.  And best of all it means fresh produce in the middle of February.

Arugula thriving under a protective covering.

The arugula is most surprising.  Not only has it flourished in the low tunnel, but now it's gone to seed.  Clearly there is enough warmth for growth, and in this case almost too much warmth.  Check out the closeup pic of the emerging bloom.

Arugula blossom(s).

I also started lettuce from seed.  Lettuce seed can germinate at fairly low temperatures, but the winter protection moderates the effects of hot and cold weather and has definitely helped with germination.  The trick is making sure to expose the young seedlings to rain or provide enough supplemental water with a hose.

Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce seedlings.

These lettuce seedling are only a few days old.  I should be harvesting fresh heads of lettuce in March or early April if I can keep them well watered and growing at a steady rate.  After harvest I will amend the soil and transplant warm-weather crops (started earlier from seed) to keep the space in continuous production.

Laying Down the Law(n)

I know I've said it before, but I'm done with mowing.  No more.  Finis.  With that in mind, I have been making a concerted effort over the past few weeks to kill the grass and weeds in my backyard.  I don't want to use chemicals, out of the question.  I don't want to dig and till and pull, too much effort.  Smothering is the name of the game, or at least it's what I'm attempting to do with wheat straw, cardboard, and mulch.

Layers of wheat straw, cardboard, more straw, and a few inches of mulch on top of grass and weeds.

It rained all day Saturday.  Rained hard.  Most sane people were inside staying warm and dry.  I'm not sane.  I moved 4 cubic yards of mulch from the city compost facility in 1 yard loads, then shoveled it into a wheelbarrow and carted it into my backyard.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend 7 hours on a Saturday.  Like I said, I'm not sane.  Sanity doesn't run in the family.  I remember watching my 75-year-old grandfather climb a tree with one arm while holding a chainsaw with his other arm.  I also remember my dad mowing the lawn at night after a long day at work.  I figured moving mulch in the rain wasn't out of the ordinary.

For a few weeks my strategy involved spreading wheat straw all over the portions of grass I wanted to smother.  I followed that up with layers of thick cardboard.  I made sure to  provide significant overlap from piece to piece to avoid gaps in the coverage.  Then I added another layer of straw and finally a thick 3-4" layer of fresh mulch.

My dog, the ever loyal sentinel, inquisitively patrolling his new turf.

I did not have enough cardboard or mulch to complete the whole process, but I finished approximately 70% of the yard.  I deliberately avoided putting down mulch in the areas between raised beds.  I intend to join those sections of beds to create a longer growing area.  Yes, I'll lose the convenience of being able to walk between the individual beds, but I'll gain the extra planting space and I'll just have to take a few more steps to reach the other side of the beds.  Essentially, I'll have 2 very long beds instead of smaller ones.  It's a small yard so every inch of growing space is at a premium.

Un-mulched area between two raised beds.  The top left bed contains kale and the lower right bed contains carrots.

I plan on using the same type of untreated 2x8's to enclose the un-mulched sections for planting.  I'll likely plant the new spaces with tomatoes since I planted the majority of beds with tomatoes last summer.  This will provide me with some additional rotation space and will prevent the buildup of pests and diseases in last year's locations.  

Overall shot of newly mulched area of yard.  Pomegranate tree branches in right foreground.

I'm gambling on the idea that layer upon layer of mulch will smother the grass and weeds. The concept is also quite similar to lasagna gardening.  I have no doubt that grass and other things will conspire against me and grow, but I'm hoping for the best.  In the photo above, I still need to mulch the area between the covered beds and white fence, the area in the back right adjacent to the shed, and the area behind and to the left of where I was standing when I took this photo.  I will post more about my plans for the area near the white fence at a later date this winter or early spring.  Think fig trees...

Somewhere Between a Low Tunnel and a Hoop House

I've mentioned Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch many times before.  They are the organic farming gurus on a farm in Maine where they grow and harvest an unbelievable assortment of veggies year round in Zone 5.  He talks alot about the use of cold frames, low tunnels, and hoop houses in his book Four-Season Harvest.  I've owned this book for a few years and have slowly started to implement many of his proven techniques.

