Author Archive

« Older Entries

CobraHead LLC and Green Bay Drop Forge Keep Garden Tool Manufacturing in Wisconsin

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

We are happy to have had a relationship with Green Bay Drop Forge since the inception of our company. Below we tell more about the challenges and benefits of keeping our manufacturing in Wisconsin.

Cambridge, WI – November 2012 -

Bucking the trend of shifting manufacturing overseas, the partnership between CobraHead Tools and Green Bay Drop Forge shows how Wisconsin manufacturing can produce a quality product and retain local jobs.

CobraHead’s founder, Noel Valdes, had developed the idea for a gardening hand tool. He had the patent pending design idea, and he had the market data to show the demand. What he was missing was a reliable, domestic hand tool forging source and the necessary metallurgical and production expertise. “I had made it my mission to have the tool made locally instead of overseas”, says Valdes. “I set out to find a partner in the Midwest who I could work with and trust.”

“Finding Green Bay Drop Forge, a well established Midwestern forger with a sincere willingness to be a partner to us, was the answer. Green Bay Drop Forge immediately showed exceptional and friendly encouragement in helping us get the tool designed and produced. They developed prototype-manufacturing prints and established tooling and manufacturing costs for both prototype and full production runs”, says Valdes.

By partnering with Green Bay Drop Forge from the very beginning, CobraHead, LLC has developed a unique forged hand tool unlike any other. It has been enthusiastically endorsed by the most respected gardening journalists and horticulturists in the US, Canada, and the UK. “Over the years, Green Bay Drop Forge has consistently delivered exceptional quality, manufacturing expertise, and service. They are reliable and always accessible. We would simply not exist as a company without Green Bay Drop Forge. They are a true partner to us.”

To read more from Green Bay Drop Forge please visit http://www.greenbaydropforge.com/case-studies/cobrahead-llc

Tags: CobraHead GArden Tools, CobraHead LLC, Green Bay Drop Forge, noel valdes, Wisconsin Manufacturing
Posted in CobraHead | No Comments »

Ecology Action

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Earlier this month Anneliese and I had a chance to visit Ecology Action, in Willits, California.

Ecology Action is the research farm of John Jeavons, author of How to Grow More Vegetables than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land than You Can Imagine. Given that this book had a huge influence on the way that both Noel and I garden, it was a big deal for me to finally be able to visit the site.

Looking down at the gardens of Ecology Action.

John Jeavons wasn’t available, but another John, who is currently interning with Ecology Action, took time out of his schedule to show us around. The site is hidden among redwood hills and is difficult to find. The view of the mini-farm is spectacular, but the soil is not. Part of the research involves showing whether or not the Bio-Intensive method works in conditions similar to that of small-farmers on marginal soils with little access to outside inputs and large-scale irrigation.

John, one of the interns at Ecology action, gave us a personalized tour. Here he is with Anneliese.

To that end, the goal of the garden is to generate all of its own fertility. This means growing lots of crops as much for the carbon and other biomass that they produce that then goes back into the compost pile as for their food value. At Ecology Action, they follow a 60%-30%-10% model. Sixty percent of the space is devoted to crops that produce a lot of carbon as well as some food, such as quinoa; the seeds are eaten and the stalks go into the compost. Thirty percent of the space is reserved for high calorie root crops and ten percent of bed space is for vegetables.

Grains and grain like crops are an important part of the system that Ecology Action has developed, both as a calorie crop and as a source of carbon for the compost. We saw lots of quinoa.

At the time of our visit, we saw lots of quinoa and amaranth almost ready to harvest. Since this is a research farm, everything that is harvested is weighed and recorded. Signs on the various compost piles showed the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in each pile; later the effects that different blends of compost had on yields would be observed.

Many gardeners have access to outside fertility. Even Noel, who generates almost all of his garden fertility on his property, relies on composted leaves from other parts of the yard not dedicated to food growing to replenish the organic matter. At Ecology Action, the assumption is that the garden must become a source for organic matter, not a sink; the garden must produce more organic matter than it consumes.

