IDEAS:

1. Grow a Row for the Hungry -- grow extra vegetables for a food bank.We'll gladly accept vegetables! We're open Monday through Friday 9:30 to 5:00 and Saturdays 10 until 3.

2. Churches can have gardens to help feed people in their neighborhoods and congregations

3. Schools can have gardens for their students' familes and for their lunchrooms.

4. Buddy up -- if your garden doesn't have enough sun for some vegetables, you can grow the ones who don't need full sun and a friend or neighbor can grow the ones that need more sun.

5. If you know a terrific gardener, help them buy stuff for their garden in exchange for vegetables later!

6. Help someone you know who is a terrific gardener with their garden in exchange for vegetables. Or help them one year and learn how, then grow your own garden the next year.

7. If you have more sun in your front yard than your back yard -- grow some vegetable there!

8. Create a "Salsa Circle." Get the best gardeners to grow tomatoes peppers onoins and garlic. And you can buy the jars and spices. Invite people to come to whoever has the largest kitchen to make dozens of jars of otherwise epensive salsa!

9. If you don't have land for a garden but a neighbor does, ask them if you can garden on their land in exchange for vegetables.

10. If a friend or neighbor is not able any more to put in a garden, help them.

11. If you or someone you know can no longer garden because it's hard to squat down -- get a small stoll or make some raised beds.

12. If there is a vacant lot near you -- ask the owner if you can start up a neighborhood garden.

Interviews with Garden Gurus!

Low Cost, Least Effort, High Yield Gardening in our HOT Climate
Interviews with Highly Successful Local Gardeners

1. Wolfgang Rougle --Twining Tree Farm is located in the hills of Southwest Cottonwood; Wolfgang sells at the Sat. Farmers Market in Redding and does a winter weekly CSA produce basket (Community Supported Agriculture) for subscribers.

2. Annette  Fourote gardens at home in Downtown Redding, a neighborhood by the river that appears to be a bit of a banana belt. She began with rocky clay soil and has been gardening at this location for 3 years. She has begun a small neighborhood garden in the empty lot next to her house.                    

3. Jerry McHale has been gardening for 7 years and has small farm stand using the honor system sells eggs and produce. His produce stand is across and a little north of Boulder Creek School.                       

4. Jerry Swart  has gardened about a 1,000 square ft. by the river for the last 10 years in Dairyville, East of Red Bluff,.

5. Wayne Kessler and his wife. Laurie, own Shambani Organics, a nursery between Shingletown and Manton where they raise vegetalgbe and herb plants for home gardeners. They are at the Redding Farmers Market and plants are available through local nurseries.

Besides growing from seeds, what vegetable plants do you buy?
1. None
2. Tomato and pepper plants.
3. Buy some
4. None, I save seeds. Did you know there are 4,000 heirloom tomato varieties? 

When do you start your seeds for spring?
1. End of Feb.
2. Mid Feb. for plants that need 6 weeks, continue to start seeds through March and April. 
Radishes, carrots, turnips in ground, arugula seed year round.
3. mid-Feb.
4. Starts his Stupice tomato in late Jan. it is an n early Czechoslovakia variety that will set fruit 10% sooner. Also starts peppers, lettuce, spinach, parsley and cukes. Direct seeds into the ground: all peas, all beans, squash, melons, carrots and radishes. First in the ground: purple beans as they can tolerate cool soil, last to go in: peppers, when temperatures are in the mid 80s.

What is your seed set up?
1. Small greenhouse
2. Windowsill and a cold frame
3. Little hothouse
4. South windowsill with a light on a timer to give additional light

How do you prepare the soil before you plant?
1. Sheet mulching 
2. Practices the permaculture method using no rototiller, uses layers just as nature does.             
3. Turn in chicken manure with straw from chicken coops.   
4. By Sheet Composting, this is composting in place. In the fall creates layers, well-rotted manure and a powdered fertilizer, (Dr Earth), lightly claw this in, then an inch of hay or newspaper then 6in. of leaves 
          
Do you add Amendments/compost?
1. Add minerals to correct deficiencies
2. Mushroom Compost and Soil Mix from Vic Hannan, Compost from the City and uses Green sand as an amendment

When do you plant in the ground?
1. or seedlings the Third week in April and direct seed into the ground now: beets, carrots, peas, onions, leeks, dill, and cilantro
2. Really planting is weather dependant
3. First of April
4. 1) Depending on the outside temperature, Daytime temps. 70-80s. Nighttime temps. 50-60. 2) follows the moon cycle, transplant during a full moon, plants seeds on a new moon 3) Pull back mulch where you are going to plant to warm soil

Do you do a winter garden? 
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes, Kale and cabbage family type plants

When do you start winter seeds?
1. Starts seeds late August through Oct.
2. Sept. until end of Oct. may buy some plants
3. N/A
4. October

When do you put winter plants in the ground?
1. Plant them when they are ready
2. Big enough not to be eaten by bugs, when they are strong, 3’’ tall, not too root bound
4. Around Thanksgiving

How do you water?
1. Drip tape irrigation with three-inch mulch
2. Hand water with a hose  
3. Soaker hose with a manual timer          
4. Hand water but am working on an irrigation system.                                                                              

How often?
1. 6 hrs. Once a week or in a hot and sunny location every 3-4 days for 4 hours.  In the winter every 2 weeks if it is dry. Uses row covers to save on water and prevent seed loss to birds
2. Morning and evening
3. Every 2 days for 15 min. and I also flood my tomatoes
4. Twice a week. Deep mulching cuts watering in half.
                                                                                
How do you fertilize?
1. Steer manure form Home depot
2. Fish emulsion every 2 weeks on soil
3. Chicken Manure at planting time       
4. 1 T. to a gallon of water, fish emulsion and powdered kelp called maxi crop, every two weeks on tomato, peppers, squash and cukes. Best organic fertilizer is Fox farm. You need a fertilizer with humic acid and mychorrizies which is a beneficial bacteria that turbo charges your plants

Do you compost?
2. Yes, top dress

Is chicken manure the best and cheapest?
1. Not necessarily
2. Yes, my favorite.
3. Yes

Do you fertilize when you plant?
1. No, before when you are tilling the soil and the rain helps work manure and added compost into the soil                             

After they bloom?
1. No

After the plant produces awhile?
1. If the plant needs a boost uses a pellet fertilizer as a side dress ?????

