Greens in February

Cari Ortolani,

 Who told you that outdoor homegrown lettuce is out of the question in cold regions such as Connecticut during February? Certainly not a spirited gardener that isn’t afraid of cold weather, even though this year has been quite mild. Not only lettuce has thrived in my cold frames,  but kohlrabi, garlic greens, scallions, spinach, parsley, rucola and Swiss chard as well.

Growing greens in cold frames means not having to buy these items throughout the year. My wife and I have green salads practically every night and it all comes from the cold frame. Incidentally, this year I broke my own record by keeping tomatoes until Valentine’s Day and made a salad with Principe Borghese tomatoes, rucola, spinach, 3 types of lettuce, scallions, beets, goat’s cheese, crushed walnuts and a little balsamic vinegar.

Utilizing cold frames is not difficult when you plan ahead, and the rewards are endless. Plus it stretches your growing season by 25%, and, instead of harvesting 3 yields during the season, you can have four. What could be better than growing your own toxin-free, homegrown organic produce? Try, you’ll be happy you did.

Yesterday I started my workshop on Growing Seeds Organically which was received enthusiastically – next Saturday’s class will be on Pruning, and I’m pleased that the class is already full.

Check my article on the upcoming issue of the CONNECTICUT GARDENER.

Grazie,

Nick Mancini, the organic Italian

Spraying fruit trees during winter is essential

Buon Anno, ortolani fieri, 

Most new gardeners have the notion that the growing season ends with the first fall frost, without realizing that gardening is a hobby/occupation, that occupies your time the entire 12 months of the year, yes, even during winter. My cold frames aside, which provide us with greenery, other chores need to be carried out to be a successful gardener. Those that hang up their boots in late October are not wholeheartedly into organic gardening, or into vegetable and fruit gardening.

Take for instance this past Saturday and Sunday, when the temperature in mid-January in Connecticut reached 60ºF (16ºC), and while inspecting my espaliered red delicious apples, I discovered a few branches had wooly aphids. I could have left it alone and relied on the cold to destroy it, but I knew it wouldn’t because the covering usually keeps them safe. I had already sprayed a dose of horticultural oil on that particular plant before Thanksgiving, but, I either missed the area, or the oil wasn’t effective. Either way, I had to roll up my sleeves and use what my grandfather used in our garden back in the old county – Bordeaux mix.

Bordeaux mix is a strange fungicide, and those unfamiliar with it find it difficult to mix because the portions are not equal as far as volume; they are measured by weight. That’s why it takes 3 tablespoons of copper sulfate to 10 tablespoons of hydrated lime per gallon of dechlorinated water. At times I also use Lime-Sulfur during winter when the trees are dormant. Just make sure the whole tree, including the trunk is covered thoroughly. I use my 4 Gal. (15 liters) backpack sprayer and need about 8 Gal. (30 liters) of the mixture to cover 4 espaliered, and 3 dwarf apples, plus 1 espaliered Asian and 2 dwarf pear trees. I also apply it on the dwarf cherry, peach and both espaliered and conventionally grown apricot trees, not to mention the grape arbor that produces Vinifera type white grapes.

Aphids are not that destructive to fruit trees, nonetheless, maintaining a sanitary backyard orchard is necessary to prevent insects and pathogens from reoccurring during the incoming spring.

Ci risentiamo,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

Make it Green

Buon Venerdi Verde,

Let’s call today Green Friday instead of Black, and no, I haven’t spent the night waiting outside Wall-Mart or any other megastore waiting for their doors to open, my focus is on gardening. During the week I erected my dismountable cold frame (4×8 feet) on top of the raised bed which I already have sown rucola and spinach. After having sprinkled a little organic 10-10-10 and a dusting of Aragonite in the area to be planted, this morning I transplanted scallions, kohlrabi, parsley, red and green lettuce, so my wife and I can enjoy it throughout the winter.

