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Mary Heaner's Groups
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Gardening General
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Preserving the Harvest
88 members
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Pickling and Kimchi Club
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COMPOST
75 members
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Northern Portugal
3 members
Mary Heaner's Page
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Profile Information
- Where do you live and garden?
- northern Portugal
- How long have you been growing food?
- 1-3 years
- Dream garden travel destination:
- Havana
- Favorite foods:
- chilis, coriander, favas, cherries
Mary Heaner's Blog
Before and after pictures of my kitchen garden in northern Portugal
August 2008
This garden was done without using machines, by me and my daughter (well, the hardest bits more by my daughter)
After:
… Continue
Posted on September 26, 2009 at 11:05am — 5 Comments
Comment Wall (9 comments)
- At 2:05pm on October 18, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Hi Mary
I,ve had another look & the rhizotonic is not what you require. It is only a root growth stimulant.
I think that the powdered inoculant is only available in the USA. I think the reason for that is that these bacteria are naturally occuring in european soils, whereas they are not in some parts of the US, hence their is no market for them in Europe.
I think your best plan, if you are sure that your soil does not have the bacteria, is to locate a bean grower as near to you as possible and go and get a bag of his soil to sprinkle along the sowing drills. Otherwise you will have to have it sent from the US, with the problems that that entails.
- At 4:46am on October 18, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Hi Mary
I have found this stuff in the UK.
I may give it a go myself. I think the most frugal use would be to soak the seed in it before planting or to dilute it and water it down the planting trench. Maybe go with the 50:50 approach. That is add to half the seed and leave the other half as is. This way at the end of the season you can make a comparison to see if it has done any good.
- At 12:08pm on October 17, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Hi Mary
I have read that you need these rhizobacteria in your soil for the root nodules to form, but i have never heard of a product available to private gardeners.
It mainly seems to apply to commercial crops like soya beans.
I swear by well made compost that will contain all sorts of bacteria and may contain the ones you need to get the nodule formation.
- At 9:24am on October 17, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Hi Mary
Is this your first year growing broad beans?
Why do you want to spend money innoculating your soil. I don,t think it is necessary. Just dig in plenty of compost where they are to grow. Start them in a pot and plant them out when they are about 4" high. They will grow like weeds.
- At 8:46am on October 4, 2009,
Terri Pucci said…
- HI Mary, I'd love a hammock to relax in after a day in my garden along with one of my cats - I have 3 which are great at catching mice and moles. Our German Shepard has even caught a mouse. I love the pictures of you and your daughter working your land - I have very poor soil which means ALOT of composting.
- At 1:35pm on September 28, 2009,
Gail Wolf said… - Mary, what you have done with your garden in just one year is amazing! Your fruits and vegetables are beautiful. So great too that you have your daughter there with you to assist and keep good company!
- At 8:29am on August 13, 2009,
Mary Heaner said…
- I am overjoyed to get this information on a safe comfrey. Thanks so much. I will watch the site and order as soon as it's in stock.
- At 6:47am on August 13, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Hi Mary
I bought my comfrey plants about 10 to 15 yeaes ago from the HDRA in the UK, who now call themselves 'Gardenorganic'.
I bought mine as root cuttings, it may be available by mail order, but it looks as if it is out of stock at the present time.
It is a special type of comfrey that they sell called 'Bocking 14' that is sterile so it does not set seed. It was bred by someone called Lawrence Hills at the turn of the 20th century.
Once planted the comfrey roots travel so deep that it is difficult to eradicate. So if it was self seeding all over the place it would become a pernicious weed.
The idea of the deep roots is that it is drawing up any goodness and minerals from the subsoil. When you compost the leaves this goodness is then transferred to your growing mdeium.
- At 3:56pm on August 12, 2009,
Glenn Fletcher said…
- Mary
I would suggest that you join the compost group. Although seaweed fertilizer is very good, the addition compost is the best [ and cheapest] way to improve the fertility of your soil. I also grow comfrey to make my own liquid fertilizer.
Good luck with your gardening.
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Notes
HOW TO - ADD A LINK
Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....
First type the text you want to appear.... ie IAN'S PAGE
Then go back and highlight the link text.
Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.
Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message. Allow it and go back and highlight the text again
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun. 8, 2009.
Forum Policy
Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.
I would be happy to hear any comments you may have. This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.
I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.
Administration
You can refer any que
… ContinueCreated by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May. 25, 2009.
Climate maps
Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..
… Continue
Created by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr. 14, 2009.
Recipes, Recipes, Recipes
Hi Everyone, I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.
If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.
They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!
BEVA'S RECIPES
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr. 13, 2009.
US STATES ABBREVIATIONS
US STATE ABBREVIATIONS
AK - Alaska AL - Alabama AR - Arkansas
AZ - Arizona CA - California CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut DC - Dist of Columbia * DE - Delaware
FL - Florida GA - Georgia GU
Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan. 27, 2009.
HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST
Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.
KATE’S ADVICE
I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but
1 you have to fill it up all at once
2. it seemed mostly
… ContinueCreated by Ian May 30, 2008 at 5:29am. Last updated by Roger Jan. 15, 2009.
Notes Home
Welcome to Notes.
To view notes that are in the system hit the "all notes" button above.
ContinueCreated by Ian May 28, 2008 at 12:10pm. Last updated by Ian May. 30, 2008.
A Note about Notes
I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.
If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.
Ian
ContinueCreated by Ian May 28, 2008 at 6:19pm. Last updated by Ian May. 28, 2008.
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