Broccoli...It's all about timing

“My Broccoli plants always get really big, but I never get any broccoli”.

We frequently hear some version of this story when folks warily eye our heirloom broccoli seedlings at the farmers market this time of year.  They shake their head and smile at the tender young plants like they’re the crossword puzzle in the Sunday New York Times.  Their faces say,” Someone out there can probably do it, but it’s out of my league.”

It’s not though. It’s all about timing.

It’s hard to conceive of planting anything on a steamy day in August, but cabbage family plants – broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, and, um,  cabbage should be sown as seedlings mid to late summer. Sooner if direct sown as seed.

Why would you plant cool weather loving plants in the heat of summer? Sure, in areas like the southeast, it’s still plenty warm enough to start cabbage family plants even when mummies and witches start popping up around the neighborhood.  But just because the big box store is selling Brussels Sprouts seedlings right up until Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean it’s the best time to plant. At least if you want to have a harvest.  

It’s actually more about day length than temperature. Cabbage varieties need to achieve vegetative growth during the longer days of late summer in order to deliver a meaningful harvest mid fall.  It’s that simple. Want to actually have some Brussels sprouts on that giant Brussels sprouts plant this year? Hoping for a cabbage head bigger than a tangerine? Slather on some sunscreen, clear out those tired squash and bean plants, and get your broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, kohlrabi, and cauliflower started now.

All You Can Eat Blueberry Buffet Becomes Reservation Only Establishment

Nathalie Jorge is serious about gardening. Squash and cucumber vines compete for space on her front lawn as peach and pear trees look on from above. Rain barrels harvest water from the family’s blue two story home, and compost stations at the back of the property recycle grass clippings, leaves and kitchen scraps. Until recently the blueberry bushes, that thrive  in a sunny nook on the side of the house, served as an all you can eat buffet for neighborhood birds.

“The bushes have yielded tons of berries, but the birds have eaten every single one,” explains Nathalie. “We tried making a protective structure with PVC pipes and plastic netting, but it wasn’t sturdy enough. The birds still found their way in.”

Not anymore.

We designed an animal proof structure that would fit perfectly in that  corner of their home, and be attractive enough to fit into the neighborhood as well. The blueberry cage measures 8’wide x 10’ long x 7’ tall, and the frame was constructed with a combination of western red cedar 2”x4” and 4”x4” rough sawed lumber. ½” galvanized hardware cloth fastened to the top and sides of the frame will foil even the most determined blue berry bandits.

The entry door measures 6’ tall, and opens out to maximize space within the cage.

“We love our new blueberry cage,” laughs Nathalie, inspecting the door. “And we’re really excited that we’ll  actually be able to eat our blueberries now!”

See You At The Common Ground Festival!

It’s not often that a street festival that is both family friendly, and has a great line up of talented musical acts. The Common Ground Festival  has both.  Saturday, August 25^th will be a perfect day to leave the garden tools in the shed, grab the bicycle, wagon, skateboard or stroller and head down to Thomas Avenue between Commonwealth and Central, for a day of music, arts, and merriment.

Right in the heart of eclectic Plaza Midwood, The Common Ground Festival will showcase the best local musicians, artists, and craftsmen. And you can feel good that your day of fun will help benefit the Dublin Dog Foundation, a Plaza Midwood based charity that promotes the use of dogs in therapeutic and service roles.
 

The festival hours run from 12p to 11p, with music continuing inside adjacent bars and restaurants until closing. Oh, and Microfarm will be there with organically grown heirloom seedlings for sale, including kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, beets, chard, cabbage and many more varieties for your fall garden. See you there!

Improve Soil Fertility With Rock Dusts

The famously fertile farmlands of North America, Europe, and New Zealand owe much of the credit to the crushed gravels left by melting glaciers in the last Ice Age.  As early as the 18^th century, farmers understood that rock dusts replenished minerals in depleted soils, and left small rocks and crushed gravels in the ground where they would break down over time and replenish deficient trace minerals.

