Very cool, I used to keep a massive organic garden. I may start one this year, much smaller though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
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Very cool, I used to keep a massive organic garden. I may start one this year, much smaller though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
Enza is a girl. (Enzo would be a boy)Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Bleek, my worms never ate the shells. they just cleaned them very very well.
My garden is organic too. I have organic dandelions, organic dead nettles, organic cat's ear, organic wild radish and organic wild geranium. Hey, if you just write them, it doesn't sound like i have a garden full of weeds!
It's 3:00am here and I just couldn't sleep, so I got up and absently checked my cell phone, there was a message from last night saying the class is cancelled due to low enrollment. :( I guess I better check out an organic gardening book so I can get started.Quote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
You don't need a book to get started!
Instruction is helpful when you have specific problems and when you want to keep a garden going for years. I highly recommend Eliot Coleman's "New Organic Grower." But it's a LOT of information and your learning will expand over the years with your specific local conditions.
Just follow the instructions on the seed packets and you'll be fine. Your ag extension service's website usually has lots of information on specific crops.
If you haven't already prepared your plot, do that as soon as the soil's dry enough. Watch the shadows over the course of a day so you'll be sure you're choosing a spot that gets full sun. Mow it first, use a sod cutter if you have access to one or just plow/dig it under, then let the grass decompose for a couple of weeks before you plant.
If the grass where you plan to put your plot isn't healthy and lush now, you may want to test your soil and amend it. Just be aware that unless you're buying direct from a local organic farmer, mass-marketed animal-source soil amendments (manure, blood meal, bone meal) are NOT organic and may actually contain heavy metals and residues from chemicals that were fed to the animals. :( If you do buy direct from a local farmer, make sure manure is thoroughly composted before you apply it to the soil.
It's really not hard! (Okay, digging a new plot is hard physical work.) Learn as you go and HAVE FUN and enjoy those delicious tomatoes! :)
Thanks for the info Oak! The plot is a small one by our back door that gets full sun. The the previous owner used it for some sort of garden, so no grass to mess with. I'll buy organic fertilizer and some good topsoil from our co-op and prep the soil in the next couple of weeks...we had 32F temps again last night so I'm guessing we should wait to plant.
Kudos to those of you who have the patience to do any type of gardening. I just can't get myself to like it. Three years ago, I planted some annuals on our garden steps, so now that's my yearly contribution to our yard. My husband is out there spreading loam across a 1500 sq. foot area on the side of a hill, where we are planting ground cover, which supposedly needs little care and flowers all summer. I guess I am going to have to help with the planting when the stuff arrives. No matter what I do, even trying to think of it as exercise, I still don't like it.
I try to justify my attitude by the fact I spend the spring, summer, and fall riding my bike to local farms to buy their fresh produce!
I was thinking of Mario Lanza :o :D but didn't remember it quite rightQuote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
I keep thinking I will garden but my patience is limited. Right now I am pleased to see my society garlic is blooming and smelling up the front yard. :p I have to replace some boxwoods I transplanted around our shed but my husband's nursery never has what I want. And it is too cheap from his work to go somewhere else. :o
I can't be bothered with ornamentals. If I can't eat it, it can just grow itself. :p
I just cannot imagine NOT gardening. I guess that's why I became a landscape architect. Today I went to the local community garden. They were having a fundraising plant sale. I got two huge Russian sages, some oregano and thyme, some obedient plant (which is not obedient, and I'm hoping it will spread!), and some black-eyed Susans...all for $15, but I gave them $20 for their fundraising. I have a very sunny slope that I plan to pack with all sorts of perennials. I'm on a corner, so it'll really be wonderful for the whole street.
Then I went to the Habitat store and bought a couple of old storm windows for $2 each for my cold frame. I already have broccoli and collards growing in one bed, and a beautiful mix of lettuce interplanted with onions in the other bed. I have several other beds to build and plant, but that'll have to wait until after Cycle Zydeco next week. I've started seeds (tomatoes, peppers, all sorts of flowers), but it's still a bit cool to leave them out all night, so I set up a grow light in the basement. I have a mouse that likes to dig up the seeds down there, so I fashioned a frame that hopefully will keep the critter out.
