Gardening Revolution Classes

[MustangGal]

I am so excited DH and I are going to take Len's Gardening Revolution class! Thanks to elittle, who let me know about this amazing resource in our area. I called and scheduled it today. I'll keep you all posted, but I am really looking forward to taking this class. Funny, the older I get the more I feel the NEED to dig in the dirt come spring. ;)

[610Alpha]

You're welcome. Doing the raised bed garden that he teaches yielded my best results so far. Its super easy to weed...just sit on the edge of the bed and pull the weeds out. The soils is super loose allowing for water to flow thru with plenty of airspace for the roots. I couldn't afford to buy their compost, due to the shipping cost, so they told me the ratios of the ingredients and the brand of Cotton Burr Compost they use. I am looking forward to gardening again this year.

[SCinPNW]

I am jealous, I would love to attend this class with you, but it is a little too far. ;-) I love the website and the pictures he has of his gardens. Great stuff!

SC

[610Alpha]

Check out the garden pic thread...I posted some pics based off of his raised bed, cinder blocks, the soil media, PVC pipes, cattle panels, the only thing I have yet to get is the tomato cages.

[trkarl]

I began using that idea last year and it has resulted in huge gardening success. Check out my blog for pics.

[SCinPNW]

Wow, nice gardens elittle and tk! When my plants are a little farther along I will post some pics as well.

SC

[MustangGal]

Impressive photos and harvests!

[goatlady]

Hey, tk, if you get some Bt and mix 3 tablespoons per gallon in a hand pump sprayer it will kill every plant eating worm in the garden and ONLY the plant eating worms. Totally organic, its a bacteria that kills plant eating worms and harmless to everything else including humans. You can spray and pick the same day if you want, but it usually takes overnight to kill the worms.

[610Alpha]

I love the cinder block raised gardens...gives me something to sit on while I pull out the very few weeds...as long as you got a 3-4 ft. (mulch over weed barrier) gap (a.k.a. walk path) from the edge of the blocks to your grass you shouldn't have too many weeds. I am going to work on a pvc water sprinkler system this year.

@goatlady - whats Bt?

[SCinPNW]

I second elittle's question, on the Bt.

SC

[trkarl]

Hey, tk, if you get some Bt and mix 3 tablespoons per gallon in a hand pump sprayer it will kill every plant eating worm in the garden and ONLY the plant eating worms. Totally organic, its a bacteria that kills plant eating worms and harmless to everything else including humans. You can spray and pick the same day if you want, but it usually takes overnight to kill the worms.

I've used Bt and still do. Spinosad is the next new thing that is a bacteria based insecticide that works much better than Bt because it is effective on many other insects than just caterpillars. Also it has a much more residual effect in that it doesn't breakdown nearly as quickly as Bt does in sunlight.

What I try to do is to alternate between Bt and Spinosad to reduce the chance of insects building resistance.

[trkarl]

I second elittle's question, on the Bt.

SC

Bacillus Thuringiensis. Main ingredient in Thuricide and other organic insecticides targeting specifically caterpillars.

[goatlady]

Thanks, sort of, for the heads up on Spinosad. Sounded really good to me till I read it is HIGHLY toxic to bees initially and still toxic to bees after it dries. Won't be using any of that in my organic garden.

[trkarl]

Here is some info on Spinosad for those who may want to read more on it. http://www.2ndchance.info/fleas-spinosadGarden.pdf

It is listed by OMRI, Organic Materials Review Institute and the USDA National Organic Standards Board for use in organic food production. My approach to gardening is to use the least harmful control method which would be hand picking and then if things get out of control move up to the next. In a SHTF if it meant harming a few bees or feeding my family I would obviously shoot for the latter. That being said using just one insecticide only will and in the case of Bt has ended up in insects becoming highly resistant to it which could end up rendering it ineffective which we definitely do not want. So I will continue to use Spinosad and even Sevin if the need arises to avoid crop failure.

[MustangGal]

That is pretty much my philosophy as well. I don't try for organic, but work it kinda like the levels for use of force in law enforcement. The least amount of whatever is needed to be effective.