Subject: 6 Crop Growing Season: 18K post,"SAVE" 4 latter

From: [email-masked] (ATLANFORM)
Date: 18 Mar 1995 13:28:19 -0500

ATLAN FORMULARIES - PO Box 95, Apena, Arkansas 72611
                                    (501) 437-2999/FAX 437-2973
                    CompuServe Address: 75721,55 or AOL: ATLANFORM
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                    TRY FOR A SIX CROP GROWING SEASON by Kurt Saxon
                           FROM  THE SURVIVOR
 
                Most  gardeners get  only  one crop  per  plant species 
per
           season. A corn stalk will give one or two ears and then you
might
           as well pull it  up and replant. Tomatoes, squash,  cucumbers
and
           many other  vegetable plants will  produce up to a  bushel in
the
           first  few weeks after maturity and then produce very little
from
           then on.
                If you mean to produce for the sake of production, it's
best
           to  replace the  plant after  its maximum  productive  period
and
           replace it with  a plant just  beginning to mature. In  this
way,
           you can gain maximum production throughout the growing season.
                In the same  sense, you should not have that  space taken
up
           by a plant  not nearing its productive  cycle. That's a waste 
of
           space  and  isn't  necessary.  Many  gardeners,  especially 
pro-
           fessional  growers, sprout seeds, put them  in planters, and
when
           they approach maturity, set them  in the garden so that  no
space
           is wasted by immature or declining plants.
                So the idea of full-cropping isn't new and  has been used
in
           various  ways for hundreds of  years. But most  people accept
the
           idea of planting a tiny seed in a large space and letting its
one
           plant take  up the whole season. My method gets from three to
six
           times the vegetables from the same space in the same time.
                The basic program  is for those vegetables grown  during
the
           average  six months  when  the sun  is  highest and  the 
weather
           warmest.  Off season, the sunlight weakens and the day is
shorter
           and the  weather is  too cold  or too  wet. So, generally, 
we're
           dealing with April, May, June, July, August and September.
                If  outside plants are protected  from the wet  and cold,
as
           with the  miniature greenhouses described in  "Making And
Selling
           Tire Gardens", in  this volume, four months  may be added  to
the
           growing  season in  temperate climates.  Of course,  this
applies
           mainly to plants not requiring the maximum of direct sunlight.
                You can  experiment  with these  later but  first you 
might
           stick to the most common warm-weather vegetables until you
master
           the system.  Then you can  branch out to  cold-weather
vegetables
           and exotics.
                Perfecting this system for  yourself has several
advantages.
           More vegetables is the  basic advantage. You'll also  know
you'll
           have  enough to sell,  rather than just  a small  surplus to
give
           away.  The most  important advantage  is that  your crop  will
be
           predictable. You'll have a good idea, week to week, just how
much
           produce you'll have at any given time.
                Knowing what you've got and what you'll have will 
guarantee
           your  customers a steady supply so  they'll depend on you and
you
           can depend on them to buy all  your produce. And you can sell
all
           you produce.
                Consider  the prices  for vegetables  in the  supermarket
in
           Harrison,  Arkansas  in  May,  1993: Tomatoes,  $1.29  lb., 
leaf
           lettuce $1.29 lb.,  radish, .99  per bunch; bell  peppers, 3 
for
           $1.00; cucumbers, 3 for $1.00; green onions, 3 bunches for
$1.00;
           spinach, $1.29; carrots, 5 lb. for $1.99; broccoli, $1.29; 
sugar
           snap  peas, $2.79 lb.; red  cabbage, .99 lb.;  green cabbage,
.39
           lb; cauliflower, $1.29 each; zucchini squash, .99 lb.;
asparagus,
           $1.59 lb., etc.
                Considering the fact  that once you've gotten set  up
you'll
           have   practically  no   overhead,  you  could   profitably 
sell
           vegetables at one-half the store price. To begin, as soon as
your
           crops  start  coming  in,  start knocking  on  doors  around
your
           neighborhood.  Tell  the  people  you'll  sell them 
fresh-picked
           vegetables for one-half the  store price and you'll sell  all
you
           can  raise and  there won't  be  one door  closed  in your 
face.
           Whether you  use a push-cart, a  pickup or sell from  the back
of
           your car, you're in business.
                Your  next  step would  be  to approach  a  local
restaurant
           manager with  the offer to sell  him vegetables for  a third
less
           than he already pays.  Easy pickings there if you can guarantee
a
           daily supply. By  the time you can supply a  grocery store
you'll
           have to  expand  and hire  help. But  you'll be  doing very 
well
           indeed,  because   you  can't   go  wrong  raising   and 
selling
           vegetables.
