Fertilizer problems? Foods to grow in lean soil, flowers too

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Organic Gardening, Jul/Aug 1994.

Because Y2K may disrupt the supply of fertilizer, natural and chemical, you might want to consider the following for not-so-rich soils (summarized article):

Edibles: Beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, beans (and other legumes), radishes, sage and thyme.

Non-edibles: achillea, antennaria, artemisia, asclepias, centranthus, cerastium, coreopsis, echinops, eryngium, gaillardia, salvia, santolina, solidago and stachys.

This is not to say you cannot grow other plants in poor, but they will not do nearly as well as they do in ordinrary or rich soils.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), April 22, 1999

Answers

Add to the list Nasturtium,...which are ornamental and wonderful in salad...they hate rich soil....

Old git...I'll sit near your garden any day for a chat.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), April 22, 1999.


Right, Donna! And did you know you could pickle the green nasturtium seeeds and use in place of capers? (Not Jones--those little green thingies you use on fish and stuff.) Not that I know anyone who uses capers in quantity--one small jar should last me through the next few years, I like 'em in egg salad.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), April 22, 1999.

Our experience with nasturtiums is that they attract aphids. Might be a useful diversionary companion crop.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), April 22, 1999.

and don't forget cover crops that are planted off season and then turned under to enrich the soil.....especially those that produce nitrogen.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), April 23, 1999.


The Cherokee Indians practiced a three crop system: first plant corn when the trout lilies bloom, then when the corn reachs about 2 ft high, plant pole beans (adds nitrogen to the soil). Then a bit later plant pumpkins. As the corn makes, the beans climb the cornstalks and make, then as the summer moves on the pumpkin vines fill the void. All on the same piece of land. Problem now is that non-hybrid corn seed appears to be in very short supply.

-- Les Holladay (holladayl@aol.com), April 23, 1999.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