comprehensive basic gardening

food not lawns Springfield, Illinois

Food Not Lawns is turning yards into gardens, and neighborhoods into communities around the world. We are a grassroots gardening project geared toward using waste resources to grow organic gardens & encouraging others to share their space, surplus, & ideas toward the betterment of the whole community. We focus on low-tech, low-cost, low-maintenance solutions that are available to all regardless of financial ability. What's in our big picture: a thriving human ecology, permaculture, sustainable cities, growing and eating local organic food, greywater systems, biodynamics, water catchment, reuse, living simply, diy, sharing, helpingrebuilding communities, one lawn and one family at a time. We encourage friends and neighbors to grow their own food; share their knowledge, skills, and resources with each other and our greater community; volunteer our time and energy to each other, making community the focus of our activities. for questions, call Carey at 753-0057 or email zombans@yahoo.com or join our yahoo group, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodnotlawnsspringfieldil/

"We should make our home and neighborhood the most democratic, the most beautiful and the holiest in the world." Vachel Lindsay
This zine is one of many Golden Books to appear in Springfield.

food not lawns Springfield

gardening
Organic gardening is not the spraying of natural-based pesticides instead of chemical-based pesticides; its a whole lot more. Organic gardening in the big picture is a process of balancing your ecosystem. Even further down the path is using a design system like permaculture to create a thriving sustainable human development. Gardening is not so much right and wrong, but the process of how things work. Everything gardensbeavers garden, worms garden, we garden. Observe your environment, experiment, and take note of the feedback you receive. The best gardening advice Ive ever received is: observe! observe! observe! There are many reasons to garden: artistic expression, appreciation of beauty, health and therapy, to have fresh and nutritious food, to begin healing of our planet and ourselves, to invigorate animal populations (bees, butterflies, birds), etc. In planning a garden, consider your ability to invest time in preparing and making soil, planting, watering, weeding and maintenance, picking, processing, and preparing. Consider the space a garden takes, and the space needs of other members of your family (such as open space for children). Reasons to grow food instead of lawn include: access to healthful and flavorful food, financial benefits of growing local food instead of buying old food from far away, and personal satisfaction of having a beautiful and productive yard. Food grown at home tastes better because it is picked at the peak of ripeness, and if you grow heirloom varieties, they are generally bred for taste instead of shelf life or uniformity. 2 40

that sharing is vital to community building. Please take this knowledge and share it freely. Share your seeds, plants, and produce. We plant seeds, transforming our yards and ourselves, and we can bring this transformation into the world we inhabit, making our neighborhoods and communities what we would like them to be.

bibliography and recommended books

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com) The Beautiful Food Garden: Creative Landscaping with Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers by Kate Rogers Gessert Complete Book of Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy Create an Oasis with Greywater by Art Ludwig (5th edition provides much more information than the 4th edition) (oasisdesign.net) Creative Vegetable Gardening: Accenting Your Vegetables with Flowers by Joy Larkcom Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik Dirt: the Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery Edible Heirloom Gardening by Rosalind Creasy Edible Wild Plants of North America by Fernald and Kinsey Food Not Lawns by Heather C. Flores The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch Gaias Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by William Woys Weaver How to Make a Forest Garden by Patrick Whitefield The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets The Natural Way of Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka Permaculture: A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison Peterson Field Guides: Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster and James Duke The Soil and Health by Sir Albert Howard Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew Toobox for Sustainable City Living, A Do-It-Ourselves Guide by Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew Urban Evolution: http://urbanevolution.org/ The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen Weeds, Guardians of the Soil by Joseph A. Cocannouer Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof 42 Many thanks to the illustrators of the graphics included in this zine. 3

table of contents
climate .......................................................... 5 water ............................................................ 6 soil ................................................................ 8 double-digging ............................................. 11 plants ........................................................... 11 tools ............................................................. 16 seeds and transplants .................................... 16 vegetables .................................................... 19 fruits ............................................................. 21 espalier pruning ........................................... 22 nuts ............................................................. 24 herbs ........................................................... 25 vines ........................................................... 25 lawns .......................................................... 26 compost ...................................................... 26 vermicompost ............................................. 28 fertilizer ....................................................... 30 mulch .......................................................... 32 micro-organisms .......................................... 32 insects.......................................................... 33 weeds .......................................................... 34 useful weeds guide ...................................... 36 the plan ....................................................... 38 resources ...................................................... 41 other ............................................................ 41 bibliography and recommended books ........ 42

resources
Food Not Lawns, Springfield, Illinois holds monthly educational meetings on a variety of topics. Experienced gardeners are always on hand to provide a variety of suggestions for gardening help. Experienced gardeners are also online in a yahoo group, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/ group/foodnotlawnsspringfieldil/. Food Not Lawns holds an annual seed and plant swap in May. The University of Illinois Extension Office provides a Master Gardener help desk that can assist with questions. Make sure to emphasize that you are looking for advice that focuses on holistic organic gardening. The phone number is 782-4617. Extension also offers classes throughout the year for a small fee, and has demonstration gardens, including a compost demonstration area on the state fairgrounds. The waste stream is a good resource in finding what you need. Freecycle (available online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ freecyclespfldil) is a place for people to post their unwanted items for other people to take, as well as request items they need. It is all free. A good network of friends can usually locate what you are looking for. Curbs on garbage day are another good source for materials. Pallets are useful building items, and are ubiquitous. Mulch is available for free or very low cost through the city, as are coffee grounds. A manure coordination website is available at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/manureshare/

other
Remember, there are not failures, only feedback. If you get stuck, think of your problem as the solution, and get your brain working on what it is the solution to. For zero dollars, you can eat tasty and nutritious produce at home. This is a solution available to everyone regardless of financial ability. This zine was provided free to you, because Food Not Lawns believes

sunflower and morning glory house

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on your site. Elements you desire or need to plan around may include: rain barrels, kitchen gardens, orchards/berry patches/grapevines, herb gardens, paths, compost piles, play area/lawn, swingset, sculpture, firewood, outdoor kitchen, mailbox, animal areas (dogs, rabbits, chickens, etc.), shed, fence, water feature (pond/stream), swales, clothesline, wild area, arbor, landform, existing vegetation, view, potted plants, patio, worm bin, storage, roads, garbage can, greenhouse/cold frame, exits and entrances, and wind break. Make sure to look at power lines, septic, sewer, gas lines, prevailing winds, drainage, soil type, slope, views and privacy needs. Zoning may also be an issue, depending on your city or county. You may also have additional rules and guidelines if you are under a homeowners association. Next, map your site, including measuring distances. I would advise using graph paper to map out your site to scale. Make many copies of your original map. Get out colored pencils and sticky notes, and design away. Doodle, draw, start over, dream, and make a hundred designs. You can put the elements on sticky notes and move them around at will. Things to elements of a total permaculture design keep in mind while designing include the colors, materials, heights (both in the beginning and at maturity), (in)formality, uniformity, space, balance and contrast, plants growing through time/ seasons, time spent and distance from the house. A principle of permaculture design is that each element has more than one function, and that each function is served by two or more elements. This means that instead of constructing an awning over a west window to the shade the summer sun, a fruiting vine on a trellis can be planted to provide shade, with the added benefit of something to eat. Instead of draining a kitchen sink into the sewer, and then using chlorinated tap water to water the garden, sink water can be routed or carried to the garden. Swales can be dug and rain barrels can be installed to catch rain water, instead of directing this resource to the storm sewer, and then using fresh drinking water to hydrate the garden. The possibilities are endless. Wherever there is waste, try to find a way to use it as an input for another element.

