Do you want a more resilient vegetable garden?
If you’ve ever lost vegetable plants to a pest or fought a voracious weed in the garden, then you’ve experienced firsthand how tenacious nature can be… Well, here’s the thing: Your vegetable and herb plants are just as resilient and persistent as all the pests, weeds, and diseases out there. It may not feel or seem that way at times, but they are!
Oftentimes, even a crop that appears decimated, can recover just fine. But what if you thought your whole crop was decimated when it really was okay? You could lose a perfectly good harvest! 🙁
Plus, holy kale!
Check out what Stacey found on her microphone during the making of this video!
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Escape overwhelm in the vegetable garden… here’s how!
Masterclass on YouTube:
Share your success below!
What’s the most resilient plant you’ve ever seen? What’s something that you’ve seen growing and then produce seeds even in harsh circumstances.
Hi, I need to add something to my dirt because I bought top soil and it’s too dense. Gardener friends told me add some beach sand and planting soil mix that can be bought, the kind that is much “airier.” Do you have any suggestions besides compost? I can’t do a compost just yet, that’ll come later. Right now I just want to get the garden soil prepped. I’m very new at this. I live near a beach and could add lots of dried seaweed from the beach. It seems like that could be beneficial. Thanks for any thoughts! Cheers!
Years ago my mother gave me a cutting from her aloe vera plant. I had several small children at the time and no way could I take time to nurture that cutting. I threw it, in it’s paper sack, into the back yard and forgot about it. Probably a year or more later I found it big and healthy, growing in our back yard. I have shared cuttings with all my children ( 7) and that aloe vera is now growing in several states
Comment *It is true last year I had a pet that ate all the leaves of my cucumber and zucchini plant up to almost nothing left, so I put a fence around my garden, and leaves started growing again and fruits grew also
I really wanted to grow some chick weed because I like to dry it and have some fresh each year. I planted some in a pot because I didn’t want it to take over my garden. Then the year got dry and I thought that my chick weed had all dried up and died. But then we got some rain and before I knew it the pot that I had planted it in was full of lush chick weed! It was awesome!
Kale, chard, horseradish definitely.
This happened in northern Montana, many years ago. I planted the tomato plants on May 30th, like most folks there. On June 14th, there was a hard (25F) freeze. The tomatoes were little, shriveled, black leaves. It was about a week before I could replace the plants. When I started to dig up the frozen plants, I saw green leaves and fresh, 3-4″ growth! I put the new tomato plants into another plot.
The tomatoes that were frozen and came back produced 3 times as many tomatoes as the “replacement/new placement” plants.
Those frozen leaves were connected to a big root party under the surface. The saying “More roots, more fruits.” certainly applied.
My suburban garden near Downtown Houston “adopted” what I think are wild onions. If I don’t harvest them in time, each onion plant bloom produces an array of seeds. And if I don’t get all the seeds collected…of course I get new onions :). My biggest issue that I have yet to figure out is a plethora of tiny white pinpoint dots on my holy basil leaves. The plants are thriving despite whatever is affecting it. My best guess is red spider mites. We wash the leaves carefully and eat them anyway.
Excellent, thanks a lot. Greetings from Switzerland !
Home/School/Community Gardens
1. Gardening that takes little labor, buy nothing but seed, highest yields: only plant and harvest!
2. doesgodexist.today/good-soils-are-vital-for-survival
3. Land: home, school, vacant lots, community gardens, etc.
4. Organic matter: High level is key to high yields. Rain water; no runoff. Soil is soft and loose. Very fertile. Use cover crops/green manure and/or compost. Use as mulch [leave on top of soil; no plowing]. Outside sources: leaves, grass clippings [campuses, parks, yard services, etc], manure, urine, food waste.
5. Compost: Make your own? See below. Cover crops are a better choice.
6. No-dig/No-till: There is NOT one reason to dig or plow. Destroys organic matter. Brings weed seeds to surface to sprout. First recorded plowing, 4 BC. American Indians had higher yields than the Pilgrims using their plows. .
7. Labor: Reduced 50-75%. Plant and harvest!
8. Fertilizers: Cover crops/green manure, compost, mulch, leaves, grass clippings. Minerals? If crops indicate problem, test soil.
