Wednesday, October 29, 2014

If You Fear Vampires

Or just otherwise like garlic, apparently this is a great time to plant it!

http://www.booksforbetterliving.com/5-ways-to-prepare-vegetable-garden-for-fall-and-winter/

Fall is the best time for garlic planting because it allows the crop to vernalize, resulting in larger yields (vernalization is a term used to describe a period of exposure to cold temperatures. For garlic, it encourages bulbing the following spring).Plant an individual garlic clove 3 inches deep and space them 6 to 8 inches apart. Add a few inches of mulch to the bed (straw and/or compost) and wait! Each clove will develop into a full head of garlic by next summer.

Planting Rye for Winter

Noe was in my office last week, telling me that I should plant Rye in my garden over the winter to replace some of the nutrients in the soil.

"WHA??" I was thinking.

Lo and behold, the science behind the statement. The winter crop is a nice blanket for your garden (otherwise called a "cover crop"). Doesn't that sound sciency and everything?? Other option = Oats.

I leave today slightly less ignorant than I entered it. I should go home during lunch now.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/soil-health-cover-cold

http://home.howstuffworks.com/preparing-a-vegetable-garden-for-winter.htm




Friday, August 8, 2014

How To Use Coffee Grounds in Your Garden

Perhaps you've seen the sign at Starbucks that they have coffee grounds for your garden? Maybe you even started saving your own, just knowing they'd be good for your plants. Now it's August and you have grounds, but no idea what to do with them!

You're in luck! I'm right there with you and today I found some useful tips on an Organic Gardening site. Here's to brewing success in all our plots!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Fall Vegetables

What to do after we harvest all of something? Replant!

Here is a handy calendar that shows a number of things that can be planted/harvested through the fall ...




Monday, July 21, 2014

Vinegar Vs. Weeds

This may be helpful for our paths -- or at home.

Homemade Weed Killer 
1 gallon of white vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, Liquid dish soap (any brand), Empty spray bottle. Put salt in the empty spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with white vinegar. Add a squirt of liquid dish soap. This solution works best if you use it on a hot day. Spray it on the weeds in the morning, and as it heats up it will do its work.


Vegetable MD Online!!

Not that any of us need this resource, of course, but this is really a nice reference to keep bookmarked:

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/cropindex.htm


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

"Beneficial Rain" is Coming

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

A 2nd Successful Work Night!

...

Homemade Bug Repellant

This homemade spray will deter many garden pests including bugs (aphids), slugs, squirrels and rabbits.
Ingredients:
  • 4 cups of warm water
  • 1 onion
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • 1 tsp of dish soap
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS:
 http://homeandgarden.chickettes.com/natural-homemade-garden-bug-and-pest-repellents/

Friday, May 30, 2014

Plants that help with insect problems ...















From Lee Content this morning:

PLANTING MARIGOLDS
Marigolds are easy to grow and they help keep the away aphids. “The relationship between plants and insects is known as ‘companion planting.’ its by far the safest, natural way to garden organically.”

SHERIDAN NURSERIES GARDEN TIP gives you tips on Plants That Naturally Repel Insects: There are many beneficial herbs that keep insects away.

  • Peppermint repels ants, white cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles.
  • Garlic discourages aphids, fleas, Japanese beetles, and spider mites.
  • Perennial Chives repel aphids and spider mites.
  • Chives are often planted among roses to keep aphids away and to resist the disease, Blackspot.
  • Basil drives away flies and mosquitoes.
  • Borage deters that monster of vegetable garden insects, the tomato hornworm.
  • Rosemary and Sage repel cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.
  • Annual Marigolds can be used anywhere to deter Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies. They are also known to repel harmful root knot nematodes (soil dwelling microscopic white worms) that attack tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and strawberries. The root of the Marigold produces a chemical that kills nematodes as they enter the soil. If a whole area is infested, at the end of the season, turn the Marigolds under so the roots will decay in the soil. You can safely plant there again the following spring.
  • Nasturtium is another annual, in this case a trailing vine, that keeps away Colorado potato bugs, squash bugs, and whiteflies.
  • The perennial, Artemisia or Wormwood, deters slugs that are so devastating to foliage.
  • Radishes can be planted to discourage cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and stink bugs.
Attracting Good Insects To Your Garden:

Plant certain vegetables, herbs, or flowers in your garden to attract predatory insects that will feed on the harmful, undesirable ones.

