Why should you be going to you local coffee shop? Well, beyond the need for a caffeinated hot beverage to ward off winter chill, you should be going for the FREE coffee grounds to perk up your garden.
Why use coffee grounds? Because they are rich in Nitrogen, they acidify soil (essential in Colorado where the soil and water are so basic that blueberries cannot thrive without serious amendment), they encourage worm migration into the area being mulched, they add organic matter to the soil, they are pre-shredded, as mulch they look great, and best of all they are FREE!
Map out a route to collect from multiple coffee shops in a single day to make the trip economically beneficial. My route is planned so that I add no extra distance to my after work pick up the kids and head home circuit that happens at the end of the day. In this modified course I am able to visit seven coffee houses (five of which are Starbucks). You will need to retrain your baristas to save the grounds and to double bag them for you and this may take a week or so of consistent visits but they will be happy to let you have what you need if you are kind, polite and discreet. (don't shout "THANKS FOR THE GROUNDS!!" while slinging a leaky bag over your shoulder and heading out)
Why now in the winter time??? This is the most obvious question that I am asked by the coffee house employees. The answer is more subtle than "got nothin better to do..." In fact the grounds can be applied to areas when the snow is melted and the freeze/thaw cycles will help to start incorporating and breaking down the particles into the soil amending it naturally and prepping it for the upcoming season. If your ground is completely coated in snow then save the bags by stacking them in a corner. They will freeze and keep nicely until the thaw giving you time to accumulate enough to mulch with.
This brings us to the question: How much do you need? This varies depending on many variables but I have found that a nice sized bag with about twenty lbs of wet grounds will mulch about two square feet to a depth of an inch and a half. This means that I will need to collect six such bags every day for the following month or so in order to mulch my strawberry beds, around my hardy kiwi, in my blueberry containers, and in the annual beds in the front of my house. (about two cubic yards)
Berry plants of most any variety prefer neutral to slightly acidic soil even those that are tolerant of more basic soil types and low growing berries such as strawberries, emerald carpet, wintergreen, and cranberries additionally benefit from the fact that slugs hate the coarseness and caffeine compounds in the coffee grounds.
They can be used to 'green' up your compost pile in a fall build up of brown carbon materials, and they replenish many trace minerals into the soil as they decay. Some people like to add water to the grounds in a bucket and let them steep for about a day and then pour the phase II coffee directly onto the plants such as fruit trees for a gentle nitrogen boost. I have found that more than anything this technique neutralizes the alkalinity of my water before giving it to sensitive plants such as blueberries.
Where not to use them? Use them sparingly in your general raised beds or anywhere the plants prefer an alkaline soil. Cabbages, broccoli, and other leafy cool weather greens do not like the acidity. If using them as mulch like I am I have heard that some people like to add dry crushed leaves to break up the tendency of the grounds to cake up and form a crust. (I don't worry about this as it helps with weed control.)
Even if you don't drink coffee, remember that this is an excellent resource that will become landfill if not leveraged for your own use in the garden.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Micro Climates
The past ten days have delivered a cold spell here in Greeley which have allowed me to conduct a study of my yard in the infra-red spectrum. I have been venturing out with a laser point infrared thermometer and measuring the temperatures of key areas in my landscape during the daily light cycle during the shortest days of the season in order to find out exactly what climates are present. I recorded the temperatures on south facing walls, near the foundation, and on the north side of the property in the shade in order to start understanding my property in greater detail.
This is what I learned:
1. I have several micro-climates that will maintain a soil temperature of 25 degrees F even during -2 F night temps.
2. There are some places around my foundation which supported live red onions all of the way until the 27th of December. This was possible despite 20 degree temperatures and severe winds.
3. The thermal mass from a south facing wall in my back yard is sufficient to warm nearby soil to melt snow even into the evening during sustained cold temperatures below 20 F.
So, what do I plan to do with this knowledge? I want to run an experiment with a Fig tree in the warmest micro-climate. I believe that it might take as much as three years to get to the point where it will yield however, I am patient and the addition of figs to my edible landscape will be fantastic!!
You could do a similar experiment with an infrared thermometer. There is still time in the dark winter season to find the temperature differentials of the micro-climates in your outdoor space. You might find miniature zones as much as two gradients higher lurking somewhere that could be used to plant that exotic that no-one knew was possible.
