Netted my tomato tree trellis to help with bird issues.
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Question by Isidro: Hi everyone. I’m really interested in organic gardening but I’m new and have questions?
I read that crops will take up the grounds nutrients when they are growing, making it more difficult to grow the same crops twice in the same ground. But to avoid this one would have to rotate crops around.. but is crop rotation really necessary? Can’t I just add the nutrients back that have been depleted from the ground? And if so what nutrients?
Also, can homemade compost replace the garden dirt? Should I mix them up together, or just spread it over the dirt? Is the compost only to add nutrients and other good things to the dirt?
Last time we grew tomatoes, chiles and cucumbers, but I’m really interested in growing peppers, eggplants, broccoli, leafy greens and other plants as well. Is there a book for all this?
Thanks for bearing with me guys! Two green thumbs way up! d(^-^)b
Ps, I live in northern va, so any info on climate/gardening relations would be helpful!
Best answer:
Answer by the truth
One benefit to Crop rotation is to ward off insects.
During the first year bugs begin to learn where your particular plants are, so if you plant squash in the same spot year after year, you’ll soon end up with an infestation of (Squash vine borers) if you don’t use crop covers (for example) to keep them off your plants.
Peppers and broccoli have their own issues such as (blight attacking the peppers or Cabbage moths laying eggs on your broccoli)
Basically crop rotation works when you plant like crops in an area susceptible to a particular plant or fungus, then plant a different crop susceptible to other issues the following year.
Soil infected with the blight that attacks peppers remains in the soil for some time, so the following years crop may be affected no matter what you do. Therefore, rotation of a crop immune to that particular blight into the affected plot would make sense
Some would say a three year rotation with existing plants moved as far as 1/2 mile away from prior years is necessary so that existing pests cannot easily locate the new area planted.
Living in Northern Virginia you can plant almost anything.
Some plants are cooler weather crops (you’d plant early in the season) whereas others can be planted the entire season with good results, so plant accordingly.
I would add compost (Equal parts existing dirt and your compost) into each hole when planting. The hole should be no larger than what the root ball of any particular plant will be. Adding compost over an entire garden’s surface will just add nutrients for other things unwanted such as weeds.
You should research what nutrients each plant thrives on then amend the soil accordingly. A little goes a long way.
As a plant grows and you see what appears to be deficiencies, start your research immediately then apply what remedy is required.
organic gardening is frustrating at times, but well worth it.
If you have the funds, enclose the entire plot with a screened mesh and you won’t have to worry about bugs as much.
When enclosing an entire crop be sure to open it up mid day to allow for pollinators when needed or you’ll have to hand pollinate some (Not all) of your crop.
You may find that some crops you cannot plant at all if your area or soil is prone to a particular Pest, bacteria, or fungus.
My plot is small. I plant and amend the same soil year after year. I find it less work overall to cover everything that is prone to pest attacks and have placed a 2 foot rabbit fence around the entire perimeter to keep the animals out. If you have deer in your area (I think you may) a taller fence may be needed.
I also find that by making certain to water properly (Never too much/too deep) I can control or eliminate fungus and other blights.
Lastly, plant less and you’ll get more, meaning that if a seed packet says to plant at a certain distance, spacing, etc…follow the directions. Plantings too close to one another will not allow adequate air-flow to ward off fungus and blight and many beneficial insects will not be able to access you plants adequately enough to do their job (as in pollinators and parasitic wasps that eat the bad bugs) for example.
Give your answer to this question below!
Hey, Quail Daddy
Yes, oleanders will kill you, but tell my why you can’t using in the
compost pile or as a mulch…
Found this on Google. There are different thoughts on using oleander as a
mulch, composted or freshly chipped. After reading various university
studies, I agree with those who feel it’s OK to spread chipped oleander as
a mulch, especially around ornamentals. The smaller the pieces the better.
As it breaks down, the toxins will be eliminated. According to studies,
plants don’t absorb these toxins. Do not burn oleander! Wash your veggies.
There’s no store bough soil or compost here, no animal waist either.. I
hate the idea of having antibiotics in my soil from horse/cow or even a
rabbit.. it scares me more the GMO’s..
I wish.. send me some seedlings ?? I’m growing grapes. The little plants
have been in the ground just over a year and a half, this is the second
spring since I planted them.. OH MAN, there’s more fruit then leaves on
that little thing.. I’m way excited to have this food in my garden.. It
really likes it here where its hot..
Very cool
Soo.. Cute I love quail
I really like your videos. I have a garden in Phoenix after living here
almost 2 years. I am wondering what your drip system schedule is with your
vegetable garden?
