The first lesson I learnt in rainwater harvesting was one that cost me dearly but as time went by it was one that I benefited from enormously. Rainwater harvesting or the harvesting of rainwater for my garden was a concept that I’d thought about for sometime before I actually went ahead and purchased my first rainwater tank. Looking back now though, I suppose I’m just like most people and didn’t really go ahead with it until I really had to…..

During the spring of 2006 we’d just come through another dry winter in Melbourne, Australia. Despite this though, we weren’t under any water restrictions so I decided to go ahead and plant a new lawn in my backyard. I’d been holding off for the previous few years as we’d been in drought since 1997. So I went ahead and purchased some turf and before I knew it I had a new lawn complete which a sprinkler system and all the water I needed courtesy of my garden tap.

Now all I had to do was turn on the tap, sit back, relax and just watch the grass grow. How sweet was that? Unfortunately for me about one week after my new lawn was installed my plans came to a very quick and sudden halt. Water restrictions were introduced. This now meant that I could no longer use my garden tap to water my new lawn. I’d just spent several hundred dollars on turf and a sprinkler system and had no water to keep it alive. I had to get some water from somewhere, and fast.

As it turned out though, I did find an alternative, the washing machine. The only problem was the washing machine was quite some distance from the lawn so the only option at the time was to direct the water into some buckets and then just tip it onto the lawn. This worked for a while but it wasn’t long before it became quite a chore. I was going to have to find a better way.

The answer was obvious. I had to install a rainwater tank, and before I knew it I was the proud owner of 4,500 litre (1,190 USGal) rainwater tank. I placed it in my backyard, connected it to the nearest downpipe (downspout) and then sat back and waited for it to rain.

Luckily I didn’t have to wait for long. A few days later we got some rain. It rained so hard that I could hear the water pouring into my new rainwater tank. I was now happy, it was raining, my tank was filling and my lawn would now be saved.

Little did I know, but after it stopped raining my rainwater tank only had about 200 or 300 litres of water in it. This wasn’t going to be enough water to save my lawn. The only solution would be more rain.

Unfortunately though the rain I needed didn’t come and my lawn eventually died. This of course left me very disillusioned. I’d just planted a lawn that died, installed a sprinkler system I couldn’t use and purchased a rainwater tank that didn’t have any water in it.

It’s amazing though, how out of adversity most good things come. Something then became very apparent to me which turned out to be my first lesson in Rainwater Harvesting.

If you’ve got a rainwater tank you really do need to harvest rainwater from as much of your roof as possible. Connecting your rainwater tank to just one downpipe isn’t enough.

Today though, I can now harvest rainwater from more of my roof area and direct it to my rainwater tank. When I first installed my tank it would only receive enough rainwater to fill it less than three times throughout the year. Now it will fill with rainwater ten times throughout the year. This has made a huge difference to how much rainwater I can now harvest.

Rainwater harvesting was something that I knew very little about when I installed my first rainwater tank. My lack of knowledge did cost me dearly but these days I do know the importance of harvesting rainwater from as much of your roof as possible. This was my first lesson in rainwater harvesting.

It is quite common for new gardeners to go all out planning and planting their first garden or two, having no idea what will grow, how much it will grow, and what you will do with the harvest you get. Planning is an important part to having a successful garden harvest and knowing what to do with it at the end of the summer.

Planning what to do with your garden harvest really starts in the spring, when you are planning what to plant, but you may need to grow a garden or two in your area to get a sense for what grows well, and what you can put up for the winter months. If you do not want to deal with trial and error you can always ask your neighbors that garden what grows best in your area. Once you know what grows best in your climate it will be time to take some steps to be sure you maximize your harvest at the end of the year.

1)     Do not Plant Anything Your Family Will Not Eat - This is an important point, we sometimes get carried away with wanting to grow lots of food, not taking into account whether our family will eat it or not. If your family hates spinach do not grow it.

