As I was milling about today I realized that some people reading this blog may have never gardened or planted anything before..... I apologize for not giving you the basic information to get you headed in the right direction. So today i will inform you about........
SOIL!!!!!
No not dirt......SOIL! You may thinking to yourself...what is the difference???? Well let me explain!
Dirt.....dirt is something that is on your clothes, shoes or a road. You do not want to plant anything in Dirt....Dirt is, for all intensive purposes,.....Dead....and if you plant in dirt your plants will be too!!
Soil ....it could be argued that soil is the foundation for all life....but that is a little too philosophical for me so lets just go with soil is ALIVE. ( ok I don't mean soil is alive like it will go have a cup of coffee, or mop the floor for ya but bare with me!)
Soil does, in it's own respect, breathe....there is a gas exchange that does go on within the soil. Soil houses many ( too many for me to count) organisms ...large such as worms, small such as ants and microscopic such as various bacterias.....good and bad. A good soil has all the essential nutrients for plant growth. ( Dirt has... NO NUTRIENTS)
Some of us are blessed to have very rich soils...however in this day and age with all the subdivisions and building that goes on most of us have lost our layer of top soil in our back yard and we are left with the sub-soil.....still soil but not as "good" as the layer that was taken away. So what are we aspiring gardeners to do???
First off I recommend getting a soil test done on your property. This is a rather simple, inexpensive process you can do with the help of your local Co-op or extension service. What you have to do is go around your property and collect some soil from several different spots....mix it all together and if you are using your Co-op you can just take it to them in a baggie but the extension services have little boxes to fill up. Once you turn it in they can email you the results that will give you more information than you probably ever wanted to know about your soil!
But, from this information you can determine the health of your soil and there will be recommendations of what needs to be added to your soil to improve it. Now keep in mind these soil testes are are used to determine the soil health usually for large farms growing specific crops.....so there may be some wiggle room as to what you really need to do to improve your soil. But DO NOT be afraid to ask the people who did your soil test for explanations. That is what they are there for!
Ok so have I bombarded you with enough information today? Well Soil is the most important thing for your flowerbeds or garden so I am sure we will discuss this again until then...... if you have any questions or comments let me know!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
An "indoor" project!
OK so most of us have had our first hard freeze and it seems like spring is a million years away.....so now is a good time for a project!!! This does take a little planning and preparation but it will be worth it in the end!
I try really hard not to endorse products but I will make an exception .....there is a wonderful book I read a few years ago called "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte which is all about companion planting.
First of please do not feel any pressure to by this book you can look up most of the information free online these days but I really liked to have "something to carry around" while I was trying to figure out the maze of companion planting. ( I do warn you the abundance of information can be very overwhelming that is why I liked to have the book on hand.)
Many of you may be asking yourself.....great a book? But what the heck is companion planting???
The concept is not hard.....certain plants ( like carrots and tomatoes) "like" to be planted next to each other. There are many plants that do not like to be planted next to each other and that information is important to know too! However all the information about what can be planted next to each other can seem daunting!
Why do they like to be planted next to each other...... well in the case of carrots and tomatoes.....they each give off certain chemicals to keep pests off each other. ( A natural insect defense!) In other cases of companion planting like corn and beans....the beans replenish the nitrogen in the soil and corn uses a lot of nitrogen as it grows. ( so less fertilizer is needed)
From my previous posts you all know that I like to do things " on the cheap", by using companion planting we can cut the costs of fertilizers, insecticides and even some herbicides. Not only is this cost effective it is also great for the soil and environment because you are using less chemicals in general! ( which i find is a great thing!!)
I really haven't told you about a project yet..... ok well here it is. Once you have all your information about companion planting.....
First you must decide what you will be planting in the spring. Next go through and figure out what is best to be planted next to each other ( that is what takes the most time) and then start planning the garden. I like to get a piece of graph paper and use that as my "garden" and map out what will go where. It may seem a little overzealous but I also use different colored pencils to depict the plants....so then everything is color coded and can be easily read and followed ( and you don't forget what is suppose to go where!!) After all this preparation your garden will be a breeze to plant in the spring!! ( This practice can also be used in your flower beds....not just the garden.)
So I am sure your compost is also coming along well and couple that with companion planting... and hopefully you will not have to spend any extra money on any chemicals this coming growing season!!
If you have any other garden organizing tips and tricks please leave them in the comment section!!!
I try really hard not to endorse products but I will make an exception .....there is a wonderful book I read a few years ago called "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte which is all about companion planting.
