So That’s What I Did Wrong With My Tomatoes! (Notes from a Class on Gardening)

“Gan”-“Green Thumb” and I are lucky enough to live in a community that offers free classes on organic gardening every-other month at our local library. A local nursery, feed store, and a product line called “Nature’s Guide” are the sponsors, and there’s a new guest speaker each time. We recently attended a short, one-hour class that was taught by a very knowledgeable man by the name of Sabino Cortez. Among other things, Sabino is regularly heard on the radio show “Living Natural First”, and he also has his own company and website called Erath Earth . I have to say that I probably learned more about gardening in Texas in the one hour that I spent listening to him than I have learned in many months. Mostly, I found myself slapping my forehead and thinking to myself, “So that’s what I did wrong!” My forehead was glowing red by the time I left the library!

The big eye-opener for me was that even in January we are supposed to be thinking of our gardens. This is the time to be getting beds and garden spots ready. To control weeds in our lawns he recommends putting out the corn gluten meal early (it is known as a pre-emergent, meaning it is meant to stop weeds before they pop up; once they’re up, it’s not so effective). There is an article on the “Living Natural First” show blog that talks more about natural weed control, if you are interested.

Tomatoes: This is where I failed miserably in my first gardening attempts. I got a few tomatoes, but that whole thing about harvesting them throughout the whole summer seemed like just a myth. Here’s what I learned, to the best that I can make out my notes (I absolve Sabino Cortez of any lack of memory on my part):

1. Start garden prep now; compost is one of the most important amendments that you can add to your soil, especially for vegetables. Lay down a layer of compost between ½” – 1” thick on your soil and work it into your soil gently, keeping it at the top 2” of soil. He stressed using good quality compost. He said that it should be “fine” textured – if you can recognize individual components of the compost (such as wood chips, etc.), then it probably isn’t “finished” yet. Unfinished compost will actually grab nitrogen from the soil to use to help break down the unfinished components. A good compost looks like soil. Of course, some of the best is the stuff you do yourself; you always know what is in it. If you want to be “organic”, he said that you have to be careful of “bulk” compost when buying from an unproven source, as it sometimes has herbicide in it. (I had a little trouble following this part, but if memory serves, some compost has horse manure in it, which is generally not a problem. However, if the horse ate hay that was treated with herbicide, then it passes through, and goes from hay - to horse - to manure - to compost - to your garden. Once introduced into your garden, it can be a factor for up to 15 years!) He gave us a way to test compost for herbicide: Plant a raw peanut in a pot (they grow fairly quickly). When the plant has some growth on it, including some leaves, make a compost tea from the compost in question and water the peanut plant with it. If there is herbicide in the compost your peanut plant will usually die within 24 hours.


2. He also recommended something called “soft rock phosphate” (a natural form of phosphorus), and he stressed that tomatoes and peppers need this. If I’m reading my notes correctly, he recommended picking out the spots where you want to plant tomatoes, digging a nice deep hole, and then mixing at least 30% compost with the soil before putting it back in the hole, stopping at about 4” from the top of the hole. For that top 4”, mix ½ to 1 cup of soft rock phosphate with the soil, and fill it up!


3. Another amendment that he recommended was dried molasses. This helps to provide carbohydrates that all of those microbes in your soil need in order to “colonize”? (Who knew there was so much stuff happening out there!)


4. A major mistake that I made last year was planting my tomatoes in 5-gallon pots. Tomatoes like a lot of root space – if you have to plant them in a container, it will need at least a 10-gallon container. But overall, the deeper the soil, the longer the plant will hold up, with 3-4 feet between each plant.


5. All vegetables are “full sun” plants.


6. Good compost will give tomato plants all the nitrogen that they need to get started. Don’t give tomatoes nitrogen until they have fruit. From what I understand, if you give nitrogen at the beginning, you get a tall plant with lots of growth, but not much fruit. Once you see the fruit forming, then you can add some nitrogen; however, he stressed that you should not put the plant food too close to the base of the plant. You should put it about 6”-8” on the outside of the plant.


