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It's that time of year where I am in planning mode for this years upcoming gardening season. My climate is mild enough where I have a few cooler season crops still growing, but they are lower maintenance and slower growing due to the lack of daylight.
Half of my garden is mulched over, so I am longing for those summer days where my garden is in full swing.
In the meantime, I am thinking ahead, buying seeds, planning my garden layout, and putting together a list of supplies. I thought it would be helpful to create a list of some of my favorite tried and tested gardening products.
I actually get a lot of my gardening supplies from Amazon because of the affordable prices and prime shipping. I even got some of my compost and soil amendments from Amazon last year. Below, I am sharing only items that have worked well for me in my garden.
Seed Starting Supplies
When I'm starting seeds, I like to have several sizes of pots. This is because many plants do not take up a lot of space at first and I have limited space. So for most plants, I start them in the 6 pack cells, but for plants that grow faster and larger, like tomatoes, I start them in 4 inch pots before eventually moving them into the 6 inch pots.
I know some people don't like the plastic pots because they don't last long, but I personally have used mine for several seasons with mindful handling.
For fertilizing established seedlings, I use a seaweed fertilizer.
You will also need a good potting soil and trays in order to bottom water seedlings. I use these grow lights and germination mats set up on this shelf that has locking wheels. The shelf with wheels is helpful because you can just unplug the lights and wheel the whole shelf outside when hardening off seedlings.
Something else that is helpful is a timer for the grow lights. When I first started starting seeds indoors, I would set alarms on my phone to remind me to turn the grow lights on and off, but the timer is definitely easier.
Soil, fertilizer, and soil amendments
The bulk compost that is available in my area is not the best, so I have relied a lot on bagged soil and my own homemade compost. In the future, I plan to post about how I fill raised beds, but in the meantime these are a few things that have worked well for me:
Coast of Maine: top soil, lobster and crab compost, acid mix (although I found this soil to have a neutral ph)
Michigan Peat compost and manure
Wiggle Worm worm castings (the darkest and richest soil amendment you'll find)
Coconut coir bricks (a more environmentally friendly alternative to peat moss)
Gardener's Select seeding straw for mulching (will grow a few grass weeds but it is very minimal)
Down To Earth all purpose fertilizer ( I use twice per year in the spring and fall before planting) and azomite trace minerals (I use once per year before planting in the spring). I love all their fertilizers and I use their acid mix for my berry plants which have had vigorous growth.
Indian River Organics fish and seaweed fertilizer (I use this throughout the growing season to provide quick absorbing nutrition)
Mycorrhizae I use while planting to build healthy root systems
Organic Pest and Disease Control
My main form of organic pest control is by using insect netting throughout my garden and hand pollinating if needed. If you have problems with birds or larger animals, you can use deer netting which still allows the smaller pollinators in. I use these hoops to hold the netting up and clip it down with stainless steel clips.
If needed, I'll make a homemade organic pesticide spray using neem oil and a homemade fungicide spray using potassium bicarbonate.
Weather Protection
In the warmer months I use shade cloth and it doubles as hail protection. In the colder months I use frost cloth. For taller plants like tomatoes, I create a mini greenhouse with the frost cloth and this crop cage. You can find more details here.
I also use heat emitting Christmas lights on extra cold nights, if needed.
Trellising and Staking
I have used this arch for so many different crops from squash to peas. It is large and sturdy but I suspect the netting will have to be replaced every few years.
I also use nylon netting and welded wire mesh throughout my garden that I have attached to my fence or the side of my house using either nails or extra strong zip ties.
For staking, I use bamboo stakes or poles (for larger plants or for building trellises) and for my peppers and eggplants I like these constructible cages.
Miscellaneous Gardening Tools
As I mentioned, I rely a lot on homemade compost to build my own soil. Because I live in the city, I can't have an open pile or bin in my yard. Instead, I use compost tumblers to generate compost.
For my raised beds, I prefer to use galvanized raised beds for durability.
For watering, I like to use a non-toxic hose if possible.
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