My neighbors invited me over to thin out their amazing hostas, so now I have 41 hosta plants to fit somewhere in my yard! I planted a few in my side yard that I've done the most work in, and it's really looking great. The columbines are blooming, the heuchera is going wild, the Lily-of-the-Valley are poking up and the azaleas are in bud. I'll post a picture later on. It's really lovely.
Tomorrow I'll clean up the other side that I haven't touched since I bought the house last summer. It has beautiful azaleas that are just beginning to bloom, but it needs a bit of cleaning up.
It was just a great day spent outside doing one of the things I love most. It was pretty cool and misty all day...perfect!
We went to the farm store and bought organic topsoil and mushroom compost, along with some river rock and grass seed. Then we filled in the hole where we had a giant dead silver maple cut down and put down grass seed.
Next weekend we'll work the ground for herb garden...the nice 84 year old lady helping at the farm store told us not to bother with buying herb plants but to go ahead and plant seeds in a couple of weeks, because there's still plenty of time for them to sprout this year. Does that sound right to you gardeners??
Compost. Forget the fertilizer and just mix equal parts compost and topsoil. (In my world, topsoil is just that--whatever is in it is in it, but compost is rich and dark cooked up just for the richness is provides.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
*shoulda read ahead.
Karen
Okay, Ms. Landscape Architect...how do you think hostas would do under the azaleas? I have a north facing house, and the only thing that grows there in the shade are the azaleas. Total shade! I would like to block the dogs from getting under them by planting hostas in a row in front of them. (They wouldn't actually block the dogs, but make the spot less fun to view the world from.) Do you think the hostas would get too big? The azaleas are 3-4 feet high.Quote:
Originally Posted by tulip
Karen
Depends on the herbs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
Basil, cilantro, borage, dill, definitely yes. Shiso (perilla), yes, but plant way more than you want, because it's notoriously difficult to germinate (the seeds need both light and moisture).
Parsley, if I'm not going to be home in time to start seeds indoors, I usually buy one or two plants in addition to direct seeding some more, because it takes a while to grow big enough to harvest (around two weeks just to germinate).
Perennial herbs (rosemary, thyme, tarragon, sage, oregano, lavender) I've always bought as plants. I'm not sure how long they take to get established enough to harvest, but perennials generally tend not to grow as vigorously as annuals in their first few months. (Actually my lavender will be in its third year this year and I MIGHT get to harvest some. So I guess I may as well have started it from seed. :rolleyes:)
If you're planting mint, plant it in a confined space, because it will take over everything. Oregano and lemon balm have similar habits but are a little easier to control.
You might want to put your perennials in a separate patch if you want to turn your garden under every year. There are pros and cons to doing that...
What herbs are you planning?
We're planning on planting basil, cilantro (lots!), dill, rosemary, and chives. And one cherry tomato plant. I know it sounds like a tiny garden but we wanted to start small and see how we do. :)
Does it ever seem funny that we buy food, and since "good cooking is very wasteful" as one of the chefs I worked with said so we we pay someone to come by and get the scraps and turn into compost and then we pay for compost. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
Why not grow your own and turn the salad trimmings to compost? ;)
Tucker--I can't quite picture your scenario. Do the dogs view the world from the azaleas and dig a hole as a viewing platform? Most azaleas have branches very low, so I can't see how hostas would grow underneath them and still be visible. If you are talking about in front of the azaleas, then I think they would do fine, unless the dogs decided to hang out there anyways. Hostas go dormant in the winter and disappear. Mine are coming up now; my neighbor's are already up because she gets more sun than I do. If the dogs hang out on top of the hostas when they are delicate and poking up, they will get damaged and won't look too good.
There are other good shade plants, too, and lots of them. Ferns, native columbine, heuchera, tiarella, Solomon's seal, brunera, astilbe, hellebore, wild ginger, caladiums, bleeding heart, euphorbia, yellow (native) foxglove, wood poppy, pachysandra, hydrangea, trilliums, mayapples, mosses...
