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    Gardening

    Tips and tricks, please.

    I'm starting my first garden this year. The fruit and veggie kind.

    Priority: Get rid of the grass. With a shovel and my hands. Any ideas how to make this easier without having to put any money into it? I'm talking 10x5 feet of grass or so...

    Also. I live in Iowa. I'm thinking tomato, squash, radishes, lettuce, peppers (the bell and the spicy kind). Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry. Maybe some cantaloupe and maybe some grape vines. Sweet corn, like one or two rows. Maybe some sunflowers for the color. And I'm planning to put in some marigolds to help keep the bugs down. I want to put in one of those potato boxes I keep seeing all over facebook and maybe some onions cause we use a lot of onions. I'm not really sure about herbs. I would use them, but I think I might confuse them for weeds...

    So, what are your tips and tricks and the odd things you do that make you garden work for you?

    ETA: Without adding pestacides, herbacides, or MiracleGrow etc.
    We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

    I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
    It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
    Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
    -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

    Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

    #2
    Re: Gardening

    For a first time gardener, imo don't buy from seed if you can help it, buy seedlings when you can. Also, steer clear of buying from big shops and buy from the markets instead or a proper nursery. All the plants I've ever bought from big stores like Bunnings have died.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Gardening

      I've got a little experience. I've helped with family gardens. But it's not the same. And I was working with ground that had already been prepared. I have several plants that I'm starting from seeds just because I can't find them as seedlings around here. I've got the little starter containers and will see how it goes. At worst I wasted $15 on seeds, dirt, etc.
      We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

      I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
      It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
      Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
      -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

      Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Gardening

        Oh, well done! I wish you the very best of luck. What did you end up deciding to plant? Do you know how to propagate?

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Gardening

          Shahaku I have 2 words for you... Sheet Mulch

          Acquire a pile of manure (cow or horse preferably). Enough so that you can spread it a few inches thick over the entire area you want to grow in.

          Spread it directly over the grass - no digging or weeding, just spread it with a shovel.

          Then cover all the manure with newspaper or cardboard a few inches thick. Avoid using the glossy coloured stuff as the pigments are toxic, but the plain old newspaper is fine (the pigments are soya based). Wet the paper as you go so it it thoroughly wet through when you finish.

          Then cover all the newspaper with a thick layer of hay / straw. This doesn't need to be clean. Rough slashings and spoiled hay is fine. Just make sure all the newspaper is completely covered (including the edges) otherwise it will wick moisture to the atmosphere.

          Now take your seedlings and make a small hole through the hay and cut a small hole through the newspaper and plant the seedling in the hole along with a bit of compost.

          You're done. No digging required. This garden will get better and better. It requires 1/10th the water as a normal garden and weeding is quick and easy.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Gardening

            It might be worth considering renting a tiller from Home Depot (or Lowes or somewhere like that)...my dad recently rented one (not sure where) to put in his garden and it was a whopping $35 for the day, and took him a couple hours. Vs by hand...ouch! I once helped dig a trench by hand to put our electrical in for our backyard pool... It took myself, my dad, and the neighbor about a week, 2-3 hours a day.
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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            Comment


              #7
              Re: Gardening

              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
              It might be worth considering renting a tiller from Home Depot (or Lowes or somewhere like that)...my dad recently rented one (not sure where) to put in his garden and it was a whopping $35 for the day, and took him a couple hours. Vs by hand...ouch! I once helped dig a trench by hand to put our electrical in for our backyard pool... It took myself, my dad, and the neighbor about a week, 2-3 hours a day.
              I used to turn over a quarter acre with a shovel.

              Don't even try it... You'll pay the hard way, eventually.

              If you use Don's poop method, you'll be weeding alfalfa out of your garden for the next ten years.

              Better to compost it. But old newspaper does make a nice mulch.
              Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Gardening

                Where does the alfalfa come from?

                Not from the soil because the newspaper is an effective barrier. Not from above either, because the newspaper prevents seeds from developing root systems.

                Here's a good example of some kids using this technique:
                UMass Amherst transformed a 1/4 grass lawn on campus into a thriving, abundant, permaculture garden during the 2010-2011 academic year. Learn how this studen...

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Gardening

                  It comes straight out of the cow's ***.

