We won’t go into all 12 principles of permaculture here. But consider how many of them are addressed by composting (as listed in Christopher Shein’s excellent new book The Vegetable Gardner’s Guide To Permaculture): work with nature, produce no waste, use and value resources, catch and store energy. To organic gardeners, all that come together to mean one thing: improve soil conditions without harmful chemicals.

This is the time of year we’re adding grass clippings, if we have them, to our compost piles as well as vegetable scraps from our kitchens, thinnings from our garden (if we’re not eating them), and year-round items like cardboard and newspaper. The permaculturist, in an effort to diminish waste, advocates using shredded office paper and the like as a brown (carbon-heavy) material. The organic gardening purist may not want to add newspaper because of what might be in the inks, office paper because of the bleaching agents that make it white, and carboard because of the glues used to hold its corrugated surfaces together.

Permaculturists will also add food scraps — their own and their neighbors — to the compost heap. These are very high in green (nitrogen) and if not balanced with enough brown material — dried leaves and plants, sawdust and, yes, paper — they could lead to an anerobic, putrid compost heap. Kitchen scraps have a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 25:1. By comparison, grass clippings have a c-to-n ratio of 12:1.

What’s interesting here is how different philosophies — permaculture and organics — are both closely related yet can have specific differences. If you’re avoiding the production of waste as best you can (permaculture) you may not be as concerned with things like inks in newspaper that goes into your compost. If you’re an organic purist, you may not want to use any sort of paper in your compost. Permaculture experts suggest scavenging grocery store dumpsters (or making an arrangement with the store’s produce manager) for collecting expired fruits and vegetables. Organic gardeners, in an effort to keep out any pesticide or herbicide produce (or avoid having to wash everything they collect; a huge use of water) may avoid produce from grocery sources. And they wouldn’t use grass clippings from a neighbor who sprays his lawn with weed killer.

To casual observers, it might seem that sustainable gardening, organic gardening, and permaculture are one and the same. But their differences are obvious to those who pay attention and follow the practices. It’s the goals — the principles — of each that generate these differences. But their overall effect is positive. Consider the sharp contrasts each has with traditional, fertilizer-reliant, pesticide-dependent gardening and commercial farming. As all organic, sustainable gardeners and permaculture enthusiasts know, one must sometimes make compromises. Which would you make? Which would you never make?

Introduced in April, the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act was brought to the Senate by California Democrat Barbara Boxer and to the House by Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio. Here’s Senator Boxer’s announcement of the national gmo labeling bill complete with cosponsors and approving organizations, a group that includes the Consumer’s Union, the Center For Food Safety, and the Center for Environmental Health as well as several food marketers, a group that ranges from Lundberg Family Farms to Ben & Jerry’s.

While not completely ignored — the gmo labeling bill has nine cosponsors in the Senate and 22 in the House — its chances of even being given a hearing are slim considering the state of our dead-in-the-water congress. Only one cosponsor from both houses is a Republican and both of those are from Alaska. (Alaska state legislators have passed a law requiring the labeling of all genetically modified fish and shell fish and the state recently turned down a petition from AquaBounty Technologies to produce GMO salmon in state waters. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and other grocery marketers have announced they will not carry AquaBounty salmon when it reaches the market.)

The national labeling bill comes as evidence mounts that some GMO products are indeed dangerous to human health. A recent study of pigs fed a mixed diet of GMO grains showed those animals with a high-rate of stomach inflammation. Female pigs also suffered from enlarged uteri (uterus). The study is important not only because pigs fed GMOs are part of the human food chain but also because a pig’s digestive system closely resembles that of humans.

Another recent study linked the use of Roundup, the widely applied, GMO-friendly herbicide, to Parkinson’s disease, infertility, and some cancers. Roundup residue, commonly found on non-organically grown produce, were found to “enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease,” according to the report. The irony here is that the more Roundup is used, the more weed become immune to its effect.

There’s plenty of evidence piling up regarding the harm GMOs cause to health, the environment, and business.

Here’s where to contact your own representatives concerning GMO labeling. It’s only a step — an outright ban on GMO food sources is the best answer — but a step in the right direction. Let them know — and us — how you feel.

