Planting Fall Onions - Zone 6

 

How do I know if my Hot and Sweet Peppers are Ripe?

 

How to Grow Asparagus - Complete Growing Guide

 

Jersey Supreme Asparagus:

Asparagus Jersey Supreme Plant For Sale | NatureHills.com

What's at 402 Locust: 

Jersey Supreme Hybrid Asparagus | Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. (gurneys.com) 

How many plants?

How Many Asparagus Plants Per Person? (sfgate.com)

How far apart?

How to Plant Asparagus - Modern Farmer 

AVERAGE FROST DATES FOR SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA

Each winter, on average, your risk of frost is from October 14 through May 1.
Almost certainly, however, you will receive frost from November 1 through April 16.
You are almost guaranteed that you will not get frost from May 16 through September 25.
Your frost-free growing season is around 166 days.

HOW TO BUILD A RAISED GARDEN BED with WOOD - EASY and CHEAP

The "One Yard Revolution" says >>> I've built a number of raised beds over the years, but so far this design is my favorite. The sides are 2 x 10's and the top is capped off with a 2 x 4 shelf, which not only helps keep the 2 x 10's from bowing out from the weight of the soil but also makes a great place to sit when working in the garden.

One Yard Revolution is all about growing a lot of food on a little land using sustainable organic methods, while keeping costs and labor at a minimum. Emphasis is placed on improving soil quality with compost, mulch, and compost tea. No store-bought fertilizers, soil amendments, pesticides, compost activators, etc. are used. WATCH THE 5 MINUTE VIDEO TO GET STARTED >>>

DIY SEED STARTING KITS

You Gotta Start Somewhere >>> Sooooo Here Goes >>> Follow Instructions >>> Have Fun!

 How to Start Seeds Indoors

5 IDEAS TO HELP YOU START GROWING EARLIER THIS YEAR

 

5 Minutes of Great Info 

On Getting An Early Start!!!

GARDEN SOIL PREP

How to Prepare Your Garden Soil for Planting Vegetables 

 

FILTERING WATER FOR YOUR ORGANIC WATER

YES You Should Filter Your Garden Water

 

WHY FEED THE SOIL FIRST

Feed the Soil First

3/10/2016

By Stan Slaughter

Tags: soil building, healthy soil, bacteria, plant roots, Missouri, Stan Slaughter

Sir Albert Howard, the father of the modern organic movement, spoke about a threshold of life in the soil. Nature, he said, was generous with her bounty, if she had something to give. When the soil was worn out from a shortage of organic matter (less than about 4 percent), Nature would indeed grow crops but they would be unhealthy and destined for a short life. These unhealthy crops would be attacked by disease and pests and return quickly to the soil as mulch to build up organic matter.
No healthy crop would be produced until Nature’s storehouse was filled. Older farming practices like fallowing the land for a year honored this truth. Mulching, adding compost and using cover crops are some of the ways to increase organic matter in the soil.

A Community of Life in the Soil

What we know about the community of life in a healthy soil is that it is wildly diverse with a broad range of species. With so many members in the community, there is an answer for every problem. Every pest has a mortal foe waiting to attack it. There might be some occasional pest damage but very rarely a complete takeover by a particular pest or disease.
Going even deeper, we’re finding that the plants use the organic matter threshold as a “comfort level.” When there is a dependable level of organic matter food in the soil, the plants engage their own magic.
They take sugars they have made from photosynthesis and push the sugary juice (called root exudates) out into the soil. These sugars foster a population explosion of bacteria at the root tips of the plants. Each type of plant has its own flavor of exudate. Farmers are increasingly using a “cover crop cocktail” of plants to produce a broad range of sugars and matching bacteria to help build the soil.
But wait — the best part is yet to come. The bacteria party in the soil is perfect for one-celled predators: amoebas, protozoa, even fungal mycelia that come to feed on the bacteria. Some of the bacteria have pulled nitrogen from the air. When the bacteria are eaten, the waste products of the predators contain both aqueous ammonium and nitrate ions, perfect nitrogen fertilizer for the plant’s growth.
Some of the microbes at this root-tip party produce plant growth hormones, which are also used to boost the host plant. Imagine a diverse community like a prairie with these types of interactions occurring everywhere.
Imagine a biological farm, always covered in growing plants, always building organic matter through this type of process, employing miraculous interactions we have yet to discover.

The Implications of Organic Matter in Soil

1.  When we feed the soil to the organic matter threshold, the community of life and the plants will work together to produce all the fertilizer and growth factors the plants need.
2.  The plants in this system will have all the natural organic building blocks they need to produce a vibrantly healthy crop.
3. The animals and people who eat the crops will receive complete nutrition.
4. The extra sugars in the organic crop will help it store longer and will satisfy the eater with 15-20 percent less food.
Consider the way our food plants and animals are produced today. Worn out soils lacking nutrients are supplemented by harsh mineral salts that provide incomplete nutrition. Crops are forced to grow without a balance of nutrition in the soil. They lack vitality and need pesticides to protect them.
Billions of dollars are spent to “heal” the diseases that result when we use such deficient ingredients to build our bodies. Not trusting the miracles of the living soil has an enormous penalty we pay because we believe we are smarter than Nature.
Sir Albert Howard had a phrase for this: “Working on the wrong end of the problem.”
Fortunately, farmers and eaters are increasingly trusting the wisdom in the community of life.

