Airplants and Admin Woes

Thankfully I have calmed down after last week’s rant about labelling different gardening styles. After writing I felt a wave of calmness come over me and I was at peace with the world again. 

Apparently it’s not healthy to moan as your brain starts thinking it’s the norm, gets used to it and then finds other people to moan to perpetuating the cycle.

I realized where the problem lay.  As much as I am enjoying the Raised Vegetable Beds Facebook page which now has over 20,000 members, I was finding, as the only administrator that I was caught up in a type of “Groundhog Day” scenario. Answering posts was a bit like running a training course every day of the week. The course is attended by people who don’t want to be there and won’t listen, then make way for new people the next day.  

The favourite topics are about chemicals in car tyres leaching into the soil, using Epsom Salts and Bicarbonate of soda, how to ‘get rid’ of pests in the garden . The favourite by far though is from people asking how to keep cats, moles and deer off the garden (A big problem in the US)  I realised that we are all right. The only rule in gardening is that there are no rules. I’m happy that people are contributing and although I don’t agree with everything that’s posted, it’s all learning, questioning and solving issues that invariably crop up when we try to tame nature.

Air Plants

I thought I needed a distraction from the group and as there is no help (as yet) for people addicted to Facebook posting (when there is it’ll be called FBA Facebook Anonymous), I thought I would try something new - and that comes in the form or Air Plants. 

I’ve cared for succulents, cosseted cacti and entertained a lot of plants in the house but never ones without roots before.  Tillandsia as they are known have over 700 different species and native to the forests, mountains and deserts of Central and South America, the southern United States and the West Indies. I thought I might put a few in our bathroom as it always seems to be really warm and high in humidity with all the showers and baths. 

I didn’t do things by half either. I ordered sixty of them from a grower in the Netherlands along with some lovely Spanish Moss (T. Usneoides) which is the grey green dangling plants you see in tropical forests.  My initial plan was to resell most of them and keep a few, but I just can’t part with any of them.  

As Air Plants have no roots I thought I could stick some of them onto plastic suckers with a hot glue gun and then onto the bathroom tiles. This didn’t work so I have rigged up some thin wire for them to rest on in vertical strips. 

Following the instructions I was dunking the plants in a bowl of water once a week and spraying with rain water every other day. I think that might be fine for hotter, sunnier climates, but I found a couple of them were going mouldy with the damp. I’m just spraying them now so we’ll see if that keeps them fresh.

The air plants absorb moisture and nutrients gathered from the air (dust, decaying leaves and insect matter) through structures on the leaves called trichomes. It’s all very clever and the main reason any roots do show is for support as they grab onto trees.  I’m hoping that after a few months these plants will reward me with ‘pups’, this is the term used for small offset plants that appear from the base of the parent plant. After reaching about a third of the size of the larger plant they can be picked off and grown on. It’ll be those that I will be selling – unless I find somewhere else for them to live, I have one growing happily on a Victorian piece of hardwood flooring covered in bitumen and there is a bit of a gap in the hallway where I think they would thrive as they like a semi shaded spot, so I’m only limited by my imagination..

Although not normally cultivated for their flowers, some Tillandsia will bloom on a regular basis. I have one in flower at the moment.  It is quite common for some species to take on a different leaf colour (usually changing from green to red), called "blushing", when about to flower. This is an indication that the plant is monocarpic (flowers once before dying) but offsets around the flowering plant will continue to thrive. 

Hopefully mine will survive the ordeal and produce a few pups. I’ll resist the urge to post the images of the little babies on Facebook.

What's in a Name? Marketing, Money and profits usually....

What’s in a Name?

Labels are big business.  You only have to look at teenagers clothing or cars to see they have a huge influence. 

I’m quite sure, putting on my rose tinted spectacles, that at one time or another there would have just been “Gardening” plain and simple.  Dig the soil, clear the weeds put the household waste into the ground, plant the veggies and flowers and away you go.  There does seem to be more and more “label” types of gardening around. Of course there’s organic gardening which thankfully got rid of some old chemical happy gardeners of the 1970’s who’d happily spray the garden and the family with DDT if they thought it would keep the greenfly off the roses. That type of gardening was advertising lead, mainly by chemical companies who were looking at sponsorship and profits. 

