Monthly Archives: May 2009
Organic Solutions for Pests, Disease, and Fertilizer
Although square foot gardening reduces 99% of weeding, it doesn’t control all those pesky pests and diseases. While I am personally not averse to occasional use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, I always try an organic method first. Fertilizer In his book, Mel talks about the necessity of using multiple kinds of compost or better yet, making your own! If you spend the money on good compost, you reduce the need to add extra fertilizer at all. By mixing and matching different compost you create a nutrient rich environment for your plants. Since you add compost every time you plant, … Continue reading
Posted in Grow
25 Comments
How to Build a Drip Irrigation System
Building your own irrigation system is not for everyone, but it’s not as hard as you might think! All you really need is determination and a good plumbing/irrigation supply store. I love my local BJ Plumbing–they are experienced, helpful, and they carry quality parts. While you can buy irrigation supplies at a discount home improvement store, I don’t recommend it. The quality of some of the products is not as good, and the advice is hit and miss. The first part in your irrigation system is a valve dedicated to your garden. If you don’t have a separate valve, you’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Build
36 Comments
Fun With Food Storage features. . . Me!
Some of my friends and favorite cousins have gotten together to create a network all about food storage. It is FULL of great information about planning, buying, and eating both long and short term food storage. If you’re you are at all interested in being prepared, go to their site and check it out! As the weather warms, they wanted to offer their readers information about gardening, so below you can watch their webisode featuring me! The truth is I never look so clean and fresh when I garden, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to appear in my work … Continue reading
Posted in 2009, My SFG
3 Comments
How does your (square foot) garden grow?
I have some gardening friends, and I am always tempted to begin conversations with the nursery rhyme. I resist. . . but just barely. My garden is growing–despite the crazy weather throughout the month of April. This is the same garden bed that was covered in nine inches of snow just three weeks ago! On top are peas. Several are about 2″ tall. When I saw that some of the seeds didn’t germinate, I replanted those spots. Next is my row of carrots. You can’t see it in this picture, but they have JUST started coming up. Bottom left is … Continue reading
Posted in 2009, My SFG
10 Comments
Starting Seeds Indoors (Update)
Since I posted about this last year, I have improved my methods and wanted to share! Supplies: Seeds Peat pots (Jiffy size 3) Potting soil Bucket (the size you’d use for mopping) Labels (I use bendy straws) Permanent marker Pencil Storage containers with lids Heat lamp (super cheap from Home Depot) Grow lights (I use two shop lights) Fertilizer (optional) To begin with, I always refer back to my garden plan to determine how many plants I need to start. This year I wanted 4 broccoli, 2 cabbage, and 2 parsley plants. To be safe, I decided to start 6 … Continue reading
Posted in Plant
19 Comments