The kinds of flowers commonly called daisies are actually a smaller group than what’s in the daisy or asteracae (aster) family. That large group that counts some 600 species includes sunflowers as well as daisies, cone flowers, and asters. Our personal favorites are the tiny alpine daisies that grow above timber in the highest mountain passes. Here in the southwest, annual African daisies are popular for their varied colors and drought resistance. What’s known as the New England daisy or aster — and this is one of the great things about daisies — actually grows all across the country.

The popular Shasta daisy, a good choice for high altitude, rain-challenged locations, is probably what most people think of when they think daisy. Available in both single and double-petaled varieties, they are very easy to grow. They’ll need to be dug up every three or four years to have their woody centers divided to allow them to continue to produce abundant blooms.

Most common daisies are easily started from seed but you can start them indoors in pots as well. They’ll tolerate poor soils but, like most plants, will do best in well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. Another good idea, epsecially with annual, African varities, is to sow them in pots outdoors, placed where they will mark corners of deck and patios with their brilliant, long-lasting blossoms.

Specialized daisies are popular among florists and those selling cut blossoms at farmer markets. The gerbera daisy, a south African native with tight petals that come in colors ranging from bright orange to pink, is often grown in greenhouses for commercial sale. You’ve probably seen them at your local florist. Why not grow them in your yard?

Don’t be confused by the range of flowers considered daisies that you know as asters. Part of the confusion is geographical. What the English call Michaelmas daisies, those blue or purple, late-blooming flowers that grow in the poorest soils and can take over an entire garden patch if you let them, are known in this country as purple asters. But then, as Shakespeare said about the rose, what’s in a name?

What is xeriscaping? Simply stated, it’s water-wise gardening. It’s not just about the water we use (or don’t) during times of drought. It also addresses our use of diminishing water supplies as demand — from population and housing growth, agriculture, industry (especially the natural gas industry) and, yes, drought — continue to tax finite water supplies. Xeriscaping is a way of continuing to have enjoyable landscapes in the face of less and more expensive water use.

The details of xeriscaping are encyclopedic. They’re linked to local soil, native plant, and climactic factors. But the principles are simple, common-sense measures and are easy to apply almost anywhere. Here are the eight principles, with our comments, listed in David Salman and Cindy Bellinger’s aptly titled and useful reference Waterwise Garden Care: Your Practical Guide published by High Country Gardens Publications.

1. Plan and Design. . . Salman and Bellinger suggest creating water zones and then plant accordingly. “Allocate water where it will most directly contribute to the beauty and comfort of your home.” In other words, concentrate plants that need more water where they can be seen from a porch, balcony or window.
2. Create Practical Turf Areas . . . lawns use a lot of water. Limit their size and plant them with native grasses.
3. Use Approriate Plants . . . This is where the details — and a good nursery person — can come in handy. An observation: Native plants look naturally great in their native habitats.
4. Improve the Soil  . . . Nobody needs to tell the wise gardener that organic matter in the form of compost helps soil retain moisture. This is a critical step in getting the most from the water you do use.
5. Use Mulches . . . Mulch captures moisture, whether from rain or watering, and prevents runoff. It also keeps soil loose and friable.
6. Irrigate Efficiently . . . Drip irrigation and soaker hoses — even hand watering — are efficient ways to deliver moisture to your plants. Watering to proper depth, or thorough watering, is also important. Keeping moisture in the soil — see mulch above — adds to efficiency.
7. Capture Rain and Snow Run Off . . . Rain barrels save water from your roof for later use in the garden. Terracing and water-holding ponds can also supply moisture to plants when used effectively — see plan and design above.
8. Maintain Your Landscape and Garden Properly . . . If you over water, your plants will just demand more water. If using drip irrigation and other delivery means, keep them in top working order. A broken timer on your drip system can allow your plants to dry out, or worse, drown them. Vigilance — monitoring the moisture needs of your plants — saves both plants and water.

Xeriscaping isn’t just for gardeners in dry areas. Everyone can use water more efficiently in their gardens and, with the cost of water bills these days, efficient use of water isn’t just good for your plants but good for your pocketbook. How do you make the most efficient use of your water? Let’s us know. Each of the principles above has a myriad of practice and technique attached to it. Tell us yours.

Due to heavy lobbying, several conditions were attached to the bill. One would require at least four other states to join Connecticut in passing GMO labeling laws. Those states must have a total population of 20 million. And one of them must border Connecticut.

