Judy and Sinfonian, from ft2garden.com, on how they are both in the same zone, but with really different conditions.

Part One: Sinfonian Barleytone

Like my garden buddy Judy clear across the country, I too am in USDA zone 8b! Like Judy, I also am working hard to extend my season. Like Judy, I am using Square Foot Gardening to do it.

Unfortunately, that's where the similarities end. You see, USDA Zones are not the only measure of your climate or what your garden will grow. In fact, USDA zones only determine how low temperatures will go in any given year, on average. For Judy living on the Gulf Coast of Alabama and I on the shores of Puget Sound in Washington, it hardly ever gets below 20 degrees for either of us (though I counted twice we got below 20 here last year, but since they were fifty year lows, I guess it doesn't count). What your USDA zone is particularly good at, is to tell you what perennials will over-winter in your area. It is not particularly useful for annuals like most vegetables.

Perhaps better indications of climate are two alternative zone distinctions. One is the American Horticultural Society Heat Zone Map, which is good for determining how well summer vegetables will do for you. Specifically, it tells how many days of 86 degree weather you'll have. Tomatoes, melons and squash all love heat. Unfortunately, my zone distinction is 2, which means I get less than seven days above 86 degrees. Essentially, it is the reverse of the USDA zone and it's low temperature measurement. It is still not the whole story though.

Better still is the Sunset Climate Zone as it is an overall measure of your climate. It takes into consideration the length of the growing season, annual rainfall, humidity, as well as high and low temperatures. It also tells you what other area your climate is most like. For me in zone 5, we are in an "English garden climate" which means we have mild temperatures and a ton of rain. It also tells me that I can order from catalogs in England and they will do fine here.

Lastly, there is a lot of information out there about annual heat units as a measure of a climate. Each fruit or vegetable needs a certain number of heat units to germinate and mature. Although much of all that scientific data is lost on me as a lay gardener, knowing that the Seattle area ranks second to last in the heat unit listings is very telling.

So, simply saying I am in zone 8b, tells less than half the story. And while Judy is valiantly trying to save her salad greens that I can grow pretty much year round, I am gambling to get an early start with my heat loving plants like cucumbers, melons and tomatoes.

Last year we skipped August here in Seattle. It was as if we went from the heat of July to the coolness of September. If it wasn't for starting my tomatoes early, I would have had no production at all. As it was, I got about 8 pounds from two plants.

Specifically, to beat the weather, I am germinating warm weather crops indoors and starting them out under fluorescent lights. Once the seedlings are big enough and hardened off, I plant them under hoop covers or cold frames until the threat of frost is over. That way, I have a huge jump start over direct sowing in May!

GREAT NEW VIDEO TO CHECK OUT! DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT AND FAVORITE IT.

HERB CHICKEN RUB FOR GRILLED CHICKEN

MAY SQUARE FOOT GARDENING TIPS

BEHIND THE SCENES AT MAHONEY'S GARDEN CENTER

CUCUMBER SALAD

Along the way during that time, I met Sinfonian (Rich) online who was in the Seattle WA area. He was also planning and constructing his new square foot vegetable gardens. What surprised us even more was that even though there are over 2500 miles in distance between our gardens (Rich is in the Pacific Northwest and I am on the Gulf Coast), we both were gardening in USDA Zone 8B. Hmmm???

As we both gardened throughout 2008, it became quite evident that our growing climates were as different as daylight and dark LOL! Rich did some investigating and found that the USDA zoning only tells how many days you'll experience low temps and approximately when your last cold snap will be. This is a good indicator of "when" to plant, but that's about it.

On the Gulf Coast we have an almost subtropical growing environment. Even through our "winter" months, we rarely get temperatures that are below freezing. This past winter was more of the exception - there were several nights the garden had to be covered and protected. But for the most part, our winter months are a great time to grow cool weather vegetables like carrots, beets, lettuce, and all of the cabbage-family veggies.

