begatted

BEGATTED
those of you who are old testament scholars
know what begat means

for awhile i have been blogging and writing and talking
about doing organic gardening
especially the 4 ft square foot gardens
the keyhole garden
or some variation of them

so i enjoy it when i get to visit one that was created
using my blog and instructions on how to do it

i also receive via email and facebook pictures of the
ones that people do
altering it seems my recommendations to fit their needs

this weekend when i went to our family reunion i visited
one of my students
well she was my youngest sister

she wanted a garden but had the problem of shade
i mean lots of shade
and
lots of deer rabbits squirrels birds
those things that can decimate a garden
or
like the shade can  prevent or slow down its growth

this is her square foot garden

she took those cinder blocks or cement blocks
put 3 on one side and 4 on the other

now her problem was that the best spot with the
mostest sun
was on her asphalt driveway

yes you can garden on your driveway
her garden is proof of this

she added soil she got from the garden center
now what i add to the ones i do is the natural gardeners
hill country soil or they now call it all purpose garden blend
this garden will hold about 3/4 of a cubic yard of soil
i use this one as it has compost topsoil greensand granite sand
shale compost tea sulfur and terra tonic
its all ready to plant
or
you can make your own using the keyhole garden method
dirt manure compost greens like grass clippings kitchen waste
browns like leaves newspapers cardboard phone books all mixed
together which makes a rich soil

so she bought her soil locally
planted the garden
initially on the other side of the house
it got attacked by deer rabbits other varmints and the sun
wasnt right
you need for example 6 hours of sun to make eg tomatoes

so she moved it to its present location on the south side
its shady but it gets enough sun to grow most things

she added the top plates on top of each side
it makes it easier to sit on
she filled up the remaining holes and planted things
like rosemary
marigolds
strawberries
for some reason the deer wont bother the garden
she thinks its the rosemary she planted
maybe its the big owl there huh

she has tomatoes peppers strawberries cucumbers growing
right now

i can definitely visualize a great fall winter garden with
lettuces spinach broccoli asian greens winter peas beets
carrots doing quite well in this garden

here are my recommendations to her
she is limited by the location but the garden is doing well

add another layer of bricks to get more soil depth
things like tomatoes will like that extra 8 inches of soil

after the growing season
add 4 inches of a good organic compost to the soil
remember that you make yourself is the best
sprinkle some organic garden fertilizer on top of the compost
work it in if you want too
i just plant my veggies right in the compost

if you can find earthworm castings put a tbsp in the hole
when you plant the veggies
then
water them in with seaweed which has minerals and hormones
that stimulate the root growth

these two things will boost the growth earlier on

then just water them when they are dry

consider mulching the plants which slows down water loss
from the soil
in the winter it keeps the roots warm
in the summer it keeps the roots cooler
it also will break down eventually to compost and soil
i use leaves that yall donate to me

she also is growing this bell pepper in a five gallon bucket
it actually looks as well if not better than mine does

so
i guess i can add this to one of my begatted gardens
may there be a lot more of these

i think this year for our silent auction for the
organicgreendoctor team in the
williamson county to walk end alzheimers in georgetown
on saturday september 27, 2014

click on the team above if you want to donate or join our team

i will make one of these plus the soil plus come to your house
and put in place and help you  plant it

thanks sis for doing such a good demonstration garden
think ill use it in my ads for the silent auction

the organicgreen doctor

garden items

GARDEN ITEMS

this is my wife shes garden we put in last year
its made with concrete blocks that are stacked
side by side and two stacks high
with 4 1/2 blocks to each side
which gives a garden width dimension of 56 inches

each block is 8 in x 8 in x 16 in
cost is $1.34 per block
total blocks needed are 36
total cost $48.24

rebar 2 ft x 1/2 in are used in each corner and middle blocks
cost is $1.60
i used extra
total used 12
total cost $19.20

1 cubic yard of hill country soil was used to fill it up
buying in bulk is cheaper
cost $46.95

