Earthboxes, while wildly popular and tauted as a huge success story for beginning gardeners, feel sort of.... corporate. :)
http://www.instructables.com has a number of Earthbox clone plans, from the simple to the elaborate, a couple of them are pretty well written too. I've found having an automated drip system makes a huge difference, not that hard to setup.
I have bougainvillea. Oh, it's pretty and all, but it has EVIL EVIL THORNS OF DEATH. I wish my landlord did not have any. Every time I trim it I get stabbed. The larger thorns even go through my garden gloves.
The lemon tree also has evil thorns of death, but it gives me tasty lemons...
Heh. I think I'm weird. I don't really like the idea of shooting a squirrel or bird myself, because I see them all the time and I am fond of birds (less so squirrels). For some reason, despite this, I don't have a huge problem with the idea of going deer or goose hunting. But I would hesitate to slaughter a cow or a sheep. I think the more familiar I am with an animal, the less likely I am to view it as a pest that I would personally eliminate.
I also do want to encourage birds and squirrels to hang around. They entertain the cats through the window. :) So I do have windowside bird feeders. But providing some kind of barrier or protection around the garden (in such a way that doesn't interfere with maintainance or sunlight) would be great. There's also scarecrows... except I *do* like crows. :) They're fascinating and smart.
The local soil is a mix of bayfill clay, formerly swampy where the shopping center sits, with the top few feet being a bit more acidic because it's the remnants of an Ohlone mound containing centuries of their waste and debris. Don't be surprised to see the occasional shell fragment or bit of pottery while digging. It was a cultural site that got bulldozed in the early 50s for development.
The upshot is that I can't get azaleas to grow, either, but anything sage or mint-related loves it (hence the catnip... you'll see a lot or oregano and lavender around, too... and I'm overwhelmed with 7' tall salvia divinorum).
I would be both fascinated and sad if I came across pottery shards in my digs. Then again, I do mostly container gardening, and if I do dig it'll be outsourced thanks to my hands. Filling pots with soil and compost is much easier.
The other thing I need to do is invest in a compost bin. I kind of want one that tumbles, which sounds a lot easier than turning the compost with a shovel, but good LORD they're expensive. $200-300! And they're nowhere on craigslist.
Thanks for the history about the area and the soil composition. I'll have to see if there's more reading I can do about that.
Comments 8
http://www.instructables.com has a number of Earthbox clone plans, from the simple to the elaborate, a couple of them are pretty well written too. I've found having an automated drip system makes a huge difference, not that hard to setup.
Reply
The lemon tree also has evil thorns of death, but it gives me tasty lemons...
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
I also do want to encourage birds and squirrels to hang around. They entertain the cats through the window. :) So I do have windowside bird feeders. But providing some kind of barrier or protection around the garden (in such a way that doesn't interfere with maintainance or sunlight) would be great. There's also scarecrows... except I *do* like crows. :) They're fascinating and smart.
Reply
The upshot is that I can't get azaleas to grow, either, but anything sage or mint-related loves it (hence the catnip... you'll see a lot or oregano and lavender around, too... and I'm overwhelmed with 7' tall salvia divinorum).
Reply
The other thing I need to do is invest in a compost bin. I kind of want one that tumbles, which sounds a lot easier than turning the compost with a shovel, but good LORD they're expensive. $200-300! And they're nowhere on craigslist.
Thanks for the history about the area and the soil composition. I'll have to see if there's more reading I can do about that.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment