Improving your soil is one of the best things you can do to make your gardening life easier. You don’t have to buy stuff in bags or spend a lot of money. Some plants will do the hard work for you. Budget gardening that is earth-friendly!
Blog Post: https://www.flowerpatchfarmhouse.com/plants-that-improve-soil-health/
How to Grow Lupines: https://www.flowerpatchfarmhouse.com/lupines/
Winter Sow Yarrow: https://www.flowerpatchfarmhouse.com/winter-sow-yarrow/
BORAGE SEEDS: https://sh2543.ositracker.com/147548/9151/url_30031
Hi, I am Pamela and I garden in the mountains of Northern California. Though I am in Zone 8, I have a short growing season and many challenges that I overcome. I love to talk gardening and share my small, compact, and jam-packed gardens with everyone!
Resources:
Favorite Seed Sources:
🌹Renees Garden Seeds: https://sh2543.ositracker.com/147548/9151
🌹Botanical Interests: https://bit.ly/41btmlo
🌹Select Seeds: https://www.selectseeds.com/
🌹Garden Snips: https://amzn.to/4gxUfnX
Fertilizer and Root Enhancers
🌹ORGANIC REV: https://bit.ly/3LsQlxL
Use this code to get 10% off: FLOWERPATCHREV
🌹FOOD WASTE FERTILIZER: https://bit.ly/3PrFd8p
🌹Little Pots: https://shrsl.com/419cz
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18 Comments
I’ve tried buckwheat and it grows fast and did a chop and drop. Not sure if it improved anything. Sunflowers pop up everywhere and many are very huge and need a saw to remove. Last fall I seen a red wiggler enjoying the stump. Yes, the ‘Sun’flowers do hog the sun 😅. Borage can start jumping around but not hard to remove. Marigolds reseed everywhere and love all the color.
Not sure if you done this, but discuss soil condition by what weeds pop up everywhere. I have a ton of wood and sheep sorrels and it said they like high magnesium. 😂not sure if it’s true as this is some pretty sandy soil and it’s impossible to get rid of either weed. It actually grew monsterous in arbor chips.
Hoping many flowers reseed and overwinter as we are actually getting below zero temps this winter and just when I was getting use to warmer winters—so enjoyed flowers returning the last few years.
Glad you are farther north and hope you get some moisture in your area. We had a dusting this morning and tonight 1-3”, but really crazy how the snow went south so far—we’ve had snow drought big time and nothing to protect the plants from below zero.
thanks for sharing. i really need to plant some of these plants to improve my soil. we have red clay here and it's not easy growing anything. i love your video's and do really thank you for the info. hope you have a great day!!!
Hello there dear flower patch lady, thankyou so much,film was full of tons information.?I certainly w as not to have another listen through and I will share with my garden elderly neighbour..thankyou, have a wonderful weekend and your family, animals and chickens too.xx
In my garden I have (or have had) Borage, Marigolds, Sunflowers, Red Clover, Yarrow, and Comfrey, Our first frost date here in SW Missouri is Oct. 15th. This year we had a light frost around that date which affected my flowering plants (petunias, Lantana, Impatience.) I figured it was still too early in the season to start clearing out all the pots and planters and just let them sit. Lo and behold, they started growing again. I cut off the damaged parts and let them grow. Well, by this time we had another light frost, but I knew a heavy freeze was coming and decided to try and save some of these plants that were still salvageable. Now, my greenhouse is BLOOMING. In one pot of petunias, I noticed a plant growing and was ready to pluck "the weed" when I noticed it was a Sunflower seedling. So I'm letting it grow. It should be the short Sunflowers I had planted near it. Should be interesting to see how tall it gets!! One question: I'm assuming that since these plants have been in the greenhouse during the winter months, I should treat them as new plants and harden them off in the spring as I would a new plant? Guess it can't hurt. This should save us a ton of money by not having to buy new plants. Actually, most of them look better growing in the greenhouse than they did outside! Probably due to the controlled climate. Another question: What is your opinion on seed tapes? We have almost 6 inches of snow on the ground – haven't had this much here in years, and I'm starting to get antsy about starting seeds but with all those pots and planters in the greenhouse, I'm going to try and find more space to put trays. I did order and get the heavier seed trays. The lighter trays are just not worth the bother. Lots of good info in this video.
Loved this teaching! I’ve learned so much from you. In just one short week
I’m happy to know about micro clover handling foot traffic. I have some to plant in spring. Thanks!
Growning potatoes in your garden also improves the soil and you get a crop to eat.
I scattered some clover seed in my lawn. It grew well. Just be cautious with lawn treatments. I used a type of weed and feed. Turns out it kills clover. 😢
Thankyou psm.yes I thoroughly enjoy ed your vidio .xthsnkyou again 😊
I'm in 8b I use chop and drop as well as composting piles/bin. Comfrey, borage clover, marigold and all my kitchen scapes. It has worked well for me.
I really enjoyed this video Pam! Great information about the plants I normally grow anyway! Yay!!! I didn’t know about the sunflower and plants that might not be compatible with it. I’m gonna definitely look into that. 💙💚💛🧡💜 Liz
Pam, what size is your greenhouse? I am contemplating buying one and am trying to get a size reference. Your's looks like the perfect size. I don't want to grow crops in it.
I want to love lupine but keep getting powdery mildew. Going to try to move the plants which I know is difficult and plant some new in case they don’t survive then keep moving them farther and farther from water so we’ll see
I used daikon radishes to help with a new area I wanted to plant with compacted soil. I could not get rid of them! I don't like to till, but had to to remove. I planted in the fall, zone 8b. They lived through the winter and came back in the spring. You need to plant a lot to get the true benefit, not just mix it in with other cover crops here and there. I am looking forward to trying comfry, lupines, and yarrow after watching this. Enjoy your channel!
I heard that sunflowers will pull out heavy metals and trap them so you should not put in your own compost. Love your channel and all the work you do❤
Thanks for sharing these budget-friendly ideas!
Thanks for sharing Excellent Ideas❤❤❤.Good Morning ma'am🎉🎉
Would you post a video with your favorite vegetable varieties? I’m always looking for the best tomato or cherry tomato and would like to know your opinion on those and others. Thanks for considering! Amber