Sensible Sustainability

By Ricky D. Kemery

Ricky Kemery was the Purdue Horticulture Extension Educator in Allen County, Indiana for 23 years. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, written newspaper articles and publications, and answered gardening questions from countless citizens in northern Indiana and beyond. Ricky has been a messenger for how to establish and maintain gardens and landscapes in a sustainable, practical manner – using earth-friendly pest controls and natural fertilizers that most gardeners now demand.

Many gardeners are tired of high-maintenance landscapes that require back-breaking work, poisonous chemical pesticides, fertilizer, and countless hours of tedious maintenance.

In this book, written in a lighthearted style with comments from Ricky's cat Hoggles, you will learn how to take advantage of gardening in raised beds with healthy soil that you create using techniques of organic gardening, permaculture, and biodynamics. Learn how to mass plant flowers to create beautiful landscapes that require less time to maintain. Use organic pest controls and reuse resources for a frugal earth-friendly sustainable garden.

Sensible Sustainability is a humorous, poignant, informative, and sometimes hilarious look at
establishing a sustainable garden and landscape.

Sink your fingers into this gardening delight today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hot Mess Express Publishing
• Release date: Feb 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215321324

Book preview

Sensible Sustainability

A Lighthearted Approach to Develop Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens

Ricky D. Kemery

image-placeholder

Hot Mess Express Publishing

Copyright © 2022 by Ricky D. Kemery. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, investment, accounting or other professional services. While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional when appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, personal, or other damages.

Cover design by getcovers.com

Printed in the United States of America

Hot Mess Express Publishing, Crystal Lake IL 60012

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

1.The Beginnings of Sustainability

2.Realistic Gardening

3.Designing Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens

4.Planting Basics

5.Conserving Water

6.Fertilizers

7.Growing Vegetables

8.Growing Fruit

9.Weeds

10.Insects

11.Flowers

12.Invasive Plants and Insects

13.Trees and Shrubs

14.Critters

15.The Lawn

16.In and Around The House

17.Holiday Cheer

About The Author

In memory of Lynette Snyder.

For their humor, kindness, and inspiration: My mother Anna Marie Kemery, my daughter Jessica Miller, my son Richard Kemery, and my best friends Gwendra Turney and Penny Alles.

Introduction

I often see the word sustainable bandied about by experts from businesses, politicians, and the gardening community.

The Cambridge dictionary defines sustainability as a practice causing or created in a way that results in little or no damage to the environment. It is also described as a practice that is able to continue for a long time or able to continue over a period of time with no impact or change. The EPA has a nice definition: sustainability is the social and environmental practices that protect and enhance the human and natural resources needed by future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to or greater than our own.

Scrounging and re-using materials such as this indoor bench drilled with holes for drainage and planted with annual flowers and a bargain painting purchased at a thrift store are a part of being sustainable. Both bench and painting were sprayed with a sealant to prevent water damage.

Scrounging and re-using materials such as this indoor bench drilled with holes for drainage and planted with annual flowers and a bargain painting purchased at a thrift store are a part of being sustainable. Both bench and painting were sprayed with a sealant to prevent water damage.

Many gardeners claim to be sustainable, yet most fail at the effort to reduce work and maintenance in their gardens or landscapes. They might only use organic pesticides, but they include mixed plantings of all sorts of plants that create a weedy garden mess. Some gardeners fall prey to Internet scams for products and methods that just don’t work.

Sensible sustainability is achieved by developing garden and landscape areas that require less maintenance, are more accessible, that recycle resources, and use little or no chemicals for pest control. Gardening is great for one’s physical and mental well-being — but it shouldn’t be drudgery either.

This book compiles articles written for my online newsletter, Home Horticulture, newspaper articles, and materials used to teach citizens and volunteers since my retirement after 23 years spent as a Horticulture Educator in Allen County, Indiana. Much of the information presented is appropriate for gardeners everywhere. It is always prudent to check with reliable local resources when referencing specific garden information. I will include useful tips and tricks I have learned over the years — correct misinformation from social media — and answer common questions I still receive. I also try to find humor and joy (with the help of my cat, Hoggles) in how we all interact in this crazy mixed-up world.