9. Beds – permanent: Garden – up to 6 ft. wide, any length. no side boards. Minimum walking in beds. Increase rows of crop in bed. Used since 2000 BC in Mexico & Guatemala [Saw personally in 1963].
10. Permanent paths: 20%? of the land in paths, Saves 20% of time, labor, fuel but higher yields. Cover with wood chips, grain hulls, cotton burrs, etc.
11. Tools, hand: machete, hoe, v-hoe, stirrup hoe, trowel, yoyo, loppers, shears, scythe, hand sickle, rake, fork.
12. Crops: flowers, fruits, grains, vegetables. Little known – popping sorghum, spaghetti squash, miniature corn/maize, baby vegetables, Artemisia annua [malaria], etc.
13. 12 months production: clear plastic [winter] or shade cloth [summer] on pvc frame over beds. Very cold winters – hoop house over 1-2-3 covered beds.
14. Transplants: Start seed indoors.
15. Trellis [climbing/supported crops]: welded-wire/hog-wire fencing, etc. Use electrical ties or wire. In a circle [tomatoes] and/or a row, using post, in bed. Local materials?
16. Mulch: No bare ground. Leave crop residue, cover crop/green manure, compost and put leaves, clippings on top of soil. Keep covered with several inches. Open up rows and plant crop.
17. Cover crops/green manure: Intercropping and/or crop rotation. Summer and/or winter cover crops. Cut for mulch. Legumes [N]: vetch, clover, beans, mucuna/veletbean, peas, alfalfa, kudzu, lablab, etc.
Others: rye, oats, buckwheat, sudan, wheat, barley, teff, amaranth, elephant grass, fava beans, vetch. etc
18. Compost: Organic materials in a bin. Keep moist. Turn regularly to speed up composting. Leaves, grass clipping are available free in neighborhoods. Cover crops are better choice as less labor.
19. Compost bins: 4 pallets tied together with electrical ties or wire. 3 bins for turning to speed up composting.
20. Weeds, etc.: Few can grow through mulch, etc. Cut for mulch. Nature hates bare ground [weeds].
21. Pest, etc: no inorganic insecticides, pesticides, chemicals. Organic pesticides for emergencies.
22. Soil erosion: No water runoff, soil compaction, wind erosion. Organic, no-till, tracks, beds stops it.
23. Irrigation: bucket drip [diy, see below]. Water pressure – soaker hose, sprinklers, emitters or barbs in poly tubing [diy]. A drip line returns US$20 per month to a farmer in developing countries. [FAO study].
24. Seed: open pollinated – no hybrids, no GMOs. seedsavers.org
25. Free on request: Market Garden, Mini-Farm, Mini-Stock Farm, Farm
26. ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/hunger-and-hope Ethiopia and Guatemala gardening/farming. Must see!
27. Books: Plowman’s Folly – Free download: https://sites.google.com/a/hw.books-now.com/en484/9780806111698-20niodicGEprosun75
28. A. I confirm Ken’s advice. I’ve been using mulch and no-till since the late sixties. Works. It really works. I manage a community garden. It started on hard clay with turf grass using mulch. Leaves are added to the beds every fall and it has never been tilled. It’s a beautiful, fruitful garden. I have friends who have sand and I advised them to do the same. They’ve been very successful as well. It will work anywhere. Judith Hainaut
B. Thank you for all the info. I am applying it in my own vegetable patch. It is working. Your advice is so simple. People do not believe me when I tell them. I am so excited about growing things now. Jeremy. Karsen, South Africa, plum farmer.
D. I had a backyard garden for years practicing the above but closed it due to traveling. Tomatoes 8 ft. high. Ken
You take care of the soil; the soil takes care of the crops; the crops take care of you
Misc:
PBS: Americas Heartland 1315, growingagreenerworld.com, 1203,
Posters: 24×36. corn, tomatoes, pears, exotic fruit, sunflowers, chilles. Beautiful. Celestial Arts Food Posters
Bible: God’s instructions to man, michaelshankministries.com/timeline
Heritage Breeds postage stamps: LadonnaA.Cooke@usps.gov