So, I've got a neighbor who used to be a landscaper and her yard is AMAZING. It's a huge mess: mint, castor bean, fennel, dill, mexican sunflowers, wildflowers, berries of all kinds: blue, rasp, goose, service, straw. Anyhow, she doesn't really even try! All she does is plant shit and pull weeds. She doesn't even have grass! It's all food and flowers! Apple trees, figs, pears, AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
So today I went over to check out how her veggies were doing. She's out watering for the first time all year, and her tomatoes look like monsters. She doesn't sucker them at all, so they sprawl everywher, but her the stems on these things are nearly 1/2 inch across. Literally like small bushes almost 4 feet wide.
Then I go check out the starts I gave her. Her peppers (I gave her 2 yellow manzanos and a 7 Pot Brain Strain) look pretty good, though her manzanos are smaller than mine and covered in buds! I have three plants, and all I've got is leaves. One bud on one plant, that's it.
Here 7 Pot is the same size as the 3 I've got going, so I'm not sore about that.
My point is, all this talk of nutrients and fertilizers is fine and good, but I thoroughly believe after seeing the monsters in my neighbor's yard there's no replacement for healthy soil. She's amended her soil for years 6 years or more now with compost and pulled weeds and her plants do amazingly well. She never fertilizes with anything other than her own compost and the occasional load of goat poo (and she's only spread the goat poo in her hoop house!)
That is all. I'm just ranting my jealousy to folks I know will appreciate it!
So today I went over to check out how her veggies were doing. She's out watering for the first time all year, and her tomatoes look like monsters. She doesn't sucker them at all, so they sprawl everywher, but her the stems on these things are nearly 1/2 inch across. Literally like small bushes almost 4 feet wide.
Then I go check out the starts I gave her. Her peppers (I gave her 2 yellow manzanos and a 7 Pot Brain Strain) look pretty good, though her manzanos are smaller than mine and covered in buds! I have three plants, and all I've got is leaves. One bud on one plant, that's it.
Here 7 Pot is the same size as the 3 I've got going, so I'm not sore about that.
My point is, all this talk of nutrients and fertilizers is fine and good, but I thoroughly believe after seeing the monsters in my neighbor's yard there's no replacement for healthy soil. She's amended her soil for years 6 years or more now with compost and pulled weeds and her plants do amazingly well. She never fertilizes with anything other than her own compost and the occasional load of goat poo (and she's only spread the goat poo in her hoop house!)
That is all. I'm just ranting my jealousy to folks I know will appreciate it!