HOW TO MAKE COMPOST THE EASY WAY

What Are The Correct Ingredients For Your Compost Bin

 How to Make Compost With Grass Clippings 

THE BENEFITS of EARTHWORMS and HOW TO ATTRACT THEM

Why Your Garden Needs Plenty of Earthworms

Attract Earthworms and Boost soil nutrients

 Earthworms - A Garden's Best Friend 

Best Worm Castings that feed your plants

 

 

 

 

GROW MEDICINAL & EDIBLE HERBS IN YOUR GARDEN

A Tour Of Austin Texas Herb Emporium "Garden of the Ancients"

 

GARDENING SCHOOL FUN

5 BASIC GARDENING TOOLS & TYPES OF PLANTS

 

BEST GARDEN TOOLS

Go To Sears And Buy Craftsman's Garden Tools and Rubber Garden Hose 

List of Garden Tools

Cleaning & Sharpening Garden Tools

 

CHEMTRAILS EFFECT ON YOUR GARDEN & HOW TO REMOVE THEM

Yes It Is True, Your Garden Is Impacted By NASA'S Geoengineering Aerosol Spraying Program

 

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING

INTRODUCTION TO SQUARE FOOT GARDENS

A Small Space Revolution

 

RAISED BED GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS

Site Selection - Organic Soil - Mulch

How To Build A Raised Garden Bed 

 

GROWING TOMATOES IN A RAISED BED

Eight Hours of Sunshine & The Raised Bed Over Soil Because The Tomatoe's Roots Will Need To Descend More Then Twelve Inches!

Growing tomatoes in raised beds is one of the easiest and practical approaches to gardening. 
You don’t need to be a master builder or even handy with tools in order to set up raised beds, either.
Reliable vendors can help provide affordable components, simple set up instructions, and know-how, including Burpee, Gardener's Supply, and RaisedBeds.com (RaisedBeds.com offers free shipping on every order, too.)

Advantages of growing tomatoes in raised beds

Drainage. Beds are set higher. Water drains out more easily.
Yield. In a raised bed, you can grow your plants closer together, producing more tomatoes for your space.
Convenience. Higher beds mean you don’t have to bend over as much to work the soil. (You can even build elevated beds that make it easy to work on beds if you find it especially difficult to lean over. Check out these Garden Rack plans.)
Soil quality. Adding compost, top soil, and fertilizers to the garden bed (not the paths) mean a nutrient-rich home for your tomatoes. This saves resources and concentrates them where they will be best used. You’ll also walk on paths between beds and prevent garden soil from becoming compacted.
Plant health. If a fungus or other disease overtakes your tomatoes, you can replace the soil in the following year – a step that would be impractical and cost-prohibitive in a regular garden.
Pest prevention. Slugs find it harder to infest tomato plants grown in raised beds.
Neatness. Raised beds are contained areas which are easy to maintain.

How to get started with tomatoes in raised beds

20

1. Select the best spot

The best raised bed sites for tomatoes are level, well-draining, and close to a water source. Choose a spot that receives at least eight hours of direct sun daily.

2. Prepare the soil

Create an outline of your raised bed with string, garden hose, or even flour. Measure the area. Then work the soil. Tomatoes are deep drinkers. Roots of plants in a raised bed will need to penetrate the soil below. Most vegetables grow beautifully in 12-inch deep beds, but deeper is better with tomatoes. Prepare the site by removing sod. Use a tiller, spade, or pitchfork to turn and loosen the soil at least 12 inches deep.

3. Choose an edging material

Select an edging material that is long-lasting so you can grow tomatoes year after year. Chose from all kinds of edging materials. (See this quick tutorial on the four main kinds of materials used to make raised beds: plastic, recycled composite, galvanized steel, and wood.) 

How wide should I make my raised bed?

Make sure you can reach the center of the bed from either side – usually no more than 4 feet wide. This way you will be able to reach in and cultivate the plants easily. One common mistake is to build raised beds too closely together. When paths are too narrow, then when plants grow in, there is no place to walk! If you’re building more than one bed, set them far enough part enough to get your wheelbarrow through (usually 30 inches, but measure your wheelbarrow to make sure!)

4. Fill the beds

After you install the edging material, line the bottom of the raised bed with chicken wire or hardware cloth to keep out gophers, moles, and other tunneling pests.
To determine the volume of soil needed to check your raised bed, measure its length, width, and height in feet and multiply those numbers together. The result will be the number of required cubic feet. Combine top soil and organic matter (shredded leaves, compost, well-rotted manure, kelp) in the raised bed. Use a spade to mix components well. Rake the surface smoothly.

5. Plant your tomatoes in your raised beds

HOW TO GROW THE BEST GREEN SUPERFOOD

Head On Out And Buy A Fish Tank For Starters