RE: I have not added any additional fertilizers to the soil, following the SFG recommendation that it is "unnecessary." I also am primarily gardening to have as natural of a food source as possible... using fertizilers (aside from compost) kind of defeats the point.
That would be true of synthetic fertilizers. Tomato Tone is all organic from natural sources. There's lots of good organic fertilizers.
It doesn't matter what the book says. Mel may tell you that you can plant them that close and not fertilize. But it isn't working for you ; your plants are clearly not getting what they need. I still think the middle plant is getting crowded and shaded out (it doesn't matter how much sun is on the bed if the plant is shaded out by the ones around it) and both of them need more nutrients. You can stick by the book and get no tomatoes or you can attend to what your plants are telling you. To me, learning to listen to what your plants tell you is the real art of gardening.
Gardening can't really be done by the book (though books can help you get started) because all gardening is local. It depends on the quality of your compost, the quality of the soil under the compost, the micro-organisms available to break it down, the angle of the sun, the other plants around, the weather, etc etc....
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rainbowgardener
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hendi_alex
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I definitely agree with rainbowgardener. I have a copy of Square Foot Gardening which was read cover to cover and also serves as a reference. Have also read many other how to books and reference books on gardening. I find that no one way is perfect for my garden's specific requirements and for my temperament. The garden has evolved into a hodgepodge of strategies.
Corn is planted in the ground, but in tight blocks rather than conventional rows. In gardening areas, some beds are raised and in contact with the ground while others are raised and blocked from the ground, and still other areas are in the ground and not raised at all. The depth of raised beds took a bit of experimentation to evolve to an adequate level, which is about 9 inches but is still minimal IMO.
Some plants are planted in uniform blocks like the corn, but most things are interplanted such as one tomato plant, three day lilies, and ten bean plants all planted in a 4 x 6 square. A 3 x 4 bed has two okra plants in the middle of about 8 bean plants, along with six or so Swiss Chard. One large barrel contained 3 strawberry plants, two sweet pea plants, and a young egg plant earlier in the spring.
We are heavily into succession planting, so that crops mature over a long season. We are also into year round gardening, growing whatever will produce during a given part of the year. We have raise thousands, perhaps millions of earth worms to move into our garden areas. We use organic fertilizers in most areas, but use chemical fertilizers as well, when the plants seem to indicate that they need a jolt. No poisons ever go into our garden.
We follow how to books as loose guides rather than as gardening bibles. We compost, but are very relaxed about what goes into the bin and how such is managed. Nothing is purist in our garden. Like I say, it is a mix. We do very little conventional gardening. Space seems to be maximized through a combination of intensive gardening and interplanting. That approach also would seem to me to mirror nature, where plants almost always come up in a wide mix. Intensive gardening maximizes yield, and interplanting minimizes pests. It would seem reasonable that interplanting would cause less stress on the soil as well.
Corn is planted in the ground, but in tight blocks rather than conventional rows. In gardening areas, some beds are raised and in contact with the ground while others are raised and blocked from the ground, and still other areas are in the ground and not raised at all. The depth of raised beds took a bit of experimentation to evolve to an adequate level, which is about 9 inches but is still minimal IMO.
Some plants are planted in uniform blocks like the corn, but most things are interplanted such as one tomato plant, three day lilies, and ten bean plants all planted in a 4 x 6 square. A 3 x 4 bed has two okra plants in the middle of about 8 bean plants, along with six or so Swiss Chard. One large barrel contained 3 strawberry plants, two sweet pea plants, and a young egg plant earlier in the spring.
We are heavily into succession planting, so that crops mature over a long season. We are also into year round gardening, growing whatever will produce during a given part of the year. We have raise thousands, perhaps millions of earth worms to move into our garden areas. We use organic fertilizers in most areas, but use chemical fertilizers as well, when the plants seem to indicate that they need a jolt. No poisons ever go into our garden.
We follow how to books as loose guides rather than as gardening bibles. We compost, but are very relaxed about what goes into the bin and how such is managed. Nothing is purist in our garden. Like I say, it is a mix. We do very little conventional gardening. Space seems to be maximized through a combination of intensive gardening and interplanting. That approach also would seem to me to mirror nature, where plants almost always come up in a wide mix. Intensive gardening maximizes yield, and interplanting minimizes pests. It would seem reasonable that interplanting would cause less stress on the soil as well.
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Gardenville.tv
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