Country Living: Organic Gardening
ORGANIC GARDENING of Vegetables and Fruit Trees on “the Hill”
By Randolph Young
OSU Master Gardeners, Columbia Co.
An outline of a presentation May 9, 2009 at Skyline Grange
What is Organic Gardening?
Simple Answer- No Synthetic Fertilizers or Pesticides
Complete Answer- Considers many factors in Sustainable Gardening and the Environment
Why Bother with Organic Gardening?
Pesticide Free Fruits and Vegetables
Air and Water will be Cleaner
Soil Structure comes back to Life with Micro-organisms
Re-cycle Wastes Back to Soil Instead of Landfill
Where to Begin- with the Soil!
Feed the Soil and the Soil will feed the plants
Soil Structure, clay/silt/sand
Mostly Clay, low pH(acidic)
1/4 #10 crushed rock, Joy Creek Nursery
Organic material
Compost/humus
Manures
Other Organic fertilizers
Blood meal(N), Bone meal(P) etc
Organics not “quick fix”, release nutrients slowly as decay
Nitrogen deficiency common problem, Organics low in Nitrogen==> Large volume required
Liming
pH(% Hydrogen ions)-raise pH for most plants
Dolomite or Ag lime 100#/1000 sq. ft. / yr
Enhance uptake of other minerals
Composting
Greens and Browns
Hot or not
Seeds, pathogens
Sawdust, shavings etc use up the nitrogen
Fresh manure- e coli, be careful
I use lots of “composted” horse manure
Mulching
Weed control
Moisture retention
Adds more organic material
But….will keep the soil cool longer if done in spring
Vegetable Garden- Cover Crops
Good source of Nitrogen
Organic material when turned under
Minimizes rain erosion and compaction
Legumes, clover, alfalfa, Rye etc
Typically plant in the fall or late summer
The Root Zone: Symbiotic relationships
Fungi are not all bad, some increase the roots access to nutrients(N, P)
Mycorrhizae means “fungus root”
No chlorophyll, nourished by plant
Endomycorrhizae- penetrate root cells
Ectomycorrhizae- close contact to roots
Bacteria:
Rhizobia- infect legume(peas) roots causing nodules that “fix” nitrogen
Actinomycetes- aid in decay and fight disease pathogens, and “earthy smell”
Fungi & Bacteria are important to healthy plants, can be destroyed by excessive use of synthetics
Watering Habits
Our climate==>Very Wet winter and Very Dry July/August
Overhead Evening watering creates problems
Overhead morning can be okay for some plants, allows plants to dry before night fall
Best to water with soaker or drip or by hand
Less frequent, deeper
The right amount at the right time==> Healthy Plants
Raised Beds
-Easier to maintain
-They warm up faster in spring
-Don’t require “hard borders”
-Focused application of fertilizers etc
- Better drainage, well suited to our weather
-Avoids compaction of planting area
Sunshine & Temperature
-”the one that gets the most sun wins”
-Most vegetables and fruit trees need about 6-8 hours of sun to flourish
-So choose your garden spot well
-Planting timing is important
Just because you can buy tomato plants doesn’t mean it is a good time to plant them……..
-Seed germination temperatures
Plant Variety Selection
Give your plants an advantage, select varieties suited to our environment/climate
Regional seed companies where possible
Regional nursery stock for trees and transplants
If you push the “envelope”, expect some unhealthy plants and more challenges
Select varieties that are disease resistant so treatments won’t likely be necessary
Liberty Apple, disease resistant for example
Peaches, cherries, apricots etc will require a lot of extra care and may not produce much fruit (peach leaf curl, to wet/cold for pollination etc)
Do your homework before you dig the holes or you may waste a lot of effort
Dealing with Pests:?When Enough is Enough
Organic vs Least Toxic
Organics like Nicotine can be very toxic
The idea is to solve the problem using the least toxic approach with the
least negative impact on the environment
Using Synthetic pesticides will often kill more “good” insects than bad
and they hang around for a long time, where organics dissipate fast
Carbaryl(Sevin) will kill the cutworms but also the earthworms!
Regardless which pesticide you use, Read/Follow The Label, wear
gloves(nitrile), it can seriously impact your health thru skin
absorption
Reduce the Plant’s Stress==>Healthier Plant==>
Integrated Pest Management
Identify The Pest First
Insecticides, biological controls/products
Slugs, Metaldehyde(Europe-Organic) Very Toxic for pets!, Iron Phosphate works more slowly, not harmful to pets, the ”night patrol”
Herbicides, Corn Gluten Meal*, vinegar products(sometimes), flame thrower, the HOE
Fungicides (lime sulfur, copper sulfate)
Other Ideas
Floating Row covers, raise the soil temperature(which is good in spring), they keep out most insects and birds, but……….they do provide a hiding place for slugs so beware.
Deer: Use a fence, electric or other. Repellants etc don’t work reliably
Moles: Traps are the most effective method
Organic Gardeners are More Tolerant!
Do those blemishes on your fruits/vege’s etc really matter that much?
A few aphids on one leaf can be zapped with water vs spray whole tree with insecticide
Are the birds just taking a few berries or the whole pie……….
Typical Vegetables I Grow
(my elevation is 600ft on McNamee Rd)
-Tomatoes(Sun Gold, Brandywine, Legend, Celebrity, Oregon Spring, Early Girl)
- Leaf lettuce(Butternut, Bibb)
-Sweet Corn(Honey Select, Bodacious)
-Anaheim Peppers
-Green Beans(Nickel)
-Potatoes(Yukon Gold,Reds)
-Garlic(various)
-Beets
-Squash
-Black Eye Peas(unreliable)
Experiments:
-Baby Watermelon
-Okra
Fruits and Berries
-Asian Pears: 20th Century, very productive
-Apples:Liberty, Akane, very productive; Gala and Red Delicious were unsuited
-Cherries: tried 6 varieties and none of them really produced very well, a lot of work
-Plums, Shiro produced well, but Toka did not
-Peaches: Saturn/Donut peach was unreliable and suffered leaf curl
-Berries: Blue berries, strawberries, rasberries all do pretty well
-Grapes: Lakemount
Experiment:
Jiro Persimmon
Fig Tree
Resources
Websites:
http://www.columbiacountymastergardeners.org/
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/category_search.php?searchCat=vegetable%20growing
http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/index.cfm
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/grow/grow/
Books:
“Better Vegetable Gardens the Chinese Way”, Peter Chan
“How to Grow More Vegetables”, John Jeavons
“Garden Rhythm”, Liz Dent
Growing Vegetables West of The Cascades”, Steve Solomon
“No-Work Garden Book”, Ruth Stout
“Rodales Garden Problem Solver”, Jeff Ball
“The Handbook of Northwest Gardening”, Ann Lovejoy
“Secrets to Great Soil”, Elizabeth Stell
“Growing Fruit & Vegetables” Richard Bird
Other:
OSU Extension Agent, Columbia Cnty: 503-397-3462