Gardening!

[vl]

Hi, I wrote a book last year on Cubic Gardening. It features an illustrated guide to getting the most yield out of a small garden plot. Basically... every possible space in America needs plants to regain our self-sustenance. Urban agriculture should be taught in schools. Everyone should know how to blanch and freeze fresh produce.
My reconstituted hanging bags survived the year (you fill them with fertile soil in the fall and poke seeds in slits in them in the spring for natural hydroponic action). I will be constructing my greenhouse this year.

[marjar]

Speaking of basil ...............

I had enough to make and preserve a small batch of basil jelly. It is excellent! First time I made it and I was impressed. Great with cream cheese on crackers and a dollop on homemade tomato soup is outstanding.

[marjar]

I had an abundance of tomatoes, but not enough to make canning them worthwhile. I blanched, peeled, and froze them in bags.
Great in sauces, soups, and stews and much less work and expense than canning. They taste so much better than canned.

Also, I made my own dried tomatoes. I cut them into quarters and halves, depending on the size. Lightly coated with Italian seasoning and olive oil, and let them dry in a low temp oven, for hours. I then froze them. Excellent. I made homemade lasagna last week. I spread some of these over a layer of the ricotta. One of the best lasagna dishes I've ever made.

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 7:30:42 GMT -5 @vl said:

Hi, I wrote a book last year on Cubic Gardening. It features an illustrated guide to getting the most yield out of a small garden plot. B

Awesome!

[marjar]

Any advice for keeping critters from eating the squash blossoms?

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 13:22:31 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Hmmm. I've never had an issue with that marjar. What kind of critters?
Your basil jelly sounds interesting. Is it sweet or more like pesto? Pesto is usually what I make at the end of the season with my remaining basil.
I wish I could get an abundance of tomato. I got the verticillium blight (I think) in my soil, and I haven't planted tomatoes in the main garden for the last 3 years, hoping to eventually wait it out. I do container tomatoes, but they are not nearly as prodigious.

It's and sweet and tart. You essentially steep crushed basil in water. Strain the basil out of the water, add sugar and vinegar, then a pectin product. I added a few drops of food coloring to make it more colorful.


I had the mosaic virus, but moved the garden. Too shady where the previous owners had it.

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 13:22:31 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Hmmm. I've never had an issue with that marjar. What kind of critters?
Your basil jelly sounds interesting. Is it sweet or more like pesto? Pesto is usually what I make at the end of the season with my remaining basil.
I wish I could get an abundance of tomato. I got the verticillium blight (I think) in my soil, and I haven't planted tomatoes in the main garden for the last 3 years, hoping to eventually wait it out. I do container tomatoes, but they are not nearly as prodigious.

Not sure, but rabbits, voles, and ground hogs are among the suspects. Always happened overnight.

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 13:49:00 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Ground Hogs are tough. I put up a big fence three years ago after the deer were getting more and more destructive. Stopped the deer. Then the ground hog showed up. He is one destructive SOB. He can take out all of the lettuce in one meal. He also likes parsley and sometimes bean plant leaves. I've seen him, but have never been able to get a shot off. The fence is too long for me to seal off the whole base, and besides, he could just burrow under it. Next year I may retreat and put protective cover over the lettuce and parsley.

Don't have any deer around. Too urban an area. Had them in previous locations and they can be destructive. They ate a lot of expensive landscaping.

I had a fence, but designed to keep the dog from tramping the garden. Think
I'll try something a bit more challenging this year.

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 13:57:35 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

I didn't even think- I assumed the blossums from the end of the squash were being eaten. They are probably eating them before the squash develops? Ye gads!
Maybe cover the quash with garden netting while they are blossuming?

Had something not eaten them, I'd have had a bumper crop. Not sure what I did this year, other than used some Miracle Grow, but I felt like Jack and the Beanstalk. Gigantic plants!

[busymom]

Can't wait until gardening season is back! Both DH & I enjoy our time in the garden. We grow mostly vegetables, but some flowers too. We also put in some pumpkins for the kiddos!

[whoisjohngalt]

We FINALLY bought a house and I can't wait to start a garden - have never done it before.

any advice? also, what kind of start-up costs are we talking about? should I get stuff from place like Lowes/Home Depot or look for specialty stores?

thanks
Lena

[marjar]

Jan 18, 2011 15:01:41 GMT -5 @chef241 said:

We had a lot of tomatoes last year in the hanging planters, but the weather was too dry for herbs and some of the vegetables. We are limited to container gardening and last year the garden was not very productive, but the previous year I had enough herbs to dry. Since the typical spring is cool and rainy and the summer is hot and dry, I am not sure if I will plant anything this year.

