Garlic : The Incredibly Useful 'Stinking Rose'

It’s hard to imagine life without garlic.

Relied on for centuries for a variety of uses ranging from treating bubonic plague and cholera, to jazzing up salsa at the local taqueria, Allium sativum is one popular plant.

While most residents of planet earth have experienced the flavor of garlic in culinary dishes, the long list of medical applications for garlic may surprise you. Recent medical research supports claims that eating garlic can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as reduce the risk of color, rectal and stomach cancers. Garlic has significant natural antibiotic and antibacterial properties and, in the absence of as yet discovered penicillin, was used to prevent  field wounds from becoming septic during WWI.  

Garlic is used to expel intestinal worms and ticks, and the juice is a diuretic used as a remedy for constipation, and is also used to lower blood sugar in diabetic patients.  It’s used aas an expectorant in syrup form and is one of the few dietary sources of selenium :  a powerful antioxidant that can prevent free radical damage to cells which contribute to the aging process.

Whether you intend to thwart vampires or make your own garlic ice cream, growing garlic at home is easy. Garlic is divided into two botanical groups – hard neck types which belong to the var. ophioscorodon( also called rocambole, serpent garlic, Ophio garlic, or Spanish garlic) and soft neck  types which belong to the var. sativum.

Although similar to Allium longicupsis, Garlic does not exist in the wild and relies on human propagation.

Soft Neck garlic is easy to grow, and is propagated by planting the plump, outer cloves from a single bulb.  As with other onion family varieties, the soil should be formed into raised beds, and have good drainage. Garlic grows best when planted in cool soil, and in the southeastern US, soft neck garlic is typically planted in mid Fall and harvested the following summer. Cloves should be planted vertically about 1” deep, with the pointed tip facing up. Allow for 6” between plants and about a foot between rows, and be sure to keep the beds free of weeds which will compete for nutrients, water, light etc.

The bulbs are ready to harvest when the tops have turned yellow, and they should be brushed free of soil, but not washed, and placed in a warm, dry, well ventilated place in order to properly cure. Washing the bulbs, or keeping in wet or poorly ventilated conditions can cause the garlic bulbs to mold or rot.

Hardneck Garlic varieties are propagated by planting the top set bulbils the same way onion sets are planted. Hardneck garlic varieties are perennial and typically left in the ground for two years before harvesting.

Ready to plant? Click here to see this season’s garlic selection Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  We highly recommend the Inchelium Red soft neck variety  ; an heirloom cultivar discovered on the Coleville Indian reservation in Inchelium, Washington.

Hopkins Family's Organic Garden

The Hopkins family is always on the go. But even with a schedule busier than an Apple store, healthy eating is still top priority for this busy Myers Park family.

Heirloom varieties of kale, spinach, and  Swiss chard topped their wish list, but we also made room for calabrese broccoli, Detroit red beets, pac choi, mizuna, arugula, mustard greens, and an assortment of open pollinated leaf and romaine lettuces.

The Hopkins's opted for thee of our taller, Kitchen Garden raised beds  as the design’s 22” height will help keep some wildlife, like rabbits, out of the garden, and also make for a more comfortable gardening experience.

Not surprisingly, with a hectic schedule like theirs, the Hopkins family opted to use our weekly garden maintenance service, which includes organic insect control, watering, weeding, pruning, and regular addition of soil amendments.  Because our goal is a continuous, year round harvest, plants that are past their prime are regularly removed and replaced with new, seasonal heirloom cultivars.

Is healthy eating a priority for your busy family?

click here to learn how we can help!

Is Pressure Treated Lumber Safe?

Is pressure treated lumber safe to use in applications like garden beds, compost stations, and chicken coops.

It depends on who you ask.

Although it had been sold for decades for use in outdoor construction and garden projects,  lumber treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) was banned for residential use  in  2003 because of concern that arsenic could leach into nearby soil and contaminate plants and people.

The two new compounds that have replaced CCA  - Alkaline Copper Quat (ACQ) and Copper Azole (CA-B) - are free of arsenic, and rely on an increased percentage of copper to protect wood from insects. Quat, the fungicide in ACQ lumber that prevents soil fungus from attacking the wood, is also used in disinfectants and swimming pool chemicals.

CA-B treated lumber uses tebuconazole to protect wood from soil fungus, which is also used as a fungicide on food crops.

