Gardening

In our society growing food yourself has become the most radical of acts. It
is truly the only effective protest, one that can-and will-overturn the
corporate powers that be. By the process of directly working in harmony with
nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world-we change
ourselves. ~ Jules Dervaes ~ PathtoFreedom.com

Maximize organic matter production: Intercropped green manure/cover crops (gm/cc's) can produce from 50 to 140 tons per hectare (green weight) of organic matter with very little work: no transporting of material and no cutting up, layering or turning over of compost heaps. In fact, sometimes, because of the gm/cc's control of weeds, net labor costs decrease. And soil quality often improves visibly each year. Possible gm/cc's: Velvetbeans (Mucuna pruriens), cowpeas (Vigna spp.) and jackbeans (Canavalia ensiformis).

Keep the soil covered: Mulches of crop residues and fast-growing gm/cc's drastically reduce the weed problem. sow into the plant residue rather than tilling the soil. This does not appear to apply well to grass. Experiment found that grass will grow up through the crop plants and that cutting and leaving it simply accellerated spread. Grass can be killed by baking with plastic cover (which also bakes everything else) or just pulled out. Additional control of weeds: Use a few layers of large leaves (banana, etc..) or carboard left on top of the areas between desired plants. It won't kill the grass but the grass can't grow where there is no light. Use slits to allow sun around your crop, poke holes thru and place transplants, put a small pile of dirt on top of an area with holes under it to start seeds. Fowl herds may also be usefull in weed reduction if they are discouraged from eating the crop plants by a physical barrier. ^{1 chicken weed labor}

Use Zero tillage: start by planting the cover crop. Cut the plants off in the spring, leaving the cuttings on the soil to serve as a mulch. Then plant the tomatoes or other crops right into the undisturbed roots without tilling or adding fertilizer. Additional mulch might need to be added after planting if any soil is left exposed. If the soil must be disturbed and immediate crop planting is necessary use kelp or composted seaweed to treat the soil. Rinse seaweed to remove salt and leave the stuff in black garbage bags in the Sun for several weeks to compost it quickly. http://www.google.com/search?q=no dig garden

Maintain biological diversity: avoid diseases and insect pests by fighting fire with fire. Do NOT use incecticides. Use bird seed to attract "insect removal squads." The better quality seeds will not contain grass and so will not start a weed problem. Wagner brand is excellent. Although good seed will minimize damage, protect plants that the birds seem to want to eat by encloseing them in nets. For smaller pests, buy ladybugs and release at night. For aphids on trees, use tangle foot because most aphids are farmed by ants inside "barns" made from leaves curled up by the ants. Use Milk to kill fungus or mold. Use diatomaceous earth to stop catapiliers and snails.

Plant more than one crop in the same bed by finding good pairs.

squash, peas, and corn
tomatoes and basil
tomatoes and asparagus
head lettuce and peppers
peas and last years eggplant
rows of onions, one row of squash,
corn drives Carpophilus beetles from sunflowers, sunflowers protect corn from fall armyworms.
corn meal is said to keep ants at bay.

Combine tall, narrow plants with wide leafy plants to stop weeds.

Lettuce with peas
Squash and buckwheat
Strawberries with blueberries

Avoid bad pairs:^

Black walnuts have long been known to interfere with garden plants like tomatoes, eggplants and corn. The trees’ roots emit a chemical called juglone, which is toxic to many deep-rooted plants growing nearby
When planting broccoli in your garden, make sure that you practice good crop rotation since broccoli can leave behind residue that lettuce and cruciferous crops (cool weather vegetables and have flowers that have four petals so that they resemble a cross) can’t tolerate.
Some plants, like alfalfa, seem to exhibit a remarkable type of allelopathy that interferes with the germination of their own seeds.
Garlic and onions are believed to interfere with the growth of beans and peas, but seem to be compatible with most other garden denizens.
Mint and onions where asparagus is growing
Pole beans and mustard near beets
Anise and dill are said to make bad neighbors for carrots, but this hasn't been proven.
Cucumber, pumpkin, radish, sunflower, squash or tomatoes close to potato hills. Tomatoes and potatos are attacked by the same blights, so when they’re right next to each other, the diseases spread more easily.
Any member of the cabbage family near strawberries or grapes is trouble according to lore.
Cabbage, cauliflower, corn, dill and potatoes near tomatoes

