How to grow potatoes and get a huge harvest! – originally from the Andes Mountains, potatoes have traveled the globe and are a huge hit everywhere. There are thousands of varieties. By growing your own, you have the opportunity to try some of the diverse …
Do We Just Throw Away Scraps of Vegetables in the Winter? Composting in the winter is a golden opportunity to make back gold. When it’s cold outside and whether you live in a small apartment or a large home with lots of land, sometimes we …
Fall Production is awesome! Cool weather Crops – most of us feel like, when it comes to gardening, everything ends when the summer ends. In reality, we must look at the coming fall as a spring but better. In the fall certain cool weather crops do so much better and they are easier to grow.
Read the blog on vegetables that thrive in cool weather: growing lettuce and greens.
Before planting add some organic matter to the soil, like compost. Even partially decomposed compost or partially decomposed manure will do wonders to the garden. Work the manure or partially decomposed compost into the planting bed and cover it with soil. Then wait two weeks before planting your fall crop. See video on Fall into Abundance of Vegetables: Increase Microbes
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You can also purchase ‘Garden the Organic Way’ as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
On SALE now! great price on my soil course until February 7, 2024. Learn about soil microbes, creating black gold and restoring the soil into a fertile ground. Just some of the topics covered: Soil, The Key to Organic Gardening
Growing Soybeans – This vegetable is high in protein and can be used as a substitute for any meat. It’s nutritious, delicious, and easy to eat. Many soybeans grown today commercially are GMO. Therefore, growing your own is a must, using non GMO varieties. Most people …
Fertilizing with Compost Tea is one of the best ways to get nutrients to your plants. It a safe way to feed your garden all year long. Apply compost tea every two to three weeks. When growing vegetables that are considered heavy feeders, apply it …
Turning your compost pile every three or four weeks is very important. Because it adds oxygen to the process and assist the bacteria in breaking down the organic matter. Turning your compost will provide oxygen to the bacteria and allow it to reproduce. If the compost begins to smell funny or rancid it means that it has gone anaerobic. Anaerobic compost promotes pathogenic bacteria and kills off beneficial aerobic bacteria. By turning the compost often you are accelerating the process of decomposition by keeping the good bacteria active and alive.
Get my paperback copy: ‘Garden the Organic Way’ and become an expert gardener. Garden the Organic Way is a comprehensive guide to organic gardening, designed for all skill levels. The book provides methods for growing delicious, pesticide-free vegetables using sustainable practices. https://gardentheorganicway.etsy.com
You can also purchase ‘Garden the Organic Way’ as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
If too much heat builds up above the 104° – 122° F or 40° – 50°C range some of the good bacteria will die off. If the temperature gets to low then the process of decomposition slows down. It is a good idea to make sure the pile reaches a high temperature and maintains the temperature for five days in order to kill pathogens, weed seeds and other critters or larva.
The more bacteria you have breaking down the organic material the more heat is generated and the quicker the interior of the pile will breakdown. By turning it you move the material on the outer sides closer to the middle and at the same time have the opportunity to add water to keep the moisture levels high. Too little moisture reduces bacterial activity but too much (over 65%), makes it go anaerobic. In addition is causes the nutrients to wash away.
On SALE now! great price on my soil course until February 7, 2024. Learn about soil microbes, creating black gold and restoring the soil into a fertile ground. Just some of the topics covered. Soil, The Key to Organic Gardening
When using kitchen scraps they need to be free from oil, sauce or anything containing animal products. These ingredients attract rodents and will slow down the composting process. Helpful tip: if the pile is decomposing too slowly, you can add more green material to create heat and speed the process along.
See video on composting. Read more about how to make compost.
Description of those materials needed to make compost. Easy to follow list of materials that are need. Additional list of what materials should not be used. Proper video links and additional materials to learn the process
How to make compost or black gold! One of the easiest ways to restore your soil and fertilize your plants is by adding compost. Old time gardeners considered consider compost “black gold” because it is filled with the microorganisms and nutrients needed to grow a …
Good gardening tools are a must.There is a multiplicity of tools out there, and sometimes we tend to buy what is cheapest. You get what you pay for. I have been working with gardening tools all my life and, though some tools were priced reasonable, they have lasted for many years. Later I learned that there were other tools that would have saved me lots of energy and time, if I had bought different ones. Some are clearly more expensive. Also, some cheaper tools broke easily, and replacing them ended up costing me more.
Some the of most necessary tool is what I have discussed here. My goal is to assume you will not buy fancy equipment, which I don’t think you need, but rather the key tools that will last for years and be of most use to you.
Before anything, get a good pair of gloves. Your hands will thank you. Less likelihood of not getting cut or contracting ringworm, which naturally exist in the soil. among other things. Gloves will help protect our hands and prevent cuts, which can get infected, etc. I use the ones that have rubber on the palm side. I do wash them often and go through two pairs in a given season.
This is a must, as you can use it for making a compost, moving large piles of rotting vegetables (especially applicable in a community garden), moving manure, wood chips, and anything else that is bulky. People tend to get small ones with small teeth that are placed close together. I don’t recommend these, as the material you are moving will get caught up and it’s a nuisance to clean. I also don’t recommend the pitchfork for hay as the teeth are very.
At some point a wheelbarrow is needed. Either to haul soil, compost, or to spread wood chips along the paths or stone, or whatever. Recommendation: when the wheelbarrow is full, you have to push it. Soil is heavy versus mulch that is light. Therefore, the only consideration is how big of a wheelbarrow you should buy. If you know you are capable of pushing a standard one, then do so, as it will come in very handy. You can always just fill it half way until you build up enough muscle. The advantage of a large wheelbarrow is that you can transport large things, like bales of hay, or bricks for pathways, or whatever. If you choose a small one, that’s fine, but you just have to make several trips to accomplish the job.
Pick one that is stable. Ideally, it should have solid tires. Once the wheelbarrow sits outside in the garden, the tires can easily lose air. Better if they are airless. I don’t recommend the ones with two tires up front. They are harder to maneuver, need bigger pathways and require more strength. Stick with the traditional ones with one front wheel either metal or plastic. Metal ones do tend to last longer but are more expensive. Plastic ones are lighter and cheaper but, after a few years, the basket does crack. You decide.
Shovels are really essential. You will need them for everything. Even if you have raised beds and don’t do any digging, they still get used to fill beds with finish compost. I have two different types. A large flat shovel is great for removing things like snow from on top of the beds in early spring. Ideally I get my garden going somewhat early. Sometimes these shovels are handy when loading from a flat surface onto the wheelbarrow. Like the back of a truck. I also have a standard digging, pointed shovel that I use to dig or load my soil. They can be long handled or short handled. It’s a choice. Be sure to pick one that is sturdy and will not break easily. Two of them is definitely better than one.
Get my paperback copy: ‘Garden the Organic Way’ and become an expert gardener. Garden the Organic Way is a comprehensive guide to organic gardening, designed for all skill levels. The book provides methods for growing delicious, pesticide-free vegetables using sustainable practices. https://gardentheorganicway.etsy.com You can also purchase ‘Garden the Organic Way’ as an eBook http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way
If you build raised beds then there are additional tools that are necessary. See video on Building a Raised Garden Bed Read my blog on why organic gardening to get started.
rThere are many ways to grow food and different cultures around the world practice various methods. Using raised garden beds, is a popular way to grow in many parts of the world. Especially in some mountainous areas still is the way to grow food. Here …