CC Squared Back to Basics Gardening

30/08/2024

02/06/2023

Goooooooood day folks!!!!

Hope everyone has had a great start to the growing season!

This year was a tricky year for myself and found every pothole in the germination road this year. Thankfully things sort of worked themselves out and all is right as rain. I do have extra stock of some tomatoes and peppers. So I'm passing the savings into you!!!

Tomatoe varieties: Beefsteak, Money Maker, Manitoba, Sub Artic plenty (cherry) and black cherry

Peppers: Jalapeno, Habanero and Cayenne

I can also do hosta cuttings if you would like to take a walk through the hosta bed.

Certain seeds will be available as well. PM me for seed interest.

Plants will be $3-5 and cuttings will be priced according.

Let's get growing and see you in the gardens!

13/03/2023

Saw this and I think it’s fantastic dollar store idea. You can go one step further and find a bug net and cover them with that.
Bada-bing!
Bada-boom!

06/03/2023

Compost tea is one of those under utilized arts. Sure it may be a bit more out there but the benefits most definitely outweigh the downside of working with p**p.
All you need is a bucket, something like a sleeve or a pillow case, a fish pump with a tube (air stone optional), a shady spot to let it sit.
After it has steeped, it’s all about personal preference when it comes to colour but remember that those microbes will only have a finite amount of food to eat so try and use it up as sooner than later.

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Benefits of Compost Tea

Compost tea is a good overall plant health booster (a little like vitamins for people), and healthy plants are better able to resist pests and diseases.

Good tea improves soil health. A healthy soil is less likely to leach nutrients down beyond plant root zones. If soil is nutrient-rich, the need for fertilizer is minimized.

Compost tea improves the water retention capacity of soil, which reduces the need for frequent watering.

Soil structure is improved with regular applications of compost tea. (Good soil structure is important for nutrient and water retention and accessibility.) The biological components in a soil are what create its structure. For good structure, all organism groups in the food web—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and micro arthropods—need to be present. When you add tea, you add these microbes.

Compost tea helps loosen clay soils for air and water to move, and helps sandy soils retain water and nutrients.

Plant root growth is stimulated by compost tea applications. Deeper roots retain moisture better and help to reduce runoff.

When sprayed onto plants, compost tea adds beneficial microbes to foliage. By occupying leaf surfaces, these organisms prevent potential disease organisms from gaining a foothold.

Compost tea combats the negative impact chemical-based pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have on beneficial microorganisms.

Unlike store-bought fertilizers, tea recipes can be developed and fine-tuned to target specific conditions and plant needs.

https://www.almanac.com/content/how-make-compost-tea

19/02/2023

Nailed it.

Have you ever failed to eat an ice cream cone fast enough on a hot summer day? What happens when an ice cream cone gets wet?

Mush. It turns to mush.

What do seeds and plants need? Water. They need water.

This will not end well.

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
🌱 +🍦 = ❌🚫⛔️🛑

15/02/2023

I’m a huge fan of not caring about what something was designed to do, but what else can it do.
In this case, what it was designed to do is exactly what is needed. It’s the ”for whom” that changes. Small dog water bowl with a reservoir for water. Fill the bowl with rocks or marbles and BINGO BANGO! You have a pollinator water station.
A simple clay pot with a base can be a great system too. As long as the insect has a way to get out of water if it’s too deep, you’re in business. Shallow containers tend to evaporate too fast especially on the hot days when the water is needed most.

All just ideas to help the cycle keep going round.

🐜🐞🐛🐝🦋🕷🦟🦗🪲🪰

11/02/2023

FACTS ABOUT CUCUMBERS
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your taps, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the
shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!