                  They are fed it, and the seeds come out undigested.
                  Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Gardening

                    It's actually really hard to confuse herbs with weeds. They look different and have a strong smell If you're still worried, you can grow them in containers. This is a good idea for things like mint and lemon balm anyway because they tend to take over.

                    Also, for your strawberries: http://urbangreenspace.wordpress.com...-tube-planter/
                    I'll be trying it this year!

                    I have a book called "The Self-Sufficient Gardener" by John Seymour. I love it! He's a UK writer so he offers a lot of advice for British climates, but I find that he does throw in some US tips as well. I highly recommend it.

                    I've grown potatoes in containers before, but this is the first year I'm trying starting from the bottom up. I don't have a very large container so I think my haul will be limited, but it does work

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Gardening

                      I'm thinking of renting a tiller... but I've already invested about $100 in this thing so... we'll see if I can find the money. I've got blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, dill, two tomato plants, and some hot peppers planted in what I've cleaned out by hand. It's a heck of a lot of work that I'm definitely not used to anymore. I'm thinking this fall I'm going to put down compost and cardboard and leave it over winter. But I'm working on a compost pile as well so I'll have my own at the end of summer hopefully. Gonna toss all the grass I've pulled out on it and start tossing whatever else we have that can go in it out there too.
                      We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

                      I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
                      It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
                      Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
                      -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

                      Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Gardening

                        Stretch clear plastic over the area you want to work next year. The "greenhouse effect" of the summer sun will burn up the grass below, and also kill the surface weed seeds.

                        Oh yesh...

                        Don't put bones, eggshells, etc. - anything not plant - in your compost heap. It'll create a bad smell, and attract 'coons.
                        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Gardening

                          Yea. I'm planning to toss all the grass I dug up in it, yard waste, and table scraps (mostly the veggie stuff). Don't know now though. I found out we can get up to one ton of free compost at a time here in town... no work to that.
                          We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

                          I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
                          It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
                          Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
                          -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

                          Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Gardening

                            Some other tips that I have learned over the years:

                            -Invest in a field guide for wild plants. I don't suffer weeds to grow and spread, but I don't simply chuck a lot of them either. Many weeds are edible and tasty. As is the case with all wild plants, don't eat it if you're not 100% sure, but some are really obvious (chickweed, dandelions, clover, etc). Washing and eating your weeds when you pull them is like a free bonus from your garden!

                            -Save your seeds! I always thought I wouldn't do it right, but I saved my seeds last year and they grew better than any I've ever bought. FREE!

                            -Compost, compost, compost. I keep a small container compost and that even works well. Because it's small, I always watch the balance there so that it doesn't stink and that things break down well. I chop the things that go into it into small pieces so that it breaks down quickly.

                            -Coffee grounds and egg shells are fantastic fertilizers. You can put coffee grounds in the compost or directly on the plants and you can grind up egg shells and use them in place of lime. Don't throw them away! Also, Corbin mentioned that eggshells attract raccoons. I forgot about them because we only have a few here in Europe (pesky imported critters that got away from some fur farms after the War). I do live in a big city though, which means we have rats. Dry your egg shells before you grind them up and put them in the garden. You can dry them in the oven on low heat or just leave them out in the hot sun for an hour or so.

                            -Clover and alfalfa aren't just annoying weeds...they're what's known as "green fertilizer." They're both legumes, and pretty much all legumes fix their own nitrogen, which means that they're able to add their own nitrogen back into the soil. You need nitrogen to grow pretty much anything, so that's a good thing. Both are edible, so you can harvest some of the leaves, then turn the rest back into the soil or throw it in the compost. Ideally, let both grow over in the late winter and early spring (if it's not too cold...I don't know anything about Iowa's climate) and then turn them into the soil before you start planting.

                            -Lettuce grows easily from seed and makes a good companion plant for a lot of other plants. It's one of the few that plays well with strawberries, for example. I have little space, so I scatter lettuce seeds in a lot of containers so that I get more out of my garden

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Gardening

                              Gardening is a nice hobby with a number of benefits. It is an interesting activity for relaxation and also can be a source of income too.
                              • It’s great exercise.
                              • It increases stamina.
                              • Promotes mental health.
                              • Anyone can do it.
                              • It’s free!

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