Chad Files

Longer and warmer days are here in Arkansas. To a few of us that means it is time to start the spring garden. If that is not the case in your household, then frankly it should be.

The act of planting a few plants that produce food is simple to do. You do not even need a yard — flower pots and window seal containers can be used to grow a surprising amount of produce. A single tomato plant can produce up to 25 pounds of produce. Even if you have to purchase a pot, dirt, and seeds, that is less than $1 a pound for tomatoes.

It does not matter if you are a Republican or Democrat, Black or White, Rich or Poor, Employed or not, anyone can grow vegetables. The act of growing our own food is something we have forgotten how to do in the country, and it may just be the one thing that can save us all. Get outside, breath the air, let the sun hit your skin, and most importantly grow something.

Earlier this year I set a plan for the 2009 garden; I am happy to report the plan has been implemented, the results are another issue all together.

Like planned, I tilled up a sizable portion of the back yard. Before I started tilling I did not realize how crappy the soil around my house was. There was a very thin layer of usable topsoil followed by a thick layer of black Arkansas mud. Under that? You guessed it…shale. In all, I estimated there was about 6 inches of usable dirt. The quality of which would not do either. The only other option I had was to bring in some better dirt.

We brought in 6 yards of a compost/sandy loam mix. The dirt went directly on top of the plot and I mixed it in with the tiller. That mostly fixed the issue with the clay like soil, and gave me a few more inches of good dirt to work with.

Shortly after tilling the ground I put my tomato seeds in the greenhouse that I built. I started them in the jiffy seed starter trays then moved them to 20oz plastic soda bottles when they were a bit bigger. In theory the bottles sounded like a good idea. They were available and seemed large enough. What I did not count on was how it made the tomatoes grow. They grew straight up and did not branch much making them “leggy”. However, they looked healthy and survived several frost covered nights in the greenhouse. Next year I am going to use individual pots with a good quality potting soil.

Before planting I had to figure out how to keep the dog and the kids out of the garden. Fortunately I found some light duty fence at the hardware store. It is about three feet tall and does a good job at restricting access. The fence installation only took a few hours.

We planted most of the garden on Easter weekend. I had planted onions, potatoes, carrots, and lettuce several weeks prior. Everything went down in the ground and looked great, until May came along. Arkansas has received a record amount of rainfall this May. The rain pointed out that I had several low spots in my garden. The primary low spots were where I had planted the potatoes and tomatoes. All but a few of the potatoes rotted before they sprouted. The rain pounded the soil near the tomatoes so hard that it packed it down and has all but suffocated the small plants. The water also pushed my carrot seeds all over the place; I have had carrots coming in throughout the garden.

As it stands now the lettuce, squash, cucumbers, and garbanzo beans are doing well. The tomatoes and green beans are having a rough time. I have removed most of the carrots because they were interfering with the other plants. I have been forced to look at this years garden as an experiment instead of a viable food source.

When I tell most people that I have a reel mower they look at me as to say — “What? Mine is not real?” — then I spell it out, “it is a r-e-e-l mower”; you have got to love homonyms. Afterwards folks usually understand, then I get a plethora of questions about the whys and hows. The answers to those questions are a bit more involved…

The main reason I went with a reel mower is because power mowers are REALLY bad for the environment. According to the EPA the average gas-powered lawn mower emits as much pollution per hour as 11 automobiles do during the same time span. Lawn mower engines are known as two-cycle engines; the average two-cycle engine emits over 90 times more pollution per gallon of fuel than any car or truck. For me, using a power mower negates most of the effort I put out by riding my bicycle instead of driving a car.

There are other reasons I decided to use a reel mower: no gasoline, less noise, smaller when stored, easier to maintain. They also have the added benefit of allowing me to mow my yard while the kids are outside. Power mowers throw things all over the place, and do not stop as easily as a reel mower. With a reel mower it stops making noise when I stop pushing it, and I do not have to yank on it to start mowing again. That makes it easier for me to watch the kids and still get the yard mowed.

One of the questions I always get is “how well does it cut”? The answer is, good enough. Power mowers create a suction vortex under the deck that pulls grass and weeds up a bit, then cuts everything. A reel mower pulls the grass in with the spindle, then presses it against a cutter bar. Since there is no suction, the reel mower does not cut everything. However, since there is no blade swinging around when the mower is at rest, it is easy and safe to bend over and pull a missed weed out of the ground by hand. The reel mower does an excellent job of cutting thick healthy grass. What it usually misses are tall weeds and wild grasses; however, it will still get most of those. See for yourself, the picture on the left is of my yard right after I cut it with a reel mower.

I will say that the reel mower is harder to push than a power mower. It also takes a bit longer to cut my grass with as well. My front lawn is about an eighth of an acre and it takes about 45 minutes to cut with a reel mower. The reel mower also does not get as close to the edge of walkways and flower beds as a power mower. Of course, it also does not blow debris into my flower beds like a power mower does.

Another advantage of a reel mower is the cost. I bought mine from the local hardware store for $135. It has a 20 inch cutting width, has several height settings, and came with a bag to catch clippings. A comparable power more cost more than $200. The cost of ownership of a reel more is also next to nothing. With a power mower there are added expenses such as gas, oil, and spark plugs.

If you have a small to medium yard that is primarily covered with grass, and do not mind a bit of work, a reel mower is a great option. Otherwise, I would suggest looking into something different. As for me, I am sticking with the old fashion, no pollution option.

