How does Bonnie grow 'em chunky?
bcfromfl
9 years ago
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Hows does my garden grow? - pics
Comments (2)Wonderful! Thanks for posting these; I LOVE looking at other people's garden pictures...especially veg gardens, since I'm in my first year growing one. Wish more would post their garden photos. :-) Here is a link that might be useful: My new blog! Simplifying in Suburbia...See MoreKill 'em. Kill em all
Comments (16)I agree about eating the purslane. We use it in salads a lot, although I must say the hybridized cultivars are more tender in flavor, more upright, and have larger leaves than their wild cousin. But even the wild stuff is great in a salad, and as others have pointed out, very nutritious. As for the rest of the weeds, I'd just smother them with straw or bedding hay. If you've ever used a bale of hay or straw before, you know how it comes apart in "books" or "sheets." Simply lay these books side by side to cover the whole area. Nothing will grow through them. The best part is that as they break down they feed the soil, so by next year you can simply make some holes through the hay/straw and do your planting. I have done this numerous times and it works great. -Diggity...See MoreIf you can't beat em....just eat 'em
Comments (9)A lot of the fear of this is just cultural. I'm sure our ancestors prior to the discovery of the first pesticides, arsenic compounds in the 19th century, ate a LOT of wormy fruit, either directly or indirectly in processed form, and didn't give it much second thought. And, I'm sure that in many poor countries around the world, it's still the norm, not the exception, to have to eat things untreated with pesticides. Most of those people no doubt also just "eat around" the parts that are too damaged to be edible. They probably turn the bad stuff into food indirectly by feeding it to chickens, pigs, goats, or whatever which then provides a human food source. And, of course, there are many cultures around the world that directly eat and enjoy insects. Aborigines in Australia ate many, many kinds of insects. In Thailand, giant water bugs, dipped in batter and deep fried, are a gourmet delicacy and are becoming very expensive, the supply being limited due to overharvesting, pesticide runoff, etc. I also recently saw an episode of Rick Bayliss' PBS series 'Mexico One Plate at a Time' where he was in a very exclusive restaurant in Mexico city that was serving fried grasshoppers. Really, any time you eat most commercially processed foods of plant origin, such as breads, juices, etc., you are getting trace amounts of insect proteins. The federal government sets allowable levels of insect matter in all kinds of foodstuffs. "Zero" just isn't realistically attainable in a cost-effective way. Here is a link to an FDA publication which shows the allowable level of contamination of various types of things in certain foods. Some of it may be higher than many people know -- for example, 4% of cocoa beans can be infested and still be sold in the US food trade. Canned tomatoes can have no more than 2 fruit fly larvae per 500 gram (slightly larger than a pound) can. Ground nutmeg can have no more than 100 insect fragments per 10 grams. Here is a link that might be useful: FDA guide to allowable contamination levels in food....See MoreFree garden plans - use 'em or lose 'em?
Comments (9)I pretty much plan my own beds, but I've been gardening for a bunch of years and am a plant nerd, so have a pretty good mental vocabulary of plants to work from. I plan my beds mentally with only general guidelines (ie green fern of approximate height and width, or gold-leaved evergreen shrub of an approximate size, or a perennial with medium sized variegated foliage) and then go peruse local nurseries for shrubs, vines and perennials along with websites for vines and perennials. I find that easier than trying to find a specific plant that might not be available in my quite rural area. Before I plant I physically lay out all the larger pieces still in the pots on the site and tweek as needed so that it looks good from different angles, and then add the perennials and groundcovers. Unless this is an area where no one ever goes in winter and no one can see from inside, I agree with Duluth that you might want to seriously consider some shrubs, a dwarf tree (on the outer edge of the bed or in a bulge so that it's far enough from the house) or at the very least a birdbath, sculpture or some ornamental trellises or tuteurs with vines growing up them so that there is some winter interest and some taller interest during the summer (since many of the taller perennials are for sun.) I'm attaching a link with a bed I planned for year-round interest, though unfortunately the one illustrated is in full sun, so the plants can't translate. I'll plan to go out and take some photos of a shade mixed border that I have as well. I worked on both these beds (which are 2-5 years old) to get not only flowers (since perennials usually bloom for only part of the season), but also a range of foliage size, texture and color so that even out of bloom there is something going on. Another thing to consider is the amount and type of light you have. The north side of a building will have shade, but if there are no other structures or trees nearby, it will be a much brighter shade (and you will have a wider plant palette) than if you have overhanging trees which create dense shade. Also, your east and west ends may get some sun morning or afternoon during the growing season. A final suggestion if you want to do the work to plan your own beds - go to the public library and get out lots of books on shade gardening, especially ones with photos. What your local library doesn't have, you might be able to borrow by requesting a loan through your local library from other libraries. (NH has a wonderful state-wide interlibrary loan program.) Go to Fine Gardening Magazine's website and search for shade garden articles and check out what (if any) garden magazines your local library or gardening friends get. This will give you a feeling for what plants are available, what you like, and how they can be combined in a design. Another good book for design of a mixed border is The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. Have I given you enough homework to keep you busy during the long winter months? ;>) Please report back on progress you have made. I love to see and hear about others' gardens. Here is a link that might be useful: Summer and winter bed...See Morebcfromfl
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