Hubby is right that we are going to move up north in about 5 years.
We're eyeing a small country home almost 16 hours from here. It's a perfect sized home with a huge lot.
We both are gardeners and just miss gardening here in Toronto. We do have raised beds gardens but with this apartment complex, it is hard to tell which flat uses this raised bed garden, etc.
Our secret to gardening is to compost, re-using coffee grounds in the soil and sprinkling pepper around the garden to curb animals from nibbling on the plants.
Pepper is a very safe way to curb deer, rabbits and birds from nibbling on roots and tops. Pepper makes it difficult to eat as they will sneeze and know from experience not to forage in your area.
For birds, it is simple to re-use foil cans as it is loud and birds are frightened of loud and shiny objects. Just hang two small foil pans together and hang it on a small pole. The wind will make the pans smash against each other. This will frighten off the birds and other animals like squirrels as well.
Hubby and I never invest in frivolous & pricy products when we know we can use products that goes right back into the Earth and will not harm any animals.
A simple rule of thumb - gardening thrives on food that goes right back into the Earth.
Used coffee grounds can be found at ANY coffeehouses for free! They will be happy to give it off to you & save their garbage bags. Just bring a pail and they'll give it to you.
It is the best fertilizer for flowerbeds and gardens.
After a big party, wasted beer and wine can be saved and frozen. When you have problems with slugs, use the frozen wine/beer to "drown" the slugs. I usually put the leftover wine/beer in ice cube trays and put them in ziploc baggies. When I see a slug or two appear, I put a frozen cube on the area. Presto! It's gone.
Coffee grounds are perfect for grubs too as well. You can cut up a potato that has gone bad, cut it in 4 and put it on the lawn where the grubs are. Grubs will go crazy for the raw and starchy taste but will drown in it. Toss the potato in the compost.
The compost will naturally break down to fertilizer. Reuse the fertilizer in spring time, till the garden with compost. Make sure you till the garden again with compost when you have extracted all your vegetables before fall. This prepares the garden for hibernation, I hope all our experiences and tips helps.
