Guess What

The Helpful Gardener Forum

So I have been spending a lot of time on the helpful gardener forum because it is just absolutely awesome.  I love the forum it has all kinds of information, and no matter what you post, when or where, there is always someone that has some great information to share with you.  It's like there is a expert on all the time to help you.  It's really incredible. 

I also have one of my sites up called fertilizernumbers.net that has a neat custom search engine that I set up, that allows you to search for all kinds of different fertilizers.  At first you think that you could just do that in google anyway, but this has a certain set of filters that allows you to get more relevant results.  It's pretty great really and I am pretty proud of it.  I'm not a programmer anymore, but I can still fake it when I have to!

Bug Time!

Well summer is just getting underway and I hope you have wonderful plants that you planted in the spring time!  The weather now is rainy and sunny every day and it's prime conditions for your vegetable garden to explode!  The bloom will burst open and before you know it you should have beautiful fruits and vegetables starting to form.

It really is a wonderful experience.  I absolutely love my garden.  I think everyone should have a garden.  It's so rewarding even if you only grow a single plant.  Just one tomato plant, or an aloe vera can brighten up not only your living space, but your entire life!

The thing about this time of year is that not only are your plants exploding with growth and blooms, the pest populations too are exploding.  It happens at the same time.  I write this post because if you have been following me from the beginning I know your plants are about to get eaten by bugs, so I figured I would give you my advice and save you some headache.  I had an "army worm" attack last night, and it actually ate one whole tomato plant top to bottom in the course of one evening.  I can't even image how it was possible.

Army worms can be huge.  I actually caught two of them the next morning, and I removed them and killed them.  I have inspected my plants and don't see any larvae or droppings. I can tell you that the worms I killed were adults.  They were well over 1" (more like 6" these were HUGE!)

So what's the solution?  Organically speaking, I believe some Neem Oil Extract is in order.  Be sure to read your label on this and apply only as directed.  Neem Oil can be used to treat a wide variety of infestations.  But the most important thing about Neem Oil is that is 100% organic.  It can be safely used on vegetables, herbs, fruits or anything really.

Neem oil is from the neem seed of a neem tree.  It's diluted with water and applied liberally to your crop.  You can reapply every few days for a period of time then move back to a "preventive dosage" of every two weeks.  Neem oil doesn't kill any beneifical insects or bacteria either.  It's really amazing.  It doesn't actually kill anything, but it causes the insect to not like the smell of the plant anymore, so they will stop eating it, and actually starve to death.

It safe to eat and safe for the enviornment.

It does cost a little bit and will probably be the most expensive thing I EVER recommend on my blog.  However when it comes to pest control, it's an expense you must pay if you want healthy pest free plants.  It is awful to wake up one morning and realize that you have lost your crop overnight (and it can happen, trust me on this one)

As always, Keep on Digging!

Organic Weeding for Free!

So your garden is exploding with growth because you have been following all my advice and you stop to ask yourself...."what about all these weeds?"  Organic weeding is a interesting topic.  The old fashioned way with no chemicals is to hand weed everything, and this works, but is very labor intensive.  My garden is too big to hand weed so I guess I will have to use some chemicals.

WRONG!  I would never use a "weed killer" chemical product anywhere near the food I am growing!  I am going to give you a great way to weed organically on a shoestring budget.

Cost: Free
Materials:
Boxes!

The only thing you need to weed organically is boxes.  You can get them from different places, like the back of the supermarket.  The liquor store.  Any business that will let you have them.  Ask to speak to the manager and usually they will let you have the boxes that are already broken down, which is perfect for our mission.

First you cut the box and lay it out flat.  Then you cover the grass with it and in a few days to a week, the grass under the box will be dead.  Remove the box and rake up the dead grass and our finished!  It's so easy and it costs nothing.  I got my boxes from the post office (the post office really frowns on you using the boxes for anything but priority shipping, but I spend hundreds of dollars with the post office every week and I figured since I never use this particular size box for anything, I was ok for using them to grow more plants that I will be shipping!)

These are pictures of my sugar baby water melon plants getting weeded.  I am strongly debating buying a bale of mulching hay once I have "weeded" my grass out, but this is the shoestringvegetablegarden blog so I am really gonna have to weigh it out.  The plants don't absolutely have to have the mulch, but it approves the appearance of the crop and it's good for the fruit to be off the ground so it's not in direct contact with the soil.  The soil has many bugs and insects that can ruin the fruit.  In truth, watermelon grows on the ground and it always has!

Thining Seedlings (Sugar Baby Watermelon 2014)

by Robert Leavitt

Greetings faithful readers.  I hope everyone has had a a great week and is looking forward to a weekend of gardening fun.  This week we are going to talk about thinning seedlings.

