Baby Cows in "Daycare"

Over the past few weeks, I’ve come face to face with almost every facet of gardening/eating/organic/conventional agriculture.  There was the trip to Tryon, NC for the BBQ and Bluegrass festival.  That was an awesome meat-eating fest if I’ve ever seen one!  We sampled lots of “chop,” which is BBQ code for “chopped pork straight out of the hog that is still roasting on the grill.”  I bought a shirt that also entered me into a raffle for a “smoked butt.”  Yep, you did read that correctly.

Shortly after visiting the friendly folks in Tryon, I headed off to the great Midwest, to visit my parents in Indianapolis.  Right off the plane, my Mom whisked me away to a dairy lovers paradise:  Traders Point Creamery. This is not, however, your run of the mill dairy farm.  No sirree!  It is a post-organic, uber environmentally friendly operation-a biodynamic farm that not only raises dairy cows and their calves from birth to milking to beef, but also produces award-winning yogurt, cheeses, milk, and grass-fed, grass-finished beef.  They also have true free-range chickens, and eggs, for purchase at their shop.  I’m lucky enough to be able to buy their yogurt in my local Fresh Market in Wilmington, NC, a fact which produces its own ethical dilemmas.  But, there’s nothing wrong with partaking of their sumptuous products when en-situ, which is what my Mom, her recipe group and I did in late June.

The Cows

The True Circle of Life on Display

While driving to Michigan to visit a client, I started listening to The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollen. (Separate book review coming soon.)  I feel lucky to have visited Traders Point and taken the tour, because I was fully able to visualize the biodynamic farm, Polyface Farm, he visits during the middle section of the book.  Traders Point is a post-organic, post-industrial farm that is, in many ways, very similar to Polyface.  Hence the chickens, pastures and cows all living and thriving together.  Here’s the way it works, in a snapshot:

• The pastures are carefully cultivated with a mix of native grasses and legumes (clover etc.).
• The cows graze the pastures and leave their cow manure there for the chickens.
• 

  A good look at the chicken house and the pasture grass

  The chicken-mobile is on wheels, and can be wheeled around to the various pastures so that the chickens can eat the insects in the cow doo (and, according to the lady giving the tour, chickens are only too happy to do this.), while still having a safe place to roost at night.

• The chickens leave their doo, which is high in nitrates, a natural fertilizer for the pasture.
• The cows are milked once or twice a day, and their doo from the area where they wait to be milked is washed into the manure pond
• Where the manure is broken down by bacteria into nutrients that plants can take in.
• The water is used to irrigate and fertilize the pastures.
• Chicken eggs are gathered.  The cows are kept at the farm for their natural life span, except for steers, which are butchered after about two and a half years of eating a 100% pasture grass diet.
• No anti-biotics or growth hormones are used or needed.  Because they rotate the grazing, feed the cows according to their natural diet, and let chickens pick through the cow doo, gobbling up what could be harmful organisms for the cows, disease is almost non-existent.

It’s Good to Eat Beef

Undoubtedly, one of our favorite parts of the tour was learning about the nutritional content of meat, eggs and dairy products from  grass-fed, grass-finished animals.  Cows are naturally ruminants, which means they have a highly adapted stomach that perfectly digests grass.  Chickens are healthiest on a diet of grasses and insects.

Modern CAFOs (confinement farms) feed cows and chickens grain-based diets, for which they are completely un-adapted, and basically makes them sick.  Another ridiculous part of the CAFO system is that meat, dairy and eggs produced this way is not healthy for us.  These products are high in Omega-6 fatty acids that lead to heart disease, and low in Omega-3s.  Grass fed beef and dairy products have a normal ratio of the Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids, and are good for you.  So, it isn’t that eating beef is so bad, it just depends on what the cow ate.  Ditto with dairy.  The fats in grass-fed dairy products have been studied, and the general conclusion is that they are good for you.  (I’m not a dietician, so you might want to read more about that elsewhere.)

Inside the Milking Parlor

While at Traders Point, we bought some packages of their ground beef from their grass-fed cows, and cooked up some DELICIOUS burgers.  I think I might have even converted my parents.  In addition to being better for you, grass fed beef just tastes better.  Up until the factories producing materials for bombs switched over to using the nitrogen to produce fertilizer, cattle and chickens, and other grass-eating animals only ate grass, because corn wasn’t cheaper.  And when did our health start to drastically decline due to our “western” diets? During the 1950s-post World War II “boom.”

