George Shirley wrote:
....
To be a decent gardener you have to understand your climate, the rain
patterns, what the soil is made of, and, even then, you can lose. Think
of it as something fun to do and you won't go completely bonkers.

i agree, some crops you may not succeed with some years,
but it helps to pay attention and read what you can on
soils/plants/biology/botany/etc.

what i've noticed here is that planting diversity helps
keep me more interested too. that even if some patches
don't make it some others might.

i really don't mind weeds and untidyness in the gardens.
i'd much rather have something growing in a spot than having
bare dirt. to me weeds are free energy collectors and free
worm food. when i do need a space i dig a hole and bury the
weeds and then plant over them. by the time the seedlings
get their roots down very far the worst of the fermentation
has happened and the worms are in there doing their thing.

only a few select weeds survive this kind of treatment and
their roots need to be dried out before they get buried (sow
thistle, thistles in general, dandelions, queen anne's lace,
chickory, potatoes).


songbird