From Floods to Slugs... Garden challenges on a North Atlantic island

Bill Mollison, the founder of Permaculture, has said to wait a year getting to know your land before you do anything on it. There is a lot of wisdom in this idea. However, I have yet to follow it. It is not that I disagree, but with my current life, I have moved every 2-4 years for the past 17 years! Oh, I am ready to settle down in one place in put down some roots!

So, while I agree with this idea, I have chosen to ignore it for now. I want to get a garden in as soon as possible in each new place I live. Especially when I am only there for two years. There are challenges in doing this though. The biggest challenge is not knowing the weather cycles. In many places, I could look up very accurate weather histories, so I could plan my gardening year. Here in the Azores, and at my previous home in Turkey, well... not so much.

 

My current case in point is the non-stop rain and wind over the last week and a half. We had a beautiful day here last Saturday. I spent a large chunk of the day in the garden getting some of my seedlings in the ground. The following day, the wind and rain started. It hasn't really stopped since. We have been extremely fortunate not to be effected by the flooding, but just two villages away, only a few minutes drive, they were not so lucky. You can see in these photos the destruction that took place.

For me to complain about my garden when this is going on so close would be insensitive and frankly ridiculous. It doesn't mean I am not frustrated about the wind that has decimated about half the seedlings I planted. It doesn't mean I am not frustrated about the slugs that are active twenty-four hours a day for the last seven days because the sun has not come out and the ground stays perfectly wet for them and has given them the opportunity to eat holes in many of the remaining seedlings that were planted. I am not exagerating when I say I pulled off over fifty slugs from my two small garden beds in ten minutes after I got home from work. I can be frustrated about these things and still not complain... not to be some pious martyr, but because it is possible to be frustrated yet keep things in perspective.

But the entire time I was doing this, I kept thinking to myself two things. First, "this is the reason Bill Mollison says to wait for a year to do anything." I have spoken with the locals about when Spring really arrives, and I get a different answer from each person with whom I speak. Nothing beats firsthand experience. This is the joy of learning while gardening. Yes it can be frustrating and downright disheartening at times. However, my gardening is an adjuct to my daily meals. My life, and my family's life doesn't depend on it now. Let me practice and make as many mistakes as I can right now, so that I can learn. So that if I ever do need to depend on my garden for food, I will have that much more experience.

 

The second thing I kept thinking was, "why am I the fortunate one who gets to pick slugs off his seedlings, when just one town away, people are picking through the mud to find any of their belongings?" Fortunately, there has been a well-organized relief effort which we have been able to contribute to in a small way. Natural disasters are awful, but when we are not directly effected, they should serve as great tools to remind us of our own blessings.

It is always good to get some perspective.

Spring Garden - Seed Trays are Planted!

Just a quick post to share (and to keep for my own records) what seeds I am starting for this year's Spring garden. As you can see, I am a huge fan of Seed Savers Exchange and heirloom vegetables in general. 

This seasonal transition, and the importance it plays in human life, has greatly been lost in our modern world. To get reconnected to it... to the pleasures of the coming Spring are simple, but profound. Plus, it is always fun to get the seeds planted. I always feel like a kid in a candy store when going through my seed collection to pick out what I want to plant this year.

Well, here is my final selection. I'd love to know what you are planting. Let me know!

Tray 1

Tray 2

Tray 3

Tray 4

Tray 5

Tray 6

Tray 7

My New Garden Beds

 

 

My new garden beds about ready for planting! I used free, local, volcanic rock.
In the background, you can see the recycled shipping palett compost bin my father built during his recent trip

 

I thought I would share one of the projects is my garden. I just finished (almost) setting up my garden beds. I just need to plant seeds and seedlings. Very exciting!

 

Those of you in cooler climates may be thinking I am just a bit too late, or way too late, for a Fall garden, but in the Azores, it is perfect planting weather. We are in a maritime subtropical temperate climate. The Winter temperatures never drop below freezing. It is actually a more mild Winter, though more windy, than my previous garden in Turkey (a Mediterranean subtropical temperate climate).  So, I figure I'll be planting all my cool weather crops within the next few weeks, and be enjoying fresh greens and veg through the Winter.

My "Lower Garden". The spot I chose for the first garden beds.

