While this may be one of the more expensive ladders I’ve ever used in this project (It was hanging about and I have several like it) you can build your own with 2×4’s for a few bucks. It’s not overly fancy but it works like a charm. I note I did a trial once without nailing the ladder together and the weight of the tomatoes worked just fine to hold it all in place - it was really easy to store when it comes apart that fast as well.

Train the tomatoes up through the rungs to hang over the sides of the ladder. The fruit is off the ground, you can see the fruit to harvest it easily. No flimsy cages to tip over under the weight of huge harvests.

So I’ve open sourced this idea - feel free to use it. Mind you, I’d really appreciate it if you’d call it Doug Green’s Tomato Ladder - that would be kinda cool.

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Doug Green’s Tomato Ladder

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The second is that while we normally use a tripod for this pole bean trellis - in the example here we’ve actually used 4 poles. The trial is to see if it resists the strong island winds better than our normal 3-pole system or whether we have to move the area to more protected spot (we lost a few trellis systems blown over in a late summer storm last year).

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Growing Pole Beans

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Unfortunately, there are three kinds of “blight” that you’re likely to see in your garden at this time of year. The first one and most common is “Septoria leaf spot”. This particular problem appears roughly around the end of July and starts out as small round black or brown rotting marks on the lowest leaves. It works its way up the plant to hit all the leaves but it starts from the bottom first. You’ll get fruit if you have this problem.

The second most regularly seen is Early Blight. It usually appears about the same time as the Septoria but it has concentric target-shaped marks. In other works, the spots on the leaves look like targets with circles within circles. This too spreads all over the plant and you’ll get fruit but the yield will be reduced.

The least common of these blights is the Late Blight but it has appeared this year (it’s already on Long Island) and the experts tell us with the wet, cold year it can be expected to run rampant in gardens. The only slow-down mechanism that home gardeners have is a Bordeaux mix - if you’re in an area with this problem, start spraying according the directions on the label and continue. It will delay but not prevent the problem and you may get some small harvest.

Late Blight appears later than the first two and the first symptoms are a watery type of lesion on the lower leaves. If you get this one, you won’t have to ask what you have because the elapsed time from the time you first see it to the time the plant wilts and dies is about a week. If your tomato plants simply shrivel up and die with big brown spots on the leaves – and it seems to happen almost overnight – your plants are suffering from Late Blight.

The interesting thing about the blights is that they are not regular. There are a multitude of causes and seasonal variations and you think you’ve got the problem solved and the next year’s weather will come back, change, and create the problem all over again. I do note that the older tomatoes – the heirloom varieties – do tend to be more susceptible to blight problems than the newer hybrid cultivars.

So if you have the problem now, what can you do? Generally if you’ve already seen the problem, there’s not a lot you can do. A preventative spray of lime-sulphur or Bordeaux mix will slow down the spread of Septoria and Early Blight but the real key is in the prevention of the problem

Next spring, mulch your tomatoes. Mulching will reduce the stress on the plant but more importantly it will prevent “splash-back” from the ground to lower leaves during rainstorms. If you’ve ever noticed the lower leaves on tomato plants tend to be dirt splashed, it is because rain or overhead irrigation tends to splash dirt up. This dirt can contain the spores for blight and it is this inoculation that we want to avoid.

Install drip irrigation or use individual watering bottles (I’ve written about them before) with pinholes in the tops to water each plant. The trick is to prevent the splashing while ensuring the plant has enough water.

Do not water in the evening. We want our leaves to be dry going into the evening. Damp leaves and dark conditions are ideal for spore starting and keeping those leaves dry is the way to keep them healthy.

I’ve said this before but too many folks try to crowd tomatoes together. You really do need to space them apart. I find that staking the plants and giving them at least two square feet each is the best way to keep those leaves dry. I also prune off the lower leaves once the plant has set that bottom cluster of fruit. This lets the air and sunlight into the fruit and it also removes those lower leaves that can be water-splashed.

If the dew is on the plants, you’ve just watered, or it has just finished raining, do not work around the plants. Your hands and activities around the plant can spread the problems as quickly as anything can. While I’ve written this advice before, I’m about to do so again. Do not plant any crop in the same place more than one year. Planting in the same spot from year to year is simply an invitation to problems. They build up in the soil and there’s little you can do to prevent them using your tomatoes as a food source. Also do not plant peppers, potatoes or eggplant in that garden region as they will act as alternate hosts and be just as quickly wiped out by the problem.

If you have plant debris and you’ve had a problem, do not compost this material. The average home composter is not working at a high enough temperature to knock back the overwintering spores so the best thing you can do is bag up the dead leaves and stems and send them to the dump or municipal composting facility where the compost temperatures are high enough.