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Probably Fire

The most remarkable thing about visiting this farm, aside from drinking a BUNCH of their chocolate milk, which tastes like melted chocolate ice cream, was observing that the farm did not smell bad.  If you’ve grown up in an area with lots of farms, you know what I’m talking about.  If you’ve taken a trip through the midwest, past CAFOs with chickens, cows, or hogs, you’ve gotten a whiff.  The whiff of too much waste, and not enough micro-organisms breaking it down, and nowhere for it to go.  Basically, my point is, where there’s smoke there’s fire.  The stink of a CAFO is the smell of agriculture gone amok.

Next time:  more about the Omnivore’s Dilemma and what all of this means to us.  In the mean time, if you have the chance to eat some of the Traders Point Creamery dairy products, seize the opportunity and eat!

Related articles

• Lessons Learned in Organic Gardening (0)

There are a number of towns and cities in the nation who are attempting to find out what that would look like; while educating groups of people, particularly in low-income communities, to become more self-sufficient.  This has been largely successful in the areas where a commitment has been made to this effort.

Wattle's Garden

Why Community Gardening?

A funny thing happens when you get people out of their homes, into the fresh air, and remind them that they can become a provider of some of their own sustenance.  Low income areas in particular have notoriously been linked to crime, accused of living off of the government, and in general have been marginalized.  When people are perceived that way, sometimes those ideas become what they think of themselves, and motivation to become anything else diminishes.

Self Sufficiency Through Gardening

No matter how much you enjoy or hate your job, there is a sense of pride in knowing that you are providing a service, producing a product, or contributing ideas to the greater world.  You make money, and you buy food to feed your family.  Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, you roll your eyes at the gentleman in front of you who pulls out his welfare card to pay for his food. 

For low income families, there has to a certain extent become a reliance upon “the system”.  Immigrant families in particular may come to this country having been used to farming for their food, then find themselves in an apartment building, or small public housing facility with little or no land to till.

Some low income families have never been out of the city and do not know the first thing about gardening, and may have heard the word organic, but do not know what it means.  Educating people about how to grow their own food, to take ownership for a piece of land, and to be able to produce something to help their family is good for everyone.  Not knowing how to take care of yourself without government intervention is a dangerous thing. 

This is true of mid to high level income families as well.  Talk to your neighbors.  If they answer you honestly, do they find it silly that you garden, preserve food, and bake homemade bread.  The “developed” nations have two generations taking it for granted that food will always be available at Wal-Mart, and that water will always spill from the tap.

Building Self-Esteem

In working with low income families, it is apparent that for many of them, having to rely on the government is not something that they want to have to do.  They feel that there is no way that they can provide for themselves any other way, and this robs them of an important part of who they are.  Community garden initiatives are a great way to give a parent and family a sense of self worth.

Community gardens are generally run by master gardeners, extension offices, universities, and happy volunteers who treat these neighbors with respect and as equals.  Anyone who gardens knows that it is a great social activity.  Being outside makes it much more likely that a you will run into another human being.  Teaching each other in the meantime is a bonus.

Does Community Gardening Really work?

Yes. When organized and coordinated properly, this has worked for decades in some communities (read one such initiative here.)  The people who farm their garden plots take pride in what they have, and keep the program going effectively.  Neighbors get to know each other, they get to know each other’s kids, and suddenly neighborhoods begin to work the way that they are supposed to.

Owners/leasers of community plots generally will not allow this privilege to be ruined or taken away due to it becoming a public nuisance, or a magnet for crime activity.  These gardens are kept very well, and are respected by others in the community and are off limits to vandalism etc.

The benefits of these gardens are too many to answer in one article.  Children are outside, they are interacting with their parents and neighbors positively, and families are learning that they can feed themselves on their own.  They are receiving better nutrition, and are also receiving nourishment of their spirit.  Unused and ugly parts of the community are being made beautiful and alive.  It might make you wonder what you could do to get the ball rolling on that empty field down the street from you.  If you have an idea, run with it, and then share it here and with everyone you know. 

I can think of few actions that are as simple or as important.  Good Luck!

Related articles

• No related articles.

Admittedly, there are no two years alike in the world of gardening.  Sometimes the weather throws a wrench in the works, or I just do not have the time to spend in the garden, or there is a pest or disease causing a problem that I do not recognize.  The humbling of this gardener came about as a combination of the three.

