Plant for Big Returns
(ContentDesk) July 29, 2004 -- There are about as many planting techniques as there are plants. Most organic growers have their favorite variations on ways of planting that they learned or picked up along the way.
Which of the hundreds if not thousands of techniques should you use?The deep bed method and the high wall method are two different names for the same way of planting, which is one of my favorites.
The deep bed method was created in the 1930s and 1940s and was popular during World War II when people grew backyard gardens called Victory Gardens.
Victory gardens were created by people who believed that urban gardens could contribute to the war effort by making up for food shortages and releasing food supplies for shipment to our troops ?and they did.
A lady in England?her name escapes me at the moment?and actually took credit for the term and wrote a book on the subject, which was in my library for several years, but has managed to grow its own feet and walk off the shelves.
The deep bed method creates a bed for the plants that is about three and half feet wide, about 18 to 24 inches deep, and as long as you want to make it. You may have seen strawberries growing in high-tech looking beds. Backyard growers don't need to be nearly as scientific as commercial strawberry farmers, however, and I'll bet you won't be using the chemicals that industrial growers use either.The high wall or deep bed method is a good technique for several reasons. One, you will never be walking directly on your planted beds, but walking in the rows instead.
Why is that a plus?
You never want to pack down the soil too tightly, as plants and their roots require oxygen.
Two, the deep bed method allows for deep root growth, in part because of the way you will prepare your soil. Give me a minute and I'll get to that. Three, it allows for easy maintenance from each side of the row so you can tend to your plants' needs.
You can get at them more easily for weeding, organic fertilizing and bug removal.My personal belief?and this is only me, folks?is that the more room, the more care and the more love you give to your plants, the more you will get back in the form of abundant crops!Preparing Deep BedsLet's say you have an area that is about 20 feet by 20 feet.
This area will give you about six and half rows that will be 20 feet long and about three and half feet wide. ???You will need to wet the ground for three or four days allow water to stand for one, before you turn it, so that it becomes soft enough to work easily. Remove all weeds before you create each bed.
Roto-till your soil or turn by hand with a shovel, pitch fork and spade.
If you don't know what these tools are, you need to go to a nursery or fly out and see me.
Turn your soil to a depth of about 18-24 inches. Turn the soil once to loosen it up and a second time after you add mulch and composted materials. This is vitally important: Add good, well-composted materials such as last year's horse manure and other organic fertilizers to the soils. Why? One, you need to feed Mother Earth; two, your plants are going to most likely need it for proper growth; and three, the soil may very likely be depleted and not contain enough vital life force. Plants require nitrogen, phosphorous, potash and calcium for optimum growth and for the flavor of edible crops.
???????? Please review the section on Soil Composition, as it may be necessary to supplement your soil with additional materials such as sand, sulfur or lime. It's always a good idea to have a soil composition test done to determine what, exactly, your soil needs.
As I've said before, the best product to add to your soil that I have found on the market today is Bumper Crop. (No endorsement fees paid, darn it!) Blood, bone, hoof, horn and fish emulsion are also good to add, but you have to be careful not to add too much at one time or you can burn your plants with too hot a fertilizer.
Too much too fast, as in most things, is not a good idea.
When in doubt read the package instructions or talk with your nursery person. These components, along with your composted materials and lots of love, will give your plants everything they require. After you have added your mulch, compost and fertilizer, turn the soil one more time.Once again, here is the sequence of steps for preparing your deep beds:????Water the area completely.
Allow to stand for a day????Remove all weeds by hand or machine????Roto-till, Add soil amendments and till a second timeDigging Out the BedsOkay, let's dig out the beds. This is easily done by digging walkways or paths between what will become your planting beds.
You are making deep beds by tossing the soil (from the walkways) onto the beds to build them up to a height of about 36 inches. No one is going to measure them, so relax.
Please try to make this fun!
And if by chance, it is not, find another hobby. As I have always said, "If it ain't fun, I ain't going."
It's fairly easy to keep a straight line going just by drawing some string from end to end. Once you have dug out the walkways and the dirt is mounded, grab a rake and level the bed.
In other words, the dirt stays where you just piled it! And there you have it, a nicely prepared deep bed, ready for planting.Here's a little known trick: Dig your soil a little extra deep to start with and throw in some not-so-completely decomposed material from the compost bin. Why?