16+ 1 ft squares were planted with plants
at $1.50 per square
seeds if used are cheaper but some veggies do better
if planted from plants
total cost $20.00

estimated total cost $134.39

these costs are easily recouped the first season
remember these are all organic produce so check out organic
prices when you figure your recouped costs
eg one of my big onions is worth almost $4

this is a permanent structure thats easily dismantled if needed
it will not rot
you can paint the brick or as in the texas gardener you can
stain it with iron sulfate (ironite or copperas) solution for that
rust rustic look
2 cups in a gallon of water then place the brick in the solution
in a shallow tray with the solid side down for 2 minutes
then set in the sun to dry
you only need to do 1/2 of the brick

in my wife shes garden we added a central composter which
isnt necessary
not doing this opens up 1 ft square of planting
she fills it with garden waste and pours the water from
the fish tank in it

we also surrounded the bed with 2 ft of thick black plastic
pushed under the blocks then covered with crushed granite
this helps to keep the grass from growing into the garden

this garden eg at my wifes school will provide years of
gardening for the students at the school even after
she is retired

it is easy to build
just dig a trench thats level the width of the garden
place the bricks leveling each one
stagger the second level to help reinforce the structure

place the rebar in each corner and in the middle block
and use more if needed or if you want

add the soil and please only put in good soil
its the life blood of the garden
you have to start out with good soil
you can also make your own soil like the school did i
wrote about yesterday with the lasagna method
but for instant gratification use good soil to start

also before the soil is placed i would scrape off
all grass and lay a double layer of cardboard to suppress
weed and grass growth

then after the soil is placed

(be sure and fill up those square holes in the concrete blocks
with soil and plant things in them
like spinach strawberries etc)

plant your plants and plant the seeds
you are on your way

each season before planting add a good quality compost
to the beds
the best to use is the one you make yourself

for those who asked i hope this is useful

the organicgreen doctor

trashy garden

TRASHY GARDEN

this is a square foot garden that is made from concrete blocks
its is 31/2 blocks wide and 8 blocks long

when i was in practice i was always talking to patients about
gardening never politics or religion since my patient population
was such a diverse one from all over the world
but
one common interest was gardening

then when i retired many of my former patients began reading
this blog to keep up with what i was doing
of course
besides alzheimers disease i blog about gardening a lot

one of my patients reads my blog and was especially intrigued
by the keyhole gardens square foot gardens and my gardening
here at the country n

she and other parents wanted to put in a garden at their kids school
near here
she wanted it to be organic and to use some of the principles of
keyhole gardening and square foot gardening and of course
organic gardening

of course
as a reader of my blog she contacted me via facebook and email
about ideas on the garden

sorry
but when it comes to gardening its like alzheimers disease
ill talk your ear off and tell you a lot more than you want to know
so thats what i did

this mother even went to a
deb tolman presentation on keyhole gardening
that was done recently in this area
and she wanted to incorporate a lot of this into the garden

all of these techniques ive used to redo my garden here at the
country n and in the other school gardens like my wife shes garden
and the habitat gardens ive helped put in and the alzheimers auction
4 ft square foot garden ive done

these parents and school and kids accumulated funds and collected
recyclable stuff to be used in the garden
cardboard lots of it newspapers garbage grass clipping lots of leaves
egg cartons shredded paper etc
then they got a load of lady bug brand hill country soil
to use in the beds
you either have to make your own soil or buy a good quality soil to start
with

first the beds five of them were laid out all parallel to each other
and all level

laying these and getting them level and just right was the hardest
part of the project

the first two or three beds were done in the lasagna method of
gardening which involves layering of materials they obtained as
mentioned above
the features of the lasagna and keyhole and square foot gardening
are all interwoven
the difference with the lasagna method is that all the soil is made
from this recyclable stuff
which is how a pure keyhole garden is made

i use in my gardens a mixture of these
i layer with the cardboard newspapers leaves grass compost soil
and usually on the top part i use just plain hill country soil
the end result is fantastic soil and an unbelievable garden

ta da then they covered the top with the good soil
now all it has to do is cook and in a few weeks all this
will turn into soil
homemade soil which will be rich with nutrition
there are a lot of worms in the ground there so they will come
up and devour all that paper leaves etc and poop everywhere
making the soil better

