the Composter APRIL, 2016

Volume 65 Number 8

In This Issue

UPCOMING EVENTS: APRIL MEMBERSHIP MEETING:

BOARD MEMBERSHIP

RAFFLE PRIZE WINNERS

MEMBERSHIP MEETING REVIEW

A FRONT PORCH

A RECIPE: ALMOND ROCCA

GENERAL MEETING INFO

COMPOSTING DVD REVIEW

HOME GARDEN TOUR

CALLING OLD COMPOSTERS

GETTING KIDS INTO

SOIL FOR SALE

UPCOMING EVENTS: Your TOG Board 2015-2016 APRIL 19 MEMBERSHIP MEETING Brandon Merchant- SUBJECT: President

The ABC's of Aquaponics: Brendan Wo ltman of Bridget Barber - Vice EcoGro Garden Center President

We've all heard about that "other" form of Rich Johnson - Editor gardening, you know, the one where there is NO soil. Well, Brendan will be on hand to demystify Mary Sabatini - the whole process and teach us how to raise Treasurer veggies in a self- sustaining system that has the side benefit of fish for dinner. Deb Jacobson - Volunteer Where: Coordinator

St. Mark's Church, 3810 E. 2nd St.--northeast Mohyeddin corner in the Geneva Room Abdulaziz - Member at When : Doors open at 6:45PM large Q & A at 7:15 Speaker starts a 7:30 Marilee Mansfield ------Secretary

WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE AT THE Val Schaffer - COMMUNITY FOOD BANK's GARDEN Education and Outreach Sustainable Design FRI Apr 8th 9-11 am Charlotte Weltjen-

Soil and Membership FRI Apr 15th 9-11 am BOARD MEETINGS Planting a Healthy Garden ARE HELD THE FRI Apr 22nd 9-11 am FIRST Tuesday OF EACH MONTH AT Building Soil Fertility, SAT Apr 9th 1-3 pm, with 6:30 P.M. Brandon Merchant from Southwest Victory THE TOG SHOP

Fruit Tree Care, SAT Apr 23 1-3 pm NEW : Walls-o-Water 3-pack $12 Gardening with Ollas & Self Watering Repair kit $5 Containers, SAT May 7th 9-11 am NEW : Home Composting DVD $5

Spin diggers $6

Compost cranks $40 Price reduction!! (Heavy-duty tool to mix compost)

Compost Bin $40

Planting Guides $7

Frost cloth 12' wide $1.00/ft

Shop by appointment or at the monthly meetings.

BOARD MEMBERSHIP

It's that time of year again, time to seek out and find replacements for the board members who will be retiring this spring. If you like what you get from your membership with TOG, perhaps it is time for you to help guide the future of this most worthy group. Without a board of volunteers there would be NO TOG. The board is the glue that holds things together and has perpetuated what the late Tarke Sweet started in 1971. Contact any current board member or write to [email protected] to throw your hat in the ring for a term on the board of directors. It's painless, often fun, and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment for everything you contribute to the effort. Come be a part of a 45 year institution in Tucson!!

ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD AT THE APRIL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

THE WINNERS OF OUR RAFFLE AT THE SPRING FAIR!! 1. EcoGro $25 Gift Certificate: Reggie Smith. 2. EcoGro $25 Gift Certificate: Vanessa Galloway. 3. EcoGro Pot: Sandra Gaskill. 4. Scottish Tray: T. Robison. 5. Thistle Towel: Flo Jasiak. 6. Tomato Planter: Janet Gillard. 7. Fig Tree: Nancy Day. 8. Rabbit Poop: Lexie Escalante. 9. Moringa Tree: Emily Rockey. 10. Tank's Green Stuff: Peter Dooley. 11. How to DVDS (Garden Goddess): Stephanie Keenan. 12. Joy Rock (Joanna Taylor): Nancy Day. 13. 2.5 gallons Worm Castings: Morgan Goldberg. 14. Maya Renewable Energies 55 gallon Drum: Kathy S. 15. Newspaper Pot Maker: Nancy S. 16. Scrambled V'eggs: Penelope. 17. Echeverria : Don Breckenfeld. 18. Compost Crank (Lotech): John Newman. 19. Desert Wallflower (Dreamflower): Paul Finney. 20. Lavender Rose Perfume (PLART): Katherine Mullaugh. 21. Compost Tea (bag): Emily Rockey. 22. Prize (Intrinsic Alchemist): Efren Martinez. 23. Westwind Seeds (4 prizes): B Kuelbs, Meg, Brenda, Melinda Daniel. 24. ARBICO Worm Castings: Mohye Abdulaziz.

