A Beginner Gardeners Journal

I may not be able to change the world,
but I can change the way I do things in my own life ,
raising food in a gentle and conscious manner
is one change that has made a difference.

- From the book 'How to Grow More Vegetables'.

I cycled to Leda Farms run by Gary Swann and his wife Jacqueline here in Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island BC Canada. 80 acres of beautiful lush organic farm. The majority of the farm is forest land about 65 acres. My focus is learning to grow organic food.

I began my day by weeding the bean bed. As I weeded under the clear sky of a hot summer day Gary introduced me to his philosophy of gardening. He explained he gardens following the wheel of life (what we take from the land returns to the land, following the natural cycle) along with planting by the moon. He starts his seeds on a new moon and plants his sprouts on the full. He uses the Stella Natura working with cosmic rhythms calendar. It teaches when best to plant the different plant families, when the moon is furthest and closest to the planet and how this affects our garden etc...

http://www.stellanatura.com/about.html
'Stella Natura working with cosmic rhythms'. Inspiration and practical advice for home gardeners and professional growers.
Kimberton Hills biodynamic agricultural planting guide and calendar.
Published by the biodynamic farming and gardening association.
Circle graphics, In.c Eagleville, Pennsylvania.
258844 Butler Rd.
Junction City OR. 97448

It’s all in the soil he said. At the end of the plants cycle all that organic matter along with weeds, food scraps and a combination of organic goodies goes into the compost, where it is stirred and made ready for bedding seeds. He has a separate compost heap he has made with no weeds added to it, that he calls his fish compost as it has fish meal in it, he uses this soil as a top soil.

The soil is like a smorgasbord for the plants, he said, the plants grow toward the nutrients it needs at each stage of its growth cycle. The plants need different nutrients at each stage of development, all the nutrients the plants need at each given time is all in the soil. With the soil having all the nutrients needed for growing vibrantly, the nutritious soil helps the plants to grow its own natural bug repellent or immune system. He still gets the occasional bug that like his cabbage, but over all, all his other produce does not have any trouble with pesky bugs, because the soil is so rich it holds all the plants need to thrive and protect itself.

After I cleared the rows between the beds I weeded, Gary gave me a little sprinkling container fill of clover seeds to sprinkle between the rows. He said clover is good for the plants in that it feeds nitrogen from the atmosphere to its roots feeding the soil and plants with atmospheric nitrogen.

He showed me the big green house where he grows tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and a few other salad produce. He said the tomatoes do better in the green house then outside, they like it warm. I have to say all that squatting is toughening my thighs.

Weeded 2 potato beds, prepared a bed for spinach and beets and took a book home for homework to read.

I began the morning weeding two beds of potatoes. Then Gary had me help him prepare a bed for spinach and beets. We measured the rows for the sprouts that had been started in soil blocks, to be 12 inches apart. We used a rake that had two plastic tubes attached to two of the rake spikes measuring 12 inches apart. With this device we drew our rows in the bed where the space between the plants will be. Then we used a tool like a long spoon with a wheel to run along our drawn rows. This created a slope of soil on either side of our drawn lines. Then we wheel barrowed over compost and shoveled it in between the slopes. Gary strung a tape measure from one end of the bed to the other so we could plant the soil blocks exactly 6 inches apart along the rows that are 12 inches apart. We had 3 rows of beets the middle row we planted the beets on 0 then every 6 inches, the rows beside we started on 3 and measured every 6 inches so the plants were spaced alternately in each row. Gary left me to plant the spinach. After all the soil blocks were planted Gary poured about an ounce of seaweed liquid into his watering can (that are about 4 galleons) and I watered the plants with this solution.

There was a little cup sitting in the middle of the garden where his sprinkler was on. He said a garden needs at least an inch of water a week. He waters his garden about 2 hours a day so the soil stays nice, where it doesn't dry out or get too wet but kept balanced. Sounds logical. The cup was to measure how much water the plants received.

Gary mentioned he flames the top soil of his carrot bed to kill the weeds. He explained Carrots are one plant he can't grow in soil blocks. He pulled out a carrot that was split with two legs. He explained the split was because of a rock in the way of the carrot. Carrots like to grow straight down, but if a rock is in the way then the carrot will split in two so we get the two legged carrot. Still tastes good.