When seeds are sown, more often than not, more than one seed will make it down the hole.  Even using one of those little "seed cards" or the "seed wheel" doesn't always catch all of them and there are times when you may actually want to plant more than one seed in each hole.  Some seeds germinate better than others based on your current climate and soil conditions.

I did things a little bit backwards this year, and since I didn't have many pots in the beginning of my venture I went ahead and just sowed all my Sugar Baby watermelon seed straight into the hills.  I got carried away at times and there were some hills had 5 holes originally, and as many as 3 seeds per hole.  Of course the seed germinated beautifully so now I had these extra plants growing on each hill.

The original plan was to thin back to 4 plants per hill, so I choose my strongest plants that have grown the fastest to be the best canidates to produce the biggest, sweetest melon!  This always leaves the question: "What should I do with all those other plants?"

Sugar Baby Seedlings Crowding One Hill

The best thing to do is to take your garden snips and simply cut the plants that you don't want at their bases.  This will leave you with one plant per hole.  This will also not disturb the root structure of the one you leave behind and will allow it to continue to develop quickly.  The plants you just removed are small and the roots they have left behind wont matter as the main plant grows and takes over the area.  This is the prefered method.

I wanted to thin the hills down myself and save some plants for resale.  So I had to disturb everything.  I did take some pictures though to guide you along in your transplanting adventures. The first thing I did was grab some starter tray cells.  These will be the pots I am going to put my seedlings into.  I also used some of my "seed starter mix with fertilizer" for some soil.  Mostly I tried to keep them as much as possible in the original soil they were in.

I cut a hole with my garden spade all the way around the plant.  It's important to cut all around so you can lift out the plant, roots and all without disturbing them so much.

You can see that I got the whole section of plants, roots and all, and now I am going to start gently squeezing it to get some of the dirt to fall away.  You don't want to pull hard here, you want to make this as gentle as possile.  If you lose all the dirt (wich more often than not you will), don't worry about it, as long as you aren't "tearing" the roots apart it will be fine.

Once they are sepearte, you put one back in the hole and fill the void with the soil you just dug them up with.  Be sure to pack the soil around the plant firmly.  Don't crush the roots, but give the plant a nice firm seating.

Make sure you firm up your soil in your starter trays as well.  The last step is to water.  I am not going to photoshop or edit any of these, this is exactly how they looked when I watered.  I wasn't concened with them "laying down" because for one thing, they are vines, but also more importantly I knew that I had firmed up the plants footing propertly and I didn't have to worry!

These are the same plants a little over a week later:

So the morale of the story is, you can not only do this, but you can make a little cash doing it as well.  I haven't sold a large amount of them, but I have sold enough to have many times the money it took me to start the seed.  Hind sight is always 20-20 but in the future I think I will just start the seeds in the cells like normal people do!

Thanks for reading and as always, "Keep on Digging!"


You can learn more about me on my Google + page.

The #1 mistake people make when fertilizing.

by Robert Leavitt

Beefsteak tomatoes just beginning to ripen

The single biggest mistake you can make with your plants is over fertilizing.  Let's use a real life example, but I am going to change the names to protect the innocent. 

Susie Homemaker has always wanted a beautiful garden.  Susie never considered herself to have a green thumb.  She often winds up with dead plants and in her quest for knowledge she begins reading about different types of plant care, and methods, and gets a great deal of her information on the internet.

She learns about her bedding, and soil product types and gets some tips and advance from long time gardeners to get a decent mixture together for her tomatoes this year.  She is determined this year is going to be different than the rest.  She starts her seeds indoors as instructed, keeping them moist and warm and she prepares her soil outside with some organic matter and lets it rest for the appropriate time after tilling.

The last frost date passes, and she brings her new tomato plants out into the world for the first time acclimating them slowly to the temperature change, by bringing them out for a few hours a day at first, then for even more hours at a time, until she is ready to put her tomatoes in the ground.

She takes care to dig her holes first and get everything situated just right and puts her tomatoes in the ground for the fist time!  She really feels she has it licked this time and she will be the talk of the town soon for her "blue ribbon" beefsteak tomatoes!

The plants are doing wonderfully, as she is careful to keep her water levels correct and she is just pleased as a peach with her results.

After a month or so she decides it's time to fertilize her plants and she gets a typical instant release fertilizer mix from the big box store and she reads the label very carefully and even decides to mix it a little bit weaker "just to be safe".  She then fertilizes her plants and waits for the next day to see how they react.

She is shocked the next morning when she finds are her plants are heavily stressed and she fears the worst.  She is sure that now they are going to die, and that she shouldn't water them because they have had too much fertilizer and they are going to need some time to wait it out.

