ive never been one who likes to talk a lot
but if you get me started on alzheimers disease organic gardening or
solar power or rainwater collection ill talk your ear off
i go into my lecture mode or my doctor mode
and will tell you much more than you really probably
wanted to know
heck
this week i sat in a dentists chair for close to 3 hours
during the drilling and whatever else he was doing
he made the mistake of asking
my live oak tree died after it was planted
i went into my arborist mode and explained what may have
happened
planted too deep
girdling roots
over watered
not watered enough
weed and feed
live oaks dont die like that
then he asked about gardening and what to plant
i went into my organic garden teaching mode
he almost didnt get my teeth all done in time
i suffered some since the anesthetic had worn off some
it was worth it though
another convert i think
my wife she and i have put in several gardens
those square foot gardens
for folks in the last two years
hoping to infect them with the gardening virus
some have managed to continue gardening with some success
they just need to know how to start and what to do and
what and when to plant
we have provided that knowledge for them
on a recent habitat house the new homeowner made the mistake
of mentioning how she wanted a garden
another worker said you need to talk to the organicgreen doctor
about a garden
that was a mistake
we now went into the organic garden mode and here is what we
did
we take the mel bartholomew square foot garden concept
merge it with the dr deb tolmans keyhole garden concept and
come up with the keyholeless square foot garden
its a 4 foot square garden with a central 1 foot composter
we then select the appropriate site
dig down 12+ inches and remove all the soil
then take the 1 foot diameter cylinder composter and bury it
6 inches deeper in the middle of the square
on the bottom we line it with a double layer of cardboard
cover that with a thick layer of old newspapers
then dump in john dramgooles hill country soil from
the natural gardener nursery
(this soil is already made with everything you need in it)
they now have 16+ inches of the best soil made
the soil level around the composter is slightly higher than
the edge of the garden
this somehow helps to diffuse moisture and nutrition out to the
borders of the garden
the composter is filled with composter material
i added buckets from my compost pile that the chickens at
the country n keep turned over for me
all the homeowner has to do is add leaves left over veggies from
the kitchen occasional dirt and manures or compost
to continually feed the garden
all they add is water and occasional dumping of compost over
the garden twice a year
and love
1 foot squares are made with wire to aid in planting
so they have 15 squares to plant
since its winter time
oregano onions garlic multiplying onions carrots english peas-which
will grow up the composter-lettuce spinach potatoes swiss chard
kale cilantro and arugula
in late march they will replace some of these with beans
tomatoes malabar spinach bell peppers jalapeno peppers
egg plant etc
we planted 9 onions which sell since they are organic for
$1.50+ a lb. this garden should grow 9 1+ lbers
you do the math
the swiss chard should last up to 2 years
a bundle of these are $2.50
the multiplying onions are from some i got from my dad
25 years ago
they will last forever
the lettuce and spinach will be harvested by cutting them
off above the ground and they will grow several bunches
of lettuce and spinach
estimated at $5+ a package it will probably produce 3-4 of these
etc etc etc
when its cold we keep it covered with this row cover
we will follow their garden the first year to help them get started then
they are on their own
hopefully theyll get infected with the organic garden virus
good luck with your keyholeless square foot garden
the organicgreen doctor
little do people know, but my inheritance are those multiplying onions. the gift that keeps on giving! ;)
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