Colorful Carrots!

By Miles Necker, Master Watershed Steward

I’m always up for trying to plant a few flowers or a vegetable or two. Though I never seem to be successful, it is nice to try. Growing up I have found myself to almost have a brown thumb (something I’m trying to correct hanging out with the Master Gardeners). The only thing I have managed to keep alive any length of time is a Christmas cactus, and that is simply because cacti are virtually impossible to kill. So this year when my family started planting their garden my mother asked if I wanted to use part of one of the raised beds I had installed, turning our small front lawn into a series of raised beds with barely enough room to mow between. I figured ‘why not?’ and so began to consider what I wanted to plant. I obviously wanted something easy to grow. The only other condition I had is I wanted to be able to eat whatever I planted. Personally I don’t like just having flowers everywhere, I prefer my plants to have a use (apologies to my youngest sister, who lives for picking flowers and filling our house with them).

After much thought I finally chose my vegetable: carrots! Not only does the British military use them to see at night (World War II joke), but they are just good to eat, overall. You can cook them, yank them out of the ground and eat them, caramelize them, and pretty much anything you could want to do! Perfect! I had picked my vegetable. But now to go about learning how to not kill them and still end up with luscious carrots for my next salad.

This was a moment I realized: I may be in over my head planting anything at all, but still I soldiered on. I decided to learn everything I could before planting, and what follows are the Carrot Planting Basics.

Carrots are best planted just as spring begins to ‘spring’, around right now (mid-April). If you plant them much later you end up with shriveled carrots due to overexposure to heat. Plant them too early and the same thing happens due to not enough heat. So, they like to be planted when it is still cool, before the last frost date.

As far as soil goes, it is best to put them in loose, near neutral soil, as is common in a raised bed. If you’re going to plant them in the ground around your house make sure to break the soil up as they prefer a more aerated soil. If you’re going to fertilize your glorious taproots, it is best to use a 1-2-2 ratio fertilizer that is high in potassium, though they should do fine on their own.

Once you have your fertilizer and soils all sorted out, it’s time to plant the carrots. Dig a trench about ¼”. If you want multiple rows make sure their about 1’ apart from one another. It is very important to make sure that the soil around the carrots does not crust. To avoid this, make sure to keep slightly moist or cover the seeds with fine compost.

Throughout the growing season make sure to keep the soil around the carrots moist, but be absolutely sure to not overwater them as it can lead to nasty bloated carrots. If you start to notice the orange tops of the root poking out of the soil, cover it up. If left, the top will turn green and you can no longer eat it… it will affect the taste.

As soon as your carrots reach about finger sized you can start harvesting them if you wish. While it is perfectly fine to let them grow into gargantuan taproots of glory, the smaller carrots will tend to be juicier and more tender. If you mulch the soil well you can even keep carrots in the ground close to winter. Out of the ground they are best stored in a moist environment that is near freezing temperature.

Following the above directions, I am sure someone even like me can pull off growing carrots, and I’m going to try. As I write this I am glancing over at the seeds I’m going to be planting this weekend and dreaming of the delicious caramelized carrots I will be eating in the future.

Don’t have time or space to grow your own?  Support Your Farmer!

LEHIGH: Bleiler’s Produce Patch in Breinigsville

NORTHAMPTON: Ray of Sun Farm in Easton

BERKS:  Old Earth Farm in Oley Valley

BUCKS: Palovchak’s Produce in Doylestown

Manure: Spring is in the Air

By Master Gardener Sue Kowalchuk

While the appearance of robins is often cited as the harbinger of spring, I would argue that the application of manure on the farm fields is the true indication that spring is around the corner.  During this year’s unrelenting cold and snowy winter in eastern Pa, it was the sight of brown on the white, rolling fields that comforted me that winter was coming to end.

Although manure is a commonly used soil amendment, the type used, the amount, and the timing of the application are critical factors in ensuring that it will be effective and safe.  Both fresh and composted cattle, poultry, and horse manure are typically utilized on farms and/or in home gardens. Application can improve soil health and structure, as well as provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K); essential nutrients for plant growth. The amount of N, P, and K contained in each type of manure varies.  The best type to use will depend upon availability, percent of each nutrient in the specific manure and nutrient needs of the plants being grown. Consequently, soil testing to determine deficiencies and manure testing to determine nutrient content are good practices to guarantee success.  The amount applied is also important. Too little will result in insufficient nutrients, too much could leach into the groundwater, rivers, or streams and/or negatively impact plant growth.