This is what I learned:
1. I have several micro-climates that will maintain a soil temperature of 25 degrees F even during -2 F night temps.
2. There are some places around my foundation which supported live red onions all of the way until the 27th of December. This was possible despite 20 degree temperatures and severe winds.
3. The thermal mass from a south facing wall in my back yard is sufficient to warm nearby soil to melt snow even into the evening during sustained cold temperatures below 20 F.
So, what do I plan to do with this knowledge? I want to run an experiment with a Fig tree in the warmest micro-climate. I believe that it might take as much as three years to get to the point where it will yield however, I am patient and the addition of figs to my edible landscape will be fantastic!!
You could do a similar experiment with an infrared thermometer. There is still time in the dark winter season to find the temperature differentials of the micro-climates in your outdoor space. You might find miniature zones as much as two gradients higher lurking somewhere that could be used to plant that exotic that no-one knew was possible.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
I am back from boot camp and the yard looks great!!
First I would like to thank my loyal readers for not deleting me during my summer absence.
The U.S. Army honored me with an opportunity to take part in boot camp this summer where I immersed myself in the army culture and lost about twelve pounds. My edible yard was left in the capable hands of my ten year old son Quinton and my wife Shona. The Greeley Master Gardeners placed my yard on the tour this year and I was conspicuously no where to be found on the day of the tour. My family and friends spent the week before the show trimming, mowing and pulling weeds in order to get the place presentable. I received text messages updating me about the comments and questions from visitors (more than two hundred) who walked through my yard that day.
I cannot describe the anxiety that was fostered by being away and unable to control any variables relating to the success or failure of presenting my message (through my yard) to hundreds of strangers there to scrutinize my plants, my design, my ideas. In short nothing less than my artistic integrity was on the line. I don't think that I am exaggerating when I say this. Greeley tends to be a place where people judge and remember your every public appearance and they tend to relay stories so that they spread and stick like hot honey on mini toast. I was very nervous with those annoying questions that populate your thoughts only when there is absolutely no way you could do anything about it anyway.
Did I program the drip timer adequately to compensate for the increasing day length and temperatures?
Do the boys know all of the plants?
What if someone needs specifics information?
What if?
I had a very generous reader who volunteered to continue the blog in my leave but I was unable to coordinate this with her and I hope that her feelings were not hurt. I had very limited access to internet and the outside world at Fort Sill. I really appreciated the offer though. I liked the idea. Maybe next time.
Back to the show and my yard.
I was nervous but that night my wife, my dad, and the local nursery owner all left messages on my cell phone letting me know that the show was excellent. I felt so proud of my family. My sons gave the tours. Shona had prepared the vegetable gardens and had painted the front yard with exotic red lettuces and black pearl basil. Feedback was so positive in fact that the local paper was at my house three days after my return to do a feature on my edible landscape complete with pictures and further promotion of my message.
This experience proved something profound to me though. One of the biggest reasons that people have lackluster outdoor spaces is because they don't want to care for fruit trees, or cultivate a garden, or plant seeds, harvest, put food up, or quest for self sufficiency. Perhaps if properly done an edible landscape can be mostly hands free. Perhaps the key to having a yard that can be managed is in the design.
My space utilizes drip on every plant including the vegetable gardens and the hanging plants. This eliminates the need for hand watering. My design concepts include a philosophy of "right of way" - let me explain.
Strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries have the right of way. If they spread into lawn areas the grass is eliminated and the berries get the space. I adjust to accommodate the increased yield of fresh berries. This allows my landscape design to flex and change to suit the needs of the plants.
Right of Way saves me the frustration of attempting to control plants that I planted because they were aggressive and tenacious in the first place. Adopting this philosophy saves time and increases success in the edible landscape.
The orchard is allowed summer growth without pruning. I prune in winter to open the canopy of the tree without stunting growth. Winter pruning invigorates the tree and encourages growth and fruit production. Pruning in the winter frees me from heat of the summer work.
Planting companion plants that control pests reduces the need for chemical sprays.