To be effective, rock dusts should be worked into the soil with compost, which will provide the necessary organic acids to speed up mineral release. When making a compost pile, add rock dusts on each successive layer so that the organic acids that are formed in the decomposition process will begin to break down the dusts. Granite dust is the exception, and should be applied directly to the soil with finished compost.

The most widely used and readily available rock dusts include :

Dolomitic Limestone
Dolomite is often referred to simply as lime, but it is actually much more valuable as, unlike crushed limestone which is pure calcium carbonate,  it contains both calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. It’s useful in sandy soils and to remedy magnesium deficient soils, but is most often used to raise the pH level

Green Sand
Green Sand is the crushed product of a sandy rock or sediment that contains a high amount of glauconite, a greenish black mineral formed in marine deposits.  Green Sand has been sold as an organic mineral fertilizer and soil conditioner for over 100 years. It contains potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron, and is favored by growers because the gentle release of phosphorous and potassium won’t burn plants. Green Sand also has excellent water absorbency.

Rock Phosphate
Rock Phosphate is a very forgiving, slow release source of phosphorous that  is so mild that it almost cannot be over applied. Depending on where it was mined, rock phosphate can be contaminated with other undesirable minerals, and is best purchased from a reputable gardening company, which can vouch for the source.

Gypsum
Powdered or pelletized garden gypsum is particularly useful in breaking up heavy clay soils. The mineral is also high in calcium, which benefits plants.

Granite Dust
Granite dust is a great source of slow release potassium, and while they can vary some in composition, usually contain between 3-5% potassium. Granite dust is commonly sold by landscape supply companies, often referred to as granite screenings, and used by landscapers for setting and leveling stones in patios and pathways.

Crushed Basalt
Basalt rock is formed by volcanic activity, and is used in large quantities for road building. The dust from the preparation of basalt gravel, called ‘belt dust’, is readily available, and an excellent source of minerals including silica, which improves plant cell structure and calcium and phosphorous intake.

Are Backyard Chickens Legal?

Are you the kind of person that would never even think of ignoring that no left turn sign? Even if it was 4am and no one was around?  Do you insist on cutting every fallen tree limb and hedge clipping into precise 3’ pieces lest the collection truck reject your yard waste?  Did you apply for a city building permit before installing your porch swing?

Interested in having backyard chickens in Charlotte?

In order to obtain a permit, you’ll need to jump through the dozen or so hoops listed below. Which won’t be a problem at all for the person who absolutely never runs at the pool.

Have enough sense not to get a rooster? Willing to build a nice looking coop that the neighbors will enjoy as much as your hens? Comfortable with taking risks like drinking straight from the tap, or cutting the tags off of mattresses?

More than a few of you must, because of the dozens of urban chicken coop owners we’ve talked to at Atherton Market, not one has bothered with the beaurocratic red tape of the permit.

Only you can decide if you’ll be comfortable living as an outlaw with no permit. Not comfortable with the risky lifestyle of a bootleg urban chicken keeper? Would you sleep better knowing that in addition to having supplemental insurance for your AFLAC supplemental insurance policy, you also have an official permit to keep backyard chickens? Better get out the measuring tape and make sure the coop is at least 25 feet from the property line...make sure they stay in the coop at all times...

Sec. 3-102. - City permits.

(a)Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, have, or maintain any equine animals, cloven-hoofed animals or other livestock or any chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, geese, pheasants, pigeons or other domestic fowl in the city without first receiving from the bureau a permit to do so or to continue to have any of such animals or fowl after a permit has been denied.

This section shall not apply to, and no permit shall be required for, any agricultural operation within G.S. 106-700, which pertains to nuisance liability of agricultural operation, or to any rabbit that is kept exclusively inside its owner's residence. The permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance and shall be renewed annually. The annual fee for such permit shall be $40.00 per household. The application shall list all such animals and fowl on the premises. Before a permit is issued an employee of the bureau shall inspect the premises to determine if the keeping of the animals or fowl on the premises will endanger or is likely to endanger the health, safety, peace, quiet, comfort, enjoyment of or otherwise become a public nuisance to nearby residents or occupants or places of business.

