We're finally making the turn into that good growing season weather!
Hardening Off:
Transplanting:
You are now ready for an abundant harvest ahead!
Spring is a great time to start designing, building, and filling your raised bed while the weather works to make up its mind. Keep in mind the average last frost date for your area before transplanting sensitive crops, and don’t forget to cover crop your raised bed in the fall so it is ready to go for the next growing season (Tilth Soil’s Garden to Bed Kit.).
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Follow SFK on Instagram or Facebook. If you are interested in learning more at home or in your classroom you can explore SFK’s Local Lessons for Growing Minds curriculum on Thinkific.
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First, soil. Not all potting soils are created equal. Mixes that contain predominantly peat moss tend to dry-out too quickly. Using compost on its own can result in a lack of readily available nutrients to jump-start seedlings. Topsoil can be unpredictable in its nutrients and water holding capabilities. It is best to select a seed starting mix that is well-balanced. This means it has good drainage, but still some water holding capabilities, has quick and slow release nutrients, and has good structure to allow roots to disperse. Tilth Soil’s organic seed starting mix, Sprout has all of the above, and will give your seedlings their best start.
Another important consideration with soil is the temperature. If your soil, not necessarily your air, is not within a seed’s desired range, it will not germinate. For example, peppers require a soil temperature between 70-80*, but lettuce only 60-75*. Generally seeds will not germinate well in soils below 55* and above 90*. This same principle applies when seeding directly into a garden bed as well. (Vegetable Seed Germination Temperatures is a great resource). Heating mats or germination chambers are a great way to ensure proper soil temperature and successful germination.
Next, water. Seeds need to be moist, not wet in order to germinate. When seeds are too wet they can rot, if they are too dry, they will sit dormant. Moist seeds/soil will produce the most desirable results by finding a happy medium. Wet soils tend to drip or are sitting in puddled water. Dry soils tend to be cracked or light brown on the surface. Moist soils like a daily misting and/or a dome on top of them to maintain moisture. If there is mold or algae growth, you likely need to ease-up on watering and increase airflow. Seedlings with a bit of movement at all times is a sign of proper air circulation.
Third, light. Some seeds require light to germinate, others do not. This is valuable information that should be present on your seed packet or in your seed catalog. However, ALL seeds need light once they have germinated. You may have enough light if you have an open south facing window or greenhouse. If you notice plants getting pale or leggy (long and reaching) you will need to provide supplemental light in the form of a wide or full spectrum bulb that can be purchased at most growing supply stores.
Not often discussed in a conversation about seed starting is seed selection. Despite choosing the right soil, finding a moisture balance, and getting light just right you may still have issues. This can be in large part to the seeds themselves. Seeds are living things. If they are not stored properly or too much time has passed, they may no longer be viable. When selecting which seeds to grow, the catalog or packet should say the germination percentage, light requirements, and days to maturity. Avoid seeds whose sources do not present this information. Also keep an eye out for varieties deemed easy to grow. Look for seeds in your grow zone, and only select items you will actually eat or use. It is best to avoid “giants” or really specialized/unique seeds as these require nuanced growing techniques that may result in disappointing germination or sprouting.
Lastly, look at a calendar. Quality seeds will state their days to maturity (time from seeding or transplant to harvest). Use this number to count backwards from your first frost free date - again, grow zones. You can assume you will start seeds at least 2-3 weeks prior to that frost free date, but some seeds like peppers and onions you can start 8 weeks in advance of that date. Know that some items may need to be potted-up (moved into a larger container) before planting outside, which will require more space, more light, and more soil.
While starting seeds from home can be a delight, it isn’t the best option for everyone. Seed starting can be nuanced, require supplies and space that may not be available to you, and is a learning experience where lots of mistakes can happen. There are likely professional growers in your area that sell plant starts and even larger plant sales that could supply all your needs. The difference in cents per seed to dollars per transplant might be well-worth not having to start seeds on your own, especially if you only want one or two plants and are now left with a seed packet with a limited shelf life. Local growers are your best source for quality plants. Grocery stores and home improvement stores typically source their starts from the west-coast, truck them around the country, and are maintained by minimally trained staff. If you decide not to start your own seeds please support a local grower by purchasing your transplants from them. Here are a handful to check out!
Want to learn more? Check out our Starting from Seed Workshop with Emily from Frayed Knot Farm.
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Through no-till practices, Birdsong Farm eliminated in-field tractor use entirely. Thereby reducing compaction (excessive weight pressing onto the ground, eliminating open spaces within soil structure). The results have been more than Matt could have imagined; reduced weeding, increased soil tilth, more beneficial insects, and crops able to cope with intense weather events (drought and excessive rain). Matt also notices an abundance of “cool” biodiversity from soil critters to mushrooms, and even variegation in plants. In the end, Matt’s decision to go no-till revitalized both him and his soil. If you’d like to see more of Birdsong Farm please follow on Instagram and Facebook.
]]>Located in Newbury, Ohio with just under an acre in active production, Frayed Knot Farm grows cut flowers, hanging baskets, seedlings, herbs, and vegetables. Emily’s farm is also home to a joint project with the Rust Belt Fibershed, shared cooler and pick-up access for other local growers, The Collab, designates areas strictly for pollinators, harvests rainwater, and is a venue for workshops that encourage creativity and connection with nature. If it isn’t obvious yet, we’ll state it, this lady cares deeply for the earth and her impact on it.