Yes! And that's exactly why I bought a heap o' special species composting worms and a cool 5 tiered worm bin and just finished setting up my vermicomposting bin in my kitchen this past week! They'll be thriving on all our kitchen scraps and even on shredded scrap paper and cardboard too. See lots of gross worm pictures here!:Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/ :D :D :D
My 2000 eisenia fetida worms (2 lbs' worth of wrigglers) are doing really well so far, plowing through their bedding like mad and getting used to their 'new digs' (ha ha).
I'm having so much fun with it! And the 'end result' :rolleyes: will be incredibly rich earthworm castings fertilizer for my tomatoes and chard and stringbeans. :p
One of the rare pleasures of living in Central IL is the soil, it's deep rich black soil. I'll add in some compost just in case the previous owners ornamental gardening has depleted the soil.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuckervill
It's weird, I know NOTHING about gardening but I know lots about prepping a farm field for planting...it seems similar in many ways, only I don't want to grow corn or soybeans in my herb garden. :p
Yep, they've built nests under and behind the azaleas right up to the foundation. :eek: They like the shade back there and I'm sure the foundation on the north side is a relative cool spot on a hot day. It is incredibly cute to see a little nose sticking out between the branches and then a doggie stretching out of his nap as he comes to greet you at the gate. But it's not good for my house or the azaleas!Quote:
Originally Posted by tulip
The hostas would be in front of the azaleas. I guess I was thinking the hostas might look out of place at the end of the season if they got huge like my other hostas do. The dogs only dig in the hot summer time, and I think if the hostas were there all filled out, they wouldn't find it as interesting. They tend not to dig under there when I remember/have time to mulch heavily underneath, but they are home more than I am and take advantage! I also throw their poop under there and it keeps them away for a while, but then it's just one more thing I have to remember.
I'll look up that list and see what works. Thanks!
Karen
We have been very successful in using a product called Deer Scram to keep deer and other animals from eating our hostas. It is 23% dried blood, along with some pepper and garlic. It doesn't smell, but it keeps the animals away, without being harmful. You can get it at gardening stores or farms.
Tucker, I'm not sure why it's not good for your foundation except when it rains and water settles in the dog nest and then into your foundation. Is that the case? Are the azaleas suffering because of the dogs? I can imagine the soil compacting, but that's about it. You might want to consider temporarily fencing that part off to keep the dogs out while you provide them a more attractive (to them, and to you) place to get out of the sun. Hostas might work, but the dogs gotta cool off somewhere, and they might just move to another undesirable (to you) spot and you'll have the same problem in another place.
Mulching is very good for the plants (azaleas and hostas, both), conserves water, and keeps the dogs out in your case. It's worth doing twice a year; and maybe once in the summer if the dogs get in there again.
The stupid dogs can go INSIDE to the a/c whenever they want! I don't understand why they insist on going under there and digging holes. The roots of the azaleas are exposed in some places. I'm sure they like to just be outside some, but I'm always amazed when I come home and they're panting in the shade when they can just go in the doggie door and have the run of the house.
My house is a really old house (<112) and it has a rock foundation that was skimmed with concrete at some point, and then someone built a flat concrete apron around the foundation, about 18 inches wide. That's the part of the foundation that they are digging under. I just really don't want them to do that. Eventually they could allow water to seep under.
Karen
I understand now--they are digging into the foundation and the roots, not just making a bare dirt spot. Yeah, it's a problem. Is there another place that they could adopt, with a little encouragement, mulch, hostas, and fencing, of course?
Inside it might be cool, but there aren't all those sounds and smells that make life interesting for a dog.
A question about fencing for my little herb garden...we have about 9,000,000 squirrels per block here, should I build a little fence with a lid to keep those furry rats out??
Squirrels shouldn't bother it.
Deer are fond of parsley, but I don't think anyone will bother the rest of your herbs. Generally herbs are too strong flavored for mammalian pests.