7. Another “Oh, no!” moment came when Sabino talked about watering your new tomato plants. He said that we should plant our new transplants, water them well, and then walk away. Don’t water them again until they start looking “droopy”. Apparently too much water is a real culprit because constant watering means that the tomato plants don’t develop a large, deep root system. This deep root system is needed when that 101 degree Texas sun is beating down on us in the middle of summer. The bigger the plant gets, the further away you water – it needs to “look” for water.


8. Another mistake I made when wanting to undertake organic gardening is that I pretty much equated “organic” with “don’t do a whole lot”. It still takes work, especially in the area of pest and disease prevention. Waiting until you have a problem is too late; you really need a weekly, routine foliar feeding in order to prevent insects from getting a foothold in the first place. He talked a lot about compost tea, garlic, and orange oil. If you would like to learn more, the “Living Natural First” show has a wonderful organic glossary that gives a quick summary on many products and treatments used in organic gardening, and it is brief enough that even a novice like me stayed interested and understood it.


9. I think I will have more tomatoes this year!

If you live in Texas, then I have another neat resource for you. I found a website called “Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide” and it is through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Even if you don’t live in Texas, I would bet that your local extension agency has something similar for your area. I found this guide when I was looking for the average date of the last spring frost for our area. In addition to giving “last frost dates”, this guide addresses which vegetables are best suited for large or small gardens, gives light requirements for certain vegetables, tells which vegetables are easily transplanted, and much, much more! More than anything, I was surprised at how early some plants are supposed to be planted. According to this guide, in my area, there are things that I need to be thinking about planting soon! Anyway, this guide looks great to a novice like me.

So there you go; “Gan”-“Green Thumb” and I are getting excited about our prospects for having at least some limited success this year. We’ll let you know how we fare!

Happy planting and good luck!

How to Get Kitchen Staples With a Long Shelf Life at a Great Price

If you are trying to accumulate a 3-month supply of basic food, or if you just like cooking from scratch and using basic ingredients, there is a resource that few people know about, and even fewer utilize. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has long encouraged its members to try to accumulate at least a 3-month supply of food (a longer-term supply is even better) and a small supply of drinking water and other essentials, and they are masters of providing for the welfare of those members in need, so they actually operate canneries throughout the country. These canneries have some basic foods such as white flour, oats, sugar, etc., that are stored in the cannery in large bags (think 25 pounds or so), and basically you provide the labor of canning the food that you want in #10 cans or in mylar pouches. Since the church does not make a profit on the food, the prices are very reasonable. Currently you can buy a #10 can of white flour (4.8 lbs), with a shelf life of 10+ years (when stored in a dry place at 75 degrees or lower), for $3.05 a can. A #10 can of regular oats (2.7 lbs), with a shelf life of 30 years, will set you back $2.10 a can. (Note: prices are subject to change.)

The reason that I like the cannery so much is that it has everything you need: the food is there (no outside food is allowed in to prevent contamination), as well as the cans, the oxygen absorption packets, the lids, and the canning equipment. Like I said, you just pretty much provide the labor. If you plan on what the food storage goals are for your family and go to the cannery on a regular basis, you will be surprised at how quickly you will progress toward those goals. I also like the fact that the #10 cans have such a long shelf life.

It is my understanding that those who are not members of the LDS church but want to utilize the cannery are encouraged to go to the cannery with a friend who is LDS. However, many canneries will not turn non-members away, even if they cannot attend with a member of the church, as long as they adhere to the policies and procedures of the cannery. I would encourage you to call the cannery in your area to verify this before you go, just to be sure, as it may vary by individual cannery.

Want to know if you have a cannery in your area? There are canneries located in Canada, the eastern United States, Utah, the western United States, and South Africa, Tonga, and American Somoa. I have heard that there is a new cannery in Georgetown, Texas, but could not find it on the list.