Gary mentioned for my family of 5 I would need about 500 square feet to feed my family vegetables through a year.

He sent me home with a little reading to do a classic in the field of sustainable gardening.
7th Edition
'How to Grow more Vegetables' by John Jeavons.
A grow biointensive publication,
Ten Speed Press www.tenspeed.com
ISBN -10 1-58008-796-5

Yet no matter how rich we manage to become, something human in us says…
‘Our true worth is reflected by what we create’
Why not make it full of life and beauty rather than pollution.

Just past a last quarter waning moon.
The sky is grey the air cool. Nice for gardening, no need to wear my wide rimed straw hat today.

Planted a bed of lettuce, weeded in the green house, made a bed of kale, pruned tomatoes and started compost tea bubbling.

Gary began my day in the green house preparing a bed for lettuce (about 40 square feet). I used a forged cultivator to rack the weeds out (as shown in picture A) and a rock rake (as in the picture with the girl ) for removing rocks. I then wheeled the wheel barrow to the compost pile to scoop 20 shovels of compost. That's 1 shovel of compost per 2 square feet of soil I'm working in. He recommended not going much lower then half a shovel for 2 feet, 1 shovel for 4 square feet at the least. After smoothing the bed out we then sprinkled our fertilizer. One pound of fertilizer per hundred square feet. Gary's focus for his fertilizer is sea based minerals 1/4 of a pound of each substance below:

Gary said he prepares every bed in the green house with this solution. He said he sprinkles about 1/2 a pound of fertilizer for each bed and rakes it in the top soil 2-3 inches. End of summer and early spring he prepares the beds.

Gary sprinkled the fertilizer evenly over the bed, then the 20 shovels of compost evenly over the fertilizer.

Gary then showed me how to double dig. He dug a row of soil from one end of the bed and tossed it to the other end. He said usually the gardeners keep this first row of soil to keep for growing seedlings or starting compost. But as he has so much compost he tossed it to the other end where the soil was thinner. The pattern we followed was to dig one shovel square straight down then scoop up the shovel square of soil and sprinkle it like a waterfall of soil onto the first row that was dug out. I did this along one row. Then with a long handled fork I pushed it down as far as I could and wiggled it to loosen the soil and bring air into the soil. I continued along till the whole bed had been turned and aerated. Keeping the flat straight shovel sprinkling on the previous row, then wiggling the fork deep down to loosen the soil and bring in air.

After the bed had been fully mixed and aerated I raked the bed flat ready for a firm roller to press down flattening the soil about an inch. Gary said he only rolls over the bed when he is planting seeds, the only other time he uses the roller is planting carrots. The roller was about 5 feet wide. He showed me a long handled tool he paid over $100 for. I couldn't find a picture so I'll do my best to describe it. It was a long handled tool. At the bottom was a metal seed planting device. It had 3 funnels where the seeds sit at the top of each funnel. Gary put a teaspoon of seeds into each holder. At either end of the funnels was a wheel. so as you rolled the wheels along the bed it would open the top of the funnel for some seeds to fall through, about every inch seeds were suppose to roll out. Except the funnels would get clogged up with soil, so Gary had to keep clearing the passages and ended up just turning the wheels by hand to sprinkle the seeds over the bed as evenly as possible. After the seeds were scattered we raked the soil and seeds evenly over the bed then rolled the firm roller over the bed one last time so the seeds were compacted firmly into the soil. We then lay a long mesh like cloth over the bed called Remay. Gary said it is just to help keep the seeds warm and moist once they start sprouting we will remove the cloth, I watered over the cloth so the bed had a sprinkle and so the cloth doesn't blow away.

I weeded a little in the green house, clearing one bed of lettuce that had gone to seed, while Gary dealt with customers enjoying his rows of organic delight.

