The Guerrilla Gardening Home Page Basement Aquaponics & Raising Tilapia » FreestyleFarm This summer, twenty little Blue Nile Tilapia were hand delivered to my door. I had given up all hopes of finding a supplier in Canada, and was thrilled when I found one near my home. The fish spent their summer growing out in the greenhouse where our first aquaponic system was made. Once the cooler temperatures of September came around, we relocated them inside to a 100-gallon stock tank (giant water bowls for cows and horses). Here’s the growbed two weeks after seeding. October 15: The bok choy, kale and basil are already forming secondary leaves. More green onions and celery. You can see water is continually being pumped (coming out of white tube) to fill the growbed. October 21: A week later, look how much they’ve grown. October 26: So this is when I started noticing that the leaves were not as green as they should be; instead they were a mottled yellow. Who knew that plants needed a dark rest period? October 29: New leaves are looking a little greener. November 25: A lush jungle.
we like it wild: bottle gardens As much as we love to garden, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all. If there’s a way we can shorten our to-do list, we’ll take it. This week’s project, a no-fuss recycled windowsill herb garden, has knocked watering the plants off our list. Self-watering planters like these aren’t a new idea; we remember our own childhood craft books that taught us how to poke holes through Dixie cups or invert two liter plastic bottles to grow our own little bean garden. This grown-up version is much better looking and works great for small herbs and plants. We used beer bottles for ours, but you could make a larger garden with wine bottles too. Although this project may take a little more effort than your average windowsill garden initially, the pay off is worth it for us: we get to usefully recycle bottles, we get fresh herbs we don’t have to dote on, and we get a sparkling window display. CLICK HERE for the full (photo illustrated) project steps after the jump!
How to start a vegetable garden Spring has sprung, and even if you have a black thumb, you may be feeling inspired to dig in the dirt. How about starting a vegetable garden? Though the process involves more than picking a random spot, making holes and planting seeds, taking these simple steps can help ensure a successful growing season. Plan your plot. Best results require good soil and good sun, which means the location of your garden is crucial. Find a spot in your yard that you see often, such as near the door or the mailbox, so you can keep an eye on progress. Test the soil. Purchase the right tools. Prep the soil. Choose the right seeds. Plant your seeds. Keep it up. Have other ideas on how to start a vegetable garden? See also: MNN homepage photo: tboard/Flickr
Home Canning Preserves Your Home-Grown Fruits and Vegetables Even a modest backyard garden can result in an overabundance of homegrown fruits and vegetables, leading to wasted food. You don't have to stuff yourself full of excess produce, give it all away or let it rot - just can it. Home canning is a great way to preserve your garden harvest. Fresher and tastier than store-bought canned goods, home-canned food saves money and reduces packaging waste, too. Food can be preserved in glass mason jars using either hot water bath or pressure canner methods. You can preserve virtually anything you grow in your garden with home canning. Home Canning Materials To get started, you'll need the following items: Glass mason jars with lids and sealing rings, sterilized in boiling water and fully dried Large pot or pressure canner Canning rack, to hold jars inside the pot Wide-mouth funnel and ladle, to fill jars Tongs or jar lifters, to remove cans from the pot Home canning guide, such as the USDA's Complete Guide to Home Canning The Basics of Canning Food
Organic Gardening: Creating Natural Pest Barriers Deer and rabbits are beautiful creatures, but they can wreak havoc on your beautiful gardens and landscaping, and the damage can be expensive to fix. And while you may be tempted to use pesticides to keep insects from eating away at your plants, you could end up killing beneficial insects as well, throwing off the ecological balance of your yard. This video will show you how to create natural pest barriers using plants and beneficial natural predators that will deter the types of insects and animals that are harming your gardens. There are many options for pest barriers that target specific pests, from rabbits to stinkbugs. Deer can consume large amounts of foliage in a short period of time, leaving a jagged and torn surface on twigs and stems. Cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil are another easy, non-toxic way to keep rabbits from devouring your ornamental and edible plants. In addition to plants, you can encourage healthy populations of natural predators that prey on insect pests.
