Pots And Stones With A Little Moss

We live in a home just outside of Toronto and are fortunate enough to have a fairly decent sized yard. Over the spring, I constructed a nice little rock garden in the corner of my property. Not to toot my own horn but I think that I did a fairly good job. The only problem was that I bought the stones from a rock quarry and they were clean which gave the structure a very “new” look where I was looking for more of a Stonehenge/Easter Island look.

Once you have all of the ingredients together, it’s time to mix them and that’s where the blender comes in. Puree the moss mash in the blender until it gets a creamy consistency. Then all that is left to do is coat the stones and pot surfaces with the mixture. Mist the surfaces every now and again to insure that they are moist. Moss grows best in the shade so try and move any treated objects as required until moss begins to grow. After about two months, all of the rock and pot surfaces that we treated had a very healthy patch of moss growing on them.

 Pots And Stones
With A Little Moss
Moss

Cold Hardy Avocado

Whether on the deck or inside by a window, the Cold Hardy Avocado Tree offers dual functionality: it's a resilient plant on the patio and a reliable producer of fruit in the kitchen.

Able to withstand frigid temperatures as low as 18 degrees, from Green Bay to Tampa Bay, the Cold Hardy Avocado lives up to its name. Producing an abundant yield of fruit for more than half the year, in colder climates, just bring it in during winter months and watch your tree continue to grow.

You can get the molds from : Amazon

• materiel :
• Cold
• Hardy
• Avocado

Biodegradable egg cartons for seedlings

1) Got a bunch of egg cartons (Thanks, John!) and punched holes in the bottom, for drainage.

2) Cut out a panel from the lid on three sides, so we have a flap of sorts on top, while stapling the original lid closed (we tried glue, but staples were easier). This means we can fill the cartons with soil all the way to the top, giving our little seedlings extra room to stretch their roots.

3) Filled the bottom half of the cartons with potting soil, and then put in enough seed starting medium on top for the seedlings to emerge into.

4) Put in our seeds, one future-plant per cell. We’re trying some yellow storage onions, red salad onions, white sweet onions, and cippolinis this year.

5) Closed the flap on top to keep in moisture while the seeds are germinating. Once they’re up, we’ll rip off those top panels and stick the cartons under lights to grow until the garden is ready for them.

We consider gardening, at least at our skill and experience level, to be one experiment after another. We’ve always got high hopes. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Biodegradable egg cartons for seedlings : amazon

Bike Wheel Trellis – Hard Luffa

Here’s the pictures of Michelle’s second Bike Wheel Trellis.  The Luffa’s are loving it.  There was concern that the rims would get too hot in the sun and burn the plant, but they really don’t get hot at all.  Hooray for creativity!
materiel :

• Bike Wheel Trellis
• Hard Luffa

How to Plan Your Vegetable and Herb Garden

Building the raised bed frame.
Select a non-toxic material such as untreated wood, modular blocks, or recycled plastic lumber. Also, check out the Internet for raised bed kits options. Remember to reinforce the corners of the structure with brackets or wood blocks for extra structural stability. Don’t use railroad ties or pressure treated boards that contain any creosote or arsenic.

The minimum depth for the bed should be 12”, but if you can accommodate 18”, your plant roots will be stronger and your plants healthier.

Once the frame is built.
Lay down a weed blocking fabric liner on the hard surface to prevent soil loss.
Secure the liner to the inside of the frame, going up the sides.
Add a 2” layer of gravel for additional drainage and aeration.
Lay a second layer of fabric and add your soil mixture.
A raised bed is an easy place to “go organic”.
Aim for a 50-50 mixture of clean loam and compost for a well-drained soil. Add grit sand for drainage (available at your local home center; start with about 10 lbs/square yard). In a raised bed, it is easy to change the soil composition. If you need more drainage, just add more sand. If a richer soil is needed, increase organic matter by adding manure, decomposed leaves, or more compost. Get your soil mixture right, and you will be rewarded with healthy, beautiful plants.

 Time to plant.
Before planting, water the bed thoroughly to settle the soil. Soil should be about 2” below the top of the bed. Fill your bed with low maintenance, drought-tolerant plants (pgs. 12-14), and send your before and after photos to us (be more specific here, either give address or refer to it on another page) to be included in future Greenscapes materials. Here’s to your future garden!

How to Plan Your Vegetable and Herb Garden : amazon

Hydroponic window farm

The HOMEGROWN Village will feature food makers and food growers, as well as experts in modern homesteading topics like greywater catchment, vermicomposting, kombucha and eco-building methods. We’ll be highlighting some of the Makers here over the next few weeks.

We told you about Window Farms a couple of years back, and now their community of experimenters and urban farmers has documented quite an impressive collection of projects.

Bay Area Window Farmers will be on hand to share their knowledge and inspire others to grow in sunny windows.

Other posts that may be of interest: Makers in The HOMEGROWN Village at Maker Faire Bay Area 2009

Hydroponic window farm : amazon

How to grow asparagus plants

• Choose a sunny part of the garden with good drainage.
• Dig a trench and check the pH, which should be 6.5 to 7.5.
• Plant the crowns about 8 in. deep and 15 in. apart.
• Cover initially with 2 in. of dirt, and gradually fill the trench as the spears emerge.
• The edible stems of asparagus rise directly from the ground. Spears that are about 8 in. tall are ready to harvest.
• Snapping of the spear by hand is easy and protects the plant. You can use a knife, but be careful not to damage developing stems.
• At the end of the harvest, allow the asparagus plants to form ferns. These help transfer energy to the roots for good spear development the next season.

asparagus plants : amazon