Leave the eggs for mom and dad to come back for.
Good garden karma. 😉
Anyone in AZ plant fruiting Olive trees? I purchased about eight of them
via mail about five years ago…they love it here. Eventually plan on
making olive oil and maybe cured. olives. I babied them the first year, now
I don’t water or feed them…they love this climate. The Spanish Arbequena
is 6ft tall.. I am at about 3000ft.
I continue this cycle every year, Palo Verdi is added during the winter
months or stored for later, new composted soil added in spring, and
protected from the sun with oleander leaves. I keep covering this base as
I’m able to rack up more Palo Verdi .. This is how I layer my soil, and
grow food where it averages 112-118 June to August and sometimes (May to
October).. LOL Ask our local Master gardener, my soil is amazing using this
process with my homemade soil from compost – mulching & layers.
Quail story. I had an old r.v. with an interior engine cover and I was
changing plug wires. I didn’t finish the job and left the interior cover
off figuring I would finish the job…well five weeks later I opened the
door to find that quail had crawled from the bottom up into the cab. I
can’t say how many quail were nesting in my R.V. but there were, eggs,
quail and poop everywhere.
I did send a good idea. I have a rather large Palo Verdi Tree in my front
yard.. I started using the falling leaves as mulch several years ago
because that’s all I had access to.. Nonetheless, I found rather quickly
that the wild birds would not dig it up! Which is good, I used even more of
the Palo Verde around seedlings, and it worked like a charm. Plus, I found
out recently that the Palo Verde adds “nitrogen to the soil as it
decomposes.
Another thing I do, have to share this.. The keep the soil cool and moist
during the hot summer months (I live in Bullhead City AZ, summer temps
reach 118-128) I add my composted soil over the top of the Palo Verde! So,
I have 6 in of Palo, another 6 in of new soil, and to protect that soil
from the sun, I covered it with more leaves! At this point I’m out of Palo
Verde, so I used Oleander leaves. Seriously! I’m using what I have in the
yard. Now, this is how I grow food all summer.
Yes.. I also use the leaves from our Palo Verdi Tree.. During the winter
I’m able to cover 6 in deep on all our beds. In the spring I add all the
new compost, and to protect that from our intense AZ sun, I cover the new
soil/compost with “Dry and semi Crushed” OLEANDER leaves! Its been 100 or
close to in for the last week, I’m only watering here and there as needed,
once a week a full deep water, that’s it.
oleander is toxic and will make you sick!
Its already 102 today, the forcast is 106. I just checked my garden and I
don’t think I will water today, haven’t watered the garden in 3 days. The
soil is cool and very moist. I might top off a few baby plants this evening
just in case, but for the most part, the layers of mulch, soil, and leaves,
will keep everything growing nicely all summer.. You should try this, ok..
Let me know your thoughts too…
also a cover crop will replace nutrients-things like snow peas,rye will replenish nitro back into the soil when you are done wth your regular crop.yes,compost adds to your soil not totally replace it-this link will start you on your way……….http://www.gardenguides.com/124207-vegetable-garden-planting-virginia.html
Hi Isidro,
Rotating crops is highly recommended! Not only do different crops require different nutrients, but some crops are more susceptible to certain types of soil-borne diseases and pests than others. Rotating your crops makes it less likely that you will end up with a large infestation of anything that might completely destroy any of your crops.
No, the compost is considered an amendment. It is not soil, but humus, meant to be mixed with the soil in order to improve soil condition and as a plant food. Compost will also help to encourage the growth and health of microorganisms in your soil, an extremely healthy benefit.
I would recommend searching the blog area at the following link. They have something about just about everything. They also have a Master Gardener to answer your questions and provide advice. As far as a book goes, I’d suggest The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. You simply fill out a form and she’ll get back to you! And…there is no such thing as a dumb gardening question
Good luck!
So far all the advice given here is 100% dead on.
The only things I have to add are….
In small garden areas like mine where rotation is not possible I have adapted a system of avoiding the squash borers (that get cucumbers too) by not planting those crops but every third year in the garden. I move cukes to the deck and trellis them in large pots.
Aside from making sure I fertilize my garden I have use a formula that I learned from the 1980’s TV show “weekend gardener.” 1 tbsp Ivory liquid, 1 tbsp epsom salt, 1 tbsp Borax, 1 tbsp Miracle Grow (15-30-15) in one gallon of water. Spray once a week. I spray everything twice a week. Read up on treating plants (particularly tomatoes) with epsom salt and borax) I get close to one ton of tomatoes each year off less than 30 plants. I know. Go ahead and call me a liar. Just try the formula…. and be sure to mulch.
