Sutherlands Mother's Day Plant Sale

They call it, "Punching for Posies" - 3,000 revved up gardeners lined up to get the best deals in bedding plants, perennials and veggie starts at Sutherlands Mother's Day plant sale.  To calm the competitive spirit, music and food were provided; a well-organized system of tickets and payment kept it all moderately under control.

Bountea had a strong presence, handing out samples of SuperStart and educating some of the "bedding-planters" into the wonders of organic growing and compost tea. It still surprises me that only about 1 in 20 of Boulder residents has any interest or concern for their soil.  For the vast majority, it is stick in the plant and dump on the Miracle Grow!  Still, a few of those standing in line took the time to talk with myself or Stacey.

Person by person, gardeners are slowly taking more care of their soil ecology.

Cleaning the Pond

The pond was a mess.  After the long winter and recent 80 mph winds, it was full of pine needles, pieces of paper and a bunch of plastic plant pots.  I had not deep-cleaned it for about 5 years, so the bottom was covered with smelly black gunk and reed roots.

I pumped out as much water as possible, took off my jeans and plunged into the muck up to my knees.  After doing basic cleaning, a heroic battle ensued with the hydra roots of the water lilly.  From a tiny pot, it had grown to a 3 ft square slimy mass weighing 50 lb or more.  Sword in hand, I chopped it down to a mere 30 lb solid block and refilled with clean clear water.


The pictures are from fall and early spring last year.

Gray-water Irrigation System

The snow has finally melted and the frosts are intermittent, so it is time to redo the greenhouse watering system.

Water from the roof, showers and the clothes washer is collected in a 200 gallon tank.  I have diverter valves on the drain pipes in the crawl space that I turn on in the Spring and off in the Winter.

From the tank, the gray-water is filtered and travels underground to each of the 3 greenhouses via a 1" plastic pipe.  Each greenhouse has a shutoff to isolated the 1/2" distribution pipe that channels the water to the t-tape (flat drip tape) that runs the length of each greehouse bed.

This weekend, I cleaned out the supply pipes by attaching them to a pressurized hose, checked the filter system and started laying new t-tape.  I was excited because i had found some t-tape with 4 inch spaced emitters made especially for greenhouses. 

Unfortunately, once I had cut the the tape to the right lengths, set them up nicely and turned on the water, I found the company, Rain-Flo Irrigation had sent me t-tape with 12" spaced emitters.   They refused to credit me for the unused portion, so I am stuck with them.

Such is dealing with companies with poor customer service!  I will get the right stuff and try again when I have time.

Bountea and Wonder Soil

Organic Bountea and Wonder Soil, a company out of Las Vegas, are partnering in the development of new products.  Wonder Soil has a great line of compressed coir based (coconut fiber) products that expand as much as 9 times when water is added.  I am testing a mix of coir and Humisoil for germination growth rates.  Many of the seeds popped out of the soil mix in 2 days!  Expect to see Bountea Wonder Soil on the website within a few months.

I am not a good researcher and get impatient with comparative trials.  It is strange not to give each of my plants the best nurturing I can provide.  When I see a plant not thriving, I automatically reach for some remedy -- and spoil the trial!

Supporting Peas

The peas are about 2" - 6" and in need of support.  I have tried all sorts of methods: the English traditional methods are twiggy branches or mesh netting.  I don't like either as they are messy and hard to reuse.

After a lot of experimentation, I use a rather stiff metal mesh 4 feet high, that I stick into the ground and either tie to greenhouse ribs or to long stakes.  The mesh is fairly cheap, easy to clean and lasts indefinitely.  The peas seem to love it and crops are heavier and longer.

Do not listen to those seed companies that say you do not need to support dwarf pea varieties.  Peas love to climb and the higher the better.

Foaming Bountea

Time for another dose of Bountea in the garden.  I left it a little long and the foam started spilling over. 

I believe foam is a great indicator of biological activity and am told it contains the bodies of dead microbes!

I have heard that some "experts" say the foam comes from the yucca in the Bioactivator.  This does not quite make sense as it only happens when it is warm and has been brewing for a few hours.

If you want to reduce foaming, just add a little cooking oil to the brew.

Digging in the Garden

I was away over the last week and could not get into the garden.  So this last weekend was a bit of a marathon. 

I found that some strange roots (possibly aspen) had invaded some greenhouse beds and created a interlaced network about 9" below the surface.  Out came the Big fork (10" tines while the Little fork has 5" tines) and I had an energetic time getting most of the roots out.

Although I espouse minimal dig methods which only disturb the top 4 inches of the soil, I actually love to dig!  I was raised on double-digging that goes down 18" but that is not a good idea in my sandy soil.  So I create new beds (like the potatoes) or renovate the old ones as an excuse to get some real exercise.  I have my eye on a new patch for next week!