Emily utilizes compost, avoids synthetic pesticides and preservatives, and believes that as global warming disrupts our weather patterns, regional producers become increasingly more valuable and sought-after. This is why she is dedicating herself to full time ++ to develop her flower farm for the coming years.
In order to increase the resiliency of her farm, she starts with quality materials. All of her seedlings are grown in locally produced and compost-based, Sprout. seed starting mix from Tilth Soil. For a farm that is dependent upon rainwater collection, the water-holding capacity of Sprout is significantly better than the peat-based formulations she has used in the past.
She then transplants those seedlings into beds amended with local Wendell compost, made from landfill-diverted food scraps. The compost is also fine enough for her to direct-seed into as well. Throughout the season she responds to plant needs with natural amendments, but avoids tilling, and mulches extensively to keep the weeds down.
When it comes to the flowers themselves, she does not spray because she doesn’t want her, the folks who work on her farm, or customers to come into contact with anything harmful (Pesticides and Cut Flowers (nwf.org)). Additionally she appreciates and wants to encourage others to appreciate the entire essence of a flower; its beauty lies in its death. Flowers are only in bloom for a short time. Local flowers are different from imported, preservative-soaked, flowers because they require engagement. Engagement in the form of daily observation, a water change here and there, and a rearrangement of the most focal blooms each day.
This does not mean regional cut flowers are less than their imported counterparts, it simply means that they are a different product entirely, and should be cared for differently. In season flowers are beautiful because they can not be replicated, are indicative of the time of year, and fully represent the cycle of life and death.
For those growing cut flowers at home, Emily notes that it’s important to harvest flowers before they are fully open. This allows them to unfurl over a few days and extends their vase life. She also cautions to not get too excited about purchasing every variety in a seed catalog. Select a few, seed swap with others, and don’t overdo it. In case you don’t grow at home you can purchase Frayed Knot Farm’s CSA of weekly bouquets July through September.
For more information, visit www.frayedknotfarm.com, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.
]]>At River Plant Co., you’re bound to be greeted by a face full of plants and the smiling faces peering behind them. The staff is knowledgeable, the shop is beautiful, and there’s a little something for everyone, even if you claim to have a “black thumb”, which the River Plant Co. team assures, is not a real thing. They vehemently claim that, “anyone can plant!”, which has the same positive effect as Ratatouille Chef Gusteau’s, “anyone can cook!
Jennifer Hihn started River Plant Co. in her home. As a lover of plants and design from a young age, her hobby took over in the last few years as she began to set up buffet tables in her front room so neighbors and friends could shop for plants and paint pots. However her kids, dogs, and husband soon agreed that a different venue was in order. And so began the journey to 20161 Lake Rd. in Rocky River. However, Jennifer didn’t leave the homey feel behind, with her intentional set-up of cozy chairs, benches, and wall hangings all around the shop. She cultivates the “try it out” atmosphere where customers frequently shift things around to visualize how a large palm might fit behind their own living room set or how a pothos or string of pearls might elegantly drape over the edge of a coffee table.
River Plant Co. also supports other local and small businesses. Not only do they use and sell our locally made Tilth Soil house plant mix, they also host a small business every Saturday from 12-3pm. These businesses include photographers, bakers, macramé, and more. Additionally, their offerings continue with classes for children and adults from Terrarium building to clay pot painting. These offerings go hand in hand with their other retail items such as planters, pun-intended plant accessories, kitchenware, baskets, and candles.
But what about the plants? Plants abound from the rare black ZZ, to large Yucca palm, to small varieties of succulents, to easy to care for Snake plant and more! They have plants that are blooming, vining, spreading, poking, and seemingly growing out of thin air. And they keep all these plant babies going with Tilth Soil, both House and Sprout. Why? Because Tilth Soil has beneficial nematodes to mitigate fungus gnats, has adequate absorption and drainage to prevent “flooding”, and is made locally with food scrap compost! They recommend, if you’re new to being a plant parent, to try easy to care for plants like a snake plant (sansevieria), pothos (epipremnum aureum), or ZZ (zamioculcas zamiifolia) in a fresh pot with Tilth’s House mix to give them the best start.
Are you interested in carrying Tilth Soil in your retail store like River Plant Co.? Contact us today for wholesale pricing!
info@tilthsoil.com
216-800-4651 ext. 1
Overwintering means you have timed the planting of crops in summer so that they reach maturity before day length and soil temps fall into the “no grow zone”. The no grow zone is when day length drops below 10 hours per day and soil temps drop below 40*F (generally by November for Northeast Ohio).
The days to maturity on the back of your seed packets are a good marker for counting-back from the “no grow zone” to know when to start planting. It is also important to note that days to maturity are calculated based on spring-time planting, when day length is increasing.
Consequently you will need to add about 14-21 days to any calculation to account for shrinking day length in the fall. Helpful tips and calculations for overwintering can be found in Four-Season Harvest | Four Season Farm by advanced and seasoned Northeast grower, Elliot Coleman.
Why do plants need to reach maturity before the no grow zone?
When cold-hardy plants reach maturity, they have developed the ability to create anti-freeze type chemical compounds within their cell walls. This allows them to withstand frequent freezing temps and thaws before significant loss or leaf damage occurs.
Additionally mature plants, even the not cold hardy ones, are better able to withstand weather fluctuations because they have more fully developed root systems to pull from.