I started my yard with a foundation of planters mix for a minimum of 12" of topsoil enriched with compost and organics and thus the plants do not have a need for fertilizers. Once again this detail at the very beginning reduces the maintenance.
In summary I think that the lessons learned from my hiatus are related to the initial design and early planning. Retrofitting a landscape may actually create some new work and maintenance requiring the person taking a leap forward toward self sufficiency to make the commitment and follow through. If you have the luxury like I did to start from the ground up I would really pay attention to the foundation first. Bring in enough top soil and install all of the irrigation for every plant including those still in the catalog before you plant your first seed.
Your landscape will pay you back someday - maybe while you are doing pushups in Oklahoma.
The U.S. Army honored me with an opportunity to take part in boot camp this summer where I immersed myself in the army culture and lost about twelve pounds. My edible yard was left in the capable hands of my ten year old son Quinton and my wife Shona. The Greeley Master Gardeners placed my yard on the tour this year and I was conspicuously no where to be found on the day of the tour. My family and friends spent the week before the show trimming, mowing and pulling weeds in order to get the place presentable. I received text messages updating me about the comments and questions from visitors (more than two hundred) who walked through my yard that day.
I cannot describe the anxiety that was fostered by being away and unable to control any variables relating to the success or failure of presenting my message (through my yard) to hundreds of strangers there to scrutinize my plants, my design, my ideas. In short nothing less than my artistic integrity was on the line. I don't think that I am exaggerating when I say this. Greeley tends to be a place where people judge and remember your every public appearance and they tend to relay stories so that they spread and stick like hot honey on mini toast. I was very nervous with those annoying questions that populate your thoughts only when there is absolutely no way you could do anything about it anyway.
Did I program the drip timer adequately to compensate for the increasing day length and temperatures?
Do the boys know all of the plants?
What if someone needs specifics information?
What if?
I had a very generous reader who volunteered to continue the blog in my leave but I was unable to coordinate this with her and I hope that her feelings were not hurt. I had very limited access to internet and the outside world at Fort Sill. I really appreciated the offer though. I liked the idea. Maybe next time.
Back to the show and my yard.
I was nervous but that night my wife, my dad, and the local nursery owner all left messages on my cell phone letting me know that the show was excellent. I felt so proud of my family. My sons gave the tours. Shona had prepared the vegetable gardens and had painted the front yard with exotic red lettuces and black pearl basil. Feedback was so positive in fact that the local paper was at my house three days after my return to do a feature on my edible landscape complete with pictures and further promotion of my message.
This experience proved something profound to me though. One of the biggest reasons that people have lackluster outdoor spaces is because they don't want to care for fruit trees, or cultivate a garden, or plant seeds, harvest, put food up, or quest for self sufficiency. Perhaps if properly done an edible landscape can be mostly hands free. Perhaps the key to having a yard that can be managed is in the design.
My space utilizes drip on every plant including the vegetable gardens and the hanging plants. This eliminates the need for hand watering. My design concepts include a philosophy of "right of way" - let me explain.
Strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries have the right of way. If they spread into lawn areas the grass is eliminated and the berries get the space. I adjust to accommodate the increased yield of fresh berries. This allows my landscape design to flex and change to suit the needs of the plants.
Right of Way saves me the frustration of attempting to control plants that I planted because they were aggressive and tenacious in the first place. Adopting this philosophy saves time and increases success in the edible landscape.
The orchard is allowed summer growth without pruning. I prune in winter to open the canopy of the tree without stunting growth. Winter pruning invigorates the tree and encourages growth and fruit production. Pruning in the winter frees me from heat of the summer work.
Planting companion plants that control pests reduces the need for chemical sprays.
I started my yard with a foundation of planters mix for a minimum of 12" of topsoil enriched with compost and organics and thus the plants do not have a need for fertilizers. Once again this detail at the very beginning reduces the maintenance.
In summary I think that the lessons learned from my hiatus are related to the initial design and early planning. Retrofitting a landscape may actually create some new work and maintenance requiring the person taking a leap forward toward self sufficiency to make the commitment and follow through. If you have the luxury like I did to start from the ground up I would really pay attention to the foundation first. Bring in enough top soil and install all of the irrigation for every plant including those still in the catalog before you plant your first seed.
