Get the Dirt On Gardening!

1. Get the Dirt On Gardening! Susan Lowman-Thomas April 2010

2. Why bother? • Eat better • Be healthier • Save money • Increase home’s worth • Kill boredom • Learn and teach • Grow spiritually • Help the earth • Have fun!

3. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm • Taste? • Texture? • Color?

4. Here’s to your health! • More produce eaten • Vitamin content = highest straight from garden • Preschool kids who ate homegrown produce = grew up >twice as likely to eat more produce • Stop worrying about food safety • Get your exercise!

5. Here’s to your health! • 90% of all fungicides & 30% of all insecticides are potentially cancer-causing agents • Want these in YOUR body?

6. Frugality Rocks!

7. Frugality Rocks! • Veggies in bags • Blinds for labels • Garden cloches (bell jars) out of bottles • Toilet paper roll or newspaper pots • Toilet paper seed tape • Curtain row-covers

8. Frugality Rocks! • Upside-down planters: • Make your own! • Tomatoes, strawberries • Pop bottles • Buckets • Shopping bags • Lots of how-to’s on web

9. How about your Curb Appeal?

10. Lifetime Learning • Lots to study! • Different sensory stimulation • Brain needs new challenges to stay healthy • Brain activity related to immunity

11. The spirit of a place • Relax • De-stress • Center your mind • Get fresh air & sunshine • Meditate • Connect with nature • Pray

12. Greening up

13. Where itall starts: SOIL ! • Is dirt the new Prozac? • Is soil the BORING part of gardening? • You feed the soil: the soil feeds the plants. • Typical yard soil = 90% mineral residue & 10% decayed organic material • A 5% increase in organic material quadruples soil's ability to store water • Earthworms & other insects aerate the soil

14. I’ve got WORMS ! • Vermicomposting = turning food waste into potting soil with the help of worms. • What do I need? • An aerated container • Bedding such as shredded newspaper • Moisture and proper temperature • Small amount of soil • Redworms(Eiseniafetida)

15. Cookin Compost • Micro-organisms recycle leaves & other plant parts • They need an even mix of brown stuff and green stuff • They also need air and water

16. Take It Easy ! • Lasagna gardening • On top of grass • Newspaper, cardboard, weed mat • “Soil” • Seed / start • More “soil”

17. Square Foot Gardening • Layout • Boxes • Aisles • Soil • Grid • Care • Select • Plant • Water • Harvest

18. One Way…

19. And Another

20. LoveThose Tomatoes! • Concrete reinforcing wire • Fencing with plastic around it • Cage with bubble wrap • Teepee from pruning • Single stake, spiral • Trellis (wood, metal, twine) • Crates • Pots

21. Love Those Tomatoes! (2) • Red mulch (20% more!) • Newspaper or tin can (cutworms) • Milk jugs

22. Succession & Double Planting • Sowing each week… • Sow in different spots • Pair plants that ripen at different times • Pair plants with short and deep roots • Pair short plants with tall

23. Watering Smart • Avoid extremes (mulch, organic matter) • Best time: morning, then evening (not on leaves) • Best place: on roots • How much: ~one inch per week (weekly soak is better than daily sprinkling) • Sprinkling causes shallow roots: plants more susceptible to water stress & weed competition Signs of water stress Leaves have brown edges Leaves are smaller than normal Fruit is undersized or misshapen Plant looks droopy

24. Weeds: Get Outta Here! Ability of Crops to Suppress Weeds

25. Weeds: Get Outta Here! (2) • Smother crops • Mulches • Mechanical • Chemical

26. How about going up? • Plants like vertical • Higher yields • Fewer pests • Less disease

27. Can I grow all year? • Covered raised beds • Cold frames • Containers

28. Got Questions?