jody smith williams glee community garden · organic methods of treatment: always consider impact...
TRANSCRIPT
Jody Smith Williams GLEE Community Garden
Outline
What’s Unique about Us? Starting a Garden: The Basics Siting Your Garden Benefits of Raised Beds Soil Building Planting Common Problems & Solutions Jody’s Top 10 Summer Garden Care
Growing Outside the Box Resources
What’s Unique About Us? Space
Native “soil”, high Ph
Climate
Gardening calendar
Rainfall
Pests
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Siting Your Garden: Location, location, location
Vegetables need 6-8 hours of sunlight
Consider: Fall/Winter shadows
Wind
Salt spray
Tree roots
Aesthetics, privacy
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Benefits of Raised Beds: Soil quality
No till, compaction
Drainage
Moisture retention
Weed control
Mobility (tall beds)
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Materials: Frame made of wood (Untreated), recycled plastic
lumber, concrete block, etc.
Size – no more than 4’ wide
- any length
6-8” deep, more for some root veggies
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SOIL BUILDING:
Most important part of organic gardening
The Soil Food Web is comprised of microorganisms that provide
nutrients and health to the plants as well as the soil.
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SOIL BUILDING Line bottom of raised bed with
newspaper or cardboard
Mix ~ equal parts topsoil, compost, vermiculite or sand
S FL needs more organic matter
Organic amendments:
Fish meal/emulsion , Seaweed Extract/kelp meal, Worm Castings, Plantone ® or other organic products
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SOIL BUILDING cont’d
For tall beds, consider “lasagna gardening”
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Considerations: Grow things your family
likes to eat
Cost/availability of store bought
Size of plants, time to maturity
Appropriateness for climate
Experiment!
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Direct seed or seedlings?
Starting seedlings: Sterile , fluffy starting
medium Container w/ drainage Seed selection Light water daily Fertilize after 2 weeks Transplant in shade Moon cycles Mulch
Buying seedlings: beware Big Box Stores Grow Fest Oct. 19-20
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Most common mistake: Plants too close Tough love, must thin
Provide supports when plants are small (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, pole beans)
Consider Square Foot Gardening
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Not too much, not too little, just right!
Drip or soaker irrigation on timer w/ rain detector ideal
Water soil, not plants
Finger test
Deeper watering, less often 1-2” per week
½-1 gal per square foot.
4 x 10 plot needs 20-40 gallons
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Common insects: aphids, white fly, thrips, cabbage worms, nematodes, snails/slugs, horn worms
The best offense is a good defense: healthy plants resist pests & disease
Disease resistant seeds
Foliar spray: compost tea, seaweed, fish emulsion
IPM: Attract/buy natural predators: ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps, ben. nematodes
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Organic methods of treatment: always consider impact on beneficials. Start with most benign.
Observation!
Wait for good guys
Sticky traps (yellow for white fly; blue for thrips)
Beer traps for snails/slugs
Water spray
Garlic/hot pepper /soap spray
“Two block method”
Food grade diatomaceous earth (DE)
Stronger treatments: Bt, Pyrethrum, Spinosad, Neem – may kill beneficials
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Disease Prevention/Treatment:
Avoid Big Box stores, especially Nightshades
Cucurbits prone to powdery mildew – spray with diluted skim milk. Trellis vines for better air flow
Destroy diseased plants – DO NOT COMPOST
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Chard Kale Mustard Collards Tatsoi
Vitamin Greens
Mizuna Arugula Lettuce
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Nitrogen fixers Bush (faster production) Pole (longer harvest, need trellis) Innoculant for better
yield
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Needs 1 square foot
3-4 months to harvest
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Cilantro Dill Rosemary Parsley Mint Oregano Thyme Tarragon Chives Basil Marjoram Sage
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Slow grower, small space (not too close)
Grow radishes (quick) before carrots mature
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Slow grower, small space Good for intercropping Buy onion “sets”, leeks from
seed
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Bell peppers winter/spring
Hot peppers summer
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Perennial in S. FL
Nitrogen fixer
Eat peas, pods and shoots
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Prolific, low maintenance, can be kept small
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Success unpredictable in S. FL Prone to disease (fusarium wilt,
tobacco mosaic virus, yellow curly leaf virus, blight)
Cherry varieties do best Plant seedlings very deep
and/or plant sideways Trim suckers and stake plants Don’t over water, esp before
harvest Plenty of calcium (eggshells,
Epsom salts) Consider determinate or
indeterminate
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Nasturtium: Edible, Pest Deterrent Tagetes Marigold: Nematode Control
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Wild arugula: edible, pollinator Calendula: edible, medicinal Borage: edible, pollinator, medicinal
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Options: Plant cover crop(s): Legumes, buckwheat, sunn hemp
Solarize soil
At the very least: cover
with cardboard or mulch
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Spiral Garden
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Key hole Garden
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Vertical Wall Garden Photo: JustOneBackyard.com
Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide1
University of FL IFAS Extension Service
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP124
Miami-Dade IFAS Extension Service
http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/communitygarden.shtml
Gardeners Supply
http://www.gardeners.com/
Organic Gardening Magazine
http://www.organicgardening.com
GLEE Community Garden http://www.cgkw.pbworks.com/
http://www.communitygardenkeywest.com
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Happy Gardening!