Technique is everything

Today's Assignment

Plant seeds and transplants at the proper depth and distance and then thin out later.

Today's Assignment

Purchase seeds and plants for your garden

Click HERE for Burpee seed company

Click HERE for Ferry- Morse

Check with your local nursery or home improvement store for plant starts.

Map out your garden

Today's Assignment

Make a scale drawing of your garden, planning the location and amount of rows of each vegetable.

Keep in mind that taller plants in your garden can shade shorter ones, dependant on how your garden is positioned ( north/south vs. east/west) and how the sun moves over it.

Certain vegetables, such as corn, do better when planted in multiple rows for cross pollination.

What to Plant

Today's Assignment

Make a list of the vegetables you wish to grow in your garden

For the Phoenix, Arizona area:
Bush beans , lima beans, beets, corn, Irish potato, tomato plants, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, cucumber, eggplant, muskmelon, okra, pepper plants, radishes, summer squash, onions, watermelon, soy beans, carrots and snap peas are all recommended for spring planting.

Soil Additives

Today's Assignment

Prepare the soil in your garden for optimal plant growth and successful harvest.

If you live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, here is Harpers Garden Preparation guide:

#1 Ready in two weeks
To each one hundred square feet of garden area add:
3- bags of composted manure
3-bags of professional blend compost
10# Gypsum
2# blood meal
4# bone meal
2# soil sulphur
Rototill to eight inches deep, water slow and deep. Ready to plant in two weeks.

#2 Ready to Plant same day
To each one hundred square feet of garden area add:
6 bags Professional blend compost, Omni or Kellogg's Gromulch
10# Gypsum
4# Bone Meal
2# Gardener's Special 5-5-5 Fertilizer
Rototill to eight inches deep, Rake level. Ready to plant now.

March Madness

Hopefully you are all basking in the joy of having a complete disaster kit at your disposal !! Congratulations. Now... on to our next task: Plant a garden. Growing and storing the food you grow is just one more way to become self-sustaining and prepared for the future.

Today's Assignment

Determine the size and location for your garden.

Select a site that is free of grass and weeds and receives at least 5-6 hours of sunlight. If your soil is hard, soak the area to be dug for up to two hours with a sprinkler. Let soil dry out partially for about two days. Loosen soil 8-12 inches deep with a showvel, or tiller, removing all weeds.

To aid in breaking up dirt clods, water bed lightly every day. If your soil has particularly large clods, you can wait several days. Let nature help do the work! The action of the warm sun, cool nights, wind and water will help break the clods down.

If the soil is like clay, you may want to add sand at this time to improve the texture.

Organic Gardening Tips

Organic Gardening in Phoenix
by The Garden Guy

Organic Fertilizers

Fertilization is the least understood but one of the most important elements of our landscape. Many times, we pour massive doses of fertilizer that is high in nitrogen and then wonder why we have insect and disease problems. These problems are stimulated by high synthetic nitrogen intake that makes our plants more susceptible to insects and disease problems. Plants are not meant to grow in spurts, but through a slow progression of soil building with such products as manure, compost and other natural organic products.
Natural organic fertilizers add humus to our soil, which it lacks in the Southwest. Humus turns into humic acid and also contains many trace elements. Along with the benefits of organic fertilization, one of the best is that it is almost impossible to burn the plant if you add a little too much of humus.

The following are some of my favorite organic fertilizers.

Alfalfa meal: It's just plain guinea pig food. I spread it under my roses, vegetables or anything else that needs an extra boost. Citrus trees seem to love it. I also make a tea from it by soaking 1 cup in a 5-gallon bucket and then applying it on my shrub's root system.

Blood meal: Blood meal mixed with cottonseed makes an excellent lawn food. Spread it with a whirly bird spreader and watch your yard grow without the danger of synthetic chemical fertilizers.

Bone meal: This is used to stimulate flower production. High in phosphate, it makes sense to work it well into the soil before planting flowers. Try the same technique when planting tomatoes.

Composted cattle manure: This is easy and cheap to use to start all vegetable beds. It's great.

Compost: This is only ingredient you need. You can make foliar tea, fertilize with it and use it for weed and disease control. It can be used on all plants.

Cottonseed meal: It's high in nitrogen and works great in our high-alkaline soils. Because it has a low pH, make sure it comes from organically grown cotton.

Fish emulsion: Emulsion is used as general insect spray when applied. I use it outside for most of my potted plant fertilization.

Liquid seaweed: Seaweed can be used as a foliar spray. It will also control spider mites and white flies. Liquid seaweed contains a lot of trace elements and should be the first ingredient used in a foliar spray program because it makes fertilizer and trace elements more available to the plant. Purchase this at Sea of Green in Tempe.

Super Thrive: I have used this product since college. I do not understand all of the ingredients, but some are vitamins and hormones. I have personally seen amazing results with this product.



The Home Made Weed Control Recipe:
1 Gallon White Vinegar (Pickling if possible)
1 oz Orange Oil (Zeps - Home Depot or Lowes)
1-2 Drops Joy Liquid Dishsoap
Mix Slowly and use in a sprayer for weeds. Spray of weeds in the hottest time of the day

Organic Pest Controls

There are a number of organic techniques I use to reduce the amount of pests in and around my home. Best of all, none of them will harm pets, children or the environment.

Surrounding your garden with upright rosemary not only repels insects, but it makes a nice hedge. Rosemary naturally repels insects and smells and looks great, too.

If you have ant problems, try sprinkling bay leaves in and around problem areas. Bay leaves can also be placed throughout your pantry and cabinets for added protection.

In addition, peppermint, tansy and geraniums have been known to ward off ants.

If you have cats or dogs, try growing catnip in their runs. Even though it tends to be a little invasive, catnip repels ants and fleas. You can also try growing it in pots around your pets' feeding bowls.

If your four-legged friends have tick problems, try planting rue and lavender -- they have both been known to repel ticks.

Remember: Lavender needs well-drained soil, so mix a lot of sand into the hole you plant it in.

Another herb that grows almost all year in the ground and in pots is basil. Not only is it great for cooking, but basil will ward off flies and mosquitoes.
Tip: Grow basil in an area that receives afternoon shade.