Sustainable Food Gardens: Myths and Solutions

Robert Kourik has eight books in the Miller Library, the earliest from 1986. In all of these, he emphasizes the importance of adopting gardening practices that work with nature. He is especially interested in the root systems of plants and ways to maintain soil integrity while conserving water and nutrients. Based in Santa Rosa, California, at the southern edge of our region, his writing is easily transferable to Pacific Northwest gardeners.

In the years since his first book, he has continued to learn. His newest title, “Sustainable Food Gardens,” takes the reader on this educational journey. Many of his opinions have evolved in the last 35 years and some have completely changed. Kourik is a good teacher. He has conversational approach to his writing and is good at providing sources and reasons for his opinions, recognizing that some contradict traditional thinking.

At well over 400 pages with large outer dimensions, this is a hefty book. I think it is best treated as a reference resource, to read individual chapters as needed. Important concepts are sometimes repeated if relevant in multiple chapters. While some may be frustrated by this structure, I found it very useful. It is also important to know this does not have a dictionary of food plants. While there are recommended choices for certain situations, another book is likely required for choosing your food crops.

Kourik encourages the food gardener to be realistic about the scale and setting for their garden. What works on a large organic farm, might not be as effective on your small backyard plot or p-patch. Some sustainable planting practices are only intended for warmer climates. Be realistic, too, about the amount of maintenance a food garden requires and don’t over commit yourself.

One chapter is devoted to container gardening, recognizing this may be the only option for many urban gardeners. The intricacies of drip water systems are thoroughly presented, as are the many other concerns of soil choices, fertilizing, and plants that are best suited for this growing environment. But Kourik recognizes that the simplest approach is often the best. “The quick-and-dirtiest way to grow plants like tomatoes on a deck or driveway is to buy a sack of potting soil or compost, lay if flat on its widest side, slit it open, and plant it with tomato or pepper seedlings.”

Excerpted from the Spring 2022 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

The Garden Jungle

[The Garden Jungle] cover

I have read many books on organic gardening over the years, but never one with a focus on invertebrates. With The Garden Jungle I credit author Dave Goulson for opening my heart to earwigs. Goulson is a British professor of biology, bumble bee expert, keen gardener and advocate for sustainable agriculture. I try to be tolerant of the herbivore insects such as aphids because they feed many species of birds and beneficial insects such as beetles and hover flies. However, I didn’t know earwigs were omnivores and would feast on aphids as well as on dahlia petals. According to Goulson, earwigs don’t seek out ears to sleep in, so we shouldn’t worry.

Each chapter starts delightfully with a short recipe for treats such as mulberry muffins or homesteading classics like sauerkraut, cider and goat cheese. The book maintains a positive tone as Goulson celebrates all the creatures we encounter in our gardens, while detailing highly destructive practices committed by the horticulture and agriculture industries. He makes the case that the most egregious practice to be avoided at all costs is spraying pesticides. Another destructive habit is including peat moss in potting soil both because it destroys peat bog habitat, and also because of the massive amount of sequestered carbon dioxide released upon harvest. For each decidedly Earth-unfriendly horticultural practice described Goulson instructs readers on alternatives to achieve the same outcomes.

Goulson weaves in insights from his research, background on natural history and stories of wildlife encounters in his Sussex garden to relate why we should cherish moths, worms, and even the parasitic cuckoo bee. All are members of the garden jungle ecosystem. Once gardeners tolerate or maybe even love the creatures in their gardens, Goulson is sure that the planet can be saved.

Published in the Leaflet, volume 8, issue 6, June 2021.

Climate-Friendly Gardener

This guide produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists describes ways that gardeners can make gardening choices to combat global warming. It discusses fertilizers, cover crops, food gardens, composting, lawn maintenance, and more.

On safety of using biosolids

I noticed at the Flower and Garden Show that King County Master Gardeners were giving away samples of biosolids for use in the garden. Is sewage sludge really safe? Is it acceptable if you garden organically?

The Environmental Protection Agency defines biosolids as treated sewage sludge. In January 2009, the EPA surveyed samples. Here is a brief summary of some of the findings:

The four anions were found in every sample.
27 metals were found in virtually every sample, with one metal (antimony) found in no less than 72 samples.
Of the six semivolatile organics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, four were found in at least 72 samples, one was found in 63 samples, and one was found in 39 samples.
Of the 72 pharmaceuticals, three (i.e., cyprofloxacin, diphenhydramine, and triclocarban) were found in all 84 samples and nine were found in at least 80 of the samples. However, 15 pharmaceuticals were not found in any sample and 29 were found in fewer than three samples.
Of the 25 steroids and hormones, three steroids (i.e., campesterol, cholestanol, and coprostanol) were found in all 84 samples and six steroids were found in at least 80 of the samples. One hormone (i.e., 17a-ethynyl estradiol) was not found in any sample and five hormones were found in fewer than six samples.
All of the flame retardants except one (BDE-138) were essentially found in every sample; BDE-138 was found in 54 out of 84 samples.

Additional information is available from Cornell University’s Waste Management Institute.

