All posts by Jordan Charbonneau

Garden Advice

7 Awesome Varieties Returning to SESE This Year

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It’s that time of year again! The new 2018 Southern Exposure catalog is coming out and gardeners everywhere are browsing varieties and dreaming up big plans for springtime.

At Southern Exposure a lot of work goes into selecting and growing each and every variety we offer. However there’s a few varieties returning to SESE this year that we think are worthy of a shout out.

Grandma Nellie’s Yellow Mushroom Bean

First off is these awesome heirloom beans. The original seed was given to SESE by Marge Mozelisky which had been handed down to her from her grandmother. This unique variety is a pole snap bean with the distinct characteristic of tasting a bit like mushrooms when cooked. If you’re looking for an easy fun bean this spring these are a heavy yielders and ready to harvest in just 56 days.

Amish Snap Tall Pea

This heirloom variety predates more modern sugar snap varieties but is still sweet and vigorous. It’s always a springtime favorite as it can be sown as soon as soil can be worked in the spring and is ready to harvest in just 62 days.

Georganic Peanut 

While this is a newer variety it has still quickly earned a place in our hearts. Georganic Peanuts were developed specifically with organic growers in mind. They have sprawling runner growth that helps to prevent weeds and excellent disease resistance. Their red-skinned seeds have good flavor and they do best when grown in the deep south.

Purple Dragon Carrot

This variety, bred by John Navazio, is SESE’s favorite purple carrot. They’re ready to harvest in 80 days and offer consistent color and great flavor. Their exterior is purple while their interior is bright orange or yellow. They also offer a sweet almost, “wild” spicy flavor and good storage ability.

Australian Brown Bulb Onion

One of the best onions for extended storage this variety is an Australian heirloom dating back to before 1897. It takes 100 days to be ready to harvest and has mild white flesh and thick amber-brown skin. Pick this one to help stock your pantry for the year!

Sea Island Brown Cotton

Sea Island Brown is a lovely heirloom cotton that is believed to be a cross between Sea Island White and an unknown brown variety. This cotton offers “naked seeds” which are easy to remove from the lint and has longer fiber than other browns. Spun up it has a bit of shine. It grows 5-6ft tall and is ready to harvest in approximately 135 days.

M-101 Rice

This unique rice can be grown as an upland or paddy rice and is ready to harvest in 120 days. The plants are vigorous, grow about 3ft tall, resist lodging, and have excellent cold tolerance in the seedling and reproductive stage. It does require more nitrogen than heirloom rice.

 

Choosing seeds can be fun but it’s never easy to decide on varieties. We hope at SESE you’ll find awesome heirloom and modern varieties to suit your gardens specific needs and your garden dreams.

Also keep an eye on the blog or browse the website or catalog in the coming weeks to learn about varieties that are completely new to SESE this year!

Garden Advice

Easy, Affordable Hoop House Options

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Garage Frame Hoop House

Hoop houses or high tunnels are excellent season extenders. They can keep you family in fresh greens all year round or give you the earliest tomatoes in the neighborhood. Unfortunately they can be pricey. Here’s a few simple options for creating affordable hoop houses.

Garage Frame High Tunnel

One of the easiest options is to use an old garage or storage building frame. If you see one for cheap or free on craigslist or your local classifieds, scoop it up! These are perfect for making small high tunnels with the little effort it takes to frame in the ends and add a door and plastic. The example pictured above was picked up for free, has a free used door, scrap lumber was used to frame in the ends, and the plastic was clamped to the piping using small sections of PVC pipe with slits cut in them.

Conduit High Tunnel

If you like the idea of the storage building hoop house but can’t find a used one you might consider making your own from conduit. Conduit is relatively inexpensive and can be bent at home using a homemade frame.

Cattle Panel High Tunnel

Another option is to use cattle or hog panels as the main frame. The panels are bent over and staked at each end. Like the other hoops you’ll still want to frame up the end and add a door. These are also a nice option because they’re easy to dismantle and move even if you’re a one person garden operation.

Low Tunnels

If you find none of these options work for you or you just don’t need a high tunnel, try a low tunnel! For low tunnels all you need is some hoops to bend over a garden bed and plastic. The hoops can be made from conduit, PVC, or even flexible wood from your property (just make sure to shave/sand off any spots that might tear the plastic). If you have a traditional garden the hoops can just be shoved into the ground on either side of the bed. Alternatively for raised beds you can add holders like slightly larger sections of PVC to the side of the bed to slide the hoops in and out of for easy set up and removal. Those holders could also be be driven into the ground for the same purpose. These low tunnel hoops also double as a way to cover crops with shade cloth to keep them cool or protect them from insects.

Purchasing Plastic

There’s a few considerations to keep in mind whatever frame you choose. First even though the rest of your hoop may be cheap or free you do want to invest in good quality plastic. Cheap plastic will only cost you more in the long run when it needs frequent replacing. To find good plastic look for plastic that has a good UV rating (won’t deteriorate in the sun) and is fairly thick. If you live in a northern climate you’ll need to keep in mind that your plastic will have to stand up under snow loads. Most likely you’ll find good quality plastic must be sourced from an actual green house supplier. 

You’ll also want to make sure you purchase enough plastic for your project. Note that even though some large hoop houses have solid ends, your hoop house will be more effective with plastic or another type of clear material on the ends. So don’t forget to take the ends into consideration when purchasing plastic. You should also be sure to order a bit extra to leave room for error.