Herbalism guide - growing and using your own herbs The hands-on herbalism guide begins! Welcome to the main page of my herbalism guide. One of the subjects I hope to be covering on the Container Gardening For Food website is that of Herbs and Herbalism - mainly because I've taken up herbalism as a hobby. During future growing season, I intend to dedicate some of my small garden to growing herbs, and hope to be writing articles and making videos as I go. I've already created a small apothecary in the utility room and have stocked up on dried herb ingredients to get me started, but during the year I hope to be growing my own herbs and foraging for them in order to replenish my stocks. The following video is a basic introduction to my apothecary... There are two main reason as to why I have decided to take this herbalism theme up. As new articles are added, I'll make links to them below... Herbal Preparations How to Make a Herbal InfusionOne of the easiest ways for anyone to engage with herbalism. Herbalism Guide Books Overview video...
Grow your own herb garden - Tantalize your taste buds with fresh herbs - Herb Gardening - Gardens Tantalize your taste buds with fresh herbs You don't need a garden plot to keep yourself supplied with fresh herbs all summer long. A sunny location, some soil, pots and a bit of care can turn a balcony, staircase, deck, patio or window into a private produce department. While mint and rosemary are best grown in individual containers, you can pack a smorgasbord of various herbs into a window box. Whether you're new to gardening or a seasoned pro, these tasty, but easy-to-grow, flavour-filled herbs will have you hooked on fresh. BasilThis tender annual can't tolerate cold, so plant only after the threat of frost is over. Basil has a hint of licorice and is a classic choice with tomatoes and in Mediterranean dishes. Dried basil has very little flavour, so use fresh or make pesto, then freeze. DillThis feathery, fern-like herb is actually a hardy annual and acts as a biannual in some climates. Dill is tall, so plant it behind shorter herbs. MintVersatile but invasive, give mint its own pot.
Self-Cleaning Fish Tank + Garden Turns Waste to Fertilizer Ever forget to clean out the tank? Or water the plants, for that matter? This design kills two birds (but no fish!) with one stone, and doubles as a fun instructional tool for kids learning about how natural systems work. From the makers: “Grow fresh produce right in the comfort of your own home – beans, basil, thyme, baby greens, oregano, mint, parsley, spinach and so many other delicious foods! What started as a Kickstarter project (which got more than enough funding) is now in pre-order mode at Back to the Roots.
Druid Tree Lore Trees in particular were mysterious, and seemed to me direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life. For that reason, the woods were the place that I felt closest to its deepest meaning and to its awe-inspiring workings. C.G.Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections Druids love trees and often visit trees and woods to meditate there, hold ceremonies, or simply commune with Nature. Trees and the word 'Druid' Some modern scholars agree with the classical Roman and Greek authors that the most likely derivation for 'Druid' is from the word for oak, combined with the Indo-European root wid - to know, giving their translation of the word Druid as 'One with knowledge of the oak' or 'Wise person of the oak'. Ovates Today, those who study as Ovates within Druidry learn to work with the powers of Nature – they learn the Ogham and come to know the trees as living Beings with their own medicines and gifts. Ogham – the Tree Alphabet of the Druids An example of Tree Lore: Beith - The Birch Tree
Top 6 most cost-effective vegetables to grow There are many benefits to growing your own vegetables, but saving money is not necessarily one of them. Some vegetables are simply cheaper to buy at the grocery store, and no amount of gardening savvy will result in a cost-saving benefit. Over the years we have experimented with many vegetable crops, and while saving money is not the prime reason we grow vegetables, it is a consideration in our choice of what to plant. Although we are fortunate to have plenty of ground space for gardening, the work required to keep the beds fertile and weed free discourages us from planting some crops which are ‘dirt cheap’ when bought in season. If you are growing vegetables in the hope of saving money, or want to make the most from limited garden space, here are some suggestions for crops which have delivered real cost savings for us. 1. You may have noticed the price of lettuce has risen considerably in the past two years. 2. 3. The price of a garlic bulb ranges from $1 to $7 a pound. 4. 5. 6.
Building a Two-Can Bioreactor - Cornell Composting Purpose Two-can bioreactors are designed to be used as small-scall indoor composting units for families, and for composting as an educational tool in the classroom. Materials 32-gallon plastic garbage can 20-gallon plastic garbage can drill brick spigot (optional) duct tape (optional) insulation (optional) Construction Using a drill, make 15 to 20 holes (0.5" to 1" diameter) through the bottom of the 20-gallon can. Note: A system of 10-gallon plastic garbage cans that can fit inside 20-gallon cans can be substituted if space is a problem. The composting process in the cans will take from three to five weeks. Credits
5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Fukuoka spent over three decades perfecting his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work. 1. With ‘no-till’ gardening, weeding is largely eliminated. 2. Gardeners are always on the lookout for free sources of clean organic mulch to add to their garden.