Outdoor Growing Kootenay Style

Summer is the time of year we take advantage of the wonderful seasonal conditions; plenty of sunshine, rain, wind and heat. It’s a time to grow, nurture and harvest. It’s a time to sow the seeds for a bounty of fresh life sustaining produce.

Most of North America’s growing season is relatively short. Crops may be started indoors, in hothouses or under lights to give them a head start. Start seeds early to be ready for outdoors in May or June. Cloning plants is an excellent option for the outdoor gardener. Clones or cuttings are the same age physiologically as the mother plant therefore, they will produce flowers and fruit much earlier than plants grown from seed. A strong, healthy mother plant will pass all its traits and immunities on to its clones. Cuttings are less prone to insect or frost damage than seedlings.

Resist temptation to move plants outdoors too early. Check the designated planting date for the zone you live in to avoid frost. Farmers, who earn a living from their crops know it is not worth the risk of planting before the designated date. Too much is invested in their crops and the risks far outweigh the potential benefits of planting early. An unusually warm spring may deliver an unexpected frost without warning. Some hearty crops may survive a light spring frost however young seedlings are very susceptible and will succumb quickly to a killer frost. Waiting an extra week or two before planting in spring will still provide a full growing season.

Organic crop cultivation in soil has become very popular in recent years. Soil substitutes, such as soilless mixs are also very commonly used in conjunction with organic gardening practices and are readily available in hydroponic stores. Soilless mixes are an ideal soil substitute for container growing or supplementing in-ground planting.

Organic gardening is the cultivation of plants without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides, while improving soil structure and protecting the environment. Growers are willing to invest in the extras required by organic farming as crops fetch a higher price in the marketplace. Educated consumers are willing to pay a little more for organically grown produce. In fact, the organic industry has been growing at a steady rate of 20% per year for the last 10 years world wide!

Art Drysdale, renown gardening guru, columnist, and host of his own gardening talk show was not a proponent for organic gardening until recently. Mr. Drysdale stated “Yes, I seldom recommend organic products basically for two reasons: 1) they are virtually always more expensive because they are much more costly to manufacture; and 2) in fertilizers, the plants that you’re feeding are not able to distinguish between organic or synthetic nutrients, and in pesticides, there is no evidence generally that organic controls are safer than synthetic ones and in some cases that exact opposite is the fact.”

“So, what has happened recently to change my mind?” Mr. Drysdale offers, “At least two developments in the last decade are significant. First, the mounting evidence that while plants cannot tell the difference in the source of their nutrients, they certainly do better in soils that contain a higher count of organisms. And, we do know that high percentage NPK synthetic fertilizers do kill many of these organisms. Hence, for the past several years I have been seriously looking at premium organic fertilizers.

The second change is that there is finally a presence of truly organic products whereas previously many were borderline. When looking at the nutritional value of organic versus synthetic chemical fertilizers, and the resultant plant vitality, I have found certain blended organic products to be superior and cost effective.”

In a nutshell, Art Drysdale is now not only using organic products but also recommends them to his many listeners, readers and viewers.

Commercially prepared mixtures of guanos, fish emulsions, worm castings, blood and bone meals, glacial rock dust and living soil blends are available through hydroponic retailers. These organic nutrients are NPK (N – Nitrogen, P – Phosphorous, K – Potassium) rated and come in vegetative and flowering formulas, giving the grower more control. Organic fertilizers are generally not soluble and need to be processed through the organisms living in the soil, creating a natural slow release. Organic fertilizers are usually made from plant and animal by-products and natural minerals. As these natural fertilizers break down they feed the microorganisms in the soil and stimulate population growth of soil borne organisms.

Healthy growing media produces healthy plants. When using an organic fertilizer, for leafy greens or any other fast growing plants choose a higher nitrogen (N) blend (i.e. 5-2-2). If you are planting flowers or in the flowering stage of growth choose a blend that has slightly higher levels of phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) (i.e. 2-8-4). For just about everything else, or when in doubt, choose a balanced all purpose blend i.e. (4-4-4).

