Overcome Auction Phobia

By Jean M. Fogle

How Do I … Build Raised Beds

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on How Do I … Build Raised Beds

Text by Kelly Wood/Photos by Rhoda Peacher

Build Raised Beds Step 4
Step 4

Growing in raised beds has many advantages: It can be easier on aging backs and knees, and the soil conditions inside a raised bed can easily be kept optimal. By relegating external areas to the compaction of walking and wheelbarrows, the contained soil stays aerated, thus draining better. Raised beds can be maintained by simply topping with compost or mulch.

They extend a gardener’s growing season because the walls collect early spring sun and warm up before native soil, giving plants and seeds a jump on the growing season. I also like that my raised beds look tidy, since I mow right up to the wooden edge of the bed itself.

Materials List

Saw (power or chop)
Power drill with screwdriver bit and small drill bit for pilot holes
Measuring tape
Pencil
4 12-foot, 2″x6″ cedar boards
4 8-foot, 2″x6″ cedar boards
1 6-foot, 2″x6″ cedar board, cut into 6 pieces (no more than 11 inches each)
40 2¼-inch decking or exterior screws
A helper! This project is tricky (but possible) to assemble with only one set of hands (and feet)

Instructions

Step One.
Determine where you want the beds to be and how large an area you want to grow in. While the sides can be as high as you’d like, raised beds should not be so wide that you can’t reach the middle from either side for planting, harvesting and maintenance.

Step Two.
Obtain the lumber to build the beds. This is often a complicated decision because of the many choices. In our Oregon area, cedar, while expensive, is the most common choice. When we lived in California, redwood was by far the most prevalent. Both of these woods have a natural resistance to rot and decay, which is imperative since they will be filled with dirt and water for their entire useful lives.

Another option is newer, recycled “lumber,” commonly known by the brand name Trex, which is a mix of sawdust and recycled plastic.

Pile It On
Whenever I read articles about starting a garden, they always advise paying close attention to site location.

Exposure to light, wind and elements is important, but soil is also an important consideration. While it’s usually listed second to exposure, I personally feel it’s No. 1 in importance. It’s possible to change the exposure of your growing area, whether by selective tree trimming, shade cloth and screens, or planting hedges to reduce wind and increase warm microclimates. Soil, however, is a much more difficult thing to change. No one in their right mind wants to remove tons of native soil and replace it with imported, no matter how high quality. And even if this were possible, and not prohibitively expensive, some experts say that it’s impossible to completely rectify soil problems, particularly overall pH levels. I believe that piling on top of existing conditions is the best way to improve your soil, building it up with compost and beneficial amendments, much as happens in a deciduous forest. The easiest way to achieve this is with a raised bed.

Raised beds can be placed almost anywhere, provided other garden conditions have been met—good exposure and convenience for the gardener. If your beds are out of the way or difficult to get to, their regular care will fall to the wayside and success will be elusive. There are a few caveats when placing raised beds—ideally, you want to avoid placing them over the root systems of large, thirsty trees whose roots will invade the improved soil area and steal water and nutrients from the intended bed residents. If you have pernicious rodents like gophers or field mice, you can lay hardware cloth at the base to impede invaders. Other than that, beds can even be placed over excessively weedy areas or on solid subsurfaces like pavement, as long as protective underlayment or gravel to aid drainage is provided before filling.

Although expensive, this will last indefinitely and often can be bent into interesting shapes to increase visual interest. Other alternatives are stone, cinder blocks, fieldstone, bricks and more; pretty much anything, except treated lumber that can leach hazardous chemicals, can be used as bed edges.

Step Three.
Cut the material to the desired sizes for your bed walls. Remember to account for overlap at the ends. For sides that are longer than 4 or 5 feet, plan to have upright supports in the middle to prevent the longer boards from bowing out.

Step Four.
Drill pilot holes in the wood to prevent splits during assembly. Screw the wall pieces onto the support braces. Use screws instead of nails since screws will hold better as the wood shrinks and swells over time and seasons. Nails have a tendency to loosen and pop out.

Step Five.
With a helper, screw the side walls to the end walls. When complete, the raised bed will be ready to place.

Step Six.
Again with a helper, carry the finished bed to its intended location.

Step 5

By having a “free-floating” bed, you can move it around and adjust it until you’re happy with the location. At this point, it can be left as is; the weight of the wood combined with filling will keep it in place. Otherwise, you can sink metal stakes inside the walls and secure them with pipe clamps prior to filling. This lends some additional support to the walls and prevents shifting of the finished bed. These pipes can also be used to support hoops or trellising. I salvage old metal pipe, but wooden stakes can also be used. Make certain they are a rot-resistant variety and screw them to the bed walls from the outside.

Step 7

Step Seven.
Put underlayment in the bed. This can be as simple as newspaper to block grass and other tenacious weeds or as elaborate as landscape cloth and metal mesh. On top of this you can place either manure or unfinished compost, which will eventually rot, providing roots with a nutrition boost, or simply fill the raised bed with planting soil or finished compost. If you start with unfinished compost, be sure to top it off with a fine-textured planting mix or finished compost when doing final planting.

About the Author
Kelly Wood farms and heavily mulches her raised beds in Portland, Ore.