A cold frame is a single sheet of glass or plastic that covers plants.  It provides warmer temps day and night thanks to the sun, reduces or eliminates the harmful freeze/thaw cycle of winter, and negates the effects of cold winter winds that remove ambient heat and evaporate moisture.  I don't use one currently, but it is a very simple and effective tool to extend your growing season.  But one drawback to the cold frame is the cost, size, and weight of materials.  Another easy and more affordable option is a low tunnel.  This consists of wire or plastic arches draped with plastic to create a mini-greenhouse.  Most low tunnels are usually 1-2 feet tall.  The edges of the plastic are usually buried to keep it from blowing off in the wind.  This works well but makes checking on crops and harvesting a real chore.  A high tunnel is an unheated greenhouse large enough to walk into and perform gardening activities.  It has the same benefits as cold frames and low tunnels, but is much larger and can be somewhat costly and is impractical for the backyard grower.

I ended up building two structures slightly larger than a low tunnel but smaller than a high tunnel.  I guess you can call them mid tunnels.  Here's a picture.

I took four 10' pieces of 1/2" PVC pipe and inserted each end into the ground against the inside edge of my raised beds.  I then bent the PVC over the bed and buried the other end directly across from itself.  I took a fifth 10' length of pipe, shortened it to 8', and then laid it over top of the arched pipes like a backbone.  I used plastic zip-ties to attach it firmly to the other pipes.  The total height of each tunnel is appx. 36".

I draped 4 mil plastic sheeting over the top of each frame and attached it to the backbone PVC pipe with 1/2" plastic clips from Johnny's Selected Seeds.  They are a very tight fit, almost too tight.  I first tried clothes pins but couldn't find any large enough to grab the plastic.  But I'm sure any type of clip would work fine.  I didn't use any more clips along the curved PVC pipes because the clips are very difficult to remove and I didn't want to rip the plastic.

I also hung a small thermometer from a piece of string inside of one tunnel, about 18" from the ground.  Last night temps were slightly below freezing and the wheat straw on the ground was covered in frost.  I walked outside around noon today and it was sunny and 47F.  I could see lots of condensation on the inside of the plastic even though it was cool to the touch.  As a result, I was skeptical how warm it could really be in there.  I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled up the plastic and was hit with warm, moist air.  The thermometer also surprised me.  Check it out.  Right around 80F.

This is good and bad news.  Good for a few reasons:  The temp is warm enough to keep existing mature vegetables growing strong.  It is also warm enough to germinate a wide variety of hardy crops even in January.  Bad for one main reason:  If I fail to vent the plastic on an unseasonably warm and sunny day, I risk "cooking" what's under tunnel.

I opted to merely weigh down the edges of the plastic with bricks rather than burying it beneath the soil so I can easily vent the plastic and plant/cultivate/harvest with minimal trouble.  I also decided to place the two structures over the beds that contained the least hardy crops.  My lettuce and chard were eventually beaten down by the consistently cold and frozen temps so they got the tunnels.  I've read that if chard still has fairly protected crowns it can bounce back in warmer weather.  So I'm essentially experimenting to see if I can bring them back to life in January and February as opposed to waiting for April or May.  My lettuce is definitely completely dead.  So I'm using the tunnel to raise temps for germination of new lettuce, arugula, and radish seeds.  I've got my fingers crossed.

Here's one last look at my two tunnels and three uncovered raised beds.  The front right bed contains my carrots.  I've been harvesting carrots all winter even though the greens look rough and have been through many freeze/thaw cycles.  The middle bed on the right is loaded with kale that has held up strongly all winter.  And the back right bed contains my garlic.  I covered it with wood planks because my dogs decided it was fun to run through.  They haven't touched it since I put the wood there.  I'll remove the wood when growth resumes in the spring.

This setup and these tunnels are very simple to build.  It took me appx. 15 minutes to construct each tunnel.  Materials costs were fairly low and totaled about $15 per bed.  These tunnels are new to me so I'm not sure what to expect as the winter moves along and spring eventually shows up.  Hopefully old things will grow back and new seeds will germinate.  Check back when you can and I'll make sure to update the blog.