Well, it’s been about a month since gardening season officially began, here. It started late on account of snow in May, but that’s all over now. This year, I planted several varieties of local wildflowers, some of which sprouted, others didn’t, and still others were ravaged by herbivores. Not too pleased about that, as you can imagine. Since my sister’s rabbit died last year, I’ve had to find alternatives to manure-based fertilizer. I planted an herb called comfrey, which, in addition to soothing aches and pains, makes a great liquid fertilizer. You can read more about that here. I also decided to make banana peel tea as a liquid fertilizer. It’s easy to make; all you need are some banana peels, water, and a mason jar. Place the banana peels in the jar and cover with water. Let them sit for a few days, and you’ll have a good liquid fertilizer. Be careful when opening the jar, as the tea will fizz out as soon as the top comes off. I found that out the hard way. Mix about one cup of tea to a gallon of water, and water your garden with the mixture. I tried it a few days ago, and my plants seem to be improving. This year, we’ve been using a neem oil mixture as a natural pesticide for our rose bushes and other plants. We’ve had great results from it. It hasn’t stopped all the scarab beetles from eating our flowers, but it did stop most of them, and that’s what matters.
So that’s what’s going on. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next update in August. Happy planting!
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AuthorI'm Ian Wilson, a slightly eccentric amateur horticulturist bumbling his way through the garden. Archives
October 2021
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Photos used under Creative Commons from PAUL (Van de Velde) -Fotografie, NSPaul, Acabashi, amandabhslater, Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel, WILLPOWER STUDIOS, krossbow, Monkeystyle3000, TwinPeaks99, ungard, RifcaPeters, Sustainable Economies Law Center, daryl_mitchell, wuestenigel