Step Eight.
Enjoy! With regular mulching, you can keep the beds filled and see a happy, thriving population of earthworms and other beneficial organisms that perform the tilling and incorporating work for you.

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Root Stimulants And Transplanting Tips

Post author By Rick Gush
Post date February 18, 2009
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Many debate the effectiveness of root stimulants in transplanting situations.

Vast numbers of gardeners and horticulturists enthusiastically choose to use one or more of the “rooting stimulants” available for purchase.

Still, university research and cooperative extension literature usually contain statements such as, “There is no apparent benefit from adding vitamin B1, root stimulants, plant tonics or mycorrhizae at planting.”

Root Stimulants

The following explains some of the available stimulants.

Auxins and Plant Hormones

Most root stimulants contain some form of plant hormones–important chemical agents that direct and encourage growth within the plant body.

Among rooting stimulants, the most important plant hormones are the class named auxins.

Auxins are produced naturally in plants, the most common being indoleacetic acid (IAA), which acts as a growth regulator by promoting cell elongation and altering cell wall plasticity. IAA is also the chemical produced by terminal buds that inhibits growth further down the branch and produces the phenomenon of apical dominance (the main, central stem of the plant is dominant over other side stems).

Some synthetic auxins are marketed commercially as weed killers, the best known of which are:

2, 4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) (contains no dioxin)
The defoliant Agent Orange (known carcinogen)

These mass doses of auxins cause the plants to produce excess ethylene, which kills the plant by inhibiting cell elongation and causing leaf drop.

Because grasses are much less susceptible to auxin overdose, synthetic auxin herbicides often are used to kill broad-leaved weeds in lawns.

IBA and NAA

Application of auxins to cut stems encourages root production. Almost all rooted cuttings produced in the horticultural industry are produced with the assistance of auxin compounds, usually in the form of a powder in which the cut stems are dipped.

Because IAA is not water-soluble, it’s difficult to handle from a manufacturing point of view. As a result, other synthetic auxins were produced for horticultural use. The most common of these are:

indolebutyric acid (IBA)
napthalacetic acid (NAA)

Research now shows that these auxins are also produced naturally in some plants.

IBA and NAA are the active ingredients most commonly included in root-stimulant formulas.

Due to their synthetic nature, IBA and NAA are not approved for use in certified organic crop production. However, many gardeners and farmers–who lean organic, but choose not to be certified–use IBA and NAA, believing that these chemicals do not negatively affect the quality of their produce.

Gibberellic Acid

Gibberellic acids are another class of plant hormones commonly found in plant tonics and root stimulators.

The chemicals in the gibberellin complex are noted for encouraging stem growth and seed germination; because the belief that stem growth itself promotes root growth, these chemicals often are included in the mixtures intended as root stimulators.

Vitamin B1

An additional growth-control chemical produced by plants is thiamine, also known as vitamin B1.

This same chemical is also produced in human bodies and often used in vitamin therapies.

In plants, vitamin B1 is produced in leaves and migrates down to the root zone, where it encourages root growth. Most commercially sold, horticultural vitamin B1 products are actually a mix that also commonly includes IBA, as well as NAA or gibberellins.

SuperThrive and Rootone

Numerous retail garden centers sell their own brands of vitamin B1 products.

Apart from these local brands, the two best-known national brand root stimulants are SuperThrive and Rootone.

Super Thrive contains NAA and is the rooting stimulant used by most professional, wild, live plant collectors.

Collecting wild plants, often for bonsai purposes, is a difficult activity, as wild plants often have long taproots that cause the plants to die when they’re severed in the digging process. Soaking plants in SuperThrive solutions seems to render some plants less delicate in this regard.

SuperThrive is also frequently used by bedding plant and container stock growers, and is commonly added to the fertilizer mix.

Rootone, which contains NAA, is sold as a powder, and is most often used to dip cutting stems before inserting them into the rooting bed.

Other brands and generic rooting powders are also available, but Rootone has a huge share of the market. Transplanters will sometimes dust the root ball of a particularly expensive transplant specimen with Rootone.

Seaweed

Seaweed is listed as an ingredient in a number of specialty fertilizers.

Hydrolyzed seaweed contains a wide range of micronutrients as well as plant-growth chemicals and hormones like auxins and gibberellins.

Many commercially sold, horticultural seaweed products include other potentially beneficial organic compounds. Many root stimulants and plant-growth tonics add seaweed extracts to their mixes.

Mycorrhizae

Although mycorrhizae are abundant in natural soil and root systems, some nursery practices may result in lower mycorrhizal levels in container-grown stock.

A number of companies offer packaged mycorrhizae in the form of spores, hyphal fragments or infected root fragments, of which the hyphal segments–basically chopped fungal stem pieces–seem to be the most widely effective.

Some root stimulant manufacturers have now started adding mycorrhizal materials to their mixes.

About Nitrogenous Fertilizers

Aside from the efficacy of Rootone and other rooting powders in encouraging root production in stem cuttings, the scientific community remains officially skeptical about the efficacy of using root stimulants like vitamin B1 in transplanting projects.

