Planning a new or First Garden?

It is not difficult to grow your own vegetables, flowers and herbs. There are three things that you must consider if the garden is to be successful; the sun, soil and water. The garden will need six to eight hours of sunlight per day in order to produce vegetables or flowers.

Soil comes in three basic types, clay, sand or loan. The ideal soil is a sandy loam. There is a simple way to determine the type of soil in your garden. Pick up some soil with one hand, roll it into a ball. If it forms a ball that breaks apart readily it is loam. If a ball does not form, it is sand. If a ball forms but does not break apart easily, it is clay.

This primer will help you plan and design your first garden; it does not matter what you decide to grow, vegetables, flowers, herbs or all three, the steps are the same.

Step One:

There are two questions you need to answer at this point.

1- What do you want to grow?

2- How much time to you have to garden, each day, and week?

It is important to match your schedule to your interests; you do not want to start a garden that is too big, as it is likely to become a burden and that will take all the fun out of the project.

It is equally important not to put in a garden that is too small as your yield, what you get back for your labour, will be smaller than you expected and you will be disappointed and perhaps discouraged.

Step Two:

Now is the time for the garden plan. Don’t panic, this is simple; a plan helps you stay on track, makes maximum use of your gardening time, is fun and can be changed whenever you desire.

You now know what you want to grow and how much time you are willing to commit to the growing and maintenance. Now you must determine:

1- Where will your garden grow? The backyard most likely but were, well for most cut flowers, herbs and vegetables you want a spot that gets full sun for 5-6 hours a day, minimum.

2- How big will it be? The size depends upon what you want to grow and how much. A good cut flower garden can be fairly small in feet 6x6 will do; same for a herb garden. Now unless you are prepared to convert your whole backyard into a vegetable garden and even then, you are not going to grow all the food your family needs, so pick you 3-5 favourite vegetables and focus on them.

3- Homework time. You need to know the plants you plant to grow, the public library can be a great source of information as can the Internet. You can also visit a local plant nursery and have a chat with the manager.

4- Put the right plant in the right place and it will thrive.

Read this hub, for details on building the garden bed. Speaking of reading, if you are planting seeds read the seed package. The information there is meant to be followed, so do so. If you are using plants then read the tag that should be in the pot with the plant, the same story; If it is not then ask.

Gardening is a rewarding activity that does not have to be difficult or time-consuming, just be sure to build the garden that matches your needs, wants and schedule.

Consider keeping a journal. Record what you planted, how it fared and anything else that you notice. This information will be valuable when planning next year's garden.

Native Plant Gardening

Ecosystems are complex, possibly too complex for us to be able to understand all the connections and actions and interactions that take place within them.

If we do not know what will happen if something changes, it makes no sense to rush in and make those changes.

Pollination:

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anthers of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or of another flower. Pollination is a must if the flower is to be fertilized.

Fertilization is necessary if the plant’s flower is to produce seeds and seeds are needed to produce more plants.

The honey bee is not a native to North America and our growing dependence upon the honey bee to provide pollination services as lead to our forgetting the native bees that are able to perform this function and in some cases even better than the honey bee.

Now, one way that the gardener can attract native bees such as the bumblebee or mason bee is to create a garden that appeals to them.

This is a fundamental principle for attracting any type of wildlife whether it is, bee or butterfly the garden will design a garden that meets the needs of the beings and they will move in.

Bees on Sunflowers

Bees on Sunflower | Source

The Native Plant Garden

You do not have to include only native plants in the garden. If your garden is already established, no problem, add a few natives in the border or at the back, wherever they work best in the overall design.

If you include native plants that appeal to native bees and other pollinators in your garden you will be encouraging the native bees to visit and that is all you need them to do, drop by and do their thing and then move on.

If you grow vegetables on any scale adding some bee plants to the edges of your vegetable patch will bring the pollinators your way.

When you garden in this ecological manner, and by that I mean you think about creating an ecosystem rather than a garden, you move closer to being one with Nature and serving a vital role in the food chain that goes beyond personal consumption.

What the gardener is in fact doing is creating an ecosystem that meets the pollinators' needs. The pollinators reward the gardener by fertilizing the plants and thus making sure they grow and produce flowers or fruit.

The best way to attract native pollinators is first finding out what pollinators are native to where you live. Then find out what attracts them or what plants they like. A trip to the public library can help or horticultural society or perhaps even a garden centre.

The third step is to design a garden that incorporates a few of those plants that the bee is attracted to and plant them.

Creating a native plant garden is no different than creating any other garden. If you are new to gardening or looking for a refresher check this post out.

Ground Nesting Bees

When we talk about pollinators, the honey bee is usually the star. However, there are others. Bumblebees, beetles, orchard mason bees, butterflies and one that you rarely hear about ground-nesting bees.

Pollinators move pollen from the stigma to the anther, the female and male parts, respectively of flowers. This transfer is essential for plants to produce seed and fruit.

There are three types of ground-nesting bees. Digger bees (family Anthoporidae), sweat bees (family Halictidae), and mining bees (family Andrenidae).

Females dig their solitary homes in dry soil and mound the loose soil around the nest entrance. Pollen and nectar for her offspring are collected and stored.

While ground bees are solitary, it is to find dozens of ground bee nests in one area if conditions are suitable for nesting. Males may fly over the burrows, patrolling for potential mates.

Ground bee queens are docile. They present little or no threat to humans. The males may seem aggressive as they buzz around looking for a female, but they do not have a stinger.

Ground-nesting bees are active foragers of nectar and pollen from flowers, making them beneficial pollinators.

Their nests are small mounds of soil a few inches across. The nests may cause a visual concern for a while, they actually help to maintain a healthy lawn. The nests aerate the soil, enabling water to enter.

