Gardening fun

[FreeinChrist]

Well, Hurricane Earl messed up my summer garden here in Belize as the large amount of water packed the earth down really hard.

A couple weeks ago, I finally got a local farmer to come with a tractor the size of a small riding lawnmower to turn up all the soil in my garden area. We have 3 seasons down here in Belize and it is time for the fall season.

So I have been busy planting and planting. My husband and I made up organic fertilizer using coffee grounds, banana peels and egg shells. We let them dry and bake it to help it dry for 20 minutes. When it cools, then it gets ground up and we use it when planting.

So now I have corn, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, string beans, beets, butternut squash, and beans called cattle beans (red with white speckles). We also have pineapples, lemongrass and basil and swiss chard growing. I was thinking about carrots and cabbage but we can buy them real cheap here.

For trees, we have 2 mango trees, one avocado, a papaya tree that finally took off, banana trees, a guava tree, a lime or grapefruit tree (can't remember which one survived).

Then we have about 7 Neem trees. Most folks don't know about it but they discourage flying insects and the oil from the berries makes a great organic pesticide for a garden. I mix 4 teaspoons in a quart of water and add a tablespoon of Dawn original dishwashing soap so it sticks to the plant more. The neem disrupts the insect growth.
Neem leaves are also suppose to be medicinal but I have to research that. It has been used heavily in India and Pakistan and around there.


It is a bunch of work doing that and now I have to learn who can and make things like mango jam.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

We are so looking forward to getting back home and tilling up the yard. We could rent a tiller and get it started... but the hurricane kind of set us back a bit.
Thanks for sharing. We are debating either back to eden or Mittleider.

 

[Goodbook]

My gardenign fun was weeding a freshly planted orchard. But then since it was windy and spring i started sneezing. And sneezing. And sneezing.

Then went inside as couldnt stop and nose was running and eyes were itching.

Arrgh!

 

[Goodbook]

Can i ask where can I post gardening threads as I dont really belong to christian preppers sorry. I got in trouble here once before.

The orchard wasnt actually preparing for the end times I just garden for fun mostly. Actually a lot of the fruit from that orchard was being grown for export.

But at least its good to see the owners starting to make use of organic methods and not rely on sprays because they mulched by chipping down a shelterbelt and that cuts down on the weeds. Then planting polinators and letting the grass grow.

 

[Lulav]

Well, Hurricane Earl messed up my summer garden here in Belize as the large amount of water packed the earth down really hard.

A couple weeks ago, I finally got a local farmer to come with a tractor the size of a small riding lawnmower to turn up all the soil in my garden area. We have 3 seasons down here in Belize and it is time for the fall season.

So I have been busy planting and planting. My husband and I made up organic fertilizer using coffee grounds, banana peels and egg shells. We let them dry and bake it to help it dry for 20 minutes. When it cools, then it gets ground up and we use it when planting.

So now I have corn, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, string beans, beets, butternut squash, and beans called cattle beans (red with white speckles). We also have pineapples, lemongrass and basil and swiss chard growing. I was thinking about carrots and cabbage but we can buy them real cheap here.

For trees, we have 2 mango trees, one avocado, a papaya tree that finally took off, banana trees, a guava tree, a lime or grapefruit tree (can't remember which one survived).

Then we have about 7 Neem trees. Most folks don't know about it but they discourage flying insects and the oil from the berries makes a great organic pesticide for a garden. I mix 4 teaspoons in a quart of water and add a tablespoon of Dawn original dishwashing soap so it sticks to the plant more. The neem disrupts the insect growth.
Neem leaves are also suppose to be medicinal but I have to research that. It has been used heavily in India and Pakistan and around there.


It is a bunch of work doing that and now I have to learn who can and make things like mango jam.

You are blessed to have such bounty and trees!

I recently heard that banana peels, dehydrated and ground up are great for putting in the soil of your house plants that are subject to aphids infestation. I'm going to try that with some bananas I bought last night. (organic of course).

I've heard of the Neem tree and have some organic insecticides for personal use around here somewhere that I think has Neem it them.

 

[musicalpilgrim]

Then we have about 7 Neem trees. Most folks don't know about it but they discourage flying insects and the oil from the berries makes a great organic pesticide for a garden. I mix 4 teaspoons in a quart of water and add a tablespoon of Dawn original dishwashing soap so it sticks to the plant more. The neem disrupts the insect growth.
Neem leaves are also suppose to be medicinal but I have to research that. It has been used heavily in India and Pakistan and around there.

Can i ask where can I post gardening threads as I dont really belong to christian preppers sorry. I got in trouble here once before.

Hi FreeinChrist, Neem leaves are worth looking into, there is a lot on the web about them, thanks for the tip...

