TTTB Top 5 garden considerations

As 2018 comes to a close, garden planting is just around the corner, but before plowing and planting comes planning. Here are our top 5 Things To Think Bout before you plan your garden.

1.  Goals
2.  Location
3.  Soil
4.  Water
5.  Plants

1.  Goal - Accomplishing small goals is envigorating while the goal at the finish line is the motivation.  Set goals in the beginning and remind yourself of why you started.  You might have the goal to simply research gardening and start with a potted plant or succulent, or you might have the goal to feed the world.  Write it down.  The goalpost will shift, write those goals down too.

2.  Location, location, location - accomplishing our goals is easy if we set ourselves up for success.  If we put our garden close to the house or in an area where we are going to walk every day, we will naturally spend more time there and increase the chances of success.  A feasability study of location considerations also include solar aspect and market accessibility.  You generally don’t want to put a greenhouse in a shady spot, and you most likely want to have people to sell things to nearby.

3.  A soil study is vital to not wasting your time in the garden.  Plants thrive at different levels of acidity in the soil.  A Ph test will tell you how to remediate your soil to an optimal growing environment.  A soil study will also show the distribution of clay, sand, and silt in your soil.  This will help determine course of action for optimal soil structure.

4.  Water -  Like my momma always said, “water always wins.”  So our first water consideration is erosion.  Erosion will steal your hard work in washing away top soil.  Swales, gabbions, hugelkuktur, along with contour and keyline planning will slow, spread, and sink water into the ground where you want it, not running over your field.  The second aspect of water is how are we going to get water to the plants we want to grow.   We spend days talking about irrigation and rainwater collection in our workshops, so I’m not gonna go in depth here because the beauty of proper erosion control is the reduction and ultimate elimination of irrigation requirements as water is stored in the soil structure itself.

5.  Plants - Now that we thought about all that we can think about the plants, the real reason most of us start gardening.  People are often overwhelmed the first time planning a garden in the variety of plants offered at the seed store.  It is simple.  Plant what you like, and what your friends like.  Make a list of the things you have eaten in the past month, deconstruct them and there you go.  Eat a lot of pasta?  Roma or San Marsano tomatoes might be right up your alley.   Eat a lot of salads?  Iceburg and romaine are staples of the salad bar.  Carrots? Plant carrots.  Are you Popeye?  Plant spinach.

Top Ten Survival Skills

Recently we were asked, "If you had to choose the top 5-10 survival skills everyone should know, what would they be?"  So here is our list of Top Ten Survival Skills.

1.            Positive Mental Attitude:  You aren’t dead yet!  For a majority of the untold volumes of self-help books sold every year, its all about cultivating a mindset.  You are unstoppable.  Your goals may not happen today, but they will happen if you keep moving forward.  Victories are compounded by more victories.  Skills compound skills.  Along the road you will be rewarded with more tools for your success.  It will come together.  Keep going.  Keep a going.

2.            Efficiency:  Nature abhors waste and your inefficiencies will be compounded by lack of calories.  To combat fatigue, it is essential to stack as many functions as possible in your movements.  For example, if you know you are going to have a fire, pick up some sticks as you are heading to the fire pit.  Pass a grape vine, maybe its time to top off on water.  Dog-bane patch, gather some cordage materials.  In other words, take advantage and hoard resources as you find them, so you don’t have to go out of your way when if need them in the future.

 

3.            Reading:  Stories and knowledge transferred through written word are how humanity has efficiently compiled and preserved all of its knowledge for future generations.  Just like trying to learn anything, research and gentle direction from a trusted mentor will remove decades from the time it would take to figure it out on your own.

4.            Fire:  Friction fire particularly is a skill that must be mastered for true confidence in the wilderness.  And, it is hard!  Even more so when marginal materials are the only thing available.  At the Sustainable Homestead Institute, we require our advanced students to create fresh fires from the landscape in under and hour because this skill is so essential.  Fire quickly fills gaps in your situation.  Fire can greatly boost the effectiveness of a less than adequate shelter.  Fire is half the equation to completely purify water for drinking.  Fire cooks your food, calls for help, dries your socks, keeps you company; the list could go on.

