Organic gardening - raised beds

[Guest guest]

To the gardeners out there,

What do you use to create your raised beds? Our soil is very very sandy

and I am tired of ammending it extensively everytime we wish to have a

little veg garden. The problem is that I don't want to use anything

not " green " for making the raised beds. For example, I don't want to

use plastic or pressure treated lumber. Any suggestions? Also, what

vegan fertilizers and such have you had luck with?

Carrol

[Guest guest]

It was expensive, but we used stone to build our raised bed. We

don't use organic fertilizers, etc because most are by products of

slaughterhouses, or animal farms (blood meal, manure, etc.) We have

huge compost bin in the backyard and that is the only thing we amend

the soil with. I live in FL and all we have is sand and phosphorous

in our soil. This fall, I am going to start composting with worms

which is a very nutritive addition to soil.

 

There are a lot of resources on the internet - google " veganic

gardening " " Green Manure " and " vermicompost " to get you started.

 

~Susan

 

 

On Apr 24, 2008, at 1:16 PM, rtillmansmail wrote:

 

> To the gardeners out there,

> What do you use to create your raised beds? Our soil is very very

> sandy

> and I am tired of ammending it extensively everytime we wish to have a

> little veg garden. The problem is that I don't want to use anything

> not " green " for making the raised beds. For example, I don't want to

> use plastic or pressure treated lumber. Any suggestions? Also, what

> vegan fertilizers and such have you had luck with?

> Carrol

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks Susan,

I hadn't thought of stone but it seems perfect. You must be in NW FL -

all sand and phosphorous here. Have you tried to decrease the

phosphorous? I was told it can't be done but read that buckwheat uses

a lot of phosphorous. I thought I could try it as a winter cover crop

and then get rid of it - not compost it. I have used the green sand

but it is expensive when it washes away so I plan to use it in the

raised beds. What do you line your beds with - more stone? All the

options I seen so far are petroleum based.

 

I have used liquid kelp spray but it smells almost as bad as fish

spray. I hae used soy meal but it molds fast here. I used to compost

and the worms came on their own. I had a friend that vermicomposted

in a container and bought worms to start the process. I haven't

decided if I will do that - does it fit with my veganism or not? Did

you sort through this when setting up or did your worms just come to

you?

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

, Susan Williams <virgo.vegan

wrote:

>

> It was expensive, but we used stone to build our raised bed. We

> don't use organic fertilizers, etc because most are by products of

> slaughterhouses, or animal farms (blood meal, manure, etc.) We

have

> huge compost bin in the backyard and that is the only thing we

amend

> the soil with. I live in FL and all we have is sand and

phosphorous

> in our soil. This fall, I am going to start composting with

worms

> which is a very nutritive addition to soil.

>

> There are a lot of resources on the internet - google " veganic

> gardening " " Green Manure " and " vermicompost " to get you started.

>

> ~Susan

>

>

[Guest guest]

I don't have a raised bed, but I do have a couple gardens. We have a compost

heap (I have it contained with a wooden garden fence, but it probably

doesn't need it). You can use newspaper, cardboard, and leaves/grass/other

stuff pea gravel is also good for drainage.

I would suggest the book 'Lasagna Gardening' I forget who wrote it, but they

talk about how to build raised beds using this.

 

I was also just looking at 'herb spirals' and they do a bottom layer of

cardboard to kill the grass, and then you build up around a spiral of rock

(adding more dirt/rocks to contain it) as you build it up. It's kind of like

a space saving herb garden, and it's also a little permaculture garden, you

put herbs/plants on top that need less water (it drains to the bottom) and

the ones that like it wetter at the bottom of it, they also say you can put

in a water pond thing to encourage frogs so they will eat any bad bugs.

 

Oh, if you grow tomatoes, sprinkle epsom salt either in the bottom of the

hole you dig to plant it, if you've got a seedling) or you can dig a ditch

maybe about a foot from the plant in a circle around it, and maybe an inch

or 2 deep) sprinkle about a tablespoon or 2 into it, cover and then water.

