Newsletter High on the Desert Cochise County Master Gardener

Vol. 22, No. 1 January 2011

The University of Arizona and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating

The Virtual Gardener—Book Review The Winter Harvest Handbook Book Review: The Winter Harvest season on his Four Season Farm. Since Handbook the farm is located in Maine at 44.4 A month or so ago I received a degrees north latitude where winter catalog in the mail from a discount temperatures regularly plunge below book dealer. One of the books I found zero, the challenge was daunting. in the catalog was The Winter Harvest Growing crops in heated greenhouses Handbook and I was intrigued, so I would certainly be possible but also checked the online catalog of the very expensive, so Eliot decided to see Sierra Vista library to see if the book if he could grow crops in unheated was available there (why buy when greenhouses. Years of experimentation you can borrow?). It was. showed that it can be done and the Inside this issue: The author, Eliot Coleman, is well- techniques he developed are described Cuttings ‘N’ Clippings 2 known in the organic gardening in this book. What Eliot can do nearly 3 community, having served as the half way to the North Pole in Maine is January Reminders 3 Executive Director of the International certainly doable two-thirds of the way SV Compost Facility 4 Federation of Organic Agriculture toward the equator in southern SV Farmers Market 4 Movements (FOAM) and as an Arizona. Agent’s Observations 5 advisor to the USDA on the study that The three basic keys of Eliot’s led to the 2002 National Organic success are choosing the right crops to Scholarship Application 6 Program in the U.S. In addition, he is grow, sowing crops continuously the owner of the Four Season Farm in throughout the season, and using frost- Harborside, Maine and the author of protective covers in unheated green- four classic books on organic garden- houses he calls “cold houses.” ing, including The Winter Harvest In the September issue of the Master Handbook. You can watch Eliot on Gardener newsletter, I wrote about YouTube in several online videos and cool-season crops that are appropriate read more about him in Wikipedia . for winter gardens in southeastern Eliot’s experiments with all-season Arizona, including cole, salad, and gardening began more than 30 years root crops. In this book Eliot adds ago in attempts to extend the growing (Continued on page 2)

Cochise County Cooperative Extension www.ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ 1140 N. Colombo, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 450 S. Haskell, Willcox, AZ 85643 (520) 458-8278, Ext. 2141 (520) 384-3594 P AGE 2

(Continued from page 1) number of hours of daylight many names to my list— dropped below 10. After that Cuttings arugala, chard, endive, mâche, point the will grow much and pak choi—just to mention a more slowly until the number of ‘N’ few. The book not only lists a daylight hours rises above 10 large number of potential crops again. For Eliot’s location in Clippings and their varieties but provides Maine, the days drop below 10 specific guidelines for growing hours in length at the first of T The next CCMGA meeting is each of them. November and don’t rise to above 5:00 p.m. Thursday, January 6 at Elliot was inspired by the 10 hours again until the first of the University of Arizona South French market gardeners of the February. Here in southeastern th Campus Public Meeting Room. 19 century who used intensive Arizona the number of hours of Mid-winter is the ideal time to gardening techniques to keep daylight never drops below 10. prune your rose bushes. Master Paris supplied with fresh To keep the plants from Gardener, Donna Blackburn will vegetables year-round. By freezing to death, Eliot uses give a talk on the pruning and continuously planting new crops unheated greenhouses (“cold care of roses. as maturing ones are harvested, houses”) constructed of single T On January 8, 9:00—11:00 Eliot maintains a constant layer plastic sheeting over a a.m. the free Water Wise presen- supply of fresh vegetables to frame. Inside the cold houses the tation presented by Tom Runyon, sell—his farm is a commercial planting beds are covered with a Ft. Huachuca Hydrologist will be enterprise, after all. He aims to single layer of floating row cover. Why Does Saving the San Pedro harvest at least three crops a When the outside temperatures River Help Save the Fort and year in every cold house. The were -8°F, the temperature inside Strengthen Our Economy. The planting schedules are crop the cold house, but above the presentation takes place at the specific and described in detail floating row cover, was +2°F and University of Arizona South in Chapter 4 of the book. Of the temperature under the floating Campus Public Meeting Room. course replanting the same crops row cover was +20°F. Although in the same beds time after time, this may seem too cold for plants, is not a good idea so the book according to Eliot it is not. The also recommends crop rotation mitigating factors under the row regimens. covers are elimination of wind- Two major problems come to chill, protection from desiccating mind when considering winter wind, and protection against large gardening, particularly in the far fluxuations in wet-dry/snow-ice north: keeping the plants from conditions. If his techniques work freezing to death and supplying well in Maine, they ought to work them with sufficient light for very well here in Cochise County. growth. The Winter Harvest Handbook is After considerable study, Eliot chock-full of practical advice for T Recycle your Christmas found that the weak light of a winter vegetable gardeners, and I at the recycling center on Hwy 90 northern winter was not really a strongly recommend it. You can or by curbside pickup if you live problem for growing crops find it in the Sierra Vista library in Sierra Vista. For information provided they reached a certain call 458-7530. minimum size before the with the call number 635.0484 COL. Check it out! T High on the Desert Until next time, happy surfing. The 18th High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference will Gary A. Gruenhagen, Master Gardener be held February 17 & 18, 2011 virtual [email protected] at the Windemere Hotel & Con- Robert E. Call Area Horticulture Educator ference Center in Sierra Vista. For Eliot Coleman, The Winter Harvest information contact the Coopera- Carolyn Gruenhagen Handbook (White River Junction, tive Extension at (520) 458-8278 Editor VT: Chelsea, 2009) or ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ P AGE 3