5.            Plants:  Understanding plants is the key to understanding the resources around you.  Natural medicine, seasonal nutrients, fiber, and construction materials are available often in your own back yard, and an intimate knowledge of plant patterns and families will help you quickly identify how a plant can be used to help your survival situation.

 

6.            Water:  Water is so important.  It is the motor oil to our car engine, with out it, our bodies would seize and refuse to go any further.  On a hot day in the summer, it is going to be difficult to build a proper shelter without water.  Mastering water purification is essential to being part of the landscape.

7.            Shelter:  Even in 55-degree weather, hypothermia is only a good rainstorm away if you are exposed.  Shelter is an essential survival skill that when mastered, builds unshakeable confidence that you can do anything.

 

8.            Cordage:  Lashings are an integral part of survival, and you got to have rope for lashings.  Rope is a got to have for some friction fire methods, mending clothing, fishing, taking prisoners, pretty much all the things in a survival situation.  You are going to need some rope.  Sitting by the fire in a native village it would be the norm to see people either making cordage or mending moccasins, both were a never-ending task. 

 

9.            Trapping and Game Processing:  While not essential in the average survival situation (72 hours), eventually you are going to need calories.  Animal consumption is the most efficient method to deliver nutrient dense calories year-round.  Learning a few basic traps, funneling, and the tenants of game processing will keep your group content while meeting the calorie demands of an initial survival situation.

 

10.         Fishing:  Where there are healthy waterways, there is usually something to eat.  Knowing how to catch and clean fish will open another door to more calories available on the landscape.  This goes hand in hand with #9 survival skill on our list.

This is our list.  Thanks for checking it out.  What are your top ten survival skills?  Disagree?  Let us know.  If you want to see what it takes to meet your needs from the landscape first hand, our 5 day Survival Essentials class is a great introduction to living with the land long term.  Want to just dip your toes in the water, check out our full calendar of classes at SustainableHomestead.com.

2018 Greenhouse Starts

Saturday, April 7, 2018 is our first plant sale of the year.  He is what we have to offer currently out of the greenhouse.

The Santa Fe Grande Pepper is “a great mid-sized pepper growing 2-3ft with a blocky, tapered body.  Fruits ripen from yellow to orange then red and have a wonderful medium hot flavor with a sweetish overtone.  TMV resistant.  75-100 days.”  Trade Winds Fruit

The Fresno Chile Pepper is from the area around Fresno, CA.  These Peppers will grow 1.5-2ft tall and bear 2-3in long peppers.  They start out green, go to orange, and finally red.  “Looking for a medium hot pepper that won’t burn your mouth, but will still pack a punch?  This is it!  5-10 Scoville units.  75 days.”  Sustainable Seed Company

The Keystone Giant Pepper is “a large bell pepper and a great variety for classic bell pepper taste.  Bears large fruits up to 5in with a thick blocky shape.  Usually eaten while green, fruits have a sweet flavor and crunchy texture. Plants grow 2-3ft with nice yields.  75 days.”  Trade Winds Fruit

The Habanero Pepper is the hottest of all.  “Wrinkled, green skin matures to a bright orange.  Use gloves to handle.

The Carnival Sweet Pepper Blend is a grab bag of some of our favorite heirloom peppers including Orange Sun, California Wonder, Golden California Wonder, Purple Beauty, and Diamond varieties.

Sweet Banana Peppers are “delicious, long, tapered fruits turn from light green to yellow, then orange and red.  Great fresh or fried.  72 days.”  Burpee

California Wonder Bell Peppers are “upright 2ft tall plants that bear prolific fruits that are 4-5in long and almost the same width across.  Mild, pleasant flavor.  Great for salads or stuff them whole for a delicious meal.  Resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus.  Harvest early for green bell peppers, late for yummy red peppers!  73 days.”  Sustainable Seed Company

Brandywine (red) Regular Leaf Tomato “offers red fruit with luscious old time, red tomato flavor.  Plants have regularly-shaped leaves and are extremely productive, bearing long harvests of these 10-16oz fruits.  Heirloom from the late 1800’s.  Indeterminate.  80 days.”  Tomato Growers Supply