Lastly, once plants hit the no-grow zone they essentially stop growing, so it is important for plants to reach a mature or harvestable stage before that point.
Which crops are cold hardy?
Some examples of cold hardy crops for zone 5 include parsley, cilantro, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, leeks, carrots, radish, turnip, beets, and some baby greens (with extra care) such as arugula, swiss chard, and brassicas (mibuna, mizuna, pac choi).
Some varieties are more cold hardy than others, and some are specifically bred to be the most cold hardy. Look for that when selecting varieties. Some examples include Winterbor kale, Bandit leeks, Marathon broccoli and Diablo brussels sprouts. Check out Seeds for Growing Cold Weather Crops | Johnny's Selected Seeds (johnnyseeds.com) for some specifically bred varieties.
How can I protect my crops while they overwinter?
Many home gardeners and farmers will utilize products such as row cover to protect their crops from intermittent frosts and freezes. Row cover for fall use must be a heavier weight, and can also reduce light transmission, so it is important to remove it each day and recover each night.
For cold periods that are persistent, you may want to consider installing a low tunnel, caterpillar tunnel or high tunnel for increased crop protection. These range in price, movability, and construction experience depending on how intensely you want to pursue overwintered crops.
Low tunnels are an easy enough DIY project with details explained by West Virginia Extension service in this link. Keep in mind you can add a layer of UV stabilized poly for increased snow and cold protection, but they may need to be removed when the sun comes out to avoid “cooking” your plants.
When can I harvest overwintered crops?
Overwintered crops can be harvested any time you want to eat them and they are not frozen. If they are frozen, you will need to wait for a sunny day or later in the day for them to thaw, otherwise they will become mushy.
Some crops taste better as the cold settles in, root crops get sweeter as sugars transfer down, and kale also tempers its bitterness with a nip from Jack Frost.
Overwintering takes practice, luck, and consistent weather, but a fresh salad in December is worth the effort!
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What is a microgreen? Microgreens are young seedlings of edible plants. These are not to be confused with sprouts (germinated seeds, where the seed is edible), shoots (larger seed sprouts eaten at an immature stage), or baby greens (young plants eaten at their true leaf stage). These immature plants can be vegetables or herbs and can contain Vitamins (E, C, K), phytonutrients, and antioxidants. USDA ARS Online Magazine Microgreen-eating Mice Gain Health Benefits Some of the more popular microgreen types include broccoli, cabbage, radish, cress, arugula, mustard greens, basil, cilantro, dill, and amaranth. Each is selected for its appearance, nutrition and flavor profile.
So, even if you couldn’t endure Thomas Keller’s 6 hour Masterclass, you can still make your boxed macaroni and cheese look Michelin starred with the use of microgreens. To begin, know that microgreens are used raw; if cooked they will get lost in a dish due to their delicate nature. Think of the flavor of a vegetable or herb in its mature stage, and whatever that would pair well with, is the type of microgreen you should garnish with. For instance, broccoli goes great with mac-n-cheese, so garnish a bowl with broccoli microgreens. Also consider color and shape contrasts. If you have an orange and smooth butternut squash soup, then a red, round leaf amaranth microgreen would really stand out. Consider other pairings such as cilantro microgreens on tacos, green basil microgreens on red sauce with pasta, or a colorful mix jutting out of a sandwich. Microgreens also make a great stand-alone salad mix, or team-up with other greens. 25 Microgreens Recipes - How To Take Healthy Mircogreens Eating To The Next Level (diys.com)
Microgreens are also easy-peasy, especially with a grow-at-home kit like this one through Tilth Soil. Kits like this contain everything you need to go from seeds to salad in seven days. Kids love to assist with filling the trays with dirt, and watching the microgreens grow in such a short time. They also get to explore different flavors and participate in harvesting when it's time to taste-test, by clipping a few with scissors (no knife necessary!). Foodies can also expand their palettes, and impress their friends, by trying different vegetables and herbs that are not common in most restaurants, such as sorrel and shiso.
Knowing more about microgreens is just the beginning. Now you will start to notice them on your plate at restaurants, you’ll want to explore new varieties you see at the farmer’s market, and you may even want to grow some on your windowsill at home.
]]>When putting your garden to bed there are few things to keep in mind. You will likely be experiencing wind, rain, sleet, or snow (or all of the above in a 24 hour segment) and this can cause a major disruption to your soil through erosion and nutrient leaching. Erosion is the movement (generally unwanted movement) of soil, rock and minerals from one location to another typically through wind and water. Controlling soil erosion with cover crops - MSU Extension Nutrient leaching is when your soil has excess nutrients it hasn’t yet had the opportunity to uptake, and typically water washes it away (kind of like peeing out what you don’t need from your multi-vitamin). Consequently it is important to protect your garden from erosion with cover crops and provide only enough nutrients to rejuvenate without overdoing it through slow-release compost and other natural amendments.
Let’s begin with cover crops. Cover crops come in all shapes and sizes, but we specifically recommend a winter-kill mix. A mix allows you to gain the benefits of more than one plant, oats for organic matter, peas and vetch for nitrogen, daikon radish for tillage, and barley for erosion protection. Barley - SARE Furthermore, winter-kill means the plants are not adapted to survive the winter, so they will biodegrade by early spring and easily incorporate into your garden without tilling. Cover crops planted early enough will have enough time and sunlight to grow a thick protective blanket over your soil and slowly die-back throughout the winter adding beneficial organic matter and nutrients.