A closed-loop fertility cycle is just a small-part of the method presented in How to Grow More Vegetables. Even if you are a city gardener who relies on purchased compost for your fertility, the other raised bed techniques, crop spacing guidelines, and more make the book one of our favorites, and visiting the research farm in person gave me a new appreciation for their methods.

 

Tags: compost crops, Ecology Action, Geoff Valdes, grow bio-intensive, How to grow more vegetables, John Jeavons, raised bed gardening
Posted in Gardening | No Comments »

Growing Microgreens

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

My friend Ted Skenandore of the Tsyuhehkwa Center has been growing pea and sunflower micro-greens and explained his method to me a few months ago. Now I’ve been growing them for myself as well as with the young people of the Save Our Youth program. These are his directions. My comments are in parenthesis.

  • Fill a 11″ x 21″ tray with small drainage holes half full of potting soil. (The standard black greenhouse trays that are referred to as 1020 trays work well.)
  • Water potting soil
  • Add about one cup of seeds evenly across soil (Use one cup only if the seeds are large, like peas or sunflowers. You only need 2-3 tablespoons if the seeds are small like Chinese cabbage or radishes.)
  • Add enough potting soil to cover seeds
  • Press in firmly
  • Water again
  • Cover with second tray that is the same size and press in firmly again. (For the second tray I use one that doesn’t have holes in it.)
  • Water every two days. (I have found that if the trays are indoors they only need to be watered every three to four days.)
  • When seedlings start to push top tray up flip it upside down and re-cover.
  • When seedlings push upside down tray up uncover and put in sunny location for one day
  • Seedlings should turn green and are ready to harvest

The sunflower Microgreens just after I removed the top tray.

The sunflower microgreens later that same day.

Pea Micro-greens ready to eat.

Microgreens have gotten a lot of hype about their alleged super nutritional value. Unfortunately the evidence doesn’t yet back that claim up. They are, however, a great addition to one’s regular outdoor gardening. I like having something ready to eat one week to ten days after I sow it and they taste great.

Tags: Geoff Valdes, growing microgreens, micro greens, pea shoots, save our youth, sunflower shoots, tsyuhehkwa
Posted in Gardening | 7 Comments »

Preparing for My Fall Garden in Austin

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

I garden year round in Austin, so there is no point at which I “put the garden to bed”, as is often done in more Northern climates. I never get to start with a clean slate for the next year’s season. At any given time in my garden I’ll have recently planted sections that are often still months away from harvest, sections in peak production, sections that are still producing but well past their peak, and sections that need to be removed. During peak planting times, as in early September, the challenge for me is figuring out where I can fit new plantings into this patchwork while still maintaining some semblance of crop rotation.

I’ve come up with a few techniques to make this easier:

  • Start kohlrabi, beets, broccoli raab and Chinese broccoli indoors now in late July so that they have 4-6 weeks before transplanting to garden in September.
  • Although I consider the first two weeks of September prime planting time for most of my fall crops, I actually need to plant pole beans in late August so they have time to mature before the first fall frost. Our average frost date is November 15, although in my part of Austin it’s usually December before the first frost. I’ll use the same trellises that I used for my early summer tomatoes for these beans.
  • Some of the spring crops are done and ready to be pulled out. Even though I never put the entire garden to rest at one time, I can prepare parts of the garden now and use burlap mulch to keep the soil soft and the weeds out while awaiting the better planting dates.
  • Some of my summer crops like sweet potatoes and okra will be growing right up to the frost. I might wait until late January to re-plant these beds, but I can also start cold hardy greens like mustard and spinach indoors in late September to be planted in November.
  • I’ve gotten excellent results from direct seeding cool season greens mixes in early September. As the fall progresses and temperatures change, different plants within the mix mature at different times. Lettuces usually peak earlier and arugula peaks later, with mustard greens in between.

During peak planting times like early September, it would be ideal for me to drop everything else and spend two weeks exclusively in the garden. Since that’s not an option right now, planning and preparation helps me spread the work out and still get everything in the ground.