Scientific studies have shown that while copper from ACQ and CA-B lumber does leach into soil, it's limited to only a few inches around the site of contact, and levels are so low that risk to humans from exposure to copper is tiny.

So with all of this evidence that treated lumber is safe, why is it still frowned upon by the organic gardening community?

Perhaps folks are uneasy about chemicals with names like tebuconazole coming in contact with their food, no matter how small the amount or how many scientists say it’s no big deal.

It says something that, on its own website,  Wolmanized Outdoor – one of the largest manufacturers of pressure treated lumber -  does not recommend using pressure treated wood where the chemicals may become a component of food, instead suggesting that a liner be placed between the wood and soil where edible plants are grown.

But the effectiveness of a liner to separate soil and treated wood is iffy at best, and certainly not reliable for a long period of time.

Garden forums and blogs are full of DIY’ers assuring each other of the safety of their treated wood beds and coops, and lamenting the cost of naturally rot resistant woods like cedar, redwood and cypress -  in one case describing cedar  as “8x the cost of pressure treated wood”

We’ve found that premium Western Red Cedar lumber from the local lumber store to be about 3x the cost of pressure treated wood, which might be a difference of couple hundred dollars for most garden projects.

We’ve also found cedar to be 1000 times better looking than pressure treated lumber in our garden projects and because it’s completely free of synthetic chemicals of any kind, our customers can focus on enjoying their garden instead of wondering if the wood is safe.

So back to the original question: Is treated wood safe?

In the grand scheme of things there are probably other chemicals that are more toxic and cause for concern than ACQ and BA-C, and if you built a raised bed or coop with treated lumber, you probably don’t need to rush out and update your will.

But for what it’s worth, pressure treated lumber is not allowed for use in certified organic food production... which is why we choose cedar instead of pressure treated lumber for our garden projects.

'Easy' Backyard Mushroom Cultivation On Hardwood Logs

While few would label mushroom cultivation as ‘easy’, there are varieties that are more predictable and better suited to a backyard setting. These include the popular shiitake mushroom, oyster, and reishi strains.

Inoculating hardwood logs with plug spawn – small wood dowels containing mushroom spores – is the most reliable, but also the slowest cultivation method.

Logs should be harvested from a live tree in its dormant phase (winter). During this period, the moisture content in the wood tissue is about 40%, which is ideal for successful inoculation and spawn run. Trees or logs that have already fallen or been cut, are not suitable as they are most likely already too dried out and well below the minimum 35% moisture content needed for successful spawn run.

For ease of handling, logs should be cut to lengths of about 36”, and between 3”-8”.

Logs vshould receive an inch of water per week, whether in the form or rain or from a hose or irrigation system, and they must not be allowed to dry out below 35% moisture content during the incubation phase.

Have access to live hardwood trees and a chainsaw? Have the drill charged up and ready to inoculate your own mushroom logs?

Click here to see a short video tutorial on inoculating hardwood logs with shiitake plug spawn.

Click on each mushroom variety below for available strains and specific cultivation suggestions from Field And Forest products.

Shiitake

Oyster

Reishi

Would you rather skip the tree cutting and log drilling part, and buy logs already inoculated with your favorite mushroom spawn.

Click Here to order.

Organic Chicken Feed Recipes

It is true that you are what you eat, and what you feed your hens will certainly wind up on your plate the same way the fertilizer you feed your garden will. Standard feeds are cheap and easy to find, but will probably leave you wondering just 'what exactly am I eating?' next time you make an omelet with backyard eggs.

Premium organic feeds are great, but often several times the cost of conventional feeds, and unless you have a reatailer in your area, will have to be shipped, which adds up given the weight of the product.

But you don't have to choose between affrordable, low quality feed or getting a home equity line to feed your backyard flock a premium feed. You can mix up high quality organic chicken feed yourself. Below are three great recipes for making your own organic chicken feed.