Raccoons might come after your tomatoes once they start coming ripe.
Once you start planting more veggies, then you'll have more pest problems. I had two consecutive years when groundhogs walked off with my ENTIRE garden. :mad::mad::(:( Talk about frustrating! An electric fence is the only thing that keeps them out. Plus eight foot high netting to keep the deer off the green beans and carrot tops... :p
Squirrels won't eat your herbs, but they might very well dig in the garden, particularly in the fall when they go about burying acorns and such for the winter.
Other than squirrels our two other pests would be bunnies and possums. I have a possum who lives under the garden shed...I have no idea what he (she?) eats.
While this thread is still on gardening, I am happy to report that I spent a little over an hour carrying pails of loam onto the 25% grade hillside and dumping them, as my husband was dong the wheelbarrow. The job is now 95% done.
I know this is nothing compared to everyone else, but it's a miracle for me.
My upper body is already feeling it.
I need a new wheelbarrow tire. I think mine is just rotted :(
Do you have a Les Schwab Tire place or similar near you? They do wheelbarrow tires, too, and Schwab fixes them free. Around here with tack week, it's well worth going to Schwab to get a wheelbarrow tire.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Well today I had other plans, but instead I wound up cleaning my office all day.
It started with just sorting through a little pile of paper....and spread from there into drawers, cabinets, behind things...
I even sifted through the big ominous box of rather depressing paperwork I had kept from the 3 1/2 years when my mother was sick and dying 3 years ago- all the Medicaid, hospital, medication, nursing home, banking, legal, wills, death stuff, etc etc. When all was said and done, I had a modest manila envelope of only the most important stuff, including some poignant things like notes she scrawled to the nurse while on life support, asking for me by name...her old passport with her pretty picture...her debit card with her signature on the back...I just can't toss it. :o
I found some things I had been looking for, and also wound up with a PILE of old staplers and calculators-!! Going to give those away, don't need more than maybe three of each, right?
Now there still some more things to go through in my office (mostly updating my filing cabinet of papers), but I got rid of tons of crap and reorganized things much better so that everything LOOKS spacious and clear again. What a great feeling! No more creeping piles! (that sounds weird, huh)
It's like a breath of fresh air, a fresh start, and I'm so glad i did this today. :p
Pax..i had to giggle when you mentioned there was a possum under your house...Now I have "Hello Possums" in my head :rolleyes: (Thanks dame edna...)
I'm sure if you want to find out what they eat, just venture on the net for info. Are they pests where you are? If they start to eat the power line poles then you might want to rethink your strategy.
Ok...now that i'm not working & have lots of time on my hands..Why is it that i've started to enjoy cooking healthy stuff? Ok, that & doing a bit more dirt time!
It isn't a toad at all. DH promised me a day of my choice, I wanted to go hiking at a more primitive state park near by. I saw this lizard scamper under some rotten cactus and was peering at him. "Are horny toads actually toads or lizards?" I asked DH. He said they are actually lizards, so we are really sorry but we moved the cactus scaring the little guy to show our first EVER wild horned toad! I squealed with delight. I took a photo but his camo is really good so I don't think we will ever have anything more than the memory. Dad said you used to see them all the time but no more and DH said they are a threatened species.
We saw a lot of possum tracks and raccoon poop but other than fish and some cardinals there wasn't much wildlife to report.
Enjoying your blog, Lisa! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl
thanks! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by kelownagirl
is this like a random bs thread?
if so...well...i'm sitting home...roommate and friends in the other room getting drunk, but i don't really feel like being social.
i just want it to be tomorrow morning so i can strut through the house in my spandex and make them jealous, then go on a ride and make everyone else in the town jealous :D
just kidding...i'm not that vain...but i DO want to go for a ride.
Bleh.Quote:
Originally Posted by reddDesign
I'd find new room mates.
noo, my roommate is awesome. if i felt like being social i'd be in there doing the same thing.
Bleh. I prefer Scrabble or poker when sociability is the goal.Quote:
Originally Posted by reddDesign