Your garden should be close enough to your house that it wont be neglected. Being in your garden every day, observing, will allow you to become aware of issues as they arise (such as tomato hornworms, injured or diseased plants, etc.), and allow harvesting of food upon ripening. Sometimes it is hard to find a perfect spot for a garden that is close to the house, but it is something worth thinking about. If the places which require the most of your time and energy are situated in close proximity and in clear view of your home, you will be more likely to spend the time needed there.

climate
We live officially in climate zone 5b, although many zone maps put us in zone 6 now. That means that winter temperatures do not get below -15. Make sure the plants you invest in grow within our climate zone, through the winter, or be prepared to treat them as annuals. Climate zones can be altered through creation of a micro-climate. If you live in town, you can benefit (or suffer) from the heat island effect, which raises temperatures in the city around 4-6 degrees. In winter, this can make the difference in losing tender perennials, or causing fruit trees to bloom prematurely. If you have a plant that needs warmer temperatures, you can place it in front of a white wall that reflects light and heat or a black one that absorbs heat and radiates it at night, or in front of a brick wall, or place rocks around it that absorb heat. A lot can be done to alter the climate a bitto create a micro-climate. In June, the longest day of the year provides us with about 15 hours of sunlight. In December, the shortest day of the year provides us with less than 9 hours of sunlight. The suns position in the sky changes south through the seasons. In summer, sunrise is more to the northeast and sunset is more to the northwest, and the sun is high overhead in the sky. In winter, sunrise is more to the southeast, and sunset is in the southwest, and the sun moves low across the sky. Keep in mind that a spot that is sunny in April may not be sunny in June, especially under the eaves of a house or under trees. seasonal rising and setting of the sun 5

Frost happens when temperatures fall below freezing, 32 degrees. Plant cells contain water, and when they freeze, they expand and cell walls burst, killing the plants. Frost can be mitigated by use of a protective covering, like a row cover or even something simple like a sheet placed over the plant. However, to grow plants in deep winter in Illinois, plants need significant protection. The main idea of growing plants outdoors in winter is to have mature plants at the time of frost that will be protected until you harvest them. There is generally not enough sunlight and favorable conditions to grow most plants in deep winter here. In Illinois, we have about 180 frost-free days, which make up the typical growing season. The average last day of frost in central Illinois in spring is April 15. This doesnt mean after this date there will be no frost, just that the chance of frost is 50% or less. The chance of frost drops 10% per week, until you get to a frost-free date of May 12. The average first day of frost in fall is October 15. Frost can happen before and after these dates, but it is a good general guideline.

water
Our average rainfall in central Illinois is 37 inches a year, although last year (2008), we had well over 50 inches, and I remember the late 1980s, when hardly any fell. If you invest in plants that require a lot of water, you will be taking that labor upon yourself to do what nature cannot. Plants that require less moisture can thrive in certain soil conditions in Illinois, because our summers are generally dry. However, it is best to invest in plants that do well with our average rainfall rates. Is chlorinated tap water good for plants? Sometimes it is all we have to work with. Chlorine can kill micro-organisms in the soil. To evaporate the chlorine in treated water, let it sit overnight. (Be sure to keep this out of range of kids and pets.) Water is increasingly scarce in many parts of the world, including many parts of the United States. It is estimated that California, the largest foodproducing state, will not be able to deliver water to millions of acres of agriculture. This will increasingly affect our winter food availability. There are several ways to capture the water that currently runs through your lot. One way is by install6

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exactly what plants you are weeding and why. Why weed out lambsquarters to grow spinach, when lambsquarters is every bit as tasty, more nutritious than any garden green, seeds and grows itself, is impervious to drought, and needs no weeding? Many gardeners are of the opinion that nature is growing what needs to be there to address mineral and nutritional deficiencies. It is recommended to grow a strip of natural vegetation alongside your garden, which can then be cut, composted, and returned to the soil as a made-to-order amendment.

the plan
It is advised that you observe your site for a year before you begin designing, but this isnt always practical. Design is a continual process of observation, receiving and processing feedback, implementing changes (experimenting), and repeating the process. Curves and edges provide more growing and planting area. Diversity is a key to successful gardening. You can define your goals and look at your land with that in mind, but at the same time, look at your land to suggest goals. Notice patterns and processes: how water flows, scars from fire, branches bent by wind, how sun and shadows move, and signs of animals resting and feeding. Identify resources on your site (such as mature trees, springs, etc.) through research and observation. Maps can be useful, although it is vital to remember that the map is not the territory. You can get topographical maps online or through the county. It is also useful to make your own map. A lot of thought goes into an overall garden plan. This plan can include your entire yard. First, write down all the elements you desire to include 38

ing a rain barrel. Rain barrels are usually hooked up to the gutters on a house, with a screen or other mosquito-proof top, an overflow spout near the top (to go into another barrel, preferably), and an outflow spout at the bottom that can be hooked up to a hose. If the barrel is raised with blocks or wood, gravity can be used to more easily transport the water into your garden. Water is very heavyeight pounds per gallon. A 55-gallon barrel full of water weighs 440 pounds, so make your supports very sturdy. A roof with 1000 square foot of area will yield about 620 gallons of water in a 1 inch rain eventenough to fill over eleven 55-gallon rain barrels. Last years rain would have benefited a garden with an additional 31,000 gallons of water, just from the roof. Rain barrels can be purchased from many hardware stores or online. However, they are easily made. In Springfield, 55-gallon barrels can be purchased from F & W Resources (3327 Terminal Avenue, Springfield, IL 62707, (217) 525-1206), for under $5. Be sure to get barrels that formerly contained food, not chemicals. The parts needed to convert a food-grade barrel to a rain barrel are available from many hardware stores. Specific plans can be found here on our local food not lawns yahoo group, or there are many available online. Another method to capture rain is by using a swale. Swale is an old English word, and it is basically a fancy ditch dug on contour, and can be dug however deep you want to make it, from one shovelful to a dozen or more feet deep. Water flows into the swale and soaks into the ground, the best place to store water. The swale does not drain into anything, but lets the water sit a short time to soak in. Many swales on a property can capture a lot of additional water during rainstorms, that would otherwise flow into the storm sewer, eventually getting to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Greywater is another option for directing water on your property or into your garden. Greywater is used house water, from anywhere except the toilet. Any water from showers, sinks, and washing machines can be directed through any number of ways, into the garden. Greywater can be filtered before it flows into your garden, and there are many kinds of setups. Options are limitless, and information abounds.

