Popular Herbicide Linked to Birth Defects

I don't usually write about the negative effects of conventional agriculture but I feel its important to share hard data when it comes available.  According to a study by researchers at the University of Washington, the popular herbicide Atrazine (used in commercial growers and in consumer lawn care products) is linked to Gastroschisis, a birth defect where intestines and sometimes other organs are formed outside abdominal wall.  It is rarely fatal and is treated with surgery.  The researchers first began wondering if there was an environmental effect when they notice the birth defect rate was much higher in the agricultural part of the state, several times higher than the national average.

Atrazine has been in the news before being linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs and prostate cancer in factory workers where atrazine is made.  Atrazine, along with 24D, a common herbicide used locally in hay production and on lawns, seem to be more highly linked to prostate cancer in men to work professionally applying the chemicals.  I've noticed that many of the men I know who have had prostate cancer are in agriculture and have used these chemicals extensively.

The EPA has not acted on the current scientific reports.  Atrazine is scheduled to begin review in 2010 but the review could take months or years.

To me, it is common sense not to use these chemicals.  For lawn care, must mow the weeds until the grass comes in in May.  For gardens, use plastic row covers, carpet, mulch or corn gluten (a natural herbicide) instead.

Seed Starting Update - Week 4

It's week 4 and my tomatoes and basil planted on February 1st are ready for transplant.  I usually transplant from the 1 inch slots in the seed starter to 4 in. pots because of the large quantity of plants and limited greenhouse space.  Remember, LAST FROST DATE IS MID APRIL!!!  While it's good for business, gardeners should either wait for April or...well, I'll see a lot of you in March (and April).

Clearly from the pictures, you can see that sterile soil is not necessary...and probably is conducive the superior growth later on.  Malcolm always taught me to listen to nature...and then do what she says.

So back to transplanting...  My 4 week old plants are around 4 inches tall and the roots fill the cells.  If you are using self-watering propogation kits like me, you do not want to leave the plants much longer as the wicking mat will be filled with roots.

Transplant Mix.  I make my own and, of course it is full of organic and natural materials.  I spare not expense because it is much easier to splurge on my 4 in. pot than in the garden.  so here's my recipe I used this time:

• 3 parts potting soil
• 3 parts cotton burr compost
• 3 parts horse manure
• 1 part earthworm castings
• 1 part Texas greensand
• (sprinkling of some mined minerals - azomite, zeolite, and desert peat)

This time, I also spiked the mix with Rabbit Hill's Buds N Blooms 6-8-4.  Usually, I use Gardenville's Rocket Fuel but the BnB was handier.  In both cases, they contain a high amount of soft rock phosphate that Malcolm Beck reported adding an additional 20% of fruit production.  It must be place near the roots as it gets bound up in the soil pretty fast and the plants take up the majority of their needed amount in the first two weeks.

I keep them in the green house until they are ready to sell or I'm ready to transplant.  They will need a minimum of 2 additional weeks before transplanting but more is probably better.  If you plan to keep them in the green house until April, a second transplant will be needed.

Heirloom Tomatoes Next.  My heirloom tomato varieties will be ready next week (plant date was February 7th).  I follow the same general practices as this week but I add a few tricks which I learned from the best tomato growing book I know, Giant Tomatoes, giant yields - giant weights.  The author interviews the world record holders to uncover their secrets for success.

Rain! Rain! Rain!

Get Rid of Grassburs...Naturally!

Mat Sandbur, more commonly known as grassburs - or "stickers", are a common problem in the Texas Hill Country. A natural solution for grassburs is corn gluten, a natural non-selective, pre-emergent herbicide. You must have it in place and active before the grassbur seeds sprout. Once the plants are growing, there isnt' much you can do beyond hoeing, Round-up, or an IED (improvised explosive device like they use in Iraq). Since hoeing is too much work, people reading my blog are not likely to use Round-Up, and IEDs usually cause some collateral damage (such as burning your house down or killing the cat), I suggest using corn gluten now.