Next Gary had me plant a bed of kale out side. Gary had already prepared the bed getting rid of weeds and smoothing it for soil blocks. We measured for each plant to be 15 inches apart. Alternating the plants in each row. I dug 35 holes for the 35 soil blocks with kale sprouting out of them. Then I shoveled a scoop of compost into each hole. Then I sprinkled hydrated lime onto each pile of compost then mixed the compost and white powder in each hole where the soil blocks will go. Why sprinkle hydrated lime? It provides calcium. Gary only uses it for brassica plants, such as kale, cabbage, radish, broccoli etc. Lime stone for general application. Its what he uses for club root, a fungus. There are other solutions but his experience it seems to work some times. He said the lime stone lasts for 3 years. He plants the brassica family once every 4 years in the same location. He won't plant any other plants from the brassica family in that same bed for 6 years. Each year these plants get moved over to the next bed, as he has six rows by the time this family of plant has spent a year in each row it will be 6 years before any brassica family is planted in this row again. With each soil block I sprinkled diatomaceous earth around each block. This kills bugs one hopes. Gary explained the diatomaceous earth is microscopic sharp like a razor blade. It cuts the bodies of insects and causes them to dehydrate. Doesn't hurt earth worms just root maggots.

We broke for lunch and discussed how organic gardening works. I was scribbling madly on little bits of paper as Gary lectured. The humus and sea based minerals provide all the nutrients the plant needs. Industrial agriculture doesn't follow the natural process. They feed their plants phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, not all 72 trace minerals available from the sea. The natural system feeds plants all their nutrients by following the natural pattern. The whole system is build around understanding the natural function of soil and doing what you can do to increase it to work, without interfering with the process. With soil micro biology you don't want to put pesticides or other toxins into your soil as this eliminates the part of the soil population the plants need. Plants decaying produce carbon dioxide combined with water create weak acid H2CO3. It reacts with the unavailable minerals makes them plant available. Humus is created by the green manure, compost and decaying plants together. Humus holds the available minerals electro statically so they don't wash out. The natural system puts the gardener in unity with the natural world making you healthier.

After lunch we pruned the tomato bushes in the green house. We cut any stems starting to form in the center where another stem had branched out from the main center stem. We clipped the long loose tops to string, using a plastic ring and cut away any old or diseased looking leaves from the bottom of the trees.

Gary doesn't usually make compost tea this late in the year, but as we had just planted a lot of new beds he thought it would be good to teach me anyway. He makes compost tea about twice a month in the spring. To improve the quality of the roots, or if he wants big leaf growth on some plants. He refers to his stella natura calendar to see when the time is right for planting.

He filled about 3 pounds of compost into a net bag he zipped up and placed in a stocking. He walked to his different compost piles to add to the soil bag. He took some soil from last years compost heap, this years compost heap and from his fish compost that had a little fungus decay but not much so he looked in his onion bed where he had put fish compost on to find soil with fungus in it. He scooped up about a table spoon of fungus from in the onion bed. He said 'Now we know we have a fungal inoculant'.

I cleaned the slime off a bucket that we were making the compost tea in. The bucket was 23L (25kg, 6.4gal, 55lb). I scrubbed a plastic spiral tube that sits flat at the bottom of the pail and trails a long tube sticking vertically up for air to enter through. After placing the tube in the bucket we filled it with about 5 gallons of non chlorinated mountain water. High enough so it didn't cover the holes in the tube so air could pass through it. Gary placed the soil bag into the bucket.

Gary showed me his fermenting belt that goes around the bucket to keep the water at 70F. He uses it in the colder months. Being a warm month Gary didn't use it as the mountain water was fine. 70.F is the right temperature for bacteria we are trying to grow.

Gary said we are trying to do an equal ratio of fungi to bacteria tea. (based on 50 gal tea) he showed me from a book ‘Compost tea brewers manual’:

16 ounces (7kg) 1:1 fungal to bacterial biomas ratio compost
16 ounces (500) humic acid
8 ounces (250g) soluble kelp
fish hydrolysate, soybean meal, feathermeal, oatmeal or other high complex protein materials (see label on packages) fruit pulp.

30mil liquid seaweed
30 mil fish hydrolsate
60mil humic acid - you need humic acid for fungal dominated tea.

This is food for micro organisms to have fungus expand its population so its all fungus and bacterial. Depending on what you want to treat you can have more bacteria or fungus tea. A more bacterial tea is good for vegetables and annual plants. Fungal dominated tea good for trees, shrubs and perennials. You dilute the solution in a hand sprayer for leaves on trees it has a beneficial impact.

