I finally got into the garden after several months of hiatus.  I planted red russian kale, dinosaur kale, swiss chard, an asian pear tree, and bull’s blood beets.  While I was planting, I was excited to find many sun chokes and some russian banana fingerling potatoes under the soil surface (ready to eat).  Sun chokes (also known as “jerusalem artichokes” are great nutrient accumulators, and thus, help build your soil).  Yarrow is another nutrient accumulator I put right in my raised bed to help build good soil.  In November I planted favas as a cover crop towards the back of the bed so they would not shade out other later winter plantings.  They fix nitrogen in the soil, which is important for beds that are continually planted with garden greens (that use a lot of nitrogen).

It was a remarkably warm day for January in Northern California, so I was reminded of the importance of learning how to deal with climate change-related changes in weather, as plants may be confused by strange weather events such as winter heat waves, parched by drought, or washed away by floods.  Christopher Peck of www.sustainablechicken.com recommended The Resilient Gardener to me as someone who’s interested in learning how to grow food in unpredictable conditions resulting from climate change.  Below is a review from Amazon.com.

“In The Resilient Gardener, scientist and author Carol Deppe offers readers an inspiring approach to gardening. For many, gardening is a hobby-a source of solace and an experiment in self-sufficiency. Gardens are designed to offer up good things during good times-handfuls of bulbous tomatoes after weeks of careful watering, weeding, and monitoring for invading insects, for example. But what happens when gardeners-along with the rest of society-face uncertain times?

Uncertain times, caused by an unstable economy, changing weather patterns, or personal injury, result in an expanse of time when the “garden suffers because people have other priorities.” With this premise in mind, Deppe introduces the concept of resilient gardening. In Deppe’s world, gardening transcends the world of leisurely pursuit and transforms into an act of empowerment.

In twelve intensely detailed chapters, The Resilient Gardener empowers readers with the knowledge they need to design, build, and maintain gardens that can withstand intense hardship and thrive despite periods of complete neglect. The first half of the book marries the practice of gardening with emerging global issues, such as climate change, increasing attention to weight control, and the rise of food allergies. Readers must first achieve a firm grasp of how these issues intersect with the process of gardening in order to fully benefit from the hands-on guidelines provided later in the book. Deppe’s analysis is thorough; her research delves deep. By discussing the interaction between gardening and prevalent world issues, she establishes gardeners as hubs of sustainability and survival, their individual efforts producing movements of resilience that can benefit society as a whole.

One of the major strengths of this book-and what sets it apart from the deluge of gardening books currently on bookstore shelves-is the union of Deppe’s scientific knowledge with her personal gardening experience. The second half of the book details the five essential crops of self-reliance-potatoes, corn, beans, squash, and eggs-and how to grow them. Though these sections are largely “dip and skip” depending on the reader’s level of knowledge, they are expressed in crisp, detailed, and incredibly fluid prose. Deppe is able to transmit the nitty-gritty of gardening through invaluable parcels of personal anecdotes that make the material relatable and a pleasure to read.

Deppe’s unique approach to her topic makes The Resilient Gardener an appealing selection for both experienced and beginner gardeners, as well as readers interested in issues of sustainability and global reform.”

While over visiting with friends recently, I discovered a creative new way to garden in small spaces for cheap: plant in milk crates using a fabric liner.  Ella was excited to show off this new technique and show me her wares (both the tutu and what was planted).  Photo below…

Last weekend while tucked away in the mountains for a quick getaway with friends, I had one of the better salads I’ve ever eaten.  Maybe this is because it was one of the most beautiful salads I’ve ever seen or maybe it was because the ingredients were mostly home grown.  Below is a photo, with special thanks to Elisabeth Hathaway and Nancy Blake for helping create this delicious treat.

The ingredients (clockwise from top left) included red carrots, lavender, nasturtium, radishes, golden beets, borage, zucchini, and calendula.  Arugula was the base leafy green with a sweet Champagne dressing to offset the bitterness.  The chopped zucchini really helped to round out the flavor.  I find colorful salads (usually including edible flowers) much more satisfying than monotone salads and they are certainly more nourishing as well.

As someone susceptible to heat stroke, I’m always looking for ways to stay cool on hot days.  Here are a few strategies that I’ve read about recently in Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs.