then the mom got this acrylic plastic glass
removed some of the blocks in the end
so the kids could watch the soil breakdown
and watch the worms moving around eating the stuff
and watch the plants roots grow in the soil
what a great idea

i personally cant wait to see this garden develop
especially through this glass
what a great idea for the kids and the adult kids to see

they will now be planting these beds with plants
of course the lasagna garden part will have to breakdown
some before it can be planted

but the other beds which will be mostly the rich hill country soil
will be planted now

it was fun to see the kids enjoying themselves
especially making the lasagna garden
think playing in a big mud puddle
as they had to soak the cardboard in wheelbarrows of water
standing on the cardboard to hold it down
then as they layered all that stuff in the garden bed
they had to spray it down
and stomp it down like someone stomping grapes

they were soaked and muddy but quite happy
putting in this garden
now
they will get to plant it and watch it grow
and probably will eat plants theyve never eaten before
and
probably never would have

things like swiss chard broccoli kale cilantro spinach lettuce snap peas
carrots beets yes beets onions potatoes radishes etc this winter

they will always remember this experience
and hopefully they will incorporate this into their lives as they get older

i hope that i had some influence in all this
since after all thats one of my missions in life it to promote
organic gardening

thanks to mom mc for allowing me to  participate and be part
of all this

the organicgreen doctor

football pleasure

FOOTBALL PLEASURE
thats what i call it
football pleasure
being able to sit on my lounging comfortable couch

those who have been to the country n know what im
talking about
it holds at least three and maybe four full grown adults
completely lounged out
and
after big meals like on thanksgiving and christmas a
location to enjoy the games and a long afternoon nap

heck one of my brothers comes to visit just so he
can take over his spot for that afternoon snooze

this weekend on friday and saturday
i helped a local school put in their school garden using
concrete blocks to form the beds
it took a lot of work to set the blocks and get them
in place
heres one of my blocked out beds i worked on
well i worked on five of them

another row of bricks will be placed then
in layers in the bed
cardboard newspapers leaves grass clippings etc
will be added
then the rest will be filled with ladybug brand
hill country soil
then they will be ready to plant

after working doing this all weekend i was able to have my
football pleasure
saturday night football
and
sunday pregame and sunday all day football

of course the horns game was delayed and they changed
later to a channel i was not signed up for so i only saw
half the game
ok i fell asleep and woke up 2 hours later to find out
about the game delay
still it was football pleasure with that nap

then on sunday
setting up in my brothers spot
with my sunday newspaper
my note pad for landscaping
my blog schedule
my unread magazines
as i watch the games if it gets boring i start reading the paper
or doing paperwork
or doing a landscape plan which i have 3 im working on now
then
mix in with that some napping
and thanks to dvr
i never miss any of the game action now

thats what football pleasure day is like
usually a non productive day
we need these occasionally
like once a week

of course it was ruined somewhat by the last second
loss by the cowboys
that dez bryant what a talent he is
then
someone needs to slap him upside the head with his
helmet off
or kick him in the rear end
or send him to therapy
or maybe timeout
jason witten would be im sorry the last person in the world
i would get in their face and yell at

dear dez
jason whiiten on tv looks much bigger than you
he is tough as nails
heck he even played with a ruptured spleen
if i were you i would apologize to him
ok while you are at it apologize to the whole team
and to us too

my wife she lets me do this like on this weekend
because she was gone to the book festival all weekend
i cleaned the house well all week
i kept all dishes washed all week
i washed all the clothes all week
i cooked most of the meals
i do a lot of inside and outside honey dos like mowing
weed eating planting brush clearing wood cutting etc
so i do my chores and try to keep her happy all week
so i can have my football pleasure day

wait isnt that what some housewives do every week every month
for years
and they dont get football pleasure days

i never said life was fair did i
its the y gene thing

the organicgreen doctor

another one done, radio interview

ANOTHER ONE DONE

this year to raise funds for our walk to end alzheimers team
i decided to donate a 4 ft square organic garden that would
be installed by the organicgreen docotor thats me
and
we would auction it off to the highest bidder

