In this podcast we chat with special guest Niki Jabbour about techniques for using structures of all sizes in your garden year-round to extend your season, reduce pest pressure, and improve yields.
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SHOW NOTES:
In this episode, we discuss:
Garden covering systems and infrastructure
Under cover growing techniques
Heavy weight row cover for frost protection over bent PVC pipes.
Important Take-aways:
Niki is gardening in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Zone 5B
Structures:
Cloches: Small coverings for individual plants
Mini hoop tunnels: Also called low tunnels or row covers, mini hoop tunnels, are structures that are not tall enough to walk into. They often comprise hoops or arches that support fabric or plastic covers that protect plants. The cover of a low tunnel must be removed to manage and harvest the protected plantings. Low tunnels are inexpensive and easy to set up, but because they’re low, you can’t grow tall crops to maturity under them.
Supports:
PVC conduit: 1/2-inch-diameter PVC conduit is readily available, inexpensive, and easy to install and secure.
9 gauge wire
Metal conduit: Half-inch-diameter metal conduit makes for a very sturdy weather resistant hoop to support fabric- or plastic-covered mini hoop tunnels.
Coverings:
Shade cloth: usually a woven fabric that can reduce sunlight penetration and keep plants and soil cool. With a layer of shade cloth, almost any low tunnel, cold frame, or high tunnel structure can be adapted to help extend the summer growing time for cool-loving crops.
Spun-bonded polyester fabric: Often refereed to by the brand name called Reemay, This material provides some heat retention and wind resistance but is also breathable and lets precipitation pass through (Reemay and Agribon are common brand names). It doesn’t create the greenhouse effect like clear plastic, so you will not have to remove it when the sun comes out. (West Coast Seeds is a great source for heavy weight row cover and gardening supplies)
Greenhouse or UV-resistant plastic film: Using clear plastic to cover your hoops creates the greenhouse effect, and your garden beds will get maximum temperature gain. However, this material can cause your crops to fry on a sunny day (even in the middle of winter); you need to be prepared to open it partially or remove it for ventilation during sunny periods.
Deep mulching: Mulching around crops with 1-1.5 feet of leaves, straw, or evergreen limbs can help keep the soil from freezing, even in climates with very cold winters.
In this episode Niki recommended books by Penelope Hobhouse for all you history buffs!
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More about our special guest:
Photo from The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, taken by Joseph DeSciose
Niki is an award-winning author and edibles expert from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who believes that a long Canadian winter shouldn’t mean an end to the homegrown harvest. Niki grows dozens of different vegetable varieties in her 2,000-square-foot garden, including experimental crops like quinoa, peanuts, artichokes and figs. Niki’s unconventional – yet wildly successful – growing techniques are proof that elbow-deep snow is not, in fact, a valid excuse for a puny parsnip harvest. Her first book, The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, was honored with the 2012 American Horticultural Society’s Book Award, and her latest title, Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden (Storey Publishing, 2014) opens your eyes to an infinite number of tasty possibilities. Niki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix introduces you to 224 New Plants to Shake Up Your Garden and Add Variety, Flavor, and Fun (Winner of the 2019 American Horticultural Society Book Award, Winner of the Gold Book Award from GardenComm, and winner of the 2019 Silver Award from Taste Canada).
Niki's gardening blog, SavvyGardening, has won Best Overall Garden Blog and Best Digital Media from the GWA, the Association for Garden Communicators!
www.savvygardening.com
Instagram: @nikijabbour
