eChipmunks

New gardener looking for advice, can you help?

I'm starting a vegetable garden and I have a few questions: How do I make compost for my garden using things from my kitchen? What are some good veggies/fruits for a beginning gardener to grow? What are some organic pest control methods?

Public Comments

1. Plz hire me t serve you farm. Do nat hire thieving man from mexco. Hire honest russian man.
2. Start a compost heap with anything from your kitchen except meat and dairy products. Easy veggies to grow are green beans, radishes, pole beans, tomatoes and corn, all depending on where you live. Check with your local extension service for more. Organic pest control methods can be found with any online search. Trying to explain them all is not possible in this space.
3. Easiest fruits are strawberries & tomatoes, we plant them every year with my kids and get plenty! Just make sure you plant them in an area that gets about 6 hours of sun/day. To start a compost, you don't need much, you can either buy a container (make sure there are holes in the bottom!) or make you own in a corner of your garden, by using chicken wires and poles. You can compost egg shells, coffee grind, tea bags, fruits and veggies scraps, even cooked rice, beans, etc... I also compost white napkins/paper towels that are not too spoiled, lint from the dryer, hairs, bread. NO MEATS, Cheese, etc... you will get smells and nasty maggots :( Whenever we find earth worms while digging we had them onto the compost, they help a lot. Organic pest control, pureed garlic & water, spray on plants. To kill weeds, white vinegar. Good luck! I can't wait for spring to be here so we can go back out and have fun (keep composting during the winter, it does not "shrink" as fast but will by spring!)
4. I could easily write a long and involved answer to each question you have, but for very detailed instruction I would encourage you to visit Old Pharmer Phils Country Living Phorum. They have years and year of experience to give to a new gardener. Its all people like you or I that garden or farm. Anywhere from someone with a few house plants all the way to self sufficient farm life. If you take a look at the site you will find amazing info on all different kinds of compost, what to put into it and what NOT to! The best things for anyone anywhere to grow! And a lot on organic pest control. MOST people there are organic, some aren't but are still respected gardeners. I have been there in a while, but I contribute when I can and I always ask a TON of questions. Good luck, I cant imagine a better place ot go for great info about gardening!
5. Cool! 1. I'd use left-overs, or foods that went rotten. 2. Tomatoes and pumpkins. 3. A fence and bug spray, they are not very organic, but, still...
6. With google you can find a lot of great sites now that can provide you with info. I have done well growing tomatoes (smaller species good for pots) , different kinds of peppers and many herbs in large containers with (miracle-gro) a good dirt. So far the bugs don't seem to be very attracted to the herbs (lots of basils, thymes, marjoram, oregano, sage, savory, a bay tree). Even in the deep south I haven't needed to use pest control other than hand picking a branch, pruning if needed, or just a good rinse with an ever-so-slightly soapy water mix. I tend to move the pots around and prune them alot so maybe the handling disturbs the bugs.
7. For compost, you should add grass clippings, leaves, and food scraps from the kitchen. Just dont put out any meat (that will attract wild animals like racoons). You need to age your compost for years before using it, using a shovel to mix up everything in the pile every few months. You could try starting out with tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. When picking a spot for garden, select one that is in the sun at least three-quarters the time Before planting your plants, add good quality compost to the soil, and then rototiller the ground. After that, put up a fence. You should install a tall (8-10 feet) plastic one to keep out big animals like deer with a chicken wire fence along to bottom to keep smaller animals like rabbits and ground hogs from chewing through the tall fence. When planting your plants, put peat moss into the hole, put the plant in, and water it immediately to prevent it from going into shock. Once they are growing, make sure that they get water every day (if it is not supposed to rain on a particular day, water each plant yourself) You can put grass clippings on top of the soil (except where the bases of the plants are) to supress weed growth, putting beer into bowls and putting them on the ground in your garden will take care of most slugs and some other bugs, and you can release lady bugs in your garden because they will eat other bugs that will eat your plants.