FALL - CLEANUP & RENEW .GARDEN & GREENHOUSE

FALL - CLEANUP AND RENEWING (GARDEN & GREENHOUSES (Hoophouse, Tunnels, Glass Enclosed Greenhouses)

Fall in the US comes at different times, here in Europe it is much earlier than in the States, September is usually the time to start putting beds in the garden in order and harvesting the last of the outdoor crops.  Normally by the end of September we are needing to wear coats and rain jackets (although here in the Netherlands rain jackets are an everyday necessity as we have an exorbitant amount of rain. 

My first step is to start cutting back canes from blackberry and raspberry bushes and to clean up the debris from those.  By doing those early you eliminate the need to deal with all the leaves that fall and here in the Netherlands the snail are so prolific you need to keep areas clean to avoid them overwintering under the debris.  I have done that this week, and it was quite the chore to cut the canes and then cut into smaller pieces for compost and to get rid of the bulk that didn't fit in my compost.  Canes from raspberries and blackberries dry very hard quickly so if you are composting them, the smaller the pieces the better and you have to keep the compost moist to avoid them not breaking down quickly.  I am going to wait until October to cut back my prune and apple trees because they really need to be cut when the temps are colder than now.  I am going to attempt to overwinter my purple basil and my swiss chard and a few other items in my smaller greenhouse.  My hoophouse is too large for me to efficiently insulate it, and I will instead put horse manure in the hoophouse on top of the soil and water it in for next year.  This year in an attempt to have less weeds in my gardens I planted my beans very close together, leaving no space in between the plants and it worked well.  The beans did as well as if they were spaced as per the package, and because we had a really wet summer with floods and rain for weeks, I think it actually was more productive than had I done the normal spacing.  The canopy did not allow in so much water, but enough to sustain them.  In a hot summer with no rain I would have had to water the plants and that would have been quite the task watering by hand and carrying water.  I do have a rain barrel but it is for the greenhouse, and I haven't made an area that can be used for collection anywhere else.    

I have added Kaulk (aka lime) to the beds I have cleared and made ready, and later I will add compost on top to absorb into the top layers.  Usually you would mix it in with the soil when making the beds ready, but because of the large amount of rain here I choose to put it on top so the nutrients sink into the top layers of the soil.  I have totally covered two beds that I had issues with weeds this year and I had an outcrop of raspberry canes that grew from my neighbors garden under the ground and kept sprouting in my beds, so having dug down and removed the roots from the existing shoots, I am attempting to kill off any that have managed to evade my digging.  I have raspberries in my fruit garden and this garden is only for growing vegetables.  I am in the process of making the fruit garden only dwarf fruit trees, raspberries, black and blue berries and different varieties of currants and strawberries.  I have apple, pear, peach, prune trees in that garden area and herbs.  This year I added comfrey plants that were given to me by a neighboring gardener and I want to establish more of them for medical use and for soil enrichment.  In that garden I have alot of parden bloem or horse tail plants.  I did not use lime in that garden last year and I noticed that they were in several places that I thought I had eradicated, so I am hoping that a good layering of lime and then later compost on top of the ground will alleviate those,.  It is very difficult to get rid of that plant when it has become established and the entire garden was plagued with it when I took it over.  The entire garden was just covered in grasses, weeds and the horse tail, and it has been very difficult to eradicate all of the weeds because they were allowed to seed many times over the few years before I took it.  An older man in his 80s had the garden before, and I understand he maintained it well for years until health issues caused him to be unable to care for it properly, thus I inherited a nice spot, but with alot of issues to overcome.  He grew mostly potatoes the last few years and a few other root vegetables, but most was a weed paradise.  Johnson grass had taken hold in alot of spots and without using a harsh chemical it is not easy to get rid off, even with digging out the trailers the seeds from previous years are still in the soil and viable for I am told up to 50 years.  Probably my biggest issue is the nuts from the trees from the owner in the back of this property, there are 80-100 foot trees that have a hundred million acorns that here where the weather is wet most of the year they sprout and quickly become 3 inches tall in a couple of weeks or less if the weather is hot.. I ended up with a layer that was 6" deep this past spring from the excess that fell after the fall cleanup and it was difficult to dig out all the saplings that had already sprouted and started growing.  This year I need to stay on top of that and get them away as quickly as possible to avoid that issue.  