If you do see a branch with a problem, prune it out immediately. Do not let is sit on the plant to infect all other parts of the plant and reduce your yield. Similarly, remove weeds from around your tomato plants. They reduce air circulation, scavenge nutrients your plants need and can act as a host for the blights.

If you have a problem with blights, then do plant modern cultivars with disease resistance. Look for letters after the name of the plant in seed labels that might say “V” for verticillium resistant, or “F” for fusarium resistant. While not specifically blight resistant, they do have better overall resistance to diseases than those without those initials.

In the case of blights, the cure rests in good gardening techniques rather than any kind of magic spray.

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Tomato Blight

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I think the time is right for garden magazines if done right (I might be a bit early yet but the time is really coming fast).

We all know the Net offers things that print can’t do. There’s the instant communication, the community building, etc etc. But most gardeners also know that print does things the Net doesn’t do well (think images and in-depth reading lengths etc etc)

Each have their strengths and the real opportunity is to meld them into one single entity taking advantage of both the Net and the Print strengths.

The model for doing these kinds of hybrids exists although I’m sure that model will be changing (as do all parts of the Net) over the next few years. The challenge is in the putting together - of finding a publisher who “gets” the Net and “gets” what changes have to be made. Of finding the editorial people who can move to the Net because they understand both - the strengths (and face it) the weaknesses of both.

It’s not about creating a Net-like magazine. Nor of trying to mimic the magazine-model online. it’s about creating an energized new hybrid.

Let me give you one small example.

If you want to know how deep to plant tomatoes (assume you’re a beginner gardener) do you leaf through magazines for that bit of data, somewhere in a pile of magazines because you know you saw that article? Nope, you Google it -you get the data - you plant your tomatoes (if you’re a 20-something, you might even do it from your phone in the garden). That’s one strength of the Net - quick info.

If you want to sit back and think about your garden, understand how the garden works together as a whole or how to design your backyard with images - do you spend an hour reading an in-depth piece on the Net? Not a chance, this kind of type and display is really hard to read (which is why Net articles are now really, really short). But a magazine gives you that luxury and that’s one strength of the Print world.

So while those are two extreme examples, we know that gardeners want both (real gardeners - the kind who hang around reading blogs and magazines - not those folks who plunk in some impatiens, a tomato or two and could care less). And by the way, there are a ton more but this is a blog (for short stuff)

If I owned a garden magazine right now, I’d be rebuilding the entire publishing process to deliver both of the above. (plus a bunch of other really fun stuff but that’s a subject for another post). It’s about finding a way to deliver factoids that gardeners want while giving them the things to think about, to see in images, and understand in a way that allows them to think about that material.

I’d integrate the Net and Print as fast as I could. I wouldn’t be creating a separate division for the Net and one for print (that’s a really dumb idea in my world -that’s like throwing away the strengths of each instead of building on each) It would be a unified concept taking in the strengths of both magazine and Net (and would be designed from the ground up to take advantage of both) But given my bias, I’d probably start from the Net side because that allows me to talk to my readers to discover what they want in the print side (this is a reader-driven business publishing world now). Build the Net side and top it off with the print side.

Money? Heck, the print folks know how to sell ads. The publishers who’re still around know how to budget and run tight ships, run real business operations and collect subscription fees. Integrate that and subscriber lists into the website areas as well. Remember - it’s not about creating two distinct operations, it’s about creating one giant publishing platform - and it isn’t free. Readers are going to pay to use this system.

You build enough value into the system - and people will pay for it as I’ve found time and time again here on the Net (contrary to what some garden writers think)

So is it as simple as that? Obviously not - (hey, this is a blog not a biz-plan) and there’s a ton of things in the road to trip up the process.

But it would be really cool to own a magazine right about now just to give it a try.

And to answer the question, “Why I don’t?”

Over the last 6 months, I’ve looked at a variety of methods of putting one out myself, of starting my own but my reality is that I’m not 30 anymore and I’m much more interested in my sculpture and my sailboats than in drastically increasing my workload all that much. I have nicely growing Net writing business, (should do around 10 million visits this year on my sites up nicely from last year ) am writing some print books again, and I’m having too much fun with some of my new projects (I haven’t told you about those yet) to expand into the print world. (I’ve reached the age where life is more important than industry - come to think of it, I reached that age when I hit 30 )

But I tell you - there’s a future there for a print/web combination that speaks to real gardeners and that understands good content editing and reader response.

Image Credit

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

I wish I owned a garden magazine

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I asked some friends (and family) what kinds of video they watch and got two answers. The first was basic how-to stuff they had absolutely no idea about (like how to get dressed in formal Scottish attire). And the “funny” videos that friends sent them. Nobody I asked said they went and watched video-opinion or vlog material. Contrary to some in the industry, this kind of thing was a non-starter for my admittedly small sample. But I know that there is a lot of interest in the garden community for video making of all kinds.

