The next part of gardening involves figuring out where to place your bed or beds. Once again there are many things to take into consideration. The last of which is soil condition . That is the one and only thing with gardening that is relatively easy to change and fix. Everything else is pretty set in stone once you decide where the garden is going to be.
The first and foremost thing to consider when planning where your gardens will be is the amount of sunlight the area gets. This is especially crucial if you plan to grow vegetables over the winter. You will want a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight each day. If they don't get enough light, they won't bear as much and they'll be more susceptible to attack from insects or diseases. If you live in an area where the temperatures are milder, then you will want a garden that gets its maximum sunlight in the morning. If the summers are hot where you live, look for an area that gets some afternoon shade. A spot facing south is generally best. After you pick your garden spot, watch it for a few days to see how much sun it gets and that it is a suitable spot. If you don't have a spot in full sun, you can still grow many leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach and if you're in a hot-summer climate, cool-season varieties such as peas may do better in part shade. For help in figuring out the amount of sun an area gets, make a sun chart.
The next thing I would look at is water, not just in the availability of it but also drainage of your garden spot. Plants need well drained soil. They will not do well if every time it rains there is 6 inches of rain water puddling in the bed. This won't just bring you plant trouble but also bug and disease issues. A good way to test drainage is by soaking the soil with a hose, waiting a day, then digging up a handful of soil. Squeeze the soil hard. If water streams out, you'll need to add compost or organic matter to improve it as the drainage is poor. As much as plants don't like living in puddles, most also do not do well with drought.If you want your garden to produce in bountiful supply, it will need lots of water, so be sure your plot is close to a reliable water source. The last thing you want to do is to carry many buckets of water to your garden every day. Ask me how i know this .
Success in the garden starts with the soil. Most vegetables do best in moist, well-drained soil that's rich in organic matter. To get the best idea of what sort of soil you are starting with go back to the soil drainage test and pick up another hand full of soil . Next, open your hand. If the soil hasn't formed a ball, or if the ball falls apart at the slightest touch, your soil is probably sandy. (Add organic matter to improve sandy soil.) If the ball holds together even if you poke it fairly hard, you have too much clay in your soil. (Organic matter improves clay soil, too.) If the ball breaks into crumbs when you poke it, your soil is ideal. I would also suggest soil samples before planting, but will go more into that later.
Now is the time to start composting your own kitchen scraps, making a compost pile and looking for local sources of organic material to add to your gardens. Check with local farms, your municipality and in the newspaper for compost that is either for sale or being given away. Many towns and cities now have composting facilities and you can get the compost for next to nothing. Your garden adventure should not cost you an arm and half of your leg to get going. Place a craigs list ad or a free cycle ad in search of cheap or free if you load, compost. If you have room for a couple of bunnies they can be a great fertilizer source for your garden. Unlike most animal dung, bunny poop can go directly on beds. Setting up a worm bin is also cheap and easy to do and has many great benefits for your garden. Think about ways that you can make your own amendments on site rather than relying on a store to supply them for you . The more you can do for yourself the better off you and yours will be.
Next up will be working on the garden beds.
Monday, December 7, 2009
monday's mountain musings
Things are always interesting no matter how dull or sedate life seems to be. Just when ya think you may perhaps lead the most unexciting life in the world something comes along and entirely screws that up. After a highly uneventful most of the week we were lucky enough to have two days of near monumental excitement for at least 5 minutes each day.
Saturday morning we went to feed the animals when I noticed the fence to the chickens and bunnies was ripped open and one of my hens was missing. The bunnies and remaining hens we very upset and we were disappointed that the only fur on the fence belonged to one of our dogs.He is great with the goats but for some reason every now and again he has a horrible lapse of judgment, common sense or something and decides he needs to have a chicken dinner. Thankfully he only does this about once a year and we normally catch him before he commits his crime.
Yesterday morning we went to feed the animals when captain bravo(aka ohno, f***tard or black rat bassturd) found him self a juvenile coon in the feed shed and he was going to kill it. The captain doesn't have this name for nothing, for a twenty pound dog he has absolutely no fear. For this reason I am glad he is as small as he is as I have felt the damage he can do first hand. Manthing grabbed a stick and pinned him down while I went in and held the dog and snuffed him out with my foot. Felt bad having to do it but unfortunately sometimes the wildlife forgets they are wild and come invade our boring life and unfortunately the two just don't mix well. I really wanted to skin the bugger but manthing was there apologizing to it for what we had done as he dug the hole for his little body so I dropped my idea of skinning him up.
