Natural Girl wrote:
songbird wrote:
Natural Girl wrote:
...
wow .. you're garden is much larger than mine is... Do you do organic
gardening? That's been my passion for a long time!

yes, i think i'm on year four now where
i've been using other methods. some losses
here or there, but we've worked around
or left things be and it went ok in time.

Do you have a favorite organic method?

yes, do nothing, often enough problems will
sort themselves out. plants do have defenses.

observation and patience are good things
to practice.

that said, hand-picking bugs off plants is
sometimes needed (especially tomato worms).
japanese beetles i'll pick and smush and leave
on the stepping stones for the birds (hoping
to train them to eat them off the plants ).

i haven't had to do anything for aphids or
flea beetles yet. having perennial plants that
hold over the ladybugs seems to keep them around.
we do lose some leaves to the fireflies when
they come out. for the flea beetles the beans
outgrew the problem, only had troubles with
the bottom leaves. for tomato fungi, catching
it early and pulling leaves, using mulches to
control splashing (once the ground is warm
enough), etc.

there's really no one method that works for
everything, but keeping your eyes peeled and
spending some time observing will help. asking
others for help is ok too. if you got some
old codger that's spent 40 years in the gardens
and seems to be getting good results in all
different kinds of conditions then they are
someone you want as a friend.

burying things to rot under enough dirt is
a good way to compost something without having
to get fancy or expensive. using underneath
spaces to store materials for later can help
in low spots. free compost is sometimes best
avoided (if you don't see it beforehand and
know the conditions where it was produced it
can be a disaster).

looks like the strawberries are starting to
bloom. last year they were blooming by March 11.

and we're back to a normal spring drought
after having too much rain. the farmers can
get things planted at last. good for them.
not a regular rain in some days. gotta water
the newly seeded garden.

took some pics from the roof today when i
was sealing up the stonework fireplace. if
they turned out i can use them to replace the
older ones i have online.

uhg, i think i'll take a nap. observing
the insides of one's own eyelids is often
refreshing.


songbird