Not spending enough time keeping track of the garden.

I have been feeling unwell for a couple of weeks, and as a result have not travelled to my garden five times a day, as I often do.  There is then the added stress of my “country garden”, which is located 20 minutes from me at a relative’s home.

Because we are trying to not only provide for our own eating needs throughout the year, but also to sell any bumper crops at our local farmer’s market, we have committed to a larger garden than we typically have.  I started seed indoors, and tended them carefully, and placed them in my gardens lovingly with all of the nutrients and conditions that they needed.

Somehow, many of my plants this year had been severely damaged.  Some were eaten to the ground, particularly in the country.  But in my very own yard, something was attacking my broccoli and cauliflower bed.

The influence of this year’s weather

We have had an incredibly wet spring.  And I have incredibly clay filled soil.  So, I was able to attribute some of the yellowing of leaves, and rotting of roots to the rainfall.  However, what did not make sense to me was how that much rainfall could erode my plants of all foliage, or fall so hard as to put holes in the leaves.

The aphids were being well controlled by the ladybug larvae in a shrub near my gardens.  I destroyed the small green worms that I found on my broccoli plants, and yet each morning, there were huge holes in my beautiful cauliflower leaves.  I was enraged, and a bit stumped.  This was not supposed to happen to me, I am an organic gardener, and should be able to fix all problems just as the books talk about.

The attack of the slugs

Finally, while pulling the grass back from my pea bed which was also being dessimated, I discovered the problem.  Slugs were everywhere.  This has never been a problem in my yard, and I had no idea what to do.  I read and researched, asked fellow gardeners and tried all of the tricks they suggested.  However, the broccoli and cauliflower were yellowing, missing leaves and not producing.

There is a great product out there called Slug Magic, that now seems to be taking care of the rest of my plants.  But in my mind, it was already too late.  I have a bit of a problem with instant gratification.  That’s why root vegetables drive me nuts.  I just want to see if they are ready yet.

Now for the lesson

This discouraged “seasoned” gardener had enough.  I made the decision that it was time to pull that whole bed and start over with something else.  Even with the slugs now controlled, it was too late, I was sure.  I got up the other morning and got all of my equipment together, my cucumber and green bean plants and set to get to work.

As I bent over to pull the first hopeless victim, I was in a downtrodden state of mind.  Then I noticed something.  Down in the very center of that cauliflower plant, was a quarter sized, beautifully white curd starting.  I felt a glimmer of hope and looked at the plant next to it.  A very similar result.  Somehow, my plants had done what plants are supposed to do given time, they overcame the adversity of the wet soil and the slug attacks.

What does this have to do with anything?

As an organic gardener, it is sometimes easy to slip back into the mindset of the conventional gardener.  There must be a quick fix, I have to solve this, this plant needs my intervention.  In fact, what my garden often needs is for me to relax, and to let the ecosystem in my yard allow things to move along at their own pace.

It was a nice reminder to me of why I do what I do.  Plants do not need to be manipulated, sprayed, and poisoned.  They have been surviving for years without human intervention, and with any luck, I will be enjoying fresh delicious cauliflower in a month or so.

If you get discouraged when your garden does not respond the way that you expect it to, do what you can, and then step back, and watch the miracles that unfold in front of you.

Related articles

• Your Beneficial Insect Army – We Salute You! (4)
• Select Garden Plants Carefully. (1)
• Good and Bad Bugs. (0)
• Using Natural Insecticides in Your Organic Garden (0)
• Should I Turn to Organic Gardening? Pros and Cons (1)

You really want to do the right thing, but the pull toward the ”just this once”, application of mass-destruction full spectrum insecticides and toxic chemicals are calling out to you.  Perhaps you still have some lurking in the corner of garage, basement or shed.  Instead, you trudge along begrudgingly to the garden center for the natural insecticides.

Breathe.  It may not be pretty, but it will be okay.  It is the end of June, and quite often, the life cycle of all of those nasty garden pests are in full swing, but will ebb.  Many times, one of those cycles is more frustrating than others.  Generally, insects in the larval stage are the most damaging as they are voracious eaters and for whatever reason, are not attracted to the perfectly good weeds back along your fence.

Monitor Your Garden For Insect Infestations

It is a hard thing to do during a busy spring and summer, with work, and kids home all day, but to the extent that you can, watch your plants.  If you know your garden, you will notice new holes, curling leaves, lines, and yellowing that may not have been there before.  All of those symptoms can possibly be the result of an insect infestation.

