Edible Landscaping: How to Get Growing the Things you Want to Eat!
( If you are reading this anywhere but my blog, you can find the original post here. )
Even though many of us in the North State can and do work in our vegetable gardens year-round, March, April and May are such traditional vegetable seed and seedling start times that I have been focusing a lot of my energy on my raised vegetable beds these past few weeks. Finishing up the winter-grown veggies like bok choy, winter lettuce and the last of the bulbing fennel (which was delicious braised in a light chicken stock), gave me room for carrot, beets, spring lettuce, snap pea seeds as well as potatoes. I have just enough room left to put out my tomato plants and basil seeds when the night temperatures stay reliably above 50 degrees. Photo: Bulbing fennel.
Vegetable gardening, growing fruit and nut trees, berry vines, etc. - any gardening you do that results in an edible item, is often termed Edible Landscaping. I think the use of this “fancy” term was introduced in order to 1. Make it clear that you’re talking about gardening for food production, and 2. Suggest that vegetable and fruit gardening is every bit as attractive in the landscape as “ornamental” flower and tree-type gardening.
In the past two years many gardening organizations - such as the Nursery Associations and the Garden Writers Association - have been seeing a steady and steep rise in the general gardening public’s interest in growing some portion of their own food. While many of us have always grown edibles as part of our gardening life, many more people are now interested in doing so for a variety of reasons: concerns about the environment, concerns about food safety and increasingly concerns about the economy. As an indication of edible landscaping’s poplarity, just this past month, First Lady Michelle Obama announced there would be an organic vegetable garden on a portion of what is now the South White House Lawn. The first vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s time. While this ‘perfect storm’ for edible landscaping is occurring all around us, we North State gardeners are lucky enough to have some of the very best conditions to grow a wide variety of edible plants, as well as to have some of the very best experts to get us started and to help direct us along the way.
Two of these regional experts joined me last Tuesday, March 31, for a special one-hour call-in edition of In a North State Garden to chat about getting started on growing edible plants: Rebecca Yarrow home-gardener in Durham and one of the many excellent plantswomen at the Plant Barn in Chico, and Carl Rosato grower of outstanding peaches and many other fruits and vegetables from WoodLeaf Farm in Oroville. His produce is available at various regional farmers markets. Photo: Edible greens growing along a sidewalk garden in Chico.
Right from the start of the program, Carl and Rebecca and I acknowledged that Edible Landscaping is an enormous topic on which many mountains of books and articles have been written. We were certainly not going to cover the entire topic in one hour of radio discussion, and nor will I here in the course of this week’s feature essay. What I do hope to do is outline some basic considerations and then point you in the right direction for good resources near you in order to keep going forward.
Once you’ve determined the location (and perhaps the size) of your edible garden, the second consideration we discussed was soil. While we all three agreed that soil was the basis for abundant, healthy and tasty crops and we all agreed that it was important to have a soil with a good balance of sand, clay, organic matter, trace minerals and other micro-nutrients and that it be alive with beneficial organisms, it was Carl who could actually roll the proportions of each element and the names of various organisms off of his tongue like poetry. For a solid, technical and loving discussion on healthy soil see the various articles on his website Woodleaffarm.net. (http://woodleaffarm.wordpress.com) Photo: Backyard raised vegetable beds of Chico resident Hal Mackey. He grows all kinds of Italian vegetables and herbs for his Italian cooking. he likes to think of his backyard vegetable garden not as a Victory Garden but as a Recovery Garden.