Your landscape will pay you back someday - maybe while you are doing pushups in Oklahoma.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Spring so far.
Spring is here and I have been absolutely slammed trying to get the yard ready for show, finish school responsibilities and I leave in exactly two weeks for the Army Warrior Transition Course for six weeks leaving my yard in the capable hands of my ten year old son Quinton.
My progress has been good. I have added another 320 square foot of garden space by adding another level of terraces matching the western beds. Shona and I prepped the beds and she has now planted most everything veggie wise for the upcoming season. We are going heavy on the green beans this year hoping to be able to can at least sixty quarts to last the winter. I added some new trellises on the fence for the pole beans. I custom made these from 1200 lb stainless steel cable coated in 200 mil black nylon. This is the same stuff I use for my espalier and it works really nice as it is very gentle on the plants and very durable. I added two more bench storage seats and two large planter boxes that hold a yard of material apiece. These I filled 50/50 with Happy Life Garden's ultimate planter mix which contains the leftover mulch materials from the Budwieser plant with half peat moss so that I could plant my two brand new Patriot Blueberry shrubs. These will hopefully provide a good amount of fruit next year.
I have added a guomi berry, two autumn olives, twenty thimble berries, twenty salmon berries, and a high-bush cranberry seedling. I additionally have added a few rubarb plants gifted to me by Jason (thank you Jason). He also gave me some of his raspberry plants to add some genetic diversity to the measly four cultivars that I already had. I planted some Jerusaelem artichoke and two yellowhorn trees. I believe that these will be nice for the food as well as the flowers when they mature and get established.
On the western shady side of my house I have added a few new experiments. I planted some bunchberry - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunchberry
These should prove to be very cool if they survive. I also planted wintergreen, and an orange spice creeping thyme which smells fantastic.
I dove into some mycoculture and have made about twenty mushroom logs including some pearl oyster and lion's mane. I have placed these next to the royal ferns which I am hoping will get big enough that eventually I will be able to harvest fiddle-heads.
Finally I have added a clump of sunset glow bamboo under a drain spout on the west side of the house. I would love to see this get big. I like bamboo shoots and the canes would be very useful in making trellises later.
Up next: iron trellis for the Kiwi. more benches, and pictures for the blog. What a couple of weeks.......hah.
My progress has been good. I have added another 320 square foot of garden space by adding another level of terraces matching the western beds. Shona and I prepped the beds and she has now planted most everything veggie wise for the upcoming season. We are going heavy on the green beans this year hoping to be able to can at least sixty quarts to last the winter. I added some new trellises on the fence for the pole beans. I custom made these from 1200 lb stainless steel cable coated in 200 mil black nylon. This is the same stuff I use for my espalier and it works really nice as it is very gentle on the plants and very durable. I added two more bench storage seats and two large planter boxes that hold a yard of material apiece. These I filled 50/50 with Happy Life Garden's ultimate planter mix which contains the leftover mulch materials from the Budwieser plant with half peat moss so that I could plant my two brand new Patriot Blueberry shrubs. These will hopefully provide a good amount of fruit next year.
I have added a guomi berry, two autumn olives, twenty thimble berries, twenty salmon berries, and a high-bush cranberry seedling. I additionally have added a few rubarb plants gifted to me by Jason (thank you Jason). He also gave me some of his raspberry plants to add some genetic diversity to the measly four cultivars that I already had. I planted some Jerusaelem artichoke and two yellowhorn trees. I believe that these will be nice for the food as well as the flowers when they mature and get established.
On the western shady side of my house I have added a few new experiments. I planted some bunchberry - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunchberry
These should prove to be very cool if they survive. I also planted wintergreen, and an orange spice creeping thyme which smells fantastic.
I dove into some mycoculture and have made about twenty mushroom logs including some pearl oyster and lion's mane. I have placed these next to the royal ferns which I am hoping will get big enough that eventually I will be able to harvest fiddle-heads.
Finally I have added a clump of sunset glow bamboo under a drain spout on the west side of the house. I would love to see this get big. I like bamboo shoots and the canes would be very useful in making trellises later.
Up next: iron trellis for the Kiwi. more benches, and pictures for the blog. What a couple of weeks.......hah.
Monday, April 12, 2010
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