Grow Good Soil

Yesterday I purchased two yards of topsoil and filled in three beds.I could have bought a soil mix to fill the beds but opted to start fresh.This way I can add what I like and not deal with all that mulch usually found in mixes.What I hope to end up with is a living soil that in turn will help my plants thrive.I have used soil mixes before but the first season is always a disappointment.
My recipe for a healthy soil is good quality compost,homemade if possible,if not there are several good suppliers.A quick google search will lead you to them.Next is well composted cow manure or other manure,leaf mold,and sharp sand if your soil is a little heavy.You may say that adding cow manure is just asking for trouble.And yes you may have alot of weeds,actually you will have alot of weeds but this brings me to my next step. Mulch,Mulch,Mulch!I like alfalfa hay but there are other choices.You could use old hay,straw,pine straw or leaves,which many people will bag up for you and place them at the curb.By placing a thick layer of mulch on your soil you suppress weeds,regulate temperature and,reduce moisture loss.Allow soil to warm up before covering with mulch especially if you will direct seed into those beds.Pull weeds as they come,they are easier to remove when they are young.Next buy healthy transplants or if direct seeding,use quality,fresh seed.You may use older seed but if not stored properly results may not be to your satisfaction.In time benificial micro-organisms will start their magic.Earthworms will move in and aerate your soil.While all sorts of decomposers will help till.Now all you need is something to plant,get your hands dirty,and enjoy the best tasting produce you will ever eat.

First Step

Now that I have started this Blog thing and garden, it's time to get serious. January is almost gone and I haven't even started any seeds. Today I built three square beds at the garden from recycled fence pickets and a few 2x2's. I positioned the beds in a way that they will be visible from Defee and Pruett streets and secured them in place. Next I wanted to kill the clover that is growing and any grass that is still green after our recent freeze. I used vinegar as an alternative to synthetic herbicides. Not your household vinegar from your pantry, this is for agriculture use at 20% acidity. This is my prefered choice. Although I am not seeking organic certification at this time, this is an approved product for organic gardening. I like to use organic methods when ever possible. Part of my plan is to educate people of the damage we do to the environment by using synthetic chemicals and not following directions on the label. If we all made just one small change, we could make a big difference. One yard at a time. One community at a time.

The picture of my daughter is the future site of a seating area for visitors to enjoy the view.

Future Gardeners

Our children are our future. No where is this more true as in how people will feed themselves. As a young child, I learned so much from my parents and grandparents. One being how to garden. Now it is my turn to teach. My children are part of that future. I started with my son many years ago, now it's my daughter. Everyday I try to teach my daughter something new. Whether it be the name of a new plant, a new bug or a word in spanish it does'nt matter as long as I teach. If I will teach , she will learn.The other day while she tended her little container garden, my daughter said to me, "daddy the sun came out. I think she saw us planting and she wanted to help our plants grow." She surprises me all the time.

meanwhile, on Texas Avenue

Last weekend my wife and I joined some good friends at a new establishment on Texas Avenue. I was very pleased with what I saw. This new place is a small pub that has been very well done. It is in an old, historic building and alot of care and thought went into preserving and highlighting the architecture. There are other old buildings on Texas Avenue worth saving but it will take people with vision and insight to turn this street into a nice place to " go to." Those people are out there as the owners of this new pub have proven. It would require alot of work but we now have a great example of what can be done. Now all we need is the courage to move forward and not fear.

http://thedirtybay.com/

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

With the cold , wet weather there has not been much opportunity to garden. My thoughts lately have been on the layout of the garden and what materials to use for raised beds. I want to use salvaged lumber and any other materials I can get my hands on. So yesterday I built a seed starting bench in my garage from salvaged materials. I will use this bench to start seeds for the garden and for my backyard garden. It will be a mini-greenhouse of sorts with a heat mat and temp controller and lights on a timer.
For the raised beds at the garden I will need alot more material. Although I will puschase some soil to fill the beds, I plan to use alot of leaves that I can collect curbside around town. This will keep these bags out of the landfill and help build my soil. I also have access to cow and horse manure from friends to work into the soil. My hope is to someday reduse the amount of leaves that go to the landfill. Instead they should be recycled and reused in our community. In our own lanscape.

Happy New Year everyone. I wish I could get started on the new garden , but a garden can't be rushed. I love that about nature. These images are from the old garden in 2006 and are my inspiration for the new one. I hope you will like it.