On hot days, bees keep a drop or two of nectar honey in the folds of their tongues in order to transfer heat from their heads to their thoraxes.  The passive shifting of heat between body parts has a cooling effect.  A similar phenomenon has been observed in people: A study of people in Salt Lake City found that chewing a small piece of honeycomb and keeping it in the mouth during periods of strenuous physical activity in hot weather produced a drop in body temperature. Check out some books about bees.

I have taken a recent renewed interest in lupines because I discovered that they are nitrogen fixers, but I have loved them ever since I read Miss Rumphius as a child. (For those that haven’t read this children’s classic, Miss Rumphius spreads beauty around the world by planting lupines).  After reading up some more, I have discovered that some varieties of lupine seeds are edible and quite nutritious as well (see below for more detail on that).  Of course, the bees love them and they grow wild, making them great for creating habitat in your yard while feeding your nitrogen-hungry vegetables (sometimes called “companion planting“).  Being perennial, they make a good choice for anyone into permaculture who wants to avoid disrupting the soil whenever possible.  Below is more detailed information about lupines and photos from Wikipedia….

Lupins or lupines (North America) are the members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family (Fabaceae). The genus comprises between 200 and 600 species, with major centers of diversity in South America and western North America, in the Mediterranean region and Africa. Lupins can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia via a rhizobium-root nodule symbiosis, fertilizing the soil for other plants, this adaption allows lupins to be tolerant of infertile soils and capable of pioneering change in barren and poor quality soils.

The seeds are used for different foods from vegan sausages to lupin-tofu or baking-enhancing lupin flour. Given that lupin seeds have the full range of essential amino acids and that they, contrary to soy, can be grown in more temperate to cool climates, lupins are becoming increasingly recognized as a cash crop alternative to soy.

The yellow legume seeds of lupins, commonly called lupin beans, were popular with the Romans, who spread the plant’s cultivation throughout the Roman Empire.  Lupin beans are commonly sold in a salty solution in jars and can be eaten with or without the skin. Lupini dishes are most commonly found in Mediterranean countries, especially in Portugal, Egypt, and Italy, and also in Brazil and in Spanish Harlem, where they are popularly consumed with beer. In Lebanon, salty and chilled Lupini Beans are called “Zbib” and are served pre-meal as part of an aperitif. The Andean variety of this bean is from the Andean Lupin and was a widespread food in the Incan Empire.

As I was trimming back the raised bed of brassicas at the Bounty plot three days ago, I discovered a nest of speckled eggs under a kohlrabi plant.  Amy, the farm manager, thought it was probably a quail’s nest and that was confirmed the next morning when I went to check on the nest.  The mother came flying out like a bat out of hell (or “like a Quail out of Kohlrabi” as I would say now).  The Italian Romanesco broccoli was well-done and needed to be harvested (its leaves had been molested by aphids already), but I didn’t want to destroy the cover for these nascent eggs.  I trimmed leaves off of other areas and laid them on top to make sure the nest had good cover.  It’s nice to know that my food comes from a place that’s fit to be a quail incubator.  This is yet another reason I like the permaculture approach to gardening, which respects other creatures that are also trying to live off the land.

Our flowering lamb’s ear got a bit unruly this summer, as it always does, and unless you are real appreciator or bees, you probably would not choose not to venture up the pathway towards our front door.  I’m fairly certain that anyone selling me things I don’t need would opt out of this risk, but I like to think that do-gooder activists would venture up the pathway anyways, with faith that their good karma will shield them from harm.

Pollinators are good for more than fending off unwanted solicitors, though.  Most people know that bees play an important role in pollinating  flowering plants, but you might not know that bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand.  Bees gather nectar primarily as an energy source, and pollen, primarily for protein  and other nutrients. Most bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge, which aids in the adherence of pollen.

Bee Collapse
In 2007, managed populations of European honey bees experienced substantial declines, which prompted investigations. In 2009 some reports from the US suggested that one third of the honey bee colonies did not survive the winter.  This is of great concern because it is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee.  One root of the problem is believed to be “Colony Collapse Disorder.” Pesticides used to treat seeds are believed to be negatively impacting honey bee populations.

Whatever the root cause of the decline of bees, creating habitats for bees can help maintain their numbers.  Flowers such as borage (pictured below) can provide them with pollen and us with beautiful edible flowers to spice up any salad.  Choosing native plants will help create habitat for native bees and staging successive blooms throughout the year (by making sure that something in your garden is blooming at any given time) will ensure them a place to hang out year-round.  If you slack on trimming your flower borders, that might also mean less time managing unwanted solicitors.