Next, compost, which is a great fall addition because it adds protective organic matter, gives cover crop seeds a great starting medium, and slow-releases nutrients to get your soil ready for spring and keep biology alive throughout the winter. Fall Soil Improvements, Soil Amendments, Compost, Compost Bin: Gardener' Supply (gardeners.com) Additionally certain natural amendments also replenish the nutrients lost during your productive growing season such as kelp and bone meal. These can be hard to find in small quantities so pre-blended mixes are a cost-effective way to go.
Timing is also important when it comes to putting your garden to bed. As stated earlier, cover crop seeds need to be planted by mid-September (August is even better). You may not be ready to cut-out your garden just yet, and that’s okay. A pre-blended compost and amendment mix can be broadcasted (evenly dispersed by hand), across your planting area, with cover crop seeds broadcasted on top, and all raked lightly into the top of your garden soil, underneath your existing plants. Alternatively you can also cut everything out at the soil line, broadcast your mix and seeds, and rake in and water.
Now that you’re equipped with the knowledge to put your garden to bed, do it! Late summer is the perfect time to start and Tilth Soil has everything you need to keep your momentum going. With Wendell Compost for larger areas and garden to bed kits (complete with cover crops) for smaller areas. Order your garden to bed kit here!
In case you’ve been super busy this summer and haven’t had the chance to get your garden going, there is still time. In this part of the Midwest, Northeast Ohio, our hardiness zones range from 5b to 6a. This means our first frost date is around October 15th. Find your USDA Zone
Consequently by August 1 you still have approximately 75 days to get a crop before it is killed by frost. You may be thinking, wow!, still time to get tomatoes in, but there are other factors to consider. By the summer Solstice (roughly June 20th each year) daylength decreases. That means there is less light for photosynthesis and growth of your vegetable-dense crops. So you have to compromise with what has the greatest chance of being successful with less light and colder temperatures. This condenses your growing list to leafy greens, roots, and plants in their baby stage, you know-the cute vegetables.
Here is a list of crops that can be planted in our zone before the end of August.
Mature Crops
Pac choi
Cilantro
Dill
Lettuce
Radish
Turnip
Baby Crops
Kale
Swiss Chard
Carrots
Cabbage
Fennel
Arugula
Kohlrabi
Overwinter Crops (under cover)
Carrots
Cover Crop
Frost-tolerant greens
Note that not all crops are created equal, there are several varieties for each crop that have adaptations for specific purposes, such as cold hardy and quick growing (the key words for fall variety selection).
For example cabbage: Storage No. 4 cabbage is cold tolerant, but needs 95 days to mature (DTM). However, Murdoc mini cabbage is less cold tolerant, but only 45 DTM. If planting in August, Murdoc would be your best option. Fedco Seeds
Additionally Arugula: Wild or Sylvetta arugula is much more cold tolerant than Astro arugula, but they have about the same DTM, leaving your best option for this time of year to be Sylvetta. Read your seed packets or call the company if you have any questions. High Mowing Organic Seeds
Start by taking a look at your seed packets, check the DTM and the characteristics of the variety to ensure you’ll have planting success this time of year.
Also keep in mind that these plants will likely be smaller in size, so you can plant them closer together, and get them started in an organic potting mix Sprout. – Tilth Soil now and plant them out in 2 weeks so they have a great jump-start.
Lastly, keep an eye on the weather. If frost is likely to occur add a row cover for protection or even build a low tunnel or caterpillar tunnel. Tunnel Vision Hoops LLC This will extend your harvest season well into the fall for fresh baby salad greens in November or even December.
Take, for example, the American Jobs Act (AJP), a $2 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden proposed in May. It expands the definition of infrastructure to address the inequities exposed by Covid and climate change. For example, it included $45 billion that would finally address the scourge of lead pipes in cities. Lead in pipes and paint is a real and serious health hazard — it poisons the blood of America’s children and causes developmental disabilities. Or, the broadband that’s missing from rural areas in America — it underscores the need for an education system that is dependent on the Internet and remote learning for the most at risk.
Consider the analysis from “Since When Have Trees Existed Only for Rich Americans?” that found a 25% disparity in tree coverage between rich and poor communities. Historically, infrastructure decisions came freighted with winners and losers. No infrastructure decision is neutral. The study of trees in cities helps us see this legacy. Inner city communities were redlined, meaning, not invested in by banks and our own government for 50 to 70 years. The legacy of systemic racism in our nation oftens materializes in the built, or unbuilt, environment. Local tree maps of Cleveland with 18% tree cover and the suburbs with as much as 40% show the impact of redlining as an official policy. (Overall tree canopy in Cuyahoga County continues to dwindle by -6.6% since 2011 as climate change has brought more pests that have taken out trees).
For a glimpse of why this matters, The Cleveland Climate Vulnerability Study conducted by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress in 2018 shows how these inequities affect human health in a direct way — adding to heat-related deaths in Cleveland. Heat waves are still the most fatal natural disaster, and are expected to worsen with climate change, as we were reminded of this week with hundreds of people succumbing to the heat wave in Portland and Seattle. Heat waves overcame the people and the cities where the heat was so intense that infrastructure began to melt.