 



I also thought I would share all the reasons I set up the garden beds where and how I did. It may be obvious for those with a lot of gardening experience, but not so for those with minimal time in their own garden. The first decision was location. As I am located just about 100 yards (90 meters) from the rocky, exposed beach, I get a lot of wind. The bougainvillea lining the wall in the photo above were almost decimated from Tropical Storm Nadine during her first and second visit to our island. Fortunately, the patch of earth I call the Lower Garden has pretty good wind protection from the surrounding walls and hedge. It literally sits about 5 feet (1.5 meters) below the rest of the garden, but it has great drainage. Even with the prolonged rain from Nadine, there was no puddling.

 

The next decision to be made was orientation. In the photo above of the Lower Garden, south is to the top of the photo, east is to the left, west is to the right, and I am on the north side taking the photo. This means the sun will progress from left to right (east to west) through the day. By orienting the beds on the north-south axis, the sun will hit both sides of each bed. Taller plants will be planted on the north end so that the southern sun (shining to the north) will hit more leaves, and the taller plants will not shade out shorter plants. Other gardeners run their beds east-west and plant all their taller crops on the north side as well; this is just another way of doing it. Of course, if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, then just switch north and south.

 

Rock walls and grass barrier in place. My Dalmation overseeing the project.

My last decision was how to make the beds. I am a huge fan of raised beds. Do I think they are the only way? By no means, but I think they will work great for my situation. I had a large pile of local volcanic rock piled up in a corner of the garden, and I decided to use these to make the sides of the raised beds. There were a number of reasons for this. First, they were free. Second, they were natural; chemically treated wood is commonly used, but I am not a fan for a lot of reasons. Third, the dark rocks would heat up in the sun which heats up the soil faster and improves the microclimate of the beds. The rocks will also radiate heat at night. I live in a cooler area even though it is not cold, so the additional heat will be nice.

I earned a greater appreciation for the builders of stone walls, because stacking rocks on top of each other in a linear fashion is not nearly as easy as it looks. There was a lot of rearranging and restacking and checking balance and stability. It was actually quite fun, but building a wall more than two layers would require a lot more time and skill.

I chose to line the beds with a number of layers of brown packing paper from our move. I saved as much of it as I could for just this reason, but I also have used it as kindling for fire starting. This will smother the underlying grass, slowly break down over time, and allow the bed plant roots to burrow through this layer and deeper into the soil.

That's it for now. A glimpse into my thinking and creation of my new garden beds.

Oh - these beds are about 4 feet x 12 feet. That's 48 square feet (4.5 square meters) per bed or 96 square feet (9 square meters) total. Not to bad!

The Importance of Knowing Your Local Farmers

I just wrote another article for AgriTrue. You can read the full article on their site (see link below). You can read more about AgriTrue here... unfortunately we have had some set-backs, but we are still working on making AgriTrue a reality.

In the cooling room at Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese.

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/bgdailynews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/af/faf2ae91-c2bc-5809-91b0-b7d5899c9ba8/4fbf94230386f.image.jpg

I recently read about a recall of over 14 tons of ground beef in Vermont. This got me thinking about a number of things.

First, this is a lot of meat. I wondered how many steers (or old dairy cows) it takes to make 14 tons of ground beef...

Read the full article here

Spotted: Snow Bunting - an Artic visitor!

A beautiful Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) in breeding plumage.

http://www.birdsasart.com/rootjpegs/snow%20bunting.jpg

I was shutting the front gate after a walk to the tidepools with my boys when I saw a blur of white and black. The bird darted past me within a few feet of my head... long enough for my brain to take a mental snapshot of its feather pattern. I had not ever seen a bird like this. I quickly went inside before the image faded from my memory and flipped through the bird identification book I had checked out from the library. There it was. A Snow Bunting. Plectrophenax nivalis. In breeding plumage. Resident of the Artic Circle!

Snow Bunting Distribution

http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/PASSERIFORMES/Calcariidae/maps/Snow%20Bunting.gif

After a bit of research, I found that Snow Buntings visit the Azores on a pretty rare frequency, but they have been recorded here every month of the year. They Winter in warmer climates, and then they head back to the Artic Circle to breed in late Winter to Early Spring. This guy must have been trying to avoid the cold since it is already Summer here now, and he has quite a ways to go.

Male Snow Bunting in Winter.

http://parrotletsuk.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ef87d4088330147e06c92cb970b-750wi

Snow Buntings may be common where you are from, but for me, this was my first sighting. Being such a bird-nerd, I still get really excited about first spottings. I hope I never lose that.

Spotted: European Goldfinch - Flying Jewels

Male European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v30/Mickledore/Goldfinch1.jpg

As I have readily admitted in the past that I am a bird-nerd, I will also admit that I stopped my car on the road and put on my flashing hazard lights when I spotted this guy in the grass hopping around with some sparrows. This is another bird that may be common where you are (if you live in Europe or the UK), but it was a first spotting for me. These are beautiful birds that I have previously only seen in photos. I was pretty stoked!

European Goldfinch in flight

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/files/pictures/Szczygiel_001_LE9I7177.jpg

http://www.avianweb.com/images/birds/finches/goldfinchdistributionmap.gif

A Weasel in My Garden!

The Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis)... resident of my garden

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/1350934845_f64e9d56f2.jpg

During our first week at our new home, I saw this little blur of brown and white fur run out of the garden, spin in a circle, and run right back in. It was too sleek to be a rat, so I asked one of the locals about it. He was standing with two other men, and he was the only one who spoke English, a little. I described what I saw, and he translated to the other two men. The one in the back held up his hands just under a foot (30 cm) apart and raised his eyebrows in question. Yeah, that was about the size of it, I nodded.

"Ah, niñito," he said nodding.

"Ah, niñito, yes," the other two men assuredly nodded as well.

That name seemed a bit familiar. About 10 minutes later, I was rolling my eyes after reading the google definition: Diminutive of niño small child.

This is obviously the local name for the animal. Not helpful.

A little more looking, and I discovered the animal was likely the Least Weasel. It is the smallest member of the Weasel Family (Mustelidae) as well as the smallest member of the Carnivore Order (Carnivora). It is found throughout Europe and on islands in the Atlantic (including ours in the Azores!), the Mediterranean, and Japan. It feeds mostly on rodents, and it can kill and carry an animal up to 10 times its own weight!

Then a few weeks later (a couple of days ago), right at dusk, I was standing on the porch overlooking the garden, when I saw a little furry critter slowly creep out from under the large clump of aloe plants. This clump is about ten feet (3 meters) long by four feet (1.2 meters) wide. He (or she) stepped out, walked around for about 20 seconds, and then scampered back under the aloe. Definitely a Least Weasel. Almost cute.

My first thought when I saw him come out was, "Oh great, these things can kill birds. I want to get some chickens." I wondered if I was going to have to "get rid" of the weasel somehow. But I almost immediately thought of the story of the Bullock brothers.

These three brothers had decided to start a Permaculture project on one of the islands off the coast of northwestern Washington state. They had worked for a few years to restore the flora at the water's edge including planting some "wild" foods that they also enjoyed eating, like cattails. They had a good harvest for a year, and then they noticed that most of their cattails were being raided. They eventually realized it was muskrats. As they had started to restore the land, the animals were coming back, and they were eating some of the brothers' harvest. Instead of trapping them or killing them, they decided to let nature be. For a few years, they continued to lose their cattail harvest. Then one year it seemed that the muskrats were gone. It turned out that now, thanks to a healthy muskrat population, the otters and eagles had moved back to the area, and they were feeding on the muskrats. The brothers were able to harvest some cattails again, but they shared some with the muskrats as well, and a more complex and stable food web and ecosystem was restored.

I have done something similar in the past (see my article: Hold the chemicals... see what happens!), but it was on a much, much smaller scale. However, the priciple is the same.

So, we will see what happens.

The other logical way to look at it is this... If the Least Weasel in my garden eats mice and rats and other rodents, and I have seen mice and rats in my neighborhood and in my neighbors backyard, but I have not seen any of these pests in my house or yard, then this guy is doing me a service. I will not only let him be, but I will welcome his stay.

Now we have a weasel as a neighbor.

 

Mystery Solved... What is that noise outside my window every night?

The noise originates out here somewhere...

Almost every night since we moved to the Azores, I have heard a bizzarre sound coming from the undeveloped land near our home. It occurs about an hour after nightfall. It goes on and on for a few hours and then dies down in the middle of the night. The sound is too hard to explain. I thought maybe it was a strange frog making the noise, but it didn't sound like any frog I had ever heard. One of my neighbors who just moved in as well thought it was someone playing with DJ equiment.