Greener Pastures  Whole Grain Chicken Feed Recipe

2 parts whole corn (in winter this is increased to 3 or 4 parts)
3 parts soft white wheat
3 parts hard red winter wheat
1 part hulled barley
1 part oat groats
1 part sunflower seeds (in winter this is increased to 2 parts)
1 part millet
1 part kamut
1 part amaranth seeds
1 part split peas
1 part lentils
1 part quinoa
1 part sesame seeds
1/2 part flax seeds
1/2 part kelp granules
free choice of granite grit
free choice of oyster shell

Homemade Poultry Feed Mix by Marye Audet

2 parts whole corn
 3 parts soft white wheat
 3 parts hard red winter wheat
 ½ part Diatomaceous Earth (not the kind you put in your pool)
 1 part hulled barley
 1 part oat groats2 part sunflower seeds
 ½ part peanuts
 1 part wheat bran
 1 part split peas
 1 part lentils
 1 part quinoa
 1 part sesame seeds
 1/2 part kelp

Garden Betty’s Homemade Whole Grain Chicken Feed

Makes 8 1/2 pounds (fills 10-pound feeder)

4 cups oat groats
4 cups black oil sunflower seeds
4 cups hard red wheat berries
2 cups soft white wheat berries
2 cups kamut
2 cups millet
2 cups whole corn
1 cup lentils
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup brewer’s yeast
1/4 cup kelp granules
free-choice oyster shells
free-choice grit

Oats are rich in protein (around 16 percent), B vitamins, calcium and fiber. Oats are also a good (and cheap) source of energy. All oats — no matter how they’re processed — are nutritionally similar, so you can feed oat groats, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and quick oats interchangeably.

Black oil sunflower seeds (often called BOSS) are like candy to chickens. But good candy! BOSS is high in protein (averaging 17 percent), rich in minerals and vitamins, and the high oil content gives feathers a beautiful gloss. BOSS is typically found in the bird seed aisle at pet and feed stores, but I buy mine from WinCo Foods’ bulk bins. You can also substitute striped sunflower seeds (the seeds that are typically packaged as human snacks), but they tend to be larger than BOSS with thicker shells.

Wheat is a major energy source for chickens. If you can find both varieties, buy hard red wheat and soft white wheat for the best nutritional balance. Otherwise, feed only hard red wheat, as it contains more protein (around 15 percent).

Kamut is actually a brand of khorasan wheat, but these days the grain is simply known as kamut… the way kleenex is synonymous with tissue. It’s an ancient Egyptian grain that’s nutritionally superior to other wheat in terms of protein (18 percent), magnesium, zinc, and vitamin E.

Millet (unhulled) is found in most bird seed, and in fact, the millet I buy is a mix of red and white millet sold at the store as “wild bird food.” It’s less expensive than human-grade hulled millet, but still rich in amino acids and iron. Feed stores sometimes label the unhulled white millet as “proso millet” (not to be confused with spray millet, which is a long and thin seed head).

Whole corn is a fairly large kernel, so depending on your chickens, you may have to crack or grind the corn first. You can also feed popcorn kernels, which are half the size and easier for smaller breeds to pick up. Corn is low in protein, vitamins and minerals, but it does provide energy and fat.

Lentils are very high in protein (at least 26 percent) and if your chickens take to them, it’s worth adding more to your feed. Mine don’t particularly care for lentils or any legumes, for that matter, so I only add a small portion to my feed.

Sesame seeds have one of the highest amounts of protein in a seed (around 25 percent), so they’re especially good for picky chickens that won’t eat legumes. They’re also one of the more expensive ingredients in my feed, so I add them sparingly.

Flax seeds boost omega-3 fatty acids in eggs, and are also rich in protein (37 percent), B vitamins, and minerals.

Brewer’s yeast (animal grade) can be found online or at local feed stores. You can buy human-grade brewer’s yeast too, but you’ll end up paying double (at least). It’s an important source of B vitamins and protein (around 35 percent) for chickens. (On a side note, I’ve also read that feeding brewer’s yeast to your dog will repel ticks and fleas, in addition to providing all the other good stuff.)

Kelp granules (or kelp meal) are basically little bits of dried seaweed. Kelp contains essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and salt that your chickens need. It promotes healthy growth, increases egg production, and darkens yolk color — an overall superior supplement.

Oyster shells provide the necessary calcium to strengthen your chickens’ eggshells. Feed this free choice, and they’ll take what they need each day. You can also feed them clean, crushed eggshells to put all that calcium back into their bodies.

Grit is typically limestone or granite gravel that aids the gizzard in grinding food. If your chickens free range, they’ll probably pick up little stones on their own and won’t take as much from the free-choice grit.