One of Carl’s recommendations was to begin by getting your soil tested to determine its balance of nutrients. A balanced soil will have a good texture - loose enough to drain, sticky enough with clay or organic matter to hold water and nutrients. Good soil fertility means that plants can actually make use of the nutrients that are there to produce the crops you love. Soil fertility and plenty of sunshine marks the difference between bland grocery store carrots and the sweet crisp carrots from your backyard or the farmers market. Soil fertility and sunshine produces those perfectly plump, but smooth and summer-evoking tomatoes the likes of which are impossible to duplicate in a store. Carl sends his soil to be tested at A&L Ag Labs in Modesto, California. (www.al-labs-west.com/). Besides testing your soil to see precisely which nutrients you might need to add more or less of, Carl recommended that anyone interested in soil read: The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Mastr Gardeners and Farmers($25.00) by Grace Gershuny. Photo: A selection of spring vegetable and herb starts from Shambani Organics, who sell at many regional farmers markets.
I currently grow my vegetables in raised beds, which I originally filled with a planter’s mix from Valley Gold Compost in Orland. Every planting season (spring and fall), I top dress these beds with my homemade compost made from grass trimmings, kitchen waste and rotted leaves. My fruit trees - an Moro Blood Orange, a Brown Turkey Fig, Santa Rosa plum, Lady Apple, a pomegranate and a persimmon - as well as my berries - three varieties of blueberries and ‘Heritage’ Raspberries are throughout my garden in existing mixed flower and shrub borders. I inter-mingle ornamental flowers and shrubs with edible shrubs and trees, which is yet another reason I am not a fan of chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. If I sprayed them on my flowers, not only could these chemicals run into the ground-water, perhaps killing beneficial insects along the way, they would likely stick to my dinner as well. I do occasionally use naturally derived soil supplements and fertilizers including products by Dr. Earth, John & Bob’s, and E. B. Stone Organics among others. These, of course, can be administered incorrectly or in excess as well - so make to sure to follow the directions carefully - and better yet, use these only after you understand what your soil needs so that you don’t waste your time or money or these products. Most of our small independent nurseries and garden centers carry a variety of soil supplement and plant food lines - ask them and they will point you to a product for your needs. Furthermore, most of our independent nurseries regularly host classes and demonstrations on various aspects of vegetable gardening, fruit trees, berries and vines - keep your eyes out for such offerings in the monthly gardening events calendar for ones the might interest you.Photo: Radish seedlings waiting to be thinned. The young radish greens are tender and spicy additions to salads or just to snack on as you work in the garden.
Once you’ve got your location set, the size of space in mind, and the soil looking well-aerated and fed. It’s time to decide what to plant and when to plant it. For the most part, what you are wanting to plant will determine when to plant it - warm summer crops such as corn and peppers and tomatoes need warm soil and consistently warm night temperatures (above 55 degrees). For determining if your soil is ready to plant out summer loving veggies, Rebecca cited a test she’d read about in the Sacramento Bee last week wherein if you sit on the soil and your bottom is not too cold, then the soil is ready to plant summer crops. We were not sure if you were supposed to sit on the soil with a bare bottom, your underwear on, or perhaps your jeans on. We’ll leave that part up to you. Some people swear by a soil thermometer, Carl and other market-gardeners included, to determine soil readiness. “Plants set out at the first of May will be out-grown by those set out in mid-May if the soil is ready for the one but was two cold for the first planting,” he says. “And so why waste your time and perhaps your seeds or seedlings?” Most vegetable seed packets will be labeled with when to plant out in the garden or when to start inside so that seedlings are ready to plant out by your area’s Average Last Frost date. When a seed packet’s directions say to “direct sow,” that means you can plant the seeds directly into the garden soil. Carrots, beets, radishes and corn are included in the vegetables that are easily direct sowed and would rather not be transplanted. Lettuces, beans and peas can be direct sown, but do not mind being transplanted either. Most people start tomatoes inside and set them out in the garden as seedlings for the earliest harvesting possible. Photo: A rhubarb plant with a flower stalk beginning to unfold.
With most annual vegetable crops, it is a good idea to plan for two or three plantings of seeds (directly sown outside or as seeds started inside) so that you are two or three sets of each crop that are a few weeks different in age. This “succession planting” helps to ensure that not all of your lettuces or carrots or beets are ready all at one time, but rather can be harvested and enjoyed a few at a time over the course of several weeks or months. Almost all annual vegetable crops need regular water (deep watering 2 - 3 times a week depending on conditions - more water if the weather turns very hot). Photo: Pea plant seedings.