Use all the plant. Many traditional root plants have edible leaves:

Radishes

Cut—or harvest—a portion of these crops without harvesting the entire plant.^

Lettuce grows as a head or loose leaf. Unless you’re aiming for a perfect head, you can continuously harvest leaves until the plant goes to seed.
Kale grows taller and taller as you harvest leaves, and can last for months in the garden, offering an ongoing source of food.
Celery is easier to store in the garden than the fridge. Simply use a knife to cut outer stalks as you need them.
Swiss chard is harvested similarly to celery. Cut the outer stalks and use the leaves and the ribs. One of the easiest vegetables to grow, it also works well in a pot. The stalk is sweeter than the leaf, but tastes more like dirt...
Green onions can be a source of flavor almost all season long. Just snip off the larger stalks and leave the more immature ones in place.
Spinach and bok choy are two different kinds of greens that offer up the option of cooked or fresh greens. Simply cut the outer leaves as you need them.
Purslane is considered a weed by many, but it’s a great addition to salads. Just snip off branches as you need them.
Broccoli is a borderline cut and come again vegetable. Harvest the main head, leaving the plant intact and you’ll find that smaller side shoots develop.
Cilantro goes to seed quickly, but it’s easy to grow. Harvest by simply cutting off stems a few inches above the ground. New growth will follow.
Basil just keeps coming during the hot summer months. Pinch leaves off from the tips as you need them.
Potatoes aren’t exactly cut and come again, but you can carefully dig under the plants to harvest small “new potatoes” before the plant is ready to be pulled and the potatoes harvested.

Feed plants through the mulch: When soils are hostile to plant growth, feed plants by adding the fertalizer on top of the mulch. Rabbit dung is probably the best. Worm castings are great when available. Chicken poop is too hot, but goes well into the compost bin.

Water from the bottom: Use tall, unglazed clay pots with a lid held on with a rock, or plastic milk or soda containers with holes punched in the bottom; buried in the bed with the top just above the mulch. Fill with watering can or use drip irrigation tubes. Roots will grow down to reach the water (rather than along the surface) reduceing compitition and allowing dense planting. Also, the deep soil has minerals and retains water so plants are less likely to dry out. Also, you need less water and weeds on the surface will not start. If you don't till the soil, the surface can be covered with weed seeds and nothing will grow except your plants. Check this out!

http://pathtofreedom.com/peddlerswagon/garden/water%20savers/olla/olla-pumpkin.shtml An ancient watering technique that conserves and delivers water direct to the roots. The use of buried earthen jars for watering plants has been used for thousands of years. The hand-thrown unglazed pot is buried neck deep into the soil, fill the pot with water and it slowly seeps into the soil to be absorbed by surrounding plants (not for use around wood plants such as shrubs and trees) Designed from nature, handmade in the USA.

You can get continuous production by planting one new row of seeds every week or three. Plant close together and thin by moving or eating overcrowded seedlings. Lettuce / spinach / etc... will continue to produce if you peel a few leaves at a time from the outside of each plant.

Disease Diagnosis / Treatment

See: https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/diagnostics/

New leaves with yellow between veins: Add Zinc.
New leaves all yellow or with dark blotches: Add magnesium.
Bronze or red leaves: Potassium or phosphorus.
Older leaves brown at edges: Potassium.
Yellow leaves near bottom only: Nitrogen.

Also:

My families attempt
Free eggs! My families success!
Back Yard Fish Farm Ponds Another folly in the future
Earthworms
Benifical Insects
Greenhouse Gardening
Automated Gardening
Grow Lights for Gardening
Ponds
Pumpkins
What to plant in California and when
Rotating Offset Anchor Stake Loosens It for Pulling
PUUF Veggi Garden