Last year we attempted to start some of our vegetable plants from seed in the house. It ended up being a total disaster. The plants could not get enough sun, they took space on the kitchen counter and table, and the planters became a hang out for fruit flies. Ultimately we ended up loosing all of the seedlings before they ever made it into the ground.

To fix the issue this year I decided to build a small greenhouse. I looked at several commercial options and many free, do-it-yourself plans on the Internet. Most of the commercial options were too big and expensive. The plans on the Internet were fine, but many were way more elaborate that what I needed; they did however give me an idea. Using some of the materials that I had from other projects I could build a small green house for just a few dollars.

I am not using my garden boxes from last year so I stacked them on top of each other and added some dirt to make a base. Then my wonderful wife took some PVC pipe we had from another project and made some ribs for the structure. She did this by drilling a hole half way through each of the supports. Then drilling a hole every two feet, starting from the end, on one pipe to make a roof truss. After the holes were drilled she used some bolts and nuts to secure the supports to the truss. With the ribs complete we jammed the supports into the sides of the base. The pressure from the arc on the PVC holds the supports in place. I have plans to secure them with strapping if they ever start to slip. I left the exposed structure open for a few weeks to see how it would do. Thankfully nothing budged.

With the frame in place it was time to turn my attention to covering the house. For that I used some thick polyethylene we had from covering a sidewalk while it cured a few years ago. We started by measuring and cutting squares large enough to cover the ends. Then we attached the corners and bottom of the plastic to the base using heavy duty staples. Slowly we wrapped the plastic around the end arcs one at a time using duct tape to hold it together. When we finished securing the ends we used some more plastic to make the roof. When we started securing the roof we discovered that clear packing tape sticks really well to plastic, and being clear it lets light in. The roof was secured one end at a time using packing tape and staples.

At this point I went around the entire structure and used packing tape to reinforce all of the corners. I also put tape over the roof bolts and staples to hopefully prevent the plastic from tearing. When everything was finally sealed the plastic immediately started fogging from the inside — which is a good sign that it is working.

The final task was to create some sort of access so I could get into the greenhouse. To do that I cut a large hole in the side of the roof between two of the supports on the back side. Then I cut a new piece of plastic large enough to overlap the hole I just made. Using some more packing tape I attached the new piece of plastic over the hole to form somewhat of a hinge. To make sure the door stayed shut I ran a strip of velcro down each side of the hatch and along the bottom. At first the adhesive on the back of the velcro did not want to stick to the plastic, but I found out by accident that it really likes to stick to packing tape. So I ran a strip of packing tape on the inside of the hatch door and the roof, and reattached the velcro to the packing tape. I also stapled the velcro to the base of the house where I could. The hatch is not very big, and it will require me to get dirty to get inside but that is no big deal to me.

Now that it is all said and done I need to put something in there to see how well it really works. I am also trying to find a small weather unit that I can put in the greenhouse and monitor from the outside.

Finally, it is time to start planning for our 2009 vegietable garden. Last year was the trail run to see if we could pull off producing something from the ground. After such a successful 2008 garden we are going to go all out and really try to produce some food in 2009.

This year we are moving from the raised beds to a large in-ground plot. The main reason is because we need the space. The other is because the soil I put in the raised beds was too sandy and needed some clay. In our area, most of the exsisting soil is clay. Tilling up the plot and throwing the dirt from the raised beds in the mix should give me the type of soil I need to make my garden produce better this year.

Tilling up the soil does come with its issues. The main one is our cute little furball, Lucy. Last year I had to build a fence around the raised beds to keep her out of them. This year I am not real sure what I am going to do to keep her out. I am planning a trip over to the local pet supply store to see what they suggest.

The other big challenge this year is starting my seeds. Last year we used a few commercial seed starter trays, and everything promptly died after sprouting. Most of the carnage was due to lack of light. Our house faces west and we only have one south facing window, in the master bathroom. After some discussions with my wonderful wife, I was assured that racks with dirt and seeds do not go in the bathtub. To solve the problem I am looking into building a small greenhouse in the back yard. This should give me the space I need to get the seeds started and be out of the house.

Another big decision yet to be fully made is seed selection. Last year we went with whatever organic seeds were available at the local hardware store. This year I want to be a little more selective. Right now the only seed selections I have made are for tomatoes. I went with the guys over at Tomato Fest. We are going to plant the Atkinson for canning and slicing, the Sprite for salads and eating whole, and the Big Italian Plum for making sauces and paste. I am going to spend some quality time on the seed websites this weeking to round out the rest of the garden.

I am really looking forward to spring and producing a pile of vegietables to eat fresh and can for next winter.

For as long as I can remember (as an adult) I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden. This year I finally got around to it. I put in two above ground planting beds.

I did it for several reasons. The main one is an attempt to lessen my impact on the environment. The other big one is the euphoria that comes with growing your own food; I cannot explain it.

In my garden I have the following

• 4 rows of Black Seed Sampson Leaf Lettuce
• 4 rows on a lettuce blend
• 2 rows of carrots
• 2 cucumber hills
• 3 yellow tomato plants
• 5 roma tomato plants
• 3 rows of green beans
• 4 yellow squash hills

I grew the lettuce seedlings from seeds and transplanted them. They have been growing in a planter for the last 3-4 weeks. The tomato plans were given to me by my mother-in-law. The rest of it is seed.

There are a few cool things about my garden:

• It is 100% organic
• The boxes are made from untreated pine lumber. The treated stuff has nasty chemicals.
• The dirt is black because it is 70% compost

Right now this whole thing is just one big experiment. I am not a gardener so it will be interesting. Oh an the fence, it is to keep out our furry child Lucy. she thinks the dirt is a bed.