Goodbook, there shouldn't be a problem posting about gardening on this thread...
enjoy and have fun

 

[FreeinChrist]

I use a neem lotion to prevent mosquito bits and it really helps. I wish it stopped no-see-ums and red ants but it doesn't.

 

[Goodbook]

Hi FreeinChrist, Neem leaves are worth looking into, there is a lot on the web about them, thanks for the tip...

Goodbook, there shouldn't be a problem posting about gardening on this thread...
enjoy and have fun

(staff edit)
I dont own any land or have a homestead so dont feel like i belong here. Also its more for ppl that think its the end of the world all the time. So I dont know?

I dont know about neem trees, but another plant that has insect repelling properties is tansy. Or lavender.
You can also plant catch crop herbs like comfrey and sunflowers around so the bugs go to them instead of your crop plants. Chickens also eat bugs.

Im visiting a garden tomorrow with a lady from church that is my gardening fun. Its a sort of tradtional style country garden, i dont think the owners are preppers they just wanted to make their bit of land beautiful. It does have a potager and tradtional style herbaceous borders which are all colour coordinated.

My borders in contrast are a rainbow riot of colour that probably wouldnt feature in any house and garden magazine.

However its fun to grow all different colour flowers.

 

[musicalpilgrim]

this may sound strange, (I am English) what is a Prepper?

 

[Goodbook]

Well according to this forum (christian preppers) its someone who prepares for the end of the world in america. I don't know for sure but thats what it seems like to me.

 

[musicalpilgrim]

Well according to this forum (christian preppers) its someone who prepares for the end of the world in america. I don't know for sure but thats what it seems like to me.

oops, so I am probably not supposed to be here either...I will see what I can do about a thread that would be right for us...

 

[FreeinChrist]

this may sound strange, (I am English) what is a Prepper?

Preppers are folks who prepare for many things like hurricanes, floods, severe drought, other disasters including longer blackouts or loss of power from a disaster that can lasts for weeks or months.

Some preppers are preparing for the great tribulation preceding the Second Coming of Christ.

An example is this - my husband and i retired to Belize though have a US address too. There are occasional hurricanes and we had one in August - Earl. We were stuck at home and there was road flooding in all directions, though we were fine. We had water and food and electricity (solar) and had an alternative method to get on the internet as our main connection was down. After a few days, the water had receded and things dried up on the roads so we could drive if we needed to.

In the past, when there was a big hurricane here (Richard, I think), power was gone (therefore internet) for most of Belize for months. Third world countries are inconsistent about how food is shipped around the country. Those that had a stock did fine. Those that did not had to struggle.

So the goal is to to be prepared for disasters. Think of Joseph in the OT who stocked during the 7 years of plenty for the 7 years of famine. It is wise to do it.

Also, self-sufficiency and not being dependent on others for basic needs is a wise thing to do.

 

[musicalpilgrim]

Thank you for the reply... that is so good and very practical.

I grow apples (2 trees) lettuce, and herbs, parsley, rosemary, etc. A Small garden, but it is great, I pack a lot into it, and love gardening...

 

[Goodbook]

What about earthquakes. You cant really prepare for those, you can take some measures but you dont really know when they will happen.

Nz got hit by one the other day. Thankfully i dont live near where it was.

One bishop of a kind of christian cult tried to say and it was quoted in the media that it happened because of peoples sin. But if that was so, everyone who lived near me must be holier than the ones living in hamner springs lol!

Jesus says the rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous alike and disasters happen to everyone. The people who got killed by a house falling on them in the time of samson i think it was were not more sinful than the ones that didnt have a house fall on them.


If theres famine in america...i think God would tell people in their dreams and warn them just like He did with Joseph. As far as I know He hasnt told christians to leave america.

I know plenty of other wartorn countries whom nz accepts immigrants as refugees though.

 

[Goodbook]

Its always good to have a garden esp a kitchen one because its not good to rely solely on shipping and imports for your food. This applies to everyone not just christians.

Sorry just want to make a point here. Im sure many christians are well aware of this already..i have met christians in farming communities who rely on the world trade system just as much as christians do in the cities.

But then thers other kinds of christians who work grassroots in their community, i suppose it depends on the type of churches that get planted. Every church IMHO ought to have a garden.

 

[musicalpilgrim]

true...
my garden had snow this morning, but being England it is now raining...
This is how it looked this morning, Sycamore Creek garden railway..the trees are really only small ones, station on the left in the foreground,and the church is up on the right.

My husband built all the buildings from scratch out of 'plastercard'.
The snow has nearly all disappeared now...

 

[Goodbook]

Every church ought to have a garden or is it every garden should have a church?! Lol

 

[musicalpilgrim]

The imaginary town, Sycamore Creek, is supposed to be in Colorado in the 1890s. All the buildings are built to scale and we have several engines to run on the track in the dry weather.
My husband wants to expand, but I say no, as I grow lettuce and all sorts at the other side of the garden.