The order form for the cannery is available on-line. It lists the the items that are available, the shelf life of each item, and the weight of the packaged item. The PDF even has a feature that allows you to fill out the form and it will do the math for you so that you can pre-plan your trip and take the form with you to the cannery. The price per can includes the cost of the food, the can, the "oxy" packs, and the lids. You will receive two free plastic lids for each 6 cans that you buy, but you can buy additional plastic lids if needed. If you are into dehydrating food and/or using your Food Saver and like to use oxy packs, they also sell oxy packs separately. (I buy a bag of 100 for $8.00.) Prices and item availability are subject to change, so check regularly and before each trip so that you aren't surprised.

I would encourage you to call the cannery that you plan to attend to get all of the information that you need; however, I will share my experience with the cannery nearest me and hopefully you will find the information useful for your next trip.

1. Our local cannery generally is by appointment and they like to make the appointments for groups of between 2 and 8 people. However, at our cannery, each Wednesday morning, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is reserved for individuals and no appointment is needed. Be aware that even though they are open until 3:00, they want you to be leaving by 3:00, not showing up at that time. The people at the canneries who are there to assist you are volunteers and generally have a set shift that they "work". Plus there will be a "group appointment" coming in around 5:30 for which the cannery will need to prepare.


2. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed inside the operating area of the cannery. If you have small children, maybe you can sweet-talk a friend into watching them for you in exchange for a can of hot cocoa mix!


3. Open-toed shoes are not allowed in the cannery. Trust me, as a total clutz I am always glad to wear my sneakers for protection!


4. Don't wear your "pretty" clothes. You may think that you can delicately scoop all that stuff into the can (okay, maybe you can do it, but some of us can't!). My Friend Lauren and I recently canned 36 cans of flour together, and for a little while there we looked like we had been in a snow storm!


5. When you first go into the cannery there is a shelf that has some food on it that has already been canned. This is food that someone did not purchase, and you are encouraged to look on this shelf first for items that you want (it might save you some time).


6. As I said earlier, the food at the cannery comes in large bags or boxes (around 20-25 pounds or so). If you open a bag and only want, say one can of pinto beans for example, you do not have to purchase the contents of the whole bag, but you do have to can the whole bag. The cannery does not want any opened bags of food attracting unwanted pests. The excess cans that you don't want will go on the shelf for someone else to purchase. This is why I try to plan each trip in such a way that I am buying several cans of the same thing instead of "one can of this, one can of that, and one can of something else". You could end up doing a lot of canning without much to show for it!


7. Our local cannery is not set up to deal with electronic transactions of any kind. It is strictly cash or personal check, so plan accordingly.


8. Our cannery is a little bit of a drive, so on one of my early trips I decided to "make it count". I loaded my little 4-door sedan down. Unfortunately, I learned that just because all of those boxes will physically fit into my car doesn't mean that my shock assemblies can handle it. That early trip resulted in my poor husband having to do a total replacement on said shock assemblies. He was a much better sport about it than he should have been! I'm much more careful now: I'm reasonable in my loads, I mix in some light items like oats or macaroni when I'm getting flour and milk, I spread the weight of the load all throughout the car, or better yet, I try to go with a friend who has a vehicle who can handle it!


9. There are some prepackaged cases (6 cans/case) of specific items that you can just swing by and pick up: pinto beans, quick oats, white rice, hard red wheat, and the "starter kit". The starter kit has two #10 cans of hard red winter wheat, two #10 cans of white rice, one #10 can of pinto beans, and one #10 can of quick oats.


10. I like the fruit drink mix. It has a shelf life of 2+ years, currently costs $6.90 per can, and it is a powdered orange drink that reminds me of that powdered orange drink that the astronauts used to drink. It is high in vitamin C, and kids seem to like it. If you find that it doesn't mix as well as you like and is too grainy, I was told by someone who grew up drinking it that his mother used to mix it with hot-to-boiling water and then just let it cool before serving and this completely dissolved the crystals.