 I have built the sides of this cold frame out of 1 ½” Styrofoam, and its top with 2” wooden laths covered with heavy-gage clear plastic, not the opaque plastics sheathing used by painters to catch paint drippings. For now, the enclosure gives the plants adequate protection.  During the bitter winter nights, I’ll drape the top with a piece of discarded carpet padding, or hang a spotlight with 100 watt incandescent bulb inside it.

I have two additional cold frames bulging  with endive, escarole, beets, broccoli, garlic greens sown from true-seeds or bulbils, and other  cold resistant crops. The rest of my raised beds, other than the one used to grow saffron, are sown with organic winter rye to protect the soil from eroding and to add nutrients.

If you have any questions in regard to the cold frame of what crop to grow, feel free to email me.

Remember,  a four season garden is productive, fun, challenging, and good for your health. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s not too late to start.

Ciao,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

Protecting fig trees

Ciao, Ortolani,

 The cold is finally descending upon us, and fig growers in cold regions are scrambling to cover their prized trees for the winter months, unless they are grown in containers and brought inside until spring. I do both. The one in the container I keep reasonably small and bring it in at this time of the year. The one in my garden, which happens to be an offshoot of my great grandfather’s “Latterula” back in Italy, I painstakingly handle with great care.

Like most fig trees that people grow in my area, Southern New England, happen to be Brown Turkey or Celeste. The two subtropical relatives are somewhat more cold resistant varieties than mine, nonetheless, I have been successful in wintering it for decades.

This is what I do religiously every fall and want to share it with you. So, if you’re a beginner, or not a beginner and enjoy this wonderful delicacy, but haven’t been successful so far, this is how I keep mine from freezing.

1. Place a perforated PVC or metal pipe in the ground, vertically in middle of the tree.
2. Bunch the branches tightly around the pipe and tie them with a strong twine.
3. Build a structure around the tree with 2×4” (5×10 cm) studs anchored at the bottom.
4. Cover all sides with 1” (2.5 cm) foil face Styrofoam; use screw to fasten.
5. Cover the top and make sure the perforated pipe is sticking above the insulation.
6. Place a small pipe at the bottom of the structure for cross ventilation so the condensation that may build up inside during warm days won’t freeze at night and kill your plant. This pipe can be temporarily plugged during the very cold period and unclogged once the temperature rises.
7. Wrap the entire structure with a tarp, but make sure the PVC sticks above the tarp and the pipe at the base is not obstructed.
8. Seal it well so vermin cannot go inside and eat the bark.

I hope my blog has been helpful. If you need additional info, email me. And, if you have other  

suggestions, let me know so we can share them with our fellow gardeners.

Buone cose,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

Garlic Forever

Cari Ortolani,

A couple of weeks ago I talked about amending my soil with compost and a 5-10-10 organic fertilizer in anticipation of sowing my garlic. I also sprinkled a little Aragonite since the raised beds are somewhat new and not fully balanced to my satisfaction. This past week, I collected 5 leaf bags full of white pine needles to mulch my garlic and shallots. I used pine needles because they’re light, let oxygen filter through and will not mat down as much as other mulches, especially leaves, plus, they’re free and plentiful at this time of the year.

Since my soil already has nutrients, the only other amendment I use is Azomite. This product contains over 67 trace minerals beneficial to plants and animals, and nowadays is a standard supplement in garlic beds for knowledgeable gardeners.

Yesterday I sowed over 100 regular cloves of Organic German Whites, plus another 100 cloves of my second year garlic, which I start either from true seeds or builbils during the previous fall.

Since I live in zone 5-6, I make my furrows 4” deep, sprinkle a dusting of Azomite, mix it in the soil with a cultivator and plant the cloves, then cover with soil without packing it down. The second year cloves I only sow  2” deep because they’re much smaller and may have trouble germinating if sown too deeply.

Afterwards, I erect a 4-5” poultry fence on the perimeters of my raised beds, cover the soil with 4-5” inches of pine needles and place a netting on top to prevent squirrels from digging. The short fence keeps the pine needles from blowing away and the little plants from being injured by frost. 