2)      Do not Grow Large Amounts of what you do not Know How to Cook - We all love to experiment and try new things that is not a bad thing. But planting ten zucchini plants and having 100 pounds of zucchini that we have never cooked before is going to be a waste of time, food, and money. When planning your garden take into account harvest yields and your familiarity of with the food you are planting.

3)      Understand What Your Primary Goal for Your Garden Is - If your plan is to preserve your harvest for the winter, what you plant will be somewhat different than what you would plant if you wanted to eat fresh food all summer long. You can actually do both but you need to have a clear idea of what you want to do with the food you grow so you will know how much to plant.

4)      Make a List of Plant Foods You Currently Eat - Stick with what will grow and what you know you like and can cook. Keep in mind what goals your have for your garden, and make a list of foods you would like to preserve for winter use and what foods you would like to enjoy during the summer months, this will give you a good head start in knowing what to plant in your garden in the spring.

5)      Read up on Preserving Methods - If you do not know how you will be putting up your food for the winter now is the time to find out before you plant. This too will affect what you plant and how much you will plant of each food. If you plan to can your vegetables for instance you may want to plant more corn, beans and carrots, and less squash and lettuce that cannot be canned. Canning and freeze complement each other well, as some things are better canned while others are better frozen.

6)      Make a list of What You are Canning or Freezing - Understand the differences between the two and have a well orchestrated plan based on what you will do with each part of your harvest. For instance you may know you may want to use some of your cucumbers fresh, but what will you do with the rest? How about relish or bread and butter pickles? Beans are best fresh or canned so plan to do both, and corn can be preserved either way and is wonderful fresh so if you have the room you can never go wrong planting lots of corn.

7)      Gather Supplies Early - Once you have a clear idea of what you are going to do with your harvest it is time to gather your supplies, stores run out of canning supplies early on so it is best not to wait till the heat of the canning season to buy them. If you know what you will need buy them before they are gone.

8)      Preserve as you Pick - Do not get behind, let your vegetables sit after harvest, or stay on the plants too long. You will risk losing your harvest or allow your vegetables to be past their prime when you can or freeze them. This can be very disappointing and discouraging for a new gardener when their home grown foods do not come out as nice as they hoped they would.

9)     Be sure you have Adequate Storage Space - Nothing is a disheartening as freezing all your harvest only to get to the end of your season and have no place to put the rest of your harvest. By planning carefully you can balance what you can with what you freeze to insure you will have enough room for everything.

10)   Eat what you Preserve - While this may seem like a no brainer, how many gardeners have spent long hours canning only to have it sit on the shelves collecting dust, and nobody is eating it. If you do not use something be sure to take notes for next year, adjustments in quantity may be needed, or you may want to change the vegetable variety you used, or the way you preserved it to be sure it gets used up next time. Canned goods have a shelf life of between one to two years, so keep that in mind when planning. ]]> http://www.harvestr.org/broccoli/10-steps-to-planting-and-preserving-your-harvest.html/feed/ http://www.harvestr.org/broccoli/harvest-time-for-your-herb-garden.html/ http://www.harvestr.org/broccoli/harvest-time-for-your-herb-garden.html/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:21:13 +0000 admin http://www.harvestr.org/broccoli/?p=71

It’s harvesting time for your herb garden. Herb garden is fun. It can be a decoration for some, a hobby, a place to relax, for cooking and for harvesting. It has its ups and downs too. One of the good benefits of herb gardening is that in the future of all your hard work and effort, harvest time will come. You should really take good care of your herbs in order for it to harvest and to continue harvesting. The good thing about herbs is that they can produce harvest again and again depending on the type of herb that you use.

The season for harvesting plays a part in its potency. You really have to think about this because this will affect your garden. The best time to harvest is in the morning where it is clear and dry. Herbs are also potent in the early morning where the sun hasn’t reached the essential oils it has.