Chapter one

The Beginnings of Sustainability

One could argue that Native Americans were as close to sustainable as one could get. They lived in harmony with nature and used local animals and plants in systems where everything was used and nothing wasted. Since Native Americans were nomadic, they did not overuse or pollute local resources that were available. Native Americans grew corn — a major food source — in a unique way, using a method called The Three Sisters. They planted the corn seed in hills. At the bottom of the hills were inedible fish parts left over from their cooking. The fish provided nutrients for the developing crops. Around the corn the Native Americans grew squash. The squash plants covered the earth, preventing many weed seedlings from germinating. The plants also kept the earth cool and moist, and the rough leaves of the squash helped to keep the critters away from the corn. Finally, the Native Americans planted pole beans to travel up the cornstalks as the corn developed. This also helped keep critters at bay, and the beans also added nitrogen from the air to help provide nutrients to the corn and squash.

Think about how amazing this system is — developed long ago before scientists discovered that legumes fixed atmospheric nitrogen back into the soil — before gardening authorities wrote articles in magazines and newspapers telling us about how to grow vegetables — and before we began to ship genetically-modified corn and other produce from hundreds and thousands of miles away to our local supermarkets.

Terrain Theory — Plant and Human Health — Our modern mindset on health and disease is influenced heavily by the work of Louis Pasteur (1822–1895), the father of the germ theory of health. However, fewer people are familiar with the name Antoine Béchamp (1816–1908), a scientific researcher who lived in the same time period as Pasteur. Although the two were both members of the French Academy of Science — they held very different perspectives when it came to germs, health, and disease pathology.

Louis Pasteur is the well-known scientist who created the ‘germ theory’, the idea that germs are floating around in the air and will attack us if we do not protect ourselves with pharmaceutical substances or sterilization techniques.

Antoine Béchamp completely rejected Pasteur’s ideas and put forward that germs and disease were part of the terrain. The healthier humans were, the more resistant they would be to sickness.

Both strategies can help gardeners grow healthier garden plants. Research shows that healthy plants generally have less disease and insect issues. Good sanitation and isolating diseased plants from other healthy plants is important to reduce pathogens that may potentially cause issues.

There is still controversy in today’s world regarding these theories of human disease. But Terrain Theory applied to plants is perhaps more practical related to the topic of sustainability. Many proponents over the years simply state that the healthier the plant, the healthier the people are who eat these plants. Growing healthy plants involves the use of natural rather than synthetic materials to grow organic plants sustainably. Growing food plants in good soils organically produces healthier people — and the research supports those ideas.

Healthy Soils — Healthier People — It is curious when one listens to experts talk about soils. In all the years I attended college, I never heard once about why fixing soils was important. I did hear that fixing soils was important to improve soils, but never any specifics. Same with other speakers I listened to or articles I read.

Early observational research by Sir Albert Howard and Robert McCarrison in India in the early 1900’s, and the Medical Testament written by 31 doctors in Britain in the 1930’s provided validation to the idea that people who lived in regions where soils were healthier were in general healthier than people who lived in areas where soils were poorer. Sir Albert Howard tried to help the people of the Indore region of India whose slash and burn way of agriculture depleted the soils. Sir Albert created the Indore composting method we still use today by digging 4x4x4 pits that he layered with plant debris and manure to create compost that he used in the depleted fields. Yield increased dramatically and over time he noticed that people were in general healthier in regions where healthier crops were grown. Note: Imagine the consternation from the locals when Sir Albert told them the material in the pits needed turned every two weeks.

French Intensive Gardening — Beginning in the 1500s in neighborhoods in and around Paris, market gardeners employed techniques of fermenting manure to warm the soil, building stone walls to keep the wind at bay, using handmade glass domes to protect crops from freezing, and inter-planting crops together to produce high yield. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the French intensive method made its way to the United States. Ricky’s comment: It is also speculated that this was around the time that the famous skunk PepelaPhew fell in love with a French cat and followed her everywhere.

