Simple Ways to Extend your Growing Season; Gardening Guidebook
Simple Food Gardening!
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Transcript of Simple Food Gardening!
Simple Food Gardening!
Houston, TX
Made by Biodiverse for Life
Visit our web site at biodiverseforlife.org
Simple Food Garden Installation : Raised Beds
Clear and break ground.
1. Place organic matter ~6-12” deep,
2. Cover with shredded hardwood mulch, ~3”
3. Water, plant, and water
• Use any dead stuff: i.e. mushroom compost, leaves, yard trimmings, composted manure, etc.
• Optional: add edging
Site selection: Sun or shade? Both can work!
• Optional: add drip irrigation
Maintenance? Water and Add MORE Dead Stuff !!!Also: add native plants!
They will attract and support pollinators and beneficial insects!
More information can be found here
And here
And here
More on native plants
Will I Get:RATS ? SMELLS ? BUGS ?
Simple Composting : 2-Bin, No Turn Method
Great to Compost!
Dead stuff.Rat Food!
Bread, pasta, and grainsMeat, eggs, cheese
Final compost coarse? OK!USE IT!
It will last longer and provide better habitat for beneficial micro-organisms in the soil.
Supports biodiversity: Food base for lizards, toads and birds:
One of at least TEN systems positively impactedby the ONE decision to COMPOST!
‘Power of 10’
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Layer:
1. Wet dead stuff2. Dry dead stuff3. WATER !!!4. Repeat
Fill one bin, then start the next bin.
When the second bin is full, the first bin will be ready. (Won’t smell bad.)
Honest workers! Cleaning up and purifying our waste! OUTSIDE!
More information here
Or kitchen waste is trucked to landfills to create hazardous waste……
Example of Example of finished coarse compost ready to use!
Anaerobic fermentation: ‘Bokashi’ Method ?
Examples of Compost Bins
Rat Food?Bread, pasta, and grainsMeat, eggs, cheese
Simple pile Contained pile
Maximum security!(Holes punched in bottom and sides)
Contents must be kept damp in order to decompose.
WEEDS !
Simple Maintenance
MICROLIFE !
SOIL TESTIN
G !FERTILIZERS !
N-P-K BALANCE !PE
ST M
ANAG
EMEN
T !
SOIL AMENDMENTS !
!?!
Occasionally a crop will fail. Usual cause: weird weather or wrong season. Not your garden’s failure. Protect through diversification.
: Relax !
Additions to dirt:
1.Dead stuff.
Pest control :
1.Biodiversity
Minimal and infrequent:2. Pest caterpillars: Bt3. Fire ants: Spinosad bait
Snails, Squirrels, Birds , Hurricanes, Freezes: Humility builders!
Simple Food Preparation
Meal of fall- and winter-planted vegetables in early spring
All garden grown except for the egg!
HERBS and GREENS!
And don’t be shy about using….
HERBS AS GREENS !
Big veggies are great.
However, for a maximally useful and nutritious home food garden, the plants to grow the most of are ……
Herbs don’t just taste great, they are nutritional powerhouses!(for example see: parsley nutrition)
Example of a large summer garden in Houston, TX: mostly herbs and greens.
THE STAGE:
For additional information on growing and harvesting , for recipes,and to post questions or comments:
http://hsfg.forummotion.com/
For a slide show on great food plants for the Houston summer:Click Here