common ragweed sb, m burdock m, e curly dockm

soil
Soil is a basis for life. Soil is made up of ground up rocks and decomposed plant and animal life, and is the transition zone between our rocky planet and the life that thrives upon it. It takes 500 to 1000 years for nature to build an inch of fertile top soil. Currently in the U.S. soil is being eroded at 17 times the rate it is being made. Tilth is the crumb structure of the soil. Humus (pronounced HYOO-mus, not like the tasty garbanzo bean dip hummus) is the end product of decomposition, and provides food in a useful form for plants. Humus is the material on the forest floor, or on the bottom of your compost pile. Soil is made up of three sizes of particles: sand, silt, and clay. Sand can be seen with the naked eye. Silt is microscopic, and clay particles are so small they cant be seen even with a microscope. Sand is porous, drains water easily, and minerals are quickly leached out of sandy soil. Clay does not drain water easily, and contains a lot of nutrients, but these nutrients can be bound up in the clay and be hard for plants to access. Loam is a fairly even mixture of sand, silt, and clay. Most of Illinois soils have been made by glacial action, and is called loess, which is large amounts of finely ground rock blown by wind from river valleys to upland areas. It is the most desirable soil parent material because of its well-balanced mineral content, its medium texture, and its excellent water holding capacity. (master gardener manual) Additionally, our soils on former prairies have a high amount of decayed organic matter from prairie grasses and their roots, which adds humus, nutrients, and tilth to the soil. A soil type common in our region, called Sangamon soil, is particularly fertile and rich, due to the build up of organic matter during the Sangamon Interglacial period. About half of the total volume of good soil is made up of partially decomposed rock material (mineral matter) mixed with the remains of plant and animal life. The other half is made up of pore spaces between 8

ground cherry sb, m

lambs quarters sb, m, e

pigweed (amaranth) sb, m, e

mullein sb, m

plantain m, e

purslane sb, m, e

smartweed sb, m

sow thistle m, e

wild mustard m, e 37

useful weeds guide

Soil builders (sb) have root systems that forage deeply, often to the subsoil. These useful plants mine the soil for trace minerals and nutrients. After the plant dies, its roots decay into humus, putting organic matter deep within the ground and opening spaces from the surface to the subsoil for water and roots of more tender plants (vegetables, for instance). Above ground, the plant decays into organic matter and nutrients which help to protect exposed earth from wind and rain erosion and to catch any matter eroding away at ground level. Almost any weed can be used for mulching purposes well, maybe not thistles! Medicinal plants (m) traditionally have been used for healing purposes. It is important to be well-informed on any herbal preparation, and definitely recommended to get the advice of someone who uses herbs and can share their experiences. This is definitely a place for exploration. Edible weeds (e) are uncultivated vegetables. They arent domesticated, and taste wild. Many are not only food, but also medicine (your food is your medicine, is Masanobu Fukuokas opinion). They provide many trace nutrients that are absent in the typical Americans processed or chemical industrial agriculture-based diet. As always, be absolutely sure of what you are eating; that you are eating the correct part in the correct manner (for instance, only poke leaves less than 6 tall boiled in a couple changes of water are not poisonous, and result in poke salat); and learning from someone who eats weeds and lives to tell about it is always good idea. bull thistle sb, m, e

dandelionsb, m, e

milkweed sb, m

36

these measurements will vary

pokeweed m, e

particles. These spaces are filled with water or air, both of which are vital to plant life. Only work soil when ideal moisture conditions are present. When ideal moisture conditions are present, you should be able to take a handful of dirt and squeeze it together, and it will hold together. If you break it apart, it should crumble. If the soil does not hold together, it is too dry, and if it will not crumble apart, it is too wet. If you work wet or dry soil, you will destroy the porous pockets that allow plant roots access to vital water and air, and destroy the tilth, the structure of your soil. If you walk on your garden beds, you will compact the soil and get the same result. Picture a cross-section of soil. At the top of soil is what is called the organic horizon (O horizon). This is where plant and animal life are in various states of decomposition. Under that is the A horizon. This is your good soil, the topsoil. Below that is the B horizon, which is the subsoil. This generally contains clay, larger pieces of rock, and leached minerals. This is the transition zone between topsoil and the C horizon. The C horizon is the bedrock, the parent material from which soil is formed. Topsoil is darker in color and lighter in texture than subsoil. The topsoil in this area is very thick, unless it has been eroded, or altered by humans and their machines. When newer subdivisions are built, often the topsoil is scraped off and sold, leaving the subsoil and many years of work for the gardener who attempts to work it. 9

pH stands for the potential of hydrogen. Acidic or sour soils range in pH from 1-7, with 7 being neutral. Above 7 is alkaline or sweet soils. Soil bacteria are most vigorous between 6.0 and 7.0. pH plays a part in making certain nutrients available. Iron, for example, cannot be absorbed when the pH is high. Soil in central Illinois is generally between 6.0 and 7.0. Some plants, such as blueberries, need a more acidic soil. If you grow blueberries here, you may need to amend your soil to make it more acidic. To lower soil pH, dig in materials that are very acidicpeat moss, sawdust, leaves, bark and manure. Plants such as beets like more alkaline soils. To raise pH, use lime, bone meal, or wood ash. However, most plants like it right in the middle, where nutrients are best absorbed and soil bacteria are most activebetween 6.0 and 7.0. Humus is a pH buffer, helping keep the soil neutral. Soil testing is offered by several area businesses, but not by the Extension office. To have your soil tested, wait for the ground to warm up to fifty degrees. Do not use very wet soil; if it is too wet to work, it is too wet to test. Take several samples from different areas of your garden, about 6-8 inches deep. Mix these samples well in a bucket. Spread the soil thinly and air dry at room temperature. Do not dry in an oven. Send about pint of soil from the total mix for testing. Pack thoroughly dried soil in a plastic bag, and repackage in a strong box or container. Label each sample with your name and address, as well as your intended need (such as vegetable garden). The report you get back will indicate the levels of nutrients in your soil, and what amendments you may need to make. Sparks Soil Testing P.O. Box 841 Lincoln, IL 62656 735-4233 $5 for lawn and garden sample Ingrams Soil Testing 13343 Fitschen Road Athens, IL 62613 636-7500 $10 for lawn and garden sample

Organic materials are excellent soil additions, allowing naturally occurring nutrients to be more readily absorbed by plants. They add both nutrients and texture to the soil. This can be in the form of compost, or green manures, both of which will be addressed shortly. Permaculture founder Bill Mollison offers this soil rehabilitation plan: 1. Prevent erosion by covering soil with fast-growing local species. Use swales (ditches) to collect water to sink into the soil. 2. Add organic matter. 3. Loosen compacted earth. 4. Modify pH toward neutral. 5. Correct nutrient deficiencies with organic materials and manures. 6. Encourage biological diversity (worms, insects, etc.). 10