I found this classic at a bookstore that features used books.

I found this classic at a bookstore that features used books.

The Rodale Institute — J.I. Rodale was a businessman in New York City who over time — reading works by Sir Albert Howard — became convinced that the new industrialized way of farming that began with the use of WW1 developed herbicides and synthetic fertilizers was detrimental to soil health and was harmful to people and the environment. He began mailing a newsletter called Organic Gardening to citizens asking for subscriptions. Rodale also wrote a book called The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening — a very thick book and a complete guide to growing organically. Very few people replied initially to Rodale’s free newsletter, but over time citizens began to buy into his approach of producing healthy food. He started the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania, and his effort was continued by son Robert Rodale and daughter Marie to this day. Their research comparisons on organic farm production comparted with conventional farm production proved that organic production methods were just as cost effective and more sustainable.

The Biodynamics Movement — Rooted in the work of philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner, whose 1924 lectures to farmers opened a new way to integrate scientific understanding with a recognition of spirit in nature. In essence biodynamics encompasses all the aspects of organic gardening and sustainability with a spiritual twist. More controversial aspects of biodynamic systems are the belief that planetary influences affect the health of crops. Moon Gardening is a key feature.

Another controversial part of biodynamics are eight biodynamic preparations that include animal horns filled with specific preparations including animal innards buried in the soil, and then used in dilute mixtures sprayed on crops. Note: I love gardening with a passion, but I ain’t filling no horns with animal innards.

Each spray is diluted heavily and used sparingly just to dynamize the whole process. I love the word dynamize — don’t you? I need to use it when I rarely converse with real people. Example: I feel dynamized by your comments on whether stuffed crust pizza is better than thin crust. You get the drift.

To become a certified biodynamic garden, one must pay for specific training to establish the garden. Biodynamic gardening and training have grown in popularity, especially with young gardeners distrustful of experts — and looking for alternatives to traditional garden practices.

Researchers at the University of Missouri — Two professors, who both happened to be the head of the soils department at the University at different times, began to conduct research on the relationship between soil health, organic crop production, and nutrition. William Albrecht was an early proponent and wrote many articles regarding his opinions and research about healthy soils beginning in the 1950’s.

John Ikerd is the now retired head of the soils department at the University of Missouri who carried on Albrecht’s work. Ikerd is still in demand as a speaker for the cause of healthy soils.

Albrecht and Ikerd’s main philosophy was that only healthy organic soils could produce the complete proteins necessary for good human health. They distinguished between the grow foods grown on healthy soils and go foods, which were filled with carbohydrates for energy but lacking in the complete proteins needs for growth and health. Go foods make humans fat — it takes grow foods to keep humans healthy.

Permaculture — A gardening movement created in the 1970's by Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist, and University of Tasmania professor. He had spent many years out in nature as a wildlife biologist observing how natural systems work and became very distressed at the destruction that he saw going on around him. He observed that natural systems, such as forests and wetlands, are sustainable. He applied these and other insights to design and create sustainable agricultural systems.

In the 1970's he and his student David Holmgren wrote and published some books explaining his ideas. In the 1980s he published his design manual and started teaching permaculture design courses to spread his ideas around the world. By the 1990s permaculture had become increasingly popular throughout the US.

The Gaia’s Garden Concept — Permaculture is a similar concept to biodynamics in that it is all encompassing and combines the concepts of organic and sustainable gardening — but adds philosophy and responsibility for issues such as community development, climate change, deforestation, desertification, food security, pollution, and wildlife conservation.

A major component of permaculture is the establishment of different guilds of plant groups on a property to create a complete sustainable landscape (filled with plants for food, dye, wildlife, etc.) — based on the needs of the gardener, community, and landscape. Guilds have been around since medieval times and were established to train apprentices for different trades. Many Massive Multiplayer Online video games (MMO’s) have guilds that help new players learn the ropes, complete quests, and serve as a dysfunctional (in my opinion) social environment for members to communicate.