The plants are then completely fried after a few more days, and Susie is very discouraged, she can't help but ask:

Q: What did I do wrong!?
A. You made the biggest mistake you could make Susie, you used an instant fertilizer before analyzing your soil!  Your compost and organic rich soil was still more than adequate for the fertilization needs of your tomato plant.  To add insult to injury you stopped watering after you saw the severe stress they were under and didn't "flush" out the instant fertilizer

The moral of the story is:  ANALYZE YOUR SOIL!  Know what you are adding, instead of going it blind.  Commercial growers always know what they have in terms of plant requirements, versus where there currently soil is in terms of nutrients.  Don't just slosh fertilizer on plants that may not necessarily need it!

Most importantly, always remember to "Keep on Digging!"

You can learn more about me on my Google + page.

How to build a passive compost pile for free!

by Robert Leavitt

Compost has been referred to, by loving enthusiasts, as black gold. It might not be worth as much as real gold but it is natures way of producing a highly enriched medium to help you with your growing needs. I'm going to discuss my favorite type of composting today, which is "passive" composting.

Compost - The way to turn waste into black gold!

In nature, decomposition is part of the cycle of life. Everything that is biodegradable will decay over a certain period of time. Let me give you some tips to building a nice pile, that you don't have to turn and water and go crazy with. The only problem with this method is that it takes substantially longer to decompose than the "active" method of composting, however if you are like me, and you have access to huge piles of leaves and really don't want to overwork, you can create compost that you can use in your garden.   

1. Choose a site It's best to choose somewhere that is out of the way. I have mine in a corner of the yard behind a big tree where you can't really see it from the road or the house. It's not that it's ugly or anything, I mean it's really just a big pile of leaves, but my wife is pretty specific about the fact that she doesn't want it near the house, so I went with the "out of sight out of mind" approach. If you are hoping to have a "steady stream" of compost, you will need more than 1 pile, I recommend 4 piles. The idea here is to build a huge pile, then leave it for a year or up to two years, so you will have to stagger your piles if you are planning to use the compost more often. Build one in the winter, one in the spring, one in the summer and one in the fall. You will figure out a system that works best for you. Open piles should be "in" the ground, but it's not mandatory. This will collect water in it when it rains, and also shield some of the pile from the wind. Most people cover the pile with a tarp or sheet of dark plastic to retain the moisture and heat, but again it's not mandatory (though it will speed things up for you as really good compost should rise about 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit to kill dangerous bacteria and promote rapid break down). After you choose your site, and you have dug a hole (or no hole) you can move on to step 2.   

2. Fill it up with a ton of "waste". The ideal ratio is 1 part "green" to 2 parts "brown" but again, this is not mandatory. My piles are almost always way more brown than they should be. If this is your case as well, water can help you to break this stuff down faster. Of course turning will help as well, but we are trying to do the "passive" pile and not be involved as much as traditional composting methods. Green parts consist of organic matter, this is where the "nitrogen" comes from. This can include a lot of things that come from both your house and your yard. Here are some examples:

• Vegetable scraps - Anything you didn't use from a veggie, ends of onions, peels, etc...
• Grass clippings - From your yard cuttings.
• Roots from plants - Any weeds you pulled up and the roots too can all go in (be careful the weed or grass hasn't gone to seed if you are trying to keep weeds out of your pile, they will grow)
• Egg shells - Break em up as much as you can before adding to help them break down
• Pretty much anything that was once alive. (note: stay away from animal fats and dairy and animal bones as these will attract predators to your pile, and you don't want to wake up to a bear or raccoon in close proximity on your property)
• Animal manure - Cow, Sheep, any livestock animal. (note: it is not recommend to use human or any other domesticated animals waste. I am not sure the exact reason, and other than it being disgusting, I think it has to due with disease and illness more than anything.

Brown is where the carbon comes from. The easiest way to remember these things is that they are brown. Most of it comes from outside your home but there are a few things that you can use inside the home as well:

• Leaves - I always make piles in fall and spring when I have large amounts of leaves available
• Branches and twigs - Break these down and make sure they are thin. While a huge log will decay over time, it's going to take a VERY long time for it to happen. If you have a chipper or shredder now is the time to use it and get those bits as fine as possible to aid the process.
• Paper - Shred it up, and you can use paper from inside the home.
• Coffee grounds, with the filter - Don't throw out those coffee grounds, these are a GREAT addition to your pile. They are slightly acidic but this also increases the rate at which they will help break down you pile. You can use the filter in there too, just tear it very small into pieces to speed things up.

Those are some ideas to get you started. It is not meant by any means to be a comprehensive list, and there are several ideas floating around the web about things you could use. If you are trying to keep your ratios correct, remember to use something to gauge it with. For example one part green could be a five gallon bucket of veggie scraps, and then two parts brown could be two five gallon buckets of shredded paper or leaves. If you don't have your ratios correct don't despair. The pile will still break down (just not as fast). Like I said previously mine usually consist mainly of live oak leaves (and grass clippings).
 