 In the greenhouse I like to use hydrogen peroxide to clean my soil, a small bottle into a 5 liter watering can and sprinkle on the top of the soil until the ground is saturated down to about six to eight inches because I grow tomatoes in the greenhouse.  Tomatoes are susceptible to potato blight and other diseases and the soil can become contaminated and affect the plants the following years.  I add compost that is two years old to the soil after I do that and typically plant sweet peas to give a boost of nitrogen.  Some people disagree with my method, but it works for me, so others can choose to dig out all the soil and replace it, but in my case it is too expensive to do in a hoop house and I see no reason to do so if I can alleviate any issues with a natural product such as hydrogen peroxide.  

Whatever your fall clean up starting methods are, just remember that you shouldn't compost items that are diseased, and please do yourself a favor and do not compost potato, tomato leaves and plants.  You are just asking to have diseased plants from the start when you do that, dispose of those at your landfill or burn them if possible.  Don't contaminate your soil just because of being too lazy to get rid of them in a proper fashion.  You will have regrets for having done so.  I am on a few composting groups and I really want to scream at people that say I do it all the time, but these are the same people that are showing their wilted plants that are turning yellow and getting unrecognizable spots on their plants in the app.  So just don't do it, you might get lucky one time and the next not.  One diseased tomato plant or potato plant in the compost ruins the entire batch, so why take the chance?  

If anyone has any ideas on how to make a green house heat up without electricity, or a fire, or bubble wrap and cardboard, I'd love to hear from you.  I don't have electricity to my gardens, I pay for the garden space but no electricity, fires are not allowed, and I can not afford solar panels, so any ideas are welcome.  I do plan on placing horse manure in containers to provide a heat source but with temps going into the minus here that isn't going to help very much.  

Now I have had my coffee, I'm off to the garden to do some cleaning and soil renewal.  
Email me with your ideas or comment on this post.

Minder Ear Infections for Kids

 EAR INFECTIONS (CHILDREN AND ADULTS)

You consent to the following disclaimer if you read further on this page.  

DISCLAIMER:  Before attempting remedies found online, you should make sure they are safe by consulting a doctor or practitioner. Everyone has the responsibility of ensuring their own safety, and the safety of their children. 

Children quite often have ear infections and it becomes such an issue with some that doctor's put tubes in their ears.   Having had this issue for years, there are a few things you can do to prevent the infections from happening so often.  

1)  Never let your children bathe or swim without ear plugs.  Any water in the ear that does not dry out turns into a breeding ground for bacteria, then the dreaded ear ache and infection occurs.

2)  A good preventive measure when you have gotten water in the ears, is to take a hair dryer on low but warm heat and dry the ears.  It isn't painful, but (see disclaimer above), try it first to ensure it is not too warm, and not cold.  

3)  Treatment for allergies with Allegra - D or Claritin D can be helpful in clearing up infections and in preventing them because using a decongestant keeps things open and dries up the wetness inside the ears.  (Note:  You will need a prescription for these medicines in many places, and I do not know if they have for children).

While these may seem like no big deal items, trust me when I tell you they make a world of difference.  Without ear plugs I could not swim because I would get an infection everytime, starting off with swimmer's ear.  Proactive items like these can make a huge difference in the number of infections your child or yourself has.

As always, consult a doctor before attempting home remedies. 

DISCLAIMER:  Before attempting remedies found online, you should make sure they are safe by consulting a doctor or practitioner. Everyone has the responsibility of ensuring their own safety, and the safety of their children. 