Many labeling supporters see the conditions as a way to permanently cripple the bill. Others have saluted the bill as progress. One report called the compromises a “condition of virtual impotence. ” This report also identified the largest and most active opponents to the measure, a group that includes lobbying organizations supporting the Connecticut bio-tech industry, giant grocery retailers and — you guessed it — Monsanto.

The conditions are designed to give Connecticut cover to prevent being sued individually by Monsanto and others (as was threatened in Vermont in 2011) and to avoid retaliation and harm to the state’s grocery retailers. Rather than submit to the labeling requirements, large suppliers of products containing GMOs, it’s argued, could just stop shipping them to the state (population 3.5 million).

Because of its large population, the labeling of GMO-containing products in California could have influenced the entire country to label genetically modified products. Suppliers would have been reluctant to lose such a large market. In the face of heavy lobbying, voters defeated the California initiative in November. Some 25 states are now considering GMO labeling through law or initiatives. Connecticut may have the numbers it needs sooner than opponents think.

Neighboring Vermont may be ready to join Connecticut with a labeling law. If passed, labeling in Vermont could take effect as soon as 2015. (Vermont has a population of 650,000… what about you, New York?) Monsanto has previously threatened to sue Vermont in past considerations of the bill. With other states joining in, such a suit would not only be less costly for the state but would also increase its chances of winning. Stay tuned.

In other GMO news, news satirist Stephen Colbert addressed the issue of the genetically modified “zombie” wheat that turned up in an Oregon farmer’s field in a recent show. Calling Monsanto “another defenseless multinational,” Colbert suggested the corporation destroyed all tested material and “buried that wheat in the middle of a field” because of potential lawsuits. The theory isn’t so far fetched. A Kansas farmer has sued Monsanto over the appearance of the wheat, claiming that the company’s negligence has driven down the price, hurting American farmers. For its part, Monsanto has suggested that GMO activists were behind the appearance of the GMO mystery wheat. You can see Colbert’s segment in video here.

There’s nothing better than pulling up a lawn chair and surveying our garden kingdom no matter its size: the neat lines of bright green seedlings planted just days before, the transplanted seedling started weeks ago indoors now flourishing in their new outdoor homes. Yes, there’s a break in the action once the garden’s in — or maybe you’re still furiously trying to get everything in the ground — but that doesn’t mean you can step back and let things go off on their own. Here we offer some June gardening tips and chores:

–Protection is important, especially in places where June brings storms with hail and strong wind and rain. Have a supply of plastic milk cartons with the bottom cut out to protect transplanted seedling should inclement weather arise. Use cloches or hooped covers to protect seedlings from storms. Anchor any protection well so it doesn’t blow away.

–Watering can also be critical, especially in places where drought is a factor (we’re surrounded by forest fires here in the hills above Santa Fe). Seedlings quickly succumb to dry soil so check soil conditions frequently and be sure they get enough water. Newly germinated plants require delicate watering … consider a mister nozzle. Thoroughly watering garlic and onions now will mean bigger, better bulbs later. Water deeply planted veggies like tomatoes thoroughly to encourage early growth.

–Now’s the time to thin. Give plants plenty of room to facilitate quick growth and discourage pests and disease.

–Practice succession planting. If your lettuce has been in a week or two, it’s time to plant more. Heat resistant varieties of greens are best for planting now. A second planting of bush beans put in the ground once the first planting has emerged will help extend your harvests.

–Have extra seed? Don’t just leave it in the package on a shelf in your garage. Most seed will survive a season or more if kept in a tightly closed glass jar. You can help keep those seeds dry by folding up some milk powder inside a small square of paper towel and including it in the jar.

Your June garden chores, of course, will vary depending on your location, micro-climate conditions, and weather. Lists of June chores from gardeners here and here and here will show us how gardens are proceeding around North America. How does your garden grow… this June?

– In the interest of fair and balanced reporting, here’s a British study that claims organic farming isn’t really all that better than conventional farming. Notice that the focus is on production. Also notice that it doesn’t say anything about improving soils. Careful readers will see all kinds of omissions in the comparisons the study makes.

– Here’s a great chart that shows how heirloom and wild fruits and vegetables are higher (much higher) in phytonutrients than conventionally cultivated cousins. If you find this interesting, follow the link to the accompanying article.

– Last week’s protests against Monsanto and GMO crops brought much attention to an issue often ignored by corporate media outlets. Here’s a slide show of Monsanto protests from around the world. Here’s a wrap-up of marches held across the U.S. And here’s another report that claims some 2 million marched in 52 countries.