They say instead that it’s the presence of nitrogen fertilizer elements in root balls and backfill soil that most dramatically improves transplant performance.

Many vitamin B1 and other root stimulants now include small amounts of nitrogen in their mixes.

Willow Water

One delightfully pragmatic rooting stimulant is homemade willow water.

Operating on the theory that because willow branches root so easily when stuck in soil, some gardeners soak cut willow branches in water, and use that water as a root stimulant for all their vegetable sets and other transplants, including large trees.

Poplars, yuccas, dogwoods and other quick-rooting species are also employed in this manner.

Transplanting Nursery Stock

Remember these critical steps when transplanting nursery stock.

The $100 Hole

For nursery stock, the key to good plant growth is digging a good hole.

An old landscaper’s adage is, “Dig a $100 hole for a $10 plant.”

A $100 hole is large, irregular, backfilled with enriched soil and includes a covering mulch.

A $100 hole is not a uniform bowl shape, but instead is irregular in shape and includes several small tunnels that lead away from the main body. The irregularity encourages greater interaction between the planting mixture and the native soil.

Coddle Bedding Plants

Yanking plants by the stem out of the plastic six-pack they came in is a bad idea, even for older, overgrown specimens.

It’s much better to push up the bottom of the plant with a finger, until the root ball can be grasped.

When there are roots growing out of the container, these must be pinched off without pulling the protruding roots, as any pulling can damage roots further up within the root ball.

Root Pruning

Girdling roots are sometimes a problem in container-grown stock, and it’s not a bad idea to prune away any roots that seem to be circling or growing around the base of the trunk.

Roots may also be circling the bottom of the root ball; these should also be cut away.

The best idea is to select nursery stock that doesn’t appear to be overgrown or have roots growing out of the bottom of the container.

Again, cutting is much preferred to trying to yank the roots away by hand, as the yanking can injure other roots inside the root ball.

Root Basics

Understanding the importance of feeder roots and their location is critical to your transplanting success.

Crown Roots

A root ball that takes only the crown roots will have little chance of success, as there are very few feeder roots in this area.

Support Roots

While there are some feeder roots in the zone of the support roots, a root ball with only support roots will be slow to reestablish growth.

Feeder Roots

The feeder roots are the active water and nutrition absorbers, but they are very weak physically and break easily when the surrounding dirt mass shifts.

Taproots

Taproots are most commonly found on wild trees and shrubs, particularly conifers and nut trees.

Net Roots

Cultivated trees and shrubs usually develop a network of roots, but the form of the root network does not always mimic the upper shape of the plant.

Flat Roots

Trees and plants grown where the native soil is very hard will often develop considerably flattened root networks.

Call Before You Dig

Follow these tips before you dig a hole for your tree:

To avoid mistakenly slicing a phone, gas or power line, transplanters must arrange for local utility companies to mark the location of known underground pipes near the digging location and in the new planting area. The national Call Before You Dig (CBYD) network provides this service.
It’s against the law not to call. Although the laws vary between states, all states have statutes that require anyone operating mechanized digging equipment to notify the local CBYD and allow them to finish their marking process before starting to dig.
Even after the CYBD process, if underground utility lines are disturbed by hand digging, or even touched by mechanical equipment, the local utility involved should be notified immediately.
The area around all gas lines must be hand dug; using mechanized equipment is always prohibited except for gas company workers.

News

Protect Your Garden from Japanese Beetles

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Protect Your Garden from Japanese Beetles

Dealing with Japanese beetle problem Save these salad fixings from the Japanese beetles!

When drowing them doesn’t seem to work and garden vegetables are still at risk … what do you do about pesky, determined Japanese beetles?

Visit our Web Exclusives!

Crops & Gardening

Building a Soil Sifter

By Rick Gush

A soil sifter can be used for many things other than simply sifting soil

Photos by Rhoda Peacher

Materials List:

Quantity	Item
2	8-foot 2x4s
1 piece	3/4-inch wire mesh (18×24)
30	U-shaped nails about 3/4-inch long
8	2 1/2-inch screws (Phillips head)

Tools

Circular saw
Jig saw
Electric drill with 1/8-inch or smaller drill bit, screwdriving head
Hammer
Nippers
Wood chisel
Clamps
Carpenter’s square
Pencil and tape measure
Safety goggles and ear plugs/muffs
Optional: sand-paper, masking tape, paint

Click here for power tool basics>>

Gather all the necessary supplies for building a soil sifter

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This project is a great way to try out a few basic power tools and practice building your confidence along with building a soil sifter.

The soil sifter is a useful, multipurpose tool; from sifting compost to sifting rocks from soil to drying fruits and vegetables, you’ll find many uses for it around the farm.

This project is relatively simple, and a good one for beginning carpenters wanting to build their skills and confidence.

(Discover some various uses for a soil sifter>>)

Step One
Assemble all the tools and materials you’ll need.

This phase may include cutting the wire mesh to size if you can’t buy it in the exact dimensions on the materials list.

This step also includes determining the exact design you want.

If you want to change the measurements of the project from 36 to 24 inches, now is the time to do so, before you buy materials.

Step Two
You want to end up with two side pieces that measure 2 x 4 x 36 and two cross pieces measuring 2 x 4 x 18.

With a pencil, mark the wood for the straight cuts.

When joining pieces of wood to each other, square, flat surfaces allow the most powerful bond. If one or both of the surfaces to be joined is not flat, the resulting wobble will last forever.

Sloppy markings will result in sloppy cuts and the connection joints will not be as solid as they could be. “Measure twice, cut once” is the rule. Measuring three times is even better!

Step Three
Make the straight cuts with the circular saw. There are two types of straight cuts in the project:

The first cuts are short cuts to trim the cross pieces to the correct length.
The second cuts are those short and shallow cuts that will be used to create a notch in the main pieces where the cross pieces can nestle.

The second type of cut is a bit more complicated and requires setting the blade to a precise depth that matches the depth of the notch desired.

First cuts should be made at the edges of the notch; several more passes with the saw can remove more material, leaving only a few sections that will need to be removed with a chisel.

Building a soil sifter Step 2

A project of this nature doesn’t really require the notches. If using the circular saw and chisel to make the notches isn’t something you want to do, go ahead and connect both cross pieces with simple butt connections. Note: Cut the cross pieces to 16 1/2 inches if you’re not using the notches.

When using the circular saw, use clamps to hold down the piece of wood to be cut and use two hands on the saw as it makes the cut.

Keeping both hands on the saw serves two purposes:

better guidance control and
the safety aspect of keeping both hands firmly attached to the saw.

Having a good mental image of the cut to be performed is essential. It’s always a good idea to take one more look at the saw itself to make sure the saw blade is the one you had intended to use, and that the saw angle and depth of cut are correct.

Step Four
Make the curve cuts.

To make the handles, mark one cut, use the jig saw to cut the curve and then use the leftover piece to mark the cut for the other three handles.

Building a soil sifter Step 3

Pay attention here because it would be easy to cut a board with two handles that face opposite directions. Sand the handle area to smooth sharp edges.

Step Five
Assemble the wood frame. The four wood pieces are held together by eight screws. Using the electric drill, pre-drill the holes in the long pieces. Pilot holes not only make setting a screw much easier, but they also act to ensure that the screws go nicely into the center of the pieces. The screws here should be set as tightly as possible.

Step Six
Attach the wire mesh with the U-shaped nails. It’s a good idea to nail one corner, then another, and then a third before nailing all the sides. Too much quick nailing can result in a piece of mesh that sits crooked on the frame. Not every inch on the mesh needs to be nailed, but the screen should be nailed at least every four inches or so.

Step Seven
Optional: a paint job.

There’s something about a nicely painted tool that makes it more fun to use.

Tape the edges of the screen with wide masking tape and cover the remaining large areas, front and back with newspaper. Once everything is masked, the sifter can be painted with one coat of spray paint, perfectly in line with the casual nature of the project.

Using the Soil Sifter

Soil sifters have a variety of uses:

Sifting soil to remove rocks. In stony soil, removing rocks can be quite troublesome. A good soil sifter makes this job much easier.
Adding amendments. Mixing soil amendments such as peat moss and mature can be difficult with just a shovel, and the result is often amarbled-fudge effect of improperly mixed soil. A soil sifter does a great job of mixing soil and amendments.
Making potting soil. Make a nice potting soil rich in organic material and free from stones.
Storing fruit and vegetables. This structure can also be used as a well-aerated shelf for proper storing of fruits and vegetables.
Drying fruit and vegetables. A screen in a frame is an excellent device for sun drying fruits and vegetables. Place parboiled fruits or vegetables on the screen, then leave the screen in the sun when weather is hot and dry.
Making gravel. Sometimes a gardener needs a bit of gravel. Instead of buying a dump-truck load, use a soil sifter to produce a small bit of gravel quickly.

About the Author: Rick Gush is a small farmer and writer living in Italy.

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News

Proposed Rule for Certified Organic Livestock

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Proposed Rule for Certified Organic Livestock

If you’re involved in certified organic livestock–or thinking about starting–you’ll want to read this.

This proposed new rule–published by the USDA–focuses on certified organic livestock operations.

According to the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, the move is significant because the USDA’s proposed rule goes “far beyond anything the organics community had requested.”

You can read the full text of the proposed rule here.

There has been great interest by many in the organics community for the USDA to address the problem of “organic” factory dairy farms denying the cows access to pasture.

Organizations such as the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance and the Cornucopia Institute are concerned that newly released rule is too long and complicated and “contains several provisions that could cause problems for small family farms that are certified organic.”

Comments on the proposed rule–on parts you support and the parts you believe are problematic–are welcome.

The deadline to comment is December 23, 2008.

You may submit your comments online, in person (December 4 in California and December 8 in Texas) or by mail.

Bee on Your Way

The blue orchard bee is nonaggressive and helps pollinate plants.

Photo courtesy USDA/Scott Bauer

You may have noticed that the buzzing of busy bees is a little louder in your backyard this spring.

Why?

With spring, some bees, such as bumblebees and Honey bees, migrate to warmer climates, bigger abodes and perhaps even “greener pastures,” while others follow a new queen in search of fresh pad to build up a colony or bigger digs than their current abode.

If a colony of bees has set up camp in your yard, tree or even a crack in your basement, hold off on calling the exterminator–buzz a local beekeeper to assess the situation first.

Stay Safe: Do Not Disturb
In no way should you attempt to disturb the bees. Even the most docile bees can become aggressive when they feel threatened.

Do not shoo, shake or throw things at the buzzing mass. Go somewhere safe and look up a local beekeeper or call your local extension agent for advice. They can tell you what to do next and how to identify the recent intruders.

This is especially important as it’s nearly impossible for the untrained observer to discern the difference between a European Honey bee and an Africanized cousin.

Buzz Off
The site now inhabited by a seemingly ever-expanding ball of bees may or may not be a permanent housing site for the bees.

Some bees will use a crevice, tree or bush as a temporary “hotel” for the night, vacating within the next day or two to their next location.

However, some females seeking out the perfect home may find a crack in your foundation or a small entrance into your basement all too tempting to pass up.

Scientists are studying not only the preferences of certain types of housing for bees, but also the draw of previously inhabited bee shelters. They believe that the bees release a fluid that’s then detected by other bees and draws them to the site.

A Honey of Deal
If the bees are pollinators, you may have saved more than just their lives: a few flowers and fruits may reap the benefit as well.

With the recent increase in colony collapse disorder, fungus and parasite outbreaks, and infections in various Honey bees and bumblebees, one-third of the nation’s food supply could be at risk—not to mention your newly planted crops.

Tags bee, beekeeping, bees

Crops & Gardening Farm Management

Growing and Selling Heirloom Tomatoes

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Growing and Selling Heirloom Tomatoes

By Michael Brown

About the Author
Michael Brown lives and works in central New Jersey. During the summer months he runs Pitspone Farm, which supplies fresh, organic produce to area restaurants.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a market gardener was to find a good niche and exploit it every way possible.

My particular niche has been growing out-of-the-ordinary vegetables that most large farms don’t bother with. Within this niche, one of my most successful crops has been heirloom tomatoes.

©Sharon Fibelkorn

Heirloom Defined
The term “heirloom” generally refers to plant varieties passed down by families from year to year, thereby preserving particular characteristics. Heirloom tomatoes are the antithesis of today’s supermarket tomatoes.

Each variety is truly unique, exhibiting a special taste, color, texture or shape. They are ideally suited to being grown by the small farmer living close to their end market. Many varieties do not travel well because of their thin skins and have a shorter shelf life than conventional tomatoes.

In this article …
Advantages and Disadvantages
Varieties to Plant
Customers
Pricing Your Produce
Seed-starting Tips
Timing is Important
Resources

Lately, the term “heirloom” has taken on other meanings.

In addition to the old-time varieties, a growing number of new varieties are being developed by plant breeders.

These new varieties are aimed at the home and market grower, and they too are included in the inclusive term “heirloom.”

Tony Vinci, head of tomato research at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, has his own favorite definition of the term.

Some Popular Tomatoes
Everyone

has their favorite tomatoes, so this list may not include some of your own personal choices. I am basing this on my own experiences and those of my customers.

Black Prince
The variety is grown commercially in Russia and is apparently quite popular there. The fruit is a very pleasant, reddish-brown color; the size and shape is similar to a rounded egg. Good yields and fairly early. Indeterminate.

Brandywine
An Amish heirloom from the late 1800s. Usually found in the short list of best-
tasting tomatoes. A potato-leaf variety with large fruits ripening late in the season. There are many strains of Brandywine being sold, as well as different colors. Compare the information on the different types to make sure you know what you’re getting. Indeterminate.

Cherokee Purple
Considered by many to be one of the better-tasting tomatoes. The medium-sized fruit is purple-brown in color. The fruit frequently shows green shoulders. Indeterminate.

Green Zebra
The outstanding visual appeal of this tomato is a big selling point. The dark and light green striped fruit develops a yellow blush when it is ripe. The fairly early fruit is about the same size as the Black Prince. Indeterminate.

Stupice
Very early potato-leaf variety with good tolerance to cold, good flavor and high yields. The fruit is small—only 1 to 2 ounces. I found that because the fruit is a “regular red” color, the small fruits are less in demand later in the season when they are competing with equally tasty, larger-fruited varieties. Indeterminate.

“Ours is pretty simple,” he explains. “We consider a variety an heirloom if it owes its present existence to the seed saving of amateurs. At some point, the variety must have fallen out of the seed trade or it had never been in the trade and was kept alive by seed savers.”

Whether they have been developed only recently or been around for generations, all heirloom tomatoes share one characteristic: They are open pollinated.

The seeds of open-pollinated plants, as opposed to hybrids, can be saved—the resulting plants will share the same characteristics as the parent plants. The vast majority of tomato varieties available to consumers and the bulk of commercially grown tomatoes are hybrids.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Heirlooms
Despite the advantages, heirloom tomatoes may not be suitable for every grower. Before jumping headlong into growing heirlooms, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of this specialty crop.

Pros
The main benefit of heirloom tomatoes is taste. Heirlooms are eating tomatoes, pure and simple.

Each one is different. Some are meatier, some have fewer seeds and some taste a bit salty or spicy.

