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The Cultivator
Radishes, Potatoes and Trellised Tomatoes
The CobraHead Newsletter
June 2015
Hello, Friends of CobraHead,

Rain.  That describes Austin over the past several months.  Between my day job and the rain, I've not spent much time in the garden this spring.  But I still have abundant harvests.  I picked enough plumcots for a couple batches of crisp.  Hierba Santa is taking over a section of the front yard.  In the back, I have two beds full of volunteer papalo and a big patch of lemon balm.  As a bonus, the poison ivy patch on the other side of the yard continues to spread.

Late last fall, I moved two pomegranate volunteers that had popped up as runners in my garden bed to the garden perimeter.  They appeared lifeless most of the spring and I had assumed they didn't survive the transplant.  With the rains, they have finally returned to life.  The redbud and Mexican plum saplings that I planted two seasons ago have both shot up and are almost six feet tall.

In this issue, Noel shows how to build his simplified tomato trellis and also talks about his improvised solution to potato hilling.  And Judy shares a recipe for radish and pea pod saut?. 

How has your gardening season been so far?  Drop me a line at [email protected].

Happy gardening,

Geoff
 Dark Red Norland Potatoes
Hilling Potatoes in Open Raised Beds

Noel planted too many potatoes.  Hilling them up was a challenge.
    

Radishes and Pea Pods
Radish and Pea Pod Saut?

We'd never thought about cooking radishes until Judy came up with this great stir fry.

  Read more. 

Improved Tomato Trellis

This trellis is rock-solid and simple.

  Read more.

  

If you like our newsletter and our products or if you have some suggestions, we'd love to hear from you.

If you have gardening friends or if you know potential gardeners who might be interested in CobraHead and what we have to say about gardening and eating, please to them. 
 
It is the mission of CobraHead to help people grow their own food and to provide exceptional products and services to all gardeners.  We try hard to "walk the walk" when it comes to issues of sustainability and in deciding what is best for ourselves and the environment as we grow our little company.  We've chosen to make our tools locally, here in Wisconsin, and we think that bigger is not necessarily better.  Gardening might just be earth's great hope, and in any case it's a great hobby.
Thank you,
Noel, Judy, Geoff and Anneliese
The CobraHead Team
Common Milkweed
Daisy Fleabane
In This Issue
Hilling Potatoes
Radish, Snow Pea Saut?
Improved Tomato Trellis

 
Wasp Working Wild Catmint
Recent weather, other than a little more rain than we really need, has been most pleasant here in southern Wisconsin.  We'll see if all the rain brings out a bigger than normal crop of mosquitos.  I haven't had to suit up to work in the garden, but that could change, quickly.  A lot of states like to brag or complain about their mosquitoes.  Wisconsin can compete with most of the worst, Alaska excluded.

Our garden is looking great going into summer.  I've planted way more than I have in many years, so I'll have to find a home for our anticipated larger than usual harvest.  That's not a problem when you offer people good food for free.

Growing good food is really very easy, but it takes time.  That's the big drawback.  A lot more people would jump in if they could find enough time.  Our system of work and reward is flawed and a logical fix is barely being discussed.  But the value of good food and food sovereignty for all people are becoming topics in the news, so maybe we'll soon start putting our work into important things, like growing delicious and healthy food.

Most of my garden time is spent weeding.  I don't hate weeds.  I sort of enjoy trying to figure out how to keep them at bay, but if I didn't have the time, I could never have a garden the size I do.  Were time valued in relation to the production of good food, weeds would be fought with hand-to-hand combat using a lot of people and not with chemical warfare controlled by a few.  I'm lobbying to make a change because all the foot soldiers in the upcoming "clean" weed war would require arms and I've got just the tools they need.

We'd like to remind all our readers that we love to grow our own food and to help others do the same. We post articles about food growing and cooking with home grown food on our website blog, and we almost always have a discussion or several going on about food and growing on our Facebook page. You can help us spread the word by forwarding this newsletter to a friend and if you have any gardening questions, drop us a note. If we can't help you we'll find someone who can.

Thanks for reading our newsletter.

Noel and the CobraHead Team

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