Expanding My Gardening Horizons

I’ve gardened in Fairhope for 3 years and have kept this journal for two.  It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve met some great folks: you (my readers) and gardeners along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.

I’m expanding my horizons and adding to this journal.  My two closest garden buddies, Ann and Tracy, are now contributing writers and I’m so excited.

Ann will be writing about her gardening adventures on the Eastern Shore/Gulf Coast including recipes from her garden and nutritional stuff.  She is a brain when it comes to canning, nutrition, food allergies and growing stuff.   Ann went from vegetable gardening along the Mobile Bay to a few miles inland…ok, she’s in the “country” now and has noticed a huge difference in what can and cannot grow in the two climates.  There are fruit trees on her property, too.

Meanwhile, Tracy will be adding to the whole Gulf of Mexico gardening thing by writing of her adventures gardening in Belize.  Ok, Belize is really on the Caribbean but it’s close enough to the Gulf and it is coastal.  They deal with a lot of coastal gardening issues that seem similar to our area. Ok, maybe not, but  I just know it will be fun to read about.  Tracy also keeps a vegetable garden in Fairhope and is a fantastic nature photographer.  Her garden has thrived in a heavily shaded part of town on a street corner where she offers her neighbors the opportunity to pick what they want since she and her family can’t eat everything there.  Tracy also maintains a raised bed in the Community Garden; a garden we started as Junior Master Gardener teachers.  She and I have collaborated on a coffee-table style book which we plan to publish.

I am moving a little north to garden hardiness zone 7a, Oxford Mississippi to be exact.  This should be interesting.  I won’t be able to garden outside year-round anymore but I’ll try to push it and keep you informed of this adventure.  I might even do some indoor hydroponics to keep my herbs going.

Whether I move far or near, it’s time for this vegetable grower to move on; my back yard gets very little sun these days because the trees have grown up and out, covering what little sunny space I’ve had these past years. But, I know I won’t be gone forever and will return to a garden along the Gulf Coast.

My empty garden…I’ll miss it.

Hope you stay a subscriber and enjoy our gardening adventures.  If you are just a casual reader, go ahead and click the “subscribe” button for regular updates.

Happy Gardening.

Three Years of Raised-bed Gardening in Fairhope

Weeding Out The Weeds

Most of my readers know I have a brick patio with a weed problem. I’ve tried plucking them, using weed killer, vinegar solutions, power washing and then applying weed killer to the dirt. I have weeds.

I was recently reading a book I got for my Kindle called: The Briggs Book: Recipes, Remedies and Household Hints from Way Back When,  by Tony Holkham.

It is a collection of handwritten remedies and recipes that Holkham’s late-mother, Miss Edna, passed on to him that he transformed to digital format.  One entry stuck in my head. It made me think hard about my weed problem on the brick patio.

I AM killing the weeds: I spray them with weed killer and more appear.  I pour boiling water on them and more appear.  I have put vinegar on them and more appear.

And, I’m pulling them out by the roots. This in theory should stop them from coming back. I have a tightly packed, enclosed yard so wind dispersal of weeds neighboring pastures is not an issue. My neighborhood is so manicured and professionally maintained you’d have to wonder where these weeds are coming from. There’s even a golf course meandering through the area. I must have the only natural yard within miles; a safe haven for weeds.

I actually intend on growing them in a container. I have dandelion seeds from Iowa, some of which I planted too late to grow over the winter, that I’m container growing this spring. Oh, the neighbors will love me if I let the dandelion seed!

Holkham’s book made me think about the soil that the weeds are clinging to. I have been told to put sand between the bricks but if the weeds are already in the soil, they’ll pop through the sand. What if I neutralized the soil?  I’ve tried baking soda and vinegar but strangely the weeds, which quickly died grew back in spots so I’m assuming it wasn’t a total solution.  Or I didn’t do it correctly.

Here’s the book said: To destroy weeds on path, mix 1D of salt with 1 gallon of water.  It’s also a slug killer and good “fertiliser.”

Salt Water.

Why not try it. Once hurricanes push salt water inland on lawns, the area needs replanting.  Salt water kills.  But, why would something that kills weeds also be a good fertilizer?  My research found that Miss Edna must have meant Epsom Salt which is recommended as a plant fertilizer. Table salt easily kill a plant. Sweet lady had her head all confused!

So back to my weeds.  The “1D salt” was hard to translate so I found some other recipes: 1 part salt to 2 parts water.  After a week, on a test spot, the weeds on my patio died.  That was 2 months ago and they haven’t resurfaced yet.

So there, my friends, is Miss Edna’s solution to eliminating patio weeds.  Hope it works for you.

Dear Journal:

Today I planted Sweet Peas and Crooked Necked Squash. The Brussels Sprouts, Celery and Potatoes are doing well. Dandelions are growing. No sign of bunnies. The grass is greening up in the yard which is great for my dog. She’ll have plenty to nibble on for a while and I can put the Pet Grass in the ground rather than keep it in the house for her. It’s a beautiful day.

Lawn Care as an Art Form

As most of the country leaves the cold behind to confront their growing lawns (we’ve been keeping up with it all winter), I wanted to share this bit of information: lawn care can be fun. In fact, for some it can be an art form.

Take Don Lambert of Cincinnati for example. He was a bored lawn owner who turned this chore into a passion that brought praise from neighbors. He now shows his “work” in art galleries and is currently at the Art and Culture Center Of Hollywood in Florida. The exhibition runs through April 14.

Read about him here. Then I dare you to turn your weekend chore into a work of art.

Monsanto In My Garden

Before you plant this season, read this. I was recently alerted by a Facebook group I belong to that Monsanto is taking over the home garden seed business.

Monsanto, for those of you who only get your news and entertainment from my blog, is a bio-tech company responsible for most genetically-modified (GM) seeds sold throughout the world. Most countries have banned GM food made from these crops (GMO). The US has not. Some GM seeds contain a pesticide which in theory but not reality keeps bugs and insects away from the crops. This pesticide is responsible for killing off not only “bad” critters, but also beneficials as well. It’s being blamed for the bee colony collapse as well. GM seeds include cotton, which we make into fabric and clothing which then sits on our skin.

Other GM seeds are just genetically modified to remove, for example, seeds in watermelons.  Still not the food God intended for nourishing our bodies.

Get the picture?

Monsanto is buying up seed companies that we homesteaders and small garden enthusiasts purchase from. I believe Monsanto wants to take over the world, but I’ll leave that sub-topic for another time.

Meanwhile, I found this other person’s blog written so well and researched more thorough than I have time to re-do so I want to share it with you. Please read this before planting.

Milkweed

Monarchs will be heading north around the end of March, maybe sooner.  My milkweed is getting itself ready for the invading butterflies.  My plants have new leaves, new shoots, new flowers.

Keep track of the migration with Journey North.  They have maps you can track migration of monarchs and other critters.  As a citizen scientist you are welcome to post sightings, too.

Monarch Watch, another great organization, has a Forum.  You can get updates from Monarch Watch and from subscribers.