Bruce Lefebvre, chef at the well known The Frog and the Peach Restaurant in New Brunswick, N.J., can’t get enough heirlooms. “The variety of colors, textures and flavors is amazing,” he says. “I just wish the season was longer.” His feeling is representative of most chefs who understand that taste sells.

Over the years, breeders of many of the hybrid tomatoes have put taste on the back burner as they emphasized uniformity, durability and extended shelf life. The result is that many hybrid tomatoes are bland and simply don’t deliver the full palette of taste that heirloom varieties do.

Another benefit of heirloom tomatoes is their color. These tomatoes seem to cover the whole spectrum of the rainbow, including stripes and blushes.

This allows the customer to differentiate heirlooms from conventional, red tomatoes and gives value-added “eye appeal.” There are colored hybrid tomatoes, but not nearly as many as the heirlooms.

In addition to superior taste and color, add a vast range of sizes and shapes, and you have a truly unique product to offer customers.

Of course, it’s not all rosy when you grow heirlooms. There are some disadvantages to keep in mind before making your decision to convert.

Con
In many cases, heirloom tomato plants are less vigorous than their hybrid competitors—they usually produce less fruit and are more susceptible to diseases such as blossom-end rot, septoria leaf blight and early blight.

Resources
If you want to experience the vast range of heirloom tomatoes, your best bet is to start your own seeds.

Several of the best sources of seed have online catalogs in addition to their print versions. Many of the sites also have valuable descriptions and other planting information.

Totally Tomatoes
https://www.totallytomato.com/
(800) 345-5977
Very large selection of heirloom tomatoes as well as peppers and some other
vegetables.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
(877) JOHNNYS
They don’t have a very extensive selection of heirlooms, but they do have many of the most popular varieties, as well as a large selection of other types of seeds.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
https://www.rareseeds.com/
(417) 924-8917
Extensive listing of heirloom tomatoes as well as many other unusual and heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Sand Hill Preservation Center
https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/
(563) 246-2299
Extensive listing of heirloom tomatoes as well as many other unusual and heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Marianna’s Seeds
mariseeds.com
(615) 446-9191
Extensive listing of heirloom tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

Internet

Gardenweb
https://www.gardenweb.com/
The forums on this site are very helpful and some, particularly the tomato grower’s forum, are quite active. You can search their archives, post questions and learn from the vast community of gardeners and market gardeners.

New Farm
https://www.newfarm.org/
This site has a wealth of information for new and experienced growers, including price information, lots of articles and forums. You can become a member for free, post questions and search archives.

Their thin skins do not hold up very well to travel or storage, and they are not always uniformly shaped or sized. Potential customers may shun unusual varieties that don’t fit their idea of what a tomato should look like.

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Varieties to Plant
Though there are a few universally favorite heirloom varieties, it’s a very subjective matter. Read through catalogs, search the Internet and, most importantly, speak with your potential customers. Chefs may not always be able to give you the names of specific varieties they like, but they will be able to describe what characteristics they desire in a tomato. Some chefs may like to emphasize color; others may have size requirements (like no cherry tomatoes) or want just large, beefsteak-type tomatoes.

The overwhelming majority of heirloom tomato varieties are indeterminate. Indeterminate plants keep growing throughout the season, providing continuous fruit production until frost kills the plant.

Determinate types will stop vine growth after the plant flowers. They are smaller, bushier plants that concentrate their fruit production, typically in one large, single crop.

With heirlooms, some of the very early bearing tomato varieties are determinate. Therefore, if you want to get a large number of tomatoes out to the market very early and then switch to a different crop later in the season, a determinate-type tomato may be a good choice.

Some indication of popular varieties can be gleaned from seed companies. According to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a large supplier of heirloom tomatoes, their best-selling tomatoes include such popular varieties as Pink Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Paul Robeson and Green Zebra. Their No. 1 selling tomato in 2006 was Cherokee Purple.

When considering varieties to plant, don’t forget to consider small-fruited tomatoes. These include the cherry, currant and pear tomatoes. They come in a vast array of colors, shapes and sizes. They can be sold by the pint or by weight and they offer a beautiful mix of color.

Another factor in choosing a variety is the maturation time. A tomato that matures in 75 days compared to 90 days will give you tomatoes two weeks earlier. Planting a vast number of late-maturing varieties will give you a large crop when everyone else has tomatoes, resulting in more competition.

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Customers
Selling heirloom tomatoes can be a double-edged sword. Some consumers have a hard time buying tomatoes outside their regular experience. For them, a tomato is round and red.

So, if it’s yellow, orange or green and it doesn’t look like a conventional tomato, it isn’t going home with them. You may be able to sell these customers a few heirlooms, but probably not at a price much above that of standard, red tomatoes.

To maximize your profits, you need to identify a market that will not only embrace heirlooms, but actually be excited to find a regular supply. You can try an upscale farmers’ market or perhaps start a CSA.

Want to Know More?
If this article on heirloom tomatoes has simply piques your interest in old-time fruits and veggies, check out Popular Farming: Heirloom Farm, from the editors of Hobby Farms magazine.

In this fact-filled issue, you can discover companion planting, learn how to start and save seeds, cook with heirlooms and more.
Want to go organic? Pick up a copy of Popular Farming: Organic Farm to learn all about how to grow organic.