Not too long ago, our 45th president called for a trillion trees to be planted in America. Trees affect everything from property values to health. More recently, advocates have made calls for the re-institution of the Civilian Conservation Corps that could make headway in tree planting and forestry management. It will take 522 million trees to even the playing field between cities that were redlined and suburbs that were not. And the beneficial “ecological services” include cleaning the air and reducing carbon in the atmosphere; too much carbon that acts like a heat-trapping blanket over the earth.
There are a lot of us hoping The AJP and its current form, the Bipartisan Framework, expand the definition of infrastructure to include environmental justice — to address the disparity between city and suburbs that resulted from decades of federal policies of exclusion. It would be historic for an infrastructure bill to address climate resilience so that frontline communities like Cleveland — city residents — don’t suffer more from a lack of access to parks, green space, and trees in their neighborhood. For the first time, a President is proposing that the nation have a plan and funding to address climate change with green infrastructure (and a myriad other programs to increase renewable energy, electric vehicle charging stations, etc). The yawning gap between suburbs and inner-city tree coverage demands nothing less than a line item in the infrastructure bill to plant the 522 million trees.
Looking at the path forward for the U.S. meeting its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, lots of land, including urban land often not considered part of the equation, is needed if trees and soil will be part of the carbon draw down from where it can’t do damage in the atmosphere. It makes urban land and trees essential infrastructure for addressing climate change.
Consider how redlining and disinvestment led to crumbing infrastructure and 3,000 lots of vacant land in Cleveland. A 2007 vacant land study of Cleveland recommended looking at each of those lots through the lens of equity and environment. It requires some imagination, but the city agreed at the time to look at vacant land as a space to expand urban agriculture, tree farms, and build solar panel ‘farms’ in addition to buildings.
The next mayor of Cleveland may want to revisit the results of the vacant land study and invest part of the Covid recovery act funds that are on the way. A specific program for Cleveland to invest in is the Urban Drawdown Initiative which is building up the local economy and climate response through urban agriculture. Urban farms offer “stacking benefits” of jobs, access to local and reducing carbon in the atmosphere. By removing crumbling and dangerous buildings and cleaning up contaminants, city land is returned back to productive use.
The investment needed in cities is for infrastructure that isn’t easily picked off a shelf. The city doesn’t need new roads and bridges — it needs its existing roads and bridges improved. What cities need are new and creative infrastructure. It will take a redefinition. To rethink infrastructure as a way of disrupting broken systems like food waste — to make it into compost. To plant food for the 241,400 individuals who lived through shortages of food (including 66,870 children - these are pre-Covid numbers). To plant trees to improve the air we breathe. It’s how we start building back a resilient and abundant infrastructure of people and places.
]]>Give it a listen below and let us know how you think composting can and should be normalized.
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With an abundance of garbage to go round, perhaps the rest of Cleveland should open our gardens to more re-use. Soccer goal trellises, fireplace screen fences, and kiddy pool beds await you, as do Tilth soils, bringing the original upcycling process to you with love through compost <3.
P.S. It is often difficult to communicate with the people working these gardens, due to the language barrier. I am usually able to communicate garden admiration through gestures, but I have so many questions! Especially about composting. If you, or someone you know has a connection to any gardeners of Asiatown, and especially information about the composting practices, please reach out.
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The first factor to consider is seasonality. What does the weather do throughout your growing season, what temperature and moisture fluctuations can you expect, how does your day length change? When is your first frost date? These are all important to consider as some plants need a lot of moisture and sunlight to grow, others less of each. Additionally your first frost date will determine what your stopping point is for planting, as frost will kill most vegetable and flower crops. To get a better idea of the seasonality in your area check this zone hardiness site USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Another factor to consider with succession planning are the days to maturity for each of your crops. Often this information (abbreviated DTM) can be found on the back of your seed packet. This is a combination of your days to germination plus your days to harvest. You can also find more general DTM for crops at Vegetable Harvest Guide | Horticulture and Home Pest News (iastate.edu). Once you know your first frost date you can use your DTM to count back and determine your planting date/dates. This will also inform whether or not you have the time to fit in 2 or more plantings of a crop in your season. An example of this “count-back” chart can be seen here Succession Planting Guide (theprudentgarden.com). Once you have this information you can turn-over sections of your garden and amend them with Tilth Soil’s Grow to keep nutrients available for continuous planting and harvest.
Variety selection is also important. Some varieties, or cultivated types of crops, are selected to be more tolerant of warm/cold temperatures and more/less moisture. Looking into this is important when deciding what to plant. For example spinach is very sensitive to warm temperatures and tends to bolt (go to seed, quit leaf production) when it becomes too warm. If you want continuous spinach/any other crop you will likely need to alter which variety you are using throughout the various parts of the season. Seed companies can recommend the best varieties for certain times of year, which you can reference through a phone call, their website, or online growing guides like this one, Spinach Varieties | Comparison Chart / Planting Program (PDF) (johnnyseeds.com). Once you are ready to start another round of seeds for your succession planting don’t forget to check out Tilth Soil’s seed starting mix, Sprout.
Following are some examples of short season and long season crops for comparison (*note that some are warm temperature sensitive)
Short: (3+ plantings/season)
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Mid: (2 plantings/season)
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Long: (1 planting/season)
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Lastly, when selecting your succession crops and placement within your garden space it is also important to consider which crops get along well with others and in what ways. These concepts are called companion planting and interplanting. Some crops enjoy being close together based on their growth style and their specific needs. For instance you can plant carrots next to lettuce because the lettuce will be harvested before the carrot tops need more space. Additionally the lettuce will shade the soil where the carrots are sown, allowing them to remain moist for better germination and reduced weeds. For a great reference on the interpersonal relationships of plants I like graphics like this one that give a ton of information.