Oregano: Greek, Mexican, Cuban, Syrian...Marjoram???

An episode of The Andy Grif- sian Oregano (O. gracile) and Syr- some form of Mexican oregano fith Show (I know, remembering ian Oregano (O. Syriacum, aka O. plants this spring. Greek oregano, Andy Griffith dates me as being maru), plus many others. Then on the other hand, is readily avail- well into geezerhood) centered there’s O. majorana which is some- able as a seed. If you do buy plants around Andy getting invited to times sold in nurseries as oregano, from a nursery, crush a leaf be- multiple dinners on the same but which when used for cooking is tween your fingers to be sure the night. As a result of Goober’s called marjoram. Marjoram, by the is aromatic enough. Most all garbling of phone messages, cou- way, is more delicate than oregano varieties of oregano will do well in pled with the always curious in- and should always be used fresh, as our climate and some can survive ability of situation comedy char- its flavor doesn’t stand up well to our winter with a little protection on acters to be unable to say no to drying. In all, there are almost 50 chillier nights. They’re generally even the most unreasonable re- members of the Origanum genus tolerant of poor soils, too. As with quest, Andy ate three meals that alone and all of the plants used as many herbs, they produce stronger evening, each one a spaghetti oregano are members of the family flavored leaves when stressed a bit, dinner featuring the Cook’s se- Lamiaceae, which includes mints, so don’t fertilize them, don’t water cret ingredient—oregano. As the basils, and sages. them too much, and give them full show ended, Aunt Bee, con- The primary chemical constituent sun. Next spring, grow one or more cerned that Andy didn’t look of what we think of as the flavor of the oreganos, then whip up a big well, was fixing him yet a fourth and aroma of oregano is a phenol batch of spaghetti, throw in a table- spaghetti dinner. known as . Carvacrol is spoon or two of minced fresh oreg- Well, Andy may have been produced by all of the plants used ano leaves, and think of Andy Grif- stuffed to the gills, but I’d bet culinarily as oregano, hence the fith and a simpler time. that he had no idea just how con- plethora of oreganos but not all fusing the world of oregano is. members of the genus Origanum Bill Schulze, Master Gardener The world really was easier back produce significant amounts of car- in the late fifties and early sixties. vacrol. One herb expert, Dr. Arthur My own oregano education be- O. Tucker, says it’s best to think of gan when I tried to find seed for oregano as a flavor rather than as a Mexican oregano. None of my genus or a species. Interestingly, the seed catalogs offered it, although desert creosote bush, which has an almost all of them offered seed aroma close to that of oregano, con- for Greek oregano (Origanum tains phenolic compounds similar to vulgare v. hirtum). Finally, I did carvacrol. Oreganos and creosote a little Internet research and have been used for a number of me- learned more than I’d expected. dicinal purposes for centuries. To- First, there are several plants day, oregano is touted by some as called Mexican oregano, none of possessing significant anti-bacterial January which are in the Origanum ge- and anti-fungal properties. nus. Further digging revealed that Finally, it also turns out that Reminders the variety sold in grocery stores many varieties of oreganos don’t as Mexican oregano (the stuff in propagate true to taste from seed, ¨ Winter prune the little cellophane bags next to hence my inability to find Mexican ¨ Remove old mulch/replace the whole dried chiles) is typi- oregano seed; it’s propagated by ¨ Dig tree holes cally graveolens, although cuttings and only sold as a plant. ¨ Prepare soil for spring Poliomintha bustamanta (aka P. There are a number of web sites that ¨ Water periodically longiflora) and Lippia palmeri offer it; just do a web search and ¨ Stratify seeds are also called Mexican oregano you should be able to locate some. ¨ Fertilize asparagus sometimes. Also adding to the I’ve not found any plants available ¨ General garden clean-up confusion are Cuban oregano locally yet, maybe some of the lar- (Plectranthus amboinicus), Rus- ger nurseries in Tucson will offer P AGE 4