As our Spring-time temperatures really start warming up down here in the South, I am busy "shading" some of my cooler weather veggies in an effort to extend my growing season. At the same time, my gardening buddy in Washington State, in the same USDA Zone 8B, is just taking his row cover hoops down that he's been using to protect his cool weather veggies from the cold!

When Rich's lettuce growing season is kicking in, my poor lettuce is beginning to bolt! Now, about mid-July, if we could just find a way to get some of his lettuce down here and some of my tomatoes up there, we'd both have the makings of an awesome salad J

May Square Foot Gardening Tips from Mel Barthalolmew and Patti Moreno.

CLICK HERE TO BUY MEL's BOOK "ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING"

As we all know, first came the egg, within the chicken, which was already within the egg (">

The egg pips, hatches, and walla! A chick is born... well, hatched as it were. Chicks are chicks male and female until the age of six weeks. At the ripe old age of six weeks, we now call chicks pullets (if female) and cockerels (if male). During the chick phase, they lose their down, grow rapidly and don their juvenile feathering starting at the wings and finishing at the head and neck. Exhibiting large feet, big heads and awkward bodies, they are truly things of beauty.

The stage of development and growth from 6 weeks to 5-6 months, for the purpose of this article, we will call the "teen" phase. So, what happens during this critical period? For starters, Development trades places with growth as a priority. The birds are not of full weight and conformation and should be slowed a tad by using feed formulated for growing and finishing. Chick chatter/peeping is replaced by an ever expanding vocabulary... no great surprise, pullets will be better verbal communicators than the cockerels, with a wider vocabulary. Young cockerels may begin to crow, or at least make some very strange avian articulations that can sound like a squeaky swing hinge, or a person thumped in the throat while gargling?

Social development, just as in teen humans, becomes key to their future status and in some cases, survival. The "peck" is firmed up... the peck being the social order by which all chickens will eat, secure perch positions and future mating rights. The top pullet will peck whichever other female she wishes to and they in turn will peck another subordinate flock mate and on down the line it goes until there a hen that is "pecked" and left to pick at bugs or grass rather than another chicken. Often pullets also subordinate a cockerel or two in their hierarchy. If this is a complete flock, females begin to favor certain cockerels and congregate around them. These young males learn quickly, that if they wish to be popular with the ladies, they need to find and point out food resourced for them, rather than gobbling it up for themselves.
Early sexual behavior also begins at this phase in a chicken's life... you may observe, if you have cockerels, what may appear to be raw aggression towards pullets. Without provocation, a male will dash at a pullet, only to tear feathers from her neck. The inexperienced poultry person may see this as an attack! It is not, in fact this is the equivalent to the little boy who likes a girl and rather than telling her about it, pulls her braids, or bounces a ball off her back at recess... he likes her and doesn't want to be ignored. There is no shortage of socially inept young cockerels. This also leads to dominant cockerels establishing themselves. Pullets will rush to and remain close by those cockerels which provide protection from the other neck snatchers in the group.

If the flock owner interrupts these often misunderstood behaviors, by separating members of the flock, then the social order ceases to develop and must begin again. In the absence of a cockerel, a hen will often assume the position of top bird in the peck and even may take on male traits in her dominant behavior. It's all to be expected and insures a comfortable social order in the end.
Chickens are far more socially interesting than many would believe... cage your birds and you will never know their natural social structure. Cockerels become defenders and providers, hens become valuable members of the flock social order, all established during the critical teen months (">

Frederick Dunn
www.FredsFineFowl.com
Photo's also by Judy Hal

Vegetable gardens are popping up everywhere - at the White House, at the California statehouse, in front of city halls and in backyards across America - in large part because the progressive food movement got the word out.

But many in the gardening and environmental communities are saying, "Vegetable garden? Great start! Now how about fixing the environmental problems on the grounds?" But with all the media attention on the Obamas' vegetable garden, there's been no mention of creating a sustainable landscape on the rest of those 18 acres around the official residence.

