How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden Good news and bad news. I had planned to film a short video showing you how to make a pallet garden, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I was stapling the landscape fabric onto the pallet when it started drizzling and got really windy. That’s the bad news. So keep reading my pallet loving friends, instructions on how to make your own pallet garden are just a few lines away… Find a Pallet The first thing you need to do is–obviously–find a pallet. Don’t just take the first pallet you find. Collect Your Supplies For this project, you’ll need the pallet you found, 2 large bags of potting soil, 16 six packs of annual flowers (one six pack per opening on the face of the pallet, and two six packs per opening on the top of the completed pallet garden), a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples, and sand paper. Get Your Pallet into Shape Once you’ve dragged your pallet home, give it a once over. Let the Stapling Begin! Lay the pallet face down. Now for the sides. Caring For your Pallet
Starting Your First Vegetable Garden by Neil Moran You're aware of the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables, you have the space for a small garden, but just don't know where to start? Look no further. Here's all you need to know to put fresh, crisp vegetables on your dinner table. First, think small. Choose a location that receives as much sun as possible throughout the day. Next, examine the soil. If you're stuck with a predominantly sandy or clay soil it will be worth bringing in some topsoil to get you off on the right foot. Another thing you can do is use topsoil to make a raised bed. Hey, I think we're ready to plant! In a small garden you may want to avoid some of the space hogs, like corn, squash and pumpkin. Easy to grow crops include onions, peas, beets, rutabaga and zucchini squash. Unfortunately, critters (and children) may take a shine to your new garden. Vandals can also attack gardens, especially in conspicuous areas of a city, such as in a community garden. Watch for insect infestation. Happy gardening.
Gardening 101: My Top 12 Easy Vegetables To Grow From Seed | One Green Generation First and foremost, I just want to remind you that this is all my opinion, based on my own experience, reading, and learning. When it comes to gardening, there is no one be-all-end-all way to do anything. So please take what I suggest here and apply it to your own needs. Try it, use what works, and adapt as necessary. And please share your thoughts and experiences with me, too – we’re all learning and growing. In Situ vs. In situ means “in the place,” and refers to seeds you plant directly in the ground; rather than seeds that you germinate in flats and then transplant – ie, ex situ. I’m explaining this because I have found that in general planting in situ is easier, faster, uses less resources (water, propagation supplies, time, energy), and creates healthier plants. In the foreground is a small butternut grown from seed ex situ, and then transplanted. All the seeds were planted on the same day . Here’s another photo of the same plants (the transplant is in the upper left corner): 1. 2.
9 Steps To Starting A Survival Garden In a time of economic uncertainty and rising food prices, it it always a good idea to have a garden to provide extra food for you and your family. Besides providing a source of food in an emergency, a garden is also a great source of wonderful vegetables which are MUCH healthier to eat than most of the food you can get at the supermarket. So how do you begin? The following are 9 steps that you can take to get your garden started..... #1) Decide What Your Goals Are - Do you want to grow enough just to add a few vegetables to your dinner once in a while? Do you want it to be able to provide enough food for your family if there is a major emergency? Some people who want to live "off the grid" end up building a garden large enough that it will provide almost all of the food that their family needs. #2) Evaluate Your Land - Once you know what your goals are, you need to evaluate the land that you are currently living on. So what is the solution? Comments comments
Create a Garden Journal - Guest Post Today's guest post comes from Karen at Chicken Sense. Karen blogs about gardening, cooking, sewing, and living in the country. Below she shares some resources to get you started on creating a garden journal. A great rainy day project is to begin a garden journal. Your garden journal can be as simple as a notebook, blank paper, and pencil; or free printable garden journal pages found online; or you can purchase software garden journals; or buy spiral bound garden journal books. Free Garden Journal Pages to Print Garden Journal Software and Books to Purchase Would like to see your post featured here?
Garbage Gardening Down below this jungle of tomato and snap pea plants lies layers of organic waste and lots of composting worms busily converting the materials into rich vermicompost. As I mentioned a while back (and written about recently on Red Worm Composting), I’m involved in a pretty sizable restaurant food waste composting project this year. In a nutshell, I am receiving hundreds of pounds (per week) of fruit and vegetable waste from a very popular local restaurant and have been composting these materials on my property. Given the quantity of wastes, I’ve had to get a little creative with my methods, and I’ve certainly discovered some methods that really work well, and others that…well…don’t work quite so well! Most of my efforts have focused on various forms of vermicomposting. I have been adding lots of food scraps to my traditional worm bin systems, but I’ve also been creating a variety of large-scale outdoor systems to help me to deal with all the waste.
Micro Forest Garden – installation Following on from designing a microforest garden recently, it was time to realise the design! Harris led the charge, helped by forest garden interns Minoru and Kelly, as well as all the students of the forest garden design course. This micro forest garden was to be established on a very compacted piece of ground that had formerly been a road. Yikes. As with many plantings on this crazy patch of land of ours (read: everywhere except the creekflat), it was time to get out the crowbar to dig the holes… but it all turned out splendidly! Conceptual group design for the microforest garden, done during the course by students The final design. The site, shortly after it ceased being a road in Spring 2011… A year later, during the microforest garden install… Paths and beds in, it’s time for the plantathon The particular parameters of this site include that, in a heavy rain event, there is a large amount of surface runoff due to the compaction uphill. But who knows what the future will bring.
Survival Gardening Survival gardening can provide fresh food for you and your family in the aftermath of a disaster. Disasters can occur at anytime and anywhere, and take many forms. Not all disasters are dramatic and natural. For some people a severe economic downturn can be a disaster. Having garden seeds on hand before a disaster strikes is like having homeowners or rental insurance. You hope you will never need it but should the need arise you will be thankful that you have it. There are many types of garden seeds available. No-Till Garden Method Most garden plots are tilled. Plant in Buckets Above ground vegetables like tomatoes require loose soil that is about 10 inches deep. Plant in Tires Root crops provide valuable nutrients but require 12 to 14 inches of loose soil in which to grow. Grow Up Vegetables that grow on a vine like cucumbers and squash only need a small spot of broken dirt. Beans Beans are easy to grow.
Extreme Urban Gardening: Straw Bale Gardens Here’s a very simple technique for gardening in tight spots and in places with no/terrible soil (from the arctic circle to the desert to an asphalt jungle). It’s also a great way to garden if you have limited mobility (in a wheel chair). What is Straw Bale Gardening? You simply plant your garden in straw bales. Here’s an example of what a straw bale garden looks like (via author/expert Joel Karsten — he’s got a good book on the topic and he teaches it in seminars) As you can see, the basic technique is actually quite simple. How to grow a Straw Bale Garden There are lots of techniques on how to grow a straw bale garden. Days 1 to 3: Water the bales thoroughly and keep them damp.Days 4 to 6: Sprinkle each bale with ½ cup urea (46-0-0) and water well into bales. Essentially, plant the seedlings like you would do in the ground. Remember, the bales (like most above ground gardening techniques) will need extra water and fertilizer during the early period. Plants Number Per Bale