Fresh manure of all types has a higher nitrogen content, with poultry having the highest. Some caution, however, is advised if choosing to apply fresh manure.  Not only can fresh manure contain weed seeds (horse manure is the worse offender), but pathogens, such as e.coli, or salmonella can be present.  In addition, the higher nitrogen levels can burn or kill plants. For these reasons, it is recommended that it be applied no later than 3 months before planting, and up to 4 months for crops that come in contact with the soil. For the home gardener, the safest practice is to apply in the fall, or consider composted manure.

Composted manure has been aged for several months and could also be mixed with other organic materials such as animal bedding. The overall levels of some nutrients are lower, but the heat generated in the compost pile and length of time exposed greatly reduces the likelihood of weed seed and pathogens.  This makes it a good choice for use later in the spring.

Using manure is a good way to improve soil health and increase plant yields while simultaneously “ recycling” animal waste.  Paying attention to type, amount and timing will provide you with the desired results and enable you to enjoy a bountiful harvest. That is, as long as the bugs, fungus, etc. are under control, but that is another story for another blog.

If you happen to notice the appearance of brown on the white snow or muddy fields, or a less than pleasant odor while driving past the farms, remember that it is a sign of spring and local fresh fruits and vegetables are almost around the corner.

Resources

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/pnw0533/pnw0533.pdf

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/000513.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/using-manure-and-compost/ 

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/242.html

Spring Flowers!

By Master Gardener Amy Weis

 

The greenhouses are starting to fill up at Richards Gardens 

With the Philadelphia Flower show and the snow (hopefully) ending the other week many people are starting to contemplate the flowers and plants they will be adding to their gardens this spring.  It may still be in the 30’s in the Lehigh Valley but the perennial and flower plant farmers in our area have been hard at work for the last several months; preparing and growing the plugs, bare rooted plants and seeds which will become full, bountiful and blooming plants by the time we purchase them in April or May.

We have a lot to choose from in the Lehigh Valley as we decide which plants to put in our gardens.  However, the plants we will eventually buy will fall into one of the following categories.

Woody plants are plants that have woody stems that persist above ground even through seasons that don't favor growth, due to low precipitation or temperatures. Woody plants include mainly trees and shrubs.

Annuals are plants that grow from seed to flower in one year and then die. Usually you buy annuals in the spring and know they will die in the fall.

Common annuals include marigolds, petunias, geraniums, impatiens, and zinnias.

Biennials are plants that require two years to complete their life cycle. First season growth results in a small rosette of leaves near the soil surface. During the second season's growth stem elongation, flowering and seed formation occur followed by the entire plant's death. Common biennials include foxglove, hollyhock, and pansies, black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne’s lace.

Perennials are plants that persist for many growing seasons. Generally the top portion of the plant dies back each winter and regrows the following spring from the same root system (e.g. Purple Coneflower). Many perennial plants keep their leaves year round. Common Pennsylvania perennials include peonies, sedum, asters, coreopsis and phlox.

When I begin my spring search for annuals and perennials, one of my first stops each year is the perennial nursery of the dynamic mother - daughter duo of Emma and Roxie Richards of Richards Gardens, off a quiet back road in Quakertown, Pa. Emma Richards has been growing and selling plants for 35 years, starting with field grown pansies in the 1970’s. Her farm has been in the family for many years belonging first to her grandfather, John Roth, in the latter part of the 19^th century. Emma and Roxie’s customers come from the entire tri-state area and include grandchildren of Emma’s original customers. Their only real form of marketing for thirty-five years has been word of mouth and it seems to have worked quite well.

The Richards, along with other perennial and plant farmers in the valley, are now in the process of putting out plugs and bare roots in their greenhouses and starting their potted seeds. The pictures below are of their greenhouses now. Look for the same greenhouse pots in a few weeks in this blog to see the plants you and others in the Valley may be buying come spring.