Now for the good accomplishments of the week. We think we almost got the pack rat issue cleared up. Now the chewing is at a level where we can atleast sleep with only minor interruptions. It only took two weeks of sealing up every dang nook and cranny we could, a couple of which were done at 10 pm. There is still something up in the loft where the garden is becuase it continues mowing my plants down up there. Yesterdays mow victim was on of my tomato plants. It was nice of him to leave the bottom couple of inches of the plant though as it has a couple leaves already forming just below the chop line. I also lost a few bean plants this week to it as well as a few other small plants. This is all being done with four traps set in the plants them selves. Sneaky little devils. I am persistent though and just keep reseeding and plotting against the tiny vermin, I will win this battle.
I so enjoy winter cooking ,it seems to be much more laid back than cooking at other times of the year. Maybe it is because we already have the wood cut and ready and the fire is already made so there is no extra work involved. Maybe it is because I can start meals early in the day and allow them to cook all day, do what I have to do , relax and dinner is ready. I made some really good meals this week, the best of which was a dang good veggie beef stew with dumplings with some almost baked or almost fried apple pies.
Saturday morning we went to feed the animals when I noticed the fence to the chickens and bunnies was ripped open and one of my hens was missing. The bunnies and remaining hens we very upset and we were disappointed that the only fur on the fence belonged to one of our dogs.He is great with the goats but for some reason every now and again he has a horrible lapse of judgment, common sense or something and decides he needs to have a chicken dinner. Thankfully he only does this about once a year and we normally catch him before he commits his crime.
Yesterday morning we went to feed the animals when captain bravo(aka ohno, f***tard or black rat bassturd) found him self a juvenile coon in the feed shed and he was going to kill it. The captain doesn't have this name for nothing, for a twenty pound dog he has absolutely no fear. For this reason I am glad he is as small as he is as I have felt the damage he can do first hand. Manthing grabbed a stick and pinned him down while I went in and held the dog and snuffed him out with my foot. Felt bad having to do it but unfortunately sometimes the wildlife forgets they are wild and come invade our boring life and unfortunately the two just don't mix well. I really wanted to skin the bugger but manthing was there apologizing to it for what we had done as he dug the hole for his little body so I dropped my idea of skinning him up.
Now for the good accomplishments of the week. We think we almost got the pack rat issue cleared up. Now the chewing is at a level where we can atleast sleep with only minor interruptions. It only took two weeks of sealing up every dang nook and cranny we could, a couple of which were done at 10 pm. There is still something up in the loft where the garden is becuase it continues mowing my plants down up there. Yesterdays mow victim was on of my tomato plants. It was nice of him to leave the bottom couple of inches of the plant though as it has a couple leaves already forming just below the chop line. I also lost a few bean plants this week to it as well as a few other small plants. This is all being done with four traps set in the plants them selves. Sneaky little devils. I am persistent though and just keep reseeding and plotting against the tiny vermin, I will win this battle.
I so enjoy winter cooking ,it seems to be much more laid back than cooking at other times of the year. Maybe it is because we already have the wood cut and ready and the fire is already made so there is no extra work involved. Maybe it is because I can start meals early in the day and allow them to cook all day, do what I have to do , relax and dinner is ready. I made some really good meals this week, the best of which was a dang good veggie beef stew with dumplings with some almost baked or almost fried apple pies.
stew
1 pound stew meat (cut tiny)
one large onion diced
one bulb garlic (chopped)
4 cups assorted veggies(carrots, taters,parsnips, peas, and corn)
10 cups water
1/4 cup vegemite
1 cup coffee
2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp salt
pepper to taste
coat chopped meat with flour and brown. Add onions , garlic,all other veggies seasonings an water. Bring to boil then simmer for an hour or there about. Thicken as needed and bring back to boil. Put dumplings in and cook 20 minutes. Serve
dumplins
3 cups flour
1/4 cups baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
dash of salt
1 cup (there about)water or milk
1 pound stew meat (cut tiny)
one large onion diced
one bulb garlic (chopped)
4 cups assorted veggies(carrots, taters,parsnips, peas, and corn)
10 cups water
1/4 cup vegemite
1 cup coffee
2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp salt
pepper to taste
coat chopped meat with flour and brown. Add onions , garlic,all other veggies seasonings an water. Bring to boil then simmer for an hour or there about. Thicken as needed and bring back to boil. Put dumplings in and cook 20 minutes. Serve
dumplins
3 cups flour
1/4 cups baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
dash of salt
1 cup (there about)water or milk
Sunday, December 6, 2009
planning a garden
This will be a several post long series on the basics of gardening. I will go through what I think is important in the planning, planting and harvesting of a successful garden for the first time gardener.
