Gardening

            
 My Potatoes...


Here are some of my biggest, nicest potatoes. The ones that look like critters are Russet, and the nice big oval is a Yukon Gold. I put a quart size jar beside them so you can see their size in comparison. 

   I think the foliage spray was a factor in how big they got.

  My garden this year 2013...We need Rain!

     Last year I had the best garden I have had in all my gardening career.

I was so tired of backbreaking labor and puny rewards. We decided it is time to make some changes. The first thing we did is make our garden smaller.Rather a small profitable plot than a huge one that doesn't produce. I did a little reading and decided to do a no till option because tillers have been a huge source of contention with me. I tried several Mantis tillers and decided they are nothing more than a pain in the neck. They might run well enough the first season but forget using them a second year.I spent most of my mornings breaking my back just trying to start it and then I get it going and it runs briefly and it quits than I have to repeat the process. ugh!

I decided nothing runs as good as an old fashioned hoe.So my children and I broke our backs running hoes for several years....now I will put a disclaimer in here. We really did have some fun times! I still have great memories of fun and laughter while we worked together. But even that doesn't fix the problem of poor yields. So I still needed to change something. I complained to God quite a bit about not having a tiller that worked and not being able to afford something that really worked. I remember specifically praying one day, "Lord, if you don't provide a tiller.You'll have to show me how to garden without." Soon after that I found an article in a gardening magazine about a no-till method. I was excited and I give God the credit for all that.

So last year we borrowed a big tiller from a friend and tilled beds, 4 feet wide and maybe 20 feet long. I planted broccoli and cabbage in the middle with green beans all around the perimeter.I planted my tomatoes up against 2 hog panels so I could tie them up instead of sprawling all over the ground. I planted my peppers in a bed by themselves. A little smaller bed.

Then I remembered that Steve's brother had been bragging about some organic minerals they had been using that was doing wonderful things to their garden. So I thought I would try it. The result was great. We used the organic minerals, dehydrated chicken manure, and I mulched each bed with newspaper for a weed barrier and straw on top.

I had a wonderful garden. Because of the mulch I had almost no weeds. The newspaper is very important. If you don't use that you will have weeds coming through the straw. I used a weed-eater  to keep the paths between the beds chopped down.

The Chicken Manure gave my plants wonderful growing power. The Minerals make my vegetables healthier.  Vegetables only contain whatever minerals they can get from the soil they are growing in. So it is a good idea to keep adding minerals. I have learned to feed my garden so it can feed my family.

This year I am also using a liquid Mineral as a foilage spray that is supposed to increase the yield of fruit. I havn't proven that one yet. So we will see how well it does by harvest time. Here you can read the specs on this one:                           

     Vita-stem Foliage Spray

Mix 1 oz. With 1 gallon water. Put in a garden sprayer and spray foliage. From young plants to maturity, spray every 2-3 weeks. Try to spray about 4 times in a growing season.

   Shake well. Vitastem is a micronutrient-enzyme foliar fertilizer, soil conditioner and insect repellant and can be used but is not limited to Vegetables, Field crops, Orchards, Pastures, Lawns and Athletic Fields.


Contents:
Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate,Cobalt Sulfate, Nickel Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Kelp Extractives, Calcium Lignosulfonate,Ascorbic acid, Water, Garlic and Enzymes


The good news for you is that we liked it so well we decided to get enough to share with others.........


The Natural Mineral (Flora-Stim)is available in a 50 lb. bag, or it can be broken down to less if you want.
$23.00 for 50lb

The Foilage Spray(Vita-Stim) concentrate is $13.00 for 1 pint (it will do an acre).

Chickity Doo Doo  40 LB. bag dehydrated chicken manure $14.00

You can contact Steve at 608 475 0751 or email me at schrocksd@gmail.com