The Benefits of Mustard in the Garden
“The advantage of sowing mustard are that it disinfects and regenerates the soil, it stimulates the life of the soil and curbs nematodes, especially potato root eelworm, which is why it is so useful to sow the seed. It gives the feared nematodes very little chance in the garden. Its effect on all plant life, including the crucifers, is not negative but positive.”
Gertrud Franck (Companion Planting: Successful Gardening the Organic Way)
‘Idagold’ mustard is what is used here at Chiot’s Run. A large bag was purchased from Johnny’s Seeds last spring and now it’s sown whenever I have bare soil that won’t be planted for a month.
Mustard is said to help suppress weed growth and providing a living mulch. That’s one reason I use it, I have had pretty good luck using it this spring/summer so far. I like to let mine grow to about six inches tall then I pull it and use as a mulch around the larger main crops like zucchini and potatoes.
I also overseed the areas where I plant potatoes. The book Managing Cover Crops Profitably, extols the benefits of mustard for mitigating lots of potato problems including blight. I let the mustard grow to about 6 inches then it’s pulled, laid around the potato plants and covered with straw.
Another benefit of mustard is that it’s easy to pull and doesn’t really self-sow much or become invasive (at least not the yellow variety I grow). Mustard will also winter kill in areas with cold winters, making it a perfect fall cover crop for a nicely prepared and mulched spring planting area.
I’d highly recommend looking into a few cover crops for your small garden. Not only will you increase the health of the soil, you’ll save money by growing your own mulches. You can find a cover crop that will suit just about any need you have, from weed suppression and soil building to disease mitigation. I’d highly recommend starting with mustard, it’s a great initiation in to the cover crop world.
Do you use companion planting methods in your garden?
For more reading on cover crops in the garden, I’d highly recommend these books:
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Quote of the Day: Paul Sweeney
How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.
~Paul Sweeney
Last night we had the great pleasure of watching the fireworks display put on by our small lake community. Each year they collection donations from the residents and put on a fabulous display. We’ve lived here for 10 years and have only missed one year. This year we were lucky enough to enjoy the display on a friend’s boat, a completely different experience.
Fireworks have always been a tradition in my family. We usually spent this holiday weekend at the family cabin and we’d stop on a bridge in Wooster, OH to watch their fireworks display on our way home. Then we’d stop for ice cream and the holiday celebration would be complete!
Do you take in a fireworks display for the Fourth of July or any other holiday?
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From the Archives
Since a move is in our future, I’ve been going through boxes little by little to avoid having to do it all at once. I found a box in the attic of old photos. Growing up we had all kinds of pets, but guinea pigs were my favorite. When we were in the states, we always had one.
Even though we had several guinea pigs, his name was always guinea and he always was the same kind. We’d have him for the year we were here and then he’d be given to a friend when we’d head back down to Colombia.
I have fond memories of dressing my guinea pig up with hats and playing with him. Someday I’ll have a few pet guinea pigs again. They’re such fun little animals to have around.
What was your favorite pet as a kid?
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Friday Favorite: Seafood
I love seafood and fish, really any kind of thing that lives in water. If I have the choice, I’ll always choose fresh seafood over any other kind of protein. Here in our small town it’s tough to come by good seafood. I would drive to Cleveland on the days it’s delivered at West Side Market, but it’s still not quite as good as it is closer to the ocean and it would be 3 hours of driving.
I grew up eating really fresh fish. My grandpa had a boat and we’d go fishing on Lake Erie often, we enjoyed lots of walleye and perch when it went well. When we lived in Colombia we ate all kinds of different fish and seafood, huge river fish and seafood when we were up on the coast.
One of the things I’m super excited about when we move to Maine is the fresh seafood. I was talking to the people we bought the property from and they said there’s a seafood CSA close, which I’ll be joining as soon as possible!
While in Maine we stayed at the house with the couple we purchased it from and they fed us all kinds of great fresh seafood. After signing the closing papers we went down to Youngs Lobster Pound to get lobster & steamers for dinner that evening.
Wednesday for lunch we had leftover lobster on a salad. That night for dinner we enjoyed Maine shrimp in a stir fry of local vegetables. We only ate 6 meals in Maine and 3 of them contained something from the sea – sounds like the perfect ratio to me.
The chickens seem to enjoy seafood just as much as I do.
Are you a fish/seafood lover or do you prefer something else (or are you vegetarian)?
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A Great Read
I read a lot of books, there’s always a stack on my coffee table of books I’m reading, those to be read, and some that I’ll probably never get around to reading. Most of the books I read are about gardening and permaculture. Some a great, some are OK, and some never get finished. One of my most recent finds is quickly becoming one of my favorite gardening books. It’s an old book, I came across the title while reading The Art of French Vegetable Gardening. The method of companion planting and crop rotation they said she used sounded fascinating.
Companion Planting: Successful Gardening the Organic Way by Gertrud Franck is phenomenal. If you’re into companion planting, organic gardening, permaculture, herbs and gardening in general I think you will LOVE this book. I cannot even begin to explain her methods, they are detailed yet simple. This book will definitely be read over and over again!
Do you have any books you read over and over again? What are they?
