The best site for a garden should incorporate the following: Six hours of sunlight daily, good drainage and air circulation, and a level location with loose, rich soil. There should also be a nearby source of water and access to tool storage and equipment.
This season for the Sister, Grow Your Own Series we will be growing cannabis, hemp, and vegetables. The location of our personal cannabis and hemp garden will be on our 50 sq foot deck. We are looking forward to having a deck garden because of the close connection to these plants and create educational content as a home grower. Our county, Humboldt county allows a home grow which does not exceed fifty (50) square feet or ten (10) feet in height.
Our 5,000 sq foot vegetable garden is also going to be planted straight into the native soil.
Leafy greens can handle less sun and crops that prefer cool weather, like lettuce, will continue to grow throughout the summer if they are shaded by taller plants or if you use shade cloth. In this video, you will see that one of our greenhouses has a shade cloth covering and the other has plastic. The shade cloth greenhouse is home to leafy greens as they appreciate the deflected sun. Where in the other greenhouse the tomatoes and peppers love the intense warmth the clear plastic provides.
If you would like to build your our Greenhouse check out our DIY Greenhouse Video next. This video has parts and how-to instructions included.
One of the biggest considerations for the location of any garden is the Sun. Most plants will grow their best with 6-8 hours or more of direct sunlight. Choose a full sun location site for your vegetable and cannabis garden.
Ideally, your garden should be close to both a source of water and you. Both Vegetables and Cannabis will need water on a regular schedule. If they get watered erratically it could cause all sorts of problems like the stem cracking open, not fruiting at all, or becoming prone to cultural problems like blossom end rot.
Chose a location that has good airflow, avoid planting next to a structure, or too close to other foliage. Other bushes can transport pests and even powdery mildew.
Soil is the most important factor in any garden. Soil is the basis of everything you grow in your garden. If the soil isn’t healthy, the plants won’t be happy. In an organic system, feeding the soil is a primary way to help nourish plants, fight disease, and even keep pests at bay. Healthy soil has a crumbly consistency, retains water well, and is alive with microorganisms.
This spring we burned brush, trees, and brambles from our property and burned the huge pile for over a week! To keep the massive fire contained we would push the native soil up around it. The heap smoldered for over 10 days creating Biochar
Biochar is carbonized wood. As it burns, wood releases all the volatile compounds that were in it, starting with water. Plant saps are burned off. Toxins are often neutralized. What’s left behind is pure carbon and ash. Biochar is a resource that can allow you to add fertility to the soil and improve its structure and water-retaining capacity.
Those of you home deck growers STAY TUNED we are thrilled to grow with you! Container cannabis garden up NEXT!!
You can still get our TRIO seed packs!
https://www.thegrowsisters.com/shop
If you are only interested in a small peaceful garden the basic tools include a: shovel, fork, trowel, and maybe a tiller. If you plan to cultivate a garden larger than 100 sq feet the one thing we suggest investing in tools. Gardening more or less can be broken down into 2 stages: preparing the garden and caring for the plants. To create the garden, you’ll be turning a lot of soil. Depending on the size of your proposed garden you will need to consider the tools. If you are planning for a larger garden we suggest hiring or purchasing the heavy equipment necessary to turn the soil and put in fencing.
One very important thing to consider is fencing. Fencing will keep the critters out. As you will see in this video we have put in a large deer fence so that we can keep our strawberries this year. And lastly, We highly suggest you get a cat. The best garden tool you will ever have.
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