First of please do not feel any pressure to by this book you can look up most of the information free online these days but I really liked to have "something to carry around" while I was trying to figure out the maze of companion planting. ( I do warn you the abundance of information can be very overwhelming that is why I liked to have the book on hand.)
Many of you may be asking yourself.....great a book? But what the heck is companion planting???
The concept is not hard.....certain plants ( like carrots and tomatoes) "like" to be planted next to each other. There are many plants that do not like to be planted next to each other and that information is important to know too! However all the information about what can be planted next to each other can seem daunting!
Why do they like to be planted next to each other...... well in the case of carrots and tomatoes.....they each give off certain chemicals to keep pests off each other. ( A natural insect defense!) In other cases of companion planting like corn and beans....the beans replenish the nitrogen in the soil and corn uses a lot of nitrogen as it grows. ( so less fertilizer is needed)
From my previous posts you all know that I like to do things " on the cheap", by using companion planting we can cut the costs of fertilizers, insecticides and even some herbicides. Not only is this cost effective it is also great for the soil and environment because you are using less chemicals in general! ( which i find is a great thing!!)
I really haven't told you about a project yet..... ok well here it is. Once you have all your information about companion planting.....
First you must decide what you will be planting in the spring. Next go through and figure out what is best to be planted next to each other ( that is what takes the most time) and then start planning the garden. I like to get a piece of graph paper and use that as my "garden" and map out what will go where. It may seem a little overzealous but I also use different colored pencils to depict the plants....so then everything is color coded and can be easily read and followed ( and you don't forget what is suppose to go where!!) After all this preparation your garden will be a breeze to plant in the spring!! ( This practice can also be used in your flower beds....not just the garden.)
So I am sure your compost is also coming along well and couple that with companion planting... and hopefully you will not have to spend any extra money on any chemicals this coming growing season!!
If you have any other garden organizing tips and tricks please leave them in the comment section!!!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Vocabulary Lesson
I know I know nobody likes vocabulary lessons but this one is very important! I promise there will not be a test!
So everyday at the grocery store, in the news and in general conversation we are bombarded with terms we might not know the meaning of and rather than seem foolish we may pretend to know what they mean ( I am guilty of this!). However, it is very important to know these terms so we are not taken advantage of or buying things we don't understand.
First off I would like to explain Hybrids. Hybrids are a good thing. the easiest way to define them is to use an example.....if you have kids....they are hybrids. ( two sets of genes coming together to make something different from the originals) It has been scientifically proven that hybrids are very useful, they have something called "hybrid vigor" where the best of each individual is presented in the offspring. In the food world you will run into hybrids in the grocery store. Pluots for example are a tasty fruit which is a hybrid of a plum and an apricot. Some apple varieties are also hybrids.
Next lets tackle Organic. Most of us know what organic is but lets make sure. For something to be grown and marketed as organic it must go through a lengthy certification process by the federal government. The farmer may not use any synthetic pesticides or herbicides! But DO NOT BE FOOLED......herbicides and pesticides are still used on organically grown food.....they are just "natural". And in no way can something organic be genetically modified! ( keep reading to find out about GMOs)
Now one of the most confusing things I run across is when a food is labeled..." all Natural". ( ok my problem with this is ....isn't all food natural? I mean it comes from nature...therefore it is "natural" right??) I like to refer to this labeling as a marketing ploy. My reasoning behind this is....the food is not organic....synthetic pest management techniques are still being used ....the only thing I can conjure up is that the food is not genetically modified....thus it is "natural".
This leads me to "Grain Fed" meat products. Most all commercially produced animals are grain fed. The conundrum lies in what grains they are fed. They grains may be organic or regular. As a consumer you must read the packaging very carefully. ( most organically grain fed animal products are kept in their own little section at the grocery store)
Be careful not to get grain fed confused with grass fed. Grass fed means that the animal's diet consists of grass....this grass may or may not be organic...so once again we must read the label carefully.
Alright....this is a debate I try to avoid but we must talk about it..... Genetically Modified Organisms. ( GMOs) What does this mean.....well in simple terms the "organism" is literally shot with certain genes to acquire certain attributes. That doesn't seem to simple huh? OK an example to clarify....I think most of us have heard of round-up ready crops ( this means that the crops can be sprayed with the herbicide round-up and they will not die) well how does this work? A kernel of corn is injected with a gene from the herbicide....so when the herbicide is sprayed on the corn the corn is resistant to the affects of the herbicide...this is like a human getting a flu shot....we are injected with the a weakened form of the flu so antibodies are built up with in our body so we don't get the flu. Have I confused you yet???
