Annual Seed Exchange 2018

Can you believe March is only a few days away!?!?

These crocus love the solar trap created by the fence corner and can't wait!

Spring is just around the corner too and that means it's time for...

Abundant Design's Annual Seed Exchange

WHEN:   March 10th, 2018

10:00am - 12:00pm/Noon

WHERE: Cherry Glen Learning Farm
 3989 NW 94th Ave
 Polk City, IA 50226 (map)

What is a Seed Exchange?

Exactly what it sounds like—an event for trading seeds & plants with fellow gardeners and plant enthusiasts.  They allow gardeners to come together and share seeds, cuttings, and transplants from their own gardens to swap with others.  They are a great way to share some of your extra seeds and get something new to grow — all for free!

Click Here  > >  RSVP  < <  Click Here
and then Invite your Friends!

Everyone is welcome

This event is for anyone! If you have seeds or wants seeds.  Expert gardeners.  Beginner gardeners. Aspiring gardeners.  Seed-savers. You. If you don’t have any seeds to swap, still come!  There should be plenty of seed to share with everyone as well as extra seeds available!


There's all sorts of FUN!

• Chat with other gardeners
• Share growing tips
• Great music
• Build community

How it works

Share Tables - These tables will be where you can place seeds for others to browse and take as needed, and for you to take items to try. Everyone brings seeds to the swap and puts the seeds out on the large tables. These areas will be free-sharing for all.

Barter Tables - There might even be some Barter Tables which will be for your rarer items that you would trade if you got another more desired item. If someone has rare or expensive seeds, they may be more specific in what they will accept in trades, and you see if the person who brought them is interested in anything you brought.  

There could even be extra tools, scion wood for grafting, who knows!

Most likely, people will just want to share their extra seeds, and they’ll let you take some even if they don't happen to need anything you brought.

What to bring

You can bring any kind* of seeds/plants to trade: flowers, vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials, bulbs — it doesn't matter. You can bring seeds you've collected yourself or leftover seeds from packets you have purchased.

It’s really pretty easy…

• Bring seeds that are no more than 2-3 years old.
• Store-bought, mail-ordered or home-saved; all seeds* are welcome.
• If you are bringing seeds you saved yourself, please be sure they are from non-hybrid or knowledgeably hybridized plants, and were saved properly.
• You can bring the seeds in whatever packaging is easiest for you. If you can, please make individual seed packets for people to take.  10-30 seeds are plenty. If you just want to bring your opened seed packet with leftover seeds in it, that's fine, too.
• If you bring seedlings make sure the plants are healthy and well cared for.
• Please clearly label all seed packets and plants with the variety name, year and source plus any special instructions or notes (for example, "These seeds need to be soaked before planting" or "My great-great-grandmother brought these seeds over on the Mayflower").
• Little envelopes and a writing utensil so that you can collect and label your “loot”

*please no seed saved or propagated from patented plants 

You do not need to be a seed starting expert — people will gladly share growing tips! 

Here are some I posted a few weeks ago!
Click HERE!

Intensive Home Gardening

I really enjoyed preparing and sharing the Backyard Orchard class this weekend!

If you missed it, it will be one I would love to do again.  Watch for it again next year for sure!

One of the points covered was occupying all the available growing space with desirable plants.  We can also use that principle as we plan our annual vegetable gardens using Intensive Methods.

Three Sisters - Corn, beans & squash
Intensively planted

There are several variations to intensive gardening, such as John Jeavons' Grow BioIntesive method or Mel Bartholemew's Square Foot Gardening. One thing they all have in common is higher planting densities.

Benefits are many with high density planting

One of the benefits of closer planting is less space needed for production.  This is important for  gardeners in urban areas with less overall space, or those that want to keep more space for entertaining or the traditional lawn.

You an also reduce the amount of water because the growing leaves cover the soil faster so there is less bare ground for the sun to hit.  The canopy cools the soil and then holds in more moisture that would burn off or be blown away in the breeze.

Green beans planted in a grid using the in row spacing

Weeding time is also reduced.  My wife is often asked why I don't spend a lot of time weeding our garden.  If you are vigilant at first, the closely growing garden plants will shade out the later weeds better.  If a weed does sneak through it will be weaker and spindly from the lack of sunshine, and quickly snipped off or pulled when noticed.

