not sure my husband would approve, but given all the dandelions in our yard, this has me intrigued....plus the sweet little old lady in this video has charmed me!
dandelion salad
now I want to watch her other videos!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
weed control ideas
I've heard about the importance of mulching in the garden, and I've been reading up on newspaper mulch in an effort to recycle our sunday papers and save money, but I'm not sure about using it...will it make my garden look trashy? most of the websites I've googled just say that when you lay it down it just means that you can lay down a smaller layer or pine bark mulch. so it would save some money...not a lot.
I've also been researching using vinegar instead of round up. I bought to gallons at sams for less than $4 and put it into a watering can and sprinkled both of them on a section of the garden. it took a few days, but it looks like a good bit of the weeds are brown now....but those purple weeds, I think they are called deadnettle or maybe henbit...arent too fazed. Maybe I will try another application. I've also see online some recipes involving mixing in soap so that it will stick better.
I was hesitant to pour the vinegar on areas that I want to use for veggies, afraid the herbicidal effects would linger, but from what I can see some say it may slightly affect the acidity of the soil, but that it should wash away pretty quickly.
I've also read about a product called Preen...not sure what it is about organically....we'll see.
I've also been researching using vinegar instead of round up. I bought to gallons at sams for less than $4 and put it into a watering can and sprinkled both of them on a section of the garden. it took a few days, but it looks like a good bit of the weeds are brown now....but those purple weeds, I think they are called deadnettle or maybe henbit...arent too fazed. Maybe I will try another application. I've also see online some recipes involving mixing in soap so that it will stick better.
I was hesitant to pour the vinegar on areas that I want to use for veggies, afraid the herbicidal effects would linger, but from what I can see some say it may slightly affect the acidity of the soil, but that it should wash away pretty quickly.
I've also read about a product called Preen...not sure what it is about organically....we'll see.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
first lesson of the season learned...
I've started making our own yogurt in my crockpot....works great....very tasty and cost effective! I've started using a gallon of milk at a time, and after the yogurt is done, I strain it to make it thicker, and thus have a lot of leftover whey....almost a 1/2 gallon of whey. I had read several online articles about what to do with leftover whey...including making ricotta cheese (tried it, a lot of work without a lot of ricotta at the end) and I had also read about using leftover whey to water plants....
well, I used some of my whey to water half of my cute little jiffy pellets...only half as an experiment to see what happened. I kept an eye on it for a few days, and after 3 days or so, I dumped more on the other half of my jiffy pellets....just as I looked over and saw white moldy furry stuff growing on the first batch. yuck! I immediately drained it, valiantly tried to dry it out, but moldy stuff started growing on it too....and it started smelling funky. oh poop!
after that I did more research and
1)I learned to water down the whey with water...1:10 ratio
2)it should not be used before the seeds germinate
3)it can be used on compost, but I am so paranoid about my compost being stinky that I dont think I'll go there...
4)it is acidic and can be used in the garden on plants that like acidity like blueberries and hydrangeas
5)can also be used to help with mosaic fungus
6)I dont think I will do it again....but I hate to dump it out!
websites for whey
whey uses in the garden
how to use whey for watering plants
16 ways to use your whey
use that leftover whey
well, I used some of my whey to water half of my cute little jiffy pellets...only half as an experiment to see what happened. I kept an eye on it for a few days, and after 3 days or so, I dumped more on the other half of my jiffy pellets....just as I looked over and saw white moldy furry stuff growing on the first batch. yuck! I immediately drained it, valiantly tried to dry it out, but moldy stuff started growing on it too....and it started smelling funky. oh poop!
after that I did more research and
1)I learned to water down the whey with water...1:10 ratio
2)it should not be used before the seeds germinate
3)it can be used on compost, but I am so paranoid about my compost being stinky that I dont think I'll go there...
4)it is acidic and can be used in the garden on plants that like acidity like blueberries and hydrangeas
5)can also be used to help with mosaic fungus
6)I dont think I will do it again....but I hate to dump it out!
websites for whey
whey uses in the garden
how to use whey for watering plants
16 ways to use your whey
use that leftover whey
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