the winner of the garden hg was excited as she swooped in
at the last minute and put down the highest bid for the garden
so
last week we arranged a time to put the garden in and plant
all the veggies for the fall

we started with a cedar frame of 2 in x 12 in cedar boards
then marked off 1 ft squares with metal wire

we first prepped the site by digging a level surface to place
the frame
hgs husband has over time used this location to mulch and
compost some leaves
so the topsoil there was quite rich

we then added a layer of cardboard and then several layers
of newspapers
they have a lot of worms in their yard so the worms will be
attracted to the cardboard and will eventually eat it and
make a good amount of deposits of earthworm doo
which is the best fertilizer to put in a garden
they also will crawl through and through the soil to keep
it well aerated

we then added the frame
then added a 1/2 yard of the natural gardeners lady bug
hill country soil with its minerals sand several composts

and then topped that with bags of the ladybug brand
square foot garden mix which uses coconut shavings to
help hold moisture for this small garden

we then added a 3 inch layer of lady bug barnyard compost
then we added a  sprinkling of lady bug 8-2-4 fertilizer and
topped this off with a light sprinkling of cotton seed meal
the fertilizer releases nitrogen slowly over the next few weeks
and the meal releases the nitrogen quicker for the plants

i scooped up a handful of this stuff and i swear it smells
so good that i could eat it like it was chocolate

then hgs younger daughter miss o came out and helped me
prep the garden as above and helped me plant all the veggies
for the garden watering it well with a seaweed solution
she added a lima bean she had grown at school
we are hoping for a nice warm winter on that one

we also left a few spaces so they could plant something else
later on

we planted these as i know that they will be successful in
the square foot garden in the fall
swiss chard kale cilantro broccoli asian greens lettuce spinach
multiplying onions snap peas-my favorites
i couldnt talk hgs hubbie into letting me plant beets
they will replant more spinach in a few weeks and more lettuce
and will plant a square of strawberries

these things should grow and produce all winter

bon appetite hg etal
thanks for the pictures and the donation


RADIO INTERVIEW

here is a national public radio kut austin link to an interview that i did along
with two others for the alzheimers association
there is an audio version and farther down the page a video

this will be running several times a day this month on kut 90.5 fm

the organicgreen doctor

make a difference

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
tonight we try to make a difference in the fight against alzheimers disease
as we hold our

silent auction at the beautiful venue the reunion grille in cedar park at 530-700 pm

come join our organicgreendoctor team and donate join and or bid on our
6 silent auction items

the reunion grille has agreed to donate 10% of the dining and drinks tonight
to this fight against this dreadful disease
tell your server you are with the alzheimers association auction

there is plenty of room for the kids to run and play and to play on the
nice playground

you may dine inside or out
despite the heat the area is shaded and breezy and is quite comfortable


local texas musician john lockhart will be singing tonight his country
western americana and popular music

those of you who i have not seen since i left that day december 22 2010
if you live in the area drop by and say hi and visit
feel free to bring the kids
we would love to see you again

here are the 6 items for auction


#1 the alzheimers memory quilt done by my friend dr ramona bates
here is her blog link on making the quilt



#2 a small quilt made again by dr bates
here is her blog link on making this piece
its the alzheimers flower forget me not in a vase

#3 an organic green 4 foot square garden sited and installed by
the organicgreen doctor
using 1 foot cedar boards to build the frame then
using the hill country garden soil and the lady bug brand of
square foot garden mix and lady bug barnyard compost and
a natural gardener gift card to buy your plants and seeds

the organicgreen doctor will assist you in planting your fall garden


#4 the new hp slate 7 tablet donated by a team member
here is a link that describes this new tablet

#5 a nolan ryan official mlb rawlings baseball personally autographed
by nolan ryan and graciously donated by an executive with
the texas rangers triple a round rock express baseball team
whose very close relative had alzheimers disease
thanks sir


