Durable garden trellises and tomato cages from concrete reinforcing mesh

Cucumbers climb a trellis in a community garden. The trellis is easy to remove at season's end.

Concrete reinforcing mesh outranks typical metal tomato cages in size, strength and ease of both harvest and storage between seasons. The metal grids are widely available at hardware stores and home and garden centers. The mesh comes in rolls of 100 feet or in panels typically 4x8 feet. The panels cost around $8. Yes, that may be pricier than a single tomato cage, but these cages are big enough to place two or three tomato plants inside -- and they'll last for years. The openings are 6 inches across, allowing for easy harvest.

A main advantage of the panels vs. rolls is not having to cut the mesh. To make a tomato cage bring the short ends together and use cable ties to join into a tube. This forms free-standing cages, or you may stake into the ground with rebar poles for extra security. (But they're not going anywhere!) At season's end cut the cable ties and stack panels flat against a wall or fence. 

To make a trellis use three long rebar poles per panel: two at either short end and one in the middle. Hammer the poles into the ground 12 inches or so deep. Attach the panel with cables ties. If you want the trellis to be elevated off the ground, use a wide wooden stake next to the rebar poles to form a shelf for the panel bottom before attaching with cable ties. 

Trellises from concrete reinforcing mesh are easy to set up and easy to take down, but have the strength of more permanent installations -- making them ideal for shared gardens or crop rotations in your home plot.

Poles beans climb trellis made of concrete reinforcing mesh.

Our favorite online seed-starting calculators and tools

Successful backyard farmers know that plants have different cold temperature hardiness and heat tolerances, and that the "plant the veggie patch in one day" approach of so many home gardeners doesn't yield as large and robust a harvest as staggering sowings throughout the growing season.

The back side of seed packets is full of information, yes, but there's an easier way! Thanks to online interactive tools, mapping out when to start seeds indoors and when to transfer seedlings outside has never been so fun. These calculators use decades of horticultural study and weather data to personalize your planting calendar. Here are some of our favorite online tools.

The first order of business is to establish the last frost date in your area. Undoubtedly the best resource is a sage gardening neighbor who knows all about the microclimates and quirks of your hood. Lacking a neighbor almanac, the website Dave's Garden (click here) will provide frost information when you enter your ZIP code. 

Logo and materials from johnnyseeds.com used with permission.

Armed with your last frost date, you can now access the fantastic calculators at Johnny's Seeds. This is a screen shot that shows the results for my last frost date of May 15. The table lists crop name, a range of when to start indoors, and when I can plant outside. On the full webpage you will see a note attached to the asterisks (*): Usually direct-sown, but may be started indoors. The table continues far beyond the crops in this view, with flower listings as well.

Click web address by image to go to the site and generate your own table:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-pdgseedstart.aspx?source=W_InteractiveTools_122014

Johnny's also as a feature to determine how many seeds or plants you need to fill your space. You enter crop and row length. Click here for seed-spacing calculator.



If you want to hone your garden planning process even further, check out Johnny's tools for succession planting and target harvest date. Both are available here. The latter would be especially helpful, say, if you desire to finish canning tomatoes before a scheduled trip. (Definition of travel: the thing I hear other people get to do!) These calculators open as Excel spread sheets.

What are your favorite seed-planning strategies?

I wish all of you happy planting, indoors and out. Isn't spring glorious? Here's a parting shot of the first bloom from my soil-less indoor tulip project. See, they will grow!

Why buying a home with room to garden is so important

By Ryan Martin

Buying a home is an exciting process, with the opportunity to explore a variety of different environments in a quest to find that perfect space to call your own. When looking for your new home, it’s important to make sure that you’ve got plenty of room for gardening. Modernize knows you’ll be glad that you put gardening on the front burner during the home purchase process—here’s why:

Save Some Money

One of the best reasons to buy a home with room to garden is that you’ll save lots of money on food throughout the year. Even if you grow your own herbs, tomatoes, and greens, you’ll likely save a noticeable amount on your grocery bills. But with room to garden at your own home, you can go a step further and raise some chickens for fresh eggs on a regular basis.

The chickens will pay their rent by providing free fertilizer and keeping intrusive bugs to a minimum both in your garden and around your home. You’ll likely find that chickens are a joy to hang around and will help keep your stress levels in check, as vegetable farming does. In the end, the money you spend on farming and gardening is sure to pay off with money saved on food, health expenses, and lifestyle costs overall.

