Black Krim tomato

One of the many tomatoes I grew in my Mittleider sustainable organic garden this year.

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Grow-Box setup - Grass in Aisles?

Q. I am currently designing my landscape / garden area. In reading the MM books (not all the way thru them yet) I have not found an answer I need. When looking at all the pictures in the books, the soil between the beds is bare dirt/soil.

Do I need to strip an entire area bare or can I just kill the grass under the grow boxes? I'd like to make the MM blend in to the landscape plan, which would include grass between the boxes to keep dust down.

A. There's a set of pictures in the Photos section of the MittleiderMethodGardening@yahoogroups.com website that shows the Rick Dietrich family garden. Those Grow-Boxes are surrounded by grass. So you have at least one example of someone who is happy with that arrangement.

Dr. Mittleider recommends that nothing but dry dirt be in the aisles. He felt that having the grass grow into the Grow-Box was more trouble than it was worth.

He also suggested that grass acted as a haven for bugs, and increased the chance for diseases, since it must be watered, and therefore increases the moisture/humidity in the garden area.

He didn't even like black plastic (looks bad, costs $, deteriorates and makes a mess), chips, mulch, or gravel.

I have always followed his advice, so I have no personal experience with any of those things - except for visiting others' gardens, which confirms - for me - Mittleider's viewpoint.

A different way to make raised beds with tires

Re: [MittleiderMethodGardening] A different way to make raised beds with tires

Unless I am misunderstanding your idea, Berny, I believe it may have a fundamental problem. You suggest putting the bottles inside the beds of tires. The Peruvians had the water outside the beds. With bottles inside the tires, there would not be much room for plants, and with the beds filled with soil, the bottles wouldn't be exposed to sunlight anyway.

I believe the black tires will absorb enough heat that something else is rarely needed, and I wouldn't want the appearance bottles create, even if they are on the outside. In addition, the bottles filled with water would stop the natural absorption of sunlight onto the tires.

May I recommend the solution Dr. Mittleider has found works extremely well - that has been tested and proven in many locations? If you need more protection or heat than the box itself provides, build "mini-greenhouses" over the beds using "A-frame" PVC pipe and greenhouse plastic. A picture will be posted at the group site, and instructions are in The Mittleider Gardening Course.

Watering – Every Week or Every Day?

I'm a brand new Mittleider gardener this year, and my garden is doing SO
well!! It is really amazing. I've never had such success. Even my
seasoned Pro gardener Grandma is impressed with my garden. Thanks so much
for everyone's help and expertise.

Here's the question. I was reading the message about watering
tomatoes, and I'm confused. I thought that tomatoes needed deep watering
less often. I've only been watering twice a week, but really deep. So
far it appears to be working pretty well, but then again it hasn't been
all that hot (low to mid 80's most days). So should I be watering every
day? And if so, should I be watering everything every day or just
tomatoes? Are there vegetables that need watering less often?


Traditional watering is for deep watering once a week or thereabouts. I believe
- at least in the West - that it originated with the irrigation turns that were
every 7 or 8 days.

Remember that we are doing "The Poor Man's Hydroponic Method", and that
hydroponic growers obtain about 10 times the yield that a good tractor farmer
gets.

Remember (or learn) that hydroponic growers water something like every 15
minutes, and the fertilizer is in the water! So just consider the yield you
want and water accordingly.

Plants need water at the root zone all the time. If the ground dries out the
plant will spend energy sending its roots further into the ground following the
water. We want the plant using its energy growing fruit.

We recommend you do not let the soil surface dry out, which may even require
watering more often than once per day on very hot days.

An interesting observation about the amount of water required with this method
of gardening: People here in Armenia water by flood irrigation, and not very
often. Our neighbor is the Village Water Master this year, and when he saw our
watering procedures he was amazed! He has informed the entire village not to
deny us water any time we want it, because we use so little. he said "you can
even water with a few buckets!", and another time he said something like "You're
only using a drinking glass!"

Water every day.