As usual, I’m asking my readers what they think. (I find asking the people who read what I produce is a really good way to do things rather than simply following the crowd)

Not the Question

I like how-to videos that are short and to the point. Videos that “show me” how to do something and I know you do as well. That’s not the question - I’m going to keep producing how-to video.

Is the Question

The question is in the kind of Andy Rooney / Rex Murphy video - a blog turned into a video instead of writing the text out - the information or opinion is video-produced. It is not “how-to” - but it may be opinion, it may be product-review, it may be funny (if we’re lucky).

Do you watch that kind of video? Would you like to see me produce those?

Tell Me In This Survey

Here’s a short survey - there are four questions. (answer the question and click the “next” button at the bottom of the question - it will take you to the “next” question)

After you click on the 4th question, you’ll be returned to this page where you can make any comment in the comments section. And I’m delighted of course if you’d comment on what you think about garden video or where we might take this adventure in modern communication.

Thanks for helping me out

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Blogs and Video

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Here are the solutions we came up with for this shady spot.

1) We put logs across the area and staked them into place so the dirt wouldn’t keep washing down and we planted Vinca minor (periwinkle) at 1-foot spacing through the entire area. This stopped the immediate problem of erosion and the plants took 2-3 years to grow and stabilize the bank. Result - no more work and no maintenance. Yes, the weeds did come through but given it was a wilder area, this wasn’t a problem.

2) Terracing. The banks closest to the house were terraced and my aunt gardened there happily for many years. Each level turned into a major garden area

3) The gentler slopes were set to lawns and my uncle mowed up and down the lawn - mostly driving down the really steep areas (which is what I do on my steep area) and and turning and mowing up the gentler sloped areas.

Reduced Work Landscaping Ideas for Your Steep Hill Landscaping Projects

1) If you want a hill with the minimum of work but it has to look good - turf is the lowest maintenance.

2) If it’s a smallish area, you can grow large shrubs and evergreens on it to fill in the area so you don’t have to mow. Once or twice a year, you wander through and whack weeds but once the shrubs grow up, this becomes a minor chore. You can cover between the shrubs with landscape fabric and mulch to really slow weed growth. Caution - you can’t really use landscape fabric with flowers.

3) Use the log trick above to stop water rolling down your steep hill landscaping project while the plants are young. This is critical or the mulch will roll down the hill along with every rainfall.

4) You can install perennials such as daylilies as a ground cover. I say use a taller perennial like the daylily because the leaves look kind of grasslike and when real grass invades (it will) it won’t show up as much. I note that regular ground covers will require a lot of maintenance to get established - a lot of weeding on that steep hill. But once they’re in - they should hold most of the bank and reduce weeds somewhat. Short ground covers will require regular maintance because grass will invade them in sunnier areas and unless it is promptly removed, you’ll soon have a mess on your hands. In wilder areas of course, this kind of idea for landscaping a hill wouldn’t be a problem - let them run and let the winner take all!

5) Terracing can also work to create grass strips. The only trick is to ensure the base of each terrace wall has a built-in grass buffer strip so you can get the edge of your mower right up the edge of the grass (or you have to whipper snip along the base of each terrace wall) I tend to use a 6-inch wide plank of wood along the base of each wall to stop grass from growing against the wall.

If you have other ideas for landscaping a hill, please share them below in the comments section

Image credit

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Landscaping Ideas for Landscaping a Hill

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This easy system takes 5 minutes to construct and will easily last all summer. It does create quite a windbreak when the plants are fully grown so you may want to anchor it into the ground in a windy area. Last year, our bean support blew over in a windstorm (luckily at the end of the season).

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Tomato Supports

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It’s been so cold here that we’ve just planted our tomatoes and aren’t sure what’s going to happen with the yields. Here’s how I do it - nothing fancy but fast and easy.

Remember the cardinal rule and you’ll be fine - only leave 6 inches of stem showing above ground (more or less, it isn’t rocket science) and the stem will root.

And water thoroughly after you plant.

What else do you need to know? Oh yeah, I’ll be showing you other updates on tomato staking etc in future videos.

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Planting Tomatoes

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You did *what* to that plant? And you expect it to live?

Yes, you understand you have to water the plant, yes, you understand you have to feed the plant - you didn’t do either. So what is it that you want me to tell you? Why it died? Right.

You hate bugs but you want a large country place so you can have a big garden. Let me suggest you move to Manhattan, somewhere on the 25th floor should do it.

What part of “green side up” did you not understand?

Yes that palm tree will grow in Minnesota. For about 3 months starting in June.

What’s eating your plants? How should I know - it’s the Internet and you didn’t even tell me what plant was being eaten. All I know if it’s broccoli - we can eliminate George Bush.

Reading the instructions is too hard, you just want me to tell you what to do? Right.