MARCH MEETING REVIEW

OLLA BALLS!! WHO KNEW?

The idea that a buried clay pot (olla) filled with water could weep enough water into the soil to keep a plant alive was a wild concept to me 2 years ago. But now that I have been using a few 2-gallon sized ollas in my garden for 4 seasons, they have proven their viability as an alternative watering system. Some drawbacks that I encountered include having to manually fill the pots every few days in the summer (every 9 days in the winter), not wicking the wa ter very far to the side of the olla; dirt, mulch and bugs getting into the pots, and high expense for each olla. This was turning out to be one of those concepts that looked great on paper but wasn't panning out so well in real life.

So at the March membership meeting I was more than a little skeptical of J.C. Mathews' claim that a 2-½" clay olla ball could sufficiently water a vegetable plant for an entire season. Making it all the more amazing was that his system was fully automated so that I wouldn't have to manually refill the ollas. Just plant the ball under the plant-start or seed, connect it to a small water reservoir set a few feet above ground, regulate the level in the tank with a float valve from a swamp cooler, connect to city water or a higher rain barrel and walk away. It just couldn't be that easy, could it?

Now I know you're skeptical of a salesman's pitch for a new product, even one based on a simple technology that is thousands of years old. JC knows of your skepticism so he introduced Jim Peebles, a non-affiliated user of olla balls, to speak about his experience with olla balls at the Food Bank's urban farm called Las Milpitas in southwest Tucson.

In an apples-to-apples comparison of growing 25 cherry tomato with olla balls vs. 25 of the same cherry tomato plants irrigated with drippers, the olla patch used 215 gallons of water throughout the March to October season while the drippers used 1300 gallons. That's an amazing 84% savings of water!! And as if that wasn't amazing enough, his patch produced 50% more tomatoes than the other patch. So how about them apples?!! In another patch with broccoli plants and olla balls, each broccoli plant did well with only ½ cup of water a day being distributed to the plant through the clay ball.

OK, enough of the golly-gee-wow numbers. What makes this thing work? The trick is in the constant low pressure release of water into the soil directly below the plant. Keeping the pressure between ½ and 2 pounds per square inch (psi) is the sweet spot. At this pressure the ollas weep at a rate that keeps the ground from over saturating, the plant's roots find the water quickly, there are no wet and dry periods, the surface soil never gets wet so there is no evaporation at ground level, and the plant is thrilled to be getting the water it needs at a rate it needs it. It's incredibly simple.

I'll fill in the rest of the details in a Q&A format, hopefully hitting all your burning questions.

