begatted

BEGATTED
those of you who are old testament scholars
know what begat means

for awhile i have been blogging and writing and talking
about doing organic gardening
especially the 4 ft square foot gardens
the keyhole garden
or some variation of them

so i enjoy it when i get to visit one that was created
using my blog and instructions on how to do it

i also receive via email and facebook pictures of the
ones that people do
altering it seems my recommendations to fit their needs

this weekend when i went to our family reunion i visited
one of my students
well she was my youngest sister

she wanted a garden but had the problem of shade
i mean lots of shade
and
lots of deer rabbits squirrels birds
those things that can decimate a garden
or
like the shade can  prevent or slow down its growth

this is her square foot garden

she took those cinder blocks or cement blocks
put 3 on one side and 4 on the other

now her problem was that the best spot with the
mostest sun
was on her asphalt driveway

yes you can garden on your driveway
her garden is proof of this

she added soil she got from the garden center
now what i add to the ones i do is the natural gardeners
hill country soil or they now call it all purpose garden blend
this garden will hold about 3/4 of a cubic yard of soil
i use this one as it has compost topsoil greensand granite sand
shale compost tea sulfur and terra tonic
its all ready to plant
or
you can make your own using the keyhole garden method
dirt manure compost greens like grass clippings kitchen waste
browns like leaves newspapers cardboard phone books all mixed
together which makes a rich soil

so she bought her soil locally
planted the garden
initially on the other side of the house
it got attacked by deer rabbits other varmints and the sun
wasnt right
you need for example 6 hours of sun to make eg tomatoes

so she moved it to its present location on the south side
its shady but it gets enough sun to grow most things

she added the top plates on top of each side
it makes it easier to sit on
she filled up the remaining holes and planted things
like rosemary
marigolds
strawberries
for some reason the deer wont bother the garden
she thinks its the rosemary she planted
maybe its the big owl there huh

she has tomatoes peppers strawberries cucumbers growing
right now

i can definitely visualize a great fall winter garden with
lettuces spinach broccoli asian greens winter peas beets
carrots doing quite well in this garden

here are my recommendations to her
she is limited by the location but the garden is doing well

add another layer of bricks to get more soil depth
things like tomatoes will like that extra 8 inches of soil

after the growing season
add 4 inches of a good organic compost to the soil
remember that you make yourself is the best
sprinkle some organic garden fertilizer on top of the compost
work it in if you want too
i just plant my veggies right in the compost

if you can find earthworm castings put a tbsp in the hole
when you plant the veggies
then
water them in with seaweed which has minerals and hormones
that stimulate the root growth

these two things will boost the growth earlier on

then just water them when they are dry

consider mulching the plants which slows down water loss
from the soil
in the winter it keeps the roots warm
in the summer it keeps the roots cooler
it also will break down eventually to compost and soil
i use leaves that yall donate to me

she also is growing this bell pepper in a five gallon bucket
it actually looks as well if not better than mine does

so
i guess i can add this to one of my begatted gardens
may there be a lot more of these

i think this year for our silent auction for the
organicgreendoctor team in the
williamson county to walk end alzheimers in georgetown
on saturday september 27, 2014

click on the team above if you want to donate or join our team

i will make one of these plus the soil plus come to your house
and put in place and help you  plant it

thanks sis for doing such a good demonstration garden
think ill use it in my ads for the silent auction

the organicgreen doctor