– The protests against Monsanto were almost immediately followed by news that Monsanto’s genetically modified wheat, a product not approved by the USDA, has been found in an Oregon field. Japan and North Korea immediately halted import of  U.S. wheat and the European Union was considering such a move. The wheat, which had not been planted for nine years in Oregon, “mysteriously” appeared, according to Monsanto. Monsanto has treated the discovery as no big deal. But experts disagree:

“This was not from a recent trial, which means it’s been sitting there in the environment,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit group. “It’s highly doubtful that it’s just on one farm. If it’s out there, it’s out there.” The center’s science policy analyst, Bill Freese, added, “It’s been 12 years since this wheat was grown officially in Oregon. It doesn’t just disappear and magically appear 12 years later.”

These aren’t the first losses for American farmers caused by the U.S.’s acceptance of GMO crops. In 2006, rice farmers suffered huge losses when GMO rice was discovered in shipments for export and several countries banned rice from the U.S.

– In other Monsanto news, The Nation reports that Monsanto hired Blackwater, the infamous corporate private security firm, to “become the ‘intel arm’ of Monsanto, offering to provide operatives to infiltrate activist groups organizing against the multinational biotech firm.” Were these the guys responsible for misleading Facebook posts announcing the Monsanto protests? (Most reported change: “protests are canceled.”)

But what goes around comes around. Anonymous hacked the Monsanto website last Wednesday, May 29. Their justification for this act of technological disobedience is as clearly stated as any we’ve heard: “they are altering the nature of our food supply without concern for long-term effects on human health.” That’s really it in a nutshell, isn’t it? Of course, Anonymous also addresses the Monsanto protection act recently passed by Congress and signed by the President. They say that the bill was passed because Monsanto donated a large amount of funds to politicians in order to keep the truth about their food products in the dark. Really? Just ask Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri.

One is hardening off. The plants that you’ve germinated in the warm indoors on heating mats and raised under lights aren’t used to the cool, windy conditions they’ll experience outdoors. Give them time to adapt by placing them in a cold frame or taking them out for a few hours each day letting them enjoy their first taste of the great outdoors in sheltered conditions.

Another factor important to planting seedlings is timing. The days of last frost have pretty much come and gone… but not everywhere. You’ll also want your soil to begin drying if you’ve had a wet spring. We saw lots of flooded fields and gardens in northwest Iowa over Memorial Day and can only hope that the plants already in those gardens will survive. (Last year, those areas were suffering from drought.) Some places are having the opposite problem, with drought conditions persisting.

The time of day you plant can also be crucial. Try to set your plants out later in the afternoon so the sun doesn’t dry them out and otherwise punish them. Wind can also be hard on them and rob them of moisture. If it’s windy, wait. Or provide them some kind of windbreak. Inverted milk cartons cut in half and anchored an inch or two in the soil work well and provide a mini-greenhouse effect. But don’t let the windbreak fall on your fragile seedlings.

Liberal watering is important for newly planted seedlings. But you don’t want soil to be saturated before you put plants in. Extremely wet soil wil compact around the newly planted roots and smother or break them. Watering should come after they’re in the ground. If your soil’s still extremely wet, wait until it’s workable.

Transplanting is also a good time to give your seedling a little energy boost. We like to give them a rush of fish and seaweed fertilizer, diluted to twice the recommended level. Too much fertilizer will shock vulnerable seedlings. Mixing a little compost into the planting hole is always a great idea.

How deep to plant? Depends on the plant. Most plants need to be set only slightly deeper than they were in their growing containers with the cotyledons (that first pair of embryonic leaves) above ground. Tomatoes are different. Plant them deeply with much of the stem below the soil, removing leaves and side shoots to facilitate the planting. The “hairs” along the stem will form thin roots and take up water giving your plant added nourishment.

Some gardeners recommend bending the stem portion that will grow underground (scroll down) so that it’s horizontal. The idea here is that with more of the root closer to the surface, the plant will absorb more heat and produce more quickly. We’ve never been able to determine if this actually works in the mostly cooler zones where we’ve gardened. Anyone having success with this method should comment and let us know… please.

If you’ve grown your seedlings in peat pot containers or other containers that can be planted pot and all, its a good idea to tear them or break them up a bit to give roots a place to grow through while the container disintegrates.  Never leave the tops of peat pots poking out from the soil… they’ll wick moisture away from your plants roots.

