The following are a few tips for growing the best garden ever!
Remember that air conditioned room with all the exercise machines, strangers and the TV? You go there to get exercise right? You could stay home and get better exercise. Bending, stretching, up and down a little puff-puff-puff, pushing, pulling, lifting, lots of sweat, fresh air and good microbes in the soil. See: Working in Dirt Can Actually be Healthy!.
Composting is essential. I have a compost bin, they can be bought or you can just make a nice pile. Start on the ground with sticks, then dirt, then some well composted steer manure (I use rabbit manure it' doesn't need composting, can be used as is in the garden), then leaves, especially shredded leaves if possible. Next layer more dirt,more manure, more leaves, etc. I have mine in a plastic bin, I use a hay fork to turn and aerate my compost, since mine is in a bin, I put worms in mine, but if yours is a pile, you won't need to add worms. I keep all my kitchen scraps, veggies, coffee grounds, tea bags and left over tea, bananas, apple cores etc. no fat or meat, I have a dedicated blender I use to chop up the scraps into a fine paste, I add it to my compost everyday a little more turning it in each time. Then throughout the summer I ladle this precious black soil onto my plants.
The easiest way to start a garden is the new method called lasagna gardening, first lay a section of weed barrier cloth down, then layer just like the compost heap only just use leaves, then compost mixed with whatever top soil you can get (WITHOUT ANY Added chemicals, lay these over the cloth(a special permeable thin black fabric that keeps most weeds out and allows rain to seep through. The fact that it's black will help keep the plants warmer, so they grow better, since it is a cloth it helps to keep moisture in the soil so drought isn't as much of a danger.
Get the best quality plants you can find of Heirloom varieties (it will say so on the label) hybrids are not good quality plants. Or start your own from seed.
one site that sells heirloom seeds, I use Parks
Then, following the directions on the insert for your plant as to sun requirements and spacing, dig a hole into your garden, use a knife to cut through the weed barrier cloth right into the grass below, place your plant in the hole, fill in around it and gently tamp the soil down with your hands, finish planting then water well.
There is a way to keep certain bugs to stay away, It's called companion planting companion planting I like marigolds planted around my tomatoes, and basil to keep the buggies down, but if they eat a leaf or two never fear your plant will still thrive.
Use lots of mulch to keep the weeds away from your plants, if you are planting in bare dirt, or get that exercise by reaching over and pulling up the weeds. Or leave some weeds for the buggies to eat, they just might leave your vegetables alone. One very good plant for this is Lambs quarters a nice tasty weed that bugs like even better than your plants. It looks like this:
lambs quarters image
I like Lambs quarters in a salad, it's yummy.
One thing you don't want to leave in is chickweed, it is pervasive, so start reaching over, bend and pull!
chickweed image.Handy implements, you may want but some you can live without, if you can't afford to get them all at once:
First, a wheel barrow. You will need a shovel, a rake and a hoe if you really want one. Best get a small set too, it makes work easy.
Didn't get enough exercise? Mow the Lawn, trim and rake! Oh and here's another benefit from being outside working.More Evidence Vitamin D Prevents Cancer
Another way to grow good vegetables is in containers, even five gallon buckets if you don't have much room put holes in the bottom. Please do not use artificial fertilizers, make compost for your own good fertilizer, even in an attractive box in the corner of your deck.
Here are pictures of my gardens of the past years, this year it's still early spring.you might even see my grandkids too, I have lots of pix in there of my projects and scenry, I sort of fancy myself as a Photographer, sorry.
These are of my tiny tomato plants but I wanted to show you the laqsagna method up close, I added an extra weed barrier fabric layer to protect the tomaoes from splash-up, they don't like dirt on their leaves. But if you look close you can see I planted marigolds and basil among the 'maters
This is of the strawberry bed, I have the green peppers planted behind them and a blueberry bush, I put a brick under some of the strawberries to make them show up. Remember I'm in Michigan and this is in early spring, stuff gets much more lush as the months go byI also have a special bed for spinach/radishes/and more green peppers. This is just the vegetables, I have lots of flower beds where I tuck a pepper plant in, or some tiny cherry tomato plants. As you can see I put flowers in with the veggies too. I almost forget I also have a collection of herbs I grow for cooking, rosemary, chives, garlic, oregano, sage, parsley and basil. I also have a collection of bonsiai trees but that's an experiment.
I hope you all have an awesome Sunday.
oh and one more thing:
A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of
seagulls. One day his supply of the birds ran out so he had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged with transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.
Write to me at webriter@verizon.net or the chat or comment features.
If you aren't growing your own foods you could supplement your diet with these.
Milk thistle-liver improvement-detox
extra virgin coconut oil
also I'm taking cell powerThis stuff is worth it's weight in gold to help the body to re-alkalinize my body and renew my good health I had as a child.
Mega EFA gold
Probiotic-Suprema Dophilus
No comments:
Post a Comment