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All thumbs are green if your heart is in the growing.
This post inaugurates a series directed at the needs of new vegetable gardeners who are about to make the leap from wanting a garden to having one.It isn’t intended as an all-inclusive guide, but rather as a starting point because gardening is a skill and a passion which can never be fully mastered. We can never say “That’s it. I know all there is to know about gardening … no sense doing it anymore.”
A garden is forever sending its best and brightest students back to the bottom of the class. I know this because I am sent there frequently. Ask me about last years potatoes. Or, better yet, please don’t ask.
The peas came out pretty nice, though. I just wish I’d planted enough.
We will consider:
* Choosing a site
* Preparing that site
* Starting from seed v. purchasing potted plants (there are a couple other alternatives that we will also consider)
* organic methods and (some – a very few) chemical methods
* fertilizing (under organic management, seldom necessary)
* various gardening philosophies
* About 10,000 other things … one at a time and in no particular order.
You’ll find some of these covered already on the “Quick Tips” page linked to from the menu above.
So, are you up for the ride?
– Bill
Sounds perfect! I need all the help I can get with my non-green thumb.
Planted pumpkin & squash seeds we saved last fall… they are growing along with the spinach, but some of them are getting eaten for lunch? What to do naturally?
.-= Tania aka Pure Natural Diva´s last blog ..Diva Recipe: Homemade Body Lotion =-.
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Sounds like a good topic for a post. Coming right up!
In the meantime, to attempt an answer to your specific question, try to see if you can spot the beasts at work and also post a clearer description of the damage. What part of the plant is being attacked, what does the damage look like and what time of day does it seem to be occurring in are all useful to know. Are the affected parts touching the ground or are they elevated by several inches? Can you see any entry holes on the stalks or footprints in the soil? Rats, mice, squirrels and, to a lesser extent, rabbits can wreak havoc in an urban garden.
Careful observation is probably the most important tool in an organic gardeners arsenal.
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Did you ever figure out what, exactly, was doing the munching? Making a hot-pepper spray with pepper seeds and water whirled in a blender will deter a wide variety of critters. Filter the mixture through cloth and place it, along with a few drops of molasses or soap as a ‘sticker’ in a garden sprayer, then spray top & bottom surfaces. Usually the mixture is so unpalatable that the munchers are willing to move on quietly.
If I got a mouthful of hot pepper oil and soap, I’d move on too!
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