                To start,  set  up a  commercial  tire garden  as 
described
           elsewhere in Shoestring Entrepreneur. If you have a sunny back
yard you've got        
           a commercial garden with raised beds made from used tires that
will
           last way past your lifetime, and at practically no cost.
               You begin  your system with seeds,  naturally. First,
hybrid
           or  non-hybrid? If yours is just a  family garden and you want
to
           save seeds so you won't have  to buy new ones every season
you'll
           want  non-hybrid. But  for commercial  gardens, hybrid  seeds
are
           better. True, their  seeds won't reproduce  well next season 
but
           that  doesn't  matter.  The   vegetables  are  more  uniform 
and
           dependable and are bred for better taste,  resistance to
disease,
           pests, heat, etc.
                Now,  where should you buy  your seeds? Again,  if it's
just
           for a  family garden  and you  don't want to  wait, seeds 
bought
           locally  are usually fine. But if you  want top quality seeds
for
           top  quality vegetables  you'll order  them  from a  seed
company
           catering to commercial growers as well as the general public.
                There  are many seed companies  to choose from  and I'm
sure
           most  of  them are  good. My  choice,  however, is  Gurney's,
110
           Capital St.,  Yankton, SD 57059  (605) 665-1671. They've  been
in
           business for years and  have built up their tested stock  so
it's
           practically fail-safe. Besides, I think Gurney's is the
prettiest
           catalogue  and  so  well-illustrated.   It  also  gives  lots 
of
           information such as  approximate days to produce, yields,  etc.
A
           lot of the others do, too.
                Once  you've gotten your seeds, you can save several days
by
           sprouting  them.  If  you're  an  amateur  this  may  not  be 
an
           advantage.  But as you become skilled in the maximum use of
space
           and time, you'll see the plus side of sprouting.
                Some definite advantages  of sprouting seeds  before
potting
           or  even  starting them  outside  is  guaranteeing fertility 
and
           preventing  the need  for thinning.  Also, you  can  choose
those
           which sprout fastest and are bigger than the weaker sprouts.
                The best way to sprout seeds  is to use plastic, half
gallon
           milk cartons cut in half. You can use round, plastic butter
bowls
           and  such, also.  The best sprouting  medium I  know is  Hi
Yield
           vermiculite,  15 quarts for $2.49 at your garden store. Cover
the
           bottom of your  sprouter with one inch and place your seeds.
Then
           cover them with  about an inch and sprinkle with  water until
the
           Vermiculite is soaked. Be  sure to punch several pinholes  in
the
           bottom of the sprouter so the excess moisture will drain off.
                I prefer vermiculite as a sprouting medium because it's
firm
           enough to hold the sprouts upright but loose enough to allow
them
           to be pulled up without damaging  the rootlets.   When
sprouting,
           figure  how many plants  you need and  count out  twice that
many
           seeds. It's  a good idea  to make  out a label  for each  kind
of
           seed.  You'd be surprised how you can forget which seed is
which.
           You can use popsicle sticks, bought at any supermarket.
                Now for the pots.  Peat pots are fine  but they cost. 
Also,
           don't be fooled by the ads. The roots don't always  go through
so
           you have to tear off the peat from around the sides  to make
sure
           the plants aren't root-bound.
                The best pot is  a free pot. What I  chose for free pots 
is
           the common  #15 tin can, from your grocery shelf. The # 15
stands
           for 15 ounces of liquid. They're just the right size, four
inches
           high and three inches across. On your growing table  they give
16
           pots per  square foot  of space. Of  course, as  the plants 
grow
           outward, you'll be separating them periodically.
                To  prepare your cans, soak  them to loosen  the paper.
Then
           cut out the bottoms. Tin cans rust so they must be painted.
Water
           base paint is  no good as  it doesn't stick  well. Color 
doesn't
           matter so  you can use up  that old oil base  paint you've
stored
           after  use. A  quart will  paint about  200 cans. A  gallon
about
           1,000. A gallon of the cheapest oil base paint costs about
$13.00
           at Wal-Mart.
                Painting is easy and quick. The cans have a layer of
varnish
           inside so you only have to paint the outside. Use a two-inch
wide
           brush  and have  some cheap  paint thinner  handy. It  takes
only
           about a  minute to paint  each can once  you get the  rhythm.
You
           don't need to be neat and you can even paint over rust spots.
                Stick  your hand through one end and dip the brush a
quarter
           inch into  the paint. Then swipe  both sides of the  brush on
the
           can  to prevent  dripping and  then paint  around both  ends.
