This is another thing I enjoy, besides writing. This time of year my head is swimming with plans for my garden. I’ve had many flops, but for the last several years I’ve used the square foot garden approach and have fallen in love with gardening all over again. Think about it- no weeds, no tilling, no bugs. It’s wonderful.
For those of you that have never tried a vegetable garden before I highly recommend it. I’ve taken his (Mel Bartholomew, he also has a blog that I highly recommend. The link is at www.melbartholomew.com ) approach one step further, in case those pesky weeds still try to weasel their way in. I cover the basic four by four raised bed with weed cloth before I place the grid.
With planting a lot of flowers in between my veggies, I managed to create an organic garden rather easily. Mainly I use zinnias, marigolds, and snapdragons. They attract the bugs you want in your garden to take care of the ones you don’t. With that and the weed cloth, there really is no need for spraying.
I’ll post pictures later in the summer when things are in bloom. Right now they’re only in my head. Does anyone else out there enjoy gardening and have some tips to share?
I am ignorant here and checked your link. Weed cloth, is it like the "lasagna technique"?whereby at the beginning before planting you cover your plot with paper or cardboard and put compost and dirt (or manure and dirt) over that and then plant.
ReplyDeleteYou sounded good advice to plant those flowers near the vegetable plants to keep pests away. Mel's blog seem to raise more questions for me.
I'm going to check you often so I can learn.
I have wood frames and just planted cucumbers, I didn't measure though. Weeds are my biggest problem.
Meanwhile, Happy Easter.
Weed cloth is available at most home improvement stores in the garden section. It is black and is sold in tubes, kind of like oversized plastic wrap. I cover the ground and up the sides of the 4 by 4 frame with weed cloth, then I fill it in with a mixture of compost, vermiculite and peatmoss.After that I cover the whole 4 by 4 area with another piece of weed cloth and tuck it in the sides. I place firring strips that I (alright I have to give kuddos to my husband here, he actually was the one to nail them together.) nailed together to make the square foot sections. When I go to plant I take a knife and make a small slit in the cloth and stick in the plants. The only exception is if I'm planing seeds like carrots or beans then I cut out a whole portion of the square foot to place my seeds. The weed cloth does double duty. It keeps out the weeds and keeps the ground warm and moist. Which is good because that is the one down side of square foot gardening, becuase it is elevated, your plants do have a tendency to get dry. I hope this helps. I've done this method for the last four years and would never, never do anything else. Happy Easter to you as well.
DeleteI was attracted to your blog with your garden post. I haven't had a garden in years and I'm going to order a greenhouse. By the time it comes and is up, it will most likely be too far into the growing season but it's a start in my determined direction. I've missed not digging into the black earth with my bare hands.
ReplyDeleteI have a black thumb when it comes to gardening! I leave it all to my wife...who thankfully enjoys it. Yard work in general is a chore I have no love for. It is a necessary evil that I pay my son to do whenever possible. :)
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