#6 the dkr the royal scrapbook was donated yesterday
here is a link and video describing the book
darrel royal the well known ut football coach died
recently from alzheimers
he also has a foundation  the darrell k royal research fund for
alzheimers disease

here is our donation jar
even if you cant do a donation or bid on the silent auction items
feel free to throw your change in here

you will have done your part to help fight this terrible disease

be sure to visit the alzheimers association table tonight to join and or
donate to our team

the organicgreen doctor

now is your chance

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE
two of the goals of this blog is to raise awareness of
alzheimers and to encourage people to do organic gardening
so
now is your chance to do both next week
at
our silent auction at the reunion grille in cedar park 5:30-700pm
on september 4 2013

there is a 50 mile limit on this garden
thats 50 miles from the renion grille

i personally am excited
to be able to fulfill these two goals by building and installing
a four foot square raised garden for someone who
wins the bid for this garden

heres the ingredients
love for organic gardening
the need to encourage others to do it

i went to a local lumber yard and ordered 2 in x 12 in x 8 ft
cedar boards
i know by doing these several times that the foot width works much better
to hold moisture in and to provide more soil for the plants

in central texas they do better

here i the finished frame once the sawing and nailing was done

and added wire that separates it into 1 ft squares to make it easier to plant

then here is a side view which shows the depth of the frame

i will help prep the site by helping  you site the garden and prepare the
ground under the garden frame

it will look something like this without the composter
the ground will be scraped and dug out some
newspaper twigs cardboard will  be added at the bottom
to help cover up any weeds and to help hold moisture in the bottom of
the garden
worms will usually show up in large numbers eventually to eat the paper

i usually do a 1-2 foot border around the frame and cover it with mulch or
crushed rock

then we will add 1/2 cubic yard of the lady bug brand of hill country
garden soil
then on top of this we will add this stuff

this is lady bug brand square foot garden mix
it is about a 1/2 cu ft amount in these 4 large bags
it contains material organic of course to help the soil hold moisture

then
on top of this we add this stuff

this folks is what makes the garden work this top 2-3 inches of this lady bug
farm style compost
its the icing on the cake

then when we plant the garden well use cottonseed meal and worm castings to
give the plants a boost

then we give you a gift card to the natural gardener in austin to buy your plants

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO IT
you will be surprised this fall what you can grow in here and all winter long
remember the fall garden is the best time to garden here in central texas
lettuces of several kinds
spinach
broccoli
winter peas
carrots
beets
swiss chard
kale
asian greens
bokchoy
cilantro
arugula
oregano
cabbage
turnips
parsley
chives
garlic
onions
etc

i want you to be successful with this garden

if you want this garden but cant be there that night we/you can arrange for
someone to bid for you that night
just contact me

remember to donate or join our team that night or
you can do it online at this site for the walk to end alzheimers on
september 28th 2013

the organicgreen doctor

square foot garden

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN

i have made several of these 4 foot square gardens for friends
for the habitat houses and for my wife shes school

this year i decided to build a 4 foot square garden and donate
it to a silent auction to raise monies for our team organicgreendoctor
in the williamson county walk to end alzheimers
the silent auction will be at the reunion grille in cedar park
a nice venue for this
it will be the first week of september the exact date is being finalized

my friend has just finished the alzheimers quilt she made for the auction
she is a plastic surgeon who does quilting and does a blog for a hobby
when i receive it next week ill take pictures and will post more details
on it

heres the recipe for the 4 foot square garden that the
organicgreendoctor himself will personally build
help site the garden at the winners place
help chose the fall veggies to be planted
prep the site
and assist in planting the veggies in the fall garden

ingredients
love for organic gardening and the wish to inspire others to
do this type of gardening

