I took some courses for the being a Master Gardener…I’m not sure it’s really worth it if you want a more alternative viewpoint. Unfortunately, they are through the Ag Extension, so they ultimately advocate a lot more “industry” things than I’m personally comfortable with.
Are you familiar with David the Good? He’s from Florida, now in AL and has a prolific YouTube channel with lots of gardening advice. He shoould have some good insights for you since he has a similar climate (He used to be a Certified Master Gardener, but gave it up because he was tired of the big ag party line recommendations).
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I’m not sure what you would learn in a course that you couldn’t figure out for yourself with books and online tips for free, while actually growing a garden of your own. Keep it simple at first, maybe just 10 things… kale, beets, etc. What you observe in your growing region with your soil and your veggie choices will tell you most of what you need to know in the first year.
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Look up David the Good! He has a book on FL survival gardening and lots of YT videos on growing in southern sand. My sweet potatoes practically grew themselves in my southern sand last summer. Have you tried them in the ground?
Add High Mowing Seeds to your list! They have all non-GMO. Sadly, Johnny’s is not a completely non-GMO safe supplier as (I’ve read) one of their suppliers does also do GMO. I don’t remember which one. I saw it either here on on the Ice Age Farmer channel.
When planning your garden, remember that lettuce is tasty, but it won’t keep you going. Corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, true yams, cassava, storage pumpkins - higher calorie things will be what you and friends/neighbors need this fall.
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Thats what I did started 2 years ago with lots of help & hints from friends and https://www.almanac.com/
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Hi Permiegirl! We have been using a “wonder waterer” for a number of years, it presents a light spray that does a good job of keeping our soil blocks intact. We only use rainwater for seed starting, our ground water has high dissolved solids and high pH as well.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/watering-and-irrigation/hand-watering/wonder-waterer-9102.html
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Thank you ptcdn, Dan Beer, Guinify, Kayje, pvhinqvt. I so appreciate your advice! If I can fit in the time, I may take the class…I’d like to meet other gardeners and learn more about the best things to plant here. My garden is all organic and I intend to keep it that way, but I would use a chemical solution if it was that or my family being fed. My garden is a source of joy…I love (there is no other word) my seedlings when they come up, and mystery. I am still puzzling over the eggplant paradox, in which I planted 3 eggplants the first spring and had a bumper crop, followed by the next spring where I planted six, line up my Italian recipes in anticipation and got only one runty, wizened eggplant. Thanks so much for your responses!
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Question for this amazing group: anyone have experience with Black Walnut trees. We have several near our best gardening location. And we get conflicting information on how far from the canopy we need to plant, without boxes.
in spite of all fresh materials and precautions, I’m having problems with damping off. Tried the spices, probably too late.
Any ideas? Does anybody have a good program of eradicating damping off? Otherwise I’m forced to buy seedlings.
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I started my Master Gardener course this January. I live in the Kansas City, Missouri area. I’ve done organic vegetable gardening on my own for ten years, gaining knowledge through books and videos. I am finding that it’s a good way to round out my knowledge, touching on things I haven’t done or known before, like growing brambles, fruit trees, soil structure, etc. and what cultivars work best for our local area based on climate and soil. Also, I know myself, and I learn better with a structured program. I am also wanting to network with other gardeners as a way of learning as well and volunteer hours are required to get the Master Gardener status. My heart, for over 10 years now, is to help people establish their own victory gardens and have local food resilience. This helps me do that. As far as the organic question, my heart is also to grow organically and the universities do seem to treat chemical applications as de facto. I will meet people where they are to get them to garden. My hunch, though, is that chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not going to be available pretty soon, so knowledge of organic, sustainable practices are key. Hope that helps!
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Don’t forget Walnuts are FOOD trees. Plan on harvesting the walnuts. Yes, the husks are a dirty pain, but an excellent source of protein and good oils. Do not mulch with husks.
You will not want the nuts to drop into your vegies, and they drop outside the canopy in a heavy wind.
You want to be outside the roots, about twice the branch line, unless it’s an old tree that has been trimmed back.
If you have good soil soil, you might be able to grow less sensitive plants within 30-40 ft. I remember somebody saying elderberries aren’t sensitive? The better your soil, the less problems. You also might be able to dump 5-6 inches of soil on top of your sod and get some shallow, less sensitive items closer to the tree.
I would test. Do radial lines of less sensitive vegies out starting about 30’ or outside the canopy on a bigger tree. and see what grows well where. No tomatoes, potatoes or other nightshades, so you couldn’t rotate those into areas close to the trees.
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also seasonality - depending on where you are, you may be able to replace early spring vegetables with fall crops. The thing with lettuce is you can’t store it. kale dries well.
There is a lot of conflicting information out there and, as someone who has a ridiculous number of walnut trees, I’m not really sure what is true about them. Our best garden spot has several small, but old walnuts we removed last year. When I was a kid, we had a fantastic garden in that spot with enormous tomato plants (which people generally say aren’t compatible with walnuts.) Last year I grew buckwheat and beans in the area without problems. I didn’t mulch the branches, but so far I haven’t encountered problems from growing near them. You’ll just have to experiment and see what’s true for you in your garden. Inoculating your plants with mycorrhizal fungi and other beneficial microorganisms may help them, I don’t know. (Buckwheat is non-mycorrhizal and was closest to the walnut trees.) I know that wouldn’t counteract the allelopaths, but it might give your crop plants enough nutrition and vigor to withstand them.
Today I saw a video from Goshen Prepping that recommended spraying 3% peroxide solution to stop fungal growth. She grows a LOT of vegetables and seems quite knowledgeable in general. I haven’t tried this particular approach.
I also bought Tattler lids at the beginning of Covid. As you say, take some getting used to, but peace of mind is priceless. I’ve had a couple of jars that refused to seal with Tattler but finally did with Ball lids. I marked them for the future.
Julie
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Hello Helix2. I also live on coastal Georgia and have an organic garden. Would love to meet you if you aren’t too far away.
Yeah, that would be great. I am leaving for 3 weeks of travel but after that, sure.
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Thanks so much, TheGreenMother. For your advice, and also for what you are doing to help people establish local food resilience.
That would be great. I’ve been in the community since 2009 and haven’t had the luxury of meeting any members.(Not without trying of course). Would be GREAT to connect with others interested in resilience here on the coast of Georgia.
I use Southern Seed Exchange and in fact used them again this year. They have changed their packaging and pricing to something that is more efficient and cost effective for the smaller gardener. They have eliminated the pretty seed bags and replaced them with small plastic bags. The shipping packaging has also changed to something more compact (see below). I planted these seeds on Wednesday, March 3, 2022 after soaking them overnight. They have already germinated and sprouted (see the photo below). Another seed source I have used is HossTools.com.
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