Learn to Grown Your Own: Every home gardener will find something of interest at Workshops for the Gardener!  Workshops for the Gardener is scheduled for Saturday, April 12^th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the PPL Walbert Training Center.  The event kicks off with a lively discussion about growing the very best heirloom tomatoes with expert Steve Bogash, one of our own Penn State Extension Horticulture Educators. Choose from sessions on home garden topics taught by our Master Gardening volunteers. Topics include:  Growing Great Cut Flowers; Year-Round Garden Maintenance; Ticks, Mosquitoes, and West Nile Virus; Ten Plants That Changed the World; African Violets; and Shade Gardening.  For the final session, participants will have a chance  to choose a demonstration to observe and interact with the instructor. Demonstration topics include: Herb Gardening, Rain Barrels, and Garden Photography.  You can peruse the garden fair to find books, plants, jewelry, soaps and more for purchase.  The conference will also feature a silent auction to benefit the Master Gardener program. The conference costs $50 with lunch included.  To register online go to http://www.cvent.com/events/workshops-for-the-gardener/event-summary-c76210525d4e4b04b6d8a170ec0a8e84.aspx

References:

aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu  

Woody plants of Utah, Renee Van Buren

Herbaceous Perennial Production, A guide from Propagation to Marketing, Dr. Leonard Perry – University of Vermont

www.uky.edu/Ag/NewCrops/introsheets/nurserybiz.pdf

Long Winter on the Farm

By Master Gardener Marianne McNeil

This winter has been unusually cold with major snow storms causing difficulties for all of us. I am tired of hearing about the polar vortex and will rejoice this year when spring finally arrives. This cold and snowy winter was predicted in the Old Farmers Almanac! How has this unusually cold and snowy weather affected our local farmers?

In the winter, most farmers try to accomplish the tasks that they have little time for during the growing season.  They inspect and repair their farm equipment and tractors. They check their inventory and determine what needs to be ordered for the next season. This is the time when they do soil tests to determine if they need any additional fertilizers and nutrients applied. They also complete much of their paperwork during the winter months and plan on what crops to grow next year based on pricing. The difficult winter weather has certainly slowed our local farmers' progress on some of these tasks. Our local farmers have added snow removal to their list of chores. On some farms, drifting snow can make snow removal a daily chore!  

Local dairy farmers have no rest during the winter months. They still have to feed and care for their cows and milk them twice a day.  This is an especially hard winter for dairy farmers since roads must be cleared to get feed and to transport their milk to market. Any farmer that cares for cattle and livestock has also been experiencing difficulties with all this snow.

In the winter, farmers will also have to contend with some damage from ice storms to fruit trees and berry bushes.  Also, some crops are planted in the fall as a cover crop or some are perennial   like alfalfa. These plants may heave out of the ground when there are numerous freeze and thaw cycles in the winter. The plants may be damaged or die completely. This means less natural fertilizer or produce and added cost to the farmer.

This winter, trucks have deposited tons of rock salt on our roads and our soil.  Salt damage to plants can be a problem to both farmers and homeowners. Salt adsorbs water and causes dehydration at the roots of plants. Salt ions also combine with important nutrients in the soil that plants need, making them unavailable. Salt ions can also build up in the plant to toxic levels causing damage to buds, leaf tips and young twigs. Near roads, you might observe corn or soybean plants that are stunted with brown leaves. This is probably caused by salt damage. This damage may be present for several growing seasons after a snowy winter like this one. Penn State Extension recommends calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) as an alternative to rock salt to avoid plant damage.

It may seem that farmers have it easy in the long winter months, but they are still working hard to bring us the fresh food we love. They have to contend with snow removal, feeding livestock and possible plant damage. This snowy winter, their work has been more difficult just like ours, so let's hope that soon the snow shoveling will be over!


Sources:
Old Farmers Almanac:
http://m.almanac.com/weather/longrange

Winter Alfalfa Survival

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/crops/forages/management/winter-alfalfa-survival

Salt damage to plants:
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/green-industry/news/2013/damage-from-de-icers

Alternatives to salt for de-icing:
http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/water/discovery-watersheds/news/2014/sidewalk-salt-and-stormwater

Counting Sheep

Occasionally when I have a difficult time falling asleep, I do try to “count sheep”.  It never really helps much, but it’s a pleasant thought, picturing sheep jumping one by one over a white split rail fence in a pastoral setting.   Sheep are not as popular to raise as cows and pigs are, but their popularity is increasing, especially with smaller operations.  Sheep (and goats for that matter) are efficient foragers; they get a larger portion of their daily nutrients from foraging than do most other animals, which helps to cut down feed costs.  They also eat and control most weeds.