Now that you have more information on how to stay engaged in your garden space all season long, it’s time to get out the calendar, count backwards from your frost date, and maximize the harvest for all of your gardening efforts. With researched seed variety selection, intentional plant spacing, and calculated timing you can have a lush garden all season long.
]]>CSAs are also like a wake-up call at a time when it has been hard to not snooze a little on the mega impact of farming. It feels good to support a product that is grown by a small farmer living within a short drive of here who is doing what they're doing to support their family and repair the damage modern living has done to the environment.
Mauser-Martinez and Ohio City Farm Manager Michael Bartunek are two of the leaders of the current set of CSAs. They have the task of convincing us that self care and sustainable agriculture are equivalent. During the pandemic, we all got a little break and had fun pushing buttons for food, home delivered, but that short-term buzz can't compare to the long-term connection a CSA makes to community and farmers sewing their field with plants —food that has a story.
"It comes out of this ethos of wanting to slow down and take time to taste food, experiment, and nourish yourself and your family," she says, "understanding how food happens is very enriching."
The rise of local food
The scene: Cleveland in 2005. City Fresh was but a seedling. Two visionaries, Brad Masi and Maurice Small put their connections with regional farmers and local community together with a group in Lakewood called LEAF to start a CityFresh pick-up spot, run completely by volunteers.
CityFresh came from a CSA started in Oberlin. Its mission was (and still is) to distribute affordable shares of locally grown food to residents of Cleveland neighborhoods where healthy food was difficult to access, Masi says. City Fresh also included a market garden training program with OSU Agriculture Extension to train people to use vacant lots in Cleveland for small enterprises.
CSAs solve a cash flow crunch for farmers who have to shell out a ton of dough before the season.
"Instead of having to hustle their produce each week (farmers) have a dedicated market of local buyers who have already bought a portion of what they produce," Masi explains.
CSAs today have options built in to support equity — they accept food stamps and they invite wealthier share buyers to pay a little more so that lower-income families can get a discount. City Fresh also makes fresh produce boxes available on a week-to-week basis to make it easier for people to afford.
Where it all started (and continues)
The roots of CSAs can be traced to a Black horticulturist and agricultural professor at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Booker T. Whatley, who advocated for pick-your-own farms and what he called clientele membership clubs, where customers paid up front for a season of food as a way of guaranteeing business. Modern Farmer documents this important but overlooked connection between Black farmers and CSAs, observing:
"‘Buy local’ wasn’t just to support your community. It was survival for Black folks. It was the only way, in many instances, that they were able to survive.”
CityFresh and the Ohio City Farm continue that tradition with its policies lowering barriers to entry and by centering farmers from the BIPOC community again in the CSA. The through line to the Civil Rights Era is undeniable.
Enter sustainability
It was the late 1990s and sustainability advocates were coalescing around agriculture’s role contributing to climate change. Instead of trucking a head of broccoli 1,000 miles across the country, local food advocates envisioned the CSA as a way of introducing the same food onto local fields and reducing its carbon footprint, too.
"Things blew up for a little while," she recalls. "Global warming was becoming a national discussion in a way it had not been in the past. Organizations got involved; we had Local Food Mondays at (Great Lakes) Brewery. (Cuyahoga County) was starting land banks. There was a lot of discussion and energy."
Ohio City - a farming destination
That energy seemed to carry City Fresh, Ohio City Farm, Fresh Fork and other CSAs operating between farm and city into the present. Ohio City Farm has experienced impressive growth in people buying shares, from 64 four years ago to 250 people last and again this year, plus 50 "late season" share holders and 25 shares in partnership with Frayed Knot Farm, Geauga County fresh-cut flower purveyor, Emily Pek.
So many things set Ohio City Farm apart — starting with the land, six acres of once-unused lawn behind public housing at Lakeview Tower ceremoniously plowed under to make the largest urban farm in the country. The farmers are from Myanmar (Burma) and the DRC (Congo) who were relocated from refugee camps to Cleveland ten years ago by the non-profit organization Refugee Response.
Ever since, they've grown 60 varieties of vegetables and herbs that they sell to restaurants like Great Lakes Brewing, and to walk-up customers at their Farm Stand and through the CSA. It may be run by a non-profit, but Bartunek says there's no subsidy — they have to grow and sell enough to cover the (currently) $13.75 hourly wage for the farmers and the farm's operational costs.
"The farm is a community asset," he says, "(pre-pandemic) people could walk up and eat their lunch on a bench at the farm. If they want to know what's growing, they can just ask."
Many of the Ohio City Farm CSA customers are loyal year after year and a lot of them walk or bike to pick up their food share on Saturday pick up. When the pandemic hit, the numbers didn't drop in the CSA, though, sales to restaurants plummeted. In response, they made it possible for wealthier CSA share buyers to make a monetary pledge so that unsold food could be donated to the May Dugan Center, which runs a food pantry (they raised and made $1,000 in food donations).
"There are people out there with big hearts," Bartunek concludes.
Reflecting on how the CSA and the farmers contribute to the community in a socially and environmentally sustainable way, he figures, "This farm has a lot of story to it."
