How to Save Money and Grow Healthy Organic Asparagus
Filed under Organic Gardening
Asparagus is a perennial crop that is very well suited to the home garden. This is good, since the cost of certified organic asparagus can be quite high in stores, even at the height of the fresh asparagus season. As the price of fuel continues to increase, so does the cost of most foodstuffs – especially highly perishable crops such as asparagus.
It was once believed by the ancient Greeks that asparagus had magical properties, since it was capable of restoring people to health after long winters. It certainly is among the very first crops to come up in the spring, even in a garden planted with winter crops the previous autumn. Moreover, they are packed with vitamins A and C, as well as plenty of minerals. Even pickled asparagus, a favorite among bloody many enthusiasts, retains a significant amount of dietary nutrition.
While heirloom varieties of this dioecious crop naturally have an even number of male and female crowns, there are several male-only hybrid varieties that can increase yields by as much as three times. Female crowns that produce a proliferation of berries on the “ferns” each year can quickly become a pest problem and must be managed carefully.
With few exceptions, experts agree that asparagus is a heavy feeding crop that is especially hungry for nitrogen. Generous applications of compost or well-rotted manure are made yearly, with additional side-dressings of blood or feather meal made twice during the growing season.
Since they are such an early crop, leaving plenty of open space that attracts weeds each year, many choose to plant between asparagus furrows with legumes. If tilled back in as a green manure crop, these can provide plenty of slow release nitrogen that will be available in the early spring when the pants need it the most.
Most home gardeners start with asparagus “crowns” rather than trying to start directly from seed. If starting from seed, there won’t be a crop until the following year because the seedlings will need to be transplanted in the autumn to their permanent location. When begun from crowns, fresh asparagus can come up as early as the next spring, though yields are best from plants that are at least three years old.
Mature asparagus crowns are unusual in that they’ll tolerate a rather wide range of soil pH conditions, ranging from slightly acidic to slightly basic. They are also able to tolerate applications of rather strong fertilizers directly on their roots without suffering fertilizer “burn.” It is, in fact, very common to plant crowns in trenches already lined with fertilizer.
Crowns are planted relatively deep – it’s not uncommon to see them set in as many as 8-10 inches (20-25cm), since asparagus is known for pulling itself out of the ground unless constantly mulched over. It is a good idea to plan on planting about 10 crowns per person in your household to keep everyone in plenty of fresh asparagus throughout the growing season, with about half that required from all-male cultivars. Like most certified organic asparagus growers, you can expect about ½ pound of spears from each plant over a 4-8 week harvest period, depending upon how old the crowns are.
After planting, it’s best to not harvest spears in the first year of production, allowing the new plants to establish themselves further in the subsequent season. Keeping weed pressures down is especially important if starting asparagus from seed, but this is also true of any new planting. Keeping weeds down will reduce competition as well as some pest problems in this generally trouble-free crop.
In subsequent years, fresh asparagus spears should be harvested as soon a they’re as wide as a pencil. While you may let them get larger, the stalks can become woody. Blanched asparagus seen in stores is produced by covering the emergent spears with a cardboard box or another covering to allow the to come up in total darkness and is popular with home-pickled asparagus, though it reduces the vitamin content of the resultant asparagus by quite a bit.
Asparagus are generally trouble-free plants, related to the lily. However, there are a few specific problems such as the asparagus beetle and asparagus rust. These can be kept under control with choosing resistant varieties, avoiding planting them near onions and keeping he weed population down.
How to Save Money and Grow Healthy Organic Tomatoes
Filed under Organic Gardening
Growing organic tomatoes are probably the holy grail of the home gardener. No other crop is subjected to quite as much scrutiny and competitiveness as the tomato. Add to this the fact that whether purchasing conventional or organic tomatoes, the price has nearly doubled along with the price of petroleum since the mid-’aughts. The effect has been even greater with hothouse and hydroponic tomatoes that have a high carbon footprint. It’s no surprise that more people than ever are interested in growing a tomato plant or two of their own.
Part of the pride and challenge of growing your own tomato plants is starting them from seed early in the season. Tomatoes love heat, and tomato seeds germinate best with plenty of it. Start 6-8 weeks before the last frost date in your area and plant the seeds in a fine, sterile seed mixture with bottom heat. The medium should stay between 70-75F (20-24C) at all times.
Do not be tempted to keep a cover on top of the tray to increase the temperature. The mixture will need plenty of aeration to keep fungal pathogens like the dreaded “damping-off” fungus from cutting your otherwise seedlings down. Pythium and other diseases can carry off a whole flat of seedlings in a single night, so it’s far better to keep the whole room warm rather than try to trap the heat and moisture together.
Most tomatoes are frost tender, so don’t try to put your plants out too early. Even if it is past the last average frost date, that means you’ll still get a frost at least 50% of the time. Climate change has made predicting the last frost date in any year far more difficult, so there’s a bit of luck and intuition involved. The bold are sometimes rewarded, especially if they run out and cover their baby plants in the event of a freeze.
Be sure to give the seedling tomatoes plenty of light. While it is certainly possible to grow tomatoes fully under supplemental lighting, as is commonly done with hydroponics, tomato plants require plenty of light to avoid becoming “leggy.” Be sure to supply plenty from a non-incandescent source such as fluorescent “plant-lights” with peaks in the red and blue parts of the spectrum, and place the fixture as close to the tomato plants as possible.
The tomato is a relatively heavy feeder that likes a well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. A deficiency of the latter is the true cause of “blossom end rot.” The site you choose should get at least four hours of direct sun, with 6 hours being preferable. Dig down at least 18 inches (46cm) and loosen up the sub-soil so the roots can spread. Mulch is effective at keeping the roots cool while the aerial part of the plant stays warm.
Many people choose to site their earliest tomato plants along a south-facing wall to take advantage of the warm micro-climate that creates. In fact, there is no end to the tricks that people will use to get the earliest possible tomatoes, including purchasing tomato seeds of ultra-early varieties. However, be advised that the best tasting tomatoes don’t often come until later in the season.
Tomato plants are highly susceptible to many diseases and disorders, with powdery mildew and tobacco mosaic virus being among the worst. When growing organic tomatoes, it’s important to maintain sanitation, good growing practices and a long rotation of at least 5 years without another Solonacious crop, including pepper, potato, eggplant or petunia.
Powdery mildew affects nearly all tomato plantings eventually, often attacking older leaves first. This can be delayed until the very end of the season by making sure to never get irrigation water on the leaves. Though that’s impossible in climates with summer rain, it can be controlled in more arid or Mediterranean climates with micro-emitters or drip-tape irrigation. Preventative applications of dilute neem oil are also helpful in keeping the fungus at bay.
Many insect pests spread disease, including virus. Though many plants are resistant to it, it doesn’t mean they’re immune. One way resistant plants prevent attack by stylet insects such as aphids is by having very long hairs (called pubescence by plant scientists) that physically prevent their mouth parts from reaching the plant. Keeping such plants well-watered (not water-logged) will keep those hairs nice and turgid so they can protect the tomato plant from predation.
Planting the tomatoes with basil or marigolds are often an effective way to keep organic tomatoes from being attacked by other types of insect. At the end of the season, be sure to prevent the spread of disease by removing all vine debris and burning them. Root crops such as beets and carrots or brassicas are often a good crop to follow organic tomatoes with.
