Outside, my tulips are just peeking out thru the pine needles but the outside temperature is still keeping the ground too hard to till. The non stop yet gratifying work of a vegetable garden soon begins. Many of you know that I do a huge 800 square foot organic vegetable garden every year. I have learned through trial and error what works best for me here at 7500 feet of elevation. The gardening rules here are different than in sunny, at sea level Southern California. So wherever you live be it high or low, arid and dry or humid and moist...a vegetable garden is possible, achievable and it's therapeutic, it's grounding, it's nutritional, it's exciting and sometimes, it's a royal pain in the butt...but all in all I don't think I would ever go a season without one.
If you have never attempted to grow your own food and want to, I suggest starting small, unless you are going to attempt a community garden with many hands to rely on. At this time in Southern California you can already be tilling and working in all the plant muscle building nutrients such as mulch, cow/horse manure, dried leaves, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc. You have the advantage of a long growing season and you have the ability to plant seed directly into the ground. I don't have that luxury here...our season in Northern New Mexico is quick. So I pre grow my vegetables in little seed containers in a mini standing greenhouse...this guarantees me a head start and much yield success...I have to transplant into the finally warm enough ground right around Mother's day. At lower elevations you don't need to do pre seed starting unless your looking for speedier crops I suppose.
First time veg gardeners...I suggest easier crops like beans, corn, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, herbs such as dill, basil and cilantro...these will guarantee you success...but you still have to give lots of attention in the form of water and feeding. I only use organic fish emulsion and sea bird guano. I purchased mine in Oregon from this establishment http://www.3rlighting.com/organic/guano.html I have had great success with high nitrogen guano.
You might live somewhere where you only have to walk into a good nursery to purchase some. I do a mix of the two products, the emulsion and the guano, mixed together in a gallon container. Just be careful to keep the fish emulsion off your skin or wash it off right away...its non toxic...but the smell will really gross you out if you leave it on your skin for any length of time.
Mulching around your plants will guarantee healthy happy vegetable plants...which means more plentiful yield too. I use fresh nitrogen rich grass clippings from the neighbors ...just make sure they are not feeding their grass with any fertilizers other than cow manure or any other organic compound manure. What I have found works best water-wise is to do some serious soaking in the first few weeks to get the plants root systems established...once this is accomplished...then you can cut back on the H2O. The three to four inches of mulch around the plants will keep the moisture in. You never want to have a vegetable plant sitting in dry soil. It's just common sense...your planning on eating what these plants produces for you...so don't stress em out! Treat them like your babies and they will in turn reward you.
If you end up with problems from pests such as flea Beatles or aphids...and you will. Whether it's an extreme invasion or minimal is partly up to you. I choose to spray them off with a good jet of water...you can try purchasing lady bugs...they love aphids. I did deal with an extreme case of Flea Beatles last season and found out that I could treat them organically with Diatomaceous earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth ...If you end up with a problem you can't identify thru books or internet sources...well there is always your local nursery. There is always someone there that knows the trick to organically control whatever you have going on. Here we have Deer, Raccoons, Fox...I do a large enough garden where I simply realize that a portion of the yield is going to feed the local wildlife. My very first year, 9 years ago I was woken up by Aaron at 6 o'clock in the morning to find out that my Bok Choy was being immensely enjoyed by a huge doe. Worst...when I approached and tried to scare off the deer...she simply looked up at me and went back to eating...
Weeds thrive because your watering on a regular basis, plus your feeding the ground...I try to control the problem...but it's not an easy one. After a good summer rain shower when the nitrogen level in the atmosphere is so plentiful...you excitedly can just about watch the vegetable plants grow...unfortunately, the weeds do too! I suggest trying to pull em out on a regular basis instead of waiting till you can barely tell the vegetable plants from the weeds...In some cases, some of the weed pests have real aggressive root systems that will weaken the vegetable plants if you let them. If nothing else, weed in the immediate vicinity of your plants. Here I need black plastic, to generate and maintain heat in the soil...our summer nights are chilly this high up...my point is, the plastic helps a little in the control of the weed garden. Another way to look at it is that a few weeds are very tasty and nutritional. I always harvest Purslane...vegetarians love it mucho! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea
So...you put in the all the sweat filled work, your back needs yoga more than usual...then a few months later you take the first bite of a vibrant red, sun and vine ripened tomato that you were responsible for helping thrive...and in that instantaneous moment of realization as you pick the tantalizing fruit...holding it in your hand, you take a bite...and you know...oooh you know, as you wipe the sweet tomato juices from your chin...that you're never going to get this flavor and juiciness from a store bought (not including farmers markets!) tomato...you sigh in the knowledge that it's so worth it...a 100 % guaranteed of no "Monsanto modifications" here!
I hope today's blog entree will inspire some of you that have always wanted to attempt a vegetable garden...but found an excuse not to..."but I will be on summer vacation"..."but I kill everything I try to grow"..."the gophers will eat everything"..."nothing grows in my yard's soil"...etc etc etc etc etc. Just do it.
Robert
No comments:
Post a Comment