Decrease Your Carbon Footprint

By making sure that your new home has room for gardening, you’ll reduce your household’s overall carbon footprint as time goes on by minimizing your CO2 emissions and your need for the overall resources, such as gas and pesticides, that go into producing the foods you would normally buy at the store if you weren’t able to produce them at home. The closer your food is grown to your home, the less water, soil, and other resources you contribute to the need for—so kudos for gardening and keeping chickens on your new property!

Become an Inspirational Role Model

A fun benefit of buying a home with plenty of room to garden is that you get to become a positive role model for your family, friends, and even neighbors throughout your community. You can teach others how easy it is to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, lettuce, and even potatoes—as well as care for chickens in a way that is beneficial for everyone involved. Sharing gardening and farming tips with neighbors is a great way to build camaraderie as the newcomer, so enjoy the opportunity.

You’ll love the closer relationship you are sure to experience when spending time in your home garden. You can expect less stress, increased fitness levels, and a healthier lifestyle overall.

Seed Starting With a Rain Gutter

Over the years we have shown you several methods for starting seeds. Jennifer built a great seed starting rack with lights to start her seeds. 

 

Cousin Allen did something similar using a prebuilt rack and fluorescent lights.

 

We planted ours in used plastic cups, yogurt cups, and peat pots and put them in the window.

This year we tried something different. We put all of our seeds in a rain gutter in our windows. It worked great and turned out to be an easy way to bottom water all of the plants at once. Check out the video below to see what it looks like.

What are some of the methods you have used to successfully start your seeds indoors?

~Michael~

Planting Schedule By Zone

Veggieharvest.com has a good graph that lets you know when to start your seeds, transplant to your garden, and then harvest.

Find your hardiness zone here by typing in your zip code.
Choose your zone from the list here to find your planting calendar.

We are a zone 6-7 so here is our calendar. Make sure to keep track of when you start each step in your garden journal so you can develop your own specific schedule.

 

~Michael~

No Dig Gardening

I grew up on a potato farm and remember riding in the tractor with my father as he tilled the earth. The smell of freshly plowed dirt still takes me back to my youth. I also gardened with my parents as a child and all of my life we would add compost to our garden and till it in.

A few years ago I started researching no till/no dig methods of gardening and it intrigued me. I thought about the beautiful forests here in the Wasatch mountains and the fact that they never needed to be tilled to get new growth. The no till method seemed natural to me, and my back liked the idea of not having to till or dig up the earth. I started a no till portion of our garden and it has worked really well.

The main feature of the no dig method is found in it's title. The earth is not tilled or dug. Manure, compost, straw, and other organic materials are added directly to the surface. Proponents of the no dig method argue that digging can displace nutrients and compact the soil, harm beneficial microbes and life in the soil, and bring weed seeds to the surface causing more weeds to exist. As always you can also find literature to negate these claims.

I am of the belief that there are a lot of ways to successfully farm and garden. I am not against tilling personally and I still own a tiller for part of my garden. I wanted to mention this method to give people and idea of another method to use to be more self sufficient. If you don't like tilling, digging, and weeding then the no till method might be something for you to try. The videos in this post are done by No Dig Gardening. Their site has great information on the no dig method and the videos are awesome.

What are your thoughts on the no dig method. Have you done it? 

 ~Michael~

Everyone a Farmer

Uncle Dale teaches a course at the University of Maryland titled Farm Management & Sustainable Food Production. He stresses that everyone can be a farmer through backyard farming. One of his students took this to heart and developed an new innovative product. 

It's called a Nourishmat and according to the University of Maryland's College of Agriculture & Natural Resources website it is a "6 feet by 4 feet polypropylene mat with pre-cut holes, labels and a grid telling would-be gardeners exactly what, where, and how far apart to plant. The UV treated polypropylene cuts down on weeds and is outfitted with a drip irrigation system that works by simply plugging in a hose."

You can read more about the ingenious Nourishmat at http://www.nourishmatbeta.com/.

Easy Seed Starting

This  post was previously published on our blog but with so many new people we though it would be good to repost. 

Seed starting really isn't that difficult. It can seem overwhelming if you haven't done it before. I know it took me a few years of gardening before I dared start my own seeds. It wasn't until my husband Michael said to me,

"If the pioneers that crossed these plains could put a seed in the ground and grow food without peat pots, a bag of seed starting soil, and a mini greenhouse container....we can do it with those things."

He was right, and my family is living proof of that. If WE can start plants, trust me YOU can do it too. You will see in the pictures that my kids did most of the work (aged 4, 6, 9).