Gary then hooked up a little motor that blew bubbles into the bucket. He said when the water starts turning black its filtering through the compost. The tea will bubble like this for 12 hours or 12-18 hours. No more then 24 hours. Then you strain it and dilute it 10:1.

Gary dilutes his tea 10:1 some people dilute it 100:1. It is a matter of it having a big micro bacterium. Need to pay attention to the right conditions because it's bacteria it doesn't do well in bright light, so best to apply the tea on the plants before 10am or when there is a low UV light for the bacteria to grow.

Do not use chlorinated water. If you only have chlorinated water bubble the water for 1-2 hours. The bubbles will dissipate the chlorine.

Bubbles keep it oxygenated. Keep the bubbles going for 12 - 18 hours no more then 24.

If you don't have a motor to blows bubbles for 12 hours you can try the bubbler from an aquarium, will work fine for starters.

The water has to be at least 70.F use a fermented belt to keep the stream water warm or do the solution in doors where the temperature is warmer.

Another type of tea is to substitute humic acid for molasses with no sulfur for more bacteria tea, the molasses feeds the bacteria.

In summary the compost tea we made:

5 gallons of water (non chlorinated, from streams or rain water)
Added one stocking bag with about 3 pounds of organic compost (looked for fungus in the soil to add to the bag).
Added 30mil liquid seaweed, 30 mil fish hydrolsate, 60mil humic acid
Placed solution in water and ran a motor to create bubbles in bucket for 18 hours.

Next day strained compost tea into watering cans. ratio 10water:1tea We poured 1.5 Liters of compost tea into the watering cans and filled with mountain water. The pails hold 15Liters of water.
We sprayed solution onto roses bushes, apple trees, gladiolas, vegetables sprouting...

Waning moon
Drizzled wet in the morning turned sunny for the afternoon.

Cleaned garlic, fed the garden with compost tea and weeded the potatoes and beets.

It drizzled rain on my cycle out to the Leda Farm. We waited till the drizzle stopped before we poured the compost tea over the plants. While we waited for the drizzle to stop we cleaned up some garlic to sell. Scrubbing dirt and peeling one lay of skin so they look nice and clean. Gary put about 14 of his biggest garlic off to the side for planting new beds of garlic with. He said you always choose the biggest garlic with at least no more then 10 cloves round. The big cloves do the best for growing big garlic.

Next Gary turned the bubbling machine off, I thought you could easily use a vacuum cleaner that blows out as a substitute to what Gary had although you’re leaving it running all night, I think the fish tank bubble maker is the most economical idea for someone with a small garden. Gary poured the tea through a strainer into his watering cans. His watering cans hold 15L we poured about 1 1/2 liters of compost tea into the watering cans and filled the rest with water. Then proceeded to water all over the leaves of his wife's gladiolas, which was the main reason he made the tea. I poured the tea over all the beds with young sprouts we planted, plus a few other young beds of sprouts that looked like they could use it. Gary sprayed his rose bushes and apples tree leaves with the solution. The sprouts certainly looked perked up by the tea. The morning was grey and cool by lunch the sun came out to play again. The plants and soil had a few hours for the micro organisms in the tea to grow or start a colony.

While weeding the beets we noticed quite a lot of fungus growing on sticks in the soil from the compost, all good stuff. Gary sprinkled white clover over the beets bed after we weeded, he said he will let the clover grow to maturity so it turns into green manure. Gary grows buckwheat and white clover for his green manure. He lets it grow till it is ready to flower about 3 months then tills it into the soil to make for compost.

While eating lunch I asked Gary who thought up the idea for compost tea? He didn't know but mentioned Dr Elaine Ingham a forest Pathologist who has a company called 'Soil food web' www.soilfoodweb.com. The company’s primary service is to offer tests developed by Dr. Elaine Ingham and her staff to analyze the microorganism groups most essential to the health of any soil. Compost Tea is the remedy for gardens that have been sprayed with pesticides and other toxins to help the nutrients return to the soil and create a healthy organic garden. Gary said vegetables like to be helped to grow, as gardeners we are simply helping the garden along.

