Garden Epiphanies of the Cervine Variety

Deer tracks from spring 2013

"Cousin, how high can deer jump?" I asked.

He grinned ruefully, "How high is the fence?"

I've been chronicling my gardening exploits for several years, regaling you (I hope) with my fumbles and informing you with my findings.  Every winter, I try to take an online class to improve the next season, which they have, but I've just had an epiphany (which happened near the actual date of Epiphany) which, I hope, will make this my "turnaround" season.

Just before Christmas, we spotted 5 deer who took a leisurely stroll across the 600' width of our property, just inside the "yard" section where the grass is cut often.  This happened just before dark, and they disappeared into my cousin's uncut field.  Well, this week we saw 7 deer who ambled across the yard, but this time they strolled within inches of my large garden plot (which is about 100' from the house).  Their unhurried pace reminded me of shoppers on a grocery aisle.

Epiphany.

I am heartbroken that
I may have blamed the
tomato hornworms unjustly
for deer damage!

They were shoppers on a grocery aisle, and, my garden was the grocery.  Finally, the meager production of my garden may suddenly have found a partial explanation beyond my ineptitude (which is certainly abundant) and the poor soil (which is a work in progress).

So, what do I do now?  A fence is the most obvious solution, but is also expensive and would prevent this lazy gardener from using the tractor inside the patch.  Would a temporary fence be enough?

Hedgerows sound an interesting permaculture, but would also limit the tractor use.  Would they compete with the garden plants?

Trap crops actually sound like they would increase my problem by attracting more deer (they are plentiful in the surrounding woods and fields) rather than diverting the deer.  Could this work?

So, like it or not, the fence sounds like the most effective solution.  Do you have any suggestions?  Help!

What about you?  What's nibbling at your Savory garden?

Nancy

Plant Local: 15 Tomato Varieties for a Southern Landrace Garden

Beautiful, but lonely

The nights are long here on the farm, but, fortunately, I have a stack of seed catalogs to entertain me.  This year I'm trying to zero in on varieties that can stand the heat, humidity, and, surprisingly, drought of this area.  So, I'm looking for heirloom varieties that were found or developed around the 35th parallel, and east of 97W.

With those open-pollinated varieties, I'm hoping to develop landrace adaptivars, specifically suited to my microclimate, by saving seeds of the varieties that thrive.  As I understand it, one key to developing landrace adaptivars is to, instead of isolating a pure strain, encourage genetic diversity by continually introducing new varieties into the landrace alongside the saved seed.  The resulting varieties should produce more reliably under marginal conditions--which certainly describes my area.  For more information about landrace adaptivars, visit Joseph Lofthouse's page.

I've identified three tomato categories:  table, canning/paste, and currant.  While the first two categories are self-explanatory, the currant category may be unfamiliar.  Currants are a different species of tiny (1/2" and smaller) tomatoes which absolutely thrive on my farm.  During the 80-degree-plus nights, when other varieties fail to set fruit, they continue to produce prolifically.  They are delightfully flavorful, and worth the garden space.

So, here's the beginning of my landrace plan for this year, so far.

Table

Taste is the overriding criterion here, leaning toward the "smoky" flavored varieties.  There are some blue/purple varieties, too, so it will be interesting to see what we get.

Bradley:  a wilt-resistant pink-red developed at the University of Arkansas

Ozark Pink:  a tall, flavorful pink suited for humid, disease-prone areas

Richardson:  a huge (1-3 pound) dark pink Tennessee beefsteak with a well-balanced flavor

Arkansas Traveler:  balanced flavor is the hallmark of this rose-pink suited to heat, humidity, and drought

Blue Beauty Tomato:  modest beefsteak whose good flavor and interesting coloration blessed with resistance to sunburn and crack

Cherokee Purple:  prolific rose to purple beefsteak, legendary for its complex flavor

Canning/Paste

While taste is important, essential criteria are a high meat/juice ratio, low seed count, and productivity.

Costoluto Genovese:  an Italian red, almost ruffled, described as a pungent sauce tomato

Debarao:  an early red paste variety, small but crack-free

Early Annie:  short plant with few seeds, fruit matures all at once

Tennessee Sweet:  suitable for slicing or canning, a large red sweet

Big Italian Plum:  a large red thick paste plum

San Marzano Gigante:  the legendary flavor and twice the size!

Currant

The flavor of these single-bite beauties just explodes on the palate!  I wonder if I could dry them . . .

Broad Ripple Yellow Currant:  big bush, sweet, prolific

Hawaiian Currant:  tiny, sweet, tasty

White Currant:  heavy clusters, very sweet

Red Currant:  smoky, sweet, tiny, prolific

The development of landrace varieties fits in quite nicely with my interest in permaculture, which also promotes diversity.  It's going to be interesting to see how the two intersect this season.

What about you?  What are your plans for your Savory garden?

Nancy

Perennial Growth for an Organic Gardener

The grass always grows
better than the garden!

Over the past several years I have chronicled my battles against bugs and weeds in my quest to become an organic gardener.  No matter what I try, the grass and weeds seem to get the better of me.  I need a new plan.

While the growing season is hectic, the time between Christmas and early spring have become my own "greening" time, one where I seek out new knowledge to improve the next season.  Last winter, I completed the Rodale Institute's Organic Transition Course online.  I had planned to take the local Master Gardener class this year, but it's only given in the fall, which is already jam-packed in my schedule.  Perhaps, in the future, I'll find an online class, like Clemson offers.  South Carolina's climate is similar enough to Tennessee's to be compatible.  I just wonder if Tennessee will accept it?

Mulched crocuses with carrots
in a raised bed are weathering the cold well.

So, I've been looking for an online class for the winter.  I should have known that my cousin Mary Catherine would provide the answer.  She gardens quite successfully, and keeps chickens as well as goats.  When I visited her Facebook page last week, I noticed a new addition:  a link to Permaculture magazine  Permaculture is a systems approach to gardening, and life, which emphasizes the creation of  sustainable ecosystems rather than gardens.  Instead of fighting against Mother Nature, which even organic gardeners do to an extent, permaculture takes advantage of the relationships among the elements of an ecosystem.  It's quite a change from the traditional method of gardening.  So, perennial student that I am, I searched for a reliable online course.

Heavy rains have taken a long time
to soak into the ground.

Apparently, reliable is a relative thing, and the first course I thought I would take doesn't seem to be appropriate for me.  I finally settled on a distance learning class at North Carolina State University taught by Dr. Will Hooker.  Called Introduction to Permaculture, it's a recording of a live class and utilizes two texts:  Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden and Bill Mollison's Introduction to Permaculture.  I am, basically, auditing the class, not enrolled, and do not have any interactions with the instructor.  He is a certified permaculture designer and instructor, so I hope the information will be accurate.  The cost is perfect (free) and the flexibility works with my schedule.  I'd like to start implementing permaculture design principles in the spring.

Nandina, lovely, but pervasive.

So, the dark days of winter will be bright and busy here on the farm.  Far from barren, they will be a growing time for me, and, I hope, for my garden, too.

What about you?  How are you growing this winter?

Nancy