Choosing what to plant together for the happiest, healthiest garden is called “companion planting.” Companion planting is the practice of growing plants next to each other for mutual benefit.
This can happen because a companion attracts beneficial or repels harmful insects, or because the natural chemicals found in or produced by a plant improve flavor or [...]
Filed under: How To | 18 Comments »
I apologize for disappearing with not even a word. Here’s what’s been happening at our house:
We just adopted baby Jacob! We first heard about the situation on September 1, met the birthparents on September 5, Jacob was born on September 9, and placement was September 14. Most people get 9 months to prepare, we had [...]
Filed under: How To | 19 Comments »
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 [...]
Filed under: How To | 8 Comments »
First, I am going to cover several other options for watering your garden.
Bucket Method
The simplest of all watering methods is this:
A bucket of sun-warmed water, with a cup or pitcher to pour. This is the method I use until I turn on my irrigation system. In his book, Mel Bartholemew suggests using a cup, and [...]
Filed under: How To | 12 Comments »
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 [...]
Filed under: How To | 3 Comments »
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 [...]
Filed under: How To | 16 Comments »
Just a heads up that I’ve made some changes on my post about Building versus Buying a Square Foot Garden. The sites I referred to changed both the prices and the offerings. If you’re in the market to build or buy, be sure to check it out!
Happy Gardening!
Emily
Filed under: How To | No Comments »
I’ve found a couple of great resources for building square foot gardens. Here are the price breakdowns, done as “apples to apples” as I could!
Vinyl Square Foot Gardens
6″ high (single rail) NO SOIL
Dimensions
Home Gardens To Go Website
Square Foot Gardening Website
Homemade w/ Home Depot
2×4
$69.00
$60.00
$49.00*
4×4
$99.00
$85.00
$50.00
4×8
$159.00
$165.00
$82.00
6″ high (single rail) WITH SOIL
Dimensions
Home Gardens To Go Website
Square Foot Gardening Website
Homemade [...]
Filed under: How To | 8 Comments »
This spring my friend Tara and I tackled this project together. Here’s a list of materials and costs:
wood (two 16′ 2×10 boards, one 8′ 2×10 board-$31 total)
16 corner brackets ($.56 each, $9)
wood stain (1 can from the “oops” pile-$5)
screws ($5)
miscellaneous parts ($3)
weed mat (free)
kite string (free)
1 bale peat moss ($8)
1 bag perlite ($13)
3 bags chicken [...]
Filed under: How To | 7 Comments »
A SIMPLE, EASY way to know when to plant!
I have created six color groups, each with a custom schedule that explains what to plant every week in the garden. Here’s how to find your color:
Click here.
Under “Select a State(PDF)”, click on your state. This will bring up a list of locations and frost dates.
Search for [...]
Filed under: How To | 35 Comments »