2021 CORONA VARIANT (DELTA) BREEDS OUT OF CONTROL & HEAVY FLOODING AND DISASTER FOR NETHERLANDS, GERMANY & BELGIUM July 2021

CORONA UPDATE & LOCAL NEWS 

The Corona Delta variant is reeking havoc across this tiny country (Netherlands).  With infection rates climbing higher daily after the restrictions for masks lifted and many other restrictions lessened or obsolete, the virus has once again reached gigantic proportions in the terms of how many are infected.  I said before, and I will keep saying it, masks are the key to less infections, and people not congregating together in closed stores and restaurants.  It is summer, there really isn't a reason why people can not dine outside in the open air, it might not be the ideal situation, but neither is the health care situation where we can not get normal surgeries due to hospitals being full for months with corona patients and some closed due to lack of personnel able to fulfill the duties necessary with the influx of so many patients to care for.  Healthcare personnel are tired after 18 plus months of corona patients.  

Now we currently have flooding issues for the last few weeks of non-stop rain and many are dead or lost in floods in Germany.  The Netherlands has been had hit also, but today a dam has broken and created more water issues.  Luckily the dam near me held and I was just walking near there and the water has receded today since the rain stopped.  I feel very fortunate to not have to deal with the distress of that, but I certainly feel for those that have had to suffer with these issues, and will continue to suffer until it is resolved.  Our beautiful castle just a street away from me had water and the roadway was totally covered.  I was sick upon seeing that, as it is a favorite element here for me, a restful place for me to go and rest when I am weary from life's struggles, and it's just a place of beauty.  One of the things that I love here in Europe are the castles and old architecture.  I never tire of seeing the "old beauty' that is not available in a young country such as America.  

I think my raspberries (frambozen) are probably not going to produce much this year due to the excessive rain and low temps, nor my fruit trees apple, pear and plum, and my strawberries while they produced in great abundance before the rain, I think those are now done in by the low temps and too much water for this year.  My hoop house with tomatoes does  seem to be ok at the moment, although with so much water outside and the high humidity with the low temps,  it will be a wonder if they do not develop mold sickness.  The one thing that did not seem to mind the water was my borage, it is still in full bloom and today the bees were hovering over every plant.  The people that have the honey bee hives should have some nutritious and delicious honey this year because they have had the borage and the lemon balm, and the purple basil in addition to the other medicinal plants that they have frequented.  The huge hummels (bumble bees) are huge here, and they love the purple basil, and I love watching them.  I move through the walkways and they have not bothered me at all, they just seem happy to coexist there with me like family.  The honey bees also have not bothered to be bothered by me, and I've seen several of the hummels in my lantern filled with moss and sticks, hopefully depositing eggs there.  I can't say I have enjoyed the snails, but I think I need to plant things on the outside of my beds so they do not travel further inside.  Perhaps if I get my raised beds finished before next year I will have less issues with them.  

So, I'll just end this evening being thankful for what I don't have and what has not occurred, and sometimes those are the greatest blessings of all.

Take care good friends, and new friends that happen to find me, it's my hope that something you find from my endeavors will provide assistance, or at least a bit of hope when there is a sense of despair.  

Gardening and life .....  are not always the easiest pathways to travel, but if we enjoy the beauty around us, the serenity that wild life and plants bring to our lives, we too can find a bit of serenity and peacefulness inside our own minds and bodies, and in turn improve our minds, our health and our ability to foster a better sense of just "being".  

If we were ducks we wouldn't mind the water, if we were snails we wouldn't mind the rain, if we were birds we wouldn't mind the beetles and grasshoppers and aphids, if we were not human, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the gardens and wildlife in the way that we alone can.  With each species there is something to enjoy, and things to fear, we are certainly not an exception to that. 

How We Connect With Nature

                       Connecting With Nature  

For those of us that are long time gardeners, most have found their true connection to nature.  Some find it in herb gardening, others flowers, and some with vegetables, some with a combination of all.  