Use sharp clippers when harvesting herbs and make sure you avoid the stems. If you cut it then it will now grow again. Some herbs will produce more growth for harvest if you don’t cut too low on the stem. A good technique to keep your garden growing is too not harvest several herbs and different types. You can wait for it to seed until next year. These seeds are important to grow your garden. Use a plastic bag to catch the seeds and use it for another set of herbs. This is for your garden to grow thus more harvest.

Rodrick Herpich has been growing Herb Gardens for twenty years now. He’s the author of “The Perfect Guide to Start a Herb Garden.” He has also created a website where you can find everything you need to start your own garden

When harvesting herbs, it is wise to pick for the best flavor and fragrance depending on your needs. To gain the best flavor and fragrance from an herb leaf, harvest them before they bloom. You don’t need to wait for in entire herb plant to mature before you pluck their leaves.

Many people do not realize that it is a concentration of oils in the herbs to give them their flavor and aroma. Such flavors are locked in when the plant is cool, which is why the morning is the best time of day to gather herb leaves or flowers used in a variety of ways.

When you have used organic fertilizing methods in your herb garden, you don’t have to worry about rinsing off the fruits, vegetables, or herbs before consuming because of chemicals or residues, but, of course, many people do rinse off such items merely to remove soil or dust.

If, however, you are picking herbs to use in a salad or a recipe later that day, it might be best to wait to wash them off until just before you’re ready to use them. However, parsley is one exception to that rule and will do best is soaked in cool water immediately after picking in order to help it stay fresh longer.

Herb flowers and leaves can be picked a day or two ahead of time and kept in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. Allowing air to circulate around them will keep them fresh longer. Storing leaves and flowers in moist conditions will induce broad and mold.

In many cases, you will be able to collect seeds as you harvest your plants. To catch seeds such as dill and caraway, hold a paper bag beneath the seedpod when they begin to turn brown, and then bend or shake the stock so that the leaves will fall into the paper bag for collection.

Some experienced gardeners don’t take a chance on losing seeds. They place a small paper bag over the seed head and using a twist tie or rubber band to hold it into place. If you can hear seeds rattle inside when you shake the stem, you can then snip that stem several inches below the bag to harvest the entire seed head.

Many gardeners use herb roots for both their medicinal value as well as for cooking. However, you may be surprised to know that it may be best to wait a year or two before digging up any herb roots for their potency. When harvesting roots, wait until fall after the herb heads have either dropped or changed color. Then pull the root, scrub free of soil, and then cut into two-inch pieces for drying.

As a general rule of thumb, herbs have the highest level of flavor in their leaves just before they bloom. Harvesting is best done at this time. Harvesting of herbs for fresh use can be done throughout the growing season. Thyme, sage, and rosemary, which are perennials, remember, need their active growing shoots snipped in four to six-inch lengths. Leaves can be collected from annuals as needed.

When harvesting herbs to preserve for future use, wait until the plant is at its aromatic peak and pick early in the morning when aromatics are at their highest level of the day. Discard insect-infested or diseased portions, and if dust or dirt is present, wash the plant thoroughly and gently shake off as much of the excess water as possible before processing. If possible, wash the plant a day before harvesting.

Be especially careful when harvesting seeds, because timing is important. This timing allows seeds to ripen completely, but they must be caught before they disperse. One way to solve this problem is to watch on a daily basis and harvest as soon as the seeds begin to dry.

As mentioned earlier, many experienced gardeners snip off the heads over a large paper bag, allowing the seeds to fall into the bag. You may keep them in the bag to complete the drying process. However, be careful not to compact the seed heads. Ensure adequate air circulation in and around the seed heads, which is needed to cut down on the possibility of mold growth.

If you anticipate your seeds to be ready when you are on vacation or away from home, you can do as the experts to and enclose each seed head in a small paper bag or mesh bag while still on the plant. After the heads dry, any seeds that fall out will be captured in the bag. Once you notice that seeds are being released, snip off the heads, bag and all, and dry them indoors.