According to the USDA, there were 86,000 sheep in Pennsylvania in 2012.  Sheep are raised for meat, milk (for cheese), breeding stock, and wool; however, current markets for wool are weak and likely only profitable if the wool is directly marketed for crafts.  At one time wool was the major source of income for sheep producers, but due to the decline in wool prices, many sheep producers are turning to raising hair sheep, or “naked” sheep, which do not have wooly coats and thus, eliminate or reduce the cost of shearing.

Want to learn more about raising sheep?  Come to Sheep Day!  Penn State Extension is holding a training session on Saturday, April 12^th from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Delaware County 4-H Farm & Educational Center in Newtown Square.  The workshop costs $20 for youth and $35 for adults with lunch included.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.cvent.com/events/sheep-day/event-summary-99ec79a3d4214185b3545fa1bc9aa059.aspx.  The registration deadline is April 4^th and space is limited.

     

Sources:

http://umaine.edu/publications/2186e/

Support Your Farmer:

Berks County: Winterside Sheep Farm

Bucks County: Ivy Acres

Lehigh Valley: Suyundalla Farms

Alpacas: Super Cute & Curious

By Meara Hayden, Penn State Extension Intern

I have always had an interest in unusual animals. The alpaca specifically captured my imagination. I have several pairs of incredibly warm and soft alpaca wool socks. There are plenty of alpaca farmers in our area, and I visited Harley Hill Farms in Quakertown to find out more about local Alpaca farming.

Photo taken at Harley Hill Farm

The farm is owned by Bill and Lori Oraschin. I spoke with Bill while standing amidst his female and young alpacas. The animals were incredibly friendly and tame. They came up and snuffled my hands, wondering if I had food. Their hair was very soft and thick. They didn’t seem bothered by my presence in the least. The alpacas possessed an innate intelligence that one does not expect from sheep or cows. They are interesting, curious animals.

Alpacas are raised primarily for the soft fiber they produce. They are sheared once a year, usually in May or June. White alpacas have the softest fiber, measured in microns, but softness is hereditary. So you could breed a softer brown alpaca if one of its parents was white. The young alpacas are called crias, and unlike their relative the llama, alpacas are not pack animals. Llamas can be used to guard the alpacas, and will herd them to safety and may fight to the death on their behalf. Alpacas require regular trims of their top knots and toenails, which the farmer can learn to do themselves to save on vet costs. You can keep about 5-7 alpacas per acre, although some keep as many as 10 per acre.

When an alpaca is brought to a farm show, about 60% of the score is based on the quality of their fleece, and about 40% is based on their proportions. A well-proportioned alpaca’s neck will be about as long as their back.

They are primarily cold weather animals, and barns do not require heating in the winter, but they will need cooling in the summer. The alpacas at Harley Hill Farm enjoy numerous fans, and the occasional hose spray under their bellies. They eat a mixture of hay and a grain mixture, with vitamin supplements. 

The fiber harvested from the Alpacas is sent to be turned into yarn, which is then either sold as is, or woven into hats, gloves, or rugs. The products made from alpaca fiber tend to be softer and more waterproof than those made from sheep’s wool. It also tends to be warmer, and hypoallergenic, due to the fiber’s hollow strands and lack of lanolin (a waxy substance found in sheep’s wool).

Most people who choose to raise alpacas must be willing to put in a big time commitment to keeping these animals happy. But their gentle softness may just make it worthwhile.

