In this video, I lay out the 10 most common mistakes that gardeners make.
Transplanting Lavender Cuttings In Raised Bed
In my video Propagating and Growing Lavender From Cutting, I showed how to start them in a small cup or pot.
Now that they have had a couple of months to take root and grow a little, it’s time to put them in their permanent home.
I have a raised bed out at the edge of my back yard. They will get plenty of morning sun.
The soil
I worked in a little vermiculite into the existing soil to make it nice and soft to allow the roots to grow down into the bed. It’s critical that you minimize shock when transplanting any kind of seedling. So I am trying to imitate the soil in the pot.
Dig a hole just big enough to set the plant down at the same depth it was in the pot. You do not want to bury them deeper than they were.
Water the seedling well, very well. I will not fertilize them at this point. I want them to get established in their new home before feeding.
http://youtu.be/q10TtZhte5I?list=UUXE-E6Z7ur-AXbTdITbtPag
Making Compost, What To Add What Not To Add
In this video, I discuss what to add and what not to add to a compost.
I basically consider my compost a raw vegan, with the exception of eggshells. I believe eggshells are a great source of calcium.
I do not add and animal manure to my pile. I have so much vegetable and fruit scraps I feel it is unnecessary. You can however add those if you like, as long as your pile heats up well to break down any pathogens.
How To Build A Raised Bed Super Cheap
Build a raised bed for your vegetables for little money.
This bed has been going strong for 9 years with little sign of wear.
I only used 4 – 2×4’s. If you shop around, you can get them cheap. I bought these for about $1.5 each. So total cost was only about $6.
Endless Supply of Green Onions
In a previous video, I discussed growing green onions from store bought. I hadn’t considered just how long these would last.
After my raised beds suffered through relentless winter and many months of neglect, harvesting green onions was the last thing on my mind. However, as I was walking along the beds today, I discovered a surprise. Not only did the onions survive, they are thriving. What a great gift to see after a long and arduous winter. So, never give up on your garden. It just might surprise you.
How To Store And Organize Your Seed Collection
It may not be as sophisticated as the svalbard seed vault, but it is certainly adequate for my needs. I finally broke down and built storage boxes for my seed collection.
Storing seeds, particularly heirlooms, is a great way to save money and preserve our food heritage.
I built these storage boxes inexpensively from 1×4 pine boards.
Lifetime 80 Gallon Compost Tumbler First Impressions
My first impressions of the Lifetime 80 Gallon Compost Tumbler.
This is a great size tumbler for anyone that generates a small amount of kitchen and yard waste. I filled this in about 4 weeks. We eat a lot of fruits and vegetables so it held quite a bit of waste.
A Book of Gardens by Alfred H. Hyatt (1913)
Another FREE abook written by Alfred H. Hyatt, 1913 added to our list
Excerpt:
As the darkest hour is said to be just before the dawn, so the point where spring and winter meet may prove the most comfortless of seasons. Frost has disheartened the tender springing that had begun among green things under the earth…..
The Back Yard Farmer by John Willard Bolte (1914)
Another FREE ebook written by John Willard Bolte, 1914 added to our list
Excerpt:
Every home should be surrounded by a beautiful and artistic yard. Almost all appreciate this fact, and it will not bear argument, but there is considerable divergence of opinion as to the best way to make the yard beautiful.
The keynote of landscape beauty is harmony……..
Visit our list of FREE gardening books HERE!
Farming by Richard Kendall Munkittrick (1891)
Another FREE ebook written by Richard Kendall Munkittrick. 1891 added to our list
excerpt:
I had always had a wild ambition to be a farmer, and be far from the hurly-burly of metropolitan life. Of farming I knew nothing but what I had heard from people who delighted in ridiculing its independence, as well as in looking at it from a serious standpoint, in order to prove it a comic occupation……….
Visit our list of FREE gardening books HERE!