If you live in an area anywhere near rabbits and deer you might as well accept the fact that they are going to be pests. DO NOT go out and spend a fortune trying to get rid of them. The best means of keeping them out of your garden are nearly free. Four scrambled eggs, 1/4 cup tabasco in one gallon of water used as a spray does it quite fine and doesn’t effect vegetable quality.
MULCH! I collect corrogated cardboard for this purpose and literally tile my garden each year with it. This cuts down on evaporation from the soil, weed problems and water bills. By autumn the cardboard is very deteriorated and tills into the soil just fine.
Try to avoid insecticides that kill indiscriminately. Any infestation of aphids can be dealt with thoroughly and cruelly with 3-4 days with a good pump up sprayer full of soapy water. Bees, ALL wasps, ladybugs, praying mantises, ant lions are all your friends. For ants and other ground traveling insects use insect killing products containing DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. It is a non-poisonous but lethal product. It is microscopically like shards of glass that cut any insects that walk through it. It also clogs their breathing pores, cuts off their antennae. one Tbsp placed on a dry undisturbed ant hill will kill the entire colony in less than 24 hrs.
ANNNNND……. be creative! I started growing corn in large containers on my deck as a privacy fence and love it. 5 plants in a 34″ wide pots get 8 ft high and make plenty of corn. Never pass up the opportunity to grow Snow peas up to a hard freeze. Consider starting a bed of asparagus. AND there is a perrenial native sunflower that makes loads of tubers that are a fantastic alternatives to potatoes (helianthus tuberosus) commonly known as sunchokes or jerusalem artichokes. The only downside to them is they do not have a long shelf life out of the ground but they make up for it in taste and sheer quantity. They are even tasty eaten raw! There are tons of recipes on the internet. 6 plants this year will equal 40 lbs of tubers for harvest and no less than 20 tubers for next year’s bed.
And… I cannot stress the fun, ease and satisfaction of learning to pickle and preserve garden produce. Most of the things I pickle are done raw after being washed. (sliced squash, whole okra, peppers, cukes, green beans which are NOTHING like the limp tasteless things in cans.) Tomatoes naturally end up making the base for homemade soups, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and anything else.
I don’t mind getting questions about gardening via email.
Bob57719@yahoo.com
(formerly bob36109)
Rotation is really the best way to keep your garden soil healthy – it’s not just because the plants will use up the nutrients, but also because soilborne diseases such as viruses and funguses can get established if the land is reused for the same crop repeatedly, and they’re really difficult to get rid of.
The main nutrients in the soil are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK on fertilizer bags), and dozens of trace elements. There are organic fertilizers that provide most of these nutrients.
Compost does not replace dirt. Compost is made of broken down organic materials; dirt is composed of minerals and organic materials. As the organic material in the soil breaks down, it is replaced by compost, which can be mixed in when planting, or spread on the top of the garden. Compost drastically increases the health of the microbe mix in your soil, which in turn increases the health of the plants. The best compost is home-made, with as many components as possible. If you don’t have enough home-made compost (and few of us do), mix what you do have with bags of compost from several different sources to ensure variety.
Start with Organic Gardening for Dummies.
Northern Virginia is a great place to garden – good climate, good soil.
Crop rotation is not just about the nutrients, but preventing or killing any diseases that may build up in the soil from a certain type of plant. For example, potatoes can get potato blight, which can devastate entire crops, and has caused some severe famines in history. One of the things to help avoid this, is to rotate planting spots, this way the blight, if it does start to live in the soil, has the chance to die off over the next couple of years as there are types of plants it doesn’t effect.
As far as nutrients go, different plants use different types of nutrients in different amounts, so you are right to ask ‘what kind of nutrients’. Again, if you rotate crops, different plants will put certain nutrients back into the soil while using others. So you can keep your soil somewhat balanced by rotating.
Finally, to keep soil healthy, well draining, and a good place for your plants to grow, adding organic matter like compost is essential. Get yourself a compost pile or bin going, and start adding it to the garden spring and fall, in between too, if you have enough. Your plants will love you for it!
As far as the types of plants you want to grow: Tomatoes, chili’s cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants like hot sunny weather. If you have cooler weather, you will need a greenhouse.
Things like broccoli, cauliflower, leafy greens, lettuces, asian greens, and so forth like cooler weather, and do very well even in wet climates.
Posting potato link for an example of diseases possible from not rotating crops. Posting my link on healthy soil and crops you can grow, also to find out what growing zone you are in. This makes a big difference in deciding what kinds of seeds you should look for, when to plant, and so forth.
Good luck!