I go to the cannery on a fairly regular basis now, and I have come to actually enjoy these trips. It is a little bit of work (I won't lie), but it is so nice to know that my pantry is beginning to be stocked with lots of the "basics" that have a long-enough shelf life that I don't have to be constantly worried that it will go bad before I can use it. With my recent purchase of regular oats, stay tuned for some oatmeal-applesauce muffins that "Gan"-"Green Thumb" and I will be making soon!

Website Alert! Wonderful Websites to Visit!

In our never-ending quest for knowledge, "Gan"-"Green Thumb" and I spend a little bit of time "surfing" the web, and we never cease to be amazed at the incredible websites and blogs that are out there. There are people who know so much more than we do, and we are happy to introduce you to those people and resources that we have found so that you can judge them for yourself!

The first website that I want to share is pretty much just a recipe website (allrecipes.com), but it has a feature that I truly appreciate. There is actually a feature on there that allows you to list four ingredients that you want to use, as well as up to four ingredients that you don't want to use (think food allergies or severe dislikes), and it will look for recipes using the ingredients that you want. This is a great way to try new things using those basic food storage items that you are collecting! I love it!

The next website is one that I find simply amazing. If you want to get going with food storage, but you just don't know how to get started or what to do with it once you have it, a lady named Crystal has the most wonderful website. Trust me, if you have some spare time, you could certainly spend some of it here! She doesn't just take cheesy pictures of her thumb, either -- she actually has video of things you want to see! Crystal inspires and humbles me, all at the same time.

The last website that I want to share is another site found by my son-in-law, Jeromy. In fact, here is his e-mail, pretty much as he sent it:

"Also found this neat website tonight...
This site talks about what the Red Cross recommends for disaster preparedness... If you go to 'Get a Kit' then 'Kit Contents' you can download a spreadsheet that you put in the number of people who are in the family, and the number of days the kit will cover and it auto fills in the shopping list for you.

Also, there is an interactive website that goes with this... Once you 'click here to begin', you can watch the videos and hit next through the steps. On the page for 'Get a Kit' then 'Create Your Own Kit', you can fill in the number of people the kit will cover, the number of days, and if there are medications or pets to be concerned for. Then after it calculates the amount of water and food and other things for you, click the link in the lower right to email the list to you or your family members.

Pretty handy lists and ideas for those who just feel overwhelmed when they are trying to get started with a bug out kit." (Thanks again, Jeromy!)

Enjoy surfing with us!

Fire Safety

"Gan"-"Green Thumb" and I have to thank my son-in-law, Jeromy, for tipping me off to a great fire prevention website. Of course, fire safety is a timely subject no matter what that season, but winter is especially a good time to be mindful of this. We are inside our homes more, running space heaters and who knows what else, using our fireplaces, etc. To truly appreciate this website, you really need to spend some time checking out all of the links found at the green tabs on the top. It is chock full of publications and resources, and even has a special section for kids!

Thanks, Jeromy!

A Thought or Two About Flood Insurance

Although I have known about flood insurance for awhile now, I must admit that I was quite surprised originally when I found out that most home owner's insurance policies DON'T cover damage caused by floods. Flood insurance is actually a separate policy. Although your insurance agency will usually help you purchase a policy, they are not the ones who are covering you. You are actually going through your insurance agent to purchase flood insurance from the federal government (FEMA). Prices may vary, but your insurance agent can help get the numbers for you and help you make it happen.

Flood insurance, like all insurance, is something that you might not appreciate until you actually need it. But if your area were to experience a flood, you would be very glad that you had taken care of this aspect of emergency preparedness. FEMA actually has an on-line map that can help you see where you fall within a flood-plain. Once I typed in my address and it brought up the map, I set the scale to 25% and used the "pan" feature to maneuver around the map. It worked well enough that even I could understand it!