I am happiest when I have my hands in the dirt planting something, there's just something that is very elemental to me, maybe it's the nurturer in me, that wants to make everything for everyone better, or maybe it's just giving a hand to create new living organisms that makes it special, whatever the reason, I look at is as a wonderful gift from the creator.  

I think where some of us are soul bound to the plants and ground others are more in tuned with just creating a perfect garden.  However in doing that, they miss out on the joys that unexpected rootings of new seedlings that blew in by the wind bring, the joy of seeing that the rosemary branch I laid on the ground has actually put down roots, or the joy of seeing that first ripe tomato in the summer.  I spend an inordinate amount of time just watching the bees and when butterflies come by I am happier than a kid with a raspberry blue slushie and a blue tongue.  In America I had many butterflies covering my butterfly bushes and other plants everyday in the summer, here in Europe there are not so many to be seen where I am, and that makes me sad.  I have attempted to create a natural habitat in my allotments for the butterflies and bees, as well as the birds (I am not so popular with my gardening neighbors over the birds) ahem, however I am not deterred by that.  I respect my gardening neighbors, and I respect nature, and birds are certainly playing a huge role in our ecosystem.  Most people know of my love for the bees, butterflies, dragonflies and birds, but I had never had a hummingbird actually land on me until I came here.  I was outside and I had on my ugly Hawaiian shirt, it had huge flowers on it in vivid colors and I was pulling weeds out of my rockbed, I stood up and this tiny little bird just hovered in front of me, then darting to the flowers on my shirt.  It looked like a mini helicopter it was so fast, he darted away and my heart fell, but he immediately returned and attempted a few more times, I was holding my breath afraid to move that I would scare him away, and just for a brief second he landed, that was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.  One of my other experiences here was going to a recreation park and the group that takes care of hurt wildlife had a huge owl, I was allowed to hold him on my arm and that was just a wonderful feeling to be that close to a fully grown owl that could literally peck my eyes out had he chosen to.  I was so saddened to hear later that he was stolen, I can only hope that who ever took him gave him a good home.  

So connecting with nature isn't always about growing things, it's about the deepest feelings that we have for living things, albeit plants, animals etc.  It's a spiritual connection that reaches deep into our souls and finds the best part of us, the part that we do not really share readily with the world.  It has been my experience that most gardeners are very honest and kind people, but there is always the proverbial bad apple, but even with that, they too can find a spiritual connection with mother nature's beautiful environment and be transpired to new heights in their lives, after all, none of us are perfect, and we all have traveled roads that have ultimately helped shape and define our lives.  

Let's all going forward attempt to be good stewards of the environment, focus on something that can benefit Mother Nature's earth and please plant flowers for the bees, birds, and butterflies.  I should also say, attempt to learn the good insects from the bad ones, and try to find companion plants that will entice them away from the plants you are attempting to harvest from.  We need all of these animals, why else would they be here?

PART TWO

MUSIC  TO MY EARS

The birds make beautiful music, and I always think the plants appreciate the sounds also, but did you know that they actually do respond to music?  While we may not see eyes and ears on our plants, they are actually living and breathing, just not in the same way we do, so is it so far fetched to believe that they too enjoy giving us pleasure?   How would one test that?  I have no idea, but I do feel like some days a plant just goes out of its way to bloom early to make me smile.  Perhaps that's God's way of giving me incentive, but whatever it is, that makes me feel connected more to the living part of life. 
According to Aerify, and I quote:  "There have been multiple studies regarding the potential impact of music on plants. One study, conducted in 1962, found that the growth rate of plants can be accelerated when plants are exposed to music. This study found that different types of music, including classical music and raga music, all had an impact on a plant’s growth rate."  

With that being said, I think I have listened to too much music and I am growing out instead of up :(    

So enjoy the garden and play them some special tunes, or perhaps just sing them a song, (unless you are tone deaf, then please don't, I don't want angry posters telling me their plant died after they sang to it.  :)  Ok, now I am seeing that in my head and laughing.  

Let's enjoy what we have, we never know what the future holds, and as Corona has shown us, we can be stuck indoors like prisoners.  So live it up, go have that fake cocktail in the garden.  