So Green the Grounds.org was created to bring attention to the other changes that need to be made on these highly prominent landscapes - starting with the White House but including governor's mansions and official residences of mayors. Now as Americans are learning to grow their own food and eat healthier diets, they can also learn healthier ways to treat their backyards and frontyards - healthier for family members and for the surrounding ecosystem, as well.

Sustainable Landscaping Basics

· Nontoxic lawn care. More fertilizer is dumped on American lawns than on all of American agriculture and for what? Acres of thirsty turfgrasses that do nothing for wildlife and require pesticides, too. Organically maintained lawns are kinder to wildlife, human health, waterways, and budgets. · Less lawn. Lawn has its place and is essential for play areas, but perennials, shrubs and trees are far better for stormwater retention and for wildlife. If even a portion of such high-visibility sites as the South Lawn could be reduced in size, it would show Americans that there are better plant choices.

· Water conservation. Far too many public landscapes waste far too much water irrigating their lawns and thirsty plants (those bedding annuals in particular). Water-wise landscaping uses drought-tolerant plants and smart watering techniques.

· Managing stormwater. Rather than directing water directly into stormwater systems, it can be retained on site to replenish groundwater and be purified. That's a huge issue in D.C., where storms flush pollutants directly into the Chesapeake Bay.

· Choosing pest-resistant plants. No rose gardens has to include disease-prone hybrid tea roses when there are no-spray roses available, which are especially lovely when grown with companion perennials that attract beneficial insects. Smart plant choices make sustainable landscapes easier and cheaper to maintain.

· Recycling yard waste. Incredibly, yard waste is still being dumped into landfills across the country. Instead, grass clippings can be used as lawn fertilizer, fallen leaves can be turned into compost, and pruned branches can be chipped and spread on paths.

· Sustaining wildlife. Public landscapes, especially those in cities, need to providehabitat and sustenance for pollinators and other essential wildlife.

By Susan Harris the Garden Coach
www.gardenrant.com

Back in January, my first article appeared about how and why I got into goats. My 3 does were pregnant then and due in March.

Now the next chapter in my great goat adventure has begun. All 3 does had two babies a piece and they are a little over a week old now. Out of 6 babies I only got 1 girl to use for my kinder project. But I'm still happy with that because she's adorable. They're all adorable! The boys from my nubian does will be sold as pets or breeders. The 2 boys from my mixed breed doe will be sold as pets or meat goats. Yes, people do eat goats. Its actually supposed to be very good. I've yet to try it myself but will someday since kinders are a milk and meat goat.

For anybody that doesn't know about kinders, they are a cross breeding between a pygmy and a nubian. They are in between the size of both breeds and are great for small acreage like mine. They give a surprising amount of milk for their smaller size, have a nice amount of meat on them, and eat less then a full size goat.

Anyway, back to the babies. I am bottle raising the four Nubian babies and right now they are getting 12 oz each. Although I think I'm going to have to raise that in the next couple days as they're finishing the bottles and wanting more. They get fed every 6 or so hours. I say 6 or so because I do need to get some sleep eventually. The midnight feeding is the hardest since I'm half awake for it.

They will be getting disbudded soon. Disbudding (or dehorning) is burning the horn bud where the horn will be growing out. Disbudding is a bit of a controversial subject in the goat world as some believe its necessary and some don't. I personally am having them disbudded because of the risk of them getting their heads stuck and the danger of the horns themselves. Even the friendliest goat can accidentally hurt you.

At 3 weeks I will start them on their CD/T boosters. Vaccinations is another controversial subject. I personally would prefer the preventative measure that vaccinations give. Just like when people get shots. They will get the shots at 3 weeks and 6 weeks.

I've done 2 short videos on the baby goats. One is how to bottle feed a baby goat. It's pretty easy to do. My 9 yr old and 5 yr old help me all the time. It's a little tricky when you first start as the babies need to learn to drink from a plastic nipple. Have patience. I use regular baby bottles with an X cut in the nipple for more flow. But there are also nipples especially made for bottle feeding livestock and can fit on a small soda bottle. The second video is simply our happy little babies playing and bouncing around.