You know you can’t water tulips heavily, but you want to grow annuals over top of them, you don’t want to dig the bulbs up and you want me to tell you how to bend Mother Nature’s rules? Really? Have you asked her?

Why can’t I solve your problems? Because they’re your problems.

Yeah, I know organic gardening is hard to figure out - getting sick from chemical exposure is ever so much easier.

You want to garden organically and yet you want to know what will kill every insect in your garden because you hate bugs? Really?

You sprayed what!? On what?! For crying out loud, did you read the label?

An insecticide kills insects. A fungicide kills fungus. So nope, spraying a fungicide on an insect isn’t going to kill it - all it will do is ensure the insect doesn’t have athlete’s foot.

Why did your plant die? It didn’t die, it just took a look at the gardener and committed suicide.

Your turn…

imagecredit

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Things a Garden Writer Shouldn’t Say

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It’s rather like that in the garden I suspect for folks trying to figure out the basics of organic gardening. It’s one thing to support the lack of garden chemicals in theory, it’s another thing to wrap your head around it when it comes to actually doing something about it in your very own garden. Organic gardening and protecting the environment is something everybody else should do because in practice it can all be overwhelming. This short column is about trying to make the basics clear; to explain that there are networks on networks operating out in your garden and you only job is to understand the basics.

The first thing to understand is that everything is related to everything else. Just as all web pages are linked together, so are all parts of the garden. If you delete a link on the net, you can still work around it but with less efficiency. So to in the garden, delete a link between a predator and prey and you can still deal with either but it’s harder. If you delete all the links between websites, it becomes very hard to find or work with either and this too is true in the garden. If you eliminate a predator with chemicals, the prey are going to explode in population; you’ve deleted the control function so the other half of the link is out of whack too with excessive growth.

You say well, that’s all and good with insects but what about weeds? The first thing to understand is that a weed is simply the wrong plant in the wrong place. I have plants in my gardens I call noxious weedy thugs but these were deliberately planted there by previous owners. Dandelions are herbal and edible delights but in the thousands, they can be a blight of a golf-course lawn. The second thing to understand is that there are networks in the soil for weed growth just as there are for insect growth. If you decide not to sow grass seed in the fall to thicken up the lawn, then Mother Nature sees an opening and will plunk some of her dandelion, or other weed seed, into that place. Thin lawn grass networks create spaces for weed networks. Soil conditions, excess levels of nitrogen or other nutrients caused by heavy feeding create great conditions for lush growth. Lush growth is great to eat so insects love this kind of leaf. By excessive feeding, you create a network link between your garden leaves and insects. Backing off the nitrogen allows the plant to regain it’s natural chemical functioning and it makes itself less appealing to insects.

Right, a plant that makes itself less appealing to insects! The fact is that indeed plants do this. A plant that is being eaten by an insect starts to produce leaf toxins that deter that insect from eating too much. Not only that but neighboring plants that are not being eaten also start producing the same level of toxin. The plants are networked in ways we don’t yet understand. And by feeding and creating lush leaves, the signals for plant protection are overwhelmed by the rush of incoming insects. The insects can move faster and eat quicker than the plants can respond. The network between plants gets broken.

Your job as new organic gardeners is to understand that given half a chance, plants and insects will create a natural balance in the garden. Because that’s something you have to understand; just because you’re gardening using organic techniques, doesn’t mean you stand back when the hordes of Japanese beetles start carrying your prized rose across the lawn. You whack ‘em. But you whack ‘em in a way that is specific to the problem, not to all insects in general. You treat the problem surgically rather than by nuking the entire garden. You want to solve the imbalance in your garden, to repair the predator-prey network, not to destroy it further. You do want to create a weed-free lawn but you don’t nuke the lawn, the plants around it and the insects that live on it. You want to restore a network balance to the lawn that creates a thriving grass area.

The single best way to restore balance to your garden network is to practice benign neglect. I know, it sounds strange but the trick of the matter is that if you allow some garden damage to happen, and have patience while it is happening (instead of nuking the area) strangely enough, it will stop of it’s own accord. The predators, who grow more slowly than the prey, will ramp up and control the problem. This is why we don’t want to nuke everything, we want to allow the natural cycle to operate whenever possible except in extreme conditions. However, when the tomato hornworms are stripping away your plants, don’t wait for the wasps to parasitize them, just pick and stomp. When aphids are covering the rose tips, a water jet is called for.

Organic gardening isn’t doing nothing, it’s doing the right thing at the right time to have the minimal impact on the natural network.

This is the challenge you know face. Your job is to become a gardener and not just a garden-decorator. Your task is to create great natural networks in your garden, not destroy them. And it’s a learning curve to be sure. Welcome to the wonderful world of understanding garden networks.

Copyright Doug Green 2008.

Garden Networks

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