New Methods

There are a lot of gardening methods around and most of the claim to be ‘new’ methods of growing which have really been around for thousands of years. These seem to be ideas that have been utilized and adopted for marketing purposes to sell a brand or lifestyle, put together to look like a club or organization to make you feel part of something special. It gets hard to tell the fact from the adverts.

So Many Methods

We have ‘Square foot gardening’, which was popularized by Mel Bartholomew in 1981. This method tries to ‘compartmentalize’ plants by growing them in pre made squares and bought compost.  There’s Biodynamic gardening from Rudolf Steiner, which includes mystical and spiritual ideas in an organic framework. Then there’s Back to Eden, started off by Paul Gautschi, who has managed somehow to make the whole process about God. Then we have Bokashi composting claimed by Professor Teruo Higa, who in the 90’s stated that composting is better with his mixture of special anaerobic microbes and special buckets(which you buy) All organic grain, bran, rice, wheat mushroom compost, dried leaves, even sawdust can host the micro organisms (which you buy)that flourish in anaerobic, acidic environments, mixed with a bit of molasses.  The idea is just ‘fermented organic matter’ and has been practised in Asia for hundreds of years. And as a matter of interest these microorganisms are in most soils anyway and you can make your own for free.

Merits

All of the methods have their merits, and a lot of merchandizing. In fact all of the methods are taken from age old gardening techniques and rebranded.  Back to Eden is really just mulching with materials, in the same way that forest gardening is done. Forest gardening was happening even before we realised we could garden. The forest was the garden. 

I for one remain open to their ideals/ideas, but still question their origins and agendas (hidden or otherwise). I’ll hopefully take the best of what they have to offer, (which is usually the cheapest option without buying anything), and incorporate it into my garden to suit my own ideas and my growing conditions. 

After all you wouldn’t just stick with one cooking recipe you’d experiment in the kitchen from chefs ideas around the world. It would be very restrictive and limiting to stick to one method, and the garden is no different.

Lasagne Gardening

Talking of cooking, there was one method I didn’t mention and that is Lasagne Gardening. It’s also known as ‘Sheet Composting’, but that doesn’t have the same commercial ring to it, which is more of less the same as ‘Mulching’.  There are books about Lasagne Gardening but thankfully no-one has claimed it as their idea. There are books about the subject but to simplify the process. To me its like “Extreme Mulching” (There’s a good title for a new method of gardening)

It’s Free

Out of a lot of then named and branded gardening methods, I like the lasagne method because it’s easy (always a priority for me) free (another priority) and there’s no digging of the soil or removing grass or weeds when you make the beds.

The first layer of a lasagne garden consists of either brown corrugated cardboard or a few layers of newspaper laid directly on top of the grass or weeds in the area chosen for the garden.  This layer provides a dark, moist area to attract earthworms that will loosen up the soil as they tunnel through it. Anything you'd put in a compost pile, you can put into a lasagna garden. The materials you put into the garden will break down, providing nutrient-rich, crumbly soil in which to plant. You can layer up grass clippings, leaves, peeled fruit and vegetables from the kitchen, manure, compost, seaweed,

Alternate layers of “browns” such as autumn leaves, shredded newspaper, peat, and pine needles with layers of “greens” such as vegetable scraps, garden trimmings, and grass clippings. In general, you want your "brown” layers to be about twice as deep as your “green” layers, but there's no need hard and fast rules to consider, just pile it high. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. 

Benefits

There are a few benefits to this type of garden method. Like simple mulching, it keeps the weeds down, gives great water retention, due to the fact that compost made by the layering holds water better than regular garden soil, especially if your soil is sandy or deficient in organic matter.

No need to buy any chemical fertilizer, because you planted your garden in almost pure compost, which is very nutrient-rich. The resulting soil is easy to work: crumbly, loose, and fluffy.

Beds made like this can be done at any time of the year, they would break down faster in autumn though and that’s the time of year that most of the leaves will be to hand to make a layer or two.

There you go, I managed to explain a method of gardening without asking you to buy a product, telling you what you must do, sell you a book or lifestyle. 

Feels good.

Relieve Stress by Gardening

 Being creative in the garden relieves stress.