We have many rabbits who like to nibble on flower and vegetable plants, but the small pin wheels planted in the soil usually scare them. Wood chucks are voracious eaters; they like leafy plants and they love petunias!

Great idea on the pinwheels! Would imagine they also keep the birds away and aren't unsightly. Whoo hoo!

[marjar]

I'm still learning about gardening, but I did go to my state agricultural center - on-line, and learned some basics about gardening where I live.

[steff]

I go to a nursery and ask them tons of questions to get more 'local hands on' information.

Last year we had corn, more tomatoes than I could count or name, banana peppers, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, & jalapenos (hubby likes his peppers), yellow squash, zuchinni, regular cukes & pickling cukes (smaller), green beans, pole beans (didn't like them), watermelons, and okra. I also had my herb garden. I planted catnip (cat mint) in a big barrel to try and keep it from spreading naturally and turning the yard into cat heaven.

This year I plan to use one of the terraces by the fruit trees for raddishes & lettuces. Also going to put in some strawberries and see how they do. We already have peach trees, apricot trees and we found blackberries along one fence line. I have access to apple trees & more peach trees in my neighbors yard.

[vl]

Basil... I use a lot of sweet basil in my Italian dishes. I usually grow it year-round but this year it has gotten too cold and killed my window sitters, which is why I'm building the greenhouse.
Tomatoes... I'm also a dried tomato person! You can really do a lot with them.
Critters on blossoms... Dollar Store Cayenne Pepper either sprinkled on the bloom or mixed with petroleum jelly and rubbed on the stem just below the bloom or on the petals.
Beating Diseases... have your soil tested. Another way- box your garden area with 2x6's and raise it above the yard level. Line the box with ground cover barrier, then fill the box with new soil. Use 5-gallon buckets, punch holes in the bottom and bury them half way into the ground. Also makes a great weed barrier.
Cubic Gardening... is 3-dimensional. You use wood or conduit to build a frame above the area where your garden plot is and grow up and over. A natural cubic combination is- corn stalks with beans growing up them and squash as round cover. Same area- 3 crops. In my cubism... tomatoes hanging, peppers strapped to the poles in bags, carrots in half-buried buckets mixed with sawdust, spinach as ground cover, cucumbers and melons up the poles, melons growing on lattice on top. Potatoes- a trench moat on two sides of the cube- eyes stuffed in torn apart hay bales growing without anyone knowing.
One crop I miss and cannot seem to find is-- Butter Lettuce. It grows very quickly and tastes unbelievably great! Use plastic scissors and cut a bowl full everyday. Also another great bucket crop you can cultivate on your deck.
Tomatoes... dry the dropped tomatoes and save your seeds. A tomato improves for 7 years so instead of buying new seeds each year, improve the yield by regenerating.

[vl]

We re-use old coffee cans as compost bins. Pretty simple-- keep one under your sink and fill it with organic-only discards. Make sure the lid seals or put a rock on it. Once you fill it, put it in your basement or back room. DO NOT remove the lid indoors. No need. When the spring comes take them outside and empty them in your garden plot. BEST fertilizer you didn't buy!
My favorite is-- random growth. Some of my best crops have grown out of my compost area. If you see a random crop growing, know that it had a powerful upbringing so replant it.

[upstatemom]

Jan 18, 2011 14:24:34 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

We FINALLY bought a house and I can't wait to start a garden - have never done it before.

any advice? also, what kind of start-up costs are we talking about? should I get stuff from place like Lowes/Home Depot or look for specialty stores?

thanks
Lena

I would try a local green house or start from seed. Ask what chemicals and fertilizer the stores used to start the plants. Use organic fertilizer to make the garden the healthiest for your family.

[marjar]

Make sure the soil is well tilled and you have adequate drainage.

[marjar]

Have fun!

[Frugal Nurse]

Veteran- Wow you are full of great ideas! I was wondering about the coffee can compost. I don't use coffee in a can (I make instant coffee). Could I just use a plastic storage container with a locking lid, or does it have to be a metal one?

[Frugal Nurse]

I LOVE planting a garden. I have a very limited space to plant in (we are in a city lot -teeny tiny!) basically about a 4x4 garden plot, but I make it work. I just looked up the square foot gardening that was mentioned earlier and I think I might try that, minus the actual wooden frame. I will plant directly into the ground, but use the principal of many different plants planted in different squares.

[vl]

Frugal... you don't need a wooden frame. The thing to remember is how plants grow out and utilize more than just the horizontal garden space. You can hang over 1,100 types of plants from upside down cut-away milk cartons and crops like carrots in old socks. The object is to maximize your potential and reconstitute anything you can, rather than use the Made in China version of it (like those topsy tomato things). I once saw a terrific cucumber hanger made from some old netting dangled from a dorm room window.
Get creative, go native... the best harvest is home-grown!