Ci  risentiamo, 

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ripening Tomatoes Indoors

Ciao , ortolani della nostra terra,

Once you’ve successfully shepherded tomato plants through the summer perils and the frost is about to descend and devastate whatever is left, roll up your sleeves and harvest the green fruit left on the vine before it’s too late.

Even in late October, if the frost hasn’t arrived yet, healthy plants should have the top 1/3 of the canopy full of green tomatoes that can be ripened and consumed until Holiday time. Even though most people feel satisfied of having had a bounty during the month of August, they don’t realize there are still three more months left to enjoy the most popular vegetable grown in backyard gardens throughout the world.

 For years I’ve seen friends and fellow gardeners wrap tomatoes in newspaper and unwrap them every once in a while to discover mold and rot. Bad habits are hard to shed. If you don’t like the taste of ink or moldy produce, there is an alternative.

Today is the dawn of a new day for new organic gardening enthusiasts and doing it the very old natural way is new again, plus it’s less labor intensive. If you want good tasting tomatoes, sever the stem of the plant at soil level, remove its leaves and hang it upside down in a shed, garage or basement, and enjoy the fruit of your labor for the remainder of the year. Tomatoes need a certain amount of air circulation to prevent spoilage when stored for a period of time, and this will give added air flow than if wrapped in newspaper, plus the stems supply additional nourishment before drying out. I’ve been practicing this technique for a while and it has worked quite well.

Ci risentiamo,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

 

 

It’s Garlic Time

Ciao, colleghi; 

Our garlic sowing time is fast approaching in the Northeast United States. During my Garlic/Saffron Presentation at the Westport Continuing Education Program the other night, I asked if anyone wanted to volunteer and concoct a formula with 3 organic fertilizers that I want to use for  my garlic beds. Without hesitation, Ellen, stood up, went to the board and ably formulated an approximate 5-10-10 comprised of ¾ parts Soybean Meal, 3 parts Collaidal Rock Phosphate and 2/3 parts Green Potash.

It amazed me that she achieved the results so quickly because this is a beginner’s class. Fertilizer companies suggest weighting the materials to be applied to the soil instead of measuring in ratios, nonetheless, we start out by measuring in parts until everyone understands the concept, which is not simple even for seasoned gardeners. Organic fertilizers are not complete fertilizers because most of them lack one or two major nutrients, therefore, one needs to learn such process to grow above average produce. 

I’ll explain why I use this NPK formula: 

Nitrogen Source – I like to use Soybean Meal (7-0.5-2.3) because the high level of nitrogen and potassium are released as the soybean meal breaks down, and this provides fertility over a period of time. Plus it’s an excellent fertilizer to incorporate into the soil when planting and transplanting. For side dressing during spring and summer consider the faster acting blood meal or fish meal.

Phosphorus –  Colloidal Rock Phosphate (0-3-0) is another of my favorite nutrients for two reasons. First because is a natural product made by surrounding clay particles with natural phosphate, which supplies minimal phosphorus but adds micronutrients to the soil. Second it’s water soluble and has faster access to root systems than other types of the same nutrient; it can be also be used as a foliar spray.

Potassium – Green Potash (0-0-15) a naturally accruing potash source derived from kelp. Greensand is added for the benefit of the trace minerals and potash. 

Next time we’ll talk about soil amendments and trace elements, 

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

 

 

 

Hot or Cold Composting?

Ciao, ortolani e giardinieri, 

            Since I only practice organic gardening, the most sensible way to compost for me is to do it as natural as possible, which is cold composting instead of hot, a technique that has tremendously improved the soil structure in my garden. This indispensable way of adding organic material to your soil has finally come into its own, in fact, my presentation at the  Hopp Ground Garden Club in Bedford, N.Y. yesterday was well attended and enthusiastically received, whereas, years ago, compost presentations were not even considered. Nowadays,  everyone is beginning to understand the benefits of  composting, and especially when using worms. 

