Seeds of CHANGE – uh-huh!

……and they thought I was crazy talkin’ about the “Seed Police”

Seed Savers Exchange is a group dedicated to conserving and promoting heirloom seeds.  find out more at www.seedsavers.org

Why should we be concerned?

Here’s another “change” appointees of Obama’s  Secretary of Agriculture,  Tom Vilsack  …………. read articles linked below for more info

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16156.cfm

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_15573.cfm

Though I have issue with her evolution beliefs,  read Barbara Kingsolver – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kingsolver addresses issues on Monsanto, GMOs, etc.

Is that someone at your/my door?

Obama is just pretending to be evil so that he can get into power, but then the Hope and Change, etc. will flow." uh-huh!?

“I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds.  This will be your food.” Genesis 1:29

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Compost Bins -how to set them up thrifty style

The “Foods” and “Shop” kids at our local school are planning to start composting.  A group of seniors and their awesome teacher, Diane are coming over to check out our compost bins.  So, as long as I am sharing with them, why not blog it.

We have lived in our current location for three years.  We have now benefited from  compost bin 1 of 3.  Here’s the set up.

The first bin (left)  has just been emptied and ready to use again.  The second bin (center) contains scraps from last year.  The third bin (right) contains scraps of this year.

Through trial and error we have found the design  of three bins to work quite well.

The first bin was built as a stand alone.  Additional bins were attached the next two years.

Each bin is on a base of a pallet (love those pallets!).  Check around and you will most likely find free pallets being discarded from stores.  Over the pallet we stapled chicken wire, small gauge so stuff doesn’t fall through.  Putting the compost scraps on the pallets provides for much needed ventilation.   The pallet also provides a 4X4 area which seems to be the maximum for a low maintenance  bin size.

Next,  put up posts of the four corners of the pallet.  Now run chicken wire around 3 sides.  We attached the chicken wire with zip-ties.  My husband loves those things.  The zip-ties will probably hold up for 3 years.  I would suggest using a heavier gauge wire for the front.  It is not necessary but we used it  Upon releasing one side of the front, it acts like a gate so you can dig in the bin with less strain.

So, here are some more photos of our design.  I’ll talk about contents and stuff in the next installment.

bin one emptied and ready to go again

bin two contains last years scraps and yard waste

bin three contains scraps and stuff from this year

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cucumber beetles – DO NOT TRY THIS

I have read that putting chickens in your cucumber patch will resolve your cucumber beetle infestation. I’m really getting frustrated will these pests (beetles not chickens). So, I thought I would give it a try. I made a pen around the cucumber patch and set the chickens in. It was no more than a few minutes and here is what resulted…………………….

The chickens really appreciated the experiment anyway!

Just a note— this will be our last day with Bella a.k.a Edward Moses. We were unsure of the gender of this beautiful bird until today. Edward Moses let out a lovely crow just hours ago. Since we live in town, having a rooster will not work. I am sadden. Edward Moses is an awesome chicken with a great personality. We will miss him!

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Garden update

scarecrow – preemptive measures, as last year at harvest time, birds attacked our corn.

chiles –possibly canning salsa?

tomatoes – finally turning red- think the “haircut” encouraged them.

cucumbers -they survived the cucumber beetles, just barely though. Cuke beetles are still there (see photo) but their numbers have dwindled.

crab apples are abundant.

in the garden - looking at the chicken run

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the girl in my garden

My niece, Zoe came for a visit.  She  seems to be carrying on with the “Hoche” line of  organic gardening.  I set her out with a  bowl and a little demo on picking green beans and  off she went.  She picked a couple dozen beans  of  similar  size  with no  excessive stem attached.

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the garden—I very much dislike cucumber beetles

Here are some photos of my garden. I’ll share the good stuff first. My complaining about cucumber beetles follows.

acorn squash

rhubarb

beans

sage

basil

the garden 8/1

This year has been tough on the gardens of Northern Minnesota. We had a cool, damp beginning to our “summer”. Everything is a bit behind. That is just fine.

But, to have these darn cucumber beetles–UGH! Here is a photo, just in case you have not experienced them.

cucumber beetles

At least once a day, I am in the garden removing cucumber beetles from the zucchini and cucumber plants. So far, they have not killed the plant but have inflicted much damage.

Here’s an overview of the cucumber beetle.

Cucumber beetles overwinter as adults in sheltered places, but only the striped cucumber beetle overwinters in large numbers in Illinois. The spotted cucumber beetle migrates in from the south. In spring, they feed on nearby vegetation of fields and woodlots before suddenly appearing in large numbers on vine or bean crops. Adult beetles lay eggs in the soil at the base of the plant on which they are feeding. The larvae hatch and feed on roots for 2-4 weeks before pupating and emerging as adults. There are several generations per year.

Cucumber beetles are chewing insects and may attack cucumber, bean, melon, squash and pumpkin. In addition, the spotted cucumber beetle feeds on asparagus, corn, and eggplant. These insects are destructive to new seedlings just pushing through the soil. Later in the season, the adults feed on leaves, blossoms, and fruits. As they feed on crops, cucumber beetles may spread bacterial wilt and mosaic, two serious diseases of vine crops. Either the disease or the feeding may cause serious damage or complete crop loss.

up close of cucumber beetle

It is my hope to remove the cuke beetle in an organic manner.

I have tried a spray containing cedar oil. This seems to control the numbers but they could be just regrouping. So, I am picking them off and squashing them. Oh, I planted some marigolds by the infected plants. This was suppose to deter the pests but did nothing but add a bright spot in a diseased area.

It has been suggested to try NEEM oil! —

I’ll let you know how that goes………

I truly believe the plants were inferior to start. A healthy plant will not attract pests. There are two other squash plants in the garden and they are unaffected.

I may not be able to “save” the infected plants I have this year. My quest now is to increase the quality of the gardens soil. First thing is to have the soil tested.

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