GIY Challenge
My name is Antonio and I have a passion for health and a passion for farming. I am excited to take part in this challenge and I hope to push myself to unlock my true potential. I believe in eating your nutrients, so I wish to grow all my produce as natural as possible. My garden is ALL natural and organic. I will not be using any artificial fertilizers such as rooting salt or nutrex etc... or any harmful pesticides/fungicides/herbicides.
I will feed my plants compost which have been prepared months in advance and fertilizers from natural sources such as eggshells for calcium or Epsom salt for magnesium. I will also use organic pesticide/fungicide such as neem oil, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, liquid soap, baking soda.
I have entered in the Large Kitchen Garden.
GARDEN AREA: 7ft wide and 17ft long= 119 square feet.
GARDEN BEDS:
I used Recycled Steel Barrels that were used for fragrance oil so it isn't toxic.
6 beds are 2ft*3ft = 36 sq. ft.
4 beds are 2ft*2ft =16 sq. ft.
4 buckets 1ft*1ft= 4 sq. ft.
Total area of the beds amounts to 56 square feet.
I put Coconut Husk and Gravel Stones in the beds for drainage.
SOIL: A complete mixture of my Home-made Compost with vermicomposting, Cocopeat, Top Soil, Clay Soil, Coconut Husk, Cow Manure, Limestone, Organic Matter, Fine Gravel.
The soil needs three main components.
1. Ph Balance so the plant can absorb nutrients.
2. Varied particle sizes for air spaces, drainage and to reduce the risk of fungus by allowing roots to penetrate soil deeply.
3. Nutrients (minerals, microorganisms)
It took me 3 days to mix the soil for all the beds. I stayed up at night to ensure the plants were planted on deadline of 25th April 2022.
Short Term Crops: Lettuce, Celery, Chive, Parsley, Shadon Beni
Long Term Crops: Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Cucumbers, Melongene, Cabbage.
I bought cauliflower but it looks like cabbage; we'll find out together.
Next video: I will be making trellis for cucumbers and posts for the tomatoes.