2. When used in crop rotation, can break up hardpan soils. 3. Fiberize the soil, and provide good environment for microorganisms. 4. Provide good indicators of soil conditions. 5. Help surface crops withstand drought better, and as companion crops, to feed traditional crops. 6. Store up minerals that would otherwise erode. 7. Good eating! 8. In lush weed areas, micro-organisms feeding on decaying matter provide extra heat for the soil. 9. Holds soil in place, combating wind and rain erosion. According to Joseph A. Cocannouer, who wrote Weeds: Guardians of the Soil, pumpkins do well with jimson weed, potatoes do especially well with pigweeds. Generally most plants do well with pigweeds (amaranth), nightshades (including annual nightshade and ground cherries), ragweed, lambs quarters, and sow thistle. He recommends thinning weeds, to get the maximum benefit from them; for example, growing one lambs quarter plant every three or four feet. He recommends deep foraging weeds plus legumes as the ultimate soil conditioners. Soil building weeds include: pigweed, lambs quarters, ground cherries and other nightshades, purslane, cocklebur, bull nettle, goldenrod, ragweed, sunflowers, milkweed, select thistles, wild morning glory, stinging nettle, annual smartweeds, wild lettuce, and wild legumes, including sweet clover. These all have root systems that forage deeply. Few cultivated crops have root systems that forage the subsoil. For the greatest addition of nitrogen, he recommends turning weeds into the ground when they are flowering. JAC states, heavy weed fallowing has been known to have a markedly beneficial effect on toxic soils. I am by no means advising anyone to plant up their yard in ragweed and thistles. However, it is important when weeding to be aware of continued on p. 38 35

always survives. These reproduce, and their offspring are increasingly resistant to the pesticide, and in a short number of generations, the pesticide is no longer effective, requiring new and deadlier pesticides to be developed and used with the same results. We go through this resistance cycle again and again. Many pesticides are toxic to humans as well as insect life (DDT is a good example). Beneficial and necessary insects like bees, which do the majority of pollination duties, are highly susceptible to pesticides. Pests usually do not attack healthy vigorous plants. However, there are proactive and reactive measures you can take when youd like to protect your harvest. One reactive approach is hand-picking specific pests, which is effective with bugs like tomato hornworms and Japanese beetles. If you see a strange bug on your plant, make sure to identify it before squashing it, so you dont accidentally kill a beneficial insect. Also, learn what bugs eat the plants you are raising (such as potato beetles, bean beetles, etc.). You can hose off aphids and spider mites with a strong spray, make traps (a saucer of beer for slugs), and destroy nests (tent caterpillars or web worms). A proactive measure you can take is making a bug juice to spray on plants. Bug juice repellants are made from things like boiled garlic or hot peppers, or dishwater, or even a bug puree of bugs that infest plants (such as Japanese beetles). Less murderous proactive techniques involve using crop rotation to break cycles of infestations, using row covers to exclude pests (must be removed at pollination time), physical barriers (such as a cardboard collar to prevent cutworms), and smelly plants which distract and disrupt pests that hunt by scent. Smelly plants include marigolds, onions, garlic, lavender, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, etc. This is a good reason to include herbs and flowers in your vegetable beds.

There is a spectrum of advice when it comes to tilling soil. Tilling affects population growths and declines of micro-organisms, fueled by access to oxygen. Often in the first few years after tilling, you may have an increase in yields, followed by a decrease in yields. Obviously, bare soil is more at risk for erosion. Some folks use the double dig method, and then dig no more. See the illustration for details. After double-digging, the soil will be fluffy, and generally raised up higher than what you started with. After double digging, no further tilling is needed. Some folks never till, ever, instead adding organic matter to the tops of their beds. Some folks use a broadfork inserted into the soil and then gently lifted. This provides for some porous spaces to be introduced, but not oxygen to fuel micro-organism populations. You will have to think about it and decide what works best for you.

weeds
Everyone knows the problems of weeds: they may compete for light, moisture, and nutrients; they generally contain a lot of seeds; and sometimes they can harbor pests or diseases. But weeds provide a lot of benefits as well. Benefits of weeds include: 1. Bring up minerals, especially depleted ones or trace elements, from subsoil to topsoil, and make them available to crops. 34

plants
Plants need sunshine, water, air, and food to grow. All plants need sunshine, although some plants thrive in shade. If a plant needs full sun, it 11

needs at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. Part-sun requires 3-6 hours of sun, and shade requires up to 3 hours of sun. Some plants thrive in deep shade, which is no sun at all, but not many do. For plants that require full sun, it is best to have a southern exposure to get the most sunlight possible. Especially for fruiting plants, like fruit trees or typical garden plants like tomatoes, full sun is required. For plants where the greens or stalks are harvested, partshade can be tolerated. Check the orientation of your house and yard to find the sunny southern exposure. Late afternoon sun in central Illinois can be fatal to many garden plants. Photosynthesis is the process plants use to make food. Plants take sunthe leaves are roots in the air light, carbon dioxide from the air, and water from the ground to make glucose, a simple sugar that is their food. The optimum temperature for photosynthesis is 65-85 degrees. Only 3% of total light that hits a plant is used for photosynthesis. Additionally, plants use nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and many trace minerals accessed from the soil by roots (and mycorrhizae, fungal growths that form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots) to enable vital plant processes. Roots and root hairs are constantly growing and dying back. Plants need generally one inch of water per week. If setting fruit, they may need more, as they will when conditions are very hot or windy. the roots are leaves in the soil 12

hundreds of thousands of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. A few handfuls of soil contain more micro-organisms than there are people on Earth. Mycelium is basically the roots of a mushroom, a one-cell thick strand that threads through the soil, making a dense network of fibers. This holds the soil in place, and also transfers nutrients from the soil to plants. Large networks of mycelia have been found, making what looks like a forest actually one large incredibly complex functioning organism. Edible and medicinal fungi can be grown in a cool moist shady spot. Logs can be stacked and inoculated with mushroom spawn, most often with dowel plugs that have been colonized with the mycelia of the desired strain. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi. Fungi produce natural antibiotics to reduce their chances of rotting. There are many health benefits to regular ingestion of medicinal and edible mushrooms. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of these complex organisms.

