Garlic/Pepper Tea

[Lindalana]

Tania, I am much interested in permaculture and while my perennial shady garden is doing quite well with no watering or fertilizing I mean chemical stuff... I have my veggie garden on community plot where everyone grows the same year after year and diseases are rampant. I do have lots of ladybugs this year and some worms. Do you think it is possible to garden on small property surrounded by everyone else and still get ahead without using much of sprays?

[Tania]

Originally Posted by Lindalana

Tania, I am much interested in permaculture and while my perennial shady garden is doing quite well with no watering or fertilizing I mean chemical stuff... I have my veggie garden on community plot where everyone grows the same year after year and diseases are rampant. I do have lots of ladybugs this year and some worms. Do you think it is possible to garden on small property surrounded by everyone else and still get ahead without using much of sprays?

I think it is hard, but possible, if you are ready for some losses.

In Canada, the community gardens are 100% organic. No chemicals are allowed. Folks also complain about diseases, but they are still hauling quite nice loads of harvest.

From our own experience - I'll take late blight as an example, as this is the most devastating tomato and potato disease - we have our container garden in the open, and it gets blight with the first heavy rains in August. 5 meters away from the plot I have tomatoes growing on the deck under a partial roof overhang. These always survive at least 2-3 weeks longer, just because of the cover. Tomatoes under plastic cover in the main garden (about 50' away from the blighted area) survive well into October, until I am tired of picking and ask my helpers to pull the plants. No sprays, it is just cover and good ventilation. Greenhouse would not work because of poor ventilation. Plastic cover works to manage late blight.

Managing insect pests is much easier, as you can do interplanting with other things that confuse pests.

[Tracydr]

I do a lot of inter planting. Sometimes the results are messy and sometimes it looks very nice. I put my herbs all over the place, along with things like radishes and celery which I allow to go to seed.
In AZ it was rare for me to spray. Only occasionally for mites or BT for worms.
I'll have to see how that works now that I'm in the middle of big AG country.

[Lindalana]

Thanks much for replies! Hmm, plastic cover... By chance is there pic on you site?

[Tania]

Originally Posted by Lindalana

Thanks much for replies! Hmm, plastic cover... By chance is there pic on you site?

First pic shows fully covered beds, the second shows the same bed with plastic rolled up.

[Lindalana]

Thank you so much for pictures! Now that makes me think! How it is being watered? Soaker hose?