Axel loves his organic catnip!

The Happy Backyard Organic Gardener

Behind me to the left is a vermicompost bin which houses red wiggler worms ( see my earlier post on vermicomposting and 6 easy steps to your new worm bin). The worms eat most of our organic food scraps and in return supply a rich compost. It is amazing how much they eat and how fast the reproduce! The compost can either be spread throughout the garden, or brewed into an aerobic or living nutrient tea which is used as a foliar or soil drench.
All healthy, organic and packed with nutrients - Rainbow Chard, Red Bell Pepper, Baby Japanese Eggplants, Aunt Gertie's German Gold Tomatoes, and some large Cukes!

The Corn in the front was planted about a month ago in Earth Boxes and is already about 6ft tall, it is just starting to flower! The garden I am standing in was made out of about 20 cinder blocks and built into a small slope.The cinder blocks are planted with herbs, beneficial flowers and succulents. The bed was prepared with a drainage leading away from the garden. It is outfitted with two aeration tubes as well as a drip system.

I filled the bed using Garden and Bloome Soil Building Compost, peat moss, perlite, worm castings, bat guano, coco peat and chunk, dolomite lime for ph and natural soil from the yard. For added calcium I also supplemented the soil with ground oyster shell. I have found that this helps the peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes to not drop their flowers once the start blooming. I fertilize with aerobic tea made from worm castings, humic acid, and added beneficial bacteria. I may also add either high nitrogen or high phosphorous/potassium bat guano depending on whether I am fertilizing for blooms or leaf development. I foliar and soil drench with sea kelp extract. When transplanting, I use Plant Success and a small amount of Bradfield organics fertilizer.
Everything used is organic - After all, I eat this stuff and surf down the street.

Zack and Stacey's Backyard Organic Vegetable Garden

Earlier today, I included some pictures that my girlfriend Stacey took of me in our backyard organic vegetable garden. As you can see the planting area is fairly small ( I also utilize Earth Boxes and containers) and pretty well shaded by an Italian boxwood, oak and eucalyptus (all drop leaves constantly). Being a half a block away from the beach, the garden also receives many days of dense marine layer and humidity.

Despite these variables, our garden has been productive enough to supply most of our vegetable demand (we still sometimes buy seasonal veggies and herbs we don't have growing) and what we do pick is delicious. Our garden is a good example that with a little patience, adaptation and hard work you can grow veggies just about anywhere.

About once a week we accumulate a surplus and have our friends over for a barbecue. Recently we have been enjoying some awesome yellowtail, tuna, and mahi that my dad caught along with our veggies. It is great to know exactly where all our food came from and that it was harvested sustainably!

What we have growing presently:
Rainbow Chard (Earth Box)
Corn (Earth Box)
Japanese Eggplant
Zucchini
Cucumber
Habanero pepper
Bell pepper

Heirloom tomatoes incl:
Green Zebra
Aunt Gertie's German Gold + 1 Clone -
Red Crim +1 Clone
Cherokee Purple

Herbs Incl:
Rosemary
sage
Thyme
parsley
oregano
Mint
Catnip (For Axel and Slash our kitties)

The garden has been producing a large amount of vegetables all summer and is ready for some new plantings. I will update this list as I add more vegetable varieties.
Happy Gardening!

South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show

This the "statement of intent" that I wrote for he South Coast Plaza 2009 Spring Garden Show. It is a brief but good explanation of what an organic Victory Garden is and why it is important. WE WON 1ST PLACE in our category! GO TEAM!

The 20th Annual Southern California Spring Garden Show

Saddleback College Statement of Intent

Title: “Back to Our Roots” The Return of the Victory Garden

Trend: The Imminent Garden

Looking at the past often provides viable solutions for the future. Saddleback College’s “Back To Our Roots” The Return of the Victory Garden is the imminent garden of tomorrow. Victory Gardens were vegetable, herb and fruit plots planted by of millions of Americans to supplement the food supply during WWII. This modern Victory Garden represents a return to self-sufficiency through community and sustainable agriculture practices.

Not only is this a great way to save money on our food bills, but we will also gain victory over pollution and the over use of chemical fertilizers while lowering our carbon footprint. Utilizing organic gardening techniques such as rain harvesting, composting, and raised beds we can cultivate herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers in our own yard.

No longer should the vegetable garden be stuck behind the house. Now the earth’s bounty is beautifully showcased street-side for all to enjoy, replacing over fertilized lawns and bringing back wildlife to the neighborhood. Putting people back into control over what they eat, a modern Victory Garden nourishes the body as well as the soul. We hope that this garden will inspire you to look at alternative means of gardening and food production.

Zack holding Saddleback College team's First Place award for the 2009 Spring Garden Show competition



The victory garden featured two sides divided by a porch and door. A classic World War II era garden is pictured here. On the other side a more modern twist was put on the Victory Garden

Saddleback College team's director for the 2009 Spring Garden show, Annie Hall and teammate Larry (sorry Larry I forgot your last name) are re-potting the plants that would later be placed in the raised beds at South Coast Plaza.
The plants for the show were propagated in the Saddleback College Greenhouse and are looking good prior to being taken to the South Coast Plaza competition

Organic Gardening- What it is and what it is not.

