square it, garlic

Walk to End Alzheimers
we are walking in the bell county/temple 
walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 3 2012

you can walk free but a donation to and or joining
my organicgreendoctor team is appreciated

join us there

SQUARE IT
i am frequently asked about gardening
people are always saying to me

wish i had a square foot garden

i recently was sitting talking with some people about
gardening
one has recently moved here from out of state

if you live here you know you cant garden like you do
in other parts of the country

theres no soil
its hot in the summer
theres not much water

so you have to make adjustments to your gardening techniques

i promised to repost or redo my blog on  4 ft square foot gardening

i want to kiss keep it simply simple

find a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun and a spot
the deer cant get to

scrape off the grass

cover the area with 10 layers of newspapers that extend past the
4 ft width

build a 4 ft square frame from cedar or old left over recycled wood
but not treated wood

mark off 1 ft squares on the frame


get the best garden soil you can find
in this area its the hill country soil from the natural gardener
it comes in bags or you can buy it in bulk like i do


they also make a lady bug brand of mel bartholemews square foot
garden mix that has stuff in it that helps to retain moisture

place the frame over the garden area and dump the solid inside
the frame

start out with plants not seeds if you are new at this since
your success rate is better

plant them
keep them watered every day for a week or two then
as needed
stick your finger in the soil up to the second knuckle
if its dry you need to water it

water by drippers hose soaker or hose end low sprinkler

keep it mulched when the weather is cold

yes its that simple
the garden fails because you over water it or under water it
do the finger test

the fall is the best time to plant and garden in this area
for the 1 foot square you can plant cilantro parsley broccoli
cabbage brussell sprouts asian greens asian cabbage swiss chard
mulitplying onions strawberries
you can plant two per square of spinach lettuce some asian greens
you can plant 4 per square of garlic (see link below)
you can plant a row of carrots turnips beets to 1 square

the natural gardener also has demonstration gardens of this
technique of gardening

these plants will all grow all winter long here

yes its that simple

GARLIC

i plant garlic every year
this year i planted over 100 plants since we use a lot of it
last year i left them in the ground too long and watered them
too much at the end and was left with rotted garlic

should have read this article first
its the best one ive seen about how to grow garlic

you can put garlic in pots in the flower beds
anywhere theres a spot to plant it
and have garlic next late spring
and it looks good in the landscape

the dirt doctor has a good organic gardening book he
wrote with
i think the information in this link is also in the book

read this links article and plant some garlic

your pasta and soups will appreciate it

the organicgreen doctor