Using Cold Frames

Cold frames are one of the greatest resources that a gardener has. They are easy to make, inexpensive and allow for you to extend your growing season. We've been using cold frames for years. Recently, we got ours ready for spring. This is where we will get an early start on lettuces, cabbages, radishes, carrots and green onions. In my opinion, the best reference on extending your growing season and using cold frames is Eliot Coleman's book Four-Season Harvest. Any book by Coleman is a gold-mine of information, but this is one of the best because it provides information that you are unlikely to find elsewhere. He even gets very scientific about what varieties will perform best for you throughout the winter.

I have already started some seeds to go in my cold frame. Most everything that I put in there will be a transplant. I will direct seed carrots, green onions and radish, though. The temperature inside the cold frame is much higher than outside, so even though it is still very cold in Kansas City, I will start plants under the cold frame this week. Don't forget they are there, if you have an unseasonably warm day, they can overheat and die very quickly. Also, don't forget to water these plants. There still isn't a lot of direct sunlight right now, so these plants will grow much slower than they would in the summer. Plants that I put in in two weeks will quickly catch up to the ones I will plant this week. It will continue to be that way until spring.

Cold frames are extremely easy to make. They are basically wooden frames covered with plastic. The weight of the plastic is fairly important, i'm not sure what weight ours is, but don't get the thinnest and don't get the heaviest - it won't let in enough light. We used reclaimed wood to make ours and we have been using it for a couple of years. My husband puts it together using screws, he says, these will hold better than nails. We staple the plastic to the frame, unfortunately the plastic doesn't seem to last us longer than the one season.

Food Politics

I was lucky enough to get to hear the wonderful author and food advocate Marion Nestle speak a couple of nights ago. If you are not familiar with her, you should take the time to become so. She is the nutrition chair at New York University, author of numerous books and host to the website Food Politics. Of her books, Food Politics is my favorite. It traces the complicated issue of how the food industry influences what food choices we have at the grocery store to eat. These issues are dictated by thirst for profit, not good nutritional policy. She also provides information to help consumers make good food choices for themselves and their families. Her newest book, Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine, is an investigative report on the March 2007 pet food recall.

In her talk, she spent some time talking about her new book Pet Food Politics. Even if you don't have an animal which you buy pet food for, this issue should be important to you. During her investigation, Nestle was able to trace how pet food contaminates ended up back in the human food system. Pet food has vital wheat gluten added to it to increase the protein. The vital wheat in the contaminated pet food was adulterated with melamine, which is an industry byproduct that is cheap and mimics protein. This adulterate was coming from China. Melamine was causing bladder and kidney problems in these animals. At least as important is how melamine was getting into the human food supply. It is common practice for scrap pet food to be sold as livestock feed. On this occasion, the melamine ended up being fed to chickens, cows and fish., which ended up being eaten by humans.

Marion Nestle advocated that this is just one more indicator that it is necessary for a comprehensive farm to table food policy in the United States. Currently, the FDA and USDA are independent entities that have become fairly toothless because of restrictive legislation from Congress. Until this changes, individuals have to make smart food choices for themselves. Buying organic is one choice people make to have more faith in their food. I think choosing to buy locally, from farmers you know is arguably, even more important. Small, local farms take pride in their products. They also have to personally back up any product that they sell to individuals because you are able to ask the farmer questions, pass on favorable and unfavorable critiques, and you know where to find them if there is a problem. A lot more people are choosing to supplement their local purchases by growing more of their own food. This is where my mindset is, so a lot of the blogs I will be posting will be focused on helping people be able to do this. If you must buy from a grocery store, try to minimize the processed foods. Whole foods have less chance of being adulterated. Besides foods taste better when you prepare them yourself and they are much healthier.

I know it doesn't even seem possible. Temperatures are below freezing and a lot of the country is up to their backsides in snow. However, it is time to order your seed catalog. There are a lot of things to consider when ordering your catalog because you want to get the best, most reliable seeds possible. It's easy to pick up a couple of packets of seeds at your local hardware store but it you want a great selection and reliable quality, go all out and order from a seed company. Besides, you will learn a lot about gardening and the specific plants from these catalogs.

I think of a couple of things when I'm thinking about what kinds of seeds I'll want, which is how i decide where i want to get catalogs from. The first is what kinds of vegetables do me and my family eat. There is no reason to buy eggplant seed if you've never even eaten one - unless you feel adventurous this season. I always try a couple of different vegetables every year. So, make a list. What kinds of vegetables do you love? What kinds of vegetables just taste so much better straight from the garden than from the back of an 18-wheeler that's just driven across the country (or now-a-days even further.) This category will probably include most all veggies, but there are some we know for sure. There is nothing like fresh lettuce (and nothing easier to grow) and nothing like eating tomatoes straight off of the vine.