Here is how!

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

A. Seeds. We prefer heirloom seeds. We like the variety that is available in heirloom seeds, as well as the fact that we can harvest seeds from our produce to use the following year. Packets of seeds you buy from a big box store will be hybrids and the seeds can not be harvested. In the long run, this saves money as you don't have to purchase seeds each year. We purchase a few packets each year to add more variety to our garden.

B. Containers. Something to hold the soil and seeds. Here are a few options.

Pellets: These start as a small hard disk, when added with water they pop right up and you can place a seed in them. These are nice because they are easy to use and small so they don't take up a lot of space.
You can place them right into the soil when you are ready, you do not need to peel off the netting around them. The disadvantage is that they are quite small and I always have to plant them in something else (like a plastic cup) before planting them outside.

Peat pots: These are nice because they are a little larger. I still end up having to plant them into something else before planting outside. I like these better than the disks because I can write the name of the plant on them making it easier for me to keep track of what is planted in it. You can also place these right into soil and do not need to worry about damaging roots by pulling them out of the container. The disadvantage of these is that there is an extra step involved, they do not come with soil, so you have to fill them. Flats: This is a container that held flowers that I bought from a nursery the year before. I was careful to pull my flowers out without damaging the container. Make sure that you thoroughly clean a container that you are re-using. There could be a disease lingering on the container that would kill your starts. Fill with a seed starting mix, and I marked mine with popsicle sticks.

Be creative. We save our yogurt containers and bring home plastic cups from parties for seed starting. It makes gardening more economical that way. For even more creative and frugal seed starting containers, check out this article. If you are recycling something like a cup, be sure to poke some holes in the bottom for drainage. About 5-6 with a thumb tack should do the trick.

C. Soil. If you bought the little dehydrated disks, you can skip this step, just hydrate your disks.

If you didn't buy the disks, don't go out and buy a 50lb. bag of potting soil. Look for a seed starter mix. It will be very light and fluffy. You can now find this at major big box stores as well as garden nurseries.

Step 2. Fill Your Containers
I have found that it is easier if moisten your seed starter mix first because it has a tendency to shrink down the first time it gets wet. Get your mix wet, then put in whichever containers you choose. I like to write the name of the plant that will be going in the container before we put the mix in.

Step 3: Plant your seeds
The packet of seeds will tell you how deep to put your seeds in the soil. For those of us that have harvested seeds from the previous year and no longer have a seed packet, a good guideline is to bury them down about 3 times the width of the seed.


Step 4: Water
We have a few different ways to water. For the disks and peat pots that we put in the plastic greenhouse containers, we bottom water. Bottom watering is when you fill the bottom of the tray with water, and the soil sucks up the water from the bottom. For containers that we can't bottom water (yogurt and plastic cups), we use a spray bottle like Mason (aka. Bubba) is demonstrating below.

Step 5: Keep them Damp and Warm
If you bought a greenhouse container it is easy, just put the lid on and stick in a warm area. If you didn't, that is okay, just use a piece of plastic wrap to cover your seeds, this will help keep the humidity in. At this point, you don't need to stick them in the sun, you will want to keep them damp and warm (about 70 degrees). So maybe place them by a heating vent or the top of your fridge, or you can purchase heating mats. I have never used the heating mats and haven't had any problems getting my seeds to sprout.

Step 6: Stick Them in a Sunny Spot
Once your seeds have sprouted, you will want to move them to a sunny spot. In the early spring, our kitchen looks like a nursery, we have plants everywhere, and I love it.

We put some on a bench in front of the sliding glass door.

Some in the window sill.

And some in a seed starting rack, modeled after Jennifer's. Click here to read that article.

Step 6: Harden Off
Once your plants are big and beautiful, you just stick them in the ground and water them, right? Wrong.
This part can seem scary, but don't let it intimidate you. When in doubt, take longer to harden off.

Your plants up to this point have had a cushy life. The temperature, humidity, and moisture, has been closely monitored. They have not experienced full sun, wind, or changing temperatures. Hardening off is the process of slowly getting them used to the environment they are going to move to. A typical hardening off at our home may go like this:

Day 1: Move plants outside in the shade for 2-4 hours on a nice day.
Day 2-5: Move plants outside for 2-4 hours in the shade and one hour in the sun making sure the weather isn't too cold or snowy.
Day 6-7: Move plants outside for 2-4 hours in the shade and 2-4 hours in the sun.
Day 8-10: Move plants outside for 2 hours in the shade and 6 hours in the sun.
Day 11-12 Move plants outside for 8 hours in the sun.
Day 13-14 Leave plants outside all day and all night in the area they will be planted. Be sure that the weather overnight won't be too cold or windy.
Hint: I like to set my alarm clock, so I don't forget to bring my plants back inside. I have fried my little plants before because I forgot to bring them in from the sun.

