I recently bought a little Inn in South Florida and I’m having a blast with it. While the limited grounds and courtyard are great habitat for people, and the fragrant and flowering plants have brought a resurgence of butterflies (the birth and launch of two morning doves was another highlight), I don’t have much space for growing food.
Can you recommend a resource for vertical gardening with limited sun light?
I’m sure I could pull of herbs and tomatoes, but I’d like to be more creative.
I do not have a single source I can recommend that focuses on that type of growing specifically but I do include some resources in my book for vertical gardening ideas, choice food/medicine species and how to maximize productivity in limited space gardens. I can share a link to where you can buy the ebook and/or physical book if you are interested.
I will also share a list of shade tolerant and/or shade loving crops below incase that info is helpful to you.
– Meadowsweet (spirea ulmaria Or filipendula ulmaria) tall flowers
– Oregon grape (mahonia aquifolium)
– Black cohosh (actaea racemosa) wall white flowers
– Wild ginger (asarum caudatum)
– Bugle (ajuga reptans)
(I can share more info on the specific plants listed above if you are curious to learn more. I can also share some info to helpful mushroom cultivation resources if you wanna go that route as well).
Thank you Gavin for creating this club, much can be gained by learning more about nature and especially about microbes. Just look at all the forests and notice how green they are, without fertilizer! Microbial interactions release the nutrients needed. My suggestion for a great read is “Teaming with microbes”!
I can relate spring time is very busy for me with my day job landscaping and getting my own garden moving. I will think about the potential of extending the book club into a two month time window for each topic.
Do you think that would be a more feasible time frame for busy people to be able to engage ?
It’s hard getting started with the veg patch here as it’s constantly raining! I have a kitchen full of seedlings, I Have to fit it in around full time business.
I like the idea of the topic spreading over 2 months, then the people who can keep up can expand their knowledge on that subject and other can catch up in their own time if they are impressed by the information provided by the ones who read both.
Ask your other followers, I’m sure they will advise a happy medium.
Hands on experience, pattern recognition and humble observation is often a more powerful pathway to learning than any book (at least I find that to be the case on my own path) so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what ever soil book ends up being the focus of next months book club.
I am heartened to hear about the progression of your perseverance in transforming your self-described "black thumb" into an increasingly green thumb :)
My thumbs are good, many fingers have splinters. It's fun picking them out. I have arugula, radishes, romaine, broccoli and swish chard popping up.
Here's a thought. My mother drank white wine, I have at least 50 big wine bottles that I was thinking of using for hydroponics but they are a little hard to work with, and besides I'm not on that now. But here's a thought, I could cut the bottoms off and place them over my little plants. This would save them from chippies, bunnies & etc. and provide them with some frost protection and warmth. The top would be open but they wouldn't get much air. I could engineer that a little so there is a space at the bottom or make a cut partway up the bottle and make spacers.
Thoughts?
For soil, I have about a yard of good compost. Scrounging wood, I have lots of leaves, two bales of peat moss, a bit of vermiculite and of course my back yard soil. One raised bed is situated, and I could fill it. The other three are just bases but they will be ready when the plants are.
And I finally have a truck! Yay! I have a bit but I'll be out tomorrow scrounging wood to layer on the bottoms.
Also I'm working on a song about turning a black thumb green.
That is an interesting idea. Are you gonna cut them with heat or a blade? The bottles might work for tiny seedlings but may get cramped quickly for some species of plants. It would be quite a bit of work for that little window of time but it would extend the growing season and could help germinate seeds as well. I also like that it is silica and not plastic contacting the soil.
I like to use old windows to make cold frames for my entire raised beds so that I can lift them up easily but one has to use what they have available and I admire your ingenuity, re-purposing and DIY attitude.
For soil, have you heard of "lasagna mulching" or "sheet mulching" ? Also I think if you can find some old rotting chunks of wood, digging a trench under the raised beds (if they are not sealed on the bottom) and adding an "inverted hügelkultur" (or "dead wood swale" 1-2 feet deep underneath the bed would help increase fertility and drought tolerance in the long term big time.
I am glad you have a truck and such great materials on hand and I love that song idea! :)
(ps - just a heads up, my responses will likely take quite a while going forward into the growing season as I have a physically demanding day job and my own garden seedlings to tend to along with books to package and ship out)
zebra mussels is an interesting idea. I have not studied their biology specifically but based on what I know of the calcium content in other shellfish's exterior shell I would say pulverized zebra mussels could provide some great minerals for roots if evenly dispersed in an inverted hügelkultur bed
I think I'll get a bunch and integrate them. 4 3'x8' beds under construction, and I think I'll start a 20' long hügelkultur mound for next year after I get that under control.
