Garden Update & 10 More Gardening Tips 6/7/11

I now know why gardening can be so addictive. There is so much to learn! I think it’s going to be a life long process for me. I apologize for the advanced gardeners out there–these tips probably seem so  . . . “duh.” Without further ado, this is what I learned this week:

“The best fertilizer is the gardener’s shadow.” A Chinese proverb which is so true! It only takes a few minutes a day to check on the plants, and usually I don’t have to do anything. But making a daily plant walk is an important habit. I thought I was getting enough rain so that I didn’t have to water, but I noticed one morning the plants were looking a bit droopy. I watered them, and luckily they came back. I caught it in time, but had I not had the habit of going outside and checking on the plants every day, I could have easily lost some of them.

Organic insecticidal soap works. My Asian greens were getting lots of holes in them, so I went out and bought some organic insecticidal soap and sprayed them. No more holes! Well, a few, but at least there is some left for me to eat now.

You can grow plants in shade, but they might be spindly. I noticed that my kale and greens are rather spindly. I’m pretty sure that’s because my yard is a bit shady. In hindsight, the tomatoes that I grew last year had really huge stalks and branches. The fruit was gorgeous but there wasn’t an abundant amount. I’ve decided that’s OK with me. It might not be perfect, but at least it’s something.

Chives are beautiful. It’s almost time to make chive blossom vinegar. For that, just find a pretty bottle, stuff chive blossoms in it, and fill with rice vinegar. Wait a week or two and it is delicious on salads.

Marigolds keep away bunnies and other pests. Note the little “fence” I made for my side garden. We will need to put up an actual fence once the plants start to grow though, since my dogs LOVE vegetables and would eat them right off the plant.

Basil and other herbs are also great for keeping bugs under control.

Some plants don’t get along. In researching companion planting, I read that cucumbers and melons shouldn’t be planted near each other. Cucumbers also don’t like aromatic herbs. Here is a handy companion planting chart that I printed out to help me when I was planning what to plant where.

Hops are persistent little buggers. These are growing strong, year after year. DH uses them in his beer making but I have heard there are other medicinal uses for them.

When planning where to put your garden, keep in mind the location of outdoor faucets. Now that the rain has decreased and I actually have to water, I realize that putting herbs in the front yard was not the brightest idea I’ve ever had. Our faucet in the front is broken, so I have to water with a watering can, which is kind of a drag.

Gardening is fun. Maybe because I am a CSA member so I don’t have to rely on garden production to eat, but with gardening I have a “let’s just see what happens” attitude even though I tend to be more  anxious about other parts of my life. Just try it!

This post shared at Top 10 Tuesday

Related posts:

1. Garden Update: On to the Herbs
2. Garden Update 5/23/11
3. CSA & Garden Update 7/17

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