Once you are able to recognize a problem, you can begin to diagnose it.  If you are not able to identify the issue, try the internet or take a photo and send it to your local extension office.  They may be able to tell you everything that you ever needed to know about your particular pest in one hour or less, and how to control it.

Find a Product That Can Solve the Problem

There are a number of outlets where organic products can be purchased.  However, it may save a lot of time and frustration to buy online. While many garden centers and big box stores are beginning to cater to the organic market, they usually do not have many choices, and may not have the least intrusive choice, which is of course, the one that you are going to want to use.  If you are not already receiving organic gardening catalogs, sign up for some, or review them online so that you know what is available.

Use the Right Product at the Right Time

It is a difficult decision when it comes to actually using a spray on your precious plants.  Start small.

• Use a hot pepper wax spray or a garlic spray: This can take care of the chewing problems in many cases, and does not kill all of the beneficial insects that you have been working so hard to keep in your yard.  The drawback is that you often need to reapply following  a rainstorm, or periodically to ensure effectiveness.  This method does not kill any insects, only makes plants unappetizing to those who may destroy them.
• Use an insecticidal soap: The mechanism used in an insecticidal soap is that it works to dry up the bodies of soft bodied insects.  This would include aphids, scale, and the larvae of many other insects.  It works on contact, and gets rid of that particular problem immediately.  However, it also can kill off your beneficial insects, and that is to be avoided if at all possible.  Spray directly on the pest attempting to avoid other non problematic insects.
• Use Neem Oil: The use of oil is often considered to be a last choice.  The way that oils work is to suffocate the insects that may be bothering a plant.  In many cases, this is desirable, however, it is also non-selective, and can involve a hefty expense depending on what needs to be sprayed.  Oils also often keeps pests from overwintering in the soil.

Do Not Become Discouraged!

There are ways to get through the hardships of organic gardening.  For many of us, it becomes about accepting imperfection.  It is okay to have a couple chew holes in your leaf lettuce.  But everyone has a different tolerance for these imperfections.

If you prefer to have an organic garden that looks rather perfect, then one of the above products will work well.  But insecticides are just one spoke in the wheel of having a terrific looking garden. Look at your garden as a whole, and using other methods to help protect your plants and deter insects (companion planting and soil maintenance, for instance), you can reduce your reliance on pesticides.

Related articles

• Your Beneficial Insect Army – We Salute You! (4)
• Should I Turn to Organic Gardening? Pros and Cons (1)
• Select Garden Plants Carefully. (1)
• Organic Ant Control (2)
• Natural Repellents (2)

However, there are proper techniques that will not only keep your garden healthier, it’ll teach them to grow stronger roots, disease will be less prevalent and, most importantly, you’ll save money by wasting less water.

Here are some tips for proper plant watering:

• Water in the early morning hours. This allows the plants and soil surface to thoroughly dry during the day – if watering in the evening, there is a chance for fungal disease to develop. Watering at peak hours is a waste of money and resources, as the water will simply evaporate. Sometimes, it will evaporate so fast that your plant leaves will become damaged through burning. (Think of yourself at the beach, without sun screen. Your skin will burn much, much faster if you are wet.)
• Water deeply and infrequently. Water them about twice a week. Count to twenty five on each plant. When you water this way, you encourage plants to grow deep roots that will serve them well in times of drought.
• Water the soil at the base of the plant – don’t just fling the water around casually onto the plant leaves. Plants take up water through their roots.
• Instead of a nozzle or sprinkler, invest in a watering wand. The rosette, or breaker, on the end of the wand provides a gentle shower of water for the plants, and will not forcefully erode the soil while you water.

Self-Watering Containers

Tomato Self-watering kit, from Gardeners

Another option, if you use a lot of containers, is to grow plants like tomatoes (and other plants that are sensitive to fluctuations in moisture content) in self watering containers.

These containers (or conversion kit to fit into a container) allow you to fill up a reservoir under the soil where the plants grow. The water is drawn upward into the container through a wicking system, thus keeping the plants evenly moist. These containers are also great for people who travel frequently. If you’re the type of person that forgets to water your peace lily, self-watering containers are also useful. Peace lilies frequently look fine, fine fine, fine, then suddenly dead, due to inconsistent water fluctuations.

