Lifestyle Hacks

Gardening Hacks

PLANNING

  1. Draw out your garden plan. On the West side, plan to plant your corn or sunflower seeds (tallest plants) and move progressively down in size until you have your vining plants (cucumbers, etc.) on the East side of the garden (morning sun).
  2. No space should be blank. When a crop comes out, another goes in. Plan to run all crops year-long (depending on your zone). Certain crops can be grown indoors in the winter (e.g, micro-greens).

SEED GERMINATION

  1. Clean your hands, workstation, tools, pots well.
  2. Put your seeds in a cheesecloth ‘pouch’ (tied) and soak overnight in tea solution (cold, diluted pitcher made from regular tea bags/water or instant) to allow the tannic acids to soften the shell.
  3. 2 tbs Epsom salts = add to professional mix and fill your pot (small Styrofoam cup would work.)
  4. Mist the top of the soil with a weak solution of tea (don’t drench).
  5. Use a pencil and poke a hole in the soil. Use tweezers to place seed the hole.
  6. Use thumb to press it down and cover with soil.
  7. Mist with solution: 2 drops of liquid dish soap, 2 drops of ammonia and 1 drop of whiskey.
  8. Put all cups into a container to keep them from falling over and cover with a towel that has been made damp with the same solution.
  9. Put the container in the dark for 4 days in a warm room (68-72 degrees) during which time you will keep the towel misted/damp (put container on top of a heating pad if needed.
  10. Put container in a south or eastern facing window with a 60-watt grow light and turn on from 3-11pm.
  11. When seedlings have 2 full leaves. Transfer into a clay pot.
  12. Feed them on a regular basis with this solution: ¼ tsp fish emulsion, 2 drops of liquid dish soap, 1 drop of whiskey and a quart of water. Treat just like a houseplant (until/if you put them outside.)

SOIL CONDITIONING

  1. Always use basic soil formula: 1/3 sand (drainage) + 1/3 clay (slows water down) + 1/3 pro-mix.
  2. For each peck of soil, add ¼ cup Epsom salts, ¼ cup coffee grounds, 4 eggshells dried in the microwave. This is for containers. For raised beds (50 square ft) add 2 pounds of lime, 5 pounds of dirt, ¼ pound Epsom salt. Mix together well. In the ground dirt, 100sf 5lbs, fertilizer, 1 pound of sugar, half a pound of Epsom salts.

SOIL ENERGIZING TONIC | SPRING

  1. Use a sprayer (‘bucket’ attached to your hose) to distribute evenly: 1 can of beer + 1 cup liquid dish soap + 1 cup antiseptic mouthwash + ¼ tsp instant tea. Put all into sprayer and fill the balance with regular (sugared) cola.
  2. Overspray the soil to the point of runoff.
  3. One week later, re-spray the soil with the same tonic and then it’s ready to plant.