Fertilizing

Day 88 – Patty Pan Push Lasagna Bed Further Ahead

2011/07/28

Day 88 – Patty Pan Push Lasagna Bed Further Ahead

A couple of more pattypan squash have pushed the lasagna bed even further ahead, at almost 2.5 pounds (1.13kg) total yield from this gardening technique. I remember over fourty years ago getting ready for “the coming of the metric system”. Now, thankfully – we’re seeing it replacing the imperial system with popular foods measured in whole metric amounts (2 litres of beverage, 1 litre of cooking oil, etc.), glad I had those lessons, wish I remembered them – but I digress. Patty pan squash, aka pattypan, cibleme, scallopini, button squash, and others (see wikipedia for details), is similar in texture and flavor to zucchini squash. They are often picked when they are no more than three inches in diameter (76mm). At this stage, the seeds are immature enough tthat they are similar in texture to the rest of the squash and are cooked and eaten with no difficulty. When grown beyond three inches, the seeds become tougher, the insides start to become...

Comfrey tea for plants?

2011/07/22

Comfrey tea for plants?

I just gave my patty pan squash, as well as my broccoli seedlings and carrot seedlings a shot of comfrey tea. Feeding tea to plants? Comfrey itself has a good amount of nitrogen potassium and phosphorus. According to http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/comfrey/comfrey.PDF, dried wilted comfrey has 0.74% nitrogen, 0.24% phosphorus, and 1.19% potassium. Making a quick comfrey tea by cutting some fresh comfrey and steeping it for about four hours will probably yield less than this amount, but it is a quick addition and is not harmful to the plants, nor do you have to worry about any bacteria. I cut one plant down, chopped it up and covered it with water (it filled about 1/6 of a tall pot). Steeping on the stove for ten minutes then letting it cool, I pulled out the material, filled the rest of the pot up (so it was a 6:1 ratio of tea to water), then applied it to the base of the plants, and in...

Day 80 – When a Wicking Bed Goes Bad

2011/07/20

It appears there is a leak in the plastic under the wicking bed. Within hours of filling it (twice), the reservoir is empty. The potatoes at the end appear to be missing the water, too – they are turning yellow and wilting. Fortunately, I have some extra soaker hoses that I just placed there, and much of the “extra” water will be absorbed by the now rotting wood chips that were the medium above the plastic that was there to “break up the surface tension and help facilitate wicking”. The box beds are starting to catch up to the lasagna beds as far as yield is concerned, with the wicking bed taking a break to flower like mad and the hugelkultur bed following suit, though there was the one patty pan squash that was ready for a salad, and thus picked. I am hearing the water pump working away in the cellar, and it’s been an hour of soaker...

Day 76 – Beans and Peas and a New Garden Experiment

2011/07/16

Day 76 – Beans and Peas and a New Garden Experiment

The new garden experiment is: Miracle-Gro Garden Mix vs 1 part soil, 1 part Manure. Facing south, the left box is the Miracle-Gro, the right is the soil-manure mix. In the manure pile, there was some well aged manure (no smell, as opposed to the fresher, smellier variety that I’d dug, then dumped and left there) which I screened – one shovel full manure, then one shovel full soil, mixed well, and put into the test bed/box. Ran out of seeds before I finished planting the soil/manure box, so sprouting will be a little sparse there. I find it is extremely easy to make a new garden experiment using boxes to separate the different soils. As these experiments are of the “home grown variety”, I have not separated the boxes with a barrier of soil between them as would be proper in scientific experiments. Once the frost has taken hold later (the later the better!) this year, I will...

Within the first two days, the comfrey tea was looking dark brown, and not smelling at all. Great! I did it – or so I thought. ”I’ll just let it go for a week – let it get really ‘good’.” Not such a great plan. After one week, it was smelling like a septic system gone awry. I removed it from the bubbler, cut it with ten parts water and fed several plants, including: One tomato plant – banana box garden(bbg) proper One tomato plant – bbg – extended (with wicking bed) One tomato plant – bbg – extended (with no wicking bed) One patty pan squash – bbg proper One box potatoes – bbg proper One brocolli – hugelkultur bed One patty pan squash – hugelkultur bed These plants have similar ones next to them, so if there are any good or bad effects, it should show up within a couple of weeks. The rest of the swill...

As mentioned in an earlier post, I was looking for and found my “bubbler” from the old tank, complete with the hose and a small air stone. Cut down a lot of comfrey, put about 1/4 of a bucket full (compressed with a rock), added water, started the bubbler and added the lid. Within two days, it was a dark muddy color, and didn’t stink. I didn’t stick my face in it, but it didn’t knock me over when I removed the lid, either. This is a good thing, since it’s right near our front door! Have a lot more comfrey I can experiment with, but I may just continue to aerate five gallon buckets full throughout the rest of the summer. Aerobic Compost Tea – look up Dr. Elaine Ingham “…Bacteria-dominated compost is best suited to vegetables and herbs, while fungi-dominated compost is good for berries and fruit trees. …” “… For a four gallon batch, continue to aerate the brew for...

Day 59 – Strawberries Everywhere, and Comfrey Tea

2011/06/29

We came back from a much needed vacation, and have not needed to water the garden. Weeding is another matter, at least around some of the beds, but no need for pumping water – it rained here at least as much as it did in Florida (which was hot, but worth it!). The strawberries yielded about three pints, minus about one pint that either rotted or were eaten by the slugs. Everything else – carrots excluded – has continued to grow at a good pace. In the weeding arena, we’ll be clipping back more of the grass in the established strawberry plots, while the new plots are doing quite well without our help – the grass clippings have suppressed the weeds almost completely. Comfrey was in need of clipping as well (a ten minute job) and has been added to the compost barrel (top cut from an old plastic barrel, set almost sideways for easier turning) and we may be...

New Years resolutions for gardeners – San Jose Mercury News

2010/01/05

The National Gardening Association estimates that 19 percent more people grew vegetables in 2009 than in 2008. While experienced gardeners may adhere easily to their annual gardening resolutions, new gardeners will see real results by following through on the following suggestions.If this list seems a little daunting, try picking just one or two resolutions for this year. Once youve appreciated the results and these gardening tasks have become habit, it will be easier to add a few more resolutions to your annual list. via New Years resolutions for gardeners – San Jose Mercury News.

Green Thumbs: Notes of a difficult growing season – Hanover, MA – Hanover Mariner

2009/10/29

Avoid composting tomato foliage or any other leaves which may have been diseased. To rejuvenate depleted garden plots or improve poor, heavy, or sandy soils, spread several inches of organic material in the form of shredded leaves, well-decomposed manure, compost, and peat moss over the surface; top-dress with lime, wood ashes, or gypsum and turn all the amendments into the soil with a digging fork or a tiller. A thorough fall cleanup, conditioning, and turning of the vegetable garden will ensure an earlier planting season next spring and hopefully Mother Nature will provide better growing conditions. via Green Thumbs: Notes of a difficult growing season – Hanover, MA – Hanover Mariner.

Fast Cooking Compost Pile

2009/10/24

Want a really fast cooking compost pile? Here’s all you need: 1/3 horse manure 2/3 leaves or grass If you don’t have ready access to a barnyard, substitute a high N product, such as blood meal. via Fast Cooking Compost Pile .

How to Make Hot Compost : Planet Green

2009/10/24

How to Make Hot Compost : Planet Green

How to Make Hot Compost : Planet Green. The Hack: “…Insulate: Lining the sides and top of your heap with cardboard can help keep temperatures up …” Great idea! You can find corrugated cardboard at most retail establishments, and many of them will be happy to give you as much as you need. NOTE: some of the larger establishments actually bundle the cardboard and get paid for it – these places won’t be so inclined to give you the cardboard, but think of it as a better solution for the planet.

Make a Compost Bin from an Old Storage Tub : Planet Green

2009/10/24

Make a Compost Bin from an Old Storage Tub : Planet Green

From Planet Green, a simple DIY project to make a composting bin from an old storage bin. Be sure it’s at least 3 cu. ft so that it’ll heat up properly. You’ll also have to turn the pile once a week. You can incorporate worms the easy way by cutting out the bottom and letting them find it themselves (as long as it’s not sitting on your porch – which would be a bad idea anyway), and you really didn’t need all of those “treasures” that were sitting in that bin anyway, right? Just don’t let the kids see you emptying their old toys at the Salvation Army – you’ll never live it down. Make a Compost Bin from an Old Storage Tub : Planet Green.

Let the Asparagus Go (until spring)

2009/10/14

Many tips for gardening from Purdue University Extension, including “…Asparagus top growth should not be removed until foliage yellows. Let foliage stand over winter to collect snows for insulation and moisture. “… Plowing and incorporating organic matter in the fall avoids the rush of garden activities and waterlogged soil in spring. Fall-prepared soils also tend to warm faster and allow earlier planting in spring.…” via Purdue Yard & Garden Calendar | www.carrollcountycomet.com | Carroll County Comet.