Resources: http://extension.psu.edu/animals/camelids 

Support Your Farmer:

Berks County: Charming Forge Alpacas in Womelsdorf

Bucks County: Harley Hill Farm in Quakertown

Lehigh County: Kraussdale Alpacas in East Greenville

Northampton County: Purple Haze Alpacas in Bangor

From French-fried to Twice Baked: the History of the Versatile Potato

By Meara Hayden, Penn State Extension Intern

Storage potatoes are one of the few veggies you picked up from your local CSA that are still around in the winter, and will continue to last until spring. They are a staple of our diets, and can be found growing in huge monoculture farms in Idaho, or small CSA style organic farms here in Pennsylvania. It is one of the most widely grown and consumed crops in the world. But how did this starchy tuber become something we expect from our local markets, and readily consume at our dinner tables?

Most people, when asked about the origin of the potato, will reference Ireland. The Irish seem to have a monopoly on the image of the potato. But the tuber didn’t come from Ireland, or anywhere in Europe at all, and the Europeans unwise handling of it is what lead to the great potato famine, and the beginning of the pesticide industry we know today.

            The potato is found naturally growing in the Andes, and most wild varieties are poisonous, especially in their raw form. Wild vicunas (wild relatives of the llama) will lick clay before consuming any part of the potato plant, because the clay sticks to the harmful substances and passes safely through the animal’s system. The native people of the Andes (Including the beginnings of what would be known as the Aztec civilization) emulated this behavior, and ate potatoes with clay powder. Over time, they selectively bred certain varieties to be completely safe to eat. In addition to eating them mashed, boiled, and baked, these ancient people would leave sliced potatoes out to freeze overnight, then dry during the day. The continuing freezing and thawing process produced long lasting, if bland, food that sustained the Aztec armies.

            The Aztec people grew a huge variety of potato plants, with every village having ten or twelve diverse varieties. And a village relatively near, but at a different altitude, would grow another ten to twelve varieties completely different from the first village. When the people of the Andes planted their potatoes, they would use the seeds that came off the top of the plant. This ensured that their potatoes remained diverse and resistant to disease.

            When the Europeans came to South America and brought the potato back for planting, they replanted using a “seed potato.” They would just take a potato from a mature plant, and put it back in the ground, growing a new plant. This method creates a plant that is genetically identical to its mother plant. When the potato eventually caught on in Europe, their entire fields were a monoculture. This made the new crop especially susceptible to disease, because the bacteria would not have to adapt to hop from plant to plant at all. This problem was not apparent until Europe, and especially Ireland, had a complete dependence on the potato for food. By the late 1790’s, about 40 percent of the Irish ate potatoes as their only solid food. In potato country, a 2,000 mile band in northern Europe where potatoes thrive, famine had almost disappeared.

            It was at this time that disaster struck the farmers of northern Europe and America, where the potato had been brought as a staple. They were using guano, imported from South America, for fertilizer. The guano brought disease with it. Phytophthora infestans, a type of water mold, is what caused the great potato famine. By the time the symptoms appear as purple to brown spots on the leaves, it is too late to save the plant. The first blight struck in 1845, and did not cease until 1852, after it had wiped out more than a million Irish.

            But the first potato blight was not as industrially important as the second, which came in the form of the colorado potato beetle. These black and orange bugs frustrated American farmers beginning in about 1860. Nothing seemed to kill them. One desperate farmer threw some leftover green paint on his plants. This worked. The bright green pigment was paris green, which is made mostly of copper and arsenic. Farmers began mixing it with water or dusting it as a dry powder.

The use of paris green in agriculture interested chemists. Are there other chemicals that could solve agricultural problems? In the 1880’s a french chemist discovered a solution of copper sulfate and lime would destroy Phytophthora infestans. If farmers sprayed this solution along with paris green, they would be rid of both the blight and the beetle. Potatoes marked the beginning of the modern pesticide industry.

Late blight and the Colorado potato beetle are still challenges for growers today, but over the years growers have learned how to manage them by growing resistant varieties and carefully monitoring pests.  Today, the United States produces more than 4.2 billion pounds of potatoes annually on around 1.1 million acres!

Support your local potato farmer!

Bucks – None Such Farms

Lehigh - Lichtenwalner Farms

Northampton - Clear Spring Farm

Berks – Burkholder Farm Market

Resources:

Smithsonian Magazine “How the Potato Changed the World” http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/?page=6

Penn State Extension “Potato Production” http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-alternatives/horticulture/vegetables/potato-production

Check this out if you’re looking to plant potatoes in your garden in the spring!