And The Beet Goes on.

I must make a confession, I am not Steve McShane. I don’t know about PH in soil like he does, I don’t know why the wisteria in my parents yard turns completely yellow and though I work at a nursery I never had a flourishing garden in my backyard. I got my B.A in English literature, I loved Shakespeare not camellias, yet the nursery business called my name and I have been making it my home for the past year.

This blog will have many things:

1. It will go through my first time urban gardening experiences. I will tell you my gardening victories and my failures with the knowledge that I have gained as a nursery assistant manager plus some insight from plant expert Steve McShane himself.

2. We will be having guest gardener spots where different gardeners will write about their gardening experience and tips.

3. Just plain fun. So if you are excited please read on…..

As a Californian by birth I have seen great gardens all over. Gardening was always a very “hip” thing to do, yet my family was never really into it therefore when I got a job at a local nursery after I received my B.A my parents were a bit confused. However, being the lovely parents that they are, they were just proud of me for going out into the work force.

As we can see the economy is not what it used to be, and being a young adult at this time I see my generation struggling even more. Now more than ever people my age are moving back home. Good news for my parents is that I have not had to do that but I do see the grocery bill get more and more expensive every time I go to shop. It is therefore my edible garden that is going to be in full effect very soon.

If there is one thing I have learned from being in the garden business for the past year is that soil is everything. Pre-garden experience Morgan would have thought that putting the tomato plants in the soil in my backyard and just watering would create Roma tomatoes like the ones at Safeway. Unfortunately, that is not how it works.

The micro nutrients in soil feeds the plants, makes them strong, and in edible gardening it helps them produce great veggies and herbs. The soil in my backyard has lots of clay and is not very good therefore I am going to prep my soil with some great organic fertilizers and soil conditioner.

Bumper crop is a blend of composted fir bark, forest humus fortified, and chicken manure. This stuff is amazing and it comes in 2 cubic feet sized bags that are a perfect size for my small backyard. I am also going to add mycorrhiza, which is a fungus. Pound for pound mycorrhiza provides plants with the greatest possible benefit for the smallest amount of input. This great organic fungus will make my edible garden produce great veggies and herbs.

Remember that soil is what makes or breaks a great garden. To find out about more organic products for your garden you can always go to our Library of garden advice.

If you would like to be a guest gardener please e-mail me at sp@mcshanesnursery.com!!!