Overwatering

Overwatering can kill a plant just as under-watering will. Overwatering keeps the soil saturated, which means that oxygen cannot reach the plant roots. This can lead to root-rot. Under-watering causes a loss of water pressure throughout the plant, and a plant can reach a “permanent wilting point,” which is the point beyond which, it will not revive, regardless of the amount of water that you give it.

Keeping those tips in mind will help you water your plants with exactly the right touch.

Related articles

• Winter Houseplants: Orchids Part I (4)
• Top Tips for Fall Gardening (1)
• The Wonderful World of Rain Barrels (1)
• Should I Turn to Organic Gardening? Pros and Cons (1)
• Hydroponics – Plants Without Soil (0)

Setting the Stage

For the super stars of your fall color garden spectacular to show up, you need a nice background. In beautiful, mountainous regions with spectacular fall color (think Vermont), evergreen trees scattered throughout the mountainside provide a bit of backdrop and “punch,” against which the bright reds of the sugar maples and clear yellows of the birches pop. Holly trees, pines, spruce trees, arborvitae and junipers make good backdrops for fall color from other large trees. Tea olives, yews, ivy, periwinkle, and other, smaller evergreen shrubs and perennials provide a background for other perennials and shrubs with fall color.

Perennials with Pretty Fall Color

When planning a beautiful fall garden, think beyond trees and include perennials:

• Our spotlight plant, Blue Star, has great yellow fall color.
• Sedum blooms in the fall, and many varieties also change color in the fall.
• Joe-Pye weed is a giant perennial that blooms in the fall. Its leaves turn a reddish color when it has finished blooming.
• Chrysanthemums and asters also bloom later than almost any plant in the garden.

Other perennials with pretty fall foliage include: balloon flowers (yellow foliage), plumbago (red foliage), bloody geranium – Geranium sanguineum (red), and switchgrass (red).

Underused Trees and Shrubs with Fall Color

Native plants are always preferable for organic gardeners. When you plant natives, you can attract birds and other wildlife to your yard.

Serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.) are native to North America, provide great food and shelter for birds, and have three season interest. They bloom white during the spring, and produce a profusion of red berries during the summer. In the fall, the leaves turn brilliant red or orange. They grow to be no taller than about 25 feet, which makes them great to plant in landscape beds closer to the house, or on the edge of the yard against an evergreen backdrop.

Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), is a medium-sized tree that grows to a height of about 50 feet. It does best in moist soils that are high in organic matter, but is, overall, a tough tree, thriving in a wide variety of conditions. You can almost always recognize the tupelo by its branching habit, because the branches grow out from the trunk at strict 90 degree angles, creating a platform or pagoda-like appearance. The fruits of the tupelo are some of the earliest to ripen in the fall, and provide food for many species of birds. The leaves turn dark red to purple, and, in some cases, orange, in the fall. This tree is an under-utilized gem in the landscape.

The bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora), gets its name from its summer flower stalks that are tall, white, and look like bottle brushes. This shrub also has pretty fall color. The leaves turn bright yellow. The plant can naturally spread to cover an eight foot by eight foot area, but does do well with pruning. It prefers acidic, well-drained soil and a spot in full sun to part shade.

Related articles

• When Should Compost Be Applied? (0)
• What is Organic Gardening, Really? (3)
• Top Tips for Fall Gardening (1)
• Spring Flowering Trees (0)
• Planting Greens for Fall Harvest (4)

Amsonia has an un-deserved reputation for being difficult to grow. They are difficult to propagate, or multiply, but not difficult to grow. You will rarely see seeds of this for sale, but you can buy plants, and that’s the way to go. Once you have established Blue Star in the garden, it needs very little care throughout the entire growing season. It looks impressive, but is easy to grow.

To keep your Blue Star plants happy, plant them in locations that receive full sun to part shade, and have moderately moist soil. They will bloom during late April to late May, depending upon location, but lend interest to a perennial border all year. Because of its status as a native plant, they are relatively insect-free. For a striking addition to your butterfly garden, native plant garden, or perennial border, try Blue Star!

• Blue Star is available for shipment as a plant from Park Seed

Related articles

• No related articles.

Well San Francisco has very recently passed a law requiring that all city residents separate their appropriate food waste into a separate bin.  So now instead of glass, metal, and paper, there is also a bin for kitchen scraps and other food.  There is no indication in the law that those already composting will be disallowed from continuing their activity.  It seems that the city is just not accepting food waste to go to the landfills.

