Ten Reasons to Plant an Organic Garden (in no particular order)

1. You will generate less trash. Using food you produce yourself will cut down on the packaging you bring home from the grocery store. Also, composting kitchen scraps will reduce the amount of waste that ends up in your trash can.
2. Your veggies will be fresher than the stuff at the store. You will be able to walk into your garden, pick the veggies, carry them into the kitchen and cook them. The stuff in the store was picked weeks ago and then trucked long distances before reaching your store. Once in the store, it sits until you purchase it.
3. You'll get exercise without paying for the gym. Tilling, planting, weeding and harvesting all burn calories.
4. You'll reduce your ecological footprint.
5. You'll experience the joy of playing in the dirt (ahem, soil).
6. You'll become more self-reliant.
7. You'll experience a sense of accomplishment. When you harvest food that you have grown, the personal satisfaction is immense.
8. You'll save money.
9. You will improve the nutritional value of your diet.
10. Your food will taste better.

It's not as hard as you think! If a large garden seems daunting, plant a tomato or some herbs in a pot. You'll be glad you did.

Floating Row Covers

We garden year round, much to the surprise of many of our farmers market customers. Many people assume we grow in greenhouses, but this is not the case. Instead, we use floating row covers.
Floating row covers protect the garden from frost, wind, bugs and birds. They allow us to garden year-round and increase yields without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
What is this miracle product? It is a light-weight, spun-bonded polypropylene fabric that is water-permeable. The term “floating” refers to the fact that it can be laid directly over the plants, as opposed to heavier plastic row covers that are placed on frames. However, we have found better success stretching the covers over wire hoops placed in the soil. The fabric is anchored along the sides of the bed and at each end with rocks. During the winter, a double layer of fabric has protected our crops from freezing down to 5º F.
The covers capture heat, allowing us to plant earlier and harvest later. They conserve water by reducing evaporation. Because they allow 85% light transmittance, they do provide some relief from our harsh summer sun.
The fabric also offers protection from most birds (quail have crawled beneath our covers for an early spring pea feast) and insects. We do have problems with aphid infestations beneath the fabric, and we gather ladybug larvae from exposed plants and transplant them to the infested crops to control the aphids. In addition, crops that require insect pollination must be uncovered once they grow beyond the seedling stage.
We use Agribon+ AG-19 floating row cover. It is available from Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Johnnyseeds.com or 800-854-2580) and Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply (GrowOrganic.com or 888-784-1722). Both companies offer a variety of widths and lengths.

My First Blog Post

As they say, every cloud has a silver lining, and being stuck inside with a cold has given me the time to organize this blog. Sitting in front of the computer is not my favorite activity for a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but I'm sure this rest will help me heal that much more quickly.

Spring has arrived in Alpine. Our plum tree is in blossom, and the curved bill thrashers are singing. The male flockers (our pet name for our guinea fowl) are trying to impress the ladies by chasing each other until one gives up out of exhaustion. They race around the house, through the garden, up onto the roof, and then down the driveway, while the females ignore them. It's not easy being a guy!

We had a good market yesterday. We had a wide variety of greens, lettuce, beautiful brocolli, cabbage, carrots and onions. We won't be at the market next Saturday (March 1), because we're heading down to Chinati Hot Springs for the weekend. We will return to the market on Saturday March 8.