Comments on: Foodscout Garden: Beyond Organic http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html find health naturally Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:51:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Alison http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html/comment-page-1#comment-2577 Alison Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:39:15 +0000 http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html#comment-2577 I use compost everywhere. In the spring I add a liberal layer of compost to just about everything in the garden - trees, shrubs, perennials, potted plants, and houseplants coming outside for the summer. When I plant something new – bareroot, rootball, tuber, bulbs, seeds, or six-packs of annuals, I prepare the bed with a mixture of regular soil heavily amended with compost and varying proportions of sand, peat, clay, ash, and other additives depending on what I'm planting. I like the idea of no-till planting, which was a big aha moment for me when I first read about it, so now that most of my garden beds are laid out I don't dig the soil unless I'm actually planting something that warrants making a big hole. It seems to me that layers of good nutritious compost are pretty close to the process that occurs in natural settings. With the exception of my roses, I rarely fertilize and I have to say, my garden is pretty amazing - nature does a pretty good job if you just let it! I use compost everywhere. In the spring I add a liberal layer of compost to just about everything in the garden – trees, shrubs, perennials, potted plants, and houseplants coming outside for the summer. When I plant something new – bareroot, rootball, tuber, bulbs, seeds, or six-packs of annuals, I prepare the bed with a mixture of regular soil heavily amended with compost and varying proportions of sand, peat, clay, ash, and other additives depending on what I’m planting. I like the idea of no-till planting, which was a big aha moment for me when I first read about it, so now that most of my garden beds are laid out I don’t dig the soil unless I’m actually planting something that warrants making a big hole. It seems to me that layers of good nutritious compost are pretty close to the process that occurs in natural settings. With the exception of my roses, I rarely fertilize and I have to say, my garden is pretty amazing – nature does a pretty good job if you just let it!

]]> By: foodscout http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html/comment-page-1#comment-2490 foodscout Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:02:57 +0000 http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html#comment-2490 Thanks for the input, Alison! We have actually been composting our produce scraps (which are plentiful) for quite some time. Only now we actually have a use for all this compost we've been collecting for 2 years. We have one of those plastic barrels, and also a worm composting bin that we learned to create at a workshop last year. Only problem is, we're not entirely sure what to do with the compost once it's ready. Do we use it after we dig up old plants and before the new ones go in? Do we sprinkle it over the top of the existing garden? Thanks for the input, Alison! We have actually been composting our produce scraps (which are plentiful) for quite some time. Only now we actually have a use for all this compost we’ve been collecting for 2 years.

We have one of those plastic barrels, and also a worm composting bin that we learned to create at a workshop last year. Only problem is, we’re not entirely sure what to do with the compost once it’s ready. Do we use it after we dig up old plants and before the new ones go in? Do we sprinkle it over the top of the existing garden?

]]> By: ALison Cain http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html/comment-page-1#comment-2487 ALison Cain Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:34:14 +0000 http://www.foodscout.org/blog/2009/07/foodscout-garden-beyond-organic.html#comment-2487 Hi there - good to see that you're growing your own food. I grow some vegetables and lots of herbs. I always have more herbs than I can use, so I let some of them flower and go to seed, as this helps sustain bee and other insect populations. Native insects need native vegetation to reproduce and this is key for native bird populations. Also - composting is awesome! Discarding organic waste into landfills and then driving to a nursery to buy compost is a little bit nutty! Maybe it's also a bit nutty to get as excited as I do about harvesting my own compost, but it really is satisfying. And the earthworms in my compost pile look like small snakes! Visitors marvel at how lush my flower and vegetable garden is - I do think that compost is the secret. Hi there – good to see that you’re growing your own food.

I grow some vegetables and lots of herbs. I always have more herbs than I can use, so I let some of them flower and go to seed, as this helps sustain bee and other insect populations. Native insects need native vegetation to reproduce and this is key for native bird populations.

Also – composting is awesome! Discarding organic waste into landfills and then driving to a nursery to buy compost is a little bit nutty! Maybe it’s also a bit nutty to get as excited as I do about harvesting my own compost, but it really is satisfying. And the earthworms in my compost pile look like small snakes! Visitors marvel at how lush my flower and vegetable garden is – I do think that compost is the secret.

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