So, now you should have one list, what kinds of vegetables and herbs you would like to grow. Next, consider what is important to you. For me I really enjoy growing heirloom varieties of vegetables. I love that they have a history, I love that they are usually more tasty (because they haven't been bred to ripen quicker, or last on that truck ride across the country), and i like that they are not genetically modified. So, I look for seed companies that carry a large selection of heirloom seeds. It is also important to me to try to get organic seed as often as possible. I order a lot of seed from seed savers and their members - sometimes it is seed they have collected from their backyard. I know chemicals have not been used on the seeds even though they are not certified organic. So, if i can i buy organic seeds if not, buy from a company (or better yet a person) that you are familiar with and know their growing practices. There are a lot of regulations and organizations that have been formed to have a tight hold on the organic certification process. This can make it very cost prohibitive for the small producer. (If you are using your seeds to make sprouts, please, buy certified organic!)

Now, that you have an idea of what kinds of seeds you'd like. We need to find some companies that carry seeds that meet those qualifications. You can google seed catalogs or you can choose from some of my favorites. I'll give you the low down on some great seed companies and their catalogs. There are a couple of companies that don't print paper catalogs and you'll have to order from them online. I'll give you a link to each of these companies and let you know how to get their catalogs.


My new favorite catalog this year is from Baker Heirloom Seeds. This is a gorgeous catalog. They have gone all out this year. Baker is a great place to order seeds from. They carry an incredibly large selection of heirloom seeds. They carry vegetables, herbs and flowers, many are rare and you won't find them anywhere else. You can request a catalog from their website.




My second favorite place to order seeds from is Seed Savers Exchange. They also carry an enormous selection of heirloom seeds. As a matter of fact, they have made it their mission to try to save as many varieties as possible. A great organization, a great catalog. The catalog gives you a lot of information about each variety. They also have a lot of rare varieties, which i love to try. You never know when you'll have a new favorite. You can request a catalog from their website.



Next, I get lots of seeds from Bountiful Gardens. This is an off shoot of John Jeavons and Ecological Action (of the grow biointensive movement.) I love John Jeavon's books, they are incredibly useful if you are trying to grow enough food to live on in a small area with no inputs that come off of your "farm." The seeds he offers are perfect for this type of growing. One thing this catalog offers that I absolutely love is variety packs. You can get one packet of carrot seeds that will contain 10 or 20 different varieties of open pollinated seeds. This is a great option for those with limited space and limited budgets that still want a variety of seeds. I highly recommend getting a Bountiful Gardens catalog.

A great place that does not have a print catalog but specializes in tomato seeds is Tomato Fest, my mother in law gave me a gift certificate to there last year. I ordered a lot of seed from them and will again this year. Great variety, great seed. check them out.

A couple of other good places to get catalogs are

Seeds of Change - they have a good selection of seed and gardening supplies. all of their seed is certified organic.

Johnny's Selected Seeds - they are starting to have more organic seeds. Carry mostly your standard varieties.

Territorial Seed Company - also has a large selection, some of which are open pollinated, some are organic.


Get those seed catalogs order, in one of the next couple of posts, we'll talk about what to look for when picking out seeds

Welcome

This is my first blog - ever, anywhere. so, bear with me while i learn and stretch those rusty writing muscles, which were never particularly nimble to begin with. Why have I brushed away the cobwebs to start a blog? Why even a blog, when i'm not that enamored with technology and may not even have anything very relevant to speak of? Well, I'm kind of on a quest. I believe i may have started it a long time ago but wasn't even aware of it. Or perhaps, i'm finally making a commitment to start it today. My goal is to learn to do as many things as possible for myself. To become as self sufficient as possible. This includes earning a living not working for others, learning and practicing permaculture, organic and sustainable agriculture, alternative building, animal husbandry, sewing, cooking, canning, and i could go on ad naseum. all the things i will need to learn has not even dawned on me. Along the way, my goal is to make as much art as possible, drawing, painting, ceramics, making music, and functional art such as clothing. And to build as much community as possible. I do not claim to be any kind of an expert on any of the above mentioned topics, or even any topics that i will dream of once i go to bed tonight. However, i thought there may be someone out there in cyber world or the real world that may share some of the same interests. They may be following a similar quest and that i could use this blog to swap information. To learn out loud, so to speak. to take notes of my quest and to process some of my learning. Please, eaves drop in on the process, comment, question, post suggestions and ideas. Most of all, consider walking along with me. There can not be too much learning, there can not be too much art, there can not be too much caring about our community of people, animal and plant life. And it is probably time that we left the womb of wal-mart and learned to do some things for ourselves and in such a way that we feel good about our choices.

Stay tuned - I've gotten my seed catalogs, i'll share with you some of the catalogs i've gotten to order seeds for this spring (it's coming faster than you can imagine), and i'll tell you some great places you can look for seeds yourself.