(b)Denial. When a permit is denied for any reason, the applicant shall be given a written explanation of the reason for denial.

(c)Compliance required prior to issuance. An owner or possessor of such animals or fowl shall comply with the following applicable subsections before a permit is issued. Compliance with the following applicable subsections will create a rebuttable presumption that a permit shall be issued. That presumption may only be rebutted by specific findings supported by competent evidence that, despite compliance with the following, the presence of such animals or fowl is still likely to endanger the health, safety, peace, quiet, comfort, enjoyment of or otherwise become a public nuisance to nearby residents or occupants or places of business:

(1)Fowl and other specifically identified animals. The keeping of chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, geese, pheasants or other domestic fowl or rabbits shall be in compliance with the following:

a.Such animals must be confined in a coop, fowl house or rabbit hutch not less than 18 inches in height. The fowl must be kept within the coop or fowl house and the rabbits in the hutch at all times.

b.The coop or fowl house must be used for fowl only and the hutch for rabbits only, and both must be well ventilated.

c.The coop, fowl house or hutch shall have a minimum of four square feet of floor area for each fowl or rabbit.

d.The run must be well drained so there is no accumulation of moisture.

e.The coop, fowl house or hutch shall be kept clean, sanitary and free from accumulation of animal excrement and objectionable odors. It shall be cleaned daily, and all droppings and body excretion shall be placed in a flyproof container and double-bagged in plastic bags.

f.The coop, fowl house or hutch shall be a minimum of 25 feet from any property line.

g.No more than 20 such fowl or rabbits shall be kept or maintained per acre. The number of fowl or rabbits should be proportionate to the acreage.

(2)Pigeons. Pigeons, while allowed to fly to and from the premises, must be provided with adequate space on the premises, and sanitary conditions must be maintained.

(3)Cloven-hoofed animals. The keeping of cloven-hoofed animals, equines and other livestock shall be in compliance with the following:

a.Such animals must be provided with adequate shelter to protect them from the elements.

b.The shelter shall be kept clean, sanitary and free from accumulations of animal excrement and objectionable odors.

c.The shelters for cows and other large livestock, which are covered by the zoning ordinance in appendix A to this Code, shall be kept at a minimum of 75 feet from any property line. The shelters for goats and other small livestock shall be kept at a minimum of 25 feet from any property line.

d.Each cow or other large livestock, excluding equines, shall have a minimum pasture area of two acres. Each goat, sheep or other small livestock shall have a minimum pasture area of one-fourth acre.

(4)Slaughter. Any slaughter of any livestock or poultry not regulated by state law or otherwise forbidden or regulated shall be done only in a humane and sanitary manner and shall not be done open to the view of any public area or adjacent property owned by another.

(5)Annexation. An owner or possessor of animals on property that is newly annexed has 90 days from the date of annexation to bring the property into compliance and to have obtained permits required by this section.

(6)Exceptions. A permit shall not be required for animals of any kind if the animals are kept by a governmental authority or other appropriately certified and recognized academic institution, museum, raptor center, etc.

(d)Revocation. The bureau may revoke any permit:

(1)When the permit has been mistakenly issued without compliance with this section;

(2)When the applicant has submitted false information;

(3)For a violation of any of the sections of this chapter;

(4)When, in the opinion of the bureau manager, the health, safety or welfare of any person or property is menaced by the keeping of such animals; or

(5)When the animals become a nuisance.

If a permit is revoked, the applicant shall be given a written explanation of the reasons for the revocation. Upon the determination of a violation of this section, and if the violation pertains to a correctable condition on the property, the owner shall have 30 days in which to bring the property or condition into compliance with this chapter

(Code 1985, § 3-37; Ord. No. 2840, § 4, 12-13-2004)