Q: How many ollas per plant? A: 1 Q: How deep do you put the ball? A: The bottom of the ball will be 5-8 inches below the surface and the top will be one inch below the new plant start's roots. Q: What about planting seeds? A: Put the olla at the 5" depth but plan to surface water for a short time till the roots get to the olla. Q: Do I need to surface water the new plant starts? A: Just a few times. Q: What about mulching? A: Mulching is a great idea even if the surface dirt doesn't get wet because mulch does so much more than reduce evaporation. Mulch reduces weeds, breaks down and fertilizes the soil, provides great habitat for good bugs, provides a wind break for smaller plants, and moderates the soil temperatures during our extreme weather. Q: How high should the reservoir be above the ground to deliver the right pressure? A: 4- 6 feet is best but slightly lower will work. Q: How big a reservoir do I need? A: 1 gallon is enough but a 5-gallon bucket is more common. Q: How many balls can I have on one system? A: There is almost no limit. For example, one system was done with 108 balls on 500' of 1/4" tubing. Q: Doesn't the length of the tubing effect the flow of water to the ollas? A: Not really. The flow is so slow that there is no pressure drop through the tubing. Q: Can I use my rain barrel to supply water to the ollas? A: Yes, that is a very good use of your rain water barrel. Just be careful that as the water level drops in the tank (assuming you don't have city water plumbed into the barrel also) you don't lose pressure which would happen if the barrel is sitting on the ground. Q: What happens if my reservoir is too high? A: The higher the tank, the more pressure is pushing out on the ollas so more water weeps through. This causes unnecessary water consumption. Q: What about plants in pots? A: You can run the tubing up and into a pot if the pot isn't too high above the ground. Remember, you need pressure to make the water flow and that means you need some elevation between your reservoir and the height of the olla. Q: How many balls should I use for an 18" pot? A: 3 Q: W hat if my garden is already planted and I want to put ollas under my plants? A: It can still be done. Drill a large hole diagonally under the plant, insert the ball and bury it. This will disturb the roots somewhat but it will likely recover. A spin digger works beautifully for this purpose. Q: Can I fertilize my plants through the ollas? A: No, this is a bad idea. The fertilizer will clog up the ollas. Do your fertilization from the top as usual. Q: What about calcium and salt buildup that causes so much t rouble with my drippers? A: Because the ollas are underground and not exposed to the air, the minerals have little chance to dry and crystalize. Experience has shown that any buildup will occur on the OUTSIDE of the olla and can be washed off with water and vinegar. Q: Won't the roots grow into the ollas and clog them up? A: No, the clay of the ollas won't pass roots. Q: Will the olla balls work with trees? A: It hasn't been tried yet so who knows. Q: What about mosquitoes in my reservoir? A: Your tank will be covered so that mosquitoes can't get in. Q: Are there any other possible benefits to using ollas instead of more conventional systems? A: Yes, you will have healthier plants which means you will likely have less problems with bugs and disease. In addition, you will spend less time dealing with irrigation and more time enjoying your garden. Q: OK, OK, where can I get some of these ollas and what do they cost? A: There are 2 places in town to buy olla balls. One is at Eco-Gro and the other is at Native Se ed/Search. The cost is $8 per ball which includes a 12" length of 1/4" tubing, but there is a price break as you buy more and more. For example, I bought 10 of them at the fair at the Eco- Gro booth for $70. And remember, TOG members get a 5% discount for everything bought at Eco-Gro.

I ran the numbers that Mr. Peebles provided concerning the tomato plants grown at Las Milpitas farm and found that each plant used ¾ of a cup of water per day for the 180 days of their production. That is right in keeping with the calculation he quoted of ½ cup per day per broccoli plants. If these numbers are right and the results accurately portrayed, I can't see any sense in gardening any other way here in the desert Southwest.

I have since used 6 of my 10 olla balls and planted 6 zucchini starts that I bought at our Spring Fair.

After giving them a top watering on day one, I had to top water 2 days later and then 3 days after that. The real test now is to see if the plants reach down to the ollas and start taking that water. Since the jury is still out I'll have to report my findings in the May newsletter so stay tuned.

By Rich Johnson

My Front Porch Garden By Mary Sabatini

This winter it finally dawned on me that my best gardening space was right outside my front door. A south-facing concrete porch, covered but not enclosed, it was perfectly positioned to catch the oblique rays of the winter sun. The space was encumbered by a charming but useless porch swing, which could be easily detached from its supporting chains and moved to the garage . (The chains in turn could be pulled up and secured to their overhead moorings.) Now all I needed was the right containers.

Almost by accident, I found what seemed to be the perfect solution, hidden high on a shelf way in the back at Lowe's garden center: the Emsco Group City Pickers Patio Garden Grow Box with casters, for about $30. I bought four of these, nested them together, and brought them home on the bus with the aid of a lightweight luggage carrier. So far, so good.

The boxes measure about 24" by 20" at the top, and are about 12" high, when fully assembled. They are made of a "food-safe high-density polyethylene" which is "chemically inactive, BPA free and Phthalate free." The plastic is "colorized with UV Additives (also chemically inert) to prevent long-term degradation in direct sunlight." The key feature is the 2-gallon reservoir at bottom, which has to be fed through a vertical water fill tube at one corner of the box. On each side of the box there is an opening, which prevents overwatering. Inside, there is a semi-rigid screen separating the reservoir from the growing medium. A plastic sheet is also provided, along with a long rubber band to secure it to the top after potting medium has been added. The rubber band goes limp quickly, however, and the sheet must be secured in some other way. (I used inexpensive medium binder clamps, which work even better.) The sheet mulch is very effective for moisture retention and weed prevention.