Because by next year when turn the soil again, it will be right where you left it, decomposed and ready to go to work for you. Plus you will have more room in the compost bin to make additional compost for the following year. Ready to Plant Some Seeds?Great, here we go.
I love this part, because we put seeds in the ground and whoo, they actually turn into things to eat.
What a miracle and what could be more fun?
????
The seed packets tell how deep to plant the seeds, and how far apart. This varies a lot, depending on the kinds of seeds you are planting.
So, folks, planting instructions for the seeds you buy are right there on the packets. Please read the instruction before using. Personally, I like close plantings, because I like to get as many crops from my planted area as I can.
If you seed directly into the soil (after all signs of frost have passed), you must keep your seeds moist for as many days as they take to sprout and beyond, so they don't dry out and die. How much water? Just enough to keep the poor little things moist but not soaked.Alternatively, if you use plant starts from the nursery, they usually will not be organic.
Just clean the soil away from the roots and start them in their new home ORGANICALY. Water once a day for a few days and then decrease, unless you live in a valley like mine, where it is so hot and so dry, that even well-established plants have to be watered daily during the summer.
????One can add additional fertilizers to the soil to speed up growth cycle or increase the abundance of the harvest.
Just be careful to take it slowly. Over fertilizing is sure to burn up your plants.
If you want to experiment, do it outside of the garden plot?set up a few boxed plants to try new things with. I used to do this and experiment with combinations of chicken manure, pig droppings, fish guts and water. I grew a 300-pound pumpkin once.
So what?
It wasn't good for anything except the record books. You may have seen it in magazines back in the 1970s.
I hope this helps to answer your questions about getting started planting. Might I add that you are welcome to write me through my website and I'll do my best to reply to your questions within two to three days.Please don't forget to say your prayers over your garden as you plant. The God/Goddess likes it and so do your seeds and plants.
Never mind if you are not a religious person: just sing instead. Jay North is an organic farming, gardening, landscaping consultant that specializes in edible landscaping and organic farm production, he is one of the countries leading experts and industry originators. Jay can be contacted through is web site www.goingorganic.com Contact e-mail protected from spam bots805-646-2425.
Gardening for Fun and Profit
Cheverly, Maryland (ContentDesk) January 23, 2006 -- Today, GardenHere dot com launched a new garden auction area for its members. Members can place up to 14 free listings right away.
In addition, members earn a $20 credit when someone they refer our auction area signs up. Paid listings are only 0.35 cents and members pay zero commissions --even when they sell plants, seeds, flowers, equipment or other related items at a profit.
GardenHere, known as the friendliest home gardening community on the Internet, has dedicated the new auction area to its members as a way to turn home gardening into profit.Website founder and owner, Al Stubblefield, explained, During the last couple of years there has been many times when I wanted to help members who were going through some very tough times.
One member called to say she could no longer afford an Internet hookup. ...
Seeds > Gardening for Fun and Profit
Songs That Will Never Win A Grammy
(ContentDesk) July 6, 2005 -- The very unknown, very unpopular and very uncommercial RockPopJazzClassical group "the primeTime sublime Community Orchestra" (pTsCO) wants to be famous. They've tried everything: dressed up in weird costumes, smashed their violins on stage, dated famous actresses and even appeared in a sex video.
After 2 minor selling albums and performances in empty concert halls around the world, the pTsCO have released their 3rd CD "Songs That Will Never Win A Grammy". The album is sure to be ignored by The New York Times and all the other major publications, radio and media outlets.Utilizing the latest voice synthesis technology developed by AT&T and the Yamaha Corporation, all of the songs on the new CD are sung by a computer. "Songs That Will Never Win A Grammy" is an eclectic mix of pop songs and soundbites with contributions by Richard Nixon, Hillary Clinton, both George Bushes, and other celebrities.
From the majestic opening of "Curb Your God"...
Songs That Will Never Win A Grammy
Seeds > Songs That Will Never Win A Grammy
Flower Seed
Flowers have been grown and nurtured over years for personal and business purposes. A flower provides visual bliss in addition to a soothing aroma and an array of delightful colors. One can give cut flowers as gifts to celebrate events, express feelings or just grow them in a backyard.
It may sound strange when a botanist refers to singular divisions of a flower while referring to male and female reproductive organs. However, this is true.