Another thing that many people don't really think about is renter's insurance. For all those many years that we did not own a home I didn't think about it, either. Then, when my husband was in college, I actually knew two different families who suffered through losing everything in a fire. It got me thinking: even though we did not have a whole lot during this time, it was hard enough to come by the first time around. We would have been in a world of hurt if something had happened and we had to replace all of those towels, dishes, clothes, etc. So we actually purchased some renter's insurance which would cover the cost of replacing our household goods, or protect us in the case of theft. Our current insurance agent informed me that rates, etc., for renter's insurance are usually based on the county in which you live. Where we live, my insurance agency requires purchasing insurance at a minimum level of $15,000, and the rates vary from about $90 - $130 per year, depending on whether you are in a single-family dwelling or a multi-family dwelling. Most renter's policies will also protect you against liability, just in case someone gets hurt while visiting you.

Insurance: Hope you never need it, but be so glad to have it!

A Treat for Holiday Party Food "Emergencies"

Have you ever had a loved one come to you at 8:30 at night and inform you that he is supposed to take a dish to the office Christmas party the next day? Are you prone to having last minute get-togethers at your house, and there are times that you need to concentrate on doing a quick tidying of your home instead of spending all of your time in the kitchen? Here is a little something that you can serve during these party food "emergencies" that will make you the "hostess with the mostest"! Just keep these ingredients on hand during the holiday season and you will be ready for anything!

Quick But Oh-So-Yummy Cheeseball

Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
One 8-ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese
One packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix
Chopped pecans (optional)

Let the cream cheese set out for about a half hour to soften (it will make it easier to mix). In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and dip mix. I usually just use a fork to smoosh and blend, and smoosh and blend, until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. When it is mixed, form into a ball. The cheese ball can be served "bald" or you can roll it in chopped pecans until looks like it's covered with little ants -- it's great either way.

Store the cheese ball in an airtight container in the refrigerator until it's time to serve it. When it's party time, simply plop the cheese ball in the center of a serving tray and surround it by a sea of your favorite snack crackers and you are ready!

A NOTE OF CAUTION: Do not serve this dish if you are shy; people will seek you out to praise you for your culinary skills and to try and get the recipe!

The "Gan"-"Green Thumb" Reading List

I can't believe that it actually snowed the first week of December here in Texas, but that's all the proof that I need to show that it's time to spend some time indoors, possibly catching up on some reading. So, do you want to know just what "Gan"-"Green Thumb" and I like to read? We thought you'd never ask!

We absolutely love magazines -- I think I became such a big fan when my kids were little; I couldn't make it through a whole book very often, but I might at least read a whole magazine article before someone needed something. One of my favorite magazines is Organic Gardening. This is a great magazine if gardening is your main interest, and of course, the focus is on using organic methods. Some articles that you may have missed out on are: "Grow the Best Tasting Tomatoes", "Fit More Herbs in Your Garden", "A Drought Proof Garden", and "The Best Strawberries for Your Climate".

If you can't tell, my interests go beyond gardening alone -- my dream is to someday move to the country and live on between one and five acres. In addition to gardening, I would like to have some chickens running around, and maybe someday work up to having dairy goats, too. Hobby Farm Magazine appeals to this desire nicely (I originally found this magazine at Tractor Supply Company). Past issues list articles such as, "Milk Dairy Goats by Hand", "Plant Your Fall & Winter Garden Now", and "Greenhouses, Hydroponics and Cold Frames for Fall Gardening".

There is a companion magazine to Hobby Farm, and that is Hobby Farm Home (which I also found at Tractor Supply Company). Some articles that you might find here are, "Secrets to Using Unique Flours", "5 Chicken Pot Pie Recipes", "Preserve Your Barn's Character", "Easy Homemade Bread and Butter Making", and "Low-Maintenance Moss Garden".

The last time I bought magazines at TSC, I found the premiere issue of a magazine called Urban Farm. It's from the same people who bring you Hobby Farm, but the focus of this magazine is helping those of us who live on small plots in the city to find ways to live our hobby farm dream on a smaller scale. Some of the ideas that are shared here are "Turn Your Lawn into a Garden", "Container Gardening", and "Drying and Freezing Homegrown Veggies".

