Stupid Gardener Tricks

I hear you, psychw2 (about composting BEFORE adding). But mine was a longer range plan than normal. I knew that with all the work I had to do around the house proper to make new construction liveable---and a wife that thinks if veggies don't come from Publix/Earth Fare/Harris Teeter(local grocery chains) it doesn't qualify as edible---I had a good 3-4 years to get that soil in shape. So I opted to just top-dress with leaves in the fall, till it in in the spring, top dress with collected grass clippings in the summer (collected the same way), till them in in the fall, then repeat the cycle. And basically, it worked. Other than the problem with the rampant Alocasia invasion (which was purely MY stupidity), I think the strategy has paid off. I have my soil analysed every year before planting, and the results keep coming back pretty positive. Says you don't need to add anything---not even micro-nutrients. I attribute that to the way that sandy loam was transformed over the years into fertile loam. Naturally. I trust Mother Nature...

That sounds so good StonoRiver! I've taken a faster track on lasagna beds since my lot was VERY small and have a mobile home park manager that is Rabid. I used two bales of straw in one area, combined with store bought steer manure, shredded leaves. I didn't have a rototiller so had to work it all in by shovel. That flower bed has been especially easy to weed this year (its FIRST year!)

I'm thinking that I have made a "few stupid mistakes" in that I have planted several different kinds of plants that others sometimes complain about. Evening primrose, purple coneflower, coreoptis and more. I WANT easy care and spreading!

stonoriver - be careful with other people's grass clippings. Some of them use chemicals that are not good for anything but grass, kill other plants. I've learned the hard way. another stupid trick.

You're so right, bonjon! My distrust of chemicals limited my use of grass clippings to the first two years, and doesn't seem to have caused any damage---but it did wonders for the tilth of the soil! Once I started growing things in the veggie garden (year 3), I switched to mulching with aged horse manure/wood shavings in the spring, and mushroom compost for fall crops. Over the years, it seems to have worked. Soil keeps getting better and better, and I rarely have any severe insect problems. I still use "green manure" as mulch in many of my beds, but it's my own grass clippings---so I know what goes into it.

My experience many moons ago as a novice gardener.... planting ivy along trellis.. and being proud of it to. lol... I have since regretted that mistake and still to this day have to pull them out from time to time.

rebecca30

rebecca, I think many a Carolina gardener has done that - and i may yet do it - I have a few places that could really use ivy. it's either Ivy, or poison ivy will take over!