Brandywine (red) Potato Leaf Tomato “offers red fruit with luscious old time, red tomato flavor.  Plants have potato-shaped leaves and are extremely productive, bearing long harvests of these 10-16oz heirloom fruits.  Indeterminate.  80 days.”  Tomato Growers Supply

The Red Cherry Tomato “produces prolific indeterminate vines that bear large, red cherry tomatoes with rich, full-bodied, mildly acidic flavor.  Vines need trellising.  70 days.”  Seeds of Change

The Sioux Tomato is indeterminate “heirloom variety originally released in 1944 by the University of Nebraska and is worth planting today because of its incredible flavor and reliably large harvests even in hot weather.  Although its appears to be an average size red tomato, you just have to grow it to believe how good it is – sweet yet tangy and full of those rich, complex flavors that make a delicious tomato memorable.  70 days.”  Tomato Growers Supply Company

The Toma Verde Tomatillo “is a member of the tomato family, but not a real tomato.  Round green tomatillos have a papery husk that is removed before preparing.  Vining plants are easily grown and prolific.  Flavor is sweet yet tart and wonderful in green Mexican salsa and other Mexican and Southwestern dishes.  75days.”  Tomato Growers Supply Company

The Better Boy Hybrid tomato is a super popular variety of “rugged vines that produce large crops of bright read, 12-16oz smooth, flavorful fruit.  Similar to Big Boy, but with additional disease resistance.  Firm and perfect for slicing.  One of the best tasting garden tomatoes available anywhere.”  Tomato Growers Supply Company

The Chocolate Stripe Tomato is “a true show stopper.  Chocolate Stripe Tomatoes feature mahogany colored flesh with olive green striping.  Complex, rich, earthy flavors reward the gardner with plants that yield a plentiful crop of 3-6in fruit.  An excellent choice for salads and sandwiches, this one just might become your favorite!  80 days.”  Eden Brothers Seed

The Green Zebra Tomato has “chartreuse colored flesh with lime green stripes.  Green Zebra Tomatoes are a garden favorite not only for their beautiful colors, but for their sweet, rich tomato taste.  The only problem you will have with this variety is when to tell if a green tomato is ripe!  Hint Green Zebra’s light green stripes turn to yellow, and its firmness in your gentle hand will show a slight give much like when a red tomato is ready to pick.”  Eden Brothers Seed

Early Green Broccoli is “a short season broccoli variety that yields a large tight head followed by and abundance of succulent side shoots until a hard freeze.”  Seeds of Change

Snowball Cauliflower has “delicious and snow white dense heads are 6in across and are somewhat hidden tucked away amongst silvery-green leaves.  A self-blanching variety as the leaves curl around heads protecting them from sun.  Excellent for home or market use.  Well adapted to short season areas.”  Sustainable Seed Company

Golden Acre Cabbage “produces 3-4lb heads that are succulent, sweet, and tender.  Golden Acre Cabbage produces round, tight heads shaped like globes.  Knows for its early Production and uniformity and is a great cabbage for coleslaw or stir fry.”  Sustainable Seed Company

Dinosaur Kale’s “dark blue-green leaves of this popular, cold-hearty kale are valued for heir high nutritional content.  Delicious and tender, the flavor gets even sweeter after a few hard frosts.  70 days.”  Seeds of Change

Dwarf Blue Curled Kale is “an early kale that produces tasty greens when used in salads or steamed.  The blue-green leaves are finely curled and very attractive reaching 6-8in.  This is one of the best frost resistant kales.  Young leaves are great raw in salads, blanched for a saute or used as a colorful garnish. 63 days.”  Sustainable Seed Company

Italian Parsley is a favorite heirloom variety for seasoning and drying.  75 days.  Seeds of Change

Summer Thyme is a “classic culinary herb with strong savory aroma and flavor for all your recipes.  Thyme looks great in rock gardens and pots and has many medicinal uses.  90days.”  Seeds of Change

Young Genovese Basil is a uniform, slow to bolt, classic basil variety with concentrated flavor and fine, sweet fragrance fantastic for seasonings, salads, garnishes, and pesto.  70 days.”  Seeds of Change