Sierra Vista Compost Facility In October, eleven Master If cattle manure is available, it is “Scary” the screener Gardeners learned about com- ground up and added as a source mercial compost production at of nitrogen to help the compost- the City of Sierra Vista’s com- ing process. post facility. Mr. Darren Once greenwaste has been Stensby and Mr. Dave Thomas ground and shaped into rows, an- gave us a tour. They said city other huge machine, called a employees make about 2,000 Scarab, pushes the rows into a tons of compost each year from trapezoidal shape: broad on the greenwaste: grass clippings, bottom and narrow on the top. weeds, cacti, tree trimmings, The row is periodically watered After the compost has “cooked” other plant material, and cattle and turned, using the Scarab long enough, it is screened into manure. This operation started again, to keep it moist, aerated, products of two-inch mulch, and ¾ several years ago with just a and warm enough to sustain bac- inch and ¼ inch compost. The pickup truck and a tiny “tow- teria that helps the greenwaste smallest size is sold in paper bags behind” chipper. Buyers pur- break down into smaller sized holding one cubic foot for $3.00. chased the compost as soon as it pieces. If there isn’t any manure All three of the products are sold in was made and demand kept for nitrogen, the city adds liquid bulk for about $8.00—$15.00 a cu- growing. Now the city saves nitrogen to the watering truck that bic yard (that’s about a pickup about $100,000 yearly it would keeps the rows moist. It takes 60 load). The Master Gardeners had a otherwise have had to pay in to 90 days for the material to terrific two hours at the compost landfill fees for disposing of this reach a temperature of 150° F. facility. We left grateful to learn greenwaste. Plus, it earns from City workers test the temperature that Sierra Vista city employees $200 to $2,000 a day from sell- of the compost using a thermome- have found a way to recycle organic ing compost and mulch to com- ter that is taller than I am. The material, reduce landfill costs, make mercial operations and home- compost has to stay at 150° for 15 money for the city, and produce a owners. days to kill pathogens and seeds. wonderful bulk product that can be The process starts when resi- Out of an abundance of caution, found nowhere else in this part of dents of Sierra Vista drop off the city also tests its compost the state. greenwaste at the Highway 90 once a year to make sure it con- facility or have it picked up tains no heavy metals or patho- Terrie Gent, Master Gardener curbside at no charge. Those of gens. us who live outside of the city may also drop off our green- Sierra Vista waste for a small fee. It is placed in a clean field and city Farmers Market workers check to make sure there is no trash or rocks or The Sierra Vista Farmers Market other nonplant material that continues year around at the corner could contaminate the compost of Wilcox and Carmichael every or damage machinery. The city Thursday from 11:00 a.m. until has a gigantic grinding machine 3:00 p.m. Check out all the won- that can pulverize a pickup load derful products brought to you by of greenwaste in a matter of sec- local vendors. Manager Valerie onds. It is ejected from the McCaffrey, a former Master Gar- grinder into a large dump truck dener, is retiring. Congratulations, that takes the chipped material Valerie for a great job! The new to another clean area and drops Checking the compost temperature manager will be Diane Jones. it in very long and narrow rows. Photo by Linda Gleeson P AGE 5 The Agent’s Observations