Once the boxes are assembled, you just follow instructions and watch your garden grow. But first the assembly, and that is where a design fault comes to light. The casters have to be inserted into the four bottom corners, and of course they have to fit snugly to prevent leaks. But, they don't go in easily! I had to use a hammer, with a great deal of force, to get them in. And in the process, one of the corners broke off almost completely, making that box unusable. Fortunately, Lowe's gave me a full refund, no questions asked. So now I was left with three boxes, which I filled with organic potting mix, along with organic granular fertilizer and garden lime, as per instructions.

In the three boxes I planted Swiss chard, beets and spinach, and was rewarded with bountiful , which I am still harvesting. The final outcome was excellent, and I will probably reuse the boxes next winter. However, I wouldn't buy any more of these planters. I would look for, or try to build, containers with a similar watering system, but without casters. For mobility, I would prefer to place them on dollies.

For more details, search Emsco City Pickers Patio Garden Grow Box Guide, or use this link to see the same info: PATIO GARDEN INFO

ALMOND ROCCA--a recipe by Rich Johnson

Now, I know that this may seem a bit extreme for an organic GARDENING club recipe but the grapevine told me that several of you veggies were interested in my recipe for that mouth watering candy that flew off the plate at the last membership meeting. So I am going to spill the beans here and now, but don't blame me if you end up addicted to the stuff. And I have to tell you: there's no known cure!!

1 lb butter 2 C sugar 1/2 C water 1 C chopped almonds 6-12 oz chocolate chips

Put the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and use medium heat until all is melted and mixed. Turn the heat up to medium high or a little less and stir frequently for the first 5-7 minutes. Then, stir constantly so as not to let it burn. When it turns a thick rich brown, drizzle a little into a cup of ice and water to chill the candy to room temperature or below. Eat the candy. If it is crunchy then you are done. If it's still chewy then keep cooking and keep stirring. DON'T STOP STIRRING after that first 5-7 minutes. If you burn it, it will never taste right. When it passes the crunch test, work quickly to accomplish the following: pour the mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet and spread fairly evenly. Sprinkle 6-12 oz of chocolate chips on top as evenly as you can. Once the chips turn to a rich uniform brown they are ready to be spread with a rubber spatula. Spread the chocolate evenly. Put the whole cookie sheet in the fridge to cool it but don't leave it there for more than a few hours. Remove when it has gotten below room temperature, break it into bite sized pieces with your hands, bag them and chill or freeze. If the texture is not crunchy any more it's because it absorbed too much moisture when it was cooling. It will have the same flavor but a softer texture. Sometimes it's crunchy and sometimes not.

I've been making this recipe for 30 years to the delight of my Christmas gift recipients and there has never been a complaint.

GENERAL MEETING INFORMATION

We encourage all members to consider bringing a snack to share with the group. It can be anything from homegrown to store-bought or anything in between. Treats are such a treat!! Also, if you arrive a few minutes early and are able, please lend a hand in setting up our chairs and tables. Of course, putting things back to the way we found them at the end of the presentation is very much appreciated. Lastly, we encourage donations to help pay for the rental of the church's meeting room. Without the room we wouldn't have a meeting.

COMPOSTING DVD--a review by Rich Johnson

As most of you know, TOG is devoted to teaching organic gardening and composting methods. To that end, some time ago we commissioned the making of a video that walked you through ALL the steps involved in making your own homemade compost. That video was recently transferred to DVD and is now available for a nominal cost of $5. For those of you who have been putting off coming to one of our composting w orkshops or have forgotten some of the details about the composting process, this is your super low cost way of catching up. And you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own Lazy-Boy to do it!! And don't worry about whether the info presented seems a bit dated; this composting process has been practiced for centuries with little or no change.

In this presentation our own Jim Lootens stars as the expert, both on the screen and off, who shows you how it's done. Everything is covered from the proper ingredients to save, to the proper ratio in combining those ingredients, to the choices of bins to put them in, to the weekly maintenance of the pile, to the harvesting of the pile. There is even a troubleshooting section to solve the problems you may have created when you decided to "do it your own way." There is no "Rocket Science" behind it but there are some key things you need to know to do it successfully. And remember, the only kind of luck you need to be a successful composter is.....ROTTEN LUCK!