insects
The vast majority of insects are beneficial, and a complete benefit in an organic garden. Having a balanced, thriving ecosystem is the most beneficial and best long-term solution to pest issues. Remember, you are planting with and for nature, which includes, but is not exclusively, yourself. Disregarding cosmetic annoyances is an easy first step. Diversity is a key. Encourage beneficial predators by providing habitats for them. Birds (provide trees, thickets, seed-bearing plants to eat), praying mantids, toads (provide access to water), spiders, ladybugs, lacewings, damsel bugs, dragonflies, pirate bugs, and lightning bug larvaethese all eat pests in the garden. Having predatory insects and animals around means always having some food for thempests around also. Umbelliferous plants, such as dill, carrot, and fennel, and other flowering plants, attract beneficial insects. Even moles eat Japanese beetle grubs. Not using pesticides in a home garden allows insect life to thrive. The percentage of crops lost to pests is around 30%, a number which has remained fairly constant since the 1940s, despite ever-increasing pesticide use. When a pesticide is used on a pest, some population of the pest 33

mulch
Mulch is a protective covering of organic matter. Commonly used mulches include wood chips, weeds, evergreen branches (Christmas trees), leaves, grass clippings, straw (not hay which contains seeds), and pine needles. Look around for local by-products that are useful for your garden. Plastic and carpeting have been used for mulch, but these are not recommended, due to the long-term costs and difficulties involved in their use. Trees benefit from a 4-6 inch pile of mulch around them, but make sure to keep the mulch several inches away from the trunk of a tree, or rodents might take up residence next to their tasty tree snacks. Leaves and straw are often recommended for use in garden beds. Mulch is constantly decomposing, and additional mulch will need to be added each year to maintain a mulched bed. The benefits of mulch include: keeps weeds down, keeps soil moist, keeps soil warmer in winter and cooler in summer (although you may have to push mulch aside in spring to initially let the ground warm up), attracts worms, attracts beneficial insects like spiders, prevents soil erosion, adds tilth/humus/nutrients to the soil, keeps plants/fruits cleaner, provides a place to walk, and looks tidier. Some problems associated with mulch include: may keep soils too cool or moist (can cause rot), cant mulch seeded areas or young seedlings, can attract pests (slugs, snails, rodents), and decomposing wood robs soil of nitrogen.

micro-organisms
Micro-organisms decompose organic matter and increase nutrient availability, improve soil structure, help plants absorb water and nutrients, increase stress and disease resistance, increase drought tolerance, and some fix nitrogen from the air. The vast majority of fungi are beneficial for plant life. Mycorrhizal fungi grow inside and/or outside plant roots, and act as an extension of the plants roots. A thimbleful of soil contains 32

Transpiration is the process plants use to move water from the roots through the leaves into the air, which cools the plants. If you are gardening in containers, they will need more and frequent watering than plants in garden beds. In hot dry windy weather, plants in containers in full sun may need watering twice or three times daily. Consistency in watering is important in germination and seedling stages, and again when flowering and setting fruit. Water early in the morning or late in the evening. When the sun is bearing down, water is mostly lost to evaporation. Additionally, water droplets on plants can magnify the suns rays, causing spots to burn. It is preferable to water in morning, as watering in the evening can encourage the growth of mildew. It is important to water the soil, and not the foliage. You can water using a bucket of sun-warmed rainwater, leaky hoses (or soaker hoses), a hose with a watering wand with a gentle spray, PVC pipes with spigots or holes, etc. To reduce watering needs, mulch plants, or tightly space plants. You can also set plants in a furrow or saucershaped depression to collect more water, but this can waterlog plants in times of heavy rain. Kinds of plants include annuals, biennials, and perennials. Annuals live for one year (such as lettuce), biennials for two years (such as carrots), and perennials live for three or more years (such as trees). Some perennials, like tomatoes, are considered annuals in our climate. If we lived in a tropical area, tomatoes would be perennials, growing large and giving us tasty fruit throughout the seasons. There are woody and herbaceous plants. Woody plants are often perennials, and they develop a hardened woody stem. Herbaceous plants are ones with stems that are green and somewhat soft and pliable, such as herbs. Pollination allows the completion of the reproductive process for plants, enabling plants to produce fruit and seeds. Pollen is produced by flowers, and can be transmitted by wind, insects (bees, flies, butterflies), or animals (birds, people). Some plants, like tomatoes, are self-fertile with wind taking the pollen and fertilizing the flowers. Even within some plant species, some varieties are self-fertile and some are not. Plants that arent self-fertile require an additional plant to pollinate and bear. It is best to check on pollination requirements for the plants you place in your yard, especially fruit or nut trees. 13

Human manure (humanure) can be made with care. It should be cooked for at least a year, until pathogens are no longer present, but it is recommended to use on fruit trees, or other plants where the vegetable matter eaten does not come into contact with the humanure. Returning human waste to the soil is a long-standing agricultural tradition in many countries. It is essential to living in a sustainable society. Green manures are fertilizers made from plants. Micro-organisms fix nitrogen in legume roots, and make it available longer-term to the soil. Legumes are plants like beans, peas, clover, etc. Other recommended plants for green manures are borage, mustard, and rye grass. These green manures add tilth, but not necessarily nitrogen. While growing, these cover crops help keep soil loose, bring up minerals from subsoil, and keep rainfall from eroding soil. They then add nutrients and organic matter to soil when turned under. Deeprooted perennials that enrich soil are alfalfa, perennial rye, and clover. Quick-growing green manures are annual rye (rye grass), buckwheat, and winter barley; these are also good at holding down weeds. Till under when plants are soft and green, less than 12" high, or cut and add to compost. Wait a month before replanting if worked into soil. Comfrey can be hard to get rid of once established; it should only be planted where you want it to stay, long-term. Comfrey is a fast-growing dynamic accumulator, and is particularly high in potassium. Leaves from comfrey can be cut frequently and used for mulch or a compost pile amendment. Urine is high in nitrogen. It is completely sterile, and is recommended to be diluted 4:1 with water before use. Straight urine alone is so high in nitrogen that it can burn plants. Peat helps lighten the soil, but does not contain many nutrients. Compost helps fertilize the soil. Rock phosphate is a naturally occurring mineral that is ground up; it is rich in phosphorous, as is bone meal. Wood ashes and leaves are high in potassium, although ashes will raise pH. 14 31

Different end uses lead to different harvesting techniques. If you are looking for straight compost, you can stop feeding the worms. They will eventually die off, and you will have pure compost to use. If you are looking to continue the process, you can separate the worms and the compost by hand, picking out the worms and setting them aside to put with bedding after separation. You can also stop feeding them for a while, then move your nearly finished compost to one side, putting fresh bedding and food on the other. The majority of the worms will move over. Vermicompost can be added to potting soil, can be spread out around garden plants, or you can add water and soak overnight to make nutrient-rich compost tea to fertilize plants.

fertilizer
Feed your soil, and your plants will always have enough to eat. There are three main nutrients plants need: nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen helps with above-ground growth, especially the leaves. Phosphorous and potassium help with roots, flowers, fruits, and the general health of the plant. Nitrogen is plentiful in the air, but soil has a hard time hanging on to the nitrogen. It is highly soluble in water, and leaches out of soil quickly. Animal manures provide good tilth, and are high in nutrients, especially nitrogen. They need to be decomposed, although some manures are more hot than others, especially rabbit and chicken manure. Hot manures must be composted, and can be worked into the soil in the fall for spring planting. For no-till gardens, manure may be spread on the ground and planted in cover crops. Manure may have seeds in it, but hot composting should kill off most of the seeds. Do not use dog or cat manure (or manure from any meat-eating animal, as pathogens can be passed along and concentrated).

