Build a DIY Lighting System
Gardening Made Easy
Before You Start a Balcony Garden
Balcony Garden Tips
14 Edible Plants You Can Grow Indoors
Real life application of this learned items will be streamed live with the slightest delays possible, asap.
Build a DIY Lighting System
Gardening Made Easy
Before You Start a Balcony Garden
Balcony Garden Tips
14 Edible Plants You Can Grow Indoors
Real life application of this learned items will be streamed live with the slightest delays possible, asap.
I see I have until September to sow mustard.
Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?
I love gardening...but lately I'm very much into the permaculture philosophy, which aims to have a no-maintenance food forest that continues to produce food year-round. I'll still plant some veg in the spring, but right now, I'm most excited to see my pomegranate trees germinate...planning to replace a short section of fencing with a pomegranate hedge this year...though I'm not sure if the area will get enough sun for them.
If you're doing a balcony garden, you might like to look into doing a rain gutter garden. My mom did that on her deck one year and had ridiculously amazing yields. It's basically just an artificial aquifer that makes watering super efficient (not the best for shallow crops with minimal roots, like carrots).
...the origin of emotional sickness lay in people’s belief that they were their personalities...
"The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong." ~Carl Jung
Yeah, I don't think @Madrigal going to be interested in the plants on offer in that list.
Die Logik ist keine Lehre, sondern ein Spiegelbild der Welt. Die Logik ist transcendental. - Wittgenstein
It's like you read my mind. I've been missing it a lot lately.Originally Posted by ferrus
I like the concept of gardening, but I have found it can be more trouble than it's worth. Much watering, weeding, and in my part of the world, mosquito bites for 3 months, then you have more veggies than you can possibly eat.
But a small garden is probably a good idea. Especially since I just paid $3.25 for one large red pepper. One! I had heard drought and other climate b.s. had hurt the U.S. vegetable crop, but I had no idea. Prices will probably come down in summer, but I am growing 3-4 bell pepper plants this year regardless.
Gardening would be a good thing for you @Dot. I hope you follow through. I think you have an intrinsic need to nurture, be it whatever. Pets, plants, and eventually a relationship, it's all good for you.
I tried growing some stuff last year... but my tiny yard gets a lot of shade. Nothing really did very well except for the arugula and mint.
My boyfriend's parents have a plot of unused land that they want me to turn into a garden. I think this will be fun. The only problem is that it's a half hour walk from home, but it's a beautiful place, and I think I can eventually set up a little cottage and work from there sometimes.
Fully engrossed in garden research now. I'll share what I find along with pictures if it works.
First topic: soil.
Most important part of soil is found in the top 12 inches. Quality determined by:
* soil particle size
* smallest form clay, larger silt, and largest sandy soil. Soil with a mix is called loam
* amount of organic matter
* available water
The best soil has a dark brown color and crumbles fairly easily and is already growing something (even a lawn).
Chalk soil is pale with chunks of limestone, flinty. Free-draining, fertile, thin, alkaline
Peat soil is dark, rich in organic matter that traps moisture, usually acidic
Clay soil is heavy and waterlogged in winter, with organic matter, good fertility
* will feel sticky and heavy in the hand, can be rolled thinly
* usually highly fertile and retains water well, the more it's worked, the better
* can become waterlogged in winter and impossible to dig
* in summer bakes hard and can't be dug
Silty soil has particles less fine than those of clay, fairly moist and fertile, dark in color
Sandy soil is light and free-draining
* will not stick together when held in hand
* aids plants sensitive to wet conditions
* easy and light to dig, warms up fast in spring
* requires extra irrigation, and use lots of mulch
Get a soil testing kit to test acidity or alkalinity. Carry out several tests across the garden, using soil from just below surface. pH measured from 1 - 14, above 7 is alkaline, below is acidic, 6.5 is optimum.
* alkaline soil is good for a lot of plants; helps vegetables. suits earthworms. Some plants won't grow in it, like rhododendrons, and other woodland plants. Acid-loving plants can be grown in containers.
* acidic soil is good for many beautiful flowers. Few garden plants will not tolerate mildly acidic soil. Tends to be cool and moist, associated with woodland conditions. Can be quite poor sometimes, so need to dig in manure each year. Could also become waterlogged and require draining. Can add spent mushroom compost if it's strongly acidic, or powdered lime. Mildly acidic is desirable for most gardeners.
Don't apply mulch too thickly. 1 1/4 inches is ideal. Usually applied in early spring. Can include:
* organic matter (compost)
* cocoa shells
* gravel
* colored glass chips or seashells
* weed membranes
* bark chips (but may remove valuable nitrogen from the soil)
Are you planning to truck in topsoil or just use whatever happens to be there?
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