It should be enough for the season, and it feeds them. I learned this from

my grandpa, and I've always had ENORMOUS tomato plants, and TONS of fruits

to harvest!

 

Missie

 

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 3:38 PM, rtillmansmail <rtillmansmail

wrote:

 

> Thanks Susan,

> I hadn't thought of stone but it seems perfect. You must be in NW FL -

> all sand and phosphorous here. Have you tried to decrease the

> phosphorous? I was told it can't be done but read that buckwheat uses

> a lot of phosphorous. I thought I could try it as a winter cover crop

> and then get rid of it - not compost it. I have used the green sand

> but it is expensive when it washes away so I plan to use it in the

> raised beds. What do you line your beds with - more stone? All the

> options I seen so far are petroleum based.

>

> I have used liquid kelp spray but it smells almost as bad as fish

> spray. I hae used soy meal but it molds fast here. I used to compost

> and the worms came on their own. I had a friend that vermicomposted

> in a container and bought worms to start the process. I haven't

> decided if I will do that - does it fit with my veganism or not? Did

> you sort through this when setting up or did your worms just come to

> you?

>

> Thanks!

>

> <%40>, Susan

> Williams <virgo.vegan

> wrote:

>

> >

> > It was expensive, but we used stone to build our raised bed. We

> > don't use organic fertilizers, etc because most are by products of

> > slaughterhouses, or animal farms (blood meal, manure, etc.) We

> have

> > huge compost bin in the backyard and that is the only thing we

> amend

> > the soil with. I live in FL and all we have is sand and

> phosphorous

> > in our soil. This fall, I am going to start composting with

> worms

> > which is a very nutritive addition to soil.

> >

> > There are a lot of resources on the internet - google " veganic

> > gardening " " Green Manure " and " vermicompost " to get you started.

> >

> > ~Susan

> >

> >

>

>

>

 

 

 

--

 

http://mszzzi.zoomshare.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mszzzi/