Personally, I have found a receptive market with “white linen” restaurants—establishments where the chef has a large degree of decision-making ability and generally appreciates high-quality, local produce. Since fine restaurants are able to charge a premium price for their dishes, they will usually pay the grower a fair price.

Begin by checking all the restaurants within a reasonable driving distance from your farm. Your best bets will be fine dining restaurants in or near cities that have an affluent population. Other worthwhile locations to investigate are college towns and towns and cities with corporate headquarters or concentrations of entertainment, such as theater.

Chain restaurants will generally not buy local. They are obligated to purchase from a wholesaler and their menus are not determined by their chefs. Likewise, most hotel restaurants will not be able to buy local.

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Pricing Your Produce
Pricing produce is always a big challenge. Because price is dependent on so many variables, it is difficult to set hard-and-fast rules. Every year I learn more about my customers, the competition and the value of my produce. All these factors, and more, go into setting a price.

One thing is certain: Heirloom tomatoes will command a higher price than conventional tomatoes. In fact, in some instances, you may not even be able to unload your conventional tomatoes, while still getting a good price for the heirlooms.

Avoid the temptation to lower your prices to encourage sales. In most cases this will not trigger additional sales. (After all, how many tomatoes can a restaurant use?) The primary result will simply be that you bring home less money for your hard work.

To help set your price, keep your eyes and ears open. See what tomatoes are going for in your neighborhood market and specialty grocery stores, visit nearby farmers’ markets, go to online forums, and talk to chefs. Take into consideration the quality of your produce and the service you provide. Tomatoes may be going for $2.99/lb. in your local upscale specialty supermarket, but they are almost certainly not local and they were probably picked early, before they were able to develop their full flavor. If your quality far surpasses what is available at local stores, you can comfortably charge more.

Also, if you are able to offer something unique, you can charge more. Show a chef an awesome rainbow-mix of cherry tomatoes that nobody else has and you can probably nudge up your price. Chefs like having unique, locally grown produce to offer their customers. It also helps them to differentiate their restaurant and attract patrons—that is, if their patrons value locally grown, unique food.

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Seed-starting Tips
Start your seeds around the middle of March, give or take a few weeks depending on your planting zone. Good results can be expected from one of the soil-less seed starting mixtures available in most garden centers.

I find it best to moisten the mixture beforehand. To do this, put some of the mixture in a separate container and add water.

Mix and wait for half an hour or so while the mixture absorbs the water. Fill a shallow planting container to a depth of 11/2 to 2 inches and distribute the seeds evenly on the surface. Cover the seeds with about 1/4-inch of the mixture and gently firm the surface.

Depending on the variety and the temperature, seeds will germinate within 7 to 14 days. As soon as they have sprouted, move them to a place where they can get good light—either on a sunny windowsill or under a grow light.

If starting under a grow light, make sure the light is no farther than 6 inches from the seedlings or they will become tall and leggy. If you place your seed starts on a windowsill, remember to turn the seeds daily to keep them from bending toward the light.

Once the seedlings sprout a second set of leaves, it’s time to transplant them from the starting tray to individual pots. Gently loosen the soil in the seeding tray and separate individual plants. Fill the pot loosely with moistened starter mix and use a pencil to make a hole in the center. Insert the seedling into the hole up to the second set of leaves; this may require the slight twisting or bunching up of the plant’s root as they can get very long. Gently firm the soil around the seedling and moisten once you have finished transplanting.

By early May, you can start hardening-off your transplants. Plants should be introduced to progressively longer periods of sun and wind over 7 to 10 days so that they will thrive once they are transplanted outside.

When planting your seedlings in the ground, make a shallow trench and lay the seedling on its side. Bury the entire plant up to the first set of leaves. This buried stem will produce roots, which will greatly improve your plant’s ability to obtain water and nutrients.

Before you set out your plants, however, make sure you have some sort of support in place. They may start out small, but many heirloom tomato plants can grow 6 to 8 feet tall (and more). Regular tomato cages will not offer enough support. Many different trellis and cage options exist, including tying the plants to stout wood stakes, metal fence posts, hog panels or wire mesh. Fencing can also be used to support tomato plants. (Read “Support Systems,” an article on building trellises and tomato cages.)

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Timing is Important
While you can sell a quality product any time of year, it’s certainly easier to find buyers for your produce when no one else has what you’re offering. If you have early tomatoes, customers will beat a path to your door and you will be able to charge top dollar.

Consider investing in a small greenhouse. In many instances, a greenhouse or hoop house will pay for itself in just one year. By offering heirloom tomatoes early in the season, you will instantly gain access to chefs who would like to be your customers. Nurture this relationship. As you gain credibility as a grower, you will be able to add extra crops and feel more comfortable reaching out to additional customers.

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This article first appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or tack and feed store or buy one online.

Farm Management

Create Wildlife Habitats

Wildlife biologist John Morgan advises on ways to help manage the wildlife living on and around your farm.

Building Nest Boxes

Learn how a nest box can help manage and nurture wildlife on your farm.

Using Travel Corridors

Just as humans use many different types of roads, corridors can also support different volumes of wildlife “traffic.”

