Planning a garden? Get Cindy Conner's new book!

We were at the Virginia Biological Farming Conference again in Richmond, Virginia a few weeks back. It is a two day event where farmers and aspiring farmers from all over convene for food /local organic, fellowship / friends new and old get to spend time catching up and learning from one another, and a cornucopia of speakers sharing their experience and insights on organic farming practices.

Cindy Conner and her husband Walt

One of the many friends we got to see this year while exhibiting our garden tools and flame weeding equipment there is
Cindy Conner.
Cindy's new book, Grow a sustainable diet - planning and growing to feed ourselves and the earth (ISBN# 9780865717565)
published by new society  is a comprehensive gardening manual for anyone interested in learning sustainable methods of food production for their family that Cindy has practiced for years.
After spending time with in the garden with Cindy Conner you will come away blessed with a new way of looking at gardening that is sure to inspire. Reading this book will give you some of the insights and methods Cindy has learned through many seasons in the garden. Well worth the read for new and old gardeners alike. - one of Mother Earth New's "books for wise living recommendations"

Organic Lawn and Garden Care made EASY!

Have you resigned yourself to accepting that having a chemical free lawn and garden means putting up with weeds and less than glorious grass, food and flowers? Or maybe you think there is a way but it’s way too complicated, time consuming and expensive to think about...right now.

Let me introduce you to some new organic lawn and garden care products from Fire Belly Organics. These are all natural, organic, chemical free products produced here in the USA.

The entire Fire Belly Organics line of products has been designed for complete ease of use and absolute effectiveness while being easy on your budget. Each is packaged in a hose end sprayer applicator, no need to figure out ratios or buy yet another sprayer, or mix in a bucket...just attach to your garden hose and go!

No worries about children, pets or wildlife being harmed by your recently treated lawn. All products are derived from natural, organic ingredients that support life in the soil and on the planet.

There are 5 products and 3 “kits” available, depending on your lawn and garden needs. Each kit treats about 5000 square feet.

Organic Lawn in a Box- contains:

1. Early Spring-Growth Activator

2.Spring- Bio-Blast

3.Summer-Bloom Blaster

4.Early Fall-Bio-Blast

Organic Lawn in a Box + 2 contains:

1.Early Spring-Growth Activator

2.Early Spring-Spray and Play liquid corn gluten

3.Spring- Bio Blast

4.Summer- Bloom Blaster

5.Early Fall-Bio Blast

6.Late Fall-Winter Protect

Organic Garden in a Box contains::

1.Planting time- Growth Activator

2. Fertilize all season with Bio-Blast

3.Use Bloom Blaster when flowers and fruits start to bud to maximize production.

You may also buy the products separately by the case(4 per case)

Growth Activator-Bio-Enhanced, Organic Soil Treatment. Promote nitrogen fixing, detoxify soil, reduce transplant shock, encourage root development, increase photosynthesis, and make nutrients more bio-available. Perfect for establishing new plants and to boost spring growth while protecting from environmental stress.

Bloom Blaster-Natural Bio-Stimulant. A nutritious blast of natural plant growth hormones, vitamins, amino acids and micronutrients to support bud development for abundant, beautiful flowers and fruit without harming beneficial organisms. Derived from cold water seaweed.

Bio-Blast 7-0-2-Bio-Enhanced, Organic natural fertilizer. Completely replace chemical fertilizers with this phosphorus free, chelated formula. Greens up leaves fast, feeds the soil and promotes vigorous growth.

Spray and Play 1-0-0-Liquid Corn Gluten. Concentrated liquid corn gluten suppresses seed germination while feeding the plants and soil. Use on lawns, mulched areas or garden beds.

Winter Protect-Winterizing Treatment. Late season soil and plant winterizer bio activates clay and sandy soils, builds organic matter, unlocks nutrients in the soil and buffers pH levels. May be used on all types of plants and turf. 

All of these products are available to buy right now at WayCoolTools.com . It’s never too late to start having a healthier, more beautiful, organic lawn and garden!

Flame Weeding

Weeding is fun!