 

~~~~~(m-.-)m

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I am in the Tampa area. I have never thought to decrease the

phosphorous and never thought it was necessary - soil and plants need

phosphorous. I don't line the beds with anything - just make a pit

out of the stones, then add garden soil and compost. For me

personally, the vermicompost doesn't conflict with my veganism - I

don't think the works are being exploited or harmed.

 

~Susan

 

 

On Apr 24, 2008, at 4:38 PM, rtillmansmail wrote:

 

> Thanks Susan,

> I hadn't thought of stone but it seems perfect. You must be in NW FL -

> all sand and phosphorous here. Have you tried to decrease the

> phosphorous? I was told it can't be done but read that buckwheat uses

> a lot of phosphorous. I thought I could try it as a winter cover crop

> and then get rid of it - not compost it. I have used the green sand

> but it is expensive when it washes away so I plan to use it in the

> raised beds. What do you line your beds with - more stone? All the

> options I seen so far are petroleum based.

>

> I have used liquid kelp spray but it smells almost as bad as fish

> spray. I hae used soy meal but it molds fast here. I used to compost

> and the worms came on their own. I had a friend that vermicomposted

> in a container and bought worms to start the process. I haven't

> decided if I will do that - does it fit with my veganism or not? Did

> you sort through this when setting up or did your worms just come to

> you?

>

> Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I just took my class to the local recycling center. They make mulch...not quite

sure if it is organic or all natural, but I thought it was a cool fact.

Best of luck on your gardening.

Cassie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Organic can be confusing when it comes to gardening material, whereas

organic gardening refers to growing food without the use of

conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste or

sewage sludge (all of which can be used on a conventional farm).

Organic when used to describe material in gardening refers to

biological matter or matter derived from living organisms. So you

may see a bag of organic mulch at home depot - that just means it can

decompose. " All natural " is typically used interchangeably. There

are some mulches that will not decompose - like the rubber stuff they

use on playgrounds now, and of course rock and stone mulches (I guess

they will eventually decompose but probably not in our lifetime).

 

Most cities have a place where you can go pick up mulch for free or

really cheap, but in my experience in my town, it is not good mulch.

We got one batch that looked like it was from diseased plants and I

was too afraid to use it and get my plants sick, so we just bagged it

up for the yard waste guys to pick up.

 

Just wanted to clarify for the group (sorry if it is something

everyone already knows) because when I go to Home Depot now, I notice

that a lot of companies are making the word organic really big on

their packaging - like ORGANIC Compost - but all compost is Organic

and it is not like this stuff is USDA Certified Organic compost. I

just think some companies are taking advantage...

 

~Susan

 

 

On Apr 24, 2008, at 9:16 PM, Cassie Dixon wrote:

 

> I just took my class to the local recycling center. They make

> mulch...not quite sure if it is organic or all natural, but I

> thought it was a cool fact.

> Best of luck on your gardening.

> Cassie

>

>

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile.

> Try it now.

>

>

[Guest guest]

we use rock

 

 

rtillmansmail <rtillmansmail

 

Thursday, April 24, 2008 12:16:26 PM

Organic gardening - raised beds

 

To the gardeners out there,

What do you use to create your raised beds? Our soil is very very sandy

and I am tired of ammending it extensively everytime we wish to have a

little veg garden. The problem is that I don't want to use anything

not " green " for making the raised beds. For example, I don't want to

use plastic or pressure treated lumber. Any suggestions? Also, what

vegan fertilizers and such have you had luck with?

Carrol

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I think I forgot to mention that I don't use fertilizers on my garden, I've

had good luck with companion planting (googling will turn things up) - like

basil and tomatoes, garlic and roses (if you hve them). There's tons of info

and different combinations. I think Asparagus and it was either basil or

parsley - but basically most herbs put back what others leech out (but some

are better companions than others) and there's some that will also deplete

the same nutrients.

I also rotate where my veggies all go. Tomatoes were at the back and the

middle last year, this year, they're in the new section everything is moved

over since I made my garden about 2x the size it was last year.

 

HTH

Missie

 

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 12:16 PM, rtillmansmail <rtillmansmail

wrote:

 

> To the gardeners out there,

> What do you use to create your raised beds? Our soil is very very sandy

> and I am tired of ammending it extensively everytime we wish to have a

> little veg garden. The problem is that I don't want to use anything

> not " green " for making the raised beds. For example, I don't want to

> use plastic or pressure treated lumber. Any suggestions? Also, what

> vegan fertilizers and such have you had luck with?

> Carrol

>

>

>

 

 

 

--

 

http://mszzzi.zoomshare.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mszzzi/

 

~~~~~(m-.-)m

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

This is a good point. I was thinking about getting some mulch from the city,

or somewhere (I've seen some tree trimmers that will give it away, too - and

was considering them). But I was going to use it for getting rid of most of

our lawn, and just mulching it in (no need to waste water making it green,

and I won't have to mow mulch...vinegar will get rid of any weeds that might

come up under the landscape cloth stuff). I think it might work for that,

and maybe in my son's play area in the shade by the house for summer -

instead of the grass and the creeping charlie (ground ivey) that's taking

over - though I may leave that instead since it doesn't get tall and has

pretty purple/pink flowers in the summer. I'd like the mulch in the play

area though, since the sandbox is killing the grass anyway, and I'd rather

not have a mud pit. Heh.

 

I also think that there is a lot of 'green washing' and liberal use of the

term organic, a lot of times they will be priced higher as well - even when

it's no better than the item next to it that is otherwise identical, but

does not have the word organic plastered on it (I could swear I saw this

from the same company somewhere, but don't recall what it was now, or

where). It makes me crazy that they can do this. But I guess that's where

reading and researching come in handy for us, but for others who don't know

where to start, or anything...they just take it at face value, so they think

they're getting something better than what it actually is.

 

Missie

 

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 8:53 PM, Susan Williams <virgo.vegan

wrote:

 

> Organic can be confusing when it comes to gardening material, whereas

> organic gardening refers to growing food without the use of

> conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste or

> sewage sludge (all of which can be used on a conventional farm).

> Organic when used to describe material in gardening refers to

> biological matter or matter derived from living organisms. So you

> may see a bag of organic mulch at home depot - that just means it can

> decompose. " All natural " is typically used interchangeably. There

> are some mulches that will not decompose - like the rubber stuff they

> use on playgrounds now, and of course rock and stone mulches (I guess

> they will eventually decompose but probably not in our lifetime).