]]>In order to set your garden up for success I’m going to walk you through each of these gardening faux pas and get you growing in the right direction.
Organization/Planning:
When was the last time you walked into your tool shed and found exactly what you needed in an instant?
If it looks like this you might want to start with some spring cleaning. Make sure everything is easily accessible both visually and physically. Tools should be oiled (handle and metal with linseed oil), sharpened, and not broken.
Additionally you should take the time to do a garden plan. A quick plot drawing will help you minimize crowding in your beds, reduce overspending on seedlings or seeds, and make sure you’re utilizing your space most efficiently. There are even handy online garden planners like this one with gardeners.com to help you out with spacing and avoid having to find your ruler and graph paper in that mess of a tool shed you’ve got going on! And if you need to know how much soil to buy? Try the Tilth Soil Calculator to get yourself on the right track.
Sanitation:
Have you ever disinfected your tools-ever!? Most folks haven’t, and consequently spread disease from plant to plant while harvesting or pruning throughout the season. Keep a spray bottle of disinfectant like Eco-Friendly Seventh Generation easily accessible to spray-down my pruners/knives between each plant or garden bed.
Also try to spend a few minutes on a weekly clean-up around the garden. Remove dead or dying plant debris, pick-up dropped cherry tomatoes, prune, and avoid putting uncomposted food scraps directly into your beds. This will help reduce disease and pests.
Watering:
Watering can be meditative for some, and a chore for others. Most of the time plants are not being watered properly. Plants need an initial spray/shower of water to entice them, then a thorough watering once the soil is pre-moistened. Avoid the jet stream and high-pressure watering, it is inadequate and the splash-up can cause disease on your lower leaves. I know, the hose doesn’t reach and you just don’t want to walk all the way back to undo where it’s hooked on the patio chair for the 16th time, just do it. Put on a pedometer and make those steps count!
Alternatively make an investment in a drip irrigation system and avoid using a hose altogether. Folks like Grow at Home can help get you set up with all the right parts and efficient layout.
Weed Management:
Weed Before You See Weeds! Weekly, yes that’s every seven days and roughly four times a month. Use a tine rake or gloved hand or hoe or spade and rough-up any bare soil to kill weeds in their germination stage. There are also options for mulching with cardboard, cover crops, landscape fabric, and composts like Tilth Soil’s Wendell. Mulching has the added benefit of holding in soil moisture. By weeding before you see weeds or mulching, you eliminate competition with your vegetables, reduce pests and disease, limit your gardening efforts to keep weeds in control and have a beautiful bed where your vegetables are the centerpiece.
To recap you now have four main areas of focus that will lead to your gardening success. By considering the organization of tools and your garden layout, keeping your garden and tools clean throughout the season, ensuring proper and frequent watering, and performing easy weeding/mulching you will have a garden that will provide veggies and joy the entire season long.
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Michael breaks it all down into categories, starting with planning. Where you place a raised bed depends on what you intend to grow in it. If you're aiming for sun-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers, you'll need a spot in your yard that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. If you're opting for herbs, lettuces, and part-shade-tolerant plants, you can afford to be a little more flexible. Take a picture every hour of the day of the intended location for your raised bed to document whether or not it receives 6 hours of full sun.
Next comes the structure. You have a range of border materials to choose from, including fallen tree material, rot-resistant cedar, or hardwood planks (1 x 4"). He's even repurposed bricks, stacking and bonding them with construction adhesive, lining them with garden fabric to prevent the glue from touching the soil.
Once your basic structure is complete, you're ready to fill it with soil. If you're building over existing soil with a loose structure, six inches deep is sufficient. If you're building over hard ground, plan on a 12-inch depth. Check out Tilth's Soil Volume Calculator to figure out how much soil you will need to fill your space.
"Be picky on what you choose for soil. You’re going to be putting a substantial investment into the ground. If you look at total investment, spend more on the soil then the structure." Tilth's organic raised-bed and garden plot soil mix, Grow, has the water-retention qualities and nutrient contents Michael prefers.
During the Q&A, he talked about what to plant before the final frost - overwintering your beds is essential for soil maintenance and products like Boost are great for putting your garden to bed.
A word about preserving your wood frame and stakes: his favorite preservative is Eco Wood Treatment. It’s a powder mixed with water and sprayed on with a pump bottle. "It creates a patina finish and protects especially cheaper wood, like pine," Michael says.
For more gardening tips, download the free Raised Bed Workshop, or check out Tilth's blog post, Setting Your Garden Up For Success.
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In this season of renewal, Nathan appreciates the mysteries of composting, such as the seemingly magical appearance of microorganisms even as the pile reaches 131° Fahrenheit. He explains how colonies of bacteria and fungi tuck in to a feast of food waste, transformed into compost through the reactive qualities of air, moisture, heat (and some elbow grease to turn the pile) and time.
With Rust Belt Riders, Tilth Soil re-purposes food waste, otherwise destined for landfill, into nutrient-rich organic compost they call Wendell. This compost gets worked into a "soilless mix" in the case of Tilth's Grow, a general purpose garden mix - a living soil blend.
Nathan begins explaining a "soilless mix" by clarifying that compost is not soil. Soil comprises layers of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter, which may include finished compost. Scientists categorize soil layers based on composition, with the top "O" layer housing leaf litter and decomposers like earthworms. Below lies the "A" layer, rich in mineral and organic matter, followed by layers of weathered parent material and bedrock.
