Has anyone ever planted a "natural" garden? How did it work for you?

[redback]

Don't know what happened - I didn't log in first maybe.
Sorry @GreenhouseGoblin.

 

[Meadowlark]

Nothing like the taste of fresh garden corn. I'm curious what variety do you grow @GreenhouseGoblin?

Corn is a heavy "feeder". Tell us about your second crop of corn and where you grew it and what you did to the area after growing the first crop, please.

 

[GreenhouseGoblin]

Nothing like the taste of fresh garden corn. I'm curious what variety do you grow @GreenhouseGoblin?

Depends on the year. I alternate between Honey Select and Incredible. Honey Select has a better flavor and freezes better, at least to me. But Incredible usually germinates better, especially in a bad year.

Tell us about your second crop of corn and where you grew it and what you did to the area after growing the first crop, please.

The second crop of corn was grown on the other side of the garden. I do opposite sides every year. I was told a long time ago that it helps with insects. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I've never had problems and I've been doing that since I started growing.

What did I do with the first natural garden patch?
Well, first I just left it sit for about two months after the corn was done, the birds loved it. Then I took a Bush Hog mower over it and mowed it all down. I then moldboard plowed it do all of the leftovers could decompose. Then in the spring (2019) I put the manure on it at the end of March beginning of April. I planted tomatoes and potatoes in that spot in 2019.

Meadowlark, please let me know if this post fully answers your question.

 

[Meadowlark]

Meadowlark, please let me know if this post fully answers your question.

Yes, thank you. Let me tell you that IMO you are a Natural at this gardening game. Highly skilled. I am in awe of your progress.

You have incorporated another basic tenant of what I embrace in gardening...crop rotation. That is the reason I asked you the question I did...to see if you practiced crop rotation...and you passed with flying colors!!

What you did to that corn patch after harvest was also right on. You did chop and drop and green manure application and then manure application...exactly as I do. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to grow a cover crop there before you plowed it under. Absolutely nothing wrong about what you did however. My compliments FWIW.

Honet select is my favorite corn to grow...and I might add also several members here claim it as a favorite. I was not aware of a variety called Incredible Honey Select . I haven't seen it in any of the seed sources I use. I'd like to try some. Can you recommend a source for the Incredible?

I never thought I would ever change from Honey select, but if you say the other is better, I want to try it.

Thanks...awaiting another installment

 

[redback]

This topic is worth rereading. Firstly, is a sprawling wildflower meadow that is full of native plants - and then it changes to edible food with flowers and welcome wildlife - now it's small monocultures done with machinery.
All of these efforts are innovative and none are too wild. They all feel like they are transitioning into heathier, tastier and more varied landscapes.

 

[Meadowlark]

This topic is worth rereading.

Yes, it is an excellent thread. I've enjoyed it.

 

[GreenhouseGoblin]

Honey select is my favorite corn to grow...and I might add also several members here claim it as a favorite. I was not aware of a variety called Incredible Honey Select . I haven't seen it in any of the seed sources I use. I'd like to try some. Can you recommend a source for the Incredible?

So, the variety is called Incredible, just that one word, Incredible. I buy all of my seeds from E & R Seeds LLC, in Monroe, Indiana. They are Amish owned and operated, so there is no website. You can request a catalog my calling them @ (260) 692-6827, or by mailing your request to: 1404 E 200 S, Monroe, Indiana 46772.

I never thought I would ever change from Honey select, but if you say the other is better, I want to try it.

I think there is some confusion here. I have found that Incredible germinates better if the weather is very good. Actually, like you I prefer Honey Select for flavor. But it usually only reaches a maximum germination rate of about 90% for me. The Incredible on the other hand is always 90% germination or better.

I will address some of your other comments in my next long post. Some of what you talk about I have started doing.

 

[Meadowlark]

My bad I thought Incredible was an improved variety of Honey Select but that was my error.

I find Honey Select seed germination is very dependent on soil temps and moisture. The soil temp has to be above 60 deg F or germination is sporty at best. This is one case where I actually use a soil thermometer to check.

As you know, it is critical to get each seed to germinate at the same time to the extent possible so that they will tassel at the same time later. I find that being careful to point each seed in the same identical direction (and depth) really makes a difference in getting simultaneous germination. It is tedious to plant that way, but it really helps.

 

[redback]

What you did to that corn patch after harvest was also right on. You did chop and drop and green manure application and then manure application...exactly as I do. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to grow a cover crop there before you plowed it under.

Ohio might be snowed under in winter. In Australia you definitely would plant that cover crop. If you leave the chopped corn remnants on the top of the soil here most of the carbon is evaporated into the air. Whereas the green crop keeps the soil surface temperature much lower, the winter rains infiltrate the soil better and you end up capturing vastly more carbon in the soil.
Actually, in my small patch I rake up the plant remnants and add them to the compost. That way I don't suffer nitrogen drawdown because the compost is loaded with nitrogen.

 

[GreenhouseGoblin]

Tonight I'm just going to make some general observations and discoveries I've made doing natural gardening.

Cover Cropping
I'll start with cover cropping, since @Meadowlark and @redback were talking about it.