Quick Fall Cleanup Hacks

2009/09/23

The nights are getting cooler, I’m sneezing a bit with the onset of the furnace kicking in again. One concern I’ve heard of from quite a few people is that they’re composting potentially diseased plant materials into their next years garden. I have a couple of hacks for this. The first Quick Hack while you’re trying to figure out what to do with the refuse from the vegetable garden: If it’s not diseased, make a special compost heap just for the flower garden and put it there. You don’t have to be a composting expert, just pile up the brown, pile on the green (lawn clippings), run over leaves with the lawn mower to get them edible for the worms and mix it all together. Over the winter it will settle and decompose, and be ready for you in the spring. You may have to sift some of the stuff off the top, but it’ll be dark and “tasty”...

Tims Tips: Preparing the garden for colder days ahead – NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA

2009/09/23

Tims Tips: Preparing the garden for colder days aheadTims TipsTim LampreyAs September rolls to a close, we have to begin thinking about the dreaded “w” word. Yes, it isnt too early to start to think about winter.Eventually, we will get a frost that will kill off all the vegetation, including many of the vegetables in our gardens. When this happens, its time to pull up the dead plants. Any plants that were diseased should be thrown away, not added to the compost pile. via Tims Tips: Preparing the garden for colder days ahead – NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA.

Comfrey – Heal Your Garden, Heal Yourself

2009/08/14

Comfrey – Heal Your Garden, Heal Yourself

A comprehensive lens on Squidoo that highlights the many uses of comfrey. How to grow it, how to get rid of it, how to use it in your garden as well as in your medicine cabinet. Comfrey – Heal Your Garden, Heal Yourself.

Richard Nunnallys Gardening Q&A | Richmond Times-Dispatch

2009/07/31

Richard Nunnallys Gardening Q&A | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Q:What suggestions do you have for controlling weeds and undesirable grasses in asparagus and strawberry beds? Crabgrass has also infiltrated the liriope in my borders. The Hack: Pulling the weeds and mulching, according to Richard. My best solutions are newspaper (5 layers) as a killing mulch + lawn clippings (if you don’t spray your lawn) or straw mulch on top. Asparagus, as Richard says is more difficult, due to the ferns – but my hack is to crowd the weeds out with low growing tomatoes like Red Robin or others that normally grow in containers – the smaller the better. They may not produce much, but you’ll find the companion planting will produce robust asparagus next year! via Richard Nunnallys Gardening Q&A | Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Free Info in Sustainability Permaculture Visions

2009/07/26

Free Info in Sustainability Permaculture Visions

Free is good! Free Info in Sustainability Permaculture Visions.

A win-win: U-pick pumpkin farms recycle urban leaves

2009/07/23

A win-win: U-pick pumpkin farms recycle urban leaves

The Hack: Don’t have enough leaves to make your own mulch? Get them in bulk from your local municipal waste management. “…The scientists noted the benefits of the research to both farmers and taxpayers, stating; “Small farm operators near urban areas can apply autumn leaves collected from municipal shade trees to help maintain attractive fields, maintain suitable soil conditions for consumers, improve the cleanliness of u-pick pumpkins, and improve overall soil health with the addition of organic matter to the soil.” And municipalities seeking environmentally safe and cost-effective methods of leaf disposal can work with u-pick pumpkin operators to create solutions that work for producers, local governments, and consumers. …” A win-win: U-pick pumpkin farms recycle urban leaves.

Eggshells and Banana Peels for your Tomatoes

2009/07/11

Eggshells and Banana Peels for your Tomatoes

Adding selectively what normally goes out in the trash can keep away blossom end rot and compliment your soil. The Hacks: save your eggshells and banana peels and add them when you plant tomatoes out – an interesting thought too: “…(Note: Just recently learned that some gardeners have gone to either baking their eggshells or boiling them (you can water your plants with the egg water when done too) to avoid the risk of spreading salmonella. …” I’ve seen from 3-4 eggshells per plant to 12-18. I err on the side of caution going for about 3-4 per plant, but I also grind mine in a blender, so it comes out to about a rounded teaspoon per plant. The bananas that have gone bad over the winter in our house have normally gone into the compost bin, but having a small box in the freezer for the peels would be an easy addition. Wonder if I can dry them...

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