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Accessible Gardening
Provides tips and techniques for the special-needs gardener, including garden construction, lawn care, soil testing, harvesting, and information on indoor gardening
- GenresGardening
2 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
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January 9, 2021"in a world of constant judgment, plants are nonthreatening and non-discriminating. they respond to the care that is given them, not to the physical capabilities of the gardener. it doesn't matter if you are healthy or handicapped; plants will grow if you give proper care. plants take away some of the anxiety and tension of the immediate by showing us that there are long, enduring patterns in life. there is a certainty in knowing that a rose is a rose is indeed a rose - at all times and in all places."
solid walls will retain water and the pressure of waterlogged soil can be tremendous. without adequate means to drain off the excess water, solid walls will bulge, crack, and eventually fail. leave narrow gaps as drainage holes near the bottom. pvc pipe wrapped in screen/hardware cloth so its not blocked, cover ends with gravel.
soils near masonry walls and foundations can be alkaline. limestone based mortars may leach into nearby soil. certain root vegetables prefer alkaline soils. to lower alkalinity add 2 lbs ground sulfur per 100 sq ft. addition of compost tends to neutralize ph. organic materials that are acidic: pine needles, sawdust, and peatmoss, will all lower ph. alkaline: wood ash, bone mean, egg shells, crushed oyster shells, will raise ph.
a dutch rocking fork or digging bar loosens and aerates without bending and lifting, but does not disturb the natural layers. considered to be the best way to prepare soil yet preserve soil structure
tomatoes need phosphorus (bone meal)
root crops like carrots and turnips need potassium (grass clippings, green matter, kitchen wastes, wood ashes)
lettuces need nitrogen (blood meal, manure, fish)
calcium - limestone, oyster shells, gypsum)
taking soil samples: late autumn is ideal because most annual vegetation is gone, and amendments applied during the summer have had time to disperse evenly. to get accurate test results, take several samples of topsoil from different locations within the garden area. if you are testing separate use areas of your property, don't mix them, do separate tests. to take a soil sample, try to get down at least six inches so that you have an accurate cross section of the topsoil, and subsoil. avoid samples from soil that has had recent amendments which can throw off results. mix all samples from one use area together in a bucket. them spread out the soil on a sheet of newspaper to dry for a day or two. pick out any debris. if there are a lot of hard lumps, crush them with the back of a trowel or rolling pin.
to neutralize acidic soil, apply ground limestone or dolomite. to neutralize alkaline soil, apply ground sulfur.
chemical fertilizes feed the plant, not the soil, leaving depleted soil.
chemical fertilizers kill beneficial actinomycetes - micro-organisms that form humus, eat dead stuff, digest organic material, and free up chemical compounds and release enzymes which unlock soils mineral nutrients and make them available to plants.
better to add compost, manure, seaweed, or fish emulsion based amendments. don't apply individual trace elements to soil, unbalanced.
xeriscaping - selects dry climate plants for use as ornamentals
mesiscaping - uses indigenous plants that require little water other than rainfall. also known as permaculture or naturescaping.
use a cotton ball to apply powders and dusts. lightly misting plants first will help dust adhere.
pace yourself. you don't have to mow all the lawn in one afternoon. don't stress yourself to finish any task to schedule. gardening is to be relaxing.
semidwarf low mow grasses are 'turfalive III' and 'mic18'
organic dethatcher - 'ThatchBuster' microorganisms speed up the decomposition of thatch layer and increase microbial action in compacted lifeless soil
trees near homes should have mature heights of no more than 35 feet. amur, paperbark, fullmoon and japanese maples; redbud, false cypress or hinoki cypress(dwarf), white fringe tree, yellowwood, dogwood, hawthorn, flowering crabapple (some varieties are bred not to set fruit!), quaking aspen, flowering plum, mountain ash, tree lilac.
miniature trees are smaller than dwarf trees. 4-8 feet. apple, peach, plum, cherry, apricot, nectarine all grow successfully in containers on castors. can be wheeled indoors over winter.
fleabane
daffodills do not need to be lifted and divided. spread rapidly. bulbs are poisonous to rodents.
solid walls will retain water and the pressure of waterlogged soil can be tremendous. without adequate means to drain off the excess water, solid walls will bulge, crack, and eventually fail. leave narrow gaps as drainage holes near the bottom. pvc pipe wrapped in screen/hardware cloth so its not blocked, cover ends with gravel.
soils near masonry walls and foundations can be alkaline. limestone based mortars may leach into nearby soil. certain root vegetables prefer alkaline soils. to lower alkalinity add 2 lbs ground sulfur per 100 sq ft. addition of compost tends to neutralize ph. organic materials that are acidic: pine needles, sawdust, and peatmoss, will all lower ph. alkaline: wood ash, bone mean, egg shells, crushed oyster shells, will raise ph.
a dutch rocking fork or digging bar loosens and aerates without bending and lifting, but does not disturb the natural layers. considered to be the best way to prepare soil yet preserve soil structure
tomatoes need phosphorus (bone meal)
root crops like carrots and turnips need potassium (grass clippings, green matter, kitchen wastes, wood ashes)
lettuces need nitrogen (blood meal, manure, fish)
calcium - limestone, oyster shells, gypsum)
taking soil samples: late autumn is ideal because most annual vegetation is gone, and amendments applied during the summer have had time to disperse evenly. to get accurate test results, take several samples of topsoil from different locations within the garden area. if you are testing separate use areas of your property, don't mix them, do separate tests. to take a soil sample, try to get down at least six inches so that you have an accurate cross section of the topsoil, and subsoil. avoid samples from soil that has had recent amendments which can throw off results. mix all samples from one use area together in a bucket. them spread out the soil on a sheet of newspaper to dry for a day or two. pick out any debris. if there are a lot of hard lumps, crush them with the back of a trowel or rolling pin.
to neutralize acidic soil, apply ground limestone or dolomite. to neutralize alkaline soil, apply ground sulfur.
chemical fertilizes feed the plant, not the soil, leaving depleted soil.
chemical fertilizers kill beneficial actinomycetes - micro-organisms that form humus, eat dead stuff, digest organic material, and free up chemical compounds and release enzymes which unlock soils mineral nutrients and make them available to plants.
better to add compost, manure, seaweed, or fish emulsion based amendments. don't apply individual trace elements to soil, unbalanced.
xeriscaping - selects dry climate plants for use as ornamentals
mesiscaping - uses indigenous plants that require little water other than rainfall. also known as permaculture or naturescaping.
use a cotton ball to apply powders and dusts. lightly misting plants first will help dust adhere.
pace yourself. you don't have to mow all the lawn in one afternoon. don't stress yourself to finish any task to schedule. gardening is to be relaxing.
semidwarf low mow grasses are 'turfalive III' and 'mic18'
organic dethatcher - 'ThatchBuster' microorganisms speed up the decomposition of thatch layer and increase microbial action in compacted lifeless soil
trees near homes should have mature heights of no more than 35 feet. amur, paperbark, fullmoon and japanese maples; redbud, false cypress or hinoki cypress(dwarf), white fringe tree, yellowwood, dogwood, hawthorn, flowering crabapple (some varieties are bred not to set fruit!), quaking aspen, flowering plum, mountain ash, tree lilac.
miniature trees are smaller than dwarf trees. 4-8 feet. apple, peach, plum, cherry, apricot, nectarine all grow successfully in containers on castors. can be wheeled indoors over winter.
fleabane
daffodills do not need to be lifted and divided. spread rapidly. bulbs are poisonous to rodents.
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