If you haven't been composting at home but want to, this DVD shows you every step in detail.

HOME GARDEN TOUR

The Pima County Master announces its 17th Annual Home Garden Tour on April 16, 2016. The distinctive and beautiful home gardens of four Master will be featured along with practical demonstrations & talks at each home to include such varied topics as home composting, Grow Zones for water efficiency and plant selection, miniature succulent gardens, perennial container gardening and more. The demonstration gardens at the Cooperative Extension Service will also be open for touring.

Ticket sales begin March 1st and may be purchased: online @ https://extension.arizona.edu/17th-annual-home-garden-tour ; at the Cooperative Extension Service 4210 N. Campbell Ave.; and at the following Tucson nurseries: Bach's, EcoGro , Harlows, Mesquite Valley Growers and Rillito.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 on-line or the day of the tour. Tickets may also be purchased at each home garden and at the Extension's demonstration gardens on the day of the tour.

For more information call 626-5161

This year's four featured home gardens:

1. Terrific Terraces: Set against the dramatic backdrop of Pusch Ridge, this terraced garden's lines and borders vanish into the ridge of this beautiful part of the Santa Catalina range.

Talks: A. Perennial Container Gardening B. Designing Tortoise Habitats

2. Succulents & More: This beautifully creative garden has many different trees, bushes, vines, perennials and a large display of succulents all surrounding a quiet patio and unique fountain.

Talks: A. Creating Miniature Gardens B. Multiplying Succulents

3. Eclectic Creations: The Perry's began Tucson gardening with a single raised bed garden in 2007. After a successful season of raising vegetables and herbs, two more raised beds were added.

Talks: A. Building a Wicking Garden B. Creating a Keyhole Garden

4. Desert Oasis: Walking through this expansive and meandering garden, one is surprised at every turn. The Saari's have tucked all species of plants into a blend of gardens, winding from a wildflower wonderland in their front courtyard to an artistic display of cacti and succulents shielded under a canopy of native trees.

Talks: A. Grow Zones for efficient water management and plant selection B. Desert Composting

5. Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at 4210 N. Campbell Ave which showcases a wide variety of planting themes and techniques in 13 different demo gardens, which range from growing edibles, to low water use desert gardens.

Calling all copies of old COMPOSTER newsletters.

Have you ever wanted to look up an article in an old Composter but didn't have it anymore? Or maybe you wish you had the pictures of some TOG event. Well, our own Victor Gutierrez has set out to assemble as many old Composters as he can find. There is a particularly large gap between 2002 and 2009.

Here's a note from Victor himself.

Do You Have Old Composters?? by Victor Gutierrez

We're talking about the Tucson Organic Gardeners (TOG) newsletter, not compost bins and definitely not your aging, compost-turning husbands. TOG has been in existence for over 40 years. During much of this time TOG has published a newsletter, the Composter, with great information useful to southwest gardeners. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons our Composter archives are no t complete. We're currently working on a project to compile a complete set of old Composters, scan them and make them available on CD to interested members and gardeners. So, if you have old Composter copies and you're willing to lend (or donate) them to us make a list of the issues you have and send it to Victor Gutierrez at: [email protected] or contact a TOG Board Member at any TOG meeting. Thanks for your help with this project.

GARDENING FOR CHILDREN

Victor, a former board member and regular host of the book-sales table at meetings and fairs, has been recuperating from an illness but has kept his finger on the pulse of TOG. It's hard to keep a good TOGGER down. He recently came across a website that encourages children to get involved with gardening. It does this by providing lesson plans to teachers who would like to show kids how to grow their own food. Additionally, it promotes family gardening. If you know someone who would like to get kids involved, right down to earth level, this resource is what you need to get started. http://www.kidsgardening.org ------

SOIL FOR SALE

I have Worm-casting-enriched soil for sale. Last year I added earth worms to my 3 stage compost and am currently sifting it. Some soil probably contains tiny earth worms to enrich your soil too. I love my little worm pets. Also, bargain coarse sifted ( just chicken wire sift) soil at cheaper prices.

Joy Holdread 628-8180 JoysHappyGarden.com

Tucson Organic Gardeners | PO Box 27763 | Tucson | AZ | 85726