Homemade Ice Cream

Hot Chocolate Homemade Ice Cream

Ingredients:
Buisman Premium Hot Chocolate (Single Serving Packs) - 1

Jello Pudding (Instant) 1

Milk - 3 1/4 cups

(Note you can use half-half if you wish, or almond milk)

Strawberries - Fresh 1/2 cup (or more if you prefer)

This is a recipe I made myself, I didn't get it off the internet, I like strong flavors, not washed out tastes, thus the Buisman Premium Hot Chocolate Mix.   

Pour milk into a chilled metal bowl (just throw a few ice cubes in and let it cool it) then dump out the cubes.  Then add the Jello Pudding with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar (yes the icing sugar kind)... (or make your own with regular sugar in a blender blend until you have fine powdered sugar.  I use an immersion blender because I am too lazy to drag out that beautiful do it all mixer for baking, and because it isn't necessary, you could even do by hand.  I'm all about quick if it works well.  You can pre-chill your freezer bowl for the ice maker, but it isn't necessary.  Once you have blended pour into your ice maker freezer bowl, set up your ice maker and set to 30 minutes, the last ten minutes add in the strawberries and hot chocolate mix through your blend area.  I did mine an extra ten minutes.  
Then just pour into your freezer container and put in the deep freeze or refrigerator freezer until it's the desired hardness.  This ends up to be more of a gelato consistency, and if you want softer you can actually use a stand mixer on low for 1 minute to change the consistency.  It's all about your preference, but don't leave out the hot chocolate, that's the key ingredient.  

Let me know how you like it.  I know everyone will love it.

How Do I Start Successfully Gardening?

 

HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH YOUR GARDEN

I answer many questions online about gardening and one I get often is, how can I make sure my garden is a success after I do all of this work?

The answer lies in a few straight forward things:

1) If you are new to gardening and want to begin, the best advice, start small with some container boxes or a garden by the square foot box, or two of those. Most people end up hating gardening because they do not put in the prep work required to have success without spending all of their time only managing weeds and insect issues, etc.

Example of a 4x4 Square Foot Gardening Bed
This is a great starter garden with Herbs.

You can use this without the raised bed, just layout your squares with a tape measure .

Basil & round carrots around the basil	Beefstake Tomato (Do on outside so you can stake it)	9 Beets	8 Dill Plants 2 Oregano or 1 Sage 2 Parsley
Bell Pepper (patio) 2	1 cabbage	2 Chives and do remaining with leaf lettuce	Corn Plant Beans to grow up the Corn
Leeks/Spring Onions 9-12 (Harvest and replant)	1 Catnip Plant or other Herb 2 Cilantro	4 Argula or Head Lettuce	Green Beans grow to climb the Corn
4 Strawberry	9 Peas	4 Geraniums (red or pink)	Nasturium With a Stake
			| |------||

There are a million ways to make a raised bed, just google or use pinterest. Above I have given you an example that would be easily done by anyone and if you live in a warm climate the only thing you have to really grow before is the tomato, the rest you can use seeds and it can all be planted as soon as the ground is warm and no frost or cold temperatures.

Do use small varieties for the carrots, the typical round apple carrots, normal size beets, Patio bell pepper and tomato, normal cabbage or red cabbage or a chinese cabbage, the spring onions or leeks you can harvest and replant (I would sow some in containers to keep replanting throughout the summer); Try a pretty strawberry with red blooms, peas you need sugar snap or regular (not tall varieties that have to be staked unless you want to stake).

This is a garden anyone can grow anywhere (except in shade or cold temps). The maintenance is not difficult, water, fertilizer, harvest, weed....

So before you start digging up your back yard, think about what your goal ultimately is. How much time do you want to invest everyday in having a garden? What do you really want to grow?

How much do you want to grow of a particular item? After you answer those questions then it's time to move on to ask yourself do I want to do container gardening, raised bed (or semi raised bed) or in the dirt.