Preserving your Harvest

Folks, this one’s a keeper, so get out your scissors and save it in your gardening library.
With cold weather upon us, everyone should be working to save your harvest, either by storing or preserving. Canning, drying, and freezing, are good ways of preserving your crops such as beans, corn, peas, peppers, summer squash, and tomatoes. They need to be done immediately after picking, while crops are fresh and tasty. Whether you cold-store or preserve your produce depends on the type of food you’ve grown, your facilities, and your family’s eating preferences.
Cold storage of vegetables such as cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, squash, and turnips can give you the best tasting and healthiest food of the four methods, and may even be the least expensive in the long run. And you can eat every one of these garden-fresh even 4 to 6 months after they’ve been harvested! However it requires some careful preparation, so let’s discuss how best to prepare for and store your fall harvest.
If your garden is very small and you don’t have much to store, you may be able to use an old refrigerator, or a barrel buried in the back yard. However, for those who are serious about providing fresh food for your families, I recommend a root cellar, either under the house or buried outside. You can set it into the side of a hill or dig a hole 4’ to 5’ deep in a corner of the yard, build the cellar, and cover it with the excess dirt. This will help insulate it and maintain the low, but not freezing temperatures you need. Provide yourself a small door and insulate it well. The drawing shows a 6’-tall 4’ X 6’ root cellar intended to be built under the crawl space in a home with no basement. This same plan will work in your yard. The wooden floor is optional, and at least half the space may be better left open to the soil beneath.
Harvest your crops at peak maturity and store only those which are free of disease or damage. Don’t harvest for storage until late fall, since more starches are converted to sugars by the cool weather. Root crops should be picked fresh and stored immediately. Potatoes and squash, on the other hand, first need to be cured at 60-75 degrees for 7 to 14 days. Most produce should be stored at just above freezing temperatures, except winter squash, which does better at or above 50 degrees.
Your root crops will stay fresh and sweet for months if you harvest them with roots intact and pack them in wet sawdust. Cabbage and other brassicas also need their roots. Remove outer leaves, then pack the roots in wet sawdust, leaving the cabbage exposed. Provide separation between crops to avoid mixing flavors, and to keep squash dry.
Potatoes should not be as wet as the root crops. They will do well in temperatures below 40 degrees, but pack them in moist, rather than wet sawdust. Peatmoss and sand, or combinations of all three, can be substituted for straight sawdust, but are not as ideal. I recommend you work with your neighbors to find a sawmill and obtain a truckload.
Onions and garlic also store well. they can handle cold temperatures but, like winter squash, they do better with humidity only 60 to 70 percent. Therefore these should be up off the damp floor, on shelves or hung from the ceiling. A cold basement can also work, but be sure to provide separation from living areas to avoid their strong smell.
Remember, cold temperatures are essential for good long-term storage of vegetables, but do not let them freeze! Insulate your root cellar well. Good healthy eating to you! More details are at www.foodforeveryone.org in the FAQ section.

Organic gardening Ammonium nitrate - Ammonium Sulfate – Or Urea?

Small things can sometimes make a big difference in gardening results. For example, AMMONIUM NITRATE (34-0-0) is much different than AMMONIUM SULFATE (21-0-0) or UREA (46-0-0) - even more than the % of nitrogen.

AMMONIUM SULFATE ((NH4)2 - SO4 - - 21-0-0-24S)
1. Supplies two vital nutrients for crop growth – nitrogen and sulfur. This can be good or bad, depending on whether or not you need the extra sulfur. Sulfur lowers pH, and if you live in a high-rainfall area you do not want that. If you receive less than 20" of rain per year however, the sulfur may help improve your high-pH soil conditions. And the sulfur is in the sulfate (with oxygen) form, which is the only form in which it is available to plants.

2. Its low-cost and ready availability in most places means you can get nitrogen wherever you are.

3. It is only 21% nitrogen, and not immediately available to plants because it must go through a chemical change. This can be good in some situations and bad in others. If your plants need an immediate shot of N you may be disappointed - especially in cold weather - because the change happens very slowly in cold weather. Conversely, in hot weather you may be happy with NH4 because the nitrogen is more stable and does not volatilize so quickly, thus providing nutrition for a longer time.

AMMONIUM NITRATE (NH4 NO3 - - 34-0-0)
1. Combines the stability of the ammonium form with the immediate availability of the nitrate form to provide immediate nitrogen - even in cold weather - with a much higher % of nitrogen than the sulfate form.

2. Usually costs more than either sulfate or urea, and is not available in many places, because of the potential use in making a powerful explosive.

3. Only provides one nutrient - nitrogen. Again, depending on your situation, this can be positive or negative. In places receiving more than 20" of annual rainfall more sulfur is often not desirable, and therefore ammonium nitrate is the better solution.

UREA ((NH2)2CO - - 46-0-0)
1. Not available to plants until several chemical changes take place - therefore the least favorable choice, especially if an immediate "fix" is needed.