Ventilation

Another feature you’ll want to consider on any type of greenhouse is a way to vent it. High and low tunnels will get hotter faster than you’d think. Being able to allow cool air in as needed is vital to prevent damage to plants. Good air circulation is also important to preventing fungus and disease. For high tunnels you may want to add doors and windows on each end or fashion sides that roll or fold up. On smaller hoop houses you can just make the lower part of the plastic sides easily detachable and fold it up and inward (if you fold it outward it will fill with rainwater). Obviously for low tunnels venting them is very easy because you can simply fold back the plastic but it is even more important.

Choosing a Site

Lastly it’s you’ll need to decided where you want to place your hoop house. It can be especially handy to have them close to the house in springtime when you’ll be spending a lot of time checking on and caring for seedlings. You’ll also want to ensure that one of the longer sides is facing south allowing the high tunnel as much sun as possible especially in the winter months.

Hoop houses do not have to be just for big farms! With a little effort you can create an affordable backyard hoop house even on a tiny property. Growing food in a high tunnel can help increase your year round self sufficiency and help you grow varieties that really like it hot and humid. Up your gardening game and start building!

Garden Advice

11 Ways to Make Your Garden More Eco-Friendly This Year

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Of course growing your own food is in itself environmentally friendly. Food from a backyard garden uses significantly less fossil fuels than produce from the grocery store. It’s not kept refrigerated for days or shipped halfway around the world. Garden gravel has been used for several years, but today is becoming even more popular.

It has many colors starting from grey, black, white, and even red. Larger stones are often incorporated into the landscape almost like statues. If designed properly, it can add much beauty to a yard or pathway.

There are many benefits of getting gravel during a garden. Gravel features a low maintenance. a touch raking or leveling bent make it even again is basically all it needs. the fabric may be a wonderful thanks to conserve water because it can act as a mulch. it’s a natural beauty which may depart the sweetness of the plants. Gravel is additionally an efficient thanks to cover irregularly shaped areas. Cost is inexpensive in comparison to paving or a lawn.

Gravel are often purchased in an array of shapes and colours from any nearby garden centre. It also has various types like pea-gravel, true gravel which is crushed stone, and stone clippings. the sort of gravel you opt to use will depend upon your location. Since it’s such a weighty material, most garden stores only get gravel that’s more locally available. You can also check here garden centres near me.

The plants which will grow well in gravel are many. You can know more about such plants and get more gardening tips on www.unclutterer.com. It’s usually recommended that you simply plant species that don’t shed leaves, as this may help to stay maintenance easy. It also looks quite pretty once you use plants that are a contrast to the stones used. you furthermore may must decide whether you would like the garden during a shady or sunny spot. However, these aren’t steadfast rules. many of us plant differing types of plants including vegetables.

You need to make a decision if the planning are going to be formal or informal. it’s usually best, especially if you’re just starting to incorporate gravel into your garden, to stay it simple. confirm you opt what you would like to be your focal points before you start . you furthermore may must decide what proportion gravel you would like within the landscape. the planning could be as small as having gravel during a potted plant, to having the entire garden covered with gravel. you furthermore may might plan to have a pathway made up of gravel.

Backyard gardens still have there own impact though. Through growing food humans are impacting the environment. It doesn’t have to be a bad impact though. You can make your garden a benefit for the environment and species around you.

Install a rain barrel.

If you live somewhere that they’re legal a rain barrel can be a great addition to your garden. You can use water that would otherwise run into the ground.

Grow a pollinator garden.

Pollinator’s numbers are dwindling. They’re losing habitat and being killed by pesticides. You can help make life a little easier on them and encourage them to pollinate your plants by planting a pollinator garden with our handy guide.

Make compost.

Composting is easy and not as smelly as you’d think. You also don’t have to purchase a fancy bin. You can do something simple like a bin made of pallets or even no bin at all. Mother Earth News has a great article on composting here.

Use natural garden amendments.

Even certified organic chemical fertilizers and amendments are far from perfect. Using them can lead to excessive nutrient run-off causing algae blooms in nearby creeks.  Natural fertilizers like compost, plant materials, and wood ash are better alternatives. Check out more options here.

Use grey water.

Grey water is water thats been used in your sink or shower. In some places it’s legal to route this water to your garden rather than your septic tank and use this water to water fruit trees and bushes.

Grow cover crops.

Cover crops add nutrients to the soil without the risk of over fertilizing. They also add habitat for beneficial insects and microbes and prevent soil erosion.

Make your garden water efficient.

There’s a variety of methods to do this including adding swales, berms, and terraces to hold water. It’s also good to use drip irrigation rather than overhead which can evaporate. If you are in Salem area, then get some help from lawn care services salem oregon guys and they will guide you to make your garden water efficient.

Go no-till.

Gardens don’t actually need to be tilled if they’re managed properly. No-till gardening is actually better for soil health and uses no fuel like running a rototiller would!

Add mulch.

I talk about mulch all the time but it’s super important. As far as keeping your garden as eco-friendly as possible, mulch helps to hold in moisture, lessening the need for watering and helps prevent soil erosion. It also adds habitat for beneficial insects.

 

Add habitats for pollinators and beneficial insects.

The addition of pollinator and beneficial insect habitats can be great for your garden and them. You can find a lot of free plans on the internet for houses for beneficial creatures like birds, bats, toads, and insects. Many birds also appreciate a variety of different height plants to land on in the garden while birds and beneficial insects will utilize plant material left standing through the winter.

Utilize permaculture principles.

An entire book would be needed to explain permaculture but many of its principles can be used to help design a garden that works with nature to produce harvests without the need for large water or nutrient inputs. If you want an eco-friendly garden researching permaculture can help get you there.

 

All of our actions impact the world around us. Backyard gardens minimize some of the negative impacts that are found in our current food system but as growers we can choose to take that a step further and make our gardens as eco-friendly as possible.