DO NOT rush out and start digging until you have answered those questions because you are setting yourself up for failure. I do raised beds, in the ground, and container gardening, in addition to a hoop house and very small greenhouse which I have half of and I've run out of room, I am now rethinking going vertical. Gardening in small spaces can be difficult if you choose to grow alot of different things like I do, raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries and strawberries. Strawberries take up alot of my garden space mainly because I use them year round everyday and I freeze them, also greenbeans take up a huge amount of space because I also use them all year and freeze them. The other berries I also freeze.

Seriously ask yourself what you grow, research how much space they take (both when you plant and when they mature), otherwise you will be digging up and replanting when they overgrow their space and that's not always with a good outcome.

Start small, grow up and out :)  

Gardening is really all about the joy it brings in growing things, the rest inside your mind and body, the pleasure of actually growing something to eat or cook with, or to use as a medicine.  

If I scared you, that was my intent, I hate to see people give up and it's easily to become discouraged when the weeds and snails or other insects start devouring plants, or the plants become sick.  That's why it's important to have a plan that aligns with your expectations.  As with life, it's all about choices and how they affect our journey.

If you want to start a small herb garden -- a great container garden is a galvanized tub, a wooden fruit box, or plastic or pottery clay flower pots.  Just be aware that you need to use a good mix of coco FIBER mulch, not the stuff that you see lining pots, and a good potting soil or compost.  This is a really great way to start gardening and have herbs to cook with, make salad dressings, etc.  I'll do an article later that outlines some good choices for a small container herb garden.  

CILANTRO / CORIANDER / CHINESE PARSLEY Herb - How To Grow From Seed

 CILANTRO/CORIANDER/CHINESE PARSLEY 

Coriander is a finicky herb, prone to bolting in the heat and short lived in hot regions, however you can combat some of that by planting in pots and bringing indoors or covering outside with a shade cloth on hot days.  

To start seeds yourself, use a good base for the soil, I recommend coco mulch to start the seeds, it holds moisture well and can be popped into the ground or into a bigger pot easily.  Don't use that as it's permanent home because it doesn't have enough nutrients, just to start, and you can mix a bit of compost with if you prefer.  The seeds need to be sown no deeper than 1/4 inch, and in the coco mulch I don't sow them that deep, slightly less.  When they appear and reach around 2-1/4 inches tall repot them into a larger container with good potting/compost soil and give them a drink of my homebrewed tea (search for tea on this blog) as I have moved things around.  I suggest only doing 3-4 seeds at one time and then a week later do more, etc.  Succession planting is best because of the bolting issues, and sometimes insects such as aphids, white flies, etc. attack a plant.   Bolting occurs when temperatures go from one extreme to the next, or just several days of heat will cause it bolt.  

You can plant directly in the ground after the plants have been transplanted to the new pots for a couple of weeks or you can move to a larger container with good compost/soil mix.   If it bolts, you can let it go to seed and hopefully new plants will come up from the seed, or you can try cutting it back to about 4" high and see if it will restart.  Either way with succession planting you have some to replace it with.  Don't overwater  just water when it's surface down to the knuckle on your finger is dry.  

My observation, and others may disagree, but I have found that coriander is not bitter when it is started in the greenhouse and kept inside under a shadow cover.  I have successfully grown in outside and still do, but sometimes it turns bitter.  Make sure you pick the leaves often, if you can't use them, put them on a piece of cake paper in the oven preheated and turned off, just line them side by side on the paper and they will dry quickly, then you can either grind in a bullet blender or just scrunch them up with your hands.  Put them in a glass jar or ziplock bag for later use.  

I've read several articles about the health benefits of Coriander, and when eaten raw it is suppose to help with ringing in the ears, upset stomach and fatigue.  You can also make a tea from the leaves and drink it if you prefer. 

 (Disclaimer:  I am not a Doctor, I only research what Doctor's online write, so please do your own research to be sure that any herb used outside of normal culinary means is safe for you, and with the medication you use).