Peace and Environment News* November 1999
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Peace and Environment News * November 1999 |
by Ann Cleary
 Ann Cleary |
The first few tentative approaches of winter can be ignored and the crispness of the air enjoyed, but once the hard stuff has settled for good, you have to embrace a fallow period, count your blessings and prepare for the next season's crops.
A great deal of gardening success depends on proper planning and good record keeping so, if you have not done so, do it now. Record your successes and failures of the past season, the vagaries of the weather, the pests you encountered and how you dealt with them. Your observational knowledge beats academic learning!
Often instructions on plants and seed packets do not suit your soil or climate; decide on what seems best to do when ordering again.
After the Fall is over, collect the leaves you have saved and place them in an unobtrusive spot, to which you can add the leaves from your friends and perhaps those from a nearby park (with permission). These should be made into a pile, sprinkling a little earth as you go, and then left to rot. In a year or so the leaves will have turned to wonderful potting soil. To decompose more quickly, make the leaves smaller by running a lawnmower over them in small quantities before adding to the pile. The leaves can also be kept in garbage bags all winter where they will decompose slowly as well. The final result is dark and crumbly, and it makes an excellent soil conditioner when added to your beds, or a great potting soil.
Storing fruits and vegetables over winter
Be sure to check at least once a week and discard rotting or suspicious-looking produce. Don't store potatoes and apples in the same place. Carrots keep well in plastic bags with an air hole, in a cool room. In the old days we always kept them in a box of sand. The same goes for beets. Rutabagas, i.e. yellow turnips, have to be coated with wax to exclude air. Parsnips are best over-wintered in the ground, and if well mulched can be dug up as you require them. This also applies to leeks. By the way, leeks can be kept in your freezer without blanching beforehand.
Onions can be kept in a mesh bag and hung from the ceiling in a cool, dry place, as can cabbage and Brussels Sprout plants. Hang upside down. Check regularly. Onions in the past when grown in the garden had their leaves turned over towards the end of the season in order to stall further growth. This practice is not necessary and you can leave them to decide for themselves when they are ready, by which time the leaves will have died. When storing these onions after drying, use those that have large centres first, as they will rot more quickly than the others.
Garlic should be picked in summer after the little bulbs have formed on the top and dried. They are replanted in the late fall by separating the cloves and planting each one for next year's crop. They must be planted four and a half to six inches deep so they can begin to grow roots, but will not start shoots—a tricky timing.
Biodynamic Gardening
If you also like to experiment with new gardening techniques, the methods of biodynamic gardening may interest you.
Biodynamic gardening is a variant of organic gardening as we know it. All organic methods exclude the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and their first priority is the quality and vitality of the soil. We all believe that horticulture must be ecologically based and the environment free from contamination. Biodynamic concepts include the influence of the moon and cosmic forces on plant life.
It might be an interesting project to try planting some seeds by the biodynamic calendar, which is put out by the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association. The one now available is Stella Natura, Planting by the Moon 2000. It is available in many languages. The calendar derives from the Zodiac and has been followed in many countries, especially in mid and east Europe, for centuries. It is possible that the calendar is not so effective in the UK as the climate is so different. However, the large American continent will have many areas which are more suitable and where many of the dictums can apply.
Plants are divided into four categories:
The monthly calendar shows planting times most suited to these categories. Successful pruning and grafting of trees and shrubs achieved at the waning and waxing phases of the moon respectively is an example of employing their methods to advantage. I know very little about biodynamic farming, but the Internet or the Association itself should be able to cover my deficiencies.
Unfortunately, the enlightenment, modern theories of evolution, advanced astronomy and, above all, science suppressed observational (indigenous) knowledge gained through centuries. Some of the preparations biodynamic growers have developed for use in agriculture and gardening have been derided as mumbo jumbo by the scientific world. However, many preparations are specialized treatments already used by organic growers in other forms.
The longer one identifies with the land, the more sensible biodynamic preparations and gardening techniques seem. It could be interesting reading in the winter and fun to try some of the methods in your own garden, as side-by-side scientific research. The calendar is not expensive, and the monthly maps and descriptions are suited to beginners. The 40-page Stella Natura calendar includes monthly maps as well as several excellent articles.
Organic seeds
Many catalogues arrive before Christmas. Each year Harrowsmith puts out a list of seed sources with excellent descriptions of each one. I don't suppose there has been much change since last year, so beg or borrow the January 1999 issue if you can find it.
Reference
Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association, Building 1002B, Presidio, P.O. Box 29135, San Francisco, CA 94129-0135. E-mail: biodynamic@aol.com. Calendar—Stella Natura Planting by the Moon 2000—and periodical Biodynamics come with membership. For more information: Society for Biodynamic Farming and Gardening in Ontario. Membership: Peter Linke, 162 Church Street, Orangeville, ON L9W 1P4.
Ann Cleary is a member of Canadian Organic Growers, Ottawa. She will be pleased to answer questions from readers. Write to RR1, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P1, or call 257-1038. (You don't have to dial 613 if you are calling from Ottawa.)
Converted March 17, 2000 - Lg
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