Urban Survival Secrets

Spring is here – Spring Gardening

Here at the Compound, spring is in the air. We were late starting the garden for food stores, no biggie. Weather has really been funky, so we rode it out. Typically, we plant in early March or Late Feb. With April coming up on us quickly, well, I had to push the point.

We are using a modified Square foot gardening method. You see, the soil here in AZ has a bunch of clay. When mixed right with manure, compost and peet, we have a pretty sweet mix. It also has a tendency to neutralize the acids in the manure quickly. Another thing is that our compost took a while to get to compost quality as I left it for my middle son to manage. Come to find out, if I was not standing over him, the pile did not get turned, so we just had a bunch of lawn clippings sitting in a pile. Argh!

As mentioned, we made a composter out of a drum, 2×4′s and casters. We learned a few valuable lessons, which will only be shared with the SUBSCRIBERS of USS in an upcoming issue. We will also discuss planting and harvesting, along with a few other goodies to make sure that survival planning is a year round event that is really easy on you.

A funny thing while at Home Depot today. Looks like everyone is getting in on the Square Foot Gardening. HD even had the SFG bagged dirt mix for $12.95! About 3 x more expensive than what it costs me to make. Anyhow, when looking at the planter they built, it was well constructed. At first, I noticed the color of the wood and did a double take. One of the vendors in the gardening section said that they Homer who built it used pressure treated lumber! PT lumber is a no-no as it will kill the vegetation and will poison the harvest! The vendor also mentioned that they have had some problems with plant survival. I will be back next week to get a good laugh.

If you are wondering what to plant for your garden, get a hold of your local land grant university and ask them for a planting guide. Here in AZ. the University of Arizona (my school) publishes for each county and region. It is a nice guide which tells you when to plant and whether you should be planting transplants, seeds or cuttings. NICE!

Well enough for now.