Joined
·
246 Posts
I was posting in the Ruth Stout thread, but thought that I would whip up a 'what I did in my garden' type post.
For years I was a stay at home mom and had plenty of time to experiment and figure out what works and doesn't work for my garden.
We had a 50' x 60' plot that was a worn out garden spot for oh the last 40 years or so. It needed a lot of help in the beginning. The soil would crust over in the summer and turn rock hard. There were virtually no worms visible and pests were a real problem.
I started by piling as much organic matter as I could on the garden. I collected sawdust, chicken coop material, horse stall material, leaves, grass clippings, home made compost, etc etc etc. Every weed and leaf went on that soil. Every cup of tea that we didn't drink was poured onto the garden. Gallons of milk were rinsed out and poured onto the soil. I was (am) a bit compulsive about soil enrichment.
Anyways, once my soil had a bunch of good stuff sitting on it, I started planting things.
Tomatoes like chicken manure so I dug deep holes and put chicken manure in the bottom and then added a layer of soil, and then stripped the leaves off of the bottom 6 " or so of the plant and buried it really deep. Then I laid a soaker hose through my row of tomatoes and mulched with a heavy layer of straw. I never watered the leaves/ flowers of the tomatoes because it makes them not set fruit very well. We had a bumper crop and had more tomatoes than we could can/ freeze/ dry/ sauce/ eat/ give away. It was fantastic.
I experimented with some tomato plants by mulching them with moldy clover hay and the plants were a little more robust than the other plants. I have never been able to get more clover hay after that year to try it again though.
Make sure to cut back on water a tiny bit as the tomatoes start ripening, overwatering can cause split tomatoes.
Carrots have trouble germinating if the soil crusts over before they sprout so here is how I get them to grow...First dig the bed out and make sure there are no rocks to prevent nice straight carrots growing. Moisten the soil before planting, plant the seeds, lightly sprinkle with water again (careful not to wash away your seeds!), then cover with damp cardboard. Peek every day or so and when the carrots start sprouting, pull back the cardboard. Et voila! Carrots! Then later, thin the carrots to a few inches apart and mulch with fluffly dry grass clippings or something. This helps them from getting *green shoulders*. Make sure carrots get enough water as it keeps them sweet.
Peppers like heat, but they like their roots cool To do this...you need to plan ahead...first pick our your area for peppers (lots of sun, maybe a little late afternoon shade) and add some compost or other soil amendments. When you dig your holes for peppers, put a little crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the hole - it will hold water. Plant your peppers, mulch with a thick layer of newspaper and straw. Water as needed. Prepare for a bumper crop of peppers. MMMMM!
Potatoes hate wet, clay-ey soil. What to do?? Well...it's simple. Dig a nice deep hole and layer in some straw. Add a potato eye and cover with more straw and a little soil. Water as needed (not too much, you don't want soup just yet!)...and tuck in more straw and soil as the plant grows. baby potatoes are ready when the plants flower, and larger potatoes are ready when the vines start to die. Hold off watering as the potatoes mature.
Garlic is easy and fun. In the fall take a clove, poke it in the soil (any soil!!), cover, mulch, water, wait until spring...start harvesting garlic scapes and make pesto. In June-ish - withhold water, then stomp the tops as they start to dry. Somewhere around July the entire top of the plant will be dry. Time to dig! Make sure to cure them properly in the fresh air so they store well.
Pumpkins, squash, etc are a staple that is easy to grow and you SHOULD not miss out on it. Make a little mound of soil, toss on some compost, poke in some seeds, water, wait, when the seeds sprout mulch them and keep moist as they begin to grow. Squash is ok with hot compost as long as it is not touching the root zone...I used to take fresh horse manure and shavings from our stalls and put in a circle around the squash plants (about a foot from the base of the plant) and water in well. We had 100# pumpkins frm only doing that!! Our total count of squash that year was 200...yikes.
Corn is easy. If anyone fishes in your family and you have access to junk fish (squaw fish) make sure to get some and bury it in your corn patch. I'm not joking! The native Americans knew a thing or two about growing things. So plant your fish, plant your corn seeds, water and mulch when they sprout. When the corn is about a foot high plant pole beans around the base of each corn plant. Plant a few squash plant starts here and there throughout the patch too. Tuck a sprinkler inside the corn patch and water once a week or so. Make sure to keep the mulch heavy (but not over the bean seeds before they sprout!) throughout the season. If you use the fish you will see the soil bubble, which is gross but very amazing.
Cucumbers require no skill. Throw some seeds in the ground, water, mulch when they sprout. Keep mulched and watered...ENJOY!
Same goes for Zuchinni. MMMM.
I planted sunflower seeds around my compost pile. Their stalks were so big they looked like small gnarled tree roots. It was great.
Everything was given a final mulching of straw and you could sit anywhere in the garden on a nice cushy bed of straw.
I fertilized weekly with a hose sprayer that had the following items placed into the mix holder - kelp and fish emulsion, baking soda, few drops of unscented organic dish soap.
I never ever ever EVER used non organic fertilizers or pesticides on my garden. I did use diatomacious earth for slugs though. YUK.
I hope this information was helpful to some of you. I wrote it all from memory so if I missed a detail or you have questions, please let me know.
