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Have you ever wanted to have delicious herbs and fruit fresh off the plant? Well it's easier than you think! Steve shows us how edible gardening is easy and extremely beneficial in this Nursery Note.
Hello Steve McShane from McShane's Nursery. Did you know that herbs are one of the longest cultivated plants on the planet for human consumption. That's right, thousands of years. Herbs are fantastic, during this segment we're going to talk more about edible gardening. Fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. Let's start with the herbs right away.
Some key things I can say about growing great herbs: build your soil. I studied soil science at Cal Poly for 5 years and that's one thing I learned and it's one thing I'm passionate about. Get a good soil builder like this gold rush right here that's got a good balance of chicken manure, organic compost, well blended and well composted.
Once you get that in your soil a few additives would help as well. This alfalfa meal is a great source of organic nitrogen. That does a lot for soil microbiology. As well, Kelp meal, the same type of idea. If you feed your soil, your soil will feed your plant. Once you get these in the ground, a good starter fertiilzer is a good idea as well. I always like to recommend the granular type though you could also use sachets that can be thrown into the soil, like these.
Once you get your soil built and ready for action, then you're ready to plant. Now remember, herbs and vegetables require full sun, that's 6 to 8 hours minimum a day. In addition to that, I always like to tell people to consider planting the two side by side. Get the herbs right next to your leafy greens, your tomatoes or whatever else. What will end up happening is the herbs can drive away pests and things like dogs, deer and you name it. That kind of coexistence really works well for your garden. Make sure you balance properly and you invest properly in the soil and the garden will take care of itself after that.
The last thing I'd say is, don't forget to feed. Herbs and vegetables prefer eating every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season. Feed in small amounts over a longer period and you'll see the results.
Now let's talk about the excitement of growing your own fruit. I'd first like to focus on berries. Berries have gotten a lot of press lately because of the benefits of antioxidants and just the fact that they are packed with healthy nutrients. Berries just can't be topped. I'll start with Raspberries then let's touch base on blueberries.
First, the key is in the soil, remember a hole two or three times the size of the container they came in, a good starter fertilizer, B1, and using a good planting mix that is well balanced. One important thing about blueberries here: when you get your blueberry plant be sure to use an acid loving planting mix.
Really...important and more than anything consider dead, decaying, decomposing organic matter you can see the drainage. There's bark in here and even lava rock. Blueberries like a lot of drainage. Beyond growing berries, I think it's important to focus on fruit trees for a second. One of the things I always tell people is to seek a tree that's got multiple varieties grafted on the same tree. This peach here, for example, has four different varieties on it. There's an early season, a midseason, a late season, and a very late season. By allowing 4 different varieties on one tree, there's better cross pollination, better fruit set, and ultimately, you're not bombarded with a bunch of fruit all ant once.
Now it's time to reap the rewards of an edible gardening expert. Nothing like some great cheese, some fresh herbs out of my garden, some crackers, and some locally produced white wine. Cheers! Here's to the success!
Let's get gardening!
McShane's Nursery and Landscape Supply Copyright 2010
Landon Wolf Copyright 2010
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