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LearningAndYearning

Book Review: The Suburban Micro-Farm

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The Suburban Micro-Farm by Amy Stross is full of valuable advice for all levels of gardener. Learn not only how to grow a garden but how to earn an income!

It’s always fun to get to check out a new book before the rest of the world sees it. And The Suburban Micro-Farm by Amy Stross was no exception. This gardening book really does cover it all, and there is plenty for both the beginner, and advanced gardener.

If you are living on a small plot of land, you’ll really appreciate Amy’s years of experience and wisdom in getting the most of every inch of your property. She’ll teach you how to build your soil, and to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs.Continue Reading

June: Tour My Zone 5B Garden

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onions

Welcome to my Pennsylvania garden! Be sure to scroll to the bottom to get a tour of 11 other gardens. How fun is that?

The June garden, for the most part, is a young garden. While the cool weather plants like onions, peas and broccoli have been in the ground for a month or two, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and okra were planted just a few short weeks ago.Continue Reading

The Ins and Outs of Using Manure in Your Garden

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Learn the ins and outs of using manure in your garden, and important questions to ask your farmer to be sure your manure is safe.

Manure. You know what it is. Animal waste. It will often include the straw, hay, or wood shavings that are used as bedding for the animal and has absorbed the farm animal’s feces and urine. It’s been used for centuries as a slow-release fertilizer for farms and gardens.

Why Use Manure in Your Garden

Using manure in your garden builds organic matter, adds nutrients to your soil, and helps to increase microbial activity. It improves soil structure, drainage, and moisture retention.

The nitrogen in manure is not all immediately available. When soil organisms begin the decomposition process that nitrogen then becomes available. It’s a win-win situation with soil organisms and manure. They love each other.Continue Reading

Growing Tomatoes: From Seed to Harvest

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Visit any vegetable garden and you'll be sure to find a patch of tomato plants. They are a favorite for just about everyone. Even those who don't like fresh tomatoes will want to learn more about growing tomatoes for sauce. Tomatoes are available in a seemingly endless amount of varieties. I love to try at least one new variety each year.

Growing Tomatoes

Visit any vegetable garden and you’ll be sure to find a patch of tomato plants. They are a favorite for just about everyone. Even those who don’t like fresh tomatoes will want to learn more about growing tomatoes for sauce. Tomatoes are available in a seemingly endless number of varieties. I love to try at least one new variety each year. Continue Reading

How to Track Shadows So You Can Choose the Best Spot For Your Garden

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Choose the best spot for your garden

For a beginner gardener, there’s much to think about. What seeds to choose, to dig or not to dig, and very importantly, how to choose the best spot for your garden.

Your first criteria when choosing a garden site is sun. Vegetable plants generally require full sun. That’s a minimum of 6 – 8 hours of sun per day throughout the growing season. A few vegetables will grow in partial sun (4 – 6 hours of sun per day).

An easy way to determine how many hours of sun your yard really gets is to measure the shadows. Get your science cap on, you’re going to be collecting some data here. Don’t worry, though, the process is really easy.Continue Reading

Dynamic Accumulators: Proven Method or Promising Idea?

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Because some plants tend to be very high in certain minerals, and because many of those plants have a deep root system, it is thought that these plants mine minerals from deep in the soil, accumulate them in their leaves, and fertilize the soil when their leaves drop and decompose. Such a plant is considered to be a dynamic accumulator.My layman's opinion concerning dynamic accumulation is that it is an idea that makes a lot of sense and an idea that I hope will be studied so that we can have proof that it is a valid way to bring needed minerals to the surface of our soils.

What are Dynamic Accumulators?

Because some plants tend to be very high in certain minerals, and because many of those plants have a deep root system, it is thought that these plants mine minerals from deep in the soil, accumulate them in their leaves, and fertilize the soil when their leaves drop and decompose. Such a plant is considered to be a dynamic accumulator.Continue Reading

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