San Francisco has been well ahead of the curve in it’s recycling and composting approaches.  For years, the city has been working with apartment building, restaurants, and businesses on a voluntary basis to begin saving food and yard scraps from entering the landfills.

How in the world is this much compost used?

Already, the city has used the rich compost to sell back to community farms, wineries, and residential gardeners.  There is such high demand for this “San Francisco Gold”, that they are often unable to keep up with demand.  This is encouraging news given the fact that this proves that not only is this law smart, it is also useful and profitable.

California is well know for its abundance of wineries, and for the terrific wine that they produce.  That can in part be contributed to the initiative that the city started in 1996.  Companies are selling the product back to the consumer for $12 a square foot, and for those who do not want to be bother with composting in their own yards, this would be a small price to pay.

There should be no harm in collecting from everyone in the city, as it is hard to imagine a scenario in which such well tended compost will not be in high demand.  In fact, in some cases, it would be a boon to those who are not able to produce enough compost to meet their own gardening needs.

Have other cities passed similar laws?

No, San Francisco is the first to pass such a far reaching law, but other areas have attempted to get voluntary participation from its residents.  New York City has encouraged citizens to participate in this activity on a voluntary basis, but without a lot of luck.

One would think that with the precedent having now been set, it may be on the agendas in cities and municipalities nationwide.  San Francisco has provided a model that works, and one in which most of its residents seem ready to engage in, that it would perhaps be foolish for other cities large and small to try.  Food waste in landfills is a missed opportunity, and its benefits do seem to outweigh the costs.

Not everyone is such a big fan

This is certainly true.  Many people have a hard time with any type of change so heavy-handed, or with any new activities being imposed upon them.  There is much griping on the web about “big brother”, and big government trying to control more of how people live their lives.  This law is being used as an example of more socialism being forced in our country and our lives.

It is surprising that garbage could be such a polarizing issue for some.  It is not clear why there is more resistance to this than there was to mandatory recycling of metal, glass and plastic back in the nineties.  Perhaps much of it is due to lack of knowledge about the subject, or the fact that it’s more personal (”You are what you eat“), but once it becomes a habit, perhaps it will seem like any other routine part of the day.

What’s next?

San Francisco is not imposing fines on anyone who does not follow this law until 2010, which gives residents 6 months to get used to separating their garbage in this way.  The city has a goal to eliminate all landfill waste by the year 2020.  It will certainly be interesting to see if this is something that can actually be accomplished.

Related articles

• Tips for Organic Gardening Newbies (8)
• Thinking about the Compost (0)
• Organic Versus Conventional Gardening – Comparing Fertilizer (2)
• Organic Composting (0)
• Investigation of Compost Bins (1)

White Clover, available at Gardener’s Supply Co.

Lucky clover. You’ll usually see three leaf clover, but sometimes, just sometimes, you’ll be lucky and find a fourth. Actually, contrary to modern belief, you’re a lucky gardener if you find white clover in your lawn! Yup, clover is one such “weed” that gotten a bad rap, and I’ll explain further on (it involves a juicy corporate conspiracy theory!)

Why Would I Want White Clover in My Lawn?

Clover is one of those legume plants, like fava beans and alfalfa, that actually sucks nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. As the roots die back, the nitrogen is replenished into the soil. Think of clover as free fertilizer storage bins for your lawn.

In fact, a lawn consisting of just 5% clover will actually produce 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, or half the recommended nitrogen per year. With clover producing half your lawn’s nitrogen needs, and by leaving your mulched lawn clippings on the lawn after mowing, you will likely not have to apply any other nitrogen fertilizer source.

Here are some other benefits of including clover in your lawn:

• Nitrogen provided by clover will not leach out of your lawn, and will not change your soil’s pH like synthetic can do
• Clover will often outcompete other weeds, acting as a weed shield for your lawn
• Strong, deep roots makes it a hardy and resilient plant – it’s very low maintenance, making it ideal for the “lazy” organic lawn gardener (which, I admit, I am!)
• Clover remains green all year, even without water or fertilizer, adding to the aesthetic beauty of your lawn in times of drought
• The presence of clover indicates good soil fertility, so if it is not thriving, it means you need to build-up the health of your soil
• Honeybees (which are vital to plant fertility) love clover – though this could be a drawback if you accidentally step on one!

Once upon a time (before World War II), clover was a highly valued addition to anyone’s lawn. Most grass seed came with a good mixture of white clover, (also known as Dutch or Irish clover), and part of the “keeping up with the Jones’” mentality was comparing the clover content of lawns! So, what the heck happened?