Landscapes go through what is called succession. Bare earth invites pioneer plants, normally what we call weeds. These provide many reparative functions to bare earth, including covering the soil to prevent erosion, providing 7 layers of a forest garden organic matter for future growth, pulling much-needed nutrients up from beneath the soil, etc. After pioneer plants come brambles like rose bushes, raspberries, blackberries, etc. Then among the brambles sprout trees, which are protected by the brambles. As the trees grow, they cast shade and limit what is grown beneath them. After many years, a mature forest, the climax of succession, takes place. As trees die and decay, succession begins again. Tilling a garden and exposing bare soil invites succession, every time its done. This is why cant we ever get ahead of the weeds! Nature is constantly going through succession. However, planting of perennials enables us to till less. A food forest requires no tilling. Traditionally, Illinois is a savannah. This is a prairie with clumps of trees, giving the advantages of both types of ecosystems. If you grow plants native to this area, they are already adapted to the rainfall patterns, sunlight, and other climate conditions. The existing edible flora in this area includes: oak, hickory, plum, mulberry, crabapple, raspberry, grape, currant, and hazelnut. Today, designers call this a guild, a collection of plants suited to a particular climate that grow well together. It is also called companion planting on a paired basis. There are 7 layers to a forest: tall trees (sun-loving), short trees (shade tolerant), shrubs, herbs, vines, ground covers, and roots. In planning and planting a garden, growing vertically maximizes the conversion of sunlight into living biomass. These seven layers can grow within the same area. If you concentrate on making these seven layers food producers, you may find yourself in the garden of Eden. 15

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tools
Useful gardening equipment includes: broadfork, shovel, trowel, stiff rake, hand fork, pruning shears/ loppers, digging knife, wheelbarrow/cart, buckets, hoses/watering can/wand, tiller, pitchfork, hoe, twine, and stakes. Stainless steel tools do not rust. Quality gardening tools cost more, but it can be worth the money to invest in quality toolsspending money on them only once rather than replacing cheap ones over and over. Keep tools clean and dry, and provide a sheltered and organized place for them. Make sure to clean dirt off tools, and then oil your metal tools to prevent rust. Sharpen tools with a hand file, or sharpen small tools with a whetstone.

broadfork in action

seeds and transplants

Open-pollinated seeds are old-fashioned heirloom varieties. The advantage in using open-pollinated seeds is that you can save your seeds each year, and reasonably expect to grow the same variety as the parent plant. This cannot be done with hybrid seeds, as hybrids revert to the characteristics of their parent plants, and do not grow true. Another advantage of using open-pollinated seeds is that these varieties are often grown because of their exceptional taste, or other unique qualities, such as the myriad sizes and shapes of tomatoes and eggplant. The seeds are not usually chemically treated. A disadvantage to using heirloom seeds is that they are not bred to resist certain diseases and that the seeds are often pricier than hybrid seeds. However, since you can save the seeds for future use, this is a one-time investment. If you save seeds from your garden, be aware that some plants cross easily (such as gourds and pumpkins, and cabbage and broccoli), and when planted, may turn out to be a bizarre cross. 16

After you have a bin with air holes ready, add several inches of moist strips of newspaper, and toss in red wiggler worms, which are available at most bait shops. Add kitchen scraps as needed. A pound of worms can eat pound of scraps each day. Worms will eat about anything, but do not feed them dairy or meat products. Egg shells provide grit needed for worms gizzards. They will eat citrus, onions and garlic, but prefer just about anything else; what they like most to eat they will eat first. They will even eat cotton shirts! If your worms try to escape their composting bin, they are hungry, too hot/cold, or too dry/moist. Worm bins can be constructed outside as well, with earth being the bottom of the bin. Generally, worms will retreat underground during the winter, but your compost pile may be warm enough to keep them going all season, or you can heavily mulch your worms to keep them warmer. Eventually, other decomposers may find their way into your worm bin. The usual suspects include tiny white bugs called springtails (it's estimated that more than 80% of the organic matter on earth passes through the gut of a springtail or sow bug on its journey to becoming topsoil), skinny white worms called potworms, mold, and sow bugs (which eat the toughest decaying matter, usually cellulose). These are all harmless to people (unless you have mold allergies) and worms, and as they are attracted to the conditions of a worm bin, they will be unlikely to venture forth into your living quarters. 29

rich earth. If your compost stinks, anaerobic bacteria are active, most likely from excess moisture. Aerate often and limit water until aerobic bacteria take over. If you have issues with anaerobic bacteria taking over on a regular basis, a perforated pipe can be sunk into the compost pile to provide oxygen. Compost bins can be constructed out of almost anything. A very easy compost bin is constructed of three or four pallets, nailed together. By the time the bin is full, it is the optimum size to break down. Generally 3 to 4 foot square is the optimum size. This provides enough heat to cook the ingredients, but not too much to catch on fire (it has happened!). Compost bins can be made from concrete blocks, scrap wood, downcycled plastic lumber, wire fencinganything that will hold your pile together. Leave the bottom of your bin exposed to the ground, or put on a pallet to allow airflow.

vermicompost
Composting with worms provides compost that is five times richer in nutrients than plain compost alone. The completed product from a vermicomposting set-up is called worm castings, which is basically compost with worm poop. Worms eat garbage, and poop out rich nutrients. Different kinds of worms live at different layers in the dirt and have different niches. Some eat soil, some eat decaying plant and animal matter. Worms for vermicomposting are of the red wiggler variety, sold for cheap in many bait shops. You can compost with worms in a container, or add worms to your compost pile. If you have a container, it must be kept above freezing, cant get too hot, and must have air holes for ventilation. Moisture must be regulated, being neither too dry nor too wet (use a spray bottle of water to moisten, and strips of cardboard or newspaper to dry up). 28

Plants can be grown from seeds, cuttings, and divisions. The benefits of starting seeds include: getting a head start on the growing season, earlier harvest, greater variety, and to save money. If you start seeds, be prepared to give them daily attention until they are transplanted outside; this may be from February until May, deA mandala garden: a beautiful space-conserving pending on how circular pattern of nested keyhole beds. ambitious you are. Generally, seeds are planted a few weeks before they are placed into the garden. Some seeds need special treatment before they can sprout. Scarification involves breaking/scratching/softening the seed coat so that moisture can enter the seed, which can be achieved by roughing up seeds in sandpaper or nicking them with a file. Soaking seeds overnight in warm water can also help. Stratification means giving seeds a cold treatment before they are sprouted. This involves putting seeds in soil and putting them outside, or in the refrigerator, for 3-6 weeks before planting. Seeds from trees, shrubs, and some perennials may require scarification or stratification. To start seeds for transplanting, begin with sterile potting soil. To sterilize your own soil, spread soil on a baking tray up to a couple of inches deep and bake for 30 minutes in an oven 180-200 degrees. This kills microbial life in the soil, warding off a disease that kills young seedlings called damping off. There are many potting soil recipes and here is one: 1 part good soil, 1 part shredded peat moss or compost, and 1 part vermiculite, perlite, or sand. Place soil mixture in a plastic tray, peat pots, or cell packs. Moisten soil, place seeds on top, cover with soil, and mist. Cover with dome or plastic. This will make the contained environment hot and moist, which are the keys to germination. Seed trays can be placed in a sunny window, 17

