Soapnuts are a great natural alternative laundry detergent that you can grow right in your yard if you live in USDA zone 6 or higher. Soapnuts come from the genus Sapindus which contains about twelve species of trees and shrubs.
These plants, also called soapberry, are native to warm temperate to tropical regions. There are both deciduous and evergreen varieties.
Mature trees will fruit, typically in November. The fruit is covered by a husk which should be removed and composted. The amber colored fruit can be dried and stored for later use. To use these soapnuts, as they are called, simply put three to four dried fruits into a drawstring bag and toss in your washer. The soapnuts will wash three to four loads of clothes before they need to be replaced.
When it is time to replace the soapnuts with new ones, simply compost the older ones.
If you do not wish to grow your own soapnuts, there are many places to purchase them. Look online or ask at your local health food store.
Filed under Gardening News by on Feb 7th, 2010. Comment. 
Just as birds, bees, and butterflies need the proper habitat in order to stay in the garden, so do beneficial insects. In addition to bad bugs and nectar-producing plants, shelter and a good water source are important. You can construct bughouses for beneficial insects; however, they are not necessary. Tall grass, thick shrubs, and lush foliage make the perfect hiding places.
Beneficial insects also need a source of shallow water. This can be as simple as a small dish or a birdbath with a few rocks in it. Keep in mind that if the water is too deep, the insects may drown. Change the water every couple of days to avoid mosquitoes and to give the good insects a fresh drink.
If you use mulch, leave a few areas of the garden uncovered, as there are many minerals in the bare soil that insects need for their health. If possible, create small areas of bare soil that will puddle (just remember to keep them as shallow as possible). An easy way to do this is to make some small holes that water can puddle in the soil below a hummingbird mister.
Filed under Gardening News by on Feb 6th, 2010. Comment.
Here are two videos by Sheri Ann Richerson. The first one was taken in her greenhouse, the second one was part of a presentaion she gave on Theobroma cacao.
Enjoy!
Greenhouse video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChkiYwXdSl4
Presentation video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfg23N5O5cw
Filed under Chocolate - Theobroma by on Feb 5th, 2010. Comment.
February is almost here and gardeners who wish to get a head start on early spring vegetables will want to get out into the garden.
Cold frames and tunnel houses are a must for protecting early spring vegetables and half-hardy annual flowers in cold climates.
Here is what can be done in the early spring garden in February.
February 1 – tap maple trees.
February 5 – start tomatillo seed indoors in flats.
February 9 – start seeds of marigolds, salvia, strawflower and calendula indoors in flats.
February 15 – pre-sprout potatoes indoors and start seeds of artichokes indoors in flats.
February 16 – plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors in flats.
February 18 – plant ageratum, lobelia, salad burnett and love-in-a-mist indoors in flats.
February 23 – Plant sprouted potatoes under cover in the garden. Onions and cabbages that have been hardened off can be planted under cover as well. If these young plants have not been hardened off, beging doing so now.
February 24 – start seeds of larkspur and geranium indoors in flats.
February 25 – plant stocks in the heated greenhouse for June blooms.
February 26 – Indiana gardeners are a mere 12 weeks away from the last spring frost date. Read your seed packets to see what other seeds need started now and remember seeds of cool season crops such as lettuce, peas, kale and spinach can be direct sown under cover directly in the garden.
Filed under Seed Starting by on Jan 29th, 2010. Comment.
Many perennials and cool season vegetables can be started from seed sown in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame, then be transplanted in the open garden once weather permits. An advantage to this is you will get a head start on the planting season and have flowering plants earlier than if you were to start them outside, the exception being if you use the winter sowing method.
It is nice to walk into a greenhouse, even if it is unheated in the middle of winter on a sunny day. The temperatures are sure to be warm enough that you may not need a jacket or coat. You can sit in the greenhouse and prepare the flats, seed them and water them in comfort.
If the greenhouse is a bit chilly for you, using a small ceramic heater should warm it up enough to be comfortable while you are working in it. Rain barrels or other food safe plastic containers can be filled with water and depending on where you live, how warm your greenhouse stays, etc. they may only develop a small sheet of ice on the top of the container which can easily be broken up. If ice is a real problem, look into an animal water trough heater which could be used to keep the water from freezing.
Unheated greenhouses can be a source of real pleasure during the winter months. Don’t forget to add in a few cool weather vegetable crops such as lettuce or kale for your family to eat during the winter.
Filed under In The Greenhouse by on Jan 19th, 2010. Comment.
Cotton is a fun crop to grow and if started indoors can be grown in the northern states. If you start your cotton plants indoors, use peat pots so the cotton is easier to transplant. Cotton does transplant well as long as the roots are not disturbed. Cotton can be grown in large containers which will allow you to plant it earlier and bring it indoors or put it in a greenhouse come fall.
Cotton can be spun into thread that can be used for sewing or weaving. It can also be used as batting for pillows, quilts or pet beds.