So Why is Clover Considered a Weed?

This is where the juicy corporate conspiracy theory enters the picture. You see, the first large-scale synthetic pesticide, 2,4-D, had the unfortunate effect of killing clover, along with other broad-leaf plants. Think of clover suffering from “friendly fire.” Dr. R. Milton Carleton, who helped introduce 2,4-D, was even publically apologetic that his product killed clover. So, what ultimately happened?

Most of you can guess – to help sell 2,4-D, corporate marketers began to publicize clover as a weed. The campaign was so successful that nearly every conventional gardening book ever since lumps clover in the chapter on weeds. The suburban cultural move towards (frankly, unsustainable) perfectly colored monoculture lawns didn’t help the white-flowered plant either.

Today, finally, clover is getting some respect. With the pendulum shifting back to more natural lawns, gardeners are beginning to re-learn the benefits of clover. So, if you find it in your lawn, encourage its growth. To achieve an efficient 5% clover mix in your lawn, evenly spread about 1 ounce of seed per 1000 square feet of lawn.

Clover only begins to convert nitrogen from the air when “infected” with beneficial soil bacteria called rhizobia, which builds nodules of nitrogen on the clover’s roots. Most good soils in temperate regions will have this bacteria, but if in doubt (for instance, if there’s no clover in your area at all), find a field with clover and dig up a bit of soil to add to your yard.

• You can purchase white clover seed at Gardener’s Supply Co.

Related articles

• No related articles.

Why use a rain barrel when you can just hook your hose to the outdoor spigot and get all that you need?  Because water is not an infinite resource, and it often freely falls right out of the sky and can be harvested by the responsible organic gardener.  The other option is that it runs off of our roof and enters storm drains and often goes to waste.

The use of a barrel is exceptionally important in the spring and early summer, when rainfall tends to be hard, heavy, and of limited duration.  That kind of rain does not provide the deep watering that we are looking for like a light soaking rainfall would.

That is why harvesting that water is such a blessing.  In most climates, those showers slow down in the summer months, and cities begin to put limits on watering of plants, lawns, and lead to a prohibition of car washing.  However, if you have been busy harvesting the water from your roof, you should have a good supply of water to get you through those tough times. This water will have the added benefit of being chemical and chlorine-free, unlike ordinary tap water.

How Do I Harvest Water?

I have never heard of harvesting water, only of harvesting fruits and vegetables.  What does this mean, and how expensive or difficult is this?

Use a rain barrel, of course!

Most of us have heard of this gardening device, because it has become more acceptable for people to have these in their yards.  However, you may or may not have one.  There are a variety of units made from all sorts of materials, and with as few or as many accessories as you may require.  Quick research on the Internet has a range of $30 to about $400 depending on what works for you.

It may be necessary to alter your downspout system to accommodate having a rain barrel set up.  Much of this will depend upon the set-up of the rain barrel that you buy.  There are barrels with spigots that allow you to use a hose, or systems of water collection involving 3 or more barrels.  Some people have an excess of water, and use it to wash cars, or clean other items in the garage. 

It is possible to find a place where water runs off of your house without the advantage of a downspout, and to catch it in a garbage can.  It’s certainly not a requirement to spend $300 to harvest the water that is available from a rainshower! If using this method, you can install a spigot at the bottom, or just dunk your watering can into the can.  Keep it covered when not in use to avoid accidents with children, or standing water for mosquitoes.

Challenge yourself to think outside the tap

How else can you harvest water without a rain barrel?  How much water runs down the drain when you are waiting for water to heat up from the faucet?  When you rinse vegetables, do you rinse them in running water, or in a bowl of water?  In all of these cases, the water can be captured in a pan or bucket in the sink, and added to another container outside used to collect water.

Do you have a dehumidifier?  There is one in my basement that creates close to 5 gallons of water per day.  That gets added to our non rainwater container outside as well.  Depending on the type of detergent that you use in your laundry, you can keep the water from the rinse cycle to water non-edible landscaping plants.

I certainly do not have all of the ideas on how to reuse or harvest water that generally runs down the drain.  If you use a different method, share it here, share it with friends or with whomever will listen to you.  Part of the excitement of organic gardening, is thinking of sustainable solutions in our yards and gardens.

Related articles

• Watering Your Garden – Proper Techniques (0)