various styles of mini-greenhouses for starting plants in spring on top of a refrigerator, near a wood stove, under fluorescent lights, or on a seed warmer mat. The soil needs to be around 70 degrees, and consistently so. Be sure to label what you have planted. Most seeds do not need light to germinate, just heat and moisture. Take off the dome or plastic as soon as seeds begin to sprout. If starting under fluorescent lights, lights should be very close to plants (1-2 inches away), as seedlings need bright light. If using fluorescent lights, it is recommended to use both the cool white and warm white, as they provide different light spectrums for the seedlings. Lights should be kept on for 14-16 hours each day. Tall spindly plants indicate not enough light. A fan may be kept on in the room to provide air circulation, but should not be blowing directly onto plants. Transplant to larger containers after true leaves develop. The first set of leaves are similar in most sprouting plants, but subsequent leaves take on the look of the mature plant; these are the true leaves. Before plants can be placed in the garden, they need to be hardened off, which means causing plant cells to stiffen and harden. This involves acclimating seedlings to sun, wind, and cooler temperatures by placing them outside for a few hours each day, for two weeks before anticipated transplanting time. Set seedlings in shade or dappled shade, and slowly transition them into bright sun. Seedlings can be sunburned by a sudden move to bright direct sunlight. Plants can also be hardened off in a cold frame or hoop house. Recommended outdoor planting date is May 1, whether you are planting seeds or transplants, but spring weather can vary wildly, so it is best to use observation and common sense. Planting seeds directly into the ground saves a lot of time and labor. Many plants grow better from direct seeding rather than transplants. First, make sure you are planting at the right time. Cool season crops, like 18

basic ingredients of a quickly decomposing compost pile are: 1. Browns, which are rich in carbon: newspapers, fall leaves, cardboard and chipboard, wood, straw, sawdust, dried yard debris 2. Greens, which are rich in nitrogen: kitchen waste, fresh compost made simple: plant debris, manure, fish browns + greens = compost emulsion, soil 3. Air 4. Moisture Lime or wood ash can also be added, in small amounts. Items rich in carbon and nitrogen need each other to decompose quickly. For labor-free compost, simply pile in whatever organic matter you have, and wait. Within a year or two, you will have beautiful thick and crumbly rich black soil to work with. This composting method may not get hot enough to sterilize unwanted seeds. If you are interested in getting a quick return on your compost investment, it will require labor from you: turning the compost, which adds air (fueling micro-organism populations to rise and decline), and moderating the moisture contentnot too much or too little. Plastic sheeting can be installed over the pile to shed excess rain. This compost is generally described as hot, and in the winter, you may actually see steam rising from it. Seeds in this compost are generally cooked beyond viability. There is a happy medium in composting, which involves layering your compost with greens and browns, a few inches each at a time, turning occasionally (every month or so), and paying some attention to moisture. Ive not had any issues with too much water in a compost bin, but during times of no rain, adding water (such as greywater) to the pile will help in decomposing the organic matter. Compost does not stink. It smells like

sheet mulch an entire bedadd soil on top, and plant it

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greens, radishes, onions, potatoes, peas, carrots, etc., can often be planted well before last frost dates, and in the case of spinach and other greens, can be planted with snow still on the ground. Warm season crops, such as tomatoes, corn, squash, and beans, need to be planted not only after the threat of frost is past, but after the soil warms up. Any gardening reference book will tell you when ideal planting times are, and often the seed packet will as well. To direct seed, merely poke a seed into prepared ground. Alternatively, you can dig a furrow and drop seeds into it, and then cover with soil at the recommended depth, usually twice as deep as the seed is thick. Radish seeds can be planted with other seeds because they germinate fast, and make good row markers for slower germinating seeds. If it rains heavily soon after you have planted seeds, your seeds may rot or be washed away. If germination does not occur, replant. Cuttings and divisions are ways to acquire plants without planting seeds. Cuttings are made by slicing off a green soft pliable (not woody) stem tip. You can root the cutting in water or wet sand before transplanting in soil. Divisions are usually made with perennials such as irises or peonies. Using a sharp knife, slit the clump of roots between nodules, spread apart carefully, and replant.

lawns
A lawn can be practical for outdoor recreation, especially if children use the yard spaceSector C! The environmental impact of the lawn can be reduced through several means: 1. Keep it small. 2. Use alternative ground covers (alpine strawberries, wood sorrel, dandelions, white clover, lowbush blueberry, lingonberry, bearberry, wintergreen, wild ginger, mints (careful with mints as they are invasive, but much better than grass!), miners lettuce, phlox, mayapple, violets, chives, chamomile, creeping raspberry, thyme, etc.). 3. Mow and weed by hand. 4. Do not water, or fertilize with chemicals. White clover and other nitrogen-fixing plants can fertilize with no environmental repercussions. 5. Choose low maintenance plants that do not attract pests, are drought resistant, etc. 6. Plant food-producing plants. 7. Acquire needed maintenance items from the waste stream or through the gift economy.

vegetables
Growing vegetables in your yard can be very satisfying. In planning a vegetable garden, also called a kitchen garden, ask yourself: How many people am I feeding? How much time do I realistically have? Am I preserving or eating fresh? Do I have a place for winter storage? How much sunny space do I have? You can go about planting a kitchen garden in many ways, but planting in straight beds is a good starting point. Beds can be 3-4 feet wideas far as you can reach halfway into it, with the bed accessible from both sides.

compost
Compost is rich in nutrients, but it also adds tilth (particles of differing size) to the soil. The simplest composting method: throw food on the ground, and it rots. From there, it gets as complicated as you desire. The 26 growing potatoes in a barrel, illustrated through time

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Paths between beds can be as little as six to twelve inches, or two or three feet wide for wheelbarrow access. Beds can be raised or level with the soil. The benefits of raised beds include: excellent drainage, avoiding compaction of the soil by foot traffic, less stooping and bending, easier to modify soil, pretty, and they warm up faster. Disadvantages include: may need to water more in dry pole bean tipi times, and they are prone to frost damage sooner. Planting perennial vegetables, such as rhubarb and asparagus, means planting once, with labor in subsequent years being mostly harvesting. Self-seeding vegetables such as walking onions or greens save time and labor as well. First, beds need to be prepared. Weve discussed tilling and no-till methods, and you can decide what is best for your garden. After beds are prepared, cool season vegetable seeds can be sown. If beds are of good quality, you can space out plants or seeds according to spacing directions, and not use the spacing between rows. So, if your package recommends the final spacing for carrots as 3" apart, and in rows 18" apart, you can plant your carrot seeds in beds 3" apart, and ignore the row spacing, as long as you can access the carrots from both sides of the bed. Succession planting is a method whereby seeds are planted every few days to every week or couple of weeks, to provide a long-lasting harvest. This is a wonderful method of raising greens or sweet corn, and is especially handy for produce that sow thistle grown with lettuce is doesnt preserve well, or for folks one example of shallow/deep who do not like to preserve food. rooting symbiosis 20

is possible to provide a varied and tasty understory for black walnuts, but do your research first, and dont place them near your vegetable garden.

