Books:
Oldie but goodie; How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method by J.I. Rodale
Also by Rodale; Complete Book of Composting
I also have the newer; All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening by Rodale
Good to learn the old organic methods now. Food prices are going up and one reason this coming year will be due to fertilizer prices doubling. I finally got some Comfrey last year. Good compost activator and for fertilizer as Comfrey tea due to being high in nitrogen. Comfrey is also high in potassium which can be hard to get as organic. I asked about greensand at the local farm store and the guy looked at me like I had two heads. Wood ash is another source but washes through the soil pretty quick so you can’t put it on/in a month or two before hand or in the Fall to prep for Spring.
I need to get a metal barrel with lid to start saving ash/charcoal(biochar) from my wood stove. Our place is small so sometimes on days when it warms up quick, I shut down the air intake to shut down the stove which leaves me with a lot of bulk charcoal aka biochar which is awesome for the soil. Supposed to be especially good for acidic soils which I definitely have as is evident by the wild blueberries among other wild fruits that grow here.
I went to the local WM around Christmas time and found all kinds of garden fertilizer marked way down.
Even Home Depot had liquid copper sulfate concentrate for dirt cheap, so I picked up some of that as well.
I ALWAYS look to buy off season. Can’t always be guaranteed to get what you want, but when you do, it is very worth it.
How do you use wood ash on the garden.
We have a wood stove and are also collecting the ash, but didn’t know where to dump it.
If it can be used in the garden, all the better. But doesn’t it make the soil more alkaline?
Favorite Gardening Books (not in any particular order):
365 Days of Gardening - Christine Allison
The Flower Farmer - Lynn Bycztnski
52 Weekend Garden Projects - Nancy Bubel
All New Square Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew
Month-By-Month Gardening in Wisconsin - Melinda Myers
The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden - David Hirsch
Cut Flower Garden - Floret Farm
Maryjane’s Ideabook-Cookbook-LifeBook - Maryjane Butters
Storey’s Basic Country Skills - Storey Books
The Complete Guide to Houseplants - Ortho
The Do It Yourself Homestead - Tessa Zundel
The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook - Barbara Damrosch & Eliot Coleman