For our area, corn gluten should be applied around March 1st. This gives it plenty of time to become active in the soil and still give it coverage through the spring growing season. One application lasts around 10 to 12 weeks. If we have a wet summer or early fall, a second application will be necessary.

Application rate is 10 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. so a 40 lb. bag covers 4000 sq. ft. Be sure to get horticultural corn gluten - the feed grade stuff does not have enough active ingredient in it. Check the tag and make sure that nitrogen is at least 9 percent. (A nice "side effect" of corn gluten is the greening power derived from the high nitrogen content!) Also, if you have a choice, get the granular version. Some people sell a powdered version which works well and is a few dollars cheaper but it will paint your legs yellow from the knees down and the wind will scatter most of it on your neighbors property!

Past customers tell me that you should expect a significant and noticable decline in grassburs in the first year but it takes 3 years to eliminate them.

One caveat, corn gluten is a non-selective pre-emergent which means that is prevents all seeds from sprouting including wildflowers and garden seeds. Don't use where you want other seeds to sprout!

Seed Starting Update - Week 1

Here's a picture of my seed starting rack. It is located in my office where I can admire the progress of my seedlings every day. I planted my first round of seeds on February 1st using my 55 cell propagation units (top shelf). I planted celebrity tomatoes and Sweet Genovese basil. These will be ready for transplant in around 3 weeks. I will pot them up to 4 in. pots and then again to 1 gal. pots depending upon the weather.

By February 7th, I had newly sprouted plants in 53 of 55 cells. Once they sprout, I take the clear plastic domes off and le

t the plants grow to the lights. Notice that the lights are nearly touching the plants. They

produce so little heat that that they can't harm the plants. The tomatoes will literally grow around the light tubes!

On February 7th, I planted 4 units of 40 cells each; full of heirloom and specialty tomatoes. Some of my favorite large heirlooms include Black Krim, Watermelon Beefsteak, Giant Belgium, Caspian Pink, and German Head. My largest tomato was a 1 lb. 10 oz. Watermelon Beefsteak. I am trying Big Zac this year which holds the world record at over 7 lbs.

I also plant a lot of hard-to-find specialty tomatoes such as container varieties, early producers, and interesting colors and shapes.

As I mentioned previously, I grow my own plants to ensure availability of the varieties I want when I want them, and to ensure the quality of my plants.

Stay tuned to watch my progress. Next week, I will begin starting peppers. I like to have them started by March 1st so that they are ready for planting by April 1st.

Seed Starting

The end of January marks the beginning of tomato season for me - That's when I start my tomato and basil plants from seed. Seed starting is more difficult than buying plants and transplanting but it has some great benefits.

Benefits. First, you are in command of the plant from the beginning which means no chemical fertilizers to artificially speed the growth process (and thereby growing a weak plant susceptible to disease later on). You only use the chemicals you need. You have many more variety options than what will be available in the nursery, especially with heirloom varieties. You also dictate the timing and are not dependent upon what is available at the nursery.

When to Start Seedlings. It takes about six weeks from planting seed to transplanting plant for tomatoes. So here in the Hill Country, last freeze date is around mid-April so to plant April 15th, you would start your seedlings March 1st.

Early Start Tip. Generally speaking planting earlier doesn't buy you much in the way of and early crop because tomatoes are smart enough to understand daylight and ambient and soil temperature (even if we aren't). But I have a little trick that seems to give me a jump start, especially with heirloom varieties. I start a whole month earlier and periodically pot up my plants in successively bigger containers. This grows plants that are extremely sturdy and more ready to tolerate transplanting into the elements. The downside is the need to lots of room in either a greenhouse of very bright sunroom.

The Soil. Any good commercial seed starter mix will work. The "experts" will tell you that you need a sterile soil mix but I have used a home-made organic mix full of living microorganisms with good success - 90%+ germination. In my view, a sterile environment is a vacuum inviting pathogenic opportunists to come in and disrupt the health of my soil and plants.

