I’m doing my best to make the most eco-friendly little home garden in my backyard. It’s a little awkward with the amount of space verse amount of people — our yard is very busy with a patio and a little bball court thing where we used to have a swing set, a tool shed, an extension of the tool shed, and spaces set up for my dad’s work. I live with my family, which has, most of the time, seven people in the house, unless my brother and his girlfriend are at her place instead of ours.
So smallish plot, enough produce to feed seven people.
This might be a little more sustainable and ‘useful’ when I’m living on my own or with a partner. But anyway.
I thought I would be clever by being low-budget as well as eco-friendly. I love reusing things. It’s more than just reducing waste — it’s a matter of creating a new use for something, giving it new life, innovating. It’s like an art.
We had a long cookie sheet that came in a set that was too big for our oven, and I’m a terrible packrat for the sake of reuse. I swore I would find something for it, whether art-related or… ..um… …well I wasn’t sure what I would do with it, but I’d do something.
Right now the cookie tray is housing two 18-egg cardboard cartons I’ve used to start seedlings. …well, try to start. I may have to let it all dry, dump the soil, save the seeds and start again.
See, I bought the potting soil at Pathmark for less than two dollars. I couldn’t think of any reason buying cheap potting soil could be a bad idea, because I’d be enriching it with my own vermiculture compost later on. But the water doesn’t seem to penetrate. It floats in pools on top of the dirt. I had to practically drown the whole set-up just to get the soil moist through.
Is there any particular reason for that, other than the possibility that it’s just…cheap, bad-quality dirt?
I’m heading to the Union Square Farmers’ Market on Wednesday for some red wigglers for the worm box and might just invest in a pound of ‘New York Paydirt’, their own worm-enriched soil, to replant the seeds. Chances of any of the seeds actually growing in that dirt between now and then are slim to none anyway…considering I may have well drowned them all.
I was happy to know that I could get the worms more-or-less locally — the city is a couple of hours away at most. I’ll be bringing a cooler in and getting a few other things at the market too since we’re a little bereft of a good Farmers’ Market here. My year of City Year service in Little Rock spoiled me — they had a great one there.
Now I’m trying to see about getting ladybugs. So far, I can either get a Ladybug Land kit, which would give me 15-20 ladybug larvae with ten guaranteed to be “perfect specimens” (I feel elitist saying that, but I suppose they really mean more like ten guaranteed to live). The problem is that if I raise them, I’ll be hysterical the second one dies.
Then, there are places you can buy them as adults…in groups of 1500 or more. Sorry guys, my plot is not big enough for all of you!
And then there’s this: http://www.gardeningwithkids.org/15-2310.html . This has been puzzling me. It very well may be perfect but…how to know? Calling them tomorrow.
I read that marigolds and other florals specifically attract ladybugs, but I’d love to have some to start with. I don’t see too many ladybugs around here on their own except by chance. If you have an appropriate garden do you need a “ladybug house” like I’ve seen advertised around the ‘net?
So far my best resources have been sites about gardening for children, especially ones for teachers. Which leads me to all sorts of plans for my future classroom, even if the resources are out of pocket.
I’m using tires for my potatoes — I’m going to hit up some local shops and rescue some that would be going to the landfill — and some bricks we have in the back from a path we took up for a dual-tiered raised bed (spinach and strawberries on the bottom, carrots and chives on the top, separately).
So for those who couldn’t stand the tl;dr, this post: reusing junk and household items, cheap potting soil that doesn’t seem to work right, windowsill starters, drowning seeds, worms and ladybugs, eco-friendly gardening as an artform and farmers’ markets.
Next time for gardening, maybe sketches of possible garden layouts; co-planting; and flowers in the vegetable patch?
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Peter said,
April 6, 2009 @ 12:35 am
Hmm from what I have learned in the past, the dirt can always be enriched, like with a compost or something, also it help to breakdown dirt and before planting (to encourage the dirt to absorb). also if you have something to add to the soil before hand, that is always good to do. (one idea would be to look up what type of soil conditions your plant needs and then look up ways to get it in the soil naturally, like a compost heap made to produce high levels of nitrogen, necessary for health)
As for Lady bugs, if you have a healthy garden, and a healthy abundance of aphids and bugs they can eat, then they can live in your garden happily. Of course, if the LB lack a food source they will most likely die or leave for better food. Worms are really good fopr getting soil healthy, since they do decompose things into the soil. so compost+worms+dirt=healthy rich soil.
As an art form. MY GOD! That would be something. Getting the main part of the garden on the ground with possibly 2 tire pots hung above the grounded garden.
Oh and before I forget when starting out with plants, if you grow them inside and plan on transferring them to the outside, make sure things are ready. The soil outside is ready to support other plants and that you don’t disturb, the plant being transfered, its roots. Since that can cause the plant to go into shock and then it’s growth will be stunted and die eventually.
If you have any specific question lemme know. My father is really good with this sort of stuff and my mom is great with gardens. =3