Here is King County’s own information on biosolids recycling. Since the EPA is currently evaluating the results of their own survey, there may be revisions to previous notions that the concentration of toxins in biosolids was so low as to be inconsequential. In fact, the Center for Food Safety has petitioned the city of San Francisco to stop distributing biosolids at “compost giveaway events.” Their website has additional information about potential risks associated with using sewage sludge.

In Washington State’s Lincoln County, residents of a community that includes an organic farm fought to block a nearby mega-farm from applying sewage sludge to fields that would drain into Mill Canyon Watershed. While it is legal to use biosolids, there have not been enough studies of the effects on the environment to prove that it is safe.

The short answer is that there is uncertainty about the safety of using biosolids in the garden, and if you are attempting to garden organically, it may be best to avoid using them.

Compost contamination, Organic gardening, Sewage sludge

sourcing non-GMO seeds

I read an article recently that said some of my favorite seed companies are now owned by Monsanto. I don’t want to use genetically modified seeds in my home garden, so I’d like to know where I can find more information on the sources seed companies use for the seed I am buying.

You may be referring to the January 2009 issue of the PCC Newsletter regarding Monsanto purchasing many of your favorite garden and farm seed catalogs. Territorial Seeds, Johnny’s Seeds, Park Seed, Burpee, Cook’s Garden, Spring Hill Nurseries, Flower of the Month Club, and Audubon Workshop are not owned by Monsanto or Seminis. PCC subsequently posted a retraction.

The folks at Organic Seed Alliance are a great resource on this issue. Here is what they suggest:
“For gardeners interested in buying non-GMO seeds, the best bet is to purchase seeds from seed companies who sell only organic seeds and who have signed the Safe Seed Pledge.”

For further reading on the subject, see this February 2005 article (now archived) by Matthew Dillon from the Rodale Institute on Monsanto’s purchase of Seminis. Environmental News Network also has information about a September 2008 discussion forum with writer Michael Pollan and Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant.

on the benefits of spiders in the garden

I’d like to help a friend start gardening organically. She is concerned about spiders in her garden, especially around her lawn. She would like to know of safe ways of getting rid of the spiders so her children will not be hurt by them.

Generally, spiders are not a problem with lawns, and are certainly not normally seen in large numbers at one time. They are considered beneficial in the garden, as they eat other insects. We do not often encounter dangerous spiders here in the Pacific Northwest. The following links may be useful in reassuring your friend.

Colorado State University Entomology
Excerpt:
“Spiders are beneficial inhabitants of any garden, ecosystem, or home because of their important contributions to biological control of pest insects. Spiders are considered to be the most important terrestrial predators, eating tons of pest insects or other small arthropods every year. Spiders are generalist predators that are willing to eat almost any insect they can catch. They are abundant and found in most habitats. They only need to be left alone!“
Burke Museum’s Spider Myths by Rod Crawford
Excerpt:
“Myth: Spiders in the home are a danger to children and pets.
Fact: House spiders prey on insects and other small creatures. They are not bloodsuckers, and have no reason to bite a human or any other animal too large for them to eat. In any interaction between spiders and larger creatures like humans, the spiders are almost always the ones to suffer. It is so rare for spiders to bite humans that in a 30-year career of handling tens of thousands of live spiders, I personally have been bitten twice. Both bites had only trivial effects.
A person who is not an arachnologist would not likely be bitten more than once or twice in a lifetime. (‘Mystery bites’ which people thoughtlessly blame on spiders, don’t count! There are no invisible spiders…).
Very, very few spider species have venom that can harm humans, dogs, or cats. In most parts of the world, no spiders with medically significant venom have much chance of being found in houses. In the few areas that are an exception to this rule, the harmless house spider species still greatly outnumber the more toxic ones. And spiders whose venom happens to be more toxic to us, are no more likely to bite us on that account; they are unaware of our existence.
Why, why do people waste their time worrying about spiders? It is not spiders that are dangerous to your children; the dangerous ones are other humans!”

For more general information on organic gardening and lawn care, see the following:

on use of newspaper in organic gardens

While researching in the Library’s periodicals yesterday, I read an article in Heirloom Gardener about getting tomatoes to ripen earlier. One of the steps was to put down a thick layer of newspapers, which would decompose and later be turned in to the soil. I am concerned about this being organic. However, the Internet sites I found were divided depending on the type of ink used. They made no mention of bleach or other chemicals used in production of the paper, but I wonder about that too. Finally, not many seemed very up to date.

Can you find better information?

There is a question like yours answered by George Weigel in PennLive.com, in which he suggests that it is probably relatively safe, given that many newspapers are now printed using soy-based inks. Here is an excerpt:
“That doesn’t mean there still aren’t people recommending against newsprint for various reasons (i.e. ‘What about the waxes, pigments and other additives that might be in soy ink?’ ‘Aren’t a majority of soybeans genetically modified, so doesn’t that taint soy ink as a natural product?’ And ‘How do we know for sure that someone didn’t slip something toxic into a batch of ink or that the newspaper temporarily switched to questionable ink because it found a bargain somewhere?’)
“I guess you could argue that newsprint ink might not be ‘safe’ for those kinds of reasons, but then you could argue that just about anything in gardening poses a threat (what’s in the water you’re using, your fertilizer, fungicide-treated seeds, genetically modified corn varieties, pathogens in the compost, even the air you’re breathing while putting down your newspaper mulch).”