My Soil Starter Mix Recipe. My recipe has varied over time but here is the general formula:

• 1 part peat moss (claims to help prevent damping off disease)
• 1 part vermiculite
• 1 part horse manure (dried; not green)
• 1/2 part greensand
• 1/2 part sand

If you don't have any horse manure, use cotton burr compost or organic potting soil such as Garden-Ville. Mix thoroughly and remove and large pieces or screen using a 1/2 inch mesh.

Planting Containers. There are lots of choices here. Seedlings need very little space for the first two weeks. A square inch pot will work just fine. When starting a lot of plants, the smaller the better is usually the rule due to space and lighting requirements. But if you are just doing a few pots and are planning on keeping them in the pot for awhile, you can start with a 4 inch pot or even a plastic drinking cup.

My Favorite "Guaranteed" Planting System. Garden Supply sells a planting system called Propamatic which comes in several sizes. It is a complete propagation system with clear plastic dome, 40 cell planting tray, and bottom watering wicking reservoir. It is the secret to my success. I've tried other systems that look better and this one, for whatever reason, out performs the others. Check it out at www.gardensupply.com.

Lighting. You can start seeds in bright windows or in a greenhouse but I've had the best success with artificial lighting. I give my plants 16 hours a day of intense light. I start my lights on top of the boxes and actually let the plants grow around the light tubes. If you mount the lights too far from the plants, they will get leggy. Once the plants grow into the top of the light fixture, adjust the light height a few inches so that they are just above the top of the plants.

Choosing Lighting. While I'm sure that grow lights are great, I'm too cheap to buy one and I have had good success with regular fluorescent shop lights - the cheaper the better. I hang two two-bulb, four foot, light kits on each shelf which provides light for four 40-cell propagation kits.

My Shelf System. I have a three shelf unit with four light tubes on each shelf that can grow 480 plants at one time. I built it from 2x4's and welded wire which cost around $75 including the lights and timer. Not as pretty but much cheaper than the professional grower systems which cost $300 or more.

Heat. A final consideration is heat. I don't know exactly the temperature for starting tomato seeds (I guess I'm an amateur) but the soil must be at least around 60 degrees. The lights will produce some heat but if you choose to start your seeds in an unheated area such as a garage, be sure provide some heat. I started my seeds for years in a small garage storage room and used a cheap heater with a thermostat to keep the minimum temperature. The temperature needs to be constant at the beginning but it can vary more later. However, cold days will slow the growth process and affect the six-week cycle. Be sure to keep a thermometer under the lights to monitor temperature.

Planting. This is the easy part. Fill you pot with moist soil (water first if dry) and pack gently (too loose and water will not wick, too tight and the roots will struggle and delay growth). Plant seeds around a quarter inch deep. I usually plant a couple of seeds in each tray so I'm guaranteed a plant in each pot. Cover with soil. Some people will cover with peat moss to prevent damping off and other fungal diseases (see below).

Watering. Always water from below. In my opinion, this is the best prevention for disease. If you don't have an automatic wicking system, fill a leak-proof tray with an inch of water and set your pots in the water for 10 minutes. I always water seedlings with rain water. I water with pure water until the first mature leaves show up and then I mix 1 tablespoon of liquid fertilizer and 1 tablespoon of molasses with a gallon of water to water the plants. Allow the soil surface to stay as dry as possible but don't let the plants dry out even once!

Damping Off Disease. The biggest disease problem for seed starting is damping off disease - a fungal disease that causes the base of the new plant to shrivel and many times kills the plant. Convention growers treat the soil with fungicide. From an organic standpoint, there are things you can do as well. Top the soil off with peat moss which has natural fungicidal tendencies. Malcolm Beck recommends sprinkling corn meal (another natural fungicide) on top of the soil after planting. I think that good practices are the most important aspect of disease prevention. Watering from the bottom and keeping the soil surface dry seems to help. I use a small fan to keep the air from getting stale. I also use a custom homeopathic fungicide that I make to help prevent damping off.

Six Weeks and You Have Transplants! That's it - good soil, light water and heat and in six weeks, you will have your own tomato plants ready to plant! There is a lot of art to starting your own seeds so you may want to start small and go bigger as you gain confidence.