Flowers are used as a reproductive organ only in certain angiosperms plants. A pistil is located in the center of a flower and it contains female organs. It has a rounded lower base, which is the ovary. These contain reproductive cells called ovule.
Pistils contain a style and a stigma, which are sticky. Pollen grains stick to the stigma through fertilization or pollination from insects, wind or other means.
This facilitates the development of pollen tubes inside the style, which navigate down to the ovary....
Flower Seed
Seeds > Flower Seed
Flower Seed
Flowers have been grown and nurtured over years for personal and business purposes. A flower provides visual bliss in addition to a soothing aroma and an array of delightful colors. One can give cut flowers as gifts to celebrate events, express feelings or just grow them in a backyard.
It may sound strange when a botanist refers to singular divisions of a flower while referring to male and female reproductive organs. However, this is true.
Flowers are used as a reproductive organ only in certain angiosperms plants. A pistil is located in the center of a flower and it contains female organs. It has a rounded lower base, which is the ovary. These contain reproductive cells called ovule.
Pistils contain a style and a stigma, which are sticky. Pollen grains stick to the stigma through fertilization or pollination from insects, wind or other means.
This facilitates the development of pollen tubes inside the style, which navigate down to the ovary....
Flower Seed
Seeds > Flower Seed
Add A Gourmet Taste With Cilantro
Cilantro is a common ingredient in salsa and Mexican dishes but did you know it dates as far back as the ancient Egyptians?
Coriander seeds which stem from the same plant as cilantro have been found in Egyptian tombs and writings involving coriander can be seen in Sanskrit which dates from around 1500 BC.
Cilantro is a versatile herb that is is commonly used in salsas, dips, dressings and sauces. This aromatic, citrus flavored herb is a member of the carrot family and can be used dried or fresh. The seeds from this herb are harvested and dried and are known as coriander. The green stems and leaves are the herb known as cilantro.
Cilantro is sometimes sold in the grocery store as something else and if you can't find it in your supermarket try looking for Mexican parsley.
Since cilantro is commonly used in Mexico and Mexican cooking, it is often called Mexican parsley but it is good in other types of cooking as well and you can even...
Seeds > Add A Gourmet Taste With Cilantro
The Publication of Haven Grandiflora
(ContentDesk) June 6, 2005 -- This is a biography such as you have never read before. It tells the true story of Pete Perry, and the formation of The Magic Oak Tree Family, - an ever-growing family of worldwide friends who believe in an end to war, and a new understanding of the Earth and its Environment.'The Family' as it is affectionately known, continues yo grow to this day, and there are Family members all over the world.It is such a huge and complex story that it is being published in several volumes. The first four volumes are on sale now.They are: 'The Seeds of Life'. which deals with Pete's actual birth, and how he coped with his two young daughters after the tragic death of his first wife, and how he discovered the truth about The Seeds of Life from visiting God, and finding out his fate from his astral guardians. Pete enters a beautiful Astral Garden, Haven Grandiflora! Itself, which inspires him to do the work on Earth that he was meant to carry out.Book Two, 'The Tree and...
The Publication of Haven Grandiflora
Seeds > The Publication of Haven Grandiflora
Ronjun-eshop.com ? New Online Store for Children?s Toys, Sports Team Logo Watches and Gifts
Filling that Christmas stocking even further, without having to "tighten those purse strings", is now possible with the new store at www.ronjun-eshop.com. Children's toys, crystal figurines, water filters and sports watches to name just a few new product lines are all now fully available.You can now find a large selection of kids room furniture, children's rocking horses, children's toy boxes, toy storage boxes and many more...
Plant for Big Returns flowers
Seeds > Ronjun-eshop.com ? New Online Store for Children?s Toys, Sports Team Logo Watches and Gifts
mortgage calculator Plant for Big Returns Seeds
Plant for Big Returns exercise
Digital Photography and the Printed World
Photo collections ? for traditional photographers the phrase conjures thoughts of bound albums and mounds of shoeboxes, stuffed to capacity with 5 x 7 inch pictures. For today's ever growing ranks of digital photographers however, it brings to mind thoughts of a stamp-sized memory card, a pocket hard drive, or CDs and DVDs. Welcome to the world of digital photography, which is fundamentally changing the way we capture and preserve images.
Digital photography today is a rapidly growing...
Seeds > Digital Photography and the Printed World