More than one way to grow

Here are some wonderful shots from this years Paul Ecke Jr. Flower and Garden Show

This last picture is courtesy of Expert Aquaponics located right here in San Diego and was a small part of their absolutely amazing setup.  This vertical garden is soil less and holds up to 50 plants! Look for more post on aqua-farming to come on Seeds in the City as one of our own has recently started her own aqua-farm with over 100 Tilapia! 

Master Gardeners Fall Seminar

The San Diego Master Gardener Association is back with their fall seminar that features great speakers and their plant sale.

When: Saturday, October 2nd
Where: Marina Village Conference Center
What: Many great topics this year including Integrated Pest Management, Garden to Table with chef Ron Oliver of the fantastic Marine Room, The Dirt on Soils and Growing Fungi in the Garden.

Hope to see you all there and of course I will share the best of the best right here on Seeds in the City.

Summer Cover Crops

 Summer is finally upon us in now sunny San Diego and to celebrate Seeds in the City is coming out of hibernation with a new post. Thanks for your patience!

Cover crops can be a very beneficial addition to your soil that most farmers and gardeners plant in the winter to ready the soil for spring planting. In addition to adding organic materials to the soil they can solve compaction problems as well as suppress weeds and attract beneficial insects.

In between the spring/summer and fall/winter garden you can also have a cover crop. Our soil is in definite need of a quick pick me up before the fall planting commences so I looked into a few options.

Our issues were specific, we needed a quick growing crop that could tolerate summer heat and could be tilled under in a matter of weeks. We ended up going with Buckwheat which is ready to till under right after it flowers in a mere 4-5 weeks and Soybeans. Here is a short breakdown of some options;

Buckwheat - Grows fast, smothers weeds, attracts beneficial's and releases potassium when breaking down in the soil.
Canola (Rape) - Smothers weeds, fast growing and suppresses nematodes.
Clover - Great for attracting beneficial's and some can be quite pretty. Downside is a lot of clover varieties require up to 1 year before they can be turned under.
Cow pea - Smothers weeds, suppresses nematodes if allowed to bloom before tilling, adds nitrogen to the soil and it's edible!
Soybean - another edible choice that adds nitrogen and thrives in heat, till into the soil when 50% of the plants have flowered or wait to harvest the beans.

When you cover crop is ready to till under cut it to about 2 inches above the soil and let dry a couple of days. Then gently dig it into the top layer of your soil, preferably by hand.