“Companion Planting” is a whole other topic when it comes to inter-planting fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, etc. and is based on the idea that if you have a diversity of plant varieties no one will be wiped out by one bad bug or disease, but will rather each different variety will help protect each other variety by attracting a variety of pollinators, pests and predators. You see - variety really is the spice of life. Look for a segment on companion planting at Turtle Bay coming up toward the end of this month.
Fruit trees and shrubs, berry plants, grape vines and most perennial herbs can be planted anytime from fall through late winter for good results. Many varieties of fruiting trees, shrubs and vines will not produce much of a crop the first season while they are getting established. These perennial kinds of crops will need regular water (a deep water 2 times a week) their first two years in the ground, and thereafter you should follow instructions for the kind of crop. Some stone-fruits like peaches, olives and almonds, need regular and consistent water during the flowering and fruit-setting periods, but then like to have little-to-no water closer to harvesting. Photo: Sweet almonds.
While there are a lot of technical details you can pay attention to in order to get your edible crops just right - especially the more advanced you become in this kind of gardening, the important thing to me is that you just give it a go. It’s fun. It’s not hard. Remember the kindergarten project of the bean seed in the dixie cup, which fell over in the back of your parent’s car as you took it home, but still managed to sprout? It really is that easy. And it is so very satisfying to wander around your garden snacking on this and that. Even if it’s not perfect. Photo: Strawberries. Hmm.
Many social, community oriented and soul-sustaining permutations on the idea of getting gardening as well as good locally grown vegetables and fruit into your life exist out there: farmers market produce is almost as good as growing your own and it’s such a fun social event to go to one. I grow some of my own and then buy the rest from the farmer’s market. Community Supported Agriculture endeavors, wherein you buy a weekly “share” in a farm’s produce at the beginning of the season and then that farm grows a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs and provides you a box of their resulting produce each week, are also available. Look up a CSA farm near you on Local Harvest. If all you have is a windowsill but what you want are two large raised beds, you could also look for a community gardening project, allotment or pea patch. In a reverse of the traditional pea-patch idea, GRUB (growing, resourcefully, uniting, bellies) in Chico is a group of gardeners that grows gardens on people’s unused yard space, or will harvest unused or unwanted fruit from people’s yards which altogether is used to create weekly CSA boxes of produce for members, or is taken to local soup-kitchens and other low-income food providers. Photo: Squashes and pumpkins are some of the easiest and most low-maintenance crops to start your edible garden.
All in all, little stands in the way of you - a North Stater - experiencing a lot more home-grown or locally-grown fruits and vegetables this year - this entire year: spring, summer, winter and fall. For whatever reason you like - good food, safe, food, sustainable food, your own food - give it a try.
Some good resources to take you further:
The Sunset Western Garden Book - 2009
The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food, by Tanya L.K. Denckla; Storey Books 2003
The New Kitchen Garden, by Anna Pavord; DK Books, London - 1996
The Kitchen Garden, By Norma Cooney; Friedman/Fairfax Books, New York - 2000
The Fruit Expert, by Dr. D. G. Hessayon; Expert Books, London - 1997
Edible Shasta-Butte: www.edibleshastabutte.com
Edible Sacramento: www.ediblesacramento.com
Slow Food Shasta Cascade: www.slowfoodshastacascade.org
In a North State Garden is a radio- and web-based outreach program of the Gateway Science Museum - Expl;oring the Natural History of the North State, based in Chico, Calif. In a North State Garden celebrates the art, craft and science of home gardening in California’s North State region, and is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell - all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In A North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio KCHO/KFPR radio, Saturday mornings at 7:34 PST and Sunday morning at 8:34 PST. Podcasts of past shows are available here. Weekly essays are also posted on anewscafe.com a regional news source that is positively North State.