Like you, I’ve wondered about newspapers as mulch, or as a shredded addition to the worm bin, too. One could not say that the papers and their inks are “organic,” but most sources (like the one above) seem to say that the amount of toxicity that might still be present is small compared to other sources of toxins in our environment.

As far as use of newspaper in organic gardens, the Organic Materials Review Institute (which lists what is and is not allowed in certified-organic growing) covers this:

Newspaper is “allowed with restrictions” when used for pest, weed, or disease control, and is classified as a synthetic (not organic) control:
Class: Crop Pest, Weed, and Disease Control Origin: Synthetic
Description: Glossy paper and colored inks are prohibited. Paper may only be used as a mulch or compost feedstock.
NOP Rule: 205.601(b)(2)(i) & 205.601(c) As herbicides, weed barriers, as applicable: Mulches. As compost feedstocks: Newspaper or other recycled paper, without glossy or colored inks.

I definitely recommend removing any colored newsprint and glossy inserts that come with the average daily paper. I personally wouldn’t use newspaper mulch in a bed where food is being grown, but perhaps I am exceedingly cautious. You might want to be aware that nanotechnology is now being used in some printing inks, and in some glossy ads (such as Macy’s) which are scent-microencapsulated (I found out about this because I complained to Seattle Times management about the odor). This link to Ink World magazine discusses the use of nanotechnology in printing. Harvard’s School of Public Health explores the environmental and human health implications of nanotechnology in printing.

Grist Magazine has also addressed the related issue of using newspaper in compost.

Disease-resistant roses for the PNW

My neighbor wants a rose, but it will be planted in an organic
garden. It is a sunny warm spot (for Seattle), but I think disease
resistance is a must. What is a source for disease resistant roses
for our climate? Also, does growing clematis on a climbing rose limit its disease
resistance?

The reason that clematis and rose make good companions has to do with the
rose providing the structure the clematis needs, and the pairing allowing
for interesting combinations of color and shape, rather than one
providing disease resistance to the other.

Generally, the most disease-resistant roses are species roses, but there
are additional choices.

This list from Pacific Northwest Pest managment Handbook lists resistant roses.

This article from Washington State University Extension is entitled “Disease-Resistant Roses for the Puget Sound Area.”

There are several excellent books on growing roses in our area:

North Coast Roses : For the Maritime Northwest Gardener by Rhonda Massingham Hart (Seattle : Sasquatch Books, c1993)

Jackson & Perkins Beautiful Roses Made Easy : Northwestern Edition by Teri
Dunn & Ciscoe Morris. (Nashville, Tenn. : Cool Springs Press, 2004)

Roses for the Pacific Northwest by Christine Allen (Vancouver : Steller Press, 1999)

Roses for Washington and Oregon by Brad Jalbert, Laura Peters (Edmonton : Lone Pine Pub., 2003)

Roses for the Inland Northwest. Washington State University Extension ; [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, [2004])

This book is a comprehensive guide to combining clematis and roses:
The Rose and the Clematis As Good Companions by John Howells ; photographs
by the author ; flower arrangements by Ola Howells (Woodbridge : Garden Art Press, 1996)

All of these titles are available in the Miller Library.

The Organic Profit: Rodale and the Making of Marketplace Environmentalism

[The Organic Profit] cover

The Rodale name has long been associated with organic gardening, and books from Rodale Press make up a significant part of the Miller Library’s section on this subject. The company’s magazine Organic Gardening, under that name and similar titles, was a mainstay of garden periodicals from the mid-20th century until it ceased publication in 2017.

What is the bigger story behind this name? The Organic Profit, written by Andrew Case and published by University of Washington Press, delves into this history. In part, this is a biography of J. I. Rodale (1898-1971) and his son, Robert Rodale (1930-1990). It also is an analysis of the mid- to later 20th century movement, in many ways sparked by this family effort, for self-improvement through healthy life choices, including gardening practices and diet. Reading this history, I particularly enjoyed a study of the etymology of the word “organic.”

As the play on words in the title would suggest, the family’s story is not completely altruistic. There was a market for their products and they were eager to meet and promote customers’ demands. However, this grew out of zeal for sharing their personal beliefs. “In his [J. I. Rodale’s] estimation, soils, plants, animals, and people all had a proper diet. Those proper diets were disrupted in the age of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the health of people, plants, animals, and soils was breaking down as a result.”

The author also analyzes the role the Rodales played in the broader environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. For all who are researching or working in fields that were affected – or even created – by the changes in societal attitudes towards our collective stewardship of the environment at that time, this is an important history to know.

Published in the February 2019 Leaflet for Scholars, volume 6, issue 2

Tilth Alliance

Seattle Tilth, Tilth Producers and Cascade Harvest Coalition merged to form Tilth Alliance, “a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating a sustainable community, one garden at a time.” Their mission is to build an ecologically sound, economically viable and socially equitable food system.