An orchard super guild would contain a nitrogen-fixing tree (black locust, acacia, tagasaste, alder, or the like) and mulberry — which are underplanted with useful shrubs and flowers (such as mulch plants and insectary plants). Rows of berry bushes and flowering shrubs fill the alleys between the trees.

This guild of plants might be located near a walnut guild, which contains plants tolerant of walnuts. The linked space between the guilds might be filled with buffer plants designed — according to permaculture experts — to diminish or eliminate the effects of the walnut on apple guild members.

Ricky’s Thoughts: I like the idea of permaculture as a way to rethink how landscapes and gardens are constructed to coexist with nature and the community. I would point out that most of the concepts of permaculture are not new, rather a compilation of existing methods. The idea of plant associations isn’t new, but the guild structure idea is new — unless you play video games. The plant associations are based on climates and plant communities in the Pacific northwest and Canada. It is easy to grow plants in those regions and not so easy to establish permaculture communities here in the Midwest.

Most permaculture seminars and materials are not free, though I did find a Gaia’s guide (second edition) pdf. for free on the Internet.

The Food not Lawns Movement — Popular with Gen-Ex, Z, and Millennials — is based on the ideas of permaculture, but with a focus on reducing lawns, planting front yards and park strips with vegetables, and creating a community of like-minded people to share resources and information. This organization was founded by Heather Jo Flores — who visited northeastern Indiana many years ago. I had some good conversations with her.

Pro-biotics — Recently, I have observed Facebook ads and what I refer to as "Thread Invasions" where folks or companies invade gardening threads on social media trying to promote their products. Many of the products promote the idea that plants need pro-biotics and beneficial bacteria to produce the healthiest plants ever. Even though the claims are based on partial truths — I have found no reliable research to validate these claims.

Luther Burbank — Luther Burbank (1849 – 1926) was an America Botanist and horticulturist and one of the pioneers of agricultural science. Burbank developed over 800 plant varieties and strains — many still available today. He produced different fruit, grains, flowers, vegetables, and grass variations and also produced a variety of cactus that didn’t have spines that is mostly used to feed cattle. Some of his most well-known creations include the fire poppy, the Shasta daisy, and the July Elberta Peach. His russet colored Burbank potato, later called the Russet Burbank potato, is the most common potato used in processed food preparation. In his experiments he made use of techniques like hybridization and grafting. He also dabbled in crossbreeding different kinds of plants and developed crosses like the plumcot, a cross of apricots and plums.

The Community Garden Movement — Interest in establishing community gardens reached its peak during the periods from 2008 into 2015. While community gardens are still popular, many community garden efforts fizzled out after many groups and organizations discovered that establishing and maintaining those gardens required continued effort and organization. What I discovered through my own efforts was that successful community gardens all exhibited common traits when it came to their longer term success. These standards and more are also listed in information from The American Community Garden Association, whose info can still be found on their web site.

Here are my basic rules for successful community gardens.

A Safe and Secure Location — with easy access and parking under lights. Fencing to protect gardens from critters and theft. Full Sun — Raised beds preferred — No noxious weeds on the site. Water access is absolutely essential.

Community Buy In — This is also vital. Many times, gardens were established by just a few enthusiastic people and failed because the surrounding community didn’t care whether there were community gardens or not. I am a big believer that the surrounding community must do their own work establishing and maintaining areas.

Value — I learned early on that even charging a small fee to use community garden space gave value to the spaces. If one simply opens up plots for free, then there are more problems with a lack of commitment to maintain the space.

Rules — Written rules and guidelines are important, so everyone is on the same page. For instance, I had rules about using only organic materials for pest and disease control.

An Outreach coordinator — Someone is needed to coordinate activities, allocate plots, make sure plots are not abandoned, and the rules are followed. Otherwise, it can be chaos.

Some folks say that community gardens are an extension of the idea of "Victory Gardens" popular in the 1940’s. An incredible number of households helped to grow food for the war effort during WW2.

Interestingly, community gardens have been a staple part of communities within the United Kingdom for hundreds of years, serving as an important source of food for those who worked on the plots. During World War Two, many community allotment plots were set up in the inner cities to provide local people with affordable vegetables. Allotment plots are still popular in the UK.

Ecovillages — A growing number of people are looking for ways to live more sustainably. An ecovillage is a community created with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and ecologically sustainable. Eco villagers seek alternatives to ecologically destructive electrical, water, transportation, and waste-treatment systems, as well as the larger social systems that mirror and support them. Many inhabitants of ecovillages see the breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful material-based lifestyles, the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl, factory farming, and over-reliance on fossil fuels as trends that must be changed to avert ecological disaster and create richer and more fulfilling ways of life. Over 500 Ecovillages are now found worldwide.

Ecovillages are not new. Village Homes is a seventy-acre ecovillage located in the west part of Davis, California that was created in 1975. It was designed to encourage both the development of a sense of community and the conservation of energy and natural resources. The completed development includes 225 homes and 20 apartment units.

A number of design features help Village Homes residents live in an energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing manner. Many of the pioneering features of Village Homes have been used to create other sustainable communities and businesses.

Orientation — All streets trend east-west and all lots are oriented north-south. This orientation (which has become standard practice in Davis and elsewhere) helps the houses with passive solar designs make full use of the sun's energy.

Street Width — Roads are all narrow, curving cul-de-sacs — they are less than twenty-five feet wide and generally aren't bordered by sidewalks. Their narrow widths minimize the amount of pavement exposed to sun in the long, hot summers. The curving lines of the roads give them the look of village lanes, and the few cars that venture into the cul-de-sacs usually travel slowly.

Pedestrian/Bike Paths and Common Areas — Alternating with the streets is an extensive system of pedestrian/bike paths, running through common areas that exhibit a variety of landscaping, garden areas, play structures, statuary, and so on. Most houses face these common areas rather than the streets, so that emphasis in the village is on pedestrian and bike travel rather than cars.

Natural Drainage — The common areas also contain Village Homes' innovative natural drainage system — a network of creek beds, swales, and pond areas that allow rainwater to be absorbed into the ground rather than carried away through storm drains. Besides helping to store moisture in the soil, this system provides a visually interesting backdrop for landscape design.

Edible Landscaping — Fruit and nut trees and vineyards form a large element of the landscaping in Village Homes. More than thirty varieties of fruit trees were originally planted, and as a result some fruit is ripe and ready to eat nearly every month of the year.

Open Land — In addition to the common areas between homes, Village Homes also includes two big parks, extensive greenbelts with pedestrian/bike paths, two vineyards, several orchards, and two large common gardening areas. The commonly owned open land comes to 40 percent of the total acreage (25 percent in greenbelts and 15 percent in common areas), a much greater proportion than in most suburban developments.

It must be mentioned that there was tremendous resistance from citizens and business leaders when Village Homes was created. Real estate values would drop, the community would be an eyesore, and no one would want to live there. All horse hockey. Real estate values actually increased, there are long waiting lists of people who want to live there, and the community has served as a model for sustainable living — even almost 45 years later. Nowadays, even conventional builders and developers discuss and sometimes incorporate the ideas of sustainable development first developed at Village Homes.

image-placeholder

Hoggles Demented Cat Logic

To my caregiver: As a feline concerned with sustainability and my personal well-being, I must demand that my water for my drinking pleasure be pure filtered water from the caverns of Sweden. I am much too refined to be given the swill of Fort Wayne tap water treated with bleach and other materials.

I must be in optimal shape because I am planning the first ever cat ecovillage, named Paradise Hoggles in honor of ….me…..of course.

Gene Logsdon — The first and last time I spoke to Gene Logsdon was just before Christmas in 2011. I was trying to convince him to speak at an upcoming conference that was being held in Fort Wayne.

I had heard that Gene was an excellent speaker on sustainability. I had increasingly adopted the idea of sustainable gardening after finding article after article about the topic. I liked the idea of combining organic gardening, biodynamic practices, Integrated Pest Management, and being frugal and efficient into a modern gardening paradigm.