The most common method of herb preservation is by hang drying. Another good way to preserve many herbs is by freezing them. This method is quick and easy, and the flavor is usually better than in herbs that have been dried.

If you have available freezer space, freezing is probably the most desirable choice for herbs used in cooking. Some herbs lose flavor when exposed to air, but they will retain it if stored in oil or liquor. Some herbs don’t retain as much flavor when preserved by any means and can only be used fresh. You can, however, extend their season by growing them indoors as pot plants during the winter months.

Harvesters are the great sales people of the world. These
are the people that don’t mind, may even enjoy, spending two
or three hours a day cold calling. They willingly spend a
day starting at the first floor of an office building and
visiting every office on every floor to try and get an
appointment. Harvesters will close business. However, they
also tend to leave a lot of green fruit on the tree because
their approach is geared towards those individuals who have
a need now and are willing and able to purchase - the so
called low hanging fruit. Harvesters tend to move from
orchard to orchard seeking out and picking whatever fruit is
ripe at the time. They are constantly seeking out a new
orchard that might have ripe fruit.

Cultivators tend to rely on the other elements of the
promotional mix such as advertising, direct mail, networking
and public relations activities to develop business.
Cultivators prepare the soil, plant the seeds, nurture the
seedlings, and provide care to the fruit as it ripens. They
grow their own orchards so they have an ongoing supply of
ripe fruit. However, Cultivators sometimes are so busy
tending to the orchard that they forget to pick the fruit,
leaving it either for the Harvesters as they make their
daily rounds or to rot on the tree.

Clearly, in an ideal world the Cultivators and the
Harvesters would work together to assure a constant supply
of ripe fruit and to be sure that the ripe fruit is picked
daily before a competitor picks it or it spoils. That is why
in large corporations you will find both a marketing
function and a sales function. However, most small
businesses don’t have the luxury of two separate functions.
Many small business owners have to both cultivate and
harvest new business as well as oversee or even implement
the myriad of other functions required to keep a business
going.

The purchase decision involves a process of moving from
unawareness to awareness, awareness to preference or liking
and finally to conviction and purchase. Promotional
activities such as advertising and direct mail are most
effective in the awareness building stage. Public relations
activities and networking tend to be most powerful in the
preference and liking stage. Direct selling tends to be the
activity that actually closes sales.

Blair Singer in his book Sales Dogs says “The more marketing
you do, the less selling effort you have to deal with.
Prospects put up their hands and come looking for you
instead of your having to sniff them out. It’s the art of
having sales opportunities come to you” In effect what he is
saying is the more effort you put into cultivating your
orchard, the less time you have to spend out looking for
fruit in other people’s orchards. The challenge for
Cultivators is to make sure they call on the prospect once
they’ve raised their hand.

If you’re a Harvester how can you develop cultivation
skills?
· Implement activities to develop awareness that
allow you to reach many potential customers in less time
than it would take you to reach each one individually.

. For example send out a predetermined number of letters
each week to prospective customers you have not met and
that may not yet be aware of your product or service.

· Develop systematic ways to stay in contact with
prospects that are not currently ready to purchase such
as a regular newsletter.

· Develop credibility through active involvement or
a leadership role in a trade association or organization
that your potential customers are involved in.

If you are a Cultivator how can you assure you are
harvesting the rewards of your work?

· Initiate one-on-one follow-up when someone
expresses interest. Don’t expect even very interested
people to follow-up with you.

· Don’t approach the initial meeting as a “sales”
meeting. Rather than trying to sell, use the initial meeting
as an opportunity to really learn about the prospects, their
problems and their needs.

· Learn to love objections. If someone has an objection
to your product or service at least they have an interest.
An objection is easier to deal with than a lack of interest
any day.

· Rethink your attitude toward closing a sale. Think
of it as gaining commitment for an action.

If you are a Cultivator, the harvest will never be your
favorite time of the growing season. If you are a Harvester
you will never relish the work it takes to grow and ripen
the fruit. However, successfully building new business
requires both.