herbs
Herbs are plants that have traditionally been grown for their value as spices or medicine. Many savory and healing herbs are perennials. The more you snip herbs to use them, the more compact and bushy they grow, and the more flavorful they become. If grown close to the kitchen, savory herbs can be easily harvested for use in cooking. They can be easily grown in containers. The ideal time for picking is right before flowering, because that is when the oils are at their strongest. However, if you are growing herbs for the seeds (such as dill or coriander), wait until seeds form to harvest. Herbs can be made into an attractive landscaping design using a wagon wheel or knot motif. Experiments and designs are limitless.

vines
Edible vines include: arctic kiwi, scarlet runner beans, passion flower (maypop), grapes, rosa rugosa (large-hipped roses), melons, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Birds appreciate morning glories and trumpet vines. Vines can be doubly useful for providing shade and screens. A natural trellis such as trees, corn, or sunflowers can also be used.

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be grown as a living fence or hedge. For espalier, tipbearing trees do best. Espalier requires a lot of work, with at least two or three prunings per year. Do not plant espalier trees against a southfacing wall, or fruits will cook in the heat of summer; an east or southeast wall would be better. Trunks of espaliered trees may need additional protection, given their exposure to direct sun. Espalier fruits tend to be sweeter and larger due to the extra sun they receive, and also have less bug/pest issues. The advantages of growing soft fruits like berries are that they are perennial and they bear sooner than most fruit trees. Fruits such as strawberries and brambles (such as raspberries and blackberries) spread quickly, greatly increasing your yield per investment. Fruiting vines such as hardy kiwi and grapes can provide shade or screening. Some roses, such as rosa rugosa, produce large hips, which are very high in vitamin C. Some leaves, such as raspberry leaves, are valuable as healing herbs, tasty in teas, and also high in vitamin C. Some fruit trees, such as paw paw, and some soft fruits such as gooseberries and currants, grow well in shade. Blueberries need a lower pH to be able to grown in typical Illinois soils.

nuts
Nut trees and bushes provide a crop rich in protein. Options for nut trees range from small, easily-coppiced hazel bushes to the mighty oak. Although the knowledge for processing acorns into flour has largely been lost from our culture, just about anyone knows how to crack a walnut or pecan. Squirrels can be a challenge, but turn your problem into the solution! Install squirrel tubes near your trees. Squirrels will harvest nuts and stick them into the tube, which you can then harvest from the squirrel, leaving them enough to last through a winter (typically about 15% of their cache). Nut trees that do well in central Illinois include: pecans, walnuts, black walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts (filberts), hickories, and butternuts. Black walnuts have a hormone called juglone, which is toxic to many plants. It 24

For something like tomatoes, it wont make much difference, except delay your harvest. Interplanting is a method of growing two crops in one space. Generally one crop will be nearing maturity while another is small. This maximizes planting space. An example of this is growing lettuce and tomatoes together; by the time lettuce is maturing in warm weather, tomatoes will be growing and needing more space. Interplanting can also be useful in providing a bit of shade to heat-sensitive plants. Generally, in early spring, plant cool season crops. These will begin to peter out when warm weather hits, and then it is time to grow warm season crops. In late summer and early fall, plant cool season crops again to mature in late fall. This maximizes the growing season. Determinate plants, like bush tomatoes and bush beans, set all fruit at once, and plants die after fruit is mature. This can be handy for a garden planted with canning in mind. Indeterminate plants, like pole beans and vining tomatoes, keep growing and setting fruit until done in by cold temperatures or frost. It is said that indeterminate plants produce tastier fruit.

fruits
There are tree fruits and soft fruits, and both do well in Illinois. Fruit trees come in a variety of sizes, from standard trees to dwarf trees. In selecting fruit trees, it is necessary to keep the mature size in mind. Standard trees can live a long time (100 years for standard apple trees), but take longer to begin bearing fruit. Dwarf trees begin bearing sooner, but live a significantly shorter life span. If you are starting from scratch, planting a variety of sizes in your yard may be of benefit. Fruit tree branches often need support if they bear particularly heavy, as they do some years. Scrap lumber, gnarled branches, bamboomost anything can be used to prop up branches. Trees tend to drop excess fruits in June, and you may have to remove excess fruits by hand to avoid 21

Fruit trees that do well in Illinois include: apples, pears, nectarines, sweet and sour cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, serviceberries, paw paws, and persimmons.

Most of the popular fruit trees can be espaliered in a number of different forms. A. A pomegranate tree pruned to a four-armed horizontal form, or cordon. B. An apple trained to a six-armed palmette verrier. Pears as well as apples are often pruned to this form. C. The Belgian fence, one of the most decorative espalier patterns. This form requires at least five trees but can be done with many more. It is usually used with apples and pears. D. Fig trees trained in a large dramatic horizontal espalier. E. A fan-shaped espalier, particularly suitable for peaches and nectarines. F. Most of the popular fruit trees can be trained in informal shapes, such as this persimmon.

breaking branches. Ideal spacing between fruits is six to eight inches. Branches need to grow at an angle of 45 degrees for optimal fruit production. Use wooden spreaders, stakes, or weights to train branches to grow at this angle. Avoid planting in low spots, called frost pockets, because cold settles to the lowest point and can harm fruit trees. Stone fruits (peaches, cherriesanything with a pit) generally grow true from seed. Early fruit tree bloomers such as peaches may need to be hand pollinated if the weather is too cold for insects to be active. Fruit trees thrive in herbal ground covers, and do not compete well with grasses, as the dense root mats of grasses soak up all the water, leaving little available for trees roots. Bulbs such as daffodils, and spreading plants such as comfrey are good companions for fruit trees. If one out of every ten U.S. citizens planted two fruiting trees, wed all be richer by 12 billion pounds of fruit (given an average of 200 pounds per fruit per mature tree) each year. If your fruit trees have never been pruned, The Natural Way of Farming author Masanobu Fukuoka claims that pruning is not necessary (though the trees should be placed farther apart). For fruit trees that have already been pruned, continued pruning is necessary. Pruning plants, especially fruiting trees, can increase their vigor and production. Using sharp loppers for thick parts or pruners for thin parts, prune out the 4Ds: dead, dying, diseased, and damaged tissue. Then, prune out the weak or straggly shoots, and crossed or contested stems. Pruning is generally done when plants are dormant, in late winter. If you are pruning out diseased tissue, be aware that each additional cut can introduce disease. Dipping your pruners in alcohol can negate this. Different plants have different pruning requirements, and it is best to consult a gardening reference for your specific plant. There are many styles of pruning. The idea of pruning, besides removing unwanted woody parts, is to provide maximum sun exposure for ripening fruit. For small spaces, espaliering fruit trees is recommended. This can enable fruit trees to be grown in tight spaces against walls, or to 23

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