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1992-06-15
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HOW TO START
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The time to start your Organic Intensive Garden is in November when
the normal garden season is over.
This time of year is convenient because the weeds have stopped
growing and the weather is cool enough outside so as not to `work up
a sweat'!
No matter what you plan on planting next spring, the ground may be
prepared this November. Now is the time to plant things like straw-
berries. Planting them now, the Organic Intensive way, will
guarantee plump red luscious strawberries early next summer.
The nice thing about Organic Gardening is, you don't have to worry
about having to take a bunch of chemical soil tests to make sure the
soil is perfectly balanced.
To start, find a source of manure, for country folk, cows, chickens,
horses, or any farm animal type of fertilizer may be used. If you
don't have farm animals, give neighbors or acquaintances a call, they
usually are glad to give the stuff away. You may meet and make some
new friends in the process!
People who live in town or the city may try the same method of
obtaining fertilizer or for the urban dweller, sterilized manure
can be obtained at a nursery or hardware store, check the yellow
pages and call.
The amount of fertilizer needed for your garden will vary. A good
rule of thumb is 1 gallon of fertilizer for every square foot. Spread
this on top of the unworked ground, (For the tiller lovers, the
ground may be tilled first). It doesn't matter how green (new) the
fertilizer is, it will be setting all winter.
Next sprinkle garden lime, about 1 cup for every 3 square feet.
After the lime has been spread the next step is to spread out the
organic mulch. This can be old hay, straw, grass clippings (a bagger
on the lawn mower is nice for collecting clippings in the summer),
shredded newspapers, leaves racked up from the lawn, anything
which will start decomposing during the winter.
To find hay, or straw, try calling country folk the same way as
searching for fertilizer. For urban dwellers, you might `make a
day of it', collecting the fertilizer and mulch you need, and enjoy
a trip to the country!
The mulch should be at least 6 inches thick. Once the mulch is
spread out evenly, the next step is....order your seed catalogs and
forget it until December! (For a strawberry or asparagus bed, the
soil will have to be worked first with a spade or tiller. Plant
the dormant plants in the ground and sprinkle fertilizer around them,
then cover with mulch for the winter). The same principle that
applies to strawberries and asparagus would apply to any other plant
with a dormant root system and top which dies back in the fall.
December is when all the seed companies send their catalogs out.
Now is the time to order your seeds for the garden next year.
A varied and complete list of reliable seed and plant companies
is included in the REGISTERED VERSION of ORGANIC INTENSIVE GARDENING
IN A SMALL SPACE, to get the REGISTERED VERSION, see the Main Menu
on HOW TO REGISTER.
Once you get your `wish book' seed catalogs, remember you're planting
in a small space. Avoid the temptation of turning your little space
into an harbor for exotic plants, unless that is your goal. Usually,
just buy your favorites, the ones you know you will use regularly.
It is good to buy your sulfur for acid-loving plants and some
Rotenone/Pyrethrin or Sabadilla, some powdered Kelp, powdered Garlic
and other powdered herbs ahead of time. HERBAL INSECTICIDE
DETERRENTS can be obtained by returning to the Main Menu and choosing
the chapter on HERBAL INSECTICIDE DETERRENTS.
Keeping good records is the next step in Intensive Organic Gardening,
this will be discussed in the next chapter, RECORDS, which you may
choose at the Main Menu.
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*************************END OF CHAPTER**********************