Cotton will begin to set bolls – or seed heads – in the fall. These seed heads should be left alone until they begin to split open. The fibers will be fully developed when they split. At that point you can remove the bolls and harvest the cotton. The seeds and other vegetable matter will need to be removed from the cotton. Be sure to save the seed to plant the following season. Add the vegetable matter to the compost pile.
To spin it into thread or yarn you can work directly from then boll. There is no need to card it unless you prefer working from carded cotton. To use as batting you would need to clean it, also known as ginning, then find a way to create a batting from it.
White cotton has longer staples than colored cotton because colored cotton has not had much breeding work done with it. In some states it is illegal to grow colored cotton. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange offers a variety of colored cotton seeds.
Filed under Fiber Plants by on Jan 17th, 2010. 1 Comment.
Here in the Mid-West seed starting is already underway for many of us. Here are some dates and ideas of what you seeds you can start in January.
January 1 – direct sow carrot seed in cold frames
January 4 – pansy, dianthus, snapdragon in flats
January 6 – direct sow peas in cold frames – weather permitting – pea seed will rot if it gets too wet and cold
January 10 – statice in flats
January 11 – parsley, cabbage, celery and onion in flats
January 15 – direct sow carrots and spinach in cold frames
January 18 – begonia and geraniums in flats
January 25 – well established seedlings that were started in flats can be moved into cold frames, weather permitting – remember to do this gradually so seedlings are not shocked unless you have a heated cold frame
Janaury 29 – direct sow carrots in cold frame
The multiple dates for sowing various seeds such as carrots are there for people who succession sow or who did not get the seed sown on the first date.
Filed under Seed Starting by on Jan 12th, 2010. Comment.
Do you feel lost when it comes to making plans for your spring garden? If so, you are not alone. Many people simply do not know where to begin.
If this is a new garden, the first step is soil preparation. After all, you cannot grow a garden in grass or weeds. Make sure the area is tilled or hand dug, weed free and necessary amendments are added and worked into the ground. If possible, lay down big sheets of cardboard to help kill the weeds and grass the fall before you intend to plant.
The next part involves the seeds or plants. Do you want to grow flowers, herbs, vegetables or a combination? Think about what your family would use the most of. If you choose flowers, do you want ones that are fragrant, a specific color, ones that dry well or ones that attract butterflies? These are just a few of the possibilities. Once you have decided this, look at numerous garden catalogs and websites to determine what plants do the best in your area.
Consider the space you have to plant in once you know what you will plant. This will help you determine how many plants you can grow in a given area. If you are planting close for weed control, choose annuals. Perennials will need frequent dividing if they are planted too closely together to begin with. Intermixing annuals and perennials is fine. Some flowers such as marigold, nasturtium and zinnia do well in a vegetable garden. Experiment and remember gardens are ever changing.
Filed under Flower Gardening, Vegetable Gardening by on Jan 8th, 2010. Comment.
Growing mushrooms from a mushroom kit is not hard, in fact, mushrooms are one of the easiest crops I have grown. Anyone, even a child, can grow their own mushrooms. Eat them fresh or preserve them by canning them, dehydrating them or freezing them – whatever you do with your home grown mushrooms it is sure to be a hit!
When your mushroom patch arrives you will notice it is covered in plastic. This is the incubation bag. The patch will look like a bunch of white popcorn that has been melted together with some brown patches on it. The brown patches are future mushrooms.
The first step in the process is to find a saucer large enough for your mushroom patch to sit in. Once you have done that, remove the mushroom patch from the incubation bag.
Put thesaucer in the humidty tent which is the plastic bag with holes in it that came in your kit. Sit the empty saucer with the humidity bag in a dark, cool spot.
Put the mushroom patch in the saucer and fill it with cool rainwater. Do not use chlorinated, filtered or distilled water!
Put some skewers, chop-sticks or knitting needles into the top of the mushroom patch. Pull the plastic humidity bag up over the mushroom patch and fold it down. Fasten the top of the bag with clothespins or paperclips.
Several times a day you will need to open the bag to mist the top of the mushroom patch and the sides of the bag. Use rainwater.
Within about two weeks you will have mushrooms. This process can be repeated several times by allowing the patch to dry out, then repeating the entire process. Some mushroom patches can then be incorporated into logs and established in your yard.
Filed under Exotic Gardening, Year-Round Gardening by on Jan 7th, 2010. 1 Comment.
Seed starting time is rolling around in the Midwest once again. If you are seeking early blooms this season, now is the time to start seeds of dianthus and snapdragon.
Also if you didn’t get your pansy and viola seeds started back in November, be sure to start those.
These cool weather plants will do fine, once germinated, in a cool greenhouse. As spring approaches and the weather warms, sometime in mid-March to early April, these young plants can be moved into a cold frame and then on into the garden.
Once they have been hardened off, they are sure to survive light frosts. Should a severe frost threaten your area, simply cover them with a make shift cold frame made out of an old milk carton or two liter plastic bottle. Be sure to vent the cold frame so the plants do not cook when the sun comes up the next day.
Filed under Flower Gardening, Seed Starting by on Jan 5th, 2010. Comment.
