I don’t think I’ve seen this before and it came out of an experiment that i tried last year. And if it’s been done, I’d like to see the picture. I just needed to duplicate it, and I have. This square is still not done growing. Lots to go! When I interned with the master himself-Mel Bartholomew, we did lots of things. For all lettuces, we always planted 4 per square. If there were some of the larger lettuces around such as something like Encino, we didn’t know about it or maybe Mel decided he didn’t want to grow it. But, if we had, that would have been planted at one per square because the pack ..read more

There are probably a lot of ways to plant potatoes. For me, I don’t want to leave them out for several days before planting, and I don’t want to worry about hilling. This is the method I learned. Cut your seed potatoes so the each piece has at last 2 eyes. I bury them right into the soil, cover completely, and start watering. They are planted 6 or 7 inches deep and will be ready in 4-1/2 months. I like them big. I spent $2.50 on 3 pounds of Red Pontiac potatoes. By the time I cut them up, I had enough for 8 square feet. That will yield somewhere around 45+ pounds when finished. And the taste ..read more

For years it’s always been a problem to clean off the plastic which has covered my winter garden for 4-1/2 months. They’re a real mess. Melted snow mixed with mud, birds flying overhead, worms all over the place, your muddied footprints, etc. If you wash them down and don’t let them dry you end up with algae on the plastic when it’s time to use them again. If you don’t hose them down they look terrible with caked on mud, leaves, dirt, etc. Using just spring clamps to hold the plastic down on each end and grow bags to hold the other ends down, I can easily wash front and back and let them dry i ..read more

Planted with soil block on 2/12 and placed in the garden on 3/8. This spinach is ready to go in a little over 3 weeks from start to planting. If you haven’t learned about soil blocking-you should check into it. No fancy soil needed, no replacing the ever cracking 6-cell  plastic containers, transplant shock minimized, and little work to do indoors.  Soil blocking can be one of the strategies used for an extra early spring garden provided you’ve got some kind of protection from the elements. It doesn’t have to be fancy either. Four pieces of rebar, some sturdy PVC, and 4-6 mil UV prot ..read more

I’ve written in the past of winter sowing-a method of planting that requires no fancy lighting, no hardening off, and really no work to speak of. There is little care to worry about other than making sure things under the container don’t dry out.   This is simply a plastic milk container that’s been cleaned out and then filled with moistened potting mix. You then seed heavily, tape the container shut and then put it outside in the sunniest location you have. Remove the cap-you won’t be needing it. This serves as your venting  so things don’t heat up too much. The cold doesn’t matter ..read more

I love the idea of keeping track of what happens in the garden during the year. I looked at my sun box today and tried to remember what and when I planted. Besides the accuracy when doing this, it’s also good to remember challenges and success from the previous year, crop rotation, and any other things you might have learned.  This is a box planted on 11/27 of last year. I love growing lettuces because I try to have a salad every night of the growing season. Even in winter, although those greens are very different. This will be ready in about two and half to three weeks from now. I’ve got ..read more

It’s called winter sowing. Save a plastic container like the one in the picture. I poke 9 holes in the top and 9 in the bottom. I do that by heating up the tip of a Phillips head screwdriver over the gas flame on the stove. Then push it through the plastic. Easy. Mark the top of the container with whatever you plan to grow. This one is half rosemary and thyme.  Moisten soil with warm water and fill container to the top. Now add your seeds. Lots of them. Thinly cover with more soil and close the top. Then leave the container outside in your sunniest location. Do no work. Check container on ..read more

Setting you up for major success in the next growing season. While my work for making compost is done for the year-at least the active part-there’s one last item that I’ve done for years to continue improving the tilth of the soil.  If you live in an area where there’s freezing temperatures but can still work your soil it’s not too late. I remove 4-5 inches of soil, add a layer of fall leaves, and then put the soil back on top. When you come back in the spring to plant, you most likely won’t be able to find any leaves. The earthworms have been doing their job all winter long.  This i ..read more

I’ve been a little slow this summer with the blog. But it’s been a great year. We’ve had another record breaking summer of heat which is good for some things but not for others. My favorite-lettuce-is tough when it’s that hot. I’ve written an ebook that teaches you how to successfully do that.  Now it’s fall and I’m wanting to have lots of salad greens into the deep winter season. The picture says it all. Put some potting mix in a small container. This one is 4X7″. Heavily sow your lettuce (or whatever you’re growing) seeds and cover lightly with soil. Do all the right things-water, provi ..read more

Or any garden for that matter. This is how I do it. I use many different kinds of containers but this one had 4 blueberry muffins from a local store. Clean it out and then poke holes in the top (6) and bottom (4). I use a screwdriver that’s been heated over a flame on the stove and then push it through the plastic. Make it easy! I then fill with moistened potting mix. This container isn’t very deep so it will be used for salad greens type of crops. No root crops in this shallow of a container. I then seed fairly heavily so that when they come up I can separate them into individual starts to pu ..read more