Grow your own vegetables, fruit, herbs, and edible flowers
This is an educational site to help you garden. This site helps with sustainable organic gardening, square foot gardening, permaculture, and edible flowers. The website is customized to Utah (zone 5-6), but most principles will work anywhere. There will be a seed saving presentation and an Organic presentation added soon.
I have gardened for over 40 years. I had my own garden at 10 years old. I was a Master Gardener in California and Utah for 30 years. I started no-tilling gardening over 20 years ago. I helped my grandma build a compost box at 15 years old. That was my first experience with composting.
My dad started helping his Dad at 8 years old by driving a four-person bailer. He and his older brothers slept on haystacks until their dad said the dew point was at the right moisture to bail the alfalfa. This was often in the middle of the night. So, no surprise he would fall asleep as he was driving. I learned a lot from my Dad, but I could never get him to believe no tilling was better. Now many Universities have proven this with studies showing more fungi and other microorganisms prolific in untilled soils and they sequester more carbon too (this may be the answer to our climate change issues).
My grandfather was known for proving fertilizer was important. In Arizona he was in charge of the State Mental Institution’s farm in Phoenix, Arizona during the depression. Before he took over the farm, it did not provide enough food for those living in the institution. He had the farm providing enough food for all with much extra using the farm animals manure. This was during the depression when many were starving. It was illegal for him to sell extra or give it away according to state law. So, he would just leave the extra out over night and by morning it was gone. He must of helped many hungry people during this time.
Growing in your native soil is best if you don’t have fusarium or any other disease. Adding wood chips to the top is the “Back to Eden” way of gardening. This method enriches the soil over time. If you just added wood chips then pull back until you see soil and then plant seeds so they touch the soil. The best time to add wood chips is in the fall. The worms will still work all winter bringing the composted wood down further into the soil without rototilling. If you have grass where you want to garden then put at least a solid four inches of wood chips. To get four inches you need at least eight inches as it will compact. You can add some compost then add the wood chips. Studies have found putting cardboard down first causes a lack of oxygen and delays improvements to the soil. It does work as I have done it this way. But, now I know better. In fact, I had some utility work happening in my first lasagna garden area by my flag pole and I noticed the improved soil was about nine inches down with a dark beautiful soil. And everything underneath was about three feet of solid clay. No tilling really works.
