July
2008 | by Mary
Friestedt
 The
price of
gas is over $4.50
a gallon, which
is making us
all feel very
guilty about
driving even
a few miles
to pick up fruits
and veggies.
Ah, but hope
is in sight!
It is possible
to grow many
goodies at home
with very little
effort. We can
save gas and
eat the best
food ever! I
propose that
we take out
our grass and
replace it with
fruit trees
or containers
in which to
grow veggies.
Let me tell
you a few stories.
One
friend in
Del Mar took
out all the
grass in her
back yard
and put in
four square
20 high
redwood containers
in which she
is growing spinach,
kale, lettuce,
tomatoes and
many other goodies,
and she is producing
enough veggies
to feed 5 people.
The 20 sides
are topped with
a 2x
6 seat,
which enables
her to care
for and pick
her food easily.
She spread 1 pebbles
(KRC Rock is
a great place
to get these)
several inches
deep around
the four squares,
so she and
her dog can
navigate the
beds easily,
and no weeds
are growing!
She even planted
some flowers
such as borage
and marigolds,
so the square
containers
are colorful
as well as useful!
(I must mention
that she volunteers
at Quail Botanical
Gardens four
times a week
and has turned
the gardens
there into
breathtaking
works of art.)
If you lay
down wire mesh
first, you will
prevent gophers
from munching
on the goodies.
Another
Del Mar friend
bought 20 round
plastic
pots, filled
them with
good soil
(This is
key!), and
is growing
about ten
different
veggies
along her
driveway.
Make sure
your veggies
have plenty
of sun.
My
own fruit trees
-- Mission figs,
Anna apples,
citrus trees,
and pomegranates
are growing
in a sunny location
in our native
well-drained
soil, but my
veggies -- lettuce,
kales, and herbs
-- grow in galvanized
tubs with holes
drilled for
drainage. I
use superb soil
and am happy
that the local
gophers cannot
penetrate the
galvanized metal.
And
now for the
best news!
The June 12
Los Angeles
Times Home
section had
an excellent
article about
a new way
of gardening,
which utilizes
layers and
requires less
water and
no digging.
This method
has been
used for some
time in Australia
since the
publication
of Ester
Deans' Gardening
Book: Growing
Without Digging. Here
are the basics
from the LA
Times article
(which can
be retrieved
online; go to
LATimes.com/home):
• Layer
10 to 20 sheets
of newspaper
on the ground.
Soak with water
and
sprinkle
bone meal and
blood meal on
the top.
• Put
on a 2-3 layer
of alfalfa (Think
Mary's Tack
and Feed) on
top and
sprinkle
with more bone
and blood meal.
• Now
put on 8 of
straw (Again,
think of Mary's
Tack and Feed)
and dust
with
more bone and
blood meal.
• Wet
this all down.
• Next,
top with 3-4 of
compost, which
will compress.
• Finally,
plant with seed
or seedlings.
Is
this easy or
what? The best
news is that
less water is
required and
there is no
digging. Be
aware that you
still must add
nitrogen to
fertilize your
plants. I plan
to use diluted
fish emulsion.
Happy
growing!
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Del Mar
Community
Alliance,
Inc. All
rights reserved. |