SO the debate lies in.... are GMOs good for us or bad for us???
I have not come to a conclusion on this. There are good points and bad points.
The good:
less herbicides and pesticides can be used on crops
things like vitamins can be injected into foods to make them more nutritious
the cost of growing can be less because of not having to use so many chemicals
The Bad:
GMO seeds are expensive for the farmer
There are patents on these seeds so only certain companies can make them
Will there be any long-term side affects to humans from eating them
( this is just a small list.....I don't think I could it everything into one blog!)
So what are we to do? How do we decide what to feed our families? The best advice I can offer is to be informed. I wish we could have an expert with us while grocery shopping to let us know about all the products but I guess that is not realistic so we have to become our own experts. And spread the word....let people know the differences between all the terms listed above. ( I have run into some people that think red peppers are GMOs because they are red and not green but after a simple explanation, they changed their opinion) With more knowledge we can make better choices. I hope I have provided some of that knowledge in this blog! Please give me your comments and questions below!
So everyday at the grocery store, in the news and in general conversation we are bombarded with terms we might not know the meaning of and rather than seem foolish we may pretend to know what they mean ( I am guilty of this!). However, it is very important to know these terms so we are not taken advantage of or buying things we don't understand.
First off I would like to explain Hybrids. Hybrids are a good thing. the easiest way to define them is to use an example.....if you have kids....they are hybrids. ( two sets of genes coming together to make something different from the originals) It has been scientifically proven that hybrids are very useful, they have something called "hybrid vigor" where the best of each individual is presented in the offspring. In the food world you will run into hybrids in the grocery store. Pluots for example are a tasty fruit which is a hybrid of a plum and an apricot. Some apple varieties are also hybrids.
Next lets tackle Organic. Most of us know what organic is but lets make sure. For something to be grown and marketed as organic it must go through a lengthy certification process by the federal government. The farmer may not use any synthetic pesticides or herbicides! But DO NOT BE FOOLED......herbicides and pesticides are still used on organically grown food.....they are just "natural". And in no way can something organic be genetically modified! ( keep reading to find out about GMOs)
Now one of the most confusing things I run across is when a food is labeled..." all Natural". ( ok my problem with this is ....isn't all food natural? I mean it comes from nature...therefore it is "natural" right??) I like to refer to this labeling as a marketing ploy. My reasoning behind this is....the food is not organic....synthetic pest management techniques are still being used ....the only thing I can conjure up is that the food is not genetically modified....thus it is "natural".
This leads me to "Grain Fed" meat products. Most all commercially produced animals are grain fed. The conundrum lies in what grains they are fed. They grains may be organic or regular. As a consumer you must read the packaging very carefully. ( most organically grain fed animal products are kept in their own little section at the grocery store)
Be careful not to get grain fed confused with grass fed. Grass fed means that the animal's diet consists of grass....this grass may or may not be organic...so once again we must read the label carefully.
Alright....this is a debate I try to avoid but we must talk about it..... Genetically Modified Organisms. ( GMOs) What does this mean.....well in simple terms the "organism" is literally shot with certain genes to acquire certain attributes. That doesn't seem to simple huh? OK an example to clarify....I think most of us have heard of round-up ready crops ( this means that the crops can be sprayed with the herbicide round-up and they will not die) well how does this work? A kernel of corn is injected with a gene from the herbicide....so when the herbicide is sprayed on the corn the corn is resistant to the affects of the herbicide...this is like a human getting a flu shot....we are injected with the a weakened form of the flu so antibodies are built up with in our body so we don't get the flu. Have I confused you yet???
SO the debate lies in.... are GMOs good for us or bad for us???
I have not come to a conclusion on this. There are good points and bad points.
The good:
less herbicides and pesticides can be used on crops
things like vitamins can be injected into foods to make them more nutritious
the cost of growing can be less because of not having to use so many chemicals
The Bad:
GMO seeds are expensive for the farmer
There are patents on these seeds so only certain companies can make them
Will there be any long-term side affects to humans from eating them
( this is just a small list.....I don't think I could it everything into one blog!)
So what are we to do? How do we decide what to feed our families? The best advice I can offer is to be informed. I wish we could have an expert with us while grocery shopping to let us know about all the products but I guess that is not realistic so we have to become our own experts. And spread the word....let people know the differences between all the terms listed above. ( I have run into some people that think red peppers are GMOs because they are red and not green but after a simple explanation, they changed their opinion) With more knowledge we can make better choices. I hope I have provided some of that knowledge in this blog! Please give me your comments and questions below!
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