Organic horticulture or organic gardening is based on knowledge and techniques gathered over thousands of years, while chemical fertilizing is a relatively recent invention. In general terms, organic gardening views the garden as an entire integrated ecosystem. It recognizes natural processes, often taking place over extended periods of time, and takes a sustainable, holistic approach to gardening. On the contrary chemical-based horticulture focuses on immediate, isolated effects with limited results and often devastating consequences.

HOW IS IT DONE?
Organic gardening seeks to feed the soil, not just the plants. Organic gardening utilizes vermicompost, mulches, cover crops, compost, manures, and mineral supplements to build the soil. These practices are all ways of recycling organic matter into the best fertilizers and soil conditioners available to man.

Vermicompost and 6 Easy Steps to Your New Worm Bin

Vermicompost or worm composting is especially easy and it can be done indoors. The byproduct, in both the liquid tea and compost forms, is an excellent source of nutrients for the organic garden.

6 Easy Steps to your new Worm Bin-
1. Buy 3 plastic totes that are the same size- 10-gallon or bigger works best. Choose a size depending on the amount of plant/vegetable matter you plan on composting.
2. Drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of two of the bins. A little bit larger around than a pencil is good.
3. Set one of the drilled totes inside of the other bin. The compost tea will drain into the bottom tote. Set the other tote aside until later.
4. Select a bedding material for your worms and make sure it always stays moist. Remember, you want your compost to be organic. Avoid newspaper because of the bleach and ink used in printing. Instead opt for organic coffee grounds or coco peat; your worms will thank you.
5. Place your red wiggler worms into your prepared bed. You can now begin placing all of your vegetable and plant scraps into your Worm Bin. Remember to avoid putting any meat, citrus, or food that has been cooked into your Worm Bin.
6. Once your worms have eaten all the organic matter in the bin place the second drilled tote with fresh and moist bedding material and some organic matter gently on top of the worm compost. Give the worms a few days to crawl through the holes in the bottom of the bin to find their new home and food. You can now take the middle bin out and use the compost in your garden.

What about Those Darn caterpillars?

Through attention to healthy soil condition, the organic gardener mitigates insect, fungal and other problems that can plague plants. However, no garden is grown without some troubles. Today there are organic insecticidal soap sprays, and other non-chemical pest-control methods that are available to organic gardeners.

Some natural ways to control pests
• Understanding Pests and allowing for an acceptable level of pest damage
• Understand pest life-cycles, (i.e. moths can lay larvae which become hungry caterpillars)
• Encouraging predatory beneficial insects to flourish and eat pests- LADYBUGS RULE!
• Encouraging beneficial microorganisms in the soil to promote a healthy root zone
• Careful plant selection, choosing disease-resistant varieties and varieties suitable for your area
• Planting companion crops that discourage or divert pests – (i.e. Marigolds and carrots w/ Tomatoes)
• Using row covers to protect crop plants during pest migration periods
• Rotating crops to different locations from year to year to interrupt pest reproduction cycles
• Using insect traps to monitor and control insect populations

Bio-Intensive Gardening -Works Great for Small Spaces!

This Victory Garden – Saddleback College's 2009 South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show Competition Garden- is an example of bio-intensive or square foot gardening. The idea is that a large amount of vegetables or food crops can be grown close together.

The advantages of raised beds and "square foot gardening"*.
*Square foot gardening is a term used by Mel Bartholomew in his book The New Square Foot Garden, Rodale Press 2006
Much less work. Beds are small enough to reach across sparing the use of heavy tools and equipment. The soil in the raised beds is free of weeds, is mulched and thus needs water less frequently.
Water Savings. A soil mixture is advised that has some water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs water less frequently and in much smaller quantities than other gardening methods. Water is also spared by hand watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.
Very little weeding. One benefit of this close planting is that the vegetables form a living mulch, and shade out many weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
Pesticide / Herbicide Free. Natural insect repellent methods like companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become very efficient in a close space and thus, pesticides are not necessary. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
Accessibility. Raised beds can be enclosed on the bottom and lifted off the ground for those who prefer not to bend or squat or to make gardening easy for wheelchair, cane or walker users. The logic behind using smaller beds is that they are easily adapted to any area, and the gardener can easily reach across the entire garden, without stepping on and compacting the soil.

Suggetsed Reading and Bibliography of Sources for Today's Posts

Bibliography/ Sources/ Suggested Reading:
Michael Polan. The Omnivore's Dilemma. A Natural History of Four Meals. penguin Books, 2006

Eliot Coleman. The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener. Chelsea Green, 1995.

Karan Davis Cutler, Barbara W. Ellis, and David Cavagnaro. The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener: A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically. Wiley, 1997.

Tanya L.K. Denckla. The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food. Storey, 2004.

Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley, eds. The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals. Rodale, 1996.

Anna Kruger, ed. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. DK, 2005.

Edward C. Smith. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Storey, 2006.

Steve Solomon. Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. New Society, 2006.

HRH The Prince of Wales and Stephanie Donaldson. The Elements of Organic Gardening. Kales, 2007.

Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening, Rodale Press, 2006

Geoff Hamilton, Organic Gardening, DK, 1993