Relieve Stress by Gardening

Looking out of the window towards the garden can be a beautiful site.  The same view could cause a lot of stress, especially if you feel as though you are falling behind with the maintenance. 

If I look at an old image of my garden from a few years back I look in wonder at how well maintained it is and think that maybe standards have slipped. I even got that feeling when I saw a photo of the garden BEFORE I worked on it and it was full of weeds! 

 

It’s the attention to detail that’s lacking in an image and we only see the overall beauty, not the creeping buttercup taking over the beds or snails munching the seedlings. 

 

That’s why I think the garden should be a place of relaxation and a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle, even if it means sitting next to the wheelie bin, where the dandelions are going to seed.

Linda Wasmer Andrews, who is into optimizing wellness agrees and also thinks gardening is a great stress buster. Here she gives us a few pointers to relaxing.

Keep it a Hobby, Not a Chore.

Just as with golfing or yoga, some people enjoy gardening and others don’t. Even if you’re in the former group, it’s important to ask yourself whether you like it a little or a lot, and then plan the size and maintenance requirements of your garden accordingly. Be realistic about how much time and energy you have for gardening. Planting a quarter of an acre when all you really want to do is deadhead a few geraniums may lead to more stress, not less.

Make friends with Nature.

A garden is a place where we can slow down and reconnect with the natural world the way our ancestors did all day, every day. Research has shown that spending time in nature can help restore your attention, relax your body, and revive your mood.

Leave your phone inside.

Don’t let phone calls; texts, emails, and social media intrude on your gardening time. So many days are filled with multitasking from dawn to dusk. Make this a time when you have only one thing to do, and immerse yourself in the experience, not the phone in soil.

Be mindful of the moment.

A garden offers a feast for the senses: verdant leaves, aromatic blossoms, chirping birds, squishy earth. Make a deliberate choice to soak it all up. Be aware of what’s happening right here and now, what’s in front of your eyes and at the touch of your fingertips.  By becoming fully absorbed in the “moment-to-moment” experience, you’re practicing mindfulness, a proven way of reducing stress.

Repeat a Garden Mantra.

There’s this lovely cadence you can get into when weeding. Believe it or not, it is a form of meditation. The same can be said of digging, raking, mowing and many other garden activities. With the repetitive movements, try a repeated positive a mantra. Others combine it with yoga breathing exercises, “In through the nose, Out through the mouth”. Either strategy can activate “the parasympathetic nervous system,” the body system that counteracts the physiological changes brought on by stress.

Cultivate your Creativity.

Ask yourself... Is your garden wild and woolly, or is it precise and elegant? Does it use your signature colours? We all need to express ourselves creatively, and gardening is one way to do that. So get imaginative with a palette of plants. Research shows that engaging in a creative pastime can be an effective stress control strategy.

Connect with Neighbours.

Although many people savour peace and quiet while gardening, others appreciate company. If you’re working in your front garden, it’s natural for neighbours to wave hello or stop and chat about the weather. It’s an opportunity for social connectedness. For apartment and flat dwellers, tilling a plot at the local community garden can serve a similar purpose.

Welcome Wildlife Visitors.

You can invite birds, butterflies, and other wildlife visitors into your garden as well. If you provide a safe and friendly habitat for the birds, insects, and other animals you want to attract. You may be surprised to hear that encouraging more wildlife can keep the equilibrium with those creatures considered pests, and their presence adds another dimension to help captivate your attention and enrich your experience.

Revel in a job well done.

Gardening gives you a sense of accomplishment, It can lead to great satisfaction when those first blooms of spring emerge from the autumn planted bulbs you weren’t sure would grow or when the first ripe tomato is ready for picking. Share the love, take photos. The beauty you add to your home or the fresh food you put on your table is tangible proof of time well spent.

Remember, when you are outside gardening you are getting plenty of fresh air and exercise and you don’t see what a mess the house is in!

Square Foot Gardening and Tying the Knot

My last attempts at Square Foot Gardening

Better to know a knot and not need it, than need a knot and not know it. 