Going to pick up some ash tomorrow, and the leaves are out for collection, I love having this lovely truck, I'll go scoop 20 or so bags in the AM and grind them into my compost.
Gavin! DIY R US. The joy is in the making. I will spend two hours writing a computer program to do something that I could have solved manually in one hour. Anyway the bottles aren't any work. A bottle cutter, an ice cube, a propane torch, less than a minute.
I love old windows, if you mean old soda glass. They're like looking through history, the landscape outside takes on a soupcon of impressionism.
Yes, I am scrounging wood to put under my raised beds. All sorts of little seedlings coming up now. I'm not sure, but I think I felt a twinge of green thumb, maybe it was my imagination.
Gavin gives great ideas for gardening. There’s also “The Mittleider Method” that may help you with ideas for maximizing yield in cramped areas.
Go to https://growfood.com/#whatis to learn more
I recently bought a little Inn in South Florida and I’m having a blast with it. While the limited grounds and courtyard are great habitat for people, and the fragrant and flowering plants have brought a resurgence of butterflies (the birth and launch of two morning doves was another highlight), I don’t have much space for growing food.
Can you recommend a resource for vertical gardening with limited sun light?
I’m sure I could pull of herbs and tomatoes, but I’d like to be more creative.
Sounds like a wonderful project.
I do not have a single source I can recommend that focuses on that type of growing specifically but I do include some resources in my book for vertical gardening ideas, choice food/medicine species and how to maximize productivity in limited space gardens. I can share a link to where you can buy the ebook and/or physical book if you are interested.
I will also share a list of shade tolerant and/or shade loving crops below incase that info is helpful to you.
𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬:
̲B̲e̲r̲r̲i̲e̲s̲:̲
– Low bush blue berries
– Elderberries
(for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/day-nine-elderberry? )
– Raspberries
– Rhubarb
– Saskatoon berries
(for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/serviceberry? )
̲V̲e̲g̲e̲t̲a̲b̲l̲e̲s̲:̲
– Asperigus
– Bush beans (need part sun)
– Beets
– Kale
( for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/kale-a-nutritional-powerhouse-and? )
– Radishes
– Carrots
– Wild Leeks AKA Ramps (Allium tricoccum)
̲H̲e̲r̲b̲s̲:̲
– Cilantro
– Anise hyssop
(for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/agastache-foeniculum-aka-anise-hyssop? )
– Aragula
– Dill
– Lemon balm
– Chives
– Mint
– Parsley
̲M̲e̲d̲i̲c̲i̲n̲a̲l̲ ̲p̲l̲a̲n̲t̲s̲:̲
-- Schisandra chinensis (aka "five flavor fruit")
(for more info: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/schisandra-chinensis-aka-five-flavor? _
– Mondo grass (ophiopogon japonicus)
– American ginseng (panax quinquefolius)
– Golden seal (hydratis canadensis)
– Meadowsweet (spirea ulmaria Or filipendula ulmaria) tall flowers
– Oregon grape (mahonia aquifolium)
– Black cohosh (actaea racemosa) wall white flowers
– Wild ginger (asarum caudatum)
– Bugle (ajuga reptans)
(I can share more info on the specific plants listed above if you are curious to learn more. I can also share some info to helpful mushroom cultivation resources if you wanna go that route as well).
Thank you Gavin for creating this club, much can be gained by learning more about nature and especially about microbes. Just look at all the forests and notice how green they are, without fertilizer! Microbial interactions release the nutrients needed. My suggestion for a great read is “Teaming with microbes”!
Thanks for engaging and commenting ! Well said! :)
Teaming with Microbes is already on the list of potential books that can be voted on for May (number 15 on the list).
I do appreciate you taking the time to suggest a book and endorse that book specifically.
Haven’t got past the first few pages of the seed book for last month. Been really busy. Apologies
I can relate spring time is very busy for me with my day job landscaping and getting my own garden moving. I will think about the potential of extending the book club into a two month time window for each topic.
Do you think that would be a more feasible time frame for busy people to be able to engage ?
It’s hard getting started with the veg patch here as it’s constantly raining! I have a kitchen full of seedlings, I Have to fit it in around full time business.