In a forest, the feast and resulting compost happens naturally in situ, or where the leaves fall. We mere mortals follow a different method, relying on a process of mixing materials like nitrogen-rich food waste, carbon-rich leaves, and wood chips.
"We are creating the conditions for an explosion of microbial life, and that explosion does the decomposition," Nathan explains. "I’m a Christian, I believe in impossible things, so for me, one of the great mysteries of life [is] we have thermophilic bacteria floating around. They thrive above 131° Fahrenheit and multiply enough once they get to that temperature. What are they doing most of the time?”
Assembling the nitrogen and carbon in the correct ratio and turning the compost pile five times when it reaches 131° Fahrenheit kills weed seeds and pathogens like eColi (making Tilth Soil products National Organic Program-compliant). During that time, microbes consume and transform nutrient-rich waste like apple cores, banana peels, and coffee grounds into compost, eventually forming a "necromass."
“At the end of the process, the stuff is made delicious through the corpses of microbes (necromass).”
“The fact that this process can be done anywhere on the planet with any trash around and the result is clean and safe and it’s free strikes me as providential” reflects Nathan.
This is just the beginning of compost. After cooling, fungi set up shop and eat the lignin, or woody parts, of the compost pile.
Compost helps the planet by preventing the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which is what is created when food scraps go to landfill. Another benefit to compost is the improvement of the photosynthetic capacity of plants. Healthy soil comes from plants providing more nutrients and attracting microbial partners.
Tilth Soil makes potting soils -- technically classified as soilless medium (remember, soil is a sand, silt and clay mix). Grow is compost mixed with organic materials and amendments. While we acknowledge the sustainability concerns associated with transporting different amendments long distances to Cleveland. However, we eagerly anticipate advancements in soil science, such as those pursued by experts like Dr. John Biernbaum of Michigan State University, who may one day develop compost into a comprehensive growing medium.
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Emily's expertise shines as she cultivates an impressive array of 30 annual and perennial flower varieties from seed. She nurtures these seedlings for 6 to 12 weeks before carefully transplanting them into the cherished land handed down from her grandparents in Northwest Ohio. Her deep connection to this land, coupled with her years of hands-on experience, renders her insights truly invaluable in the realm of horticulture and land stewardship.
The workshop validated a few assumptions, notably that you don't need a fancy setup to get your seeds started. Take it from Liani — she rigged up a sweet growing space in her closet using just some LED grow lights and a stainless steel shelving system she snagged online. With a wide range of equipment quality and tech, the key to germinating strong healthy seedlings is consistency. Rather than focusing on expensive lights, make sure you keep a consistent lighting schedule of up to 12 hours per day. At home, my partner and I hung a simple, LED-tube shop light on a set of chains six inches above the seedlings after they germinated and, as the plants got bigger, we moved the lights up.
It’s perfectly acceptable to reuse containers for your seed starts. Egg cartons are popular, though, twice-daily watering requirements will break down the paper eventually. Pek saves and reuses plastic plant cell packs from the store. The reason egg cartons and cell packs work best is their size -- small cells keep the seeds well contained when watering.
Your choice of growing medium is just as crucial as factors like light, water, and maintaining consistent temperatures. Soil isn't just about providing a stable base for your plants; it's the source of essential nutrients that fuel your seedlings' growth into vibrant, healthy plants. Emily has been happily growing in Tilth Soil's organic seed starting and potting mix Sprout for years, and her gorgeous plants and cut flowers show the results.
When it comes time to starting your seeds, use your finger, a pencil, or a chopstick to dig a small hole in the soil and then drop in a seed, sometimes two per 'plug'. Liani prefers the seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Emily likes the seed company Johnny's Selected Seeds, because their instructions are clear and copious. They both said to look for companies whose labels have details like, which seeds need soil to cover the plug, or, how long before seedlings can be transplanted to a bigger pot.
The idea with watering is to be gentle -- you don't want to displace small seeds from your soil. It was a good pro tip to find a watering can with perforated nozzles or the kind of condiment dispensers found at diners.
Liani showed a 'root bound' seedling versus a healthy root system. The key to avoiding root bound seedlings is to 'pot up' or move to a larger container about 2 weeks after germination. Her method for telling if a plant is root bound is to give it a “squeeze test.” If the seedling comes out quickly, the roots have taken all the nutrients from soil. If not, they’re probably not ready to go outside.
Once temperatures are consistently above freezing, you can start the process of hardening off your seedlings. This is the process of acclimating your starts to the outdoors. It can be tedious, Liani admits. This whole process is time and energy consuming, but the trade off is the satisfaction of knowing you’re working toward a self-sufficient home and garden.
If you’re unsure of what to bring out when, they swear by the Farmers’ Almanac, for planting advice that is appropriate to Northeast Ohio's climate hardiness zone (5 to 6).
"Don’t be discouraged if you can’t grow something perfectly. But, if something grows well, share what you did with a neighbor. You’ll find that sweet spot of what to grow where," Emily shared. These parting words really resonated with me, since at home some of our kale and chard seedlings fell over when we transplanted them. Practice forgiveness if things don't work out.
So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the workshop, start germinating those seeds, and let's get growing together! And hey, if you stumble upon something that works (or doesn't), don't keep it to yourself—share the love with your neighbors. Gardening is best practiced with a little patience, perseverance and community; like all things, it takes tending.
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