Perennial Yarrow…attracts ladybugs that consume masses of aphids. The lacewing that feeds on aphids, mealy bugs, mites, and scale needs lots of pollen from flowers and evergreens for shelter. Wasps and bees are also beneficial to the garden. Even the prehistoric-looking preying mantis is a friend, so don’t discourage it from visiting. When you create a natural balance in your garden you’ll discover how much better everything grows and you won’t need to worry about damaging the environment. They also suggest Ideal Planting Companions for Vegetables: The following is a list of vegetables and their ideal planting companions, plus combinations to avoid:
  • Beans-like celery and cucumbers but dislike onions and fennel.
  • Beets are compatible with bush beans, lettuce, onions, kohlrabi, and most members of the cabbage family. Keep pole beans and mustard away from them.
  • Cabbage, celery, dill, onions, and potatoes are good companion plants. Dislikes include strawberries, tomatoes, and pole beans.
  • Carrots, lettuce, radish, onions, and tomatoes are friends. Dill isn’t, so plant it at the other end of the garden.
  • Corn prefers to be near pumpkins, peas, beans, cucumbers, and potatoes. Keep tomatoes away.
  • Cucumbers like sweet corn, peas, radishes, beans, and sunflowers. Dislikes include aromatic herbs and potatoes.
  • Lettuce grows especially well with onions. They are also compatible with strawberries, carrots, radishes, and cucumbers.
  • Onions can be planted near lettuce, beetroot, strawberries, and tomatoes but keep well away from peas and beans.
  • Peas, carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn, turnips, radishes, beans, potatoes, and aromatic herbs are good companions. Keep peas away from onions, garlic, leek, and shallots.
  • Radish grows well with beetroot, carrots, spinach, parsnip, cucumbers, and beans. Avoid planting near cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or turnips.
  • Squash can be planted with cucumbers and corn.
  • Tomatoes, carrots, onions, and parsley are good companion plants. Basil improves growth and flavor. Keep cabbage and cauliflower away from them.



http://toadstoolponds.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/why-plant-marigolds-in-your-vegetable-garden/

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Some Photos from Work Night!

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped on garden build night. We got a lot done!

...

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Square Foot Gardening

Another link from Noe! This one has some helpful sidelinks on companion planting and composting to check out:

http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/square-foot-gardening.html

Quote from the article:
"According to Mel, by using this system (square foot gardening) you will save 80% of your space, time and money normally needed to garden, and in addition your results will produce a better harvest that is continuous with less work"

Soil Recipe

Noe was in the building yesterday, and he sent in a couple of helpful links for us. [Sidenote, if you have gardening questions, he is a great person to ask.]

http://www.jungseed.com/GardenersCorner.asp?article=Square+Foot+Gardening+Soil+Recipe&aid=52&id=5

This link is recommending a mixture of:
-- 1/3 Blended Compost  [we are getting a load of composted manure, FYI]
-- 1/3 Peat Moss [if you want to add this, you will need to provide your own]
-- 1/3 Soil [we have a load of this ready to go as well]

For more on soil, be sure to attend our special talk "Manure And You" on Tuesday, May 27.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Today's Community Garden News

Brought to you, by ABC ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/planting-space-community-gardening-23791871

Nothing earth-shattering here. But nice to know we're one of the cool kids on this one.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Plant & Seed SALE

This just in ...
-- Koetsiers green house on Spaulding has vegetable plants, regularly $2.99, buy one get one free!
-- Horrocks Market on Breton has all seed packets at 40% off.

If you find other sales this weekend, post them here!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

What to plant and what not to waste your time on - per Dave Ramsey

What our garden will look like in August.  Probably.
hardworkinghippy  Creative Commons
Save Time and Money By Growing These 5 Veggies

and NOT these:

  • potatoes
  • carrots
  • watermelon
  • asparagus
  • corn

KDL Seed Library

Our local library is awesome in that you can get heirloom seeds to plant -- you don't even have to be a cardholder!

Visit this site for more details:
http://www.kdl.org/events/go/seed_library

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Garden Planning Sites

This link has some pre-planned square foot gardens, plus a link to plan your own kitchen garden (UPDATE - tried this garden planner this evening and it is way fun and helpful!):

http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Garden-Planner/kgp_home,default,pg.html

This one gives some steps on planning, plus has links to a ton of pre-planned gardens too:

http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/create-garden-plan/

Square Foot Planting Guide


What Not to Plant Together

Here is a helpful post (for those of us who are novices):
http://happyhouseandgarden.com/post/1313984/companion-planting-what-not-to-plant-together-moms-need-to-know

And here is an even more helpful summary (quoting from the source):

To sum it all up – when companion planting:

    Beans: Don’t plant near chives, garlic, leeks, onions, peppers, marigolds
    Peas:  Don’t plant near chives, garlic, leeks, onions, peppers
    Broccoli and Cauliflower: Don’t plant near peppers, squash, strawberries, tomatoes
    Tomatoes:  Don’t plant near broccoli, cauliflower, cilantro, cucumbers
    Dill: Don’t plant near carrots
    Sunflowers need to be planted at least 12 inches away from any other plant.

Garden Plant Sale

Jackie Rice alerted us to this plant sale this morning .... It sounds like a good way to get plants for a relatively low price and support a worthy cause:

The sale is this Saturday, May 17, 10am to 4PM.
Location = 600 Cass Avenue SE.
Plants are only $2/each!

http://therapidian.org/placematters-plant-sale-help-fund-well-house-projects