Gardening is not rocket science, however it is a bit more than throwing seeds in the ground, letting them grow and harvesting your produce. Gardening and growing your own food can also seem like an overwhelming task to someone that has never done it . For those that are new to the idea or practice of gardening here are what I consider the important things to consider before beginning to garden.
First and foremost one must consider what sort of gardener you would like to be. By this I mean several things. Do you want to grow organically or do you want to use chemicals? Do you want to grow heirloom varieties or do you want hybrids? How much work are you willing to do in your garden and how much time are you willing to spend doing that work? What are your plans for your garden? Are you just supplementing your food or do you want to grow as much as you can to be able to preserve as much as you can? What kind of room do you have for a garden? Are containers the only option you have or is square foot or intensive gardening also a choice? Is conventional till gardening more your style?
Once you answer these simple questions you can then begin the second step of the gardening process. This step is learning and researching. Every region has a different climate and different soil. While you can control some of your environmental surroundings, your best bet is to take the advice of somebody who knows.
I would suggest getting in touch with your local cooperative extension service. Most counties in the U.S. have an Extension Service with volunteers ready to answer any of the questions posed to them at no charge.They also offer soil testing and other services for a small fee. Often times they also have a gardening club that has sales and trades through out the year. They are a great resource for you to use.
Most nursery employees are knowledgeable about the plants they sell, so don't be afraid to ask questions while shopping This is what they are there to do. they should also know and sell plants and seed stock that are known to do well in your given area. If you go to a nursery and the people have no clue then I would go and find another nursery.
Speak with the elders in you community. Even if they do not garden or haven't had a garden in many years, more often than not they have planted, grown and harvested their fair share of vegetables. Not having a home garden is a concept that is only 40 or so years old. Not only may you learn a lot from them, you could make yourself a good friend in the process.
Most every big city has at least one gardening guru with a regular newspaper column or radio show. Keep up with them to get the latest news on regional trends and tips as well as keep up with sale or trade sessions coming up.
Read, read, read. Notice I did not say buy, buy, buy. Books are a great resource to have and the occasional one is great to buy, however, near all are selling something or many somethings. No one needs a book telling them how to make pretty soil sitting forever more on their bookshelf. If you must buy books, then purchase ones that actually serve a purpose and will always serve a purpose. Through reading we gain knowledge but by doing we gain experience.
Gardening is not rocket science, however it is a bit more than throwing seeds in the ground, letting them grow and harvesting your produce. Gardening and growing your own food can also seem like an overwhelming task to someone that has never done it . For those that are new to the idea or practice of gardening here are what I consider the important things to consider before beginning to garden.
First and foremost one must consider what sort of gardener you would like to be. By this I mean several things. Do you want to grow organically or do you want to use chemicals? Do you want to grow heirloom varieties or do you want hybrids? How much work are you willing to do in your garden and how much time are you willing to spend doing that work? What are your plans for your garden? Are you just supplementing your food or do you want to grow as much as you can to be able to preserve as much as you can? What kind of room do you have for a garden? Are containers the only option you have or is square foot or intensive gardening also a choice? Is conventional till gardening more your style?
Once you answer these simple questions you can then begin the second step of the gardening process. This step is learning and researching. Every region has a different climate and different soil. While you can control some of your environmental surroundings, your best bet is to take the advice of somebody who knows.
I would suggest getting in touch with your local cooperative extension service. Most counties in the U.S. have an Extension Service with volunteers ready to answer any of the questions posed to them at no charge.They also offer soil testing and other services for a small fee. Often times they also have a gardening club that has sales and trades through out the year. They are a great resource for you to use.
Most nursery employees are knowledgeable about the plants they sell, so don't be afraid to ask questions while shopping This is what they are there to do. they should also know and sell plants and seed stock that are known to do well in your given area. If you go to a nursery and the people have no clue then I would go and find another nursery.
Speak with the elders in you community. Even if they do not garden or haven't had a garden in many years, more often than not they have planted, grown and harvested their fair share of vegetables. Not having a home garden is a concept that is only 40 or so years old. Not only may you learn a lot from them, you could make yourself a good friend in the process.
Most every big city has at least one gardening guru with a regular newspaper column or radio show. Keep up with them to get the latest news on regional trends and tips as well as keep up with sale or trade sessions coming up.
Read, read, read. Notice I did not say buy, buy, buy. Books are a great resource to have and the occasional one is great to buy, however, near all are selling something or many somethings. No one needs a book telling them how to make pretty soil sitting forever more on their bookshelf. If you must buy books, then purchase ones that actually serve a purpose and will always serve a purpose. Through reading we gain knowledge but by doing we gain experience.
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