A 5000 year old vegetable, this South American sweet counterpart to the hot pepper has been gracing tables all over the world thanks to Spanish and Portuguese explorers. And with no small help from the fact that bell peppers are extremely adaptable to most growing climates and conditions, this culinary wonder spread through the world via trade routes like wildfire being quickly incorporated into many different cuisines. They now are a staple in Europe where they are dried for paprika, an absolute must in Creole and Cajun dishes, they are used heavily in Mexico, Portugal, and Asia in all sorts of dishes.

Bell peppers have a great many uses. Cooked into dish after dish, they can also be munched down on raw. I like to add green bell pepper and red onion to my chicken salad. It makes for such a delightful crunch and adds a nice texture and flavor combination with the onion and celery. I also like to have green or red strips of bell pepper on my tuna sandwich. I also prefer to use orange bell pepper when grilling beef and vegetable kabobs. The idea there being to cook the meat, but only to char ever so slightly the vegetables. There is just something about cherry tomatoes and orange bell peppers right off the grill, it is incredible. A quick coring and a nice short dip on hot water and you can stuff your pepper with whatever you'd like.

The bell pepper can be dried for later use, too. They dry very well and if you like to make soups from a dry vegetable mix, I would very much recommend that you use both green and red varieties. Dehydrating peppers for later use is quite easy. You can use a food dehydrator or you can sun dry them (but that is another post).

While this capsaicin lacking pepper isn't hot, it is the only edible part of the plant. This pepper belongs to the Nightshade family, like potatoes, so no getting cute and trying to garnish with the leaves of this poisonous plant!

Start seeds indoors eight to ten weeks before your last frost date. Germinating seeds can be challenging but with practice, it will become easy work. Transplant to your garden after hardening off after all danger of frost has past. If the weather is cool after your last frost date, make sure to hold off on transplanting or use a coldframe. Sweet peppers prefer full sun, hot weather and require generous amounts of organic material such as compost, manure and general fertilizers, organic of course! Keep the soil moist, but not wet and water regularly during the hottest months and mulch to retain moisture. Plants mature in 70 to 90 days for most, some take longer, but it is worth the wait. Peppers of all types self pollinate, but to avoid cross pollination with other species, avoid planting sweet and hot peppers together.

Harvest peppers as soon as they reach an edible size. Green peppers are the immature fruits of the rainbow of colored bell peppers. Left on the plant, these will eventually mature to their proper color. Though, it should be noted that the sweet green pepper is the most popular pepper to be grown. Peppers will continue to grow until the frost kills them. But this shouldn't stop you from having peppers all year round as peppers will grow nicely in containers that can be brought in out of the cold.

With a rainbow of colors available there is a plethora of things that can be done. Consider this, purple bell peppers with purple potatoes for a nice crunchy potato salad that ends up being a creamy lavender color after completion. Liven up your dried soup mixes with a mixture of colored carrots, potatoes and sweet peppers.

In the spirit of courage and self-sufficiency of previous generations who planted gardens in their front and back yards to support their nation's war efforts - today many are undertaking the challenge of declaring independence from corporate food systems, reducing reliance on fossil fuels to bring food to the table, and cultivating a more healthy and fulfilling life.

This grass roots revolution is occurring throughout America in today's modern victory garden. The "war" is a revolution - and the battle ground is right here on the home front. The modern victory garden is also sometimes referred to as a "Freedom Garden" - because it represents a declaration of independence of sorts. It is all about taking back responsibility and control of our own food supply.

Whether it is a modest container of tomatoes on a patio deck or a full fledged self-sufficient garden - each effort contributes to the goal of freeing ourselves from the forces that would keep us dependent on a system of petroleum fueled and factory farmed food. The rewards are many for taking up this challenge, and along the way you'll experience the empowerment and fulfillment that comes from learning the basic skills of providing for yourself and your family.