If you’ve raised plants in plastic containers, or purchased them that way, water them thoroughly before transplanting. To remove them from the container, invert the plant with your fingers on either side of the stem and shake gently to loosen the soil ball and have it slide from the container. If the soil around the transplant’s roots is compacted, it’s a good idea to gently loosen it with your thumbs before sticking it in the ground.

Don’t be afraid to pat down the soil gently around your plant once it’s in the ground. This will help it stay upright and give its roots something to anchor in. If your plants droop, don’t worry. If you’ve done well, they’ll be up and happy the next morning. For more detail on transplanting seedlings go here and here.

No. Now is not the time for sentimentality. Crowded plants not only discourage growth, they encourage pests and disease. Crowded seedlings shade each other from the sun. As they get larger, it only gets worse. Crowded root vegetables, including turnips, beets, and radishes, won’t develop useable roots if they’re crowded.

The earlier you thin your freshly germinated garden plants, the faster they’ll grow. We’ve recommended gradual thinning in the past, as well as using thinning as a means of collecting greens for the first spring salad. But really, you don’t want to wait that long. Give each little plant its space (check seed packages for spacing suggestions). If plants such as carrots are too close and tangled to remove by plucking, use scissors. Tweezers can be handy for those particularly delicate jobs. And don’t just thin once. Go back after a week or so and make sure each of your little treasures has the space to do its best. This second thinning might be the time to collect thinning for a garden salad.

Here’s a cute little video on thinning … notice the photo collage that begins the video (from North Carolina). That looks like a great community garden.

You can make the chore of thinning easier by using careful planting techniques when sowing seed. Side show: We’ve noticed that many garden books brush over the topic of seeding or avoid it all together. But how you seed can be critical. Plant at the depth recommended on the seed package (here’s a chart that can help). Be sure you tamp down the soil where you’ll be planting. In our little garden, this meant using a broom stick or a rake handle (be careful if the rake is still attached) and pressing down firmly, even walking on it, to make a short trough. After the seeds are in the trough, cover them to the recommended depth and tamp down firmly (but not too firmly). Water thoroughly making sure the spray is not so hard as to wash away the soil.

But you know all that. How do you insure good spacing between plants when sowing seed? With large seed — beans, squash, pumpkins, corn — it’s easy to do by hand. If you have a large garden you might want to invest in a walk behind seed planter or stab planter. But for most of us, hand sowing is the norm. And tiny seeds — lettuce, even tomatoes — this can be difficult. For pin-point planting, Renee Shepherd likes to moisten the tip of a pencil, touch a seed so that it clings to the pencil tip, and then push it into the ground. This is great for something like tomatoes, of which you’re not planting so much of (and we usually start our tomatoes indoors anyway).

Those tiny lettuce seeds? Mix them in a can with a couple three tablespoons of coarse sand and then sow a pinch at a time. This not only adds some space between the seeds, it also helps you see how far down the row you’ve gone.

Our favorite technique for lettuce is not to plant a row but to plant squares — you know, the old square-foot gardening technique — though our squares are a little larger. We sow the seeds from the corner in, then lightly run over the square with our palm to (hopefully) distribute the seed more evenly. Then cover with hand sprinkled compost or soil and tamp. Luckily, lettuce shouldn’t be planted too deeply.

When planting seed mixes (mesclun) we don’t worry too much about immediate thinning. Some plants will grow faster than others and as they’re removed, others grow up to take their place. Do thin if there’s an especially crowded place. Otherwise your plants will grow long and leggy, not exactly what you want for salad greens.

In the meantime, here’s an article detailing the history of Monsanto (notice that this article claims to have been monitored by U.S. Counter Terrorism apparatus) beginning with the company’s founding in 1901. Notice that Monsanto has been involved in a lot since then, including the manufacture of aspirin and the production of the first atomic bomb. The piece also gives a good accounting of Monsanto’s role in genetically modified crop production and the various tactics it’s used against farmers.

As citizens concerned with individual and environmental health as well as champions of the organic lifestyle, we’ve written a lot on GMOs. Often the battle against this corporate behemoth seems futile with even branches of our own government allied against us. But there are small victories, as witnessed by this. As we’ve often said about gardening and organics in general, knowledge is power. The more we know — and share with others — the more effective our actions against GMOs will be. Let us know what happened in your town on May 25.