32 feet of 2in x 6in x 8ft cedar boards
8 feet of 2in x 4in x 8ft cedar board

1/2 cubic yard of hill country soil from the natural gardener

4  2 cubic feet bags of lady bug brand square foot gardening blend
wire to separate garden into 1 foot squares
nails

instructions on what to plant in the garden in the fall and in
the spring
instructions on caring for the garden

on the site assessment i will look at sun exposure
you must have 6 hours or sun or you can not have veggies
growing in the garden

i will look for compass alignment looking for the best sun
exposure

i will look for light exposure for the summer and the winter
looking at trees shrubs etc that may affect the gardens
placement

then
i we since i want the new owner to get involved and get their
hands dirty and put in some sweat equity
will scrape out a square that is 8 ft x 8 ft
then a 4 ft square hole will be dug down to 12 inches
removing the soil to be used somewhere else or if its
good soil replace it in the hole
the bottom will be filled with newspapers and maybe
cardboard as this kills weeds and hold moisture in the soil
also worms love to eat newspapers

then the square foot garden frame will be placed on the new soil
a 1 foot wide layer of cardboard will be placed around the
new frame to help keep weeds and grass from growing
into the new garden

















it would look something like this without the central composter
and the frame would be 6 inches higher than this one

then the hill country soil and the square foot garden soil will be
placed in the frame

you now have a 4 foot square garden with a soil depth of 2 feet
that will work much better in this hot dry climate

this picture is on the square foot garden we planted at my wife shes
school which has concrete blocks instead of cedar but it gives
you a better idea of the height of this new square foot garden
that we will build

you also have 16 one foot squares to plant fall veggies
which i we will plant together

suggested fall plantings are
spinach
lettuce
beets
carrots
swiss chard
cilantro
kale and more kale
broccoli
snap peas
cabbage
asian greens
radish
cauliflower
brussel sprouts
chinese cabbage
onion
garlic
turnips
arugula
etc

so if youve always wanted a square foot garden at your place
come make a bid on this one at our silent auction
the garden will be built with love and hopes for years of
enjoyment of growing your own veggies

also the monies will be going to a good cause

the organicgreen doctor

new garden technique

NEW GARDEN TECHNIQUE
first there was the square foot garden that i wrote about in
several blogs such as this one

then there was the keyhole garden that i wrote about also
in several blogs such as this one

then there was the keyholeless square foot garden seen
on this blog
this one was made for one of the habitat houses

then there was the anthill garden or the hugelkunter method
of gardening in this blog

i was looking at my garden a few days ago and thought
each of these methods have benefits that make them a
good garden method
so what if i combine them all into one garden bed and gain
the benefits of all of them into one

so i did and i call it the hugelhunter keyholeless non square foot
garden

i use water troughs to make small ponds in to provide water for
our animals and for wildlife
i also added pond plants to make them attractive and
add goldfish and minnows to eat the mosquito larvae
its pretty and functional

one of my 4.5 ft in diameter 12 inch high ponds leaked
so i replaced it and took
the metal trough and cut out the bottom

then i went to my garden where i had a 4 ft x 6 ft square foot bed
and dug down into the soil for 20 inches
yes i hit rocky soil which is why using raised beds are the best
way to garden around here

(for those who dont know what the blue thing is its a rock bar
for those who dont know ill teach you what its used for just
come visit the country n sometime)

then i placed the circular trough over the hole i dug
like in the keyhole garden i added layers of cardboard on the bottom
and on the sides and covered that with layers of newspapers
this will eventually breakdown into soil and also captures
moisture in the soil
a real problem here with the drought-moisture
a central 4 ft high composter was also added to the middle of
the bed

then like in the hugelkunter or anthill garden i added limbs and
trunks from some downed trees
these will absorb and hold moisture into the soil and eventually
will also breakdown into soil and will also release its nutrients into
the soil

then i added layers of twigs
layers of dirt
layers of my country n shredded leaves with chicken manure and
feathers compost
layers of leaves
layers of newspapers

this is repeated until the circular garden bed is full

then i added a layer of good hill country soil from the natural gardener
then i will finally add a layer of good barn yard compost also
from the natural gardener

so now i have soil thats almost 3 ft deep and full of nutrient rich soon
to be soil that also will trap moisture
i will continuous feed nutrition into the bed with the central composter

im now replacing all 6 of my 4 ft x 12 ft beds with this method
without the central composter
to save on water use and to increase the depth of my soil and to
increase the nutrition in my soil

tadang
the organicgreendoctors hugelkunter anthill non square foot keyholes garden

could this be the answer to this areas home gardening with its gradually
decreasing rainfall and decreasing availability of water

the organicgreen doctor