Now
           paint the  rest and don't worry  about getting a bit  of paint
on
           your hand. A bit of  paint thinner when the job is  finished
will
           take  care of that. Although the insides don't need painting,
you
           might take  a swipe  at the  inside bottom where  the bare 
metal
           turns  in. These cans can be used  season after season. Just
touch
           up any rust spots each season and they'll last indefinitely.
                One  of the  best potting  soils is  Organic Based 
Superior
           Potting Soil, 16 quarts from Wal-Mart. That will be enough for
51
           cans.  You don't fill  the cans all the way to the top. It's
best
           to  use a Campbell's  Soup can, 12  ounce. Fill this  and pour
it
           into the #15 can. The potting soil is slightly moist. To
transfer
           the  sprouts, stick your finger  down into the  soil, gently
pull
           the sprout from the  sprouter and stick  its root into the 
hole.
           Then push soil around the root let and water it immediately.
                As  for   watering  with   nutrients,  you  might  
consider
           Miracle-Gro  at  one teaspoon  per gallon.  There's no  reason
it
           wouldn't help the growth, although I haven't tested it yet.
               Baby  vegetable  plants need  lots  of  light. Ideally, 
the
           potting cans should  be outside  in a sunny  area. However, 
they
           want a temperature of 60  to 65 degrees F. at night and  70 to
75
           degrees  F. in  the light. Under  or over  that, they  won't
grow
           well.
                You can easily grow your  sprouts and young plants 
indoors.
           All you need is a table in a corner. For lighting you need a
four
           foot shop  light with a  48 inch 40  watt fluorescent Gro  &
Show
           Plant Light.  The entire unit  costs about $30.00  from
Wal-Mart.
           The light should be adjustable and 6 to 12 inches above the
plant
           tops and should be lit from 12 to 16 hours out of the 24.
                                LIGHT, POTS AND SPROUTER
                 Whatever table or  set of boards  you put your planters 
on, you
           don't  want  excess  water  dripping  on  the floor.  To 
prevent
           dripping,  spread sheet plastic over your table and cover it
with
           flattened cardboard  boxes from the  grocery. These will  soak
up
           and hold any excess water.
                Of course, you shouldn't over-water the plants to the
extent
           that there is that much  excess anyway. The best way to  water
is
           with a two gallon watering can from Wal-Mart. The sprinkler
spout
           is too wide for planters so should be removed. The best way is
to
           cut a six-inch length of  clear plastic one-half-inch tubing 
and
           seal it in the spout with Goop.
                This  spout will  let you  poke into  each can and  water
it
           without any runoff to speak of. Also, you only have to water
once
           every few days.  Just be sure to stick your  finger into the
soil
           once in a  while to see  of it's moist, since  you don!t want 
to
           over-water or let the soil get dry.
                When your plants get too  big for the pots or when  you
have
           garden  space, whichever comes first,  take them out  of the
pots
           and set them. I've  devised an easy way to do  this so there
will
           be no disturbance of the roots.
                The plant  and soil  has to be  pressed out and  set
without
           breaking  apart. The transplanter is made up of a Campbell's
Soup
           can and  a #15. Cut  the #15 down the  center and it  will
spring
           apart slightly.
                             POT, SOUP CAN AND SLIT CAN
                To use it, take the pots to the garden area and put the
soup
           can  bottom-up near the planting  spot. Next put  the potting
can
           inside  the slit can. Then,  with one finger  on the potting
can,
           just between  the slit,  hold the slit  can with the  other
hand.
           Push the  potting can down  over the  soup can while  lifting
the
           slit can, keeping it abreast of the emerging soil. As the soil
is
           exposed,  squeeze the  slit  can to  hold the  soil in  place
and
           transfer  it to  the hole  prepared  for it.  The hole  should
be
           slightly deeper  and wider so there will be no disturbance to
the
           plant.
                If you adopt  this system  I guarantee you'll  have all 
the
           vegetables  you need and more, for little work and small
expense.
           I  suggest you use the tire garden method, described in
Shoestring 
           Entrepreneur. They are raised beds and  produce much more than
the row
           method, as you can put your plants closer together.
                If  you   have  the   space,  you  might   consider 
growing
           commercially. What with all the flooding and droughts,  you
can't
           go wrong growing food.
                You might not get six crops of many plants besides
radishes.
           But if  you try this system, you'll learn a lot and you'll
surely
           get much more production than you would get with the  more
common
           gardening methods. 
 *********************************************************
     ATLAN FORMULARIES, P. O. Box 95, Alpena, Arkansas 72611
     (501) 437-299/FAX 437-2973
     CompuServe Address: 75721,55 or AOL: ATLANFORM