Fall Garden

Now's the time to plant your seeds for a fall garden.  Though the fall is not warm enough to give us sun-ripened tomatoes, many seasoned farmers tell me fall in Arkansas is a great time to reap a harvest.

Below are mustard greens I planted from seed a couple weeks ago.  They need to be thinned.  In the upper right of that same picture is kale that I transplanted from my house to the community garden.  The grasshoppers seem to really like the baby kale.  I have been advised to clip off the leaves that are yellow because the plant sends energy first to the dying leaf in an effort to save it.

This morning I talked with an organic farmer, Tara Stainton of Rattle's Garden in Vilonia, and she said she waited until this week to plant kale, hoping to miss the grasshoppers.

I have lettuce and collard green seeds waiting to find themselves in my soil...I just need the time to sneak down to the garden.  Anyone relate?  :)

As you clean out spent plants from the summer's garden, it's a good idea to add some compost or other organic material into the raised bed.  This will not only help aerate the soil but also add a fresh serving of nutrients.

Happy gardening!

To Carry Home the Bounty

I want to say Jim Ault should receive credit for this idea and its implementation (correct me if I'm wrong.)

If you look on one of the posts in the gazebo, there's a container with plastic bags to carry home your bounty.  Multiple times last summer I went to water my plot and went home juggling produce because I forgot to bring something to carry everything home.  Thanks to Jim, I've been able to carry everything safely home.  This week I made gazpacho and tomato soup from the garden bounty.

Some people haven't carried home produce in a while...and I am really tempted to relieve you of tomatoes that are rotting on the vine!  It's killing me to watch them go to waste.

Friday, my box received some general maintenance - pulled weeds and old tomato plants.  Some say, "let the tomato plants live" that the blooms will set again in cooler weather for "late tomatoes."  But I was anxious to start mustard greens (seeds) and kale (transplants from my house.)  Real estate is a premium with only 48 square feet.

This morning I went to the farmers market in Argenta (NLR), and my farmer friends say that fall gardening is really the best for raised beds.  The cooler weather and gentle rains make for healthy plants.  Be sure to add some compost or other nutrient enhancer occasionally because the raised beds leach minerals and nutrients quicker than a traditional "in ground" garden.

Beginning Beekeeping 3-Part Course

Ever thought of keeping bees in your back yard?

Learn how to do it in a FREE three session course.

TUESDAY EVENINGS, 6‐9 PM  OCTOBER 8, 15, 22

Evening 1: Bees hive & other equipment, honey bee biology
Evening 2: Seasonal colony management tasks
Evening 3: Keeping hives healthy – managing pests and diseases

Classes will be held at the U of A Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium 2301 S. University Avenue in Little Rock.

No prior knowledge of beekeeping is required. This course is offered for free and is open to the public, but registration is required to assure sufficient course materials will be available.

For more information or to register for the class, contact the Pulaski County Cooperative Extension Office at 501‐340‐6650.

Liquid Fish Soil Rescue

Do you take cod liver oil?  For about four years now I've been taking (and giving to my family) fermented cod liver oil.  It is said to be the superfood of supplements.  

One day I was looking on the website of the company from which I purchase my fermented cod liver oil and I saw they offered "byproducts and farm products."  Then I read this testimonial from a gardener in Phoenix, Arizona.  From experience I can testify that gardening in Arizona is no small feat.

Here's a snippet of explanation from the website:

When bacteria die off they give 15% of their weight in nitrogen, 3% phosphorus and 1% potassium.  When conditions and food are perfect bacteria can double in count every 15 min.  It does not take much to put out 200 lb's of nitrogen through bacteria if you feed your soils/bacteria. 

What is the perfect foods for bacteria?  They need protein, sugars, water.  For explosive bacterial growth vitamin B's and enzymes need to be considered.     Liquid Fish Soil rescue is an excellent living food for your soil.  We do not destroy the enzymes or change the product through any other heating / processing steps... it purely fermented.

A friend and I bought a gallon to share (you cut it down with water before application).  I'm looking forward to seeing some results!

Let me just say: this stuff stinks....like you'd expect "fermented liquid fish liver" to smell.

Has anyone used this? Or something similar?