When I started doing natural gardening I didn't even give cover crops a thought. Sure, I knew they were there, but I had never needed them before, so why need them now?
Well, in 2019 while searching the web for information about turnips, I found an interesting article that talked about using them in a mixture of cover crop. I made the decision right there to try a cover crop in the fall.

In the fall when it came time to plant the cover crop I had done a little research on what makes a good cover crop. But I still had a problem, what would come back the best in the spring?
No one that I knew did garden cover cropping. Some of the local farmers cover cropped their fields, but that was either wheat or cereal rye. I figured my best bet would be just to wing it. I'd plant a mixture of different cover crops and see which ones grew the best, and came back the best in the spring.

I planted clover, (white and purple) turnips, wheat, radishes, and somewhere I read sunflowers, so I mixed some of them in, too. Everything except for the sunflowers came back nicely in spring.

My findings on cover crops were:
1. The ground tilled easier, I attributed this to the deep root crops.
2. The soil required fewer passes with the tiller to make it ready for planting.
3. There were a lot more worms, ground beetles, etc. close to the surface.
4. Before I tilled the cover crop under I noticed that the rain water didn't pool as long. I decided that more earth worm holes meant better drainage.
5. There were more native above ground insects.
6. The ground appeared to warm faster.

Since then I have always planted a cover crop. A long term observation I've made is my top layer of subsoil is building at faster rate than it used to.

Insect Repellent/Killer

I try to avoid using insecticide at all costs, even organic mixes. But when the need arises I use a mix of Neem Oil and Pyrethrin. The only times I will use it are for potato bugs and some various squash bugs. When I do need to use I go out just before the sun sets. I will spray until it's dark outside. Why do I spray close to dark? Here are my main reasons:
1. Most pollinators have gone to bed by that point. I want to expose our pollinator friends to it as little as possible. Just because it is an organic spray, doesn't mean it won't harm them.
2. Sprays are less volatile in lower humidity and cooler weather. That is they are not as likely to micro-vaporize causing harm by floating around in the air being breathed in.
3. You won't harm plants by spraying at night. If you water or spray plants during the heat if the day you can harm them by the hot steam and humidity that is created as it evaporates.
4. Sprays are more effective when sprayed/applied at night.

Herbicide

I don't use herbicide, even so called organic herbicides, end of story.

If there is anything you would like me to post about please let me know and I will gladly do it.

 

[Meadowlark]

Cover Cropping

You might find the thread referenced below interesting. I use a lot of turnips and Daikon radish mixed in with my winter covers.

On the path to 6 consecutive years of No N, P, K Required

Background For the past 5 consecutive years, my spring starting beds have tested " No N, P, K required" without the use of any synthetic fertilizers. For the past thirty years or so, this same soil has had zero pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides applied...and any other "cides". It is my...

www.gardening-forums.com

That radish penetrates the soil two feet, brings up good stuff with it, and has a very mild tasty top that gets huge. The turnips provide a bonus in food as I love to eat them all winter. The only downside using these I see is it can take at least a couple of weeks to assimilate all that organic matter into the soil.

Good work on your non-use of chemicals.

I'm kind of curious what you do to attract pollinators and especially butterflys which I find totally fascinating.

 

[redback]

Since then I have always planted a cover crop. A long term observation I've made is my top layer of subsoil is building at faster rate than it used to.

Does it snow most of winter? That would explain the sunflower failure.
The improved soil texture has to do with carbon and fungi loosening the soil compaction. Probably planting a mix of crops also helps.
I await the next episode.

 

[redback]

Does it snow most of winter?

To answer my own question -does it ever. So those cover crops survive and reemerge in spring. It is obvious to most of you I guess but we get no snow here.

 

[Heirloom farmer1969]

So, the variety is called Incredible, just that one word, Incredible. I buy all of my seeds from E & R Seeds LLC, in Monroe, Indiana. They are Amish owned and operated, so there is no website. You can request a catalog my calling them @ (260) 692-6827, or by mailing your request to: 1404 E 200 S, Monroe, Indiana 46772.

I think there is some confusion here. I have found that Incredible germinates better if the weather is very good. Actually, like you I prefer Honey Select for flavor. But it usually only reaches a maximum germination rate of about 90% for me. The Incredible on the other hand is always 90% germination or better.

I will address some of your other comments in my next long post. Some of what you talk about I have started doing.

I planted a many incredible corn seed along with tendertreat when I was growing up helping my parents.
Them two varieties along with peaches and cream was what was planted around these parts long before honey select came on the scene.
If you like bi color sweet corn, you need to try serendipity. I always grow at least 5 or 6 rows of it . It's like eating honey select but mixed with a white variety.

 

[Meadowlark]

My findings on cover crops were:
1. The ground tilled easier, I attributed this to the deep root crops.
2. The soil required fewer passes with the tiller to make it ready for planting.
3. There were a lot more worms, ground beetles, etc. close to the surface.
4. Before I tilled the cover crop under I noticed that the rain water didn't pool as long. I decided that more earth worm holes meant better drainage.
5. There were more native above ground insects.
6. The ground appeared to warm faster.

Have you observed that plants grown in soil that was cover cropped have a significantly greater tolerance for lower temps than otherwise? Kind of a take-off on your #6.