Seed costs are also reduced, as thinning won't be required.  More on that later.

Several practices will help you grow intensively.

In our gardens we have dedicated walkways and beds for growing.  This eliminates the need for rows.  Rows use up a lot of space to give access for thinning and weeding.  The between row space is still watered, and generally fertilized, gets compacted, and leaves the soil exposed to sun and wind.  

Our beds are kept narrow enough (3-4') so that I can reach the centers without ever having to step in the growing area.  I've used new cedar 2x's as well as upcycled decking and siding to designate the borders.  Cedar lasts a long time and is not treated with anything that could leach into the soil.  

Intensive carrots may need just a little more space between plants

Without my big boots clomping around, compaction and the need for tilling is reduced.  I actually have not tilled my beds other than digging potatoes and loosening the ground for carrots since the beds were established.  Instead I rely on the actions of earthworms and plant roots to keep the soil loose.

Composting also helps to grow intensively.  With higher production, we put a higher demand on the soil.  Nutrients that we pull out of the soil in the form of grain, vegetables and fruit need to be replaced.  Compost also feeds and boosts soil life that helps cycle nutrients through the soil food web making them more available for growing plants.

Worm castings are a high grade soil amendment!

Get some for your garden from our friends at Browne Atlas

For planting use the in row, after thinning distance across the beds.  Instead of placing seeds in separate rows, plant them in a grid pattern throughout your beds.  With dedicated walkways, you no longer need rows to walk down.  And without thinning, you no longer use seed that will be cut anyway, saving seed costs as mentioned above.


How to get even higher productivity in small spaces
-Using trellis to capture the third dimension for vining plants like cucumbers and squash
     Also, think runner beans vs bush beans
-Keyhole beds can reduce your pathway footprint even further

-Combine crops into companion plantings, like the Three Sisters guild above
     Increase spacing more, lowers individual crop yield/area but greater overall yields


I hope these tips boost the yields in your garden this coming season!

And if don't have a garden but want one, give us a call and we'll get one built for you.  

Think it's too much work for your busy lifestyle? We can help with that too; check it out on our Stewardship page!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tulips and other spring bulbs are a great addition to many fruit tree guilds. Spring flowers hold onto nutrients in the early parts of the growing season, much like a cover crop. The blooms can also attract pollinators and provide and early pollen and nectar source.  Their growing roots can also provide a food source for soil microorganisms.

If you would like to learn more about companion planting with your fruit trees, register for Planning the Backyard Orchard class coming up up this Saturday.

               

Trees & companion plants will be available for preorder.

Podcasts, Shows and Classes

This winter things are popping, and I'm not really even doing much snow removal.

Last week I appeared on The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko.  The show is not all about bullets, beans and band-aids (although sometimes) and delves into topics that can help us prepare not for the Zombie Apocalypse but the many little disasters - job loss, blizzards, tornadoes - and how to setup your lifestyle to be more resilient.  The impact of many disasters can be reduced by preparing in a few sensible areas.  Business building and Permaculture are both favorite topics of the show and can help lead to a less fragile existence.

click HERE to listen

The Des Moines Home and Garden Show is coming up this week and I was invited to help Blooming Prairie Nursery with their presentation and share their booth space - #1510 near the Feature Gardens.  We will be presenting on the Inspiration Stage each day of the show.

Thursday at 4:00 PM

Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 11:00 AM 
2 for 1 tickets on the EVENTS page!

The following weekend I'll be doing the backyard orchard class at Cherry Glen Learning Farm.

Planning the Backyard Orchard

using Ecological Principles & Permaculture Techniques

Saturday, February 17 at 2 - 4pm

click HERE for more information

Of course design work is the main task right now.  So, if you would like to get something set up for this season, now is a great time to contact me for a design or consultation.  Late winter is also a great time for pruning your fruit trees for health and productivity, so get on my list so we can schedule that for you.

Hope to see you out and about!
Jeff





Be sure to visit our friends at Browne Atlas for all your worm casting needs!