I planted a ‘Fuji’ apple tree in ever been grown on the land other than prepare a smooth seedbed for plant- 2002. I never seem to get native grasses and small vegetation. ing. Disc-plows are also made to many apples in spite of lots of We plan on selling the produce at prepare the soil for planting. Tractor in the spring. Any- farmers markets. What type of equip- implements can be classified into where from four to ten apples are ment should we be looking for? three major groups: 1) non-powered, produced a season if I’m lucky. For like those mentioned above, 2) power some reason I thought they did not An English agriculturalist, take off (PTO) powered, and 3) hy- require a cross pollinator. I’ve dis- Jethro Tull (1674-1741), is draulic powered. If preferred, a one- covered just the opposite. I don’t credited with inventing a step operation can be used employ- have much room to add another fruit “horse-drawn hoe” for weed ing a tractor mounted rotary tiller tree but I’m sure I could fit a small control and improving the plow which (roto-tiller). The effectiveness of a dwarf somewhere. What variety of is still used today. However, the Chi- rotary tiller will depend on the soil apple would you recommend for this nese were using these types of imple- type. If it is hard and heavy, plowing area that will bloom approximately ments in the 6th century B.C.! The gen- might be the best alternative. The the same time as the Fuji and can be eral rule of thumb is it takes 15 horse- rotary tiller is attached to the tractor purchased as a dwarf? power to pull a one-bottom mould and a drive shaft from the rotary board plow. With your tractor one tiller gear box is attached to the trac- Most apple need a polli- plow might be all it will handle. If tor PTO. The PTO shaft will turn the nator tree for fruit production, your tractor is four-wheel drive you tines of the rotary tiller and prepare but a pollinator like ‘Gala’ or may be able to use a two-bottom plow. the seedbed. Some rotary tillers are ‘Granny Smith’ should im- It’s best to consult the tractor dealer or powered by a hydraulic motor rather prove fruit set. A white flowering manufacture to see what is suggested. then a PTO. The tractor will have to crab apple like ‘Snow Drift’ will If the soil is plowed when it is too wet, be equipped with a hydraulic system serve as a pollinator for many apple dirt clods may form. Clods may be to use hydraulic powered imple- varieties. Do not plant a pink or red very difficult to work down into a ments. Some tractors come equipped flowering crab apple because they good seedbed. After the moist ground with none, one, two, three, four or will not pollinate apples. ‘Fuji’ does is plowed usually a disk or disk harrow more pair(s) of hydraulic hose at- not seem to produce a lot of fruiting is used to work the earth further. A tachments. Hoses are paired so the spurs even on a dwarfing rootstock. disk is a gang of concave metal wheels pumped outgoing hydraulic fluid This is because it is considered a with sharp edges mounted on an axel. flows to the implement causing it to non-spur type apple and produces Normally there are two sets of disk do the desired work. Then the fluid fruit on last year’s wood as well as a gangs mounted to a frame that is at- returns to the tractor via the other few spurs. Be careful when dormant tached to the tractor. The gangs are hose. Certain implements may use a pruning and leave some wood for off-set at an angle to each other form- combination of PTO and hydraulic production. If severe pruning is done ing a “V” when looking from above. power to perform their tasks. Grow- much of the fruiting wood and future The disk will break up the plowed ers may do some or all of the above apples may be laying on the ground! earth and smooth it. Many times a har- mentioned operations to prepare a row, either spring or spike-toothed, seedbed for planting. As you can see will be dragged over the ground after there are many options available for We have purchased a 25 disking. Sometimes the harrow is at- preparing a vegetable planting bed. horse-power tractor. We tached behind the disk to drag over the Reference: need to know about buying ground. At times a piece of railroad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jethro a plow to break up the rail or a railroad tie will be attached to _Tull_(agriculturist) ground to establish a one- the disk or harrow as a drag to level acre vegetable garden. Nothing has the ground. Using this equipment will Robert E. Call Area Horticulture Educator

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director, Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona and Arizona Counties cooperating. The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities. The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Cooperative Extension is implied. Any products, services, or organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorsement by the University of Arizona. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting Cooperative Extension at 458-8278, Ext. 2141. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation. High on the Desert February 17 & 18, 2011 458-8278 Ext 2141 or www.ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/

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Hurry!!! High on the Desert High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference Scholarship Application The Cochise County Master Gardeners Association (CCMGA) is awarding up to three full scholarships to the 2011 High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference to be held at the Windemere Hotel & Conference Center, Sierra Vista, AZ, February 17 & 18, 2011. Applicants are invited to submit an essay on one of the following topics: ¨ Gardening for food production ¨ Landscaping with native plants ¨ Environmental stewardship Essays must meet the following criteria: 1. 750 to 1,000 words in length. 2. Double spaced and typed on plain bond paper — a disk or CD included. 3. Represent original scholarship and be suitable for publication. All references and authorities cited must be properly attributed. 4. Entries must be accompanied by an official cover sheet available from the Cooperative Extension Office at the UA South campus or from the Master Gardener web site: www.ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ 5. Entries must be received at the Cooperative Extension Office, 1140 N. Colombo, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 not later than close of business on January 14, 2011. Entries will be judged by the Cochise County Horticulture Extension Educator and a committee of Master Gardeners appointed by the President of CCMGA. The awardees will be notified not later than January 28, 2011 and their names published in the February 2011 Master Gardener Newsletter.