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Gardening tips?

1K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  JJ Grandits 
#1 ·
What is your best gardening tips? What has worked for you in the past to get the most produce?
 
#4 ·
I am a big fan of growing good soil, and letting the earthworms do the tilling for me.

After the last vegetable crop harvest, I like to plant a cover crop of a fast growing grass such as spring oats, rye or wheat about 4 - 6 weeks before frost. It will die back in winter to form a protective and nutritious mulch. In spring, I pull back the mulch in the spots where I want to plant vegetables. I also like to include crimson clover in my planting mix. Clover adds nitrogen to the soil and provides a great deal of "green manure.” Because crimson clover blooms in early to mid-spring and attracts beneficial insects, I leave some growing in the sidelines for that purpose. Seeds: http://www.territorialseed.com/product/Crimson_Clover_Cover_Crop_Seed/legume_cover_crop

My "insectary" is one of my best weapons against garden pests.

I invite beneficial insects to patrol my garden by providing shelter, water and food for them. These “good bugs” beat up the “bad bugs” by eating or parasitizing them.

White clover is a short growing perennial that deserves a permanent place in borders to attract beneficial insects while fixing nitrogen in the soil. It attracts ladybugs and pollinators, provides shelter for spiders, parasitoid wasps, and ground beetles. Lacewings use it as a nursery for their eggs. I like the New Zealand white clover because it is not so picky about soil moisture as the Dutch White clover. Seeds: http://www.territorialseed.com/product/new-zealand-white-clover-cover-crop-seed

Tansy is another perennial that grows in the corners of my garden that attracts beneficials. (It has a permanent spot in the corners so it can’t crowd out my vegetables. Note: poisonous to livestock)

Dill and yarrow attract tiny parasitoid wasps and other beneficials.

The list goes on and on…(Google!)


Here and there in throughout the garden, I keep several shallow containers of water with a few stones in them to provide drinking places for the good guys. They can perch on the stones and drink from the water’s edge without drowning.

The bug-eating toads are happy here too and make their homes inside broken clay flowerpots beneath thick layers of mulch to keep cool in the hot summer.

I enjoy watching my beneficials as much as I enjoy eating delicious organic food from my garden! When I do see bad bugs, I leave them alone and let my little workhorses do their jobs.




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#6 ·
don't fertilize your potatoes with raw manure.
it makes the skins scabby and rough.

rotate your crops as much as you have room for.
don't follow potatoes with tomatoes and visa versa.

plant several short rows of corn instead on one long row.
better pollination.

If you want green onions to eat. plant bulbs.
if you want large bulbs, plant seed or started plants.
the dried bunches of plants will do the trick for you.
they come bundled up in 25 or 50 plants per bundle.

to get small seeds to sprout, like beets, carrots, etc.
cover them with a shallow layer of oak sawdust. not pine..easier to see if they are covered than if you are using the same dirt. and it holds moisture better.

........jiminwisc.....
 
#7 ·
don't fertilize your potatoes with raw manure.
it makes the skins scabby and rough.

rotate your crops as much as you have room for.
don't follow potatoes with tomatoes and visa versa.
Great tips
plant several short rows of corn instead on one long row.
better pollination.

If you want green onions to eat. plant bulbs.
if you want large bulbs, plant seed or started plants.
the dried bunches of plants will do the trick for you.
they come bundled up in 25 or 50 plants per bundle.

to get small seeds to sprout, like beets, carrots, etc.
cover them with a shallow layer of oak sawdust. not pine..easier to see if they are covered than if you are using the same dirt. and it holds moisture better.

........jiminwisc.....
 
#9 ·
If you are really passionate and serious about gardening I would like to contribute few valuable tips which I followed when I started off my garden. Maintain a book and add plant tags and stick each season against them. Add as much information as possible. Maintain your shovel in good condition spraying them with silicone or Teflon lubricant.
Inside the pot use a potting mix and lots of vermiculite and peat moss.
Spruce up your rain gauge with some colouring for easy reading. Assist your root-bound plants by guiding them out with care using your fingers.
Protect bulbs by staking netting over the bed of flowers.
Pruning is crucial to keep the center of the flower open, thus sunshine can shine in. If it is done carefully, there will be moisture balance preventing black spots and blots in especially in case of roses.
You can make your garden stylish with creative garden wall designs. Landscape material suppliers suggest cutting off the foliage to an inch, storing in a cool and dry area.
One should be very careful dealing with plants since they require delicate balanced conditions to thrive.
 
#10 ·
If you are really passionate and serious about gardening I would like to contribute few valuable tips which I followed when I started off my garden. Maintain a book and add plant tags and stick each season against them. Add as much information as possible. Maintain your shovel in good condition spraying them with silicone or Teflon lubricant.
Inside the pot use a potting mix and lots of vermiculite and peat moss.
Spruce up your rain gauge with some colouring for easy reading. Assist your root-bound plants by guiding them out with care using your fingers.
Protect bulbs by staking netting over the bed of flowers.
Pruning is crucial to keep the center of the flower open, thus sunshine can shine in. If it is done carefully, there will be moisture balance preventing black spots and blots in especially in case of roses.
You can make your garden stylish with creative garden wall designs. Landscape material suppliers suggest cutting off the foliage to an inch, storing in a cool and dry area.
One should be very careful dealing with plants since they require delicate balanced conditions to thrive.
Great ideas thank you
 
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