That's right! Today (August 16) is the one hundred and fifteenth birthday of the founder of "organic" gardening, J.I Rodale. While gardening had been organic since the Garden of Eden, Rodale popularized the term "organic" and founded Rodale Institute in 1930. The institute's stated mission is "through organic leadership we improve the health and well being of people and the planet" The Institute can be found just a few miles south of Allentown, PA.
Rodale published the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening in 1961. It has had numerous printings, my copy being the 14th printing. It's a hefty book of 1,145 pages covering nearly any garden creature or problem you can imagine. I have referred to it on numerous occasions. One example: you may remember in a recent post I mentioned that we have had no Japanese beetles in our garden this year. That is due to the fact that Rodale recommended using "milky spore" to control Japanese beetle grubs. I can attest to the fact that milky spore works! Rodale also mentions controlling beetles using traps filled with geranium oil. As a side note, I purchased my copy at the Lancaster County Book Sale for princely sum of $2.00.
It's been another good week in our garden. While some things have ended, new starts have taken hold. We have six rows of peas and green beans coming along. My scrap pile of lumber keeps the squirrel damage to a minimum. It may not be pretty but, for the most part, it works!
The butternuts and spaghetti squash are beginning to ripen. We've already brought in several of the spaghetti squash. The butternut will take a good bit longer to ripen.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again next week!
Chuck
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