I have been absolutely fascinated be an animated knot tying website this week. I have spent hours (where I should be getting on with other things) glued to the computer screen watching stop motion images of loads of great – and useful – knots being tied.  Anchor hitches, Bowline, Munter Mule,Timber Titch, not to mention the loops, bends and stoppers and the perfect way to tie a tripod knot for the beanpoles  in the garden. 

There’s even an animated image on how to properly wrap a parcel. How cool is that? I’ll be using some of them in the garden this spring that’s for sure.

It gets better. As an added bonus the site also has a wonderful page about how to fold napkins for the table. All those times you see fancy napkins in a restaurant, now you can make forty five different ones to amaze your friends and family at tea time.  You have the Water Lilly, Diamond Silverware pouch, French Pleat, Three Corner Hat, Butterfly and loads of others to choose from.  It’s simple origami but looks great. Somehow I’ll incorporate a few of them into the garden, Maybe a folded swan on one of the raised beds.

Square Foot gardening

Talking of raised beds, I’ve been looking into Square Foot Gardening recently. I experimented with it myself a few years back and didn’t really think it was of use to me as I don’t really do things by the book. The book in question is the aptly named ‘Square Foot Gardening’ written in 1981 by Mel Bartholomew (RIP) and revised in 2006 adding that square foot gardening is better off being done in raised beds  as it’s easier to measure from the edges.

SFG seems to be growing in popularity though and I can’t really think why other than it’s for people who like being told what to do in a precise manner or people that need to section their lives off into compartments. 

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh as any gardening is good gardening, and I should just let people get on with things without me judging. 

Let me tell you a bit about the process and you can make up your own mind.

The Process

Square foot gardening is the practice of dividing the growing area into small square sections (in this case 1ft)  The aim is to assist the planning and creating of small but intensively planted vegetable gardens. It results in an orderly gardening system, from which it draws much of its appeal. The major criticism of SFG is that it packs the plants too close together, which inhibits root development, and thus water and nutritional uptake suffers resulting in stunted plants. 

Bartholomew initially used a 12’ by 12’ square with a grid that divided it into 9 squares with equal lengths of 4 feet on each side. Each of these 4’ by 4’ squares was then invisibly divided into sixteen one foot squares that were each planted with a different species. 

The number of plants per square depending on an individual plant's size. For example, a single tomato plant might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano or basil, while most strawberry plants could be planted four per square, and up to sixteen per square of plants such as radish. Tall or climbing plants such as peas and beans might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.

One advantage of densely planted crops is that they can form living mulch, and also prevent weeds from establishing or even germinating. Also, natural insect repellent methods such as companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become more efficient with close spacing, which may reduce the need to use pesticides. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.

Do you like rules?

This is what puts me off a bit and make is feel a bit like a strange gardening cult or money making venture from the author to buy their magic soil mix. Over the years the SFG system has evolved into a precise set of rules:

Create Deep Raised Beds: Typically 4 feet by 4 feet, with a square foot lattice placed on top to visually separate the crops. Beds are between 6 and 12 inches deep.

Use a Specific Soil Mix: One third each of compost, peat moss and vermiculite. This starts the raised beds completely weed-free as well as being water retentive and full of nutrients.

Don't Walk on the Soil: I like that one…

Plant in Squares: To keep the planting simple there are no plant spacings to remember. Instead each square has either 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in it depending on the size of the plant. There are exceptions though and a few larger plants span two squares. Climbing peas and beans are planted in two mini-rows of 4 per square.

Solid Lines: String just doesn't do the job, the divisions have to be wooden or plastic.

Thin with Scissors: Instead of pulling up excess plants which can disturb the root systems of the plants you want to grow you snip them off with scissors.

My results from experimenting produced more of less the same amount of produce as conventional beds so I didn’t really see the benefit. I did find that plants don’t really conform to their square foot spaces either and tend to spread. Try planting one courgette in a square foot space and you’ll see what I mean. 

I'm also very confused about the Square Foot Gardening websites. There's the .org site which is full of Donate Now, Volunteer and Fundraising buttons and classed as a Foundation, it's all done as a charity and tax exempt status. Then you go onto the .com from the site and it's all about affiliate marketing, payment for training, commissions of up to 20% for sales referrals and a huge amount of retail products and books. It's not very transparent.

But if this type of precision gets you into the garden then go for it.