Urban AG Solutions

Ok, big wisdom drop here. Let me know if this resonates.

Open space for planting…perhaps the most beautiful thing in the garden! Gettin’ on it this week with some lovely turnips from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds up here Noble Rot Happy Monday, all!

Working on a new system at Rot. I’m planting directly into potting soil bags (which I’ve done before…with good results), but this time the bags are in bottom-watering bins. This should allow for maximum growth as soil moisture level can be held constant. The bins also protect the bags from taking the direct sun and overheating. I did choose high-quality potting soil ( Recipe 420 Potting Soil ) and fertilized with fish bone meal (4-17-0) and azomite. I’m trying to address a persistent problem with eggplant that I believe is soil-borne, so I’m starting with new soil and hoping for maximal production. Stay tuned on the progress!

Breaking news! It’s absolute pandemonium in Earwiglandia today Noble Rot . I have never seen quite such a collection. Anyway, this kind of a show is available to organic gardeners everywhere, especially if you compost. And though noble rot is principally a wine term, I have to say that our rooftop composting of weeds and unused plant parts is quite nobly rotting in its own right!

(Christy Wilhelmi) has absolutely nailed the marketing for her new book Bolting to Seed, a garden murder mystery, with these delightful seed packets. The fact that it’s Scarlet kale inside suggests a certain bloodiness appropriate to the book. I can’t wait to discuss it with her and (Enoch Graham) next Sunday the 21st as part of our monthly garden book group, held the third Sunday of each month. While we normally feature how-to garden nonfiction, it’s fun to venture into other sides of the garden world. We had Christy on the show a couple years ago with her first garden novel Garden Variety, and amidst love and local politics, that book managed to pack in a lot of gardening tips, so I’m expecting more of the same from this one. Hope to see you there! Link in bio.

I’m loving this Melnor sprinkler and its multiple settings and adjustability. As always, my gardening recommendations are completely my own. Luckily for you, I don’t even come close to the number of followers it would take for a company to notice me and send me free swag to try to influence my opinion, so all you get here are the products I actually use and value in my garden.

Never really appreciated mountain laurel (Kalmia patrols) as more than a nice hedge until yesterday when I learned about its amazing pollen dispersal method, a kind of spring-loaded stamen slap. Nature never ceases to amaze!

Follow up to my previous sickle/saw post. This tool rules as a no-till utensil because you can slice off whatever’s growing at ground level, without disturbing/disrupting the fungal and bacterial networks below. It’s practically my favorite hand tool because it can do so many things.