Post date: Oct 24, 2019 6:00:22 PM
1. If soil in your yard is not covered by grass or any vegetation, or mulch, it will degrade badly. Keep soil covered. Always.
2. Rain falling on soil will compact it and close air spaces. Wind will dry it out. Nourishment will be washed off the top layer. The soil can’t hold moisture, air or food. And it simply dies. This is how deserts form.
3. Revive soil by covering with live mulch. Dried leaves or fresh woodchips. Keep moist. In six months it will begin to heal and turn around.
4. Saw more gardens with grass around the beds. And creep in. The grass will take over. It sends roots out where there is nutrition and without smothering it, you can’t protect the beds. Mulch, cover and keep pathways around your beds grass free.
5. Plants grow best when they get at least 6 hours of sun and have open sky above their heads. Decide your grow area based on this criteria. Don’t buy into commercial posts on plants that grow in shade. No food is produced without photosynthesis. Leafy edible plants have to be grown to size before being transplanted below trees.
6. Keep the roots of plants cool and moist. Mulch around the plant always.
7. Trees are the kings of the plant world. They are territorial and they take care of an entire area. They won’t let anything grow under their canopy. Don’t plant close to the trunk. Create a mulched circle around the tree and plant preferably outside the canopy.
8. A healthy plant won’t attract pests. A weak plant will be taken down by them. If you leave dying, drying, diseased plants in your garden, you will provide hosting spaces for pests. Take down a plant that is past its peak and shows weakness. Dont hope to harvest the last tomato and okra from a dying plant.
9. Compost everything. Plants, vines, leaves, flowers, mature fruits, whatever your garden produces. It is all precious organic matter that your yard produced. You will need it again to enrich your soil.
10. Dont leave your garden fallow. Without active roots, the microbes die. Put a cover crop if you dont care for a winter garden. Keep soils active.
The intelligence of plants for another post :)