From the book 'How to grow more vegetables' it states on page 21 'With about 42 to 84 years' worth of top soil remaining in the world, learning how to enrich, improve, and maintain soil - in a way that is sustainable - is of vital importance if we, as a species, are to survive. Ancient civilizations sustained their soil to feed large populations for lengthy periods of time. China's soils, for example, remained productive for 4,000 years or more until the adoption of mechanized chemical agricultural techniques that have been responsible, in part, for the destruction of 15% to 33% of China's agricultural soil since the late 1950s. Many of the world's great civilizations have disappeared when their soil's fertility was not maintained. Northern Africa, for example, used to be a granary for Rome until over farming converted it into a desert, and much of the Sahara Desert was forested until it was over cut.'

Made soil blocks for cabbage and onion seeds, weeded, created a bed for beans and prepared two beds for carrots and beets. Talked about creating a Childs book about keeping in rhythm with the natural cycle of life.

I began the morning weeding the path between the corn and gladiolas. Then Gary had me make soil blocks for onions and cabbage. I used smaller soil blocks for the onions. One tray for the onions had 36 soil blocks. Gary created a corner to make the soil blocks, he piled a mound of soil and hosed it down so it was damp, not to dry not sopping wet. I hammered the soil blocks down into the moist mound of soil, then smoothed the soil blocks at the bottom or cement patted more soil if it needed it on the bottom of the blocks. The soil blocks were squeezed onto the little wooden trays, pushing the top of the handle down on the spring up and down. It was tricky at first as I got a little rock stuck in the metal block making it almost hard for me to squeeze. We kept the soil blocks and scrapper tool in a bucket of water while I forked the soil loose to hammer more soil blocks into it.

Once I filled a tray with soil blocks I used tweezers to place one seed of cabbage in each soil block, then sprinkled worm castings over the top, patting them down, and giving a good soaking with the watering can. We placed the left over onion seeds into round plant containers also, and pattered worm castings over the top of them as well. Then we placed all the trays in clear plastic bags and let them sit in the out side pantry where the temperature was very cool. Gary said he wanted the seeds to have a moderate temperature where the temperature pretty much stays the same, seedlings don't like the heat he said. These trays will stay for 2 days he said. Till they show the first sign of germination.

We made a new bed of beans we drew two rows Gary decided to do an experiment. One row I placed compost soil on and planted the seeds into that soil. The other row we planted the seeds first into the ground then covered that area with soil. I then placed a mesh cloth over the bed, Gary said he will water that part of the garden later that evening.

We started preparing for two more beds of beets and carrots but I ran out of time, so only prepared the soil for Gary to plant. I think I over did it weeding the gladiolas. I used a tool to pick rocks out of the garden, making it easy not to have to bend over all the time. There are a lot of different types of tools Gary uses to make his job a little easier.

Gary also allowed me to unveil the lettuce seeds I planted in the green house last week. I gently unraveled the mesh cloth off revealing little leaves shooting up out of the soil, we had sprinkled a pretty even job.

Gary thought it would be a nice idea to create a children's book about living in rhythm with nature. Living in harmony with the wheel of life. I jotted down some notes he wanted included in the story idea. Not only to learn the cycle of life, maturity and death, how gardening brings one closer to this cycle of life, but also about the importance of our health. Gary explained from the time there has been life on earth 7/8 of the time life has lived in the sea. 1/8 of the time life has been on land.

For that 7/8 of the time that life existed solely in the sea those organisms had all they needed for their immune systems to stay healthy.

When life came on land those minerals were present but our agricultural practices have not been placing those nutrients back into the earth. Industrial agriculture only replaces 8 minerals. Over time those other 64 trace minerals have been depleted from our food. That causes a chronic trace mineral deficiency in our diet and results in wide number of health implications. He recommended the site www.truehealth.org. The minerals we get from eating food from the sea does not go into the land, human waste gets flushed back into the sea not land. Urine is where most of the minerals are, more so then our feces.

Gary said he use to grow his garden with just animal bone meal and wood ash, he said it worked fine, but after learning about adding all the 72 trace minerals into his garden he sees a great difference. The addition of green sand that has 66 nutrients, fish meal, fish bone meal, liquid seaweed... makes his garden thrive and his own health excel as he gets all the nutrients his body and garden need to thrive. And it all goes back into the soil/earth after its been consumed keeping all trace minerals/nutrients on the land not washed out to sea.

