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GARDEN BASICS

  • MY SEED STARTING SUPPLIES
    GARDEN BASICS

    MY SEED STARTING SUPPLIES

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  • Cow Compost Delivery // It’s Time To Amend My Soil
    GARDEN BASICS

    Cow Compost Delivery // It’s Time To Amend My Soil

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Lets talk about watering your garden… If you’re d Lets talk about watering your garden… If you’re doing a light watering every day, you’re only wetting the top inch or two of soil. Your plant’s roots have no reason to grow down deep to find water, so they stay right near the surface. That makes them incredibly vulnerable to heat and drought. Instead, you want to water deeply but less often. The goal is to soak the soil six to eight inches down. This encourages the roots to grow deep to chase that moisture, building a strong, resilient root system that can handle the stress. A good rule of thumb is about one inch of water per week, all in one or two sessions. Let it soak in deep, and your plants will thank you for it. Obviously for those of us in hot climates, we want to be mindful of how quickly our soil is drying down. So check with your fingers and figure out if your garden needs more water or not. It’s late July and I’m watering 3 days/week for 3 hours at 2am. I use a drip tape system from @dripworksusa and an automatic timer. This is keeping my garden plenty hydrated. From the University of Minnesota Extension: “One inch of rain is a lot of water. For a 100 square-foot area, one inch of rain is 62 gallons. Figure out the actual size of your garden by measuring length and width in feet. Multiply those numbers to get the total square footage. If a garden is 20 feet by 30 feet (600 square feet), it would need 372 gallons of water after a week without rain.” P.S. If you want a garden that protects itself — without chemicals or constant guessing — comment SYSTEM and I’ll DM you the link.💚🌱💚 #gardener #growyourownfood #organicgardener #organicgardening #gardeningforbeginners Source: https://extension.umn.edu/how/watering-vegetable-garden
I love companion planting. It is one of the best f I love companion planting. It is one of the best foundations you can build in your garden and I will keep teaching it. But I also need to be honest with you — because that’s what a big sister does. Companion planting cannot protect your plants from a heat spike. It cannot stop bugs from targeting a waterlogged root system after too much rain. It cannot keep pests away from a plant that’s wilting because it hasn’t had enough water. When your plants are stressed, they send out signals — and bugs are opportunists. They will find the weakest link every single time, no matter how beautifully you planted. Some things in the garden are just outside your control. The weather is one of them. What you CAN control is having a real system in place for when bugs show up anyway — because in Texas 8b, they will. If you want a garden that protects itself — without chemicals or constant guessing — comment SYSTEM and I’ll DM you the link. 💚🌱💚 #gardener #growyourownfood #organicgardener #organicgardening #gardeningforbeginners
Your garden isn’t “protected” — it’s exposed. If Your garden isn’t “protected” — it’s exposed. If you’re not planting French marigolds, you’re leaving your crops wide open. These aren’t just pretty flowers. They actually defend your garden. Their roots help suppress root-knot nematodes in the soil. Their scent repels pests like aphids, whiteflies, and beetles. They attract beneficial insects that handle pests for you. And they hold up in heat, which matters if you garden in the South, like me. Here’s how you use them right: Plant them like bodyguards, not decorations. Around tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and melons. Tuck them between plants. Line your beds. Scatter them throughout. Not one sad marigold in the corner. And don’t waste space putting them where they don’t do much. Too close to beans can stunt growth. Near cabbage family crops — not harmful, just not helpful. Now here’s where I’m going to ruffle some feathers. You cannot walk into a big box store or your local nursery and trust what they’re selling you. They don’t carry the correct varieties for your zone. Their timing is built around their inventory schedule, not your actual garden calendar. They are not your garden advisor. They are a retail store. French marigolds need to be started from seed. I know that sounds like more work. It’s not a complication, it’s a skill, and it’s one of the most important ones you’ll build as a beginner gardener. Starting from seed puts variety selection and timing back in your hands, where it belongs, instead of leaving it to whatever happened to show up on a shelf that week. Not all marigolds work the same. There are French, African, and Mexican varieties. French marigolds are the ones doing the heavy lifting here. And they only work in the soil, not sitting in pots nearby. This isn’t a trend. It’s old-school companion planting that actually works. But only if you use enough of them. One plant won’t do it. Density + placement + consistency = protection. If you’re done losing plants every season and ready to build a garden that actually defends itself, comment DEFEND and I’ll DM you the link. 💚🌱💚 #gardener #growyourownfood #organicgar
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