I had an edible garden installation in late June at the Sonoma Marin Fair where I decided to experiment with a new type of border called a “wattle.”  It’s a long snake-like border made of straw bundled in plastic netting, and it was featured in Sunset Magazine a few months ago as a nice option to contain raised beds.  I found it very visually pleasing, easy to move around (especially compared with wood for raised beds!), and quite affordable at about $30 for 25 feet.  No screwing or hammering was necessary to use it and it gave my exhibit great curves.  Curving edges is a major strategy of permaculture, so a border that allows for curvature is very helpful in permaculture designs and elements that call for a raised area.  The one downfall is that you can’t really change the length of it very easily – you have to make it’s length work for whatever you’re doing.  Also, over time, the straw breaks down and just becomes part of the soil, which could be seen as an advantage or a disadvantage (the plastic netting is easy to just pick up then and reuse for some other purpose).

At the demonstration garden at Petaluma Bounty, you can see a variety of irrigation techniques in action.  Some are more drought-tolerant than others.  Here is a quick tour through each of them:

Swaling and Mulching: I have started experimenting with swaling and mulching to sink more water on-site. I’ve dug small swales near some of my annual plants and mulched them with straw to prevent evaporation off the soil surface (pictured below). During heat waves, I can sink some water in the swales that should hydrate the soil and will offer some resilience to thirsty plants nearby while not drowning the roots. Leaving bare soil is the best way to waste lots of water. With annuals, you need to be careful about mulching with a carbon source because it can deplete the nitrogen from your soil, but the more you cover your bare soil, the better. Mulching not only prevents evapotranspiration, but also limits weeds, so will save you time on watering and weeding.

Drip irrigation: Drip irrigation is a real winner as far as water-conserving irrigation strategies.  I have emitters on all of the perennial plants at the demo garden and many of the annuals as well, including the zucchini plants pictured below.  The amount of water delivered to each plant varies from one gallon per hour to four gallons per hour.  On trees, it’s important to put two emitters on them – one on each side at least a foot out from the trunk so that the roots will spread below ground.

Soaker hoses: I’m also experimenting with soaker hoses.  They seem to sweat water out of the pores.  I’ve wrapped them around the base of many of my kohlrabi plants and snaked them back and forth where the squash, corn and beans are going to be planted (both pictured below).  This seems like a nice strategy for an area with many smaller plants that need water and it is more efficient than spray heads, which lose a lot of water to wind and evaporation.

Spray heads: This is really my last choice in irrigation and I plan to remove all spray heads by next Spring.  Spray heads and sprinklers are quite inefficient because the wind can carry much of the water away and it evaporates easily instead of making it deep into the soil where roots can drink.  I have them on my container garden (pictured below) and in the huge bed of greens as a temporary measure because the greens were planted before my irrigation strategy was clear.

There is nothing like walking into a soup kitchen to put life into perspective.  Entering “Petaluma Kitchen” this morning, I was met with big smiles and thank you’s by a cook named Jeronimo and a kind woman named Shannon.  What a way to start the day!  I handed Jeronimo a bunch of greens from the demo garden at the Bounty plot – kale, chard, arugula, pak choi, and mustard greens – and he gave me a hug.  (Greens at the plot and in bags, pictured below)

I asked if greens were something they could use regularly and they told me that, “It all gets used.”  Every bit will be eaten, which is more than I can say for some of the produce that ends up rotting in my refrigerator.  It speaks to the need.  What if every American who could grow something for a soup kitchen DID?

One of the largest issues with the current food system is that subsidies are making products like high fructose corn syrup extremely cheap.  This means that packaged foods with lots of sugar and white starch content are the primary contents landing in many grocery baskets of the country’s poorest people.  These foods do not have the vitamin and mineral content that fresh produce (like garden greens) provide for decent health.

These products, in fact, are leading to a major obesity epidemic in this country, the likes of which has never been seen before.  If the food being offered at food banks and soup kitchens consisted largely of fresh produce, including garden greens, what a difference that could make for the health of the nation.  If you grew more greens for someone else, do you think you would eat them more?

So here is a challenge for anyone listening.  Grow something green and eat it.  And take a bunch to your local soup kitchen or shelter to share.  I’ll bet money you don’t regret it.