When the nests are abandoned in the spring, a rainfall will wash all traces away. If you can’t wait for nature, grab the hose and do the job yourself. But before you spray remember, these bees help you put dinner on the table.

While they may briefly detract from the aesthetics of a well-tended lawn, they do absolutely no harm to the grass or soil—even improving it as their nests function as aeration holes, improving the penetration of water and nutrients. Eventually, as the nests are abandoned after the spring nesting season, the soil washes back into place with rain, disappearing completely.

These are NOT docile ground-nesting bees, they are yellow-jackets and are bad-tempered and aggressive. Do not confuse them with docile ground-nesting bees or you will have a very bad day.

If you feel you must get rid of ground bees even for the brief time they live in your lawn, there is no need to use pesticides of any kind. Ground bees prefer dry soil to nest in, and simply watering the area that they have chosen will cause them to move to another area. If you find ground-nesting bees return to your lawn in large numbers year after year, run a sprinkler on the area before they show up; ground-nesting bees prefer dry soil to wet soil and will look elsewhere to make their nests. (Make sure that you are evicting ground bees and not yellow-jackets. Yellow-jackets reaction to a water eviction will not be “non-aggressive” by any means. A yellow jacket nest will look like a busy airport with many insects entering and leaving in a constant stream, and entrances can be well over an inch wide. Only one ground bee will be seen leaving and entering a hole only about ¼” wide.)

Even better, leave the ground bees to go about their business-they won’t be around long, and will even benefit your lawn and garden while they’re visiting. Just like robins, they’re another welcome sign of spring.

Organic Fertilizers

The following products are used in the production of organic fertilizers.

Blood Meal is dried blood as a by-product of the meat industry and contains approximately 13 per cent nitrogen; not for vegetarians.

Colloidal phosphate is clay that is washed from rock phosphate when the rock phosphate is mined. This is a good source of phosphorus.

Cottonseed meal is a waste product that is left over after cottonseed oil is pressed out of cottonseed, this may contain chemical residues and not be suitable.

Fish emulsions are a liquid by-product of the animal feed industry and are made from fish and a good source of nitrogen.

Greensand is a mined mineral deposit that is a good source of potassium and other minerals.

Guano is aged and dried bird or bat droppings that is high in nitrogen and phosphate.

You can make your own organic fertilizer from selecting the appropriate material in the right combinations. This is just like cooking just follow the recipe.

You will need to supply your soil with the three basics nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

The following is a formula or recipe for organic fertilizer.

2 parts of blood meal OR 3 parts of fish meal. This is your nitrogen source.

3 parts bonemeal 6 parts rock phosphate OR 6 parts colloidal phosphate ( phosphorous source)

1 part kelp meal OR 6 parts greensand (potassium)

Be sure to wear gloves, a dust mask and safety goggles.

Once you have chosen the 3 materials that you are going to mix then mix them be sure to wear the mask, gloves and goggles. Remember safety comes first.

Now you have your own custom mix which you may apply around the base of your roses, fruit trees or perennials. If you are starting a new bed you can mix some of the fertilizer into the soil before you plant your flowers or vegetables.

Another great source of organic fertilizer is the grass clippings produced when you mow your lawn. That is providing you do not sue any chemicals on that lawn. Let them lay where the mower tosses them.

If you want to can rake some up and move them to your garden bed. Spread them around so that water and air can get through and enter the soil.

Another excellent way to grow healthy plants is to use a foliar spray.  Plants are able to absorb nutrients through their leaves and they do this very well. This means that foliar spraying, spraying the leaves, can be very effective when used at the appropriate time.

The appropriate time is when the plants are growing fast and getting ready to bloom. This is the perfect time to spray a fine mist of liquid seaweed or compost tea being sure to cover all the leaves. Do this either in the early morning or the late evening as that is when the leaf pores open to regulate the passage of water, oxygen and carbon dioxide through their leaves.

Starting Seeds Indoors: Podcast

Hi, please check out my first podcast working with the Renfrew Public Library. Here

Started Seeds Today

This year, my plan is to start all my seeds, ornamentals included, indoors. The following will go on my front deck.

 California Poppy
Zinnias
Agastache foeniculum.

Why, curiosity, Photos will follow.

Added glass gem corn to the starts.

Food Forest: An Introduction

This video will introduce you  to the Food Forest. 

Soil Health

Ths video with Dr Elaine Ingram discusses soil health, worth watching. let me know what you think in the comments section.

Bob

What to Compost.

What can you compost? The following information provides you with a list of items that can go into your compost pile.

From Your Garden:

Leaves (chopped - to speed their breakdown)

Grass (not wet)

Plants & Weeds (without ripe seeds)

Old potting soil

Soft plant stems

From Your Kitchen.

Coffee grounds and filters

Fruit scraps

Vegetable trimmings

Crushed eggshells

Teabags

Shredded paper

The following items should not be placed into the compost:

Dairy products including cheese

Meat, fish (including sauces) and bones

Plastics

Metals

Fats and oils

Pet waste

Remember that a successful gardener builds soil and compost enables you to do that work.

Foraging Wild Food

Greetings, this video will help you identify and, possibly, appreciate wild food plants.

Seed Staring Indoors

Hi, are you a tomato fan? This video is for you.

Attracting Birds to Your Garden.

This video will help you create a garden for the birds that visit, live in your community.

Thanks to the Renfrew Public Library, I am part of a podcast focused on the various aspects of gardening. The first episode was recorded today and will be available on FB sometime next week. , Stay connected. The topic of the first episode, Gardening Planning and Seed Staring Indoors. The format is Q&A. Your questions and comments are encouraged. I will post here, on Twitter and FB when the first episode is ready.

Permaculture Guilds

Hi, this video by Heather Jo Flores provides an excellent look at what guilds are.