Step 7: Plant
Once your plants are properly hardened off, you can plant them in the ground just like you would had you bought them from the nursery. Congrats!

Enjoy the bounty that is sure to come!

Note:

There are some plants that you will not start indoors either because they won't transplant well, or because there is no need to. Some climates may be nice enough that you never have to start seeds indoors, that would be heaven! But, for Utah in order for us to get a full growing season, you have to start many plants indoors.

Some that you do not need to start indoors are, but not limited to: peas, beans, lettuces, beets, carrots, and onions.

Anyone have anything to add? Leave a comment!

What's Your Extension?

We have had snowstorms this last week in Utah so I wonder if our growing season is going to start late like it did last year. There are a couple of things that we do to determine when we might be able to start planting our vegetables. First of all we keep a garden journal.You can read more about journals here. One of the things we record in our journal is the planting dates, maturation dates, and end of season dates. This helps us to remember when we planted in previous years, and also how well it worked for us.

We like to plant new vegetables each year and our journal doesn't help us with new plants. When we run into the situation where we have never planted something before, we search out the information from our local extension office. Dale wrote a great article on extensions here. Local extensions are extremely valuable to backyard farmers. I wanted to find out planting dates for kohlrabi this year and I found this awesome PDF from Utah State University that gives general planting dates for a large variety of vegetables, and it shows some suggestions on what will do well in my area.

You might wonder how to find your local extension. If you go to this USDA website you can click on your state and find your local extension. I would use them as much as you can as the information they provide is extensive, and specific to your area.

I hope to be able to start prepping our garden this weekend as some years we start beets, radishes, spinach, and other greens by mid march. It has snowed recently so I don't know for sure if the ground will be dry enough to start in the next week. We will do a post on checking to see if soil is ready to plant soon.

Have you started your garden yet? What have you done?

~Michael~

The Art of War Against Weeds

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill."

 

From "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

If you have taken any classes in business you have probably heard Sun Tzu quoted. I like to use "The Art of War " as a guide on how to fight the evils that we find in our gardens. If our plants or the protagonists in the war stories of our gardens then certainly the biggest of many antagonists is Mr Weed.

I think there are two main philosophies in the war against weeds, proactive, and reactive. A person employs a reactive method when they go outside and see that their garden has been overrun by morning glory and dandelions. The action that is taken is to start pulling weeds. It works but it can be labor intensive.

I like to use Sun Tzu's philosophy by being  more proactive and subduing the enemy without fighting. There are a few methods that come to mind for subduing weeds before they can get a foothold in our garden. 

• Cover your naked dirt: I think the best method for limiting weeds is to make sure they don't have a place to grow. Once I know where my plants are growing I make sure to cover the ground so weeds are less likely to get a foothold. 
• Mulch: I like the idea of putting down mulch that will eventually break down and add to the composition of my soil. Straw is my personal favorite. I also like to use grass cuttings. Be sure that your grass cuttings are weed free if you are going to add them to the garden. 
• Landscape Fabric: Landscape Fabric can be used to cover your dirt so weeds can't grow. I don't use fabric or weedblock but I know people who find them to be effective. I don't like a lot of them as many are plastic and not biodegradable. If you are going to use landscape fabric, find one that is biodegradable and it can break down into the soil. 
• Other covers: We have used newspaper in our garden in the past and it works great, you can also use cardboard, bark, sawdust, and probably other things that I have not thought of.
• Gardening methods: Certain gardening methods inhibit weed growth. Many square foot gardeners or vertical gardeners don't have as many weeds because they have so many plants in a smaller place and weeds just can't compete very well. The desirable plants choke out the weeds. Raised beds also help reduce weed growth.
•  Watering Methods: the use of drip irrigation methods helps inhibit weed growth.Since the drip lines water only a small area around the plants, many weeds will die of thirst.

In the fight against weeds, try to employ some of these methods so you have less weeds. These proactive methods will require less work than letting weeds getting established.Which of these methods work for you? What are some of the things you do to stop weeds in their tracks. Share your ideas and help others find success in their gardens.

Michael