I'm dreaming of SPRING!!!
Heather
For years I was a stay at home mom and had plenty of time to experiment and figure out what works and doesn't work for my garden.
We had a 50' x 60' plot that was a worn out garden spot for oh the last 40 years or so. It needed a lot of help in the beginning. The soil would crust over in the summer and turn rock hard. There were virtually no worms visible and pests were a real problem.
I started by piling as much organic matter as I could on the garden. I collected sawdust, chicken coop material, horse stall material, leaves, grass clippings, home made compost, etc etc etc. Every weed and leaf went on that soil. Every cup of tea that we didn't drink was poured onto the garden. Gallons of milk were rinsed out and poured onto the soil. I was (am) a bit compulsive about soil enrichment.
Anyways, once my soil had a bunch of good stuff sitting on it, I started planting things.
Tomatoes like chicken manure so I dug deep holes and put chicken manure in the bottom and then added a layer of soil, and then stripped the leaves off of the bottom 6 " or so of the plant and buried it really deep. Then I laid a soaker hose through my row of tomatoes and mulched with a heavy layer of straw. I never watered the leaves/ flowers of the tomatoes because it makes them not set fruit very well. We had a bumper crop and had more tomatoes than we could can/ freeze/ dry/ sauce/ eat/ give away. It was fantastic.
I experimented with some tomato plants by mulching them with moldy clover hay and the plants were a little more robust than the other plants. I have never been able to get more clover hay after that year to try it again though.
Make sure to cut back on water a tiny bit as the tomatoes start ripening, overwatering can cause split tomatoes.
Carrots have trouble germinating if the soil crusts over before they sprout so here is how I get them to grow...First dig the bed out and make sure there are no rocks to prevent nice straight carrots growing. Moisten the soil before planting, plant the seeds, lightly sprinkle with water again (careful not to wash away your seeds!), then cover with damp cardboard. Peek every day or so and when the carrots start sprouting, pull back the cardboard. Et voila! Carrots! Then later, thin the carrots to a few inches apart and mulch with fluffly dry grass clippings or something. This helps them from getting *green shoulders*. Make sure carrots get enough water as it keeps them sweet.
Peppers like heat, but they like their roots cool To do this...you need to plan ahead...first pick our your area for peppers (lots of sun, maybe a little late afternoon shade) and add some compost or other soil amendments. When you dig your holes for peppers, put a little crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the hole - it will hold water. Plant your peppers, mulch with a thick layer of newspaper and straw. Water as needed. Prepare for a bumper crop of peppers. MMMMM!
Potatoes hate wet, clay-ey soil. What to do?? Well...it's simple. Dig a nice deep hole and layer in some straw. Add a potato eye and cover with more straw and a little soil. Water as needed (not too much, you don't want soup just yet!)...and tuck in more straw and soil as the plant grows. baby potatoes are ready when the plants flower, and larger potatoes are ready when the vines start to die. Hold off watering as the potatoes mature.
Garlic is easy and fun. In the fall take a clove, poke it in the soil (any soil!!), cover, mulch, water, wait until spring...start harvesting garlic scapes and make pesto. In June-ish - withhold water, then stomp the tops as they start to dry. Somewhere around July the entire top of the plant will be dry. Time to dig! Make sure to cure them properly in the fresh air so they store well.
Pumpkins, squash, etc are a staple that is easy to grow and you SHOULD not miss out on it. Make a little mound of soil, toss on some compost, poke in some seeds, water, wait, when the seeds sprout mulch them and keep moist as they begin to grow. Squash is ok with hot compost as long as it is not touching the root zone...I used to take fresh horse manure and shavings from our stalls and put in a circle around the squash plants (about a foot from the base of the plant) and water in well. We had 100# pumpkins frm only doing that!! Our total count of squash that year was 200...yikes.
Corn is easy. If anyone fishes in your family and you have access to junk fish (squaw fish) make sure to get some and bury it in your corn patch. I'm not joking! The native Americans knew a thing or two about growing things. So plant your fish, plant your corn seeds, water and mulch when they sprout. When the corn is about a foot high plant pole beans around the base of each corn plant. Plant a few squash plant starts here and there throughout the patch too. Tuck a sprinkler inside the corn patch and water once a week or so. Make sure to keep the mulch heavy (but not over the bean seeds before they sprout!) throughout the season. If you use the fish you will see the soil bubble, which is gross but very amazing.
Cucumbers require no skill. Throw some seeds in the ground, water, mulch when they sprout. Keep mulched and watered...ENJOY!
Same goes for Zuchinni. MMMM.
I planted sunflower seeds around my compost pile. Their stalks were so big they looked like small gnarled tree roots. It was great.
Everything was given a final mulching of straw and you could sit anywhere in the garden on a nice cushy bed of straw.
I fertilized weekly with a hose sprayer that had the following items placed into the mix holder - kelp and fish emulsion, baking soda, few drops of unscented organic dish soap.
I never ever ever EVER used non organic fertilizers or pesticides on my garden. I did use diatomacious earth for slugs though. YUK.
I hope this information was helpful to some of you. I wrote it all from memory so if I missed a detail or you have questions, please let me know.
I'm dreaming of SPRING!!!
Heather
