Guerilla Gardening

Not the most beautiful landscape - I know. But that's the point. When I was a younger man I had a habit for a few years there of painting walls without the consent of their owners. Some people called that vandalism. I liked to think that some of my graffiti bordered on being called art. Well, fast forward a decade or so and while I don't go bombing with spray cans anymore I still feel the need to beautify otherwise vacant spaces. I was introduced to "guerilla gardening" while I was in college by a friend of mine. There was a produce market not far from our campus that would throw away all the pineapple tops at the end of the day behind their market. If you don't know, pineapples are the easiest thing to grow ( here in South Florida at least). You simple peel back a few leaves until you see signs the little rootlets and screw that thing into the ground. They always take. Our campus was a little bland so we decided to add several pineapple patches. I believe they're still there to this day.

This picture is of a patch of vacant land across the main road from my neighborhood. The city plans on making it a passive park but in the meantime it is a barren field with a few papaya trees and (not seen in this pic) a boarded up house. Today I planted sunflowers, 3 different types of corn, taiwanese black yard beans and hairy vetch. We'll see what happens but if you believe in good omens... it rained today.

I have a hard time finding local sources of heirloom and organic seeds. Last year in my desperate search to find someone in the neighborhood to service this need I stumbled upon Eden Organic Nursery Services. Their physical store is really just the office to an auto body shop but they do carry a wide selection of seeds, organic fertilizers, pest controls etc, etc. Check 'em out if you need anything - http://www.eonseed.com/. Believe me, Home Depot doesn't have what you want.

Ah-Ha!

So back at the end of October I told the story of my overzealous use of compost tea on my then burgeoning seedlings. They seemed to be taking off, I was excited, and thought a little mild fertilizer would do them good. Well, it instead burned them...or so I thought. What I didn't say is what went into the compost that may be the true culprit.

Behind my house is a nice little 4-acre lake that happens to be spring fed. Because of this anomaly the water is relatively safe to swim in ( sans the occasional alligator) and the whole neighborhood uses it to water their lawns. Just to make sure that it doesn't get clogged with algae and to keep down the growth of grasses near the shoreline, our HOA contracts a guy to come out every other month or so and spray the lake. I think you see where this is going.

A couple of days after the last spraying I collected all of the beautiful lake grass and muck from my shoreline. Great!! I was so happy for my little bonanza of detritus I immediately put it into my composter. A day or so later it rained and I drew the putrid water from said composter and applied it to my garden. And that's when it all started ending.

Last week I had a eureka moment and put 2 and 2 together. I did some research and found that a compound called glyphosate (commercially known as Pondmaster) was used in the lake. Pondmaster is Roundup's little aquatic cousin. Supposedly not harmful to fish but just as lethal to plants as Roundup. This coupled with the anaerobic bacteria in my too-wet compost was probably the one-two punch that a) killed the youngest seedlings and b) effectively bonsai'd my other babies.

As hard as I try Monsanto always seems to creep into my world.

Killing them softly

I am hellbent on being organic in the garden. What that means to me is pretty simple. No chemicals. Any pesticides or fertilizers I use are derived from natural sources. My reasons for being so stringent are many fold. I eat what I grow so I really don't want to take any chances with chemical pesticides. Besides killing the bad guys most of these controls also take out the beneficial insects in your garden. And eventually, as most commercial growers have come to find out, insects become resistant to these chemicals. So why start the arms race? It is a war you cannot win.

So when the inevitable chew holes started showing up on my young plants I started going through my alternatives. Big holes on leaves usually means slugs and/or snails. These are pretty easy to take care off. If you see them smash them. For the ones that are good at playing hide-n-seek dust the ground around your plants with diatomaceous earth. Soft bodied pests can't stand this stuff. Apparently it would be the equivalent of you sliding on your belly over crushed glass dusted with a little lye. It is relatively cheap and non-toxic ( you still should not breathe it in though - dust is bad for your lungs).

I'm going to wait and see if that cures my problem for now. I have found that most gardeners overreact and cause more harm by applying unnecessary controls. Chill out man! It's supposed to be relaxing( I tell myself).

Sweet Potatoes

I pulled my sweet potatoes today. Actually I should say more of my sweet potatoes as I have been harvesting them here and there for the last 2 months. They are a godsend for South Florida gardeners. Like cats and orchids they don't require much attention. And talk about bang for your buck. These guys all came from one vine!