I’m still harvesting a few sun gold tomatoes, but the rest of the tomatoes that I planted in March have finished producing and need to be removed to make way for fall pole beans.

I like growing okra because it hits stride in the late summer heat when many other crops have stopped producing. I won’t remove it until the first frost, so it overlaps with the fall garden.

Tags: austin gardening, Chinese broccoli, fall gardening, Geoff Valdes, growing kohlrabi in Austin
Posted in Gardening | 2 Comments »

Double Amaranth Bolita Bean Soup

Monday, June 25th, 2012

I grew bolita beans a couple of years ago as a dried bean and had yet to cook them. Last week I made this bolita bean soup with amaranth leaves, amaranth grain (hence double amaranth) and purslane.

The finished soup, ready to eat.

  • 1 cup dry bolita beans, soaked overnight
  • 3/4 cup amaranth grain
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • cumin
  • chopped hot peppers to taste
  • veggie broth
  • amaranth leaves
  • purslane leaves and upper stems

Sauté the onions, garlic and hot peppers in olive oil. Add veggie stock. Add beans, amaranth grain and cumin. Bring to a boil then simmer until beans are fully cooked (about an hour).

Add the amaranth leaves and purslane, cook a few more minutes and serve.

Bolita beans are a New Mexico variety. I got my original seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. For some reason I thought that they were a bush bean, but they turned out to be pole beans and vined over two garden beds. I actually got two crops of these beans as quite a few pods shattered and re-seeded.

Amaranth Leaves

I grew two varieties of amaranth, Amaranthus spp., this year, one from Botanical Interests called Edible Red Leaf and another from Kitazawa Seed Company called All Red Leaf. All Red Leaf was indeed more red than the former.

I did not harvest amaranth seeds, only the leaves. I picked up the grain from my local food co-op. Amaranth seeds are not a true grain and are gluten free. The seeds are like quinoa but smaller. They are also harder than quinoa and take longer to cook. That’s why I put them into the soup at the same time as the beans.

Purlsane, one the the greens still growing as temperatures surpass 100F.

Purlsane, Portulaca oleracea, is known as verdolaga in Mexico. I’m growing a variety from Bountiful Gardens that has a more upright stem than the kind often found as a garden weed.

Purslane may be eaten raw as well and has a slightly tart taste. Amaranth is not as tasty raw and benefits from cooking. Both of these greens made this soup delicious and filling.

Tags: amaranth, amaranthus, bean soup, bolita beans, Geoff Valdes, hot weather greens, portulaca oleracea, purslane
Posted in Gardening, Recipes | 1 Comment »

Photo Contest Winners

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

We’re pleased to announce the winners of our Photo Contest. We had a lot of great entries that you can see here.

First prize goes to Paul O’Day. He wins two-hundred dollars cash.

Paul O’Day with the CobraHead Long Handle. “In one week I’ve used the CobraHead to weed two planted 1000 sq ft beds, another 1000 sq ft bed that was nothing but weeds and reemerging pasture, tilled 1000 row feet of corn and beans and 20 hills of cucurbits, and converted another 1000 sq ft of pasture to garden space using a shovel to slice the sod and the CobraHead to shake out most of the dirt from the sod chunks. I like the CobraHead for the speed, ease, and versatility. After a days work I’m not tired or sore - it beats everything else!”

Second prize goes to Vicki Sappington. She wins a CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator, Garden Padd Kneeler and Brook and Hunter Garden Fork worth a total of $89.95.

Vicki Sappington says, “Blue and I are weeding the weeds in my petunia patch with my cobra head.”

Third prize goes to Mike Avila. He wins a CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator worth $24.95.

Mike Avila, who gardens in the Bay Area, says, “Resetting the paving stones outside my room door with my Cobrahead garden tool and of course pulling up the weeds that are growing in between. “

Congratulations to our winners and to all of the participants.

