Should You Compost Diseased or Bug-infested Plants?

Should You Compost Diseased or Bug-infested Plants?

I just got this question today from a former student of mine. She was removing the summer plants and noticed an Aphid infestation.

She had asked two other people, one being a plant nursery, and got 2 different answers. That's how it is with gardening. Everyone has an answer usually based on their experience.

Here's how I answered - I have a personal rule of never composting any diseased or bug infested plant - why take the risk? I compost a little more casually than the scientific or bio-dynamic version and I can never be sure if it gets hot enough to kill off the bug EGGS, the disease or bacteria.

What do you all do with bug-infested plants? I would love to hear from you!

Happy Digging,

Doreen, the Garden Goddess

www.down2earthgardens.com

Green Beans Emerge from Vegetable Garden Early

Green Beans Emerge from Vegetable Garden Early

Took only 4 days from when planted to emerge - this pic is day 7. Made note in my planting journal. And this is during an extreme heat alert with temps over 100 for 3 days straight!

Look who I found chilling next the the water bucket where I collect the AZ evap water? Cats are so smart!

Happy Digging and happy Sunday!

The Garden Goddess, Doreen

http://www.down2earthgardens.com/

4 Weeks to a New Garden - Week 4

4 Weeks to a New Garden - Week 4

Plant! Purchase your seeds or transplants at the nursery. When buying seeds, make sure they suit your garden location. When buying transplants, make sure the leaves look healthy and the root ball is not compacted with roots wrapping around the inside of the pot.

Here are some tips on proper plant placement. Be sure you know and consider:
•Spacing base on mature size
•Height and width
•Root vegetables vs. leafy vegetables
•Water requirements

Use this cool tool to plan your garden:

http://www.growveg.com/Default.aspx

It will help you with identifying mature size so plants aren't too crowded.

What should you do seeds vs. transplants
Seeds – longer germination time
• Acclimate to garden environment from beginning
• 2-3 months longer to harvest
Transplants – instant plant
• Earlier harvest
• Uniform production

Allow space for the mature plant size. Many plants, especially vegetables, need room for their ‘fruit.’ When planting from seed, read the seed packet for recommended spacing. Allow space for the mature plant size.

Water well after planting, then relax.

Now it’s just a matter of time. Protect your garden as it becomes established. Keep birds, cats and other critters away from your garden by tying ribbons to sticks and placing them around the garden. For cats, consider laying down chicken wire over the top of the soil after planting. The seeds will grow up in between the holes in the wire.

Water your new garden daily at first, keeping the soil moist until seedlings are a few inches tall. Once they are, test the soil to see how much moisture it retains and water based on need. A soil probe, pushed into the soil will help with you see how deep the water seeps..

Enjoy your harvest! The flowers will look brighter and the food taste fresher as a result of your tender loving care.

If you missed the first three weeks, you can get the entire article here.

If you are in the Phoenix, AZ area, I wil be teaching this class in-person on September 12th at the Home & Garden Expo Center at 1700. E Washcington St., PHX from 9:30-11AM. Watch my website for more details. http://www.down2earthgardens.com/

Happy Digging,

The Garden Goddess

www.down2earthgardens.com

Keeping track of it all

Well I FINALLY recorded what I planted and where so I can track what happens in the garden. I have been relying on my memory and now that I am expanding the gardens and have several all over my property, I think it is time to write it down.

For now I am using a blank journal someone gave to me. It has a beautiful water-color Impressionist style drawing on the cover.

On Sunday I planted Mammoth Sunflower seeds in four planting holes, 2 seeds per hole at the back of the existing sunflower sentries protecting the garden at the public sidewalk. According to the back of the seed packet, I can expect the seedlings to break ground in 7 - 21 days, a bloom in 75-90 days and a plant 7 - 12 feet tall and the bloom 1 foot across!! WOW! I will plant more of these each week until the pack is all planted and that way there will be Sunflowers all fall!!

I also planted Green Beans! Since they need something to grow on, I planted them all around the two peach trees that never leafed out - I am pretty sure they are dead. But they make an excellent nurse plant (trellis) for the green beans. I also planted some right at the walkway near the front porch where I have a bare trellis. These will take 7 - 14 days to germinate and 50 days to harvest.

With my journal I can actuall track how long it took in MY YARD for them to germinate and mature. This is useful information for when I plant the same things again next season. I will know if that location worked out, or the seeds for a specific company had a good germination rate, how they did in my soil, etc.

I am always looking for great ideas, so if you use a garden journal or format to track your garden progress, I would love to hear from you!

Happy Digging,
The Garden Goddess
www.down2earthgardens.com