Finally, another neighboor got the bright idea of just asking the locals about it. She lives on the other corner of the undeveloped land and hears them every night as well. The locals immediately knew what she was asking about, and they said it was the Cagarro (ka-GAR-oh). I had never heard that name before, so I did a quick google search. To us English speakers, the Cagarro is known as the Cory's Shearwater. It was a bird!

The Azorean Cagarro... a.k.a. Cory's Shearwater

http://www.thebirderonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Corys-Shearwater.jpg

The Shearwaters are medium-sized seabirds closely related to petrels and albatrosses. They feed on fish and molluscs and can dive up to 50 feet (15 meters)! They are said to be silent at sea and raucous at night in their breeding colonies, which is apparently what we have right next door. I've tried to find the colony once, but the land is covered with thorny brambles and low growing, dense shrubs... a pretty darn safe place for a breeding colony.

So here is a great video that lets you hear what I hear every night. Imagine drifting off to sleep with this!

The crazy night call of the Cory's Shearwater

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhvRk8xmeAg

Plants in my Azorean Garden (please help me identify!)

I wanted to share some photos (LOTS of photos) I took of the plants in my new garden. As I wrote earlier, this space was designed and planted to be a formal garden. There are a wide variety of flowering bulbs and perennials as well as a number of specimen plants. Here is a good representation of what I have growing. I also added a few photos of plants I have not yet identified. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Aloe genus

I don't think this is the True Aloe (Aloe vera), but it is very closely related.

I got a blister, which ruptured, from pruning with kitchen shears instead of my garden clippers (still waiting for those to arrive). It was constantly sore for a full day before I remembered I had all these aloe plants growing in the garden. Literally within three or four minutes of rubbing the gel from a broken leaf onto the wound, I was pain free. I love this plant!

Agapanthus genus for sure, probably Agapanthus africanus

These flowers, both white and this blue-purple, area all over the island. Also known as the African Lily or Lily of the Nile - which is funny because it is neither a lily nor hails from Africa. It is from South America. Reportedly has historic and rarely used medicinal value.

Cycad, unidentified species

Can anyone identify this?

Trailing African Daisy (Osteospermum fruticosum)

Common Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva)

This is the "original" Day Lily. It is edible from root to flower, although the leaves can be fibrous.

I've eaten a few of these flowers here already, and I really enjoy them... crunchy and slighly sweet.

Note that not all Day Lillies are edible.

Unidentified fern

Can anyone identify this?

Unidentified flowering shrub

Can anyone identify this?

Geranium genus, unknown species 1

Geranium genus, unknown species 2

Indian Shot (Canna indica purpurea)

Reported to have an edible, starchy root and edible young shoots.

I'll let you know when I try it.

Bulb plant. Looks similar to Wild Onion, but I keep forgetting to examine it closer.

Can anyone identify this?

Unidentified Hen and Chicks species (likely from either the Sempervivum or Echeveria genera)

These plants are fairly common around here. I've seen a number of homes with these in the yard.

Hibiscus genus, probably the Chinese Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

We have a number of these hibiscus growing in our garden.

Young leaves can be used as a spinach substitute.

Flowers are edible and can be made into a tea.

I'll let you know when I try them.

Another ruffled Hibiscus plant, unknown species.

Hydrangea genus

Hydrangeas are considered an invasive species in the Azores. They are all over the place. You could probably walk around the entire island without losing sight of at least one Hydrangea plant.

This plant here was in dire need of a good pruning.

I pruned it last week, and it already is bounding back.

There are now well over a dozen flower heads forming.

Pretty sure this is a Monstera plant, probably Monstera deliciosaProduces an edible fruit reportedly similar in flavor to pineapple.

I'll let you know.

Pretty sure this is a Lion's Tale Agave (Agave attenuata)

Agave have many edible parts. I'll experiment with these as the garden is full of them.

I'll let you know.

A large Century plant (Agave americana marginata)

Thy typically live 15-30 years... not a full century.

Unidentified Lily species (possibly Lilium 'Casa Blanca' )

Can anyone identify this?

Calla or Arum Lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica

These lilies are all over the place in the understory of the undeveloped land next door.

Unidentified palm 1.

Can anyone identify this?

Unidentified palm 2.

Can anyone identify this?

Lantana genus, likely a variety of Spanish Flag (Lantana camara)

Rose, unknown species 1

Rose, unknown species 2

Unknown varigated shrub.

Can anyone identify this?

I believe this is a Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia genus).

This floating plant filled the fountain in the garden.