Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Wintertime Carrots dug mid February in Montana



These are a variety of Yellow Carrots which are less sweet than the orange varieties
 
Note, the dark colored soils (humus present) - as these soils are insulated with a 4 - 6 inch layer of leaves with a clear plastic cover over the wintertime carrot bed. Worms and microbes are still very active in these non-frozen soils. This is a nifty way to regenerate soils, that is re-compost, used compost throughout the winter.  Other nearby uncovered beds do not have the worm activity in them and are frozen solid.  With a little ingenuity we can eat out of our gardens all winter long and also enjoy this natural soil building process. WORK LESS & GROW MORE!

  

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Eat year-round - grow your own health food in 8 days

Seeds  ...  Day 1
These are
sunflower
microgreen
Great tasting
High in protein
Alive
Health Food



Plant ...  Day  3
Grow ...  Day 6

Eat .... Day 8

Here is a how-to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KnF6J1cd60

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How to Build a Garden Without Money

This garden was built without money
These African folks in Malawi gathered up old unused clay bricks to build the sides of this Food Factory Kitchen Garden.  They dug up nearby topsoil, hauled in aged livestock manure, added some wood ash and mixed these organic materials together to made their own garden soils.
They also constructed a compost pile made nearby with dry grass, green plants, old livestock manure, top soil, water, all thinly layered in a pile 3 meter tall (3 feet) to later feed (top dress) the soils in this small kitchen garden.

The key to this free food system is making wise use of unused local resources.  Note they even shaded new transplants with a broken plastic tube and added dry grass for mulch.  Also you can set down on the sides of this handy raised bed garden, saves sore backs.  When possible, plant open-pollinated (non-hybrid) seeds to insure that you can save pure plant genetic traits for your next crop.