Designing Gardens for a Better Future

What I do is hard for most people to understand. The idea of growing food at home seems to have a hard time getting beyond the idea of the back yard raised planter. Much of that problem is caused by the concept that food production must be something that is hidden in the back yard, or put where the neighbors are not going to see it.

Many Americans have gone even further and decided that growing food is the job of professionals far away and that anyone trying to do it themselves is a menace and should be stopped. This is not far fetched if you look at city ordinances and HOA bylaws.

Since I am taking a step or five in the opposite direction of those trying to prohibit gardens, and since that still puts me a few steps away from the average gardener, I can see why there is a gap in understanding. To help clear up this gap here are some of the ideas I work with:

• Food and support of food should be the primary goal of the yard and home landscape.
• Plants do better with different types associated together.
• Planting different food crops in layers prevents waste of energy and plant nutrients.
• Food plants are beautiful.
• Perennial flowers are good for the food garden.
• The right balance of animals in the garden are better than trying to kill all the insects and critters.
• Perennial flowers are good for balancing the critters and insects.
• Fertilizer creation should be done at home whenever possible. 

To achieve these goals, thinking and design have to be stretched further than most people have the experience to do themselves. So, I try to do it for them.

Now that you have my ideas, what do you think your landscape should provide you?

Grapes for Northern Utah

I've become convinced, as I studied for this list,
that there are a lot of other grapes that would do
well in Utah. This one still needs to be evaluated
for the list.

Grapes might just be the best fruit crop for Utah. Grapes do well in dry areas with hot summers; and that fits Utah perfectly! In fact as long as I can remember I have seen chain link fences covered with big leafed vines with dusty-blue fruit peeping out here and there. 

As much as I like the flavor that comes out of the blue-black Concord grapes when in juice or jam, I've always thought it lacks texture for fresh eating.  Fortunately in the last couple of decades, green table grapes have been planted more often along the Wasatch Front. That still left a big gap in the potential for pinkish-red grapes and blue-black grapes for the table. 

I've found some good red table grapes, now, and a few black table grapes as well. So to help you along I've put a list together of basic starter vines of all colors. 

Variety Table Juice- Jelly Raisin Color Zone Seed- less Notes Black Monukka Y Y Purple- Black 6-10 Y Self-fruitful. One of the hardiest European grapes. Buffalo Y Blue- Black 5-8 Earlier than Concord. Juice aged for best flavor. Less Foxy than Concord. Campbell Early Y Blue- Black 5-9 2-3 weeks earlier than Concord. Needs rich soil. Concord Y Blue- Black 4-9 Long favored standard for juice and jelly. Self-fruitful. Fredonia Y Blue- Black 5-7 Earlier than Concord, but not as good. Later than Buffalo. Glenora Y Black 6-9 Y Less hardy than Venus. Good fall leaf color. Jupiter Y Y Reddish- Blue 5-9 Y Scored well on taste tests. Stays on vine after maturity. Mars Seedless Y Y Blue- Black 5-8 Y Long vine life. Less foxy than Concord. Venus Y Black 5-9 Y Large, good quality. Early. Canadice Y Y Red 4-8 Y Good winter hardiness. Self-fruitful. Some spice to flavor. Clusters weak and ragged looking. Production low for commercial plantings.  Reliance Y Y Red 4-8 Y Good flavor, thin skin. Good winter hardiness. Very likely the best red grape for Utah. Suffolk Red Y Red 6-8 Y Largest berries of the seedless Euro-American hybrids. Self-fruitful. Golden Muscat Y Green- gold 6-10 Self-fruitful. A good home grape that likes a hot, dry climate.  Himrod Y Y White- Green 5-9 Y Early, loose clusters. More winter hardy than Interlaken. Small high quality berries. Clusters loose and shaggy. Needs to be picked immediately when ripe, otherwise the berries fall. Interlaken Y Y White- Green 5-8 Y A week earlier than Himrod and slightly hardier. Berries can drop prematurely. Self-fruitful. Good frozen. Lakemont Y White- Green 5-8 Y Later than Himrod. Big clusters, good producer. Relative good keeper. Niagra Y White- Green 5-9 Sometimes called 'White Concord.' Good mix with Concord type for juice.

I don't need to plant, that was done last year...

Lettuce gone wild.

While other gardeners are bemoaning the last days of winter, I am already started on this year's planting. Well, actually I started last spring. The lettuce plant you see above is a seedling of lettuce I planted last year. Half-a-dozen plants bolted before I could eat them and I left them in place to give the wind a chance to do its job.


Surprisingly, the new lettuce plants are near where the originals were. Less surprisingly, they are all in divots where the wind is too weak to blow them back out. While I have never been strong on a smooth seed bed, I think it is time to make them even more rough.

Rhubarb and a pea.

A few peas have found a way to sprout in mid-January as well. The one above will be an interesting companion plant to the rhubarb and strawberries that I planted last fall.

I will plant a few more lettuce and pea seeds since I don't quite have enough to cover my expected needs. I will be sure to leave a few of the best plants to give me seed for next year.


Now my biggest problem is what to do with the time that I was going to use for planting. Hmm, maybe it is time to talk to the landlord about digging up more lawn....

The Four Season Garden

Spring

Back when I was in college, we had an assignment to create a four season flower garden. The point of this garden was to show the visible appeal of the garden in any given time of year and make us design for that look.

Summer

Since that time I have not worked for a client with a keen enough interest to warrant my time and his money to provide such detail. But I always keep it in mind and slip in plants  that will fill the year round need for beauty and food.

This type of analysis is vital to the permaculturist as well as any serious food grower. Every farm and garden needs to consider food productivity and total growing power for the entire year. No useful gaps should be forgotten or productivity will go down.

Fall

Further maps may be needed to point out planting, growing, and harvest times. Or a coding system may be used to give more detailed information on just four maps. As with any design system, the limit of what can be done is only bound by the imagination.

Winter

Apple Butter

16 Apples
2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Cloves
1 to 2 quarts Apple Juice

Set slow cooker on low and cover.

The recipe says it will take 15 hours to cook. More apple juice will slow it down and make it sweeter. If the liquid does not reduce fast enough, take the lid off and turn to high for less than an hour.

Careful! Things can go quickly with the lid off.

The apples I am using are an unknown variety from one of my father-in-law's trees. They are supposed to be Jonathans, but most years they are too large and too green to be Jonathans. This year they look right.