Posted in CobraHead | No Comments »

Photo Contest Entries

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

We received a lot of great entries for our photo contest. Thanks to everyone who participated. Here are all of the entries. Click on the smaller images to see the full sized picture and caption.

[portfolio_slideshow]


Tags: CobraHead Long Handle, cobrahead photo contest, cobrahead weeder and cultivator
Posted in CobraHead, Gardening | No Comments »

Growing limes in containers

Monday, June 18th, 2012

Even in hot Austin, our winters get too cold to leave lime trees outdoors when temperatures dip, so I’m growing both Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia, and Kaffir lime, Citrus x hystrix, in containers. Then I can move them indoors when necessary. Mexican limes are also known as key limes. Kaffir limes, or makrut, are grown primarily for their leaves, which are used to flavor Lao and other Southeast Asian dishes.

I picked up both of these plants earlier this year, and this evening, after the sun goes down, I’ll re-pot both into larger containers.

Mexican Lime waiting to be re-potted.

Limes need to be well drained, so I have added a couple of inches of expanded shale to the bottom of each container.

Expanded shale in bottom of container for drainage.

At the same time, given that our temperatures have already reached the upper nineties in Austin, I have to water these almost daily. If you are growing these in another region, check the pots before watering and don’t water until the soil is slightly dry.

The frequent watering can flush out soil nutrients, so I’m also fertilizing every two weeks. I use a mix of seaweed and liquid fish diluted in water. Currently, I’m using a commercial mix made by Lady Bug Brand that also includes small amounts of magnesium sulfate, ferrous sulfate and zinc sulfate. Citrus can develop chlorosis from a lack of any of these.

Kaffir lime leaf

Key limes, almost ready to harvest.

Both of these limes will be transplanted to an even larger container in a year or two. After that, I may need to occasionally root prune them to keep them happy in a container of a manageable size. I’ve already been enjoying my summertime treat: sparkling water with a twist of lime.

Tags: Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus x hystrix, container citrus growing, Geoff Valdes, key lime, mexican lime
Posted in Gardening | 4 Comments »

Orange Frost Satsuma

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Orange Frost Satsuma, still waiting to go into the ground.

Earlier this month I attended the Texas State Master Gardener Conference in San Antonio. The master gardeners had a new cold hardy satsuma, “Orange Frost”, available. This satsuma variety will not be commercially available until 2014.

What makes Orange Frost cold hardy in places like Austin is that unlike most satsumas, it is not grafted. So if a hard freeze in Austin kills the top growth down to the ground, the re-growth in the spring will be true to variety. Even with its extra hardiness, I will still mulch the roots heavily in the winter and cover the entire plant whenever the temperature dips below freezing.

Small fruits beginning to form. I need to remove all of these immediately so that the tree can put its energy into root growth this year.

Tags: Citrus reticulata, Citrus unshiu, Geoff Valdes, orange frost, satsuma
Posted in CobraHead, Gardening | No Comments »

Repurposing Chain Link Fences at Wamboldtopia

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

Back from the Garden Blogger’s Fling in Asheville, North Carolina; great gardens in a beautiful setting. I saw way too much to try and put into one overview, so I’m going to highlight ideas that I got from several of the places that inspired me in a short series of posts.

Wamboldtopia is the creation of Damaris and Ricki Pierce. Besides being gardeners, Damaris is an artist, artoflife.com and Ricki a stone mason, RockPirate.com. Their entire garden impressed me, but the converted chain link fence caught my attention as I also have chain link fence around my yard and have been thinking of ways to utilize its structure to provide support for something completely different.

The ordinary chain link fence, transformed at Wamboldtopia.

Damaris told me that she used concrete, but that adobe would also work in the appropriate setting.

Some of the original chain link fence is left uncovered as a window and plant support.

A tighter metal mesh is attached to the chain link fence to provide support for the concrete.

Stained concrete, bricks and other adornments.

 

Tags: Garden Bloggers Fling, Geoff Valdes, reclaimed chain link fence, wamboldtopia
Posted in Events, Gardening | 5 Comments »

« Older Entries