Mother Earth News is a magazine that I have enjoyed, for the most part. I will tell you that most of these magazines have at least a little tinge of "global warming/sustainable living" in their content (All right, already! We know!), but Mother Earth lost me a little bit when it had a couple of articles about our need to reduce our population rates. When it comes to the over-population zealots, I've always wondered which one of their kids they wished had never been born! But if you can just take it for what it's worth, this magazine has some really great "how-to" articles. Recent titles were: "5 Inexpensive DIY Greenhouses", "How to Heat with Wood", "How Much Would Solar Panels Cost You", and "Recipes for Healthy No-Knead Bread".

For those of you who are like me and not only want to live in the country, but also aspire to attaining a pretty high level of self-reliance (think individual water well and solar panels or wind generator), Back Home Magazine is great! (Also originally found at TSC!) I can't wait until the day I can have "A Compost-Heated Greenhouse", try something like "Generate Your Own Wind Power" and "Preserve the Harvest With Solar Dehydration", and enjoy "The Benefits of a Small House" and "The Struggles of Wilderness Living"!

For organic gardening in Texas, I find Howard Garrett, also known as "The Dirt Doctor", to be quite helpful. He not only has a website, but he has written several books and has a line of organic gardening products to help you try to keep your plants alive!

Now that the kids are older, I do get to read a book or two every now and then. Here are some books that I plan on wading through this winter:

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew is still a favorite; I refer to it often. The focus of this method is using a 4-foot by 4-foot square (or other variation) to get 16 square feet of growing room instead of stretching your garden out into a 16-foot row. This is geared toward helping those with limited space have a garden in spite of their limitation. He also has what is the "perfect mix" of growing medium which will help your plants grow. I will say that the plants that I had in my square foot garden survived much better than my other plants (at least so far -- I'm not giving up!).

I recently bought Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley. It's a big old thing, and I'm sure there's bound to be something in there to help someone with a toxic thumb!

Another book that I look forward to really getting into is Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte. This teaches a concept known as companion planting which purports that certain plants being planted with other plants can be beneficial. For example, apparently cucumbers are offensive to raccoons, so this book suggests planting them with corn. In turn, the corn seemingly protects the cucumber against the virus that causes wilt. I'm going to try some of this stuff next year!

Month-By-Month Gardening in Texas by Dan Gill and Dale Groom is a book that you can actually read month-by-month! This is just what someone like me needs!

Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza and Compost Gardening by Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin will help you get the most out of all of that compost that you've been cooking up! Actually, Barbara and Deborah have the most wonderful website that I discovered while writing this post! I guess there's even more reading for us now!

I found The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader while I was knocking around TSC this summer. It's a great guide for helping you preserve that big harvest that some of you actually have. It has a guide that lists the best method of storage, as well as when to harvest each fruit/vegetable and what to look for. Great!

This last book is not a gardening book, but if you are into food storage, it is great, too! This concept has been around for awhile, but this new addition caught my attention and made me want to kick myself for not trying this earlier. Make-A-Mix by Karine Eliason and friends is not only good for the person who wants to use all of that flour, sugar, and dry milk that they are storing; it is also a good book for the working woman who wants to make "home-made" meals for her family, but may not have the time. The concept is simple: in the front of the book are a few basic "mix" recipes that you make up ahead of time and store in a large, air-tight container. For example, the "Hot Roll Mix" calls for flour, sugar, salt, and dry milk (this makes a large batch of dry ingredient). Using this one mix, plus whatever ingredients the individual recipes in the back of the book call for, you can make Swedish Cinnamon Twists, French Bread, Crescent Rolls, Big Soft Pretzels, Hamburger Buns, Pizza Crust, and several other things. There is also "Muffin Mix", "Quick Mix", "All Purpose Cake Mix", and make-ahead dry mixes.

Well, I guess that's enough for now -- that should keep "Gan"-"Green Thumb" and everyone busy for awhile. Happy reading!