Connect to Local Resources

Boost your knowledge of wildlife with help from your local USDA Service Center. Gain access to services of:

Farm Service Agency
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Rural Development agencies

Crops & Gardening Farm Management

Saving the American Chestnut Tree

Post author By Audrey Pavia
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Saving the American Chestnut Tree

The chestnut blight came to U.S. shores via Europe through the East Coast on Chinese chestnut trees and quickly attacked the genetically unprepared American chestnuts.

Chestnut blight is a fungus that spreads via spores in the air, in raindrops or on animals; it attacks open wounds on the tree and enters through an injury in the tree’s bark.

The fungus spreads throughout the tree, killing tissue as it advances. Eventually, the tree’s metabolic system becomes choked off, unable to obtain nutrients. The tree eventually dies.

“There are between 100 million and 100 billion American chestnut sprouts growing in the native range [today], and most of these are blight free,” says Frederick V. Hebard, Ph.D., staff pathologist at The American Chestnut Foundation’s Meadowview research farms in Meadowview, Va.

“They temporarily escape blight because their blight-infected neighbors are too small to bear cankers that can give rise to more than one daughter canker per mother canker (the small cankers simply don’t produce enough spores). Thus, blight incidence remains at a low level, and the chestnut sprouts can live to be more than 40 to 60 years old.

“The sprouts remain small because they are in the shade of other species of trees,” Hebard continues. “However, when that overstory is removed by cutting, windthrow or other disturbance, the chestnut sprouts start to grow very rapidly.

“The sprouts increase their rate of diameter growth from less than 0.5 mm per year to 5.0 mm per year, or more. The increased sunlight also induces them to flower, and it is those trees that we pollinate.

“However, as the sprouts increase in size, the cankers also increase in size. By 10 years after cutting, the cankers are 10 times larger on the larger sprouts, producing 10 times as many spores. This means they are giving rise to 10 times as many daughter cankers.

“After one year, each of these daughter cankers gives rise to 10 granddaughter cankers and there are now 100 times as many cankers; after two years, 1,000, and after three years, 10,000 times as many cankers. Soon, almost all the sprouts that had been escaping blight for years are killed by it. Most of the sprouts are as susceptible to blight as the original chestnut trees.”

Efforts to Save the Tree

The U.S. government first became aware of the scourge of the Chinese chestnut blight in 1904, and realized the fungus’ potential to wipe out the American chestnut tree.

In an attempt to thwart the pest’s destruction, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station launched programs to breed a blight-resistant American chestnut tree.

Concerned Organizations

The American Chestnut Foundation
469 Main Street
P.O. Box 4044
Bennington, VT 05201-4044
(802) 447-0110
www.acf.org

Canadian Chestnut Council
c/o Mr. Charles Hooker
R.R. #2
Orangeville, ON, L9W 2Y9
(519) 942-8085
www.uoguelph.ca/~chestnut

Because of limited knowledge of genetics at the time, these attempts at creating a resistant tree did not prove successful. Trees that were able to fight off the blight, including the Chinese chestnut, did not possess the desired characteristics of the American chestnut, which include tall, straight growth and a high-quality wood.

Discontinued in 1960, the government program did however succeed in providing a basis for The American Chestnut Foundation’s attack upon the blight.

In order to ward off the blight, American chestnuts must possess a genetic tendency toward resistance, a predisposition found in the Chinese chestnut, which only shows cosmetic damage when attacked by the fungus.

By combining the genes of these two trees, TACF is attempting to create a tree that will have all the attributes of the American chestnut, but will not be affected by blight.

The means to achieving this goal is backcross breeding, which calls for crossing resistant Chinese chestnut trees to American chestnut trees and then crossing back to native American three more times.

After the third backcross, the result is a tree that is only 1/16 Chinese and the rest American. Through intercrossing and further testing, scientists are able to determine which of these trees are highly resistant to the blight. The progeny of those trees that pass the test will be planted back in the forest.

How Hobby Farmers Can Help

The American Chestnut Foundation has high hopes for its backcrossed American chestnut trees, and has future plans for reforestation in the tree’s native range. This is where hobby farmers come in.

Currently, funds for research on the American chestnut tree come primarily from membership in the organization. Members receive a newsletter and are invited to attend TACF’s annual meetings to hear first-hand about projects and meet scientists working in the field of chestnut research.

They are also encouraged to visit, tour and help out on the organization’s research farms in Meadowview, Va., and have access to expert advice on growing chestnuts. Members are also permitted to purchase pure American chestnut seeds and seedlings through the organization.

Once the American chestnut is ready for reforestation, small farmers will be needed for a more hands-on approach, according to Dale Kolenberg, communications director for The American Chestnut Foundation.

“Farmers and other private land owners can get in touch with us to let us know they are interested in our reforestation efforts, and when we have our final product, help plant the blight-resistant trees,” she says.

With the help of those dedicated to bringing the American chestnut to its former glory, The American Chestnut Foundation hopes to see this regal tree once again dominating Eastern forests. A combination of advancements in genetic research and a passion for this special tree may actually make this possible.

This article first appeared in the March/April 2004 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or tack and feed store.