SECRETS for having a super-productive garden...
1. Build up your soil. Organically rich soil encourages healthy growing and a strong root system. You can build rich soil over time or start with a good product, check out our Farmer D Organics Biodynamic Planting Mix.
2. High-yield container gardening! Raised bed gardening helps to "reduce the use" of chemical fertilizers/herbicides/pesticides for healthier and more naturally grown vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Learn more about the benefits Raised Bed Gardening.
3. Round out your beds! You actually create more planting space if your soil is gently rounded to form an arc, rather than flat. For example, in a 20-foot-long bed rounding the top increases your total planting area from 100 to 120 square feet. The edges of a rounded bed are perfect for growing lettuce, spinach, and other greens.
4. Space smartly! When planting make sure to stagger them by planting in triangle formations. This allows you to fit 10 to 14 percent more plants in each bed.
5. Grow up! If you have a small plot grow more by growing vertical. Grow your vining crops (like tomatoes, pole beans, peas, squash, melons, cukes & so on) upward and onward with trellises, fences, cages or stakes.
6. Mix it up and save space by interplanting compatible crops! There's the classic Native American combination, known as the "three sisters": corn, beans, and squash. Sturdy cornstalks support the pole beans, while squash grows freely on the ground below, shading out competing weeds. Other compatible combos: tomatoes, basil, and onions; carrots, onions, and radishes; stop by our store to learn about others.
7. Succeed with successions! Succession planting allows you to harvest three or even four crops from a single area.
8. Stretch your growing season! Adding a few weeks to the end of a growing season can give you another succession crop for harvest— example collards, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, or cabbage (30% off transplants at our store in Atlanta going on right now!)— or add a few more indeterminate tomato plants to your garden and harvest into the fall... possibly beyond!
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PLANT OF THE WEEK:
Chinese Wolfberry, AKA Goji Berry, Tree
As the end of the perennial planting season approaches with the hot
days of summer looming ahead, we want to take a moment to pay homage
to one of our unique fruit tree items in the store- the Chinese
Wolfberry tree. Most people who shop at Whole Foods would know this
tree and the berry that it produces as the Goji Berry, whilst Chinese
translations refer to this much beloved, healthful fruit as the Lyceum
berry. The most common are two species of boxthorn in the family
Solanaceae (which also includes the potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly
nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco), it is native to southeastern
Europe and Asia.
The plants are deciduous, woody perennials and are very adaptable.
They like lots of sun, preferring climates that are hot and dry in the
summer, but they will grow just about anywhere, including in the humid
climates of Atlanta. The single branches of young plants will tend to
grow very long, so to make the plant more bushy, nip the bids so that
more branches form. They take three years to bear fruit but it is
worth the wait as the plant is heavy bearing enough to provide Goji
berries for the whole family after a couple of years of producing.
Traditionally, Goji berries were dried off and then cooked into
traditional Chinese tonic soups and jellies. Medicinally, they are
very high in anti-oxidants and studies have shown that drinking goji
juice decreases the likelihood of developing macular degeneration and
glaucoma and inflammatory diseases. In traditional Chinese medicine
they are known to strengthen the kidneys, liver, lungs and yin energy
(female). So in honor of this lovely red berry, get a Goji juice to
drink or better yet, grow your own and have a free radical inhibitor
blossoming in your own backyard.
RECIPE: Shake It Up! Green Tea & Goji Berry Shake!
Ingredients :
2 green tea bags
1/2 cup nearly boiling water
1-2 ice cubes
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 sliced frozen banana
2 tablespoons goji berries, plus extra for garnish
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1. Place tea bags in a cup; pour 1/2 cup boiling water over tea bags
and steep for 2–3 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze out liquid. Add
1–2 ice cubes to cool.
2. Pour cooled tea into a blender. Add yogurt, banana, goji berries,
and agave. Purée until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with
whole goji berries. Serve immediately.
PER SERVING: 246 cal, 43% fat cal, 12g fat, 8g sat fat, 30mg chol, 5g
protein, 30g carb, 2g fiber, 72mg sodium
Recipe from: http://newhope360.com/recipes/
LEARN MORE » |
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Chalkboard Talk
School Gardening Tips & Ideas!
Giddyup in the Garden!
Spring is here! To increase your harvests before summer break, try going for larger transplants as well as starting from seed. They will give you several weeks head start in the garden and get some veggies harvested before the kiddos are gone! Don't forget to start a little from seed so we can see all of the life stages! As always, we give schools a 25% discount and we've got all your summer veggie transplants in! Here's a great website to support teachers in their noble plight of the edible schoolyard:
CLICK HERE » |
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Compost Corner
(The Definition of Composting)
Composting, as defined by Joseph Jenkins, is, "A process managed by humans involving the cultivation of microorganisms that degrade and transform organic materials while in the presence of oxygen. When properly managed, the compost becomes so heavily populated with thermophilic microorganisms that it generates quite a bit of heat. Compost microorganisms can be so efficient at converting organic material into humus that the phenomenon is nothing short of a miracle". That is all I have for this round of composting corner. Tune in next time and we'll have some fun breaking down exactly what this means for us composters!!
HERE » |
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