Summary by Catherine Haug, May 13, 2011
Julian ran his Swallow Crest Farm as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for 14 years, but now is changing the way he markets. As a CSA, he started with 5 subscribing families, and had 160 members the last 4 years. This format pays the bills, but his children are teens now, with new needs, and he wants to develop the art, beauty and pleasure of gardening at his farm.
Despite the changes in format, several features will continue:
- Apprenticeship program;
- Pre-arranged sales with drop off in Bigfork;
- Presence at Kalispell Farmers Market and perhaps also Whitefish.
This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable Gathering Summary: Gardening in NW Montana and handout: Julian’s Produce Distribution Timelines (2010 Season) (pdf files).
Presentation Topics
- Climate/weather, including: frost-free days; variations/range;
- Soil, including: ideal soil; soil enhancement; crop rotation; compost; cover crops;
- Season extension, including: greenhouse/high tunnels; frost protection; enhancing growth conditions;
- Irrigation
- Crops, including: starting soil mix; seed sources; starts; individual crop needs; insects/diseases
- Seed Saving (was intended topic but ran out of time)
Resources
- Complete Gathering Summary: Gardening in NW Montana (pdf)
- Julian’s Produce Distribution Timelines (2010 Season) (pdf)
Julian’s Recommendations
- Drip Works (Irrigation): www.dripworksusa.com; Drip Works T-Tape: www.dripworksusa.com/store/ttape.php?lnk=left
- Growers Supply: www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/home; greenhouse plastic
- Steubers
- Peaceful Valley Farm Supply: www.groworganic.com for odds & ends
- Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (Rodale) (see Amazon for details)
- Peaco Peat Moss & Soil, Big Arm MT: (406) 849-5729 – 38261 Us Highway 93, Big Arm, MT
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com)
- Fedco of Maine (www.fedcoseeds.com)
- Seeds of Change (www.seedsofchange.com)
- Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org)
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com)
- Organic Seed Alliance (www.seedalliance.org); see also their related seed sources page: www.seedalliance.org/Seed_Companies_Selling_Organic_Seed
Related ESP Articles
- Gathering Summary: Garden Season Extenders, by Don Bates, March 23, 2011
- The EssentiaList: Garden Hoops from Natural Materials
- The EssentiaList: Sequential Planting Through the Seasons
- The EssentiaList articles on Compost
- The EssentiaList: Composting Kitchen and Yard Scraps, by Sally Janover (see also printable pdf version of this article: Composting Kitchen Scraps and Yard Waste)
- The EssentiaList: Growing Guides for Montana Gardens
- The EssentiaList: Bill Clanton In the Garden (pest control, etc,)
- The EssentiaList: Natural Pest Control in the Garden
- The EssentiaList: Using Diatomaceous Earth
Other Websites:
- NPR article: Old-Time Methods Yield Spring Greens All Winter, by Nancy Shute
- National Climactic Data Center: Freeze / Frost Occurrence Data
- MontGuides (MT Extension): Can I Grow That Here? and Successful Garden Guide
- Planet Natural: www.planetnatural.com/site/semaspore-grasshopper-bait.html for pest control, etc.
On the transplant dates (from the handout), do they go from indoor seedlings to a hoophouse? or directly to the garden? My concern is that if they were going out into the open, the dates would have to be moved forward to compensate for the protection the hoop house offers.
I’m not sure what Julian meant, but my thought is that seedlings started indoors need to acclimate gradually to the outdoors before being transplanted directly into the garden. The hoophouse would be a good transition place for this acclimation. but I don’t think you’d need to transplant them into hoophouse soil, just set the seedling pots in the hoophouse.
Thanks, Cat. Makes total sense to me. Now if only I can convince Sam that I need hoop houses!