 The following article on The Inside Dirty on Composting, written by Lisa Pierce Flores for life@home, described my views beautifully, and her interviewing me on the subject was skillfully translated by saying: 

Not all gardening experts are hot on the topic of hot composting. Nick Mancini, a master gardener who has presented seminars at Norwalk Community College, (CTNOFA) Northeast Organic Farmers Association and the Fairfield Farm Workshop, is among those who discourage the practice of hot composting. “The beneficial bacteria and fungi that attack pathogens cannot survive such heat,” Mancini says, meaning that your garden plants may be less sturdy than plants raised in cold-compost soil. Instead, Mancini advocates vermiculture, or worm composting, which he uses to enhance the soil at the gardens he maintains at his Westport home and the Westport Community Garden. He also tends a vermiculture-nourished garden with the help of preschool children at the Child Development Laboratory School at NCC.

Vermiculture, Mancini says, “conditions the soil and adds nutritional value,” while the beneficial microorganisms retained throughout the process “give plants more stability and resistance to pathogens.” 

Ci risentiamo,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

Harvesting your Asian Pears

Ciao, ortolani,

It’s that time of the year when our usual rewards, other than the pleasure we derive from gardening, can be multiplied by growing fruit trees in our landscape, and most definitely organic Asian pears. This added feature is not difficult to achieve, even in small properties such as mine. The beautiful apple lookalike fruit with the texture of apples and the crispiness of pears ripen in mid to late September in my zone, are delicious, and very expensive to purchase in supermarkets, plus, you’re assure they are 100% organic.

Asian pears are practically insect and disease free, and espaliering them into an attractive form can easily be achieved to give an extra dimension to your garden. The beauty of these trees is that they are ornamental, easy to reach and can be planted along fences and walkways. In addition, they produce full size fruits, and abundantly, year after year.

 Other than my espaliered dwarf  Chojuro, which is about 18 years old, I’ve grafted some of its shoots onto my Bartlett Pear tree for added pollination. Asian Pears, like conventional Cultivars can be easily maintained, and every garden will greatly benefit whether aesthetically or otherwise; if you only choose one, make sure there is another compatible variety nearby to help with pollination.

Since my gardening is totally organic, I only spray horticultural oil twice during the dormant season, and an organic fungicide/insecticide at pre and post bloom. The rest of the year these magnificent specimens that produce white flowers and succulent fruit, manage well without my intervention, and to my delight, the fruit can be stored in a fridge for at least a couple of months.

 If you haven’t tried growing pear trees in your garden, now is a good time to start. Purchase bare root trees from reputable companies, plant them before winter sets in, and hopefully you’ll enjoy the fruit of your labor until you’re a hundred.

Con buona salute,

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian

 

Grow Saffron in Connecticut? Why not!

Ciao, ortolani senza paura;

A student at my Organic Gardening Workshop was complaining this past Saturday about her saffron plants not coming up, and assumed the supplier had sent her a defective batch, or she had planted them incorrectly. This usually happens the first year when this little indestructible corm (Crocus sativus), will emerge at different times depending on how deep it was sown or affected by the temperature in that particular  zone. Remember, there are two types of fall crocuses, but do not buy autumn meadow crocuses (Calchicum autumnale), which are inedible; a good way to differentiate the two varieties is, calchicums have 6 stamens, whereas saffron corms only have 3. 

 I’ve been growing saffron for over 10 years and have several hundred plants growing in my vegetable and flower gardens, plus in several pots. Once the plant dies down in June, I do not water or fertilize.  Overwatering signals the bulb to emerge, and fertilization will induce the bulb to produce more foliage and fewer flowers when it finally breaks dormancy in late September. In mid September, I prepare the soil by surface grubbing, which breaks the crust, aerates the soil and gets rid of the weeds, if necessary, although I keep my beds almost weed-free.

 When the foliage begin to surface, it’s a good time to start watering again, and soon after the grass-like vegetation appears, you’re rewarded with a slew of purple flowers and red stamens.

At this point do not over fertilize but keep it watered. If necessary, use organic water soluble fertilizers or organic foliar sprays. 

Ci risentiamo, 

Nick Mancini, The Organic Italian