Compost pile, not much to look at I admit, but it is vital to growing strong healthy plants.

3. Give it a turn! After you have your materials in the pile, your gonna have to break out the shovel or pitchfork and give it a turn. Mix it all up together in your pit and remove anything you see that's too big to break down.  

4. Hose her down. Get out the hose and thoroughly drench the pile with water. This will kick start your process.  Do this once, you shouldn't have to add much water to your pile.  It will depend on your rainfall, but turn the pile some first and see how much moisture is in the center of the pile.  If the inside is wet, it's best to forget!

5. Cover it up...or don't!  I don't cover my pile.  There are arguments for and against covering the pile.  The one that breaks the deal for me is the fact that it retains moisture and can cause the pile to be too wet.  If you must cover, either do it with a tarp from above, or with a cloth that can breathe (like burlap).

6. Forget it!  The best part about passive composting is that you can forget it!  You can come back in a few months time (or even a few years) and see how it's doing. If you want to you can turn the pile and wet it back down, or not...it's entirely up to you!  (Remember don't get it too wet as discussed in step #4).

7. Remember it! After your pile has broken down and you have fine compost remaining, mix it all up and enjoy it, because it's a great addition to any soil.  

8. Test it Test your compost with an NPK analysis kit to see what the levels of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) of your compost are.  You can also test its pH levels.  My piles often will often lean towards the acidic side if I have citrus available.  You can counter this high level of acidity by adding some lime to your pile.  The lime takes a long time to raise the pH so it's OK to add it in the beginning to give it some time to work!

9. Mix it! Be sure to mix it into your growing medium or soil. I don't recommend growing directly in composting without mixing it with topsoil, garden soil, potting soil, etc...  Be sure to retest your NPK and pH to give you a reference point when determining what amount or type of fertilizer to use.

Finished Compost

Thanks for reading, and remember "Keep on Digging!"

You can learn more about Robert Leavitt on his Google + page.

Tomato Cages

Tomato Cages - On a Budget! 

 By Robert Leavitt

You may observe that tomato cages are not particularly expensive but this is the shoe string budget blog so I decided to make some of these with the help of a neighbor who provided some livestock fencing that has been "laying around" for years on his property. 

Total Investment: $3.50 approximately (the gas it took to mow his yard for the trade).
I actually wound up with 13 cages so I think I got a good deal!

These are very easy to "make" yourself, if you really spend time on them you can get them to look really nice.  I however am not only limited by budget, I am limited by the amount of time I can devote to a specific project.  These are not fine works of art, however they will work for my needs.

Roll of livestock fencing

Materials:

Side Cutters or something to cut the wire with (a bolt cutter, tin snips, etc...).
Some fencing.
Plyers to bend and tie the metal with (or vice grips, or you can just use your hands, but you wont get tight wraps and it can be difficult).
Gloves (or do it like we do in the country and feel the burn for a few days).

First I counted off 8 squares.  The squares on your roll may be a different size.  Mine were 6" so I wound up with 48" of fence.  This will give me a circle with roughly a 14"-16" diameter.  You can make yours larger (or smaller) by counting out more squares or less.  The height of the fencing is 48".

I cut each piece from top to bottom so i wound up with a square that was 48"x48":  Following this guide to show you the location of the cuts.  I removed the bottom wire of the fencing, and as I cut top to bottom I made sure to leave wire after each cut so I can use it to wrap the cage back to itself:

Tomato cage cut locations for converting fencing into a a tomato cage.

.

Wrapping the cage back onto itself.

Go from bottom to top and just wrap the wires around the opposite end of the fencing.  It's very easy to do, if you want them really tight, use your pliers to twist the metal around and wrap it tight by gripping the wire firmly with your plyers.

This is the cage (inverted) finished.  I did cut in between the vertical wires up one more rung as you can see in the photo to give me a little more "stake" for when I push the cage into the ground.

Finished tomato cage (upside down).

Lastly, you simply put the cage over your plant and your done!  You can put the cage in over seedlings and it's far easier. If your plant is already larger than your diameter of your cage, grab a friend to help by pulling the leaves up while you get the cage in.  Don't try to do it yourself because you may damage the plant.  

I don't tie my plant to the cage usually, however if you need some added support, snip of a piece of pantyhose and use it to tie.  This will allow the tie to stretch while the plant grows.

Once your cage is over, just push it into the ground.  It will take a bit of back and forth and lifting it up in spots, but get it down there.  It is normal for the cage to "bounce" a bit like a spring once it is down far enough into the ground.

Beefsteak tomatoes with a home made cage.

You can learn more about Robert Leavitt on his Google Plus page.