I'm looking over the array of carefully selected seed varieties that are promising a bountiful crop of vegetables, flowers & herbs in the coming growing season. Then I survey the garden beds. Winter weeds have taken over the garden, crept in right under our noses, or Roses as it were :-). So much work to be done before the fun of planting can begin!

Wouldn't it be great if your could just erase the old leftover plants from last fall, the grasses and vines along the fence line, dandelions and thistles that have stealthily increased in population, those prickly berry canes that try to sneak into your garden? Make it a clean slate, so to speak.

That can be a daunting task though, and backbreaking work to prepare the garden. You want to focus on the growth of spring, not laboring to clear the past! (Especially if you let things slide a little in the fall ;-)) It's tempting to resort to “easy” chemicals to knock back the spring weeds, or use pre-emergents...but are they really as safe as we've been led to believe? And what is the long term effect on your garden, soil, and your food?

The intense heat of the propane flame destroys the cell structure of living plants,causing them to wither and die within a day or so. While it doesn't immediately kill the deep roots of perennial weeds, repeatedly knocking back the top growth will eventually exhaust the plant. Additionally, weed seeds and overwintering pests and their eggs are killed by the heat and cannot become resistant to this form of control. Flame weeding takes the power of heat, and uses it in a controlled and efficient manner.

And you know what? It's fun! (shhhhh!)

I LOVE WEEDING... with my Red Dragon garden weeding torch. I can slip on my handy backpack tank  for rough terrain or just pull a grill tank on the dolly-cart in the tamer areas.

First I can clean up the gravel driveway of any weeds that have popped up since last fall.

Then attend to the mulched areas around the ornamental and fruit trees and bushes.

I no longer waste string line when trimming the grass and weeds along the stone walls, patio or walkways. A clean sweep with the flame weeder is all that's needed. Fence lines are another chore to look forward to..... Well, it's true if you're flame weeding! Then clean up the veggie garden, turning last year's leftovers into soil building ash and bio-char. And, at the end of a chilly spring day, light a fire for marshmallows with the kids.

Now string trimmers do have their place. There are times when a weed whacker is a wiser choice than a weeding torch. If you are working near highly combustible materials like pine needles, around plants like Poison Ivy or certain evergreens, or under very dry, windy conditions.

(You might consider converting your motorized 4 cycle trimmer to a low polluting, low emissions fuel: propane.

Find out more about converting your small engine equipment, including lawn and garden equipment, generators, and more to propane: click here.)

 Just call me the Hank Hill of gardening!

Red Dragon Flame Weeders are made with pride in the USA .

Buy flame weeders from WayCoolTools.com

Cindy Conner, Cover Crops video

Here's a 3 minute teaser for the full length video.
We recently met Cindy at a Master Gardeners event in Goochland. She is truly a fountain of knowledge about gardening sustainably! Check out the full length video about cover crops available in our online store:
Out-compete weeds, nourish your soil, and enjoy abundant biomass for mulch and compost using techniques from Virginia sustainable agriculture teacher/expert Cynthia Conner. This 66 minute video takes you through the seasons in Cindy's intensive garden, showing you cover crops growing, harvesting, planting into stubble, timing, varieties and more! Overflowing with valuable tips and tricks for gardening and processing the harvest without power tools and in a sustainable manner. Learn something new every time you watch it!
Cindy is a teacher of sustainable agriculture at J. Sargent Reynolds Community College in Goochland/Richmond(they even have a sustainable ag CLUB!!) and a certified teacher of John Jeavons' GROW BIOINTENSIVE method of gardening, holds a certificate in Permaculture Design.
For more info on Cindy's work see www.homeplaceearth.com
We really enjoyed meeting Cindy, talking about the old Ecovillage, John Jeavons, oxen, tools and on and on. What a delightful gardener to know, we look forward to learning more from her!

Update on the cold frames

It's late March now and we are harvesting greens from our homemade cloches
Here are a few pics featuring the greens that survived -2F temps with no additional protection and our new fave harvesting tool: Sheep Shears!. They are handy for harvesting greens, cutting back liriope and shearing back leggy annuals or perennials. If you have sheep, these will shear them beautifully :-)This model comes with a free belt holster, so you can store them safely when not in use.