2. Losses from volatilization during the chemical changes make it very important not to apply on the surface of the ground.

3. Often the least cost to purchase, and with the highest % of nitrogen it appears to be the best value, but it is usually the least desirable of the three nitrogen sources.

Preserving your Harvest

Folks, this one’s a keeper, so get out your scissors and save it in your gardening library.
With cold weather upon us, everyone should be working to save your harvest, either by storing or preserving. Canning, drying, and freezing, are good ways of preserving your crops such as beans, corn, peas, peppers, summer squash, and tomatoes. They need to be done immediately after picking, while crops are fresh and tasty. Whether you cold-store or preserve your produce depends on the type of food you’ve grown, your facilities, and your family’s eating preferences.
Cold storage of vegetables such as cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, squash, and turnips can give you the best tasting and healthiest food of the four methods, and may even be the least expensive in the long run. And you can eat every one of these garden-fresh even 4 to 6 months after they’ve been harvested! However it requires some careful preparation, so let’s discuss how best to prepare for and store your fall harvest.
If your garden is very small and you don’t have much to store, you may be able to use an old refrigerator, or a barrel buried in the back yard. However, for those who are serious about providing fresh food for your families, I recommend a root cellar, either under the house or buried outside. You can set it into the side of a hill or dig a hole 4’ to 5’ deep in a corner of the yard, build the cellar, and cover it with the excess dirt. This will help insulate it and maintain the low, but not freezing temperatures you need. Provide yourself a small door and insulate it well. The drawing shows a 6’-tall 4’ X 6’ root cellar intended to be built under the crawl space in a home with no basement. This same plan will work in your yard. The wooden floor is optional, and at least half the space may be better left open to the soil beneath.
Harvest your crops at peak maturity and store only those which are free of disease or damage. Don’t harvest for storage until late fall, since more starches are converted to sugars by the cool weather. Root crops should be picked fresh and stored immediately. Potatoes and squash, on the other hand, first need to be cured at 60-75 degrees for 7 to 14 days. Most produce should be stored at just above freezing temperatures, except winter squash, which does better at or above 50 degrees.
Your root crops will stay fresh and sweet for months if you harvest them with roots intact and pack them in wet sawdust. Cabbage and other brassicas also need their roots. Remove outer leaves, then pack the roots in wet sawdust, leaving the cabbage exposed. Provide separation between crops to avoid mixing flavors, and to keep squash dry.
Potatoes should not be as wet as the root crops. They will do well in temperatures below 40 degrees, but pack them in moist, rather than wet sawdust. Peatmoss and sand, or combinations of all three, can be substituted for straight sawdust, but are not as ideal. I recommend you work with your neighbors to find a sawmill and obtain a truckload.
Onions and garlic also store well. they can handle cold temperatures but, like winter squash, they do better with humidity only 60 to 70 percent. Therefore these should be up off the damp floor, on shelves or hung from the ceiling. A cold basement can also work, but be sure to provide separation from living areas to avoid their strong smell.
Remember, cold temperatures are essential for good long-term storage of vegetables, but do not let them freeze! Insulate your root cellar well. Good healthy eating to you! More details are at www.foodforeveryone.org in the FAQ section.

Crop Rotation of Tomatoes

There are 3 major reasons for rotating crops. The first is to take advantage of the fact that different plants use slightly different amounts of the various nutrients, and some (legumes) can actually put nitrogen into the soil. Because we feed the plants a balanced diet, nutrition is not a problem in a Mittleider garden, therefore crop rotation for this purpose is not necessary.
The second reason for rotating is to break the cycle of disease that may have gotten into a certain crop. And the third is to break the cycle of insect pests that favor a certain crop.
In reality, most small home gardens are not big enough to be very effective at stopping the spread of pests or diseases, so crop rotation is often not a great solution - although still worth doing if disease or pests are present.
Other "cultural practices" of the Mittleider Method will likely assist you more than crop rotation in minimizing your losses from pests and diseases. To assure a great yield year after year, we teach you such things as:
1. maintaining a completely weed-free garden - even including wide 5-10’ borders,
2. watering only the actual growing area - leaving wide aisles dry (like a desert to bugs),
3. growing seedlings in a protected environment and transplanting stocky, robust seedlings into the garden,
4. growing your plants fast by feeding and watering them properly, and
5. harvesting the crop as soon as it matures, before the bugs and/or diseases can become entrenched.