June 2, 2025 – Growing cucumbers and tomatoes? Assuming you haven’t already done so, it’s not too late to plant sunflowers right next to them that will grow to 6-8’ tall (12-14’ tall sunflowers re a wee bit much!). Both have similar soil requirements, and your vegetable fruits results are sweeter. Also, the sunflowers are a great trap crop as many insects prefer the sunflower over the cucumber and tomato!
Plants can hear water gurgling through the soil and will turn some of its roots toward that source. Also, microbes in a symbiotic relationship with your plants can tell them where a water source is located.
The tag on a plant saying full sun is perhaps a wee bit exaggerated. It doesn’t mean put me in the harshest sun from dawn to dusk. Most full sun plants would welcome some afternoon shade during the afternoon heat. Six hours of sun should suffice.
All you need to make your own great liquid fertilizer is a 5-gallon bucket, compost, water and a stirring stick. Fill a 5-gallon bucket half-full of compost. Now fill the bucket to near the top with water. As you water, stir the mixture and water with a stick to begin the process of water absorbing nutrients. If you’re using treated water, pour a bucketful of water and let it sit for a week to let unwanted chemicals in the water leach out. After a week of stirring, pour the mixture through a filter of some type into another bucket, which can now be used to fertilize plants. Gou can use it very 7-10 days.
If you’ve ever wondered, mulch can attract termites, but so what? They aid decomposition in the garden, but don’t allow if your garden is close to the house!
Finally, peat moss is acidic but won’t acidify your soil.
