Still gardening out here in Lakeside. I've been lucky to learn about how hard it is to grow my own food. I've also learned that pests are everywhere. When I first started my gardens I had very high expectations. I quickly learned that it takes time and a whole lot of know how to grow the garden you desire. My expectations have been changing but I have not yet learned enough to be able to grow my own food and grow a good cover crop.
I tried to put mulch, shredded eucalyptus leaves and branches, on my garden and planted in the dirt under it. Most of my seedlings were destroyed before they reached an inch tall. I had created a nice habitat for bugs and was feeding them some delicious fresh micro greens. I didn't know what the problem was until recently. I had followed advice from a book that was not written for someone trying to grow here in southern California. I have switched to a method where I feed worms in a trench style bin and plant small 4' X 4' garden beds butted up against the trench. I only planted next to the trench 2 days ago, so there is not too much to report yet. I hope that the bugs will stay in the trench and my garden will grow nicely when the worms carry vital nutrients into the garden beds.
I am excited to see what is going to happen. I still have two more 4' X 4' beds to dig before I go on to the next set of beds. The next set is going to be equipped with a worm tower type of structure. It is merely a 5 gallon bucket with 1/2" holes drilled all around the sides and bottom. I bury the bucket 3/4 or more in the middle of the garden and feed the worms there. They are free to come and go as they please. They carry undigested food out into the surrounding soil and then put their castings there to feed the garden.
Since I have been adding more water more plants have been sprouting up. I don't know that this is the best thing that could happen but I at least have more food to put in the worm bins. I have put some worm castings mixed with some organic fertilizers and amendments on top of some of the garden beds. I hope it is not too strong for planting in. I do also hope that this will help my seedlings start off strong and maintain until the worms are steadily feeding the garden.
I tried to put mulch, shredded eucalyptus leaves and branches, on my garden and planted in the dirt under it. Most of my seedlings were destroyed before they reached an inch tall. I had created a nice habitat for bugs and was feeding them some delicious fresh micro greens. I didn't know what the problem was until recently. I had followed advice from a book that was not written for someone trying to grow here in southern California. I have switched to a method where I feed worms in a trench style bin and plant small 4' X 4' garden beds butted up against the trench. I only planted next to the trench 2 days ago, so there is not too much to report yet. I hope that the bugs will stay in the trench and my garden will grow nicely when the worms carry vital nutrients into the garden beds.
I am excited to see what is going to happen. I still have two more 4' X 4' beds to dig before I go on to the next set of beds. The next set is going to be equipped with a worm tower type of structure. It is merely a 5 gallon bucket with 1/2" holes drilled all around the sides and bottom. I bury the bucket 3/4 or more in the middle of the garden and feed the worms there. They are free to come and go as they please. They carry undigested food out into the surrounding soil and then put their castings there to feed the garden.
Since I have been adding more water more plants have been sprouting up. I don't know that this is the best thing that could happen but I at least have more food to put in the worm bins. I have put some worm castings mixed with some organic fertilizers and amendments on top of some of the garden beds. I hope it is not too strong for planting in. I do also hope that this will help my seedlings start off strong and maintain until the worms are steadily feeding the garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment