This fall get all the leaves, manure and organic matter you can and build up the soil. Feeds the worms too. Bales of straw hay are awesome, I keep some around for animal bedding and nothing goes to waste.
You're alot closer to Fedco than I am - lucky... Keep me posted and know that I'm also good with whatever you decide. Next year I'm gonna figure this out earlier. Note - I just looked and dont think we can count on Fedco this year - it might be too late... http://www.fedcoseeds.com/moose.htm Let me know if you have any other ideas? TIA. j
We were using our extra hay as bedding for the animals. Doesn't compost well with grass seed, straw it is.
The Master Gardener program is all about this and i highly recommend it to anyone that loves gardening and wants to help folks. Its all about volunteer work at various places and spreading gardening knowledge. Friday after work we are planting a different bunch of raised beds which were supplied by a local business and all the organic food goes to a local cancer hospital.
yeah they stop selling them in march or some crazy shit.. and ship in april and that's that for the year. already put a big "J" on the box.. so they're yours. like i said, not a whole lot.. but enough for a row or 2... some are big enough to cut too. that is so damn cool.. must be a great feeling doing this.
From the ages of 5-9 I lived in Puerto Rico, and went to a hippy school on a farm. Part of my education involved farm duties like feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, collecting rabbit poop, picking fruits to make our mid morning and mid afternoon snacks etc... I never really used to think about my time there, but the more I do, the more I see why I'm chasing this organic idea. I actually learned a lot more from those hippies than I realize. Maybe one of Jerry's kids (I had to) will end up like me in the future.
Hey buddy! Last summer I kept a 55 gallon restaurant grade plastic drum next to my garden. I kept it full of either strong neem cake or kelp meal "tea" festering like a nasty old stinkin' witches cauldron. I used it to water everything just switching out neem and kelp whenever I emptied it, dumping it all over the plants and soil. The garden seemed to love it. I talked with LD about this later and he seemed to think that I might be better off soaking for less time and aerating to take advantage of the compounds vs the elements. He's obviously much smarter than I so I'm going to try both ways this summer. Maybe I can dust off my big ACT brewer for some big botanical teas lol J
Leaf mold. So, so important leaf mold. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenprojects/10801542/Make-leaf-mould-the-cornerstone-of-your-gardening.html J
This plant specific guide from Mother Earth News is really worth checking out. A Crop-by-Crop Guide to Growing Organic Vegetables and Fruits: Our Complete Crops at a Glance Guide Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/crop-guide-growing-organic-vegetables-fruits-zl0z1211zsto.aspx#ixzz32IasTtBn J
Hey everyone Jerry, glad to see that you started this thread. I have lots going on in my garden this year. I'll update my garden thread when I have every together. ATM, I have several pages of scribble waiting to be deciphered. Hope everyone has a very productive season.
Doin! now the veggie gardening party can get started! It's gonna be a great summer - I can tell already! J
I've been reading Mother Earth News a bit lately too. I just got the Guide to Growing Your Food issue last week so this thread was right on time. I've been having the toughest time getting my eggplants to grow. Been this way since I planted them last year. I get really nice flowers but they eventually fall off instead of growing the crop. I've been advised that this is along the lines of blossom end rot so I hit them with water soluble calcium to no avail....otherwise, they grow like crazy like vines with very nice sized leaves.
3D, you and I can hopefully figure this out together this year then - because I just put 6 Italian Eggplants in this past weekend for the very first time. I'm gonna have to do some research. I want these to work out because I love eggplant. J
peas! frost got my tomatoes and watermelon. It was too early but sometimes you win sometimes you lose. I will plant more. Twas Ever Thus!
Eggplant blossom drop can also be from lack of pollination. You can hand pollinate to see if that resolves the issue with blossoms dropping.
Thanks for that tip! I just watched a youtube video on the procedure. I didn't link it here cause I don't know how valid the person's way of doing it is...so I don't want to pass bad gouge. Am I correct in understanding though that both sex parts are contained within the same flower? Better still....would you mind giving a run down on how you do it? I just got excited about my eggplants again!