Spray on leaves?
1. Yes, fish emulsion and kelp but only on cloudy humid days so it can coat the leaves                                                    
4. When tomato plants are 2 ft. tall half the recommend dose, then two more times                                     

Which plants do you change location each year?
1. For the home gardener there really is not the concern to do rotation
2. Tomato
3. Does not change locations of plants just continues to add compost and manure to soil to revitalize it
4. Tomatoes, only when pulled up and there are nemotodes; deformed nodules’ on roots then will not plant there the next year. Jerry does seed a cover crop after tomatoes come out, and then late March will turn this in.

What plants are best for containers?
1. Do not know
2. None
3. I only do flied growing
4. Only ornamentals, there is not enough soil and nutrients in the soil for vegetable plants.

Explain blossom rot and how to prevent. 
1. There is an imbalance of a Calcium deficiency, can use a micronized limestone mixed with water to remedy
2. Use Epson salts, oyster shell, do not use dolomite

Why lush plants no tomatoes?
1. Too much nitrogen
2. Don’t know

What are the Easiest Herbs?
1. Basil, rosemary Cilantro seeded for winter and Dill seeded in the Spring and Fall
2. Rosemary, basil, parsley, cilantro   ??????check
3. I don’t grow them
4. Jerry grows Thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano and basil.

Are there any difficult herbs to avoid?
1. Have not had luck with oregano and marjoram
2. Can’t think of any
4. No

What are the common pests in the garden?
1. Cabbageworms pick off by hand
2. If your plants are healthy, you won’t have a big problem. If you have aphids spray with soapy water. You can hand pick the Harlequin bugs. Raccoons are a problem, they dig up earthworms and wash them off in the pool.
3. He only has little tiny gnats late in the season more of a bother. Watch your nursery plants, pests come into your garden this way. 
4. Earwigs, but chickens keep them under control, pill bug damage when plants are young and tender. There are eco-friendly products you can use for all kinds of pest problems: Spinosad, Neem oil, hot pepper wax and Safer soaps. One can also hand pick bugs and use BT for worm infestations.

What are the Common diseases in the garden?
1. Mildew when it is cold, not much can be done except provide better circulation
2. Don’t have any yet.
4. Mold and fungus, there is a product called Serenade that you pretreat your plants when it is going to be warm and humid.

Any other thoughts for the first time home gardener?
1. Prep your soil in the Fall, use lots of manure and till it and your amendments in as soon as you can. In the winter, the freeze thaw cycle is good for your soil. Have you soil tested at Al labs.west.com The Total Fertility Test for thirty dollars, you can learn a great deal about your soil.
2. Start with easy plants like lettuce, radishes arugula, tomatoes and chard.
3. Do not over water!
4. Learn as much as you can, subscribe to Organic gardening and Acres magazines, watch gardening shows on PBS, the Victory garden, Google the word ‘permaculture’ and learn about companion gardening. Oh, and do not walk on your beds and cause soil compaction.

Seed recommendations
1. Late Tomato: Stupice.
Lettuce: Black seeded Simpson, romaines.
Hot peppers: Bolivian rainbow.
Summer Squash: Yellow crookneck.
Winter squash: Buttercup.
Carrots: Most any but smaller tender ‘baby’ varieties do best

2. Early tomato: Super Lakota (super sioux) Tomato Fest Seeds, Porter Improved Peaceful Valley seeds
Late Tomato: Black Zebra, Tomato fest, very long season
Lettuce: Red tinged winter Turtle Tree Seeds, Lettuce gourmet mix Peaceful Valley, bib lettuce, red leaf and butter head
Chard: Ford hook Giant, red chard
Broccoli: Early green, Seeds of Change seeds
Sweet Peppers: Golden Wonder Peaceful Valley
Cucumbers: Lemon cucumbers
Summer Squash: zucchini, crookneck
Winter Squash: Butternut
Basil: Genovese, Sweet Basil from Peaceful Valley

5. Wayne Kessler
Late Tomato: Thesolinki
Cherry Tomato: Sweetie
Lettuce:  Leaf and Romaine
Kale: Red Russian
Chard Ford hook, plant all year round
Spinach: Bloomsdale Early Spring and Fall
Broccoli: Festa di Cicco
Sweet peppers: non Bells best, bells get sunburn
Winter Squash: Bu Hernut, Sweet Meat, Delicata
Green Beans: plant Jan. 3 and July 15, Blue Lake, Contender
Peas: Pole and Bush: plant Jan. 3 and June 15
Corn: late maturing varieties taste better i.e., 85-100 days
Carrots: Half-long varieties are best
Potatoes: gold, red, purple all good
Herbs: Oregano: Italian and Greek  Thyme: English and German

Seed Catalog recommendations:
3. Territorial Seeds, Abundant Life Seed Co., Wilnite Seed Co. Texas
Peaceful Valley Seed and Farm Supply, Seeds of Change