There are many individual products available which may be used for specific nutrient deficiencies such as blood meal or alfalfa meal for nitrogen; fishbone meal, rock phosphate or bat guano for phosphorous; greensand, mined potassium sulfate or kelp meal for potassium to name a few. When you use organic fertilizers in your garden you can rest assured that it is the way nature intended.

There is a wide variety of organic fertilization. Some growers use composts, others teas and manure. Beware that using homemade organic fertilizers also encourages weeds. The odour produced by decomposed organic matter is very enticing to a host of creatures including rabbits, slugs, deer and skunk.

They will investigate the appetizing aroma by digging, burrowing scratching and disrupting everything in their paths to find its source. Young seedling are a delicacy for these scoundrels and if they aren’t trampled and dug up during the rampage they will surly be eaten.

Early preparation of the ground gives creatures a chance to check out odours without hurting the plant material. By the time seedlings are planted the investigation will have proved futile and most of the delicious rotting smells will have dissipated. Early preparation also allows the media microorganisms to start breaking down the fertilizer and make them available to the plants.

Prepare the ground to receive the young seedlings by digging up and turning over the earth to aerate and loosen soil. Dig holes about two feet deep where you anticipate planting each seedling, allow enough space for plants to reach maturity. Fill the holes back up with half the removed earth mixed with a sterilized, peat based, soilless growing mix, preferably the same medium that was used to root seedlings in. Mix in organic fertilizers as recommended in the Kootenay recipe. This mixture will act as a buffer or transition zone between the natural soil and the seedling, eliminating the stress caused by transplanting. Roots will have time to adjust in the transition zone before branching out into the surrounding soil.

If regular feeding poses a problem, a trick favoured by some growers is to dig down an extra six inches (about 2.5 feet deep.) Fill the bottom six inches with an organic flowering formula, (see Kootenay recipe) mixed with soilless growing mix and earth (the same as above.) The balance of the hole is then filled with the vegetative transition mixture. By the time plants begin to bud, the roots will have made their way to the flowering formula.

Water absorbent crystals such as aqua-sorb may be added to the mixture. These crystals hold up to 100 times their weight in liquid providing ongoing moisture to the roots. Caution is required when using these crystals. Too many added to the mixture may expand when moistened, choking the roots.

Seedlings should be about six inches tall with a well established root system before transplanting. The ideal situation for most plants is to allow the seedling to grow in a six inch pot filled with the same growing medium you will use for the transition zone when they are planted in the ground, as mentioned above.

Dig out about eight inches of the hole that was prepared earlier. Gently turn the seedling and pot upside down, taking care to support the seedling’s stem. Place the seedling and all the surrounding growing medium into the hole and gently pack the removed mixture back around the stem. Slowly water the seedling and ground around the hole with a mixture of vitamin B1 and water, making sure the soil is moist.

If an unexpected frost does happen to touch the seedlings it may be possible to revive them with a kelp foliar spray. Completely drench the leaves, tops and underside with the spray.

The natural cytokinins in the kelp may help the seedlings recover from the shock.

Insects and pests have natural predators in the outdoors. Adding a few thousand ladybugs as a precaution against whitefly and spider mites is always a good idea. Natural pyrethrine or soap based insecticides are not harmful to the environment or dangerous to domestic or wild life. Neem oil is an excellent natural insecticide. Most natural pesticides work by making contact with the insects, therefore they do not work as a preventative. The most effective deterrent to pests and diseases is to make sure plants are strong and healthy with a good nutrient regime.

Slugs will leave a trail of slime on plants as they make their way to the most tender foliage at the top. Burying half full cans of beer around plants is a great deterrent for these slimly creatures. There are many products on the market that work as deterrents to animals but won’t harm them. The human scent is probably the least attractive odour for most creatures. Human hair sprinkled around the base of a plant will protect it from becoming lunch for hungry animals.

Once seedlings are outside there is little to do but watch them grow. Around the middle of July or when buds appear, switch to the bloom formula. This is a low nitrogen, high phosphorous formula that will encourage flowering. Initial introduction of the bloom formula at full strength will shock the plants into flowering.

Growing outdoors in our volatile climate can be a challenge. Thankfully most regions in North America provide at least a couple of frost free growing months, enough time to take advantage.