How Does Your Garden Grow?

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stlcatfan
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Re: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Post by stlcatfan » June 26th, 2021, 10:22 pm

ChemicalKat wrote:
June 26th, 2021, 9:34 pm
What about composting? Encouraged? What is even the purpose?
Yes! I would highly encourage composting. We sold our home last December, but in and around our yard, we had lots of large trees that shed their leaves every fall. I would collect as many leaves as my in-ground garden could hold and the rest went to yard waste pickup. I also put vegetable scraps in my garden compost pile. Grass clippings also make a good compost.

As the weather warms in the spring, the leaves begin to break down and return nutrients to the soil. It also helps with the soil ecosystem (bacteria, fungi, earthworms, etc.). I would also take some of the partially broken down leaves and use them as a mulch in my containers and raised bed to hold in moisture and control weed growth. The rest of the partially composted leaves were put around the plants in my in-ground garden. It worked really well.

You can buy compost at a garden store, if you don't have a way to make compost.

I'm in an apartment now so I am growing in containers on my balcony, but I am going to try to recycle the leftover plant material at the end of the season. Since I don't have an in-ground garden, it may not work. It's going to be an experiment, I guess. :)
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Post by stlcatfan » June 27th, 2021, 6:36 am

Something else I would recommend is to plant some native wildflowers near your beds. These will draw in pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as beneficial insects to go after the harmful ones. They will also pollinate the flowers on your vegetable plants, leading to better harvests. They look nice, too.

Find out what plants are native to your area. Plants like Echinacea (coneflower), Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans), and Butterfly Weed are native to the Midwest region. I imagine they are native to your neck of the woods, as well.
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Post by ChemicalKat » June 27th, 2021, 7:39 am

Good stuff. A lot to go on.

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Post by stlcatfan » June 27th, 2021, 8:22 am

ChemicalKat wrote:
June 27th, 2021, 7:39 am
Good stuff. A lot to go on.
Yes, there is a lot to successful gardening. That is why I mentioned earlier about starting out small and then expanding each time you put in a new garden. Sometimes people who are new to gardening see big beautiful gardens and try to emulate that in their own backyards, only to get discouraged when they get overwhelmed with the upkeep.

I imagine that there are gardening classes you can take (if you have the time) through the UGA Extension or a local botanical garden, depending on where you live.

Happy gardening!
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » June 28th, 2021, 11:48 am

In my elder years I'm moving more and more to raised bed gardens. I have plenty of soil and compost available so they are deep beds. Takes more watering in the summer, but fewer weeds to kill. Highly recommend raised beds if you have the space and the soils.
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Post by ChemicalKat » August 1st, 2021, 12:47 pm

Part 1 of what grows in CK’s garden:

Reclaimed the backyard today. It probably hadn’t been mowed in a few months, grass had grown about 4 feet tall. Took me several hours. Might have to invest in a riding lawnmower.

Incident 1: found a yellow jacket nest. Abandoned the lawnmower to save myself. Came back with a spray to reclaim their prize. It was a success. Professional coming out on Tuesday to finish the job.

Incident 2: found out I have a 25 foot creek buffer that the previous owners had not been obeying. I think for now im going to let whatever grows back reclaim the area but may consult the UGA extension office for local flora to reclaim the creek area.

Incident 3: saw a black rat snake. Go be free black rat snake. Eat lots of rats.

Future projects:

1. Restore buffer zone
2. Build proper stairs down the steep hill to the backyard
3. Build fence for the dog
4. Decide what to plant in the raised bed
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Post by WIldWIllieCat » August 1st, 2021, 1:27 pm

Start simple CK:

1) Onions
2) Peppers
3) Tomatoes

Find a salsa recipe online that you favor, and enjoy.

Expand from there as you see fit, but many people jump in with both feet only to get frustrated and quit.
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » August 2nd, 2021, 1:52 pm

Green beans are easy to grow and easy to can, too.

My advice: Buy your sweet corn. It's a booger to get to harvest stage on your own.

Zuchs are easy to grow and prolific, but don't last very long.

Use raised beds as much as possible.

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Post by WIldWIllieCat » August 2nd, 2021, 3:11 pm

Sounds like he's committed to raised bed, which I agree is the way to go.

Green beans are easy, and a good starter crop....in my humble opinion, not really worth canning....so just enough to have garden fresh green beans in the summer is plenty. Reasonable minds can disagree though.

100% agree with the sweet corn, maybe he'll have better luck in his climate zone, but just way too much hassle here.

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Pick 'Em

Post by RichardZ » August 3rd, 2021, 8:18 am

While not a 'garden' per se the one week cold snap from hell killed the 2 largest trees on our property. 80 foot tall multiple branch Ash trees. 4 +feet diameter. Also , half my 35 year old bushes are wiped out. The 50 year old pine trees took a severe beating. Been sawing, picking up dead pine needles for 7 months now.

What a nightmare.
"At the core of Liberalism is the spoiled child... miserable, as all spoiled children are. Unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats"...P. J. O'Rourke

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