It's been a bit since I have posted....and I have tried and failed all week to make time to put this on the blog. But now, 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night....it is the time.
Natural living is the name of a group a very good friend and I started a couple of months ago. We get together here in northern Indiana with a great group of friends and new faces and discuss, learn about and brainstorm ideas on different topics related to natural living.
This past month our topic was gardening....and we had a wonderful guest come and share her knowledge with us....and many of those there had so much great input for everyone! I believe everyone left with a bit more knowledge, a few more laughs, and a smile on their face....oh, and some peppermint from Connie! Thanks! (And thanks to you too, Kara, you did a great job!)
This is the area of my blog where I will put up my ideas I took away from our time together. Anyone interested in natural living could glean from this. If you have questions/comments, leave them below in the comment section, and let's help each other out! I don't have the answers for all, but will help lead or guide if I don't know the answer, to those that might. I also will list some great resources for gardening mentioned last week as well.
Resources for gardening tips, general know-how, and planning:
- Countryside magazine
- Book: Back to Basics---by Reader's Digest
- Country Wisdom and Know How--Everything you need to know to live off the land
- Disney's Gardening with Mickey
General natural gardening tips:1) Keep a garden journal:
- Gardens are time consuming enough...why bring a journal into the mix? Well, with a journal, you can look back every year and not only see your progress in gardening....but also where you could do better. You will be able to write down what works well in your soil, and what doesn't. You can draw out your garden, thereby knowing where to rotate your crops for the following year. Did you know that legumes put nitrogen back into the soil, that the corn takes away? So with rotating, you are not depleting the soil in any one area of certain nutrients. Writing down mistakes, such as, don't plant hot peppers by the melons next year!, might be a great way to avoid the same mistakes! Plus, if you have pictures of your garden in your journal, it's a fun way to look back on memories of you and the kids in the garden.....and of all the beauty your hard work produced!
2) Choose heirloom seeds over hybrid seeds:
Why heirloom? Choosing heirloom is where you, the individual gardener, are really making a difference. In a nutshell, heirloom seeds (also know as open pollination seeds), are not genetically modified in any way. Your seeds can be saved from your plants, and planted again forever, and you will get the same as the original plant. With a hybrid plant, you cannot do so. Hybrid plants are hand-pollinated, sterile, and will not produce the same plant again. They have been patented, and are sold from multi-national seed companies. They have been genetically modified, whereas heirloom seeds, could be considered a pure seed. Heirloom seeds can be passed from generation to generation. Did you know there are 10,000 varieties of heirloom apples, but only a few varieties of hybrid apples? Unless the backyard gardeners and organic farmers keep these seeds safe, they will all be gone. This is how we can make a difference in the food we eat, and for generations to come, even from our backyards.
3) Locate some reputable natural gardening companies, and find all they have to offer!
Some to get you started include:
-Garden's Alive
-have excellent coupons, will usually be sent out with catalog
-rareseeds.com
-Gurney's
-Burpee.com
-good selection of heirloom seeds, and more
-Treesofantiquity.com
-offers heirloom fruit trees
4) Give raised beds a try!
-Advantages of raised beds:
-One of the greatest advantages of raised beds is the avoidance of soil compaction. Plant roots need air to thrive, and in a raised bed, they have more access to that air. You are not walking all over the soil when pulling weeds and such, which compacts the soil down. You can walk around your raised beds, doing all the work needed, and letting the roots get their precious air!
-They tend to drain away excess moisture better than ordinary garden beds. This is another advantage that allows the roots to breathe!
-Soil type can be controlled much more easily, and can even vary from bed to bed if needed!
-Studies show that fruits and vegetables grow up to 2 times more per square foot, compared to regular gardening in the ground. You can produce more, in a smaller space!
-You will spend less time weeding your garden, and more time enjoying it!
5) Know your soil!
-Call your local county extension office, and they can give you details on how to get your soil tested...some will do it for free....others there will be a fee.
-When you know more about your soil, you will be able to know what nutrients your soil may be lacking in, which you than can add to your soil, to get the best from your garden!
-For instance, have you been putting lime on your soil? Does it need lime, or could you have been using your time and money more wisely? Test your soil and find out....
6) Keep it simple! -This is especially for those who are new to gardening. One smart gal at our get-together started with just two types of plants last year. She had room for more, but wanted to see what she could do, before she attempted more. This year, she will add maybe one or two more varieties of plants. She knows she needs to go slow, or possibly be too overwhelmed. I wish I could apply that principle to more areas of my life! I tend to jump in too fast!
7) Earthworms are your friends!
-worm castings, (a.k.a. worm poopy), is wonderful for your garden! It acts as a wonderful natural fertilizer. The castings add mineral nutrients and much needed organic matter to your soil. Worms dig pathways in the soil, which again, allow for air and water to get to the roots of your plants. Are you noticing a trend, here? Air and water to the roots, air and water to the roots.....say it with me now! Keeping your soil aerated is VERY important =)
-if your soil is devoid of worms, then buying worms and adding them to the soil, well, it really won't help. The worms you buy will either die or move on to better "pasture", so to speak. What you want to invest in is improving your soil, so that worms want to live there.
-A few resources for attracting worms to your garden:
-http://harvestgardeningsecrets.blogspot.com/2006/07/let-worms-do-your-work.html
-www.dirtdoctor.com
8) Choose plants that are natural to your area:
-Get to know your neighbors, and their gardens! Talk around a bit and see what grows well in your neighborhood gardens'. Chances are, it will grow well in yours, too!
9) Have some idea of what you can use for weed control:
-If using raised beds, your weeds already will be limited...yeah!
-Some ideas are putting down different materials in the "pathways" of your garden, and in between the plants after they start coming up. Some ideas might include carpeting, cardboard, grass clippings, and newspaper to name a few. If using grass clippings, be careful that the dandelions in your yard have not gone to seed already....then you'll just have a garden full of dandelions!
10) Have fun in the garden!
-Try to enjoy your time in the garden. You are providing excellent nutrition for your family, encouraging vibrant health, as well as saving your families hard-earned money! Now that is something to feel great about!
-One idea on having fun with the kids is to take some long sticks, about 4-5 feet high or so, out of the woods and put them in a tee-pee formation in the garden. Push the bottoms into the ground, and tie the tops with twine or rope. Leave an opening for a small child to have as a "doorway". Use that tee-pee as your trellis for growing snow peas, pole beans, or any climbing vegetable or flower. The little children can use this as a fun fort in the garden after it's all covered with your growing plant....what fun! They can crawl in and have a snack in the shade!
-Another idea is to scratch your children's names, (or have them do it themselves), into pumpkins when they are small. As the pumpkins grow, there name will as well. A great photo opportunity in the fall!
Hope you enjoyed some of these tips for natural gardening......Blessings, Joy
