A Plethora of Gardening Options...

   I just love that word.

 Plethora. 

You can actually roll your tongue while you say it and it makes your mouth feel all funny. 

However,I digress....

   Yesterday we talked about how the single most important thing you can learn about gardening and put to good use it that it is all about the dirt. If you havent seen that post, you just cant skip it, so please click ((here)) to go back to it.
   For those of you following right along with me, today we are going to talk about three of the six options I gave you simple links on yesterday. All are different types and philosophies of gardening, and honestly, they are just scratching the surface. Seems like the longer I do this the more comes up, and more ways we find in different parts of the world that really would work universally, but no-one has ever tried to make something from Africa work in Conneticut or something. So please remember that these are just a FEW ideas, and if you spend a few hours browsing on YouTube or wherever, I am quite sure you will find more to look into.
We will cover the last three option tomorrow to give you some more ideas, and then head into talking about planting, seed starting, and companion planting.
   The first type of gardening we are going to cover are for those of you who are looking into using containers for gardening, or for those of you who rent, and who would like the ability to have a mobile garden if and when the need arises. I first stumbled across this brilliant idea created by two highschool boys in their quest to find a sustainable way to grow food for the millions who go hungry in inner cities around the world. Their project was called global buckets, and I tell you what, with their instructions, and a little elbow grease, I think this is one of the most imaginative and workable ways on the market to grow a good amount of produce in a small space. Here is their first video, and you can follow others by just plugging in "Global Buckets" into the YouTube Search option:

Isn't that just about the neatest thing out there? 

Those two brilliant young men will shape the world one day, you wait and see. :)

   I would have loved to have been their piano teacher. :) If you are looking for similar ideas but want to make you own without supporting their charity, then please keep looking on youtube. I, for one, think what they are doing is worthwhile and should be supported.

   Now let's talk about an entirely different form of gardening, one that uses the ground, and space, and is popular in places in Europe where the idea originated. It is called Huglekulture, and the basic premise is digging a trench in the ground, loading it with wood waste, such a fallen trees, branches, etc, and then building a mound over the top in a very specific way. Sounds a little crazy right? But think about it. If you have ever been out in the forest, you know this is how nature was designed to work. Middle of the forest, the tree falls, it begins to break down, seeds find places to root, breaking it down further, and it nourishes the growing plants, slowly becoming part of the forest floor. This is the same concept, just replicated and manipulated to work for man in a garden situation, and has got some seriously dedicated followers around the globe. I have gone back and forth on this idea, but rather than me give you my opinion, I want you to form your own. Why dont you watch this video from YouTube again and see what you think.

Isnt that interesting, as well? To the mind of a lady who grew up tromping through the forest I totally understand it, and just wish I had enough room to re-create it. I might find more room in a couple years after we get all the fruit trees, etc in  and I am looking for the next project to add to the Welcoming House. To watch more from this genre of gardening, you can check out their website at www.permies.com.

   Okay, and the last type of gardening that we are going to cover in today's post is Square foot gardening. I was created by a man named Mel back in the 70's as he was looking for a way to get a much larger yield from a small space rather than doing a regular form of gardening. There are many different variations of his method, and instead of a video on this one, I am just going to give you a couple links, as well as post a couple pictures. When we cover planting crops I will again revisit how to plant your veggies and fruits according to his planting method, only because it is what I use, and I have had good success with it. Here is the link to go to his main page, where you will probably lose a good ten minutes getting lost in learning about it:

http://www.squarefootgardening.org/

Here are a couple other links I found that give you variations on the idea:

http://www.squarefootgardening.com
http://frugaldad.com/2008/03/03/how-to-build-a-square-foot-garden/

Here was ours as we were building it--I will post more pics of it this Spring once we can get the camera to download the new pics. It now has a fence completely surrounding it with a gate, the frame in back is standing up with chain link for items to grow up, and the entire garden is covered in wood chips. It is SO nice to grow in!

Come back tomorrow as we cover the other three ways to garden in depth.

Many blessings to you and yours,

Heather