>

> Most cities have a place where you can go pick up mulch for free or

> really cheap, but in my experience in my town, it is not good mulch.

> We got one batch that looked like it was from diseased plants and I

> was too afraid to use it and get my plants sick, so we just bagged it

> up for the yard waste guys to pick up.

>

> Just wanted to clarify for the group (sorry if it is something

> everyone already knows) because when I go to Home Depot now, I notice

> that a lot of companies are making the word organic really big on

> their packaging - like ORGANIC Compost - but all compost is Organic

> and it is not like this stuff is USDA Certified Organic compost. I

> just think some companies are taking advantage...

>

> ~Susan

>

>

> On Apr 24, 2008, at 9:16 PM, Cassie Dixon wrote:

>

> > I just took my class to the local recycling center. They make

> > mulch...not quite sure if it is organic or all natural, but I

> > thought it was a cool fact.

> > Best of luck on your gardening.

> > Cassie

> >

> >

> > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile.

> > Try it now.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

We don't use fertilizer either - we just use compost to amend the

soil before planting, and compost tea for watering in the spring.

Seems to be working without the need of any true fertilizers.

 

~Susan

 

 

On Apr 25, 2008, at 11:41 AM, Missie Ward wrote:

 

> I think I forgot to mention that I don't use fertilizers on my

> garden, I've

> had good luck with companion planting (googling will turn things

> up) - like

> basil and tomatoes, garlic and roses (if you hve them). There's

> tons of info

> and different combinations. I think Asparagus and it was either

> basil or

> parsley - but basically most herbs put back what others leech out

> (but some

> are better companions than others) and there's some that will also

> deplete

> the same nutrients.

> I also rotate where my veggies all go. Tomatoes were at the back

> and the

> middle last year, this year, they're in the new section everything

> is moved

> over since I made my garden about 2x the size it was last year.

>

> HTH

> Missie

>

> On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 12:16 PM, rtillmansmail

> <rtillmansmail

> wrote:

>

> > To the gardeners out there,

> > What do you use to create your raised beds? Our soil is very very

> sandy

> > and I am tired of ammending it extensively everytime we wish to

> have a

> > little veg garden. The problem is that I don't want to use anything

> > not " green " for making the raised beds. For example, I don't want to

> > use plastic or pressure treated lumber. Any suggestions? Also, what

> > vegan fertilizers and such have you had luck with?

> > Carrol

> >

> >

> >

>

> --

>

> http://mszzzi.zoomshare.com

> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mszzzi/

>

> ~~~~~(m-.-)m

>

>

[Guest guest]

I should really read what I write. LOL. We do companion planting, and

compost from our heap. For the tomatoes, I do add Epsom Salts either in the

planting hole, or in a circle about 6-8or so inches from the base of the

plant, about 2 " deep and then burried after they're already put into the

garden. If they're already established, I think you can do that about a foot

away to not damage the roots.

 

That's the only things I used. I also sort of do a Potager style garden

(French kitchen garden - kind of), and you plant heavily/inter-plant and

that also saves you on weeding time since only your established plants get

the sun they need to grow, once it fills in of course. I found out that one

of the plants we had last year was purslane that tried to take over the

garden when we had just sprouts...and it's an edible plant. If it comes

back this year, we may have another way to deal with it other than digging

them out. LOL. Hee. Once the plants were more established, it stopped

growing on the ground.

This year, I'm not as organized for some reason, so I'm not sure that we'll

have the same kind of luck with the planting style, and I'm leaving for 3

weeks for a vacation, so I'm not sure what will happen to the garden when

I'm gone, my husband will be here, but I don't know what he'll do for the 2

weeks my son and I will be away, then my husband comes to join us for a week

and then we're home. It's making me crazy to not have stuff already

established because of the late snows we've had, so I may just have a late

garden again this year.

 

Missie

--

 

http://mszzzi.zoomshare.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mszzzi/

 

~~~~~(m-.-)m