[kadee]

My nick gives away my age....
I've been gardening since I was big enough to hold a hoe, probably around age5-6! Before that I had to "help"...grandma made the holes & I put the tomato plants in the holes...all 100+ of them! This was in central Ill.
I've also gardened in Ca., Fl. and now Ga.!

Organic is best & better for us, our water supplies & our soil!

Join some gardening message boards & ask questions there if you are just starting. I've found that most nurserys only tell you things to get you to buy their products. Also, there are a lot of them that don't know much at all....depends on your area of the country!
Most county extension offices will give you whatever info is drilled into them by your state universities....and remember where university funding comes from!!!
There are thousands & thousands of books out there that can help and your public library has a good bunch of them! Use it!
Then there is always the trial/error.....experamint! What works for your neighbor may not work for you...all soils are different even just a few feet apart!
Learn to feed your soil & it will feed your plants!

[kadee]

Just wanted to add that square foot gardening is nothing new. It has been going on for a very long time with a different name.
Here are some sites that will help not only the beginners but also all of us "old" gardeners....


www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/edibles/planting/FrenchLesson.aspx

www.companionplanting.net/ListofCompanionPlants.html

forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

The last one, the garden web.com forums has lots of experts in many fields....you can get advice of all kinds there!

[vl]

I'm understanding that imported crops (there are a lot now) will see some heavily inflated pricing this year. Weather hasn't been cooperative so far. Even growing some tomatoes, peppers and onions are bound to lessen your outgo and the quality can't be beat.
FIGHT for good food... grow your way to better health!

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

This spring, I will plant tomatoes and sunflowers.
We're harvesting lemons and grapefruits right now.

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2011 7:23:45 GMT -5 @vl said:

We re-use old coffee cans as compost bins. Pretty simple-- keep one under your sink and fill it with organic-only discards. Make sure the lid seals or put a rock on it. Once you fill it, put it in your basement or back room. DO NOT remove the lid indoors. No need. When the spring comes take them outside and empty them in your garden plot. BEST fertilizer you didn't buy!
My favorite is-- random growth. Some of my best crops have grown out of my compost area. If you see a random crop growing, know that it had a powerful upbringing so replant it.

How long does it take to compost like this? And how far does a coffee can of compost go? I'm extremely intrigued with this idea and would like to try it, but I'm pretty sure it's too late to do it this year... How full do you fill the can and what items do you include?

[NancysSummerSip]

I plan to plant in March, when the danger of freeze is past.

We have bananas (nearly died, but coming back slowly), mangoes, passion fruit, avocados and lychees. I want to do peppers and tomatoes, possibly strawberries, too.

[vl]

"How long does it take to compost like this?"

Read more: notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=healthyliving&action=display&thread=1819&page=2#ixzz1Co5jcFwp

Two things determine how fast waste will rot into compost... size and type. If we're cutting up veggies, we will also dice the throw-aways (easier to put them in the can that way). Add coffee grinds wet (for the moisture), toss in local stuff like the twigs off your lawn, dryer lint, natural tissues, etc. Add only things that bio-degrade (not rot like meat) and things that don't have a lot of chemical additives. A rotted can of stuff ferments in 3-4 weeks but still looks like a wilted version of what you put in it. the coffee can into a large composter or where you will be using it and till it under. Once it leaves the can and hits the air or soil, it speeds up the decay and releases those vital minerals.
The dumbest thing anyone can do is arbitrarily throw away plastic container lids. You can rinse them off and re-use them on another container or tin can and make another composter. These only smell when the lid doesn't fit snugly so make sure it does.

An aside from gardening to recycling or-- reconstitution. I ship, there I need shipping packaging materials. Store-bought 3 years ago was about $9,000 in a year! I started dumpster diving for it 2 years ago. Last year's cost-- nearly zero. Obviously, I'm very pleased to pocket the money instead of shelling it out for disposable materials. THINK IT THROUGH with your garden and the cost to maintain and cultivate. It hardly makes sense to spend $100 to grow $5 worth of home grown veggies. We throw away about 2/3 of what we buy in containers, wrapping, etc.
Much of it is the same stuff fertilizer is made up of.

[vl]

Current estimates on INFLATION clock grown produce at 2-3 times current prices. That is... IF they will be available. Quality... not so good.
The average wage for foreign cultivators is even lower than assemblers. Growing your own in a backyard garden not only improves your finances, but it's life-enriching in more ways than can be counted.

First of March, I start some of my crops in cut-away milk cartons. Gives them about the same head start as commercially purchased ones, only you nurtured them from seedlings and know what was in the water and fertilizer.