Industrial agriculture also uses artificial fertilizer placing chemicals into our soil and food reducing our health.

Made two beds in the green house for carrots and lettuce, made two trays of soil blocks for beets, weeded a corn bed and learned to braid onions and what not to put in the compost.

When I arrived the sprinkler was rotating its course. Gary left it on most of the morning and will turn it on again in the evening, he said seeds need lots of water especially on hot summer days. As long as the seeds get enough water to germinate all is well, no doubt.

I weeded out two beds to prepare for seeds in the green house. Gary's beds in the green house are 12 feet by 3 feet. He keeps two big boards along the long side of the beds while he prepares the soil to keep the bed contained. After weeding, he had me measure for each bed ...

1/4 pound fish meal
1/4 pound wood ash
1/4 pound rock phosphate
1/4 pound fish bone meal
1/4 pound agriculture lime and limestone, mixed 50:50
1/4 pound kelp meal
1/4 pound of cotton seed meal (Gary doesn't usually use cotton seed meal he wanted to finished it off, he was using it when he ran out of fish meal).

I asked Gary is this all he used in his garden? He said this is what he uses to fertilize the garden with. He sprinkles this on new beds feeding nutrients back into the soil with each new crop.

Gary said he has on occasion used granite dust for general soil amendment it has a source of trace minerals. As well as, on occasion not often, volcanic residues. Again its another good source of trace mineral. This was before his enlightenment to sea based minerals. He use to use just animal bone meal and wood ash with the scare of mad cow disease he doesn't like animal bone meal. Jacqueline uses animal bone meal in her flowers. Fish bone meal costs a lot at least triple the cost of animal bone meal which is over $3 a pound.

I sprinkled the solution I had measured evenly over the two beds I was preparing in the green house. Then shoveled 20 shovel loads of compost for each bed. I noticed these beds are getting higher and higher with each new planting. For the Carrot bed Gary had me double digging, using a 'broad fork', it is a wider fork to squish my foot on and jiggle back and forth creating air in the soil. Then I flattened the top of the bed, ran the roller over and used the 'precision garden seeder'. It rolls along the rows dropping seeds into the bed and covering the seeds with soil as you roll. I liked it much better then the seeder we used for the lettuce the '4 hopper precision seeder' we end up turning the wheels by hand over the bed with that thing. After the seeds were laid and I racked the soil flat, we spread the mesh cloth over and watered the cloth down, so it won't blow away. I noticed the temperature in the Green house was 76 F. Gary said he doesn't pay much attention to the temperature in the green house he just lets the plants grow in the natural green house heat created by the sun.

Broad Fork
Used for double digging

Precision garden seeder

Gary said the main tools you need for gardening are a fork, hoe and shovel.

Everything else makes the job easier.

Pictures from http://www.aaoobfoods.com/gardeningsupplies.htm

The lettuce bed was done the same way except I didn't double dig, I used a '5 time cultivator' It looks like a fork with the ends curved in a creepy monster fashion. I had to plow deep with this tool before flattening, clearing rocks, then rolling, seeding, cover with cloth and water.

After the beds were done I made more soil blocks for beets. Gary had me drop four little beet seeds in each corner of each block. The soil blocks for the beets were larger then the onions and cabbage I made the day before. Altogether I made two trays of 78 soil blocks for beets. After I sprinkled with worm casting and watered well. Gary found plastic bags to place each tray in and let them rest in the pantry.

Meat scraps, diseased plants, plants that propagate by vegetative root base couch grass, dock... He said if there is enough heat in the compost the seeds and plants will break down these weeds, but if the compost isn't hot enough it grows. He said worms also break up the weeds as they eat the seeds and plants break up through their digestive system. Best to pull weeds out before they start to seed.

Other points I want to add to this list of what not to put in the compost from the book 'How to grow more vegetables' are ...

Plants infected with a disease or a severe insect attack where eggs could be preserved or where the insects themselves could survive in spite of the compos

There are more than 6 billion microbial life-forms in only 1 teaspoon of cured compost - almost the number of people on Earth! - How to grow more vegetables