I like the idea of the topic spreading over 2 months, then the people who can keep up can expand their knowledge on that subject and other can catch up in their own time if they are impressed by the information provided by the ones who read both.
Ask your other followers, I’m sure they will advise a happy medium.
One of my favorite things is turning over dirt for the first time since fall and seeing the rich black earth teeming with worms. so satisfying.
I've been working on soil for two days. Building raised beds. I'm a little sore.
Me too buddy!
Hands on experience, pattern recognition and humble observation is often a more powerful pathway to learning than any book (at least I find that to be the case on my own path) so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what ever soil book ends up being the focus of next months book club.
I am heartened to hear about the progression of your perseverance in transforming your self-described "black thumb" into an increasingly green thumb :)
I have managed to source 'Dirt to Soil', 'The Soul of Soil', and 'Soil Ecology in Northern Forests' as PDF.
Hello brother Gavin.
My thumbs are good, many fingers have splinters. It's fun picking them out. I have arugula, radishes, romaine, broccoli and swish chard popping up.
Here's a thought. My mother drank white wine, I have at least 50 big wine bottles that I was thinking of using for hydroponics but they are a little hard to work with, and besides I'm not on that now. But here's a thought, I could cut the bottoms off and place them over my little plants. This would save them from chippies, bunnies & etc. and provide them with some frost protection and warmth. The top would be open but they wouldn't get much air. I could engineer that a little so there is a space at the bottom or make a cut partway up the bottle and make spacers.
Thoughts?
For soil, I have about a yard of good compost. Scrounging wood, I have lots of leaves, two bales of peat moss, a bit of vermiculite and of course my back yard soil. One raised bed is situated, and I could fill it. The other three are just bases but they will be ready when the plants are.
And I finally have a truck! Yay! I have a bit but I'll be out tomorrow scrounging wood to layer on the bottoms.
Also I'm working on a song about turning a black thumb green.
Hello my friend
That is an interesting idea. Are you gonna cut them with heat or a blade? The bottles might work for tiny seedlings but may get cramped quickly for some species of plants. It would be quite a bit of work for that little window of time but it would extend the growing season and could help germinate seeds as well. I also like that it is silica and not plastic contacting the soil.
I like to use old windows to make cold frames for my entire raised beds so that I can lift them up easily but one has to use what they have available and I admire your ingenuity, re-purposing and DIY attitude.
For soil, have you heard of "lasagna mulching" or "sheet mulching" ? Also I think if you can find some old rotting chunks of wood, digging a trench under the raised beds (if they are not sealed on the bottom) and adding an "inverted hügelkultur" (or "dead wood swale" 1-2 feet deep underneath the bed would help increase fertility and drought tolerance in the long term big time.
I am glad you have a truck and such great materials on hand and I love that song idea! :)
(ps - just a heads up, my responses will likely take quite a while going forward into the growing season as I have a physically demanding day job and my own garden seedlings to tend to along with books to package and ship out)
I like your idea. I have scrounged enough glass to cover three beds.
Got some falling apart rotten birch and oak too! Enough for two, easy to find.
Buddy suggested I go down to the shore and get some zebra mussels, what do you think?
zebra mussels is an interesting idea. I have not studied their biology specifically but based on what I know of the calcium content in other shellfish's exterior shell I would say pulverized zebra mussels could provide some great minerals for roots if evenly dispersed in an inverted hügelkultur bed
I think I'll get a bunch and integrate them. 4 3'x8' beds under construction, and I think I'll start a 20' long hügelkultur mound for next year after I get that under control.
Going to pick up some ash tomorrow, and the leaves are out for collection, I love having this lovely truck, I'll go scoop 20 or so bags in the AM and grind them into my compost.
I think 7 apple trees are going to make it.
Oh yeah, I make may things with my 3D printers but I agree that I shouldn't use it to make things that come in contact with soil. I'll can that.
Gavin! DIY R US. The joy is in the making. I will spend two hours writing a computer program to do something that I could have solved manually in one hour. Anyway the bottles aren't any work. A bottle cutter, an ice cube, a propane torch, less than a minute.
I love old windows, if you mean old soda glass. They're like looking through history, the landscape outside takes on a soupcon of impressionism.
I bought myself a really nice present: https://www.stihl.ca/en/p/chainsaws-ms-391-1615
This ain't no disco.
Yes, I am scrounging wood to put under my raised beds. All sorts of little seedlings coming up now. I'm not sure, but I think I felt a twinge of green thumb, maybe it was my imagination.