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Amber Maria

@ambermar1a

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Day 30 of Baddies Know How to Garden. The last one, for now. 🌱

In 30 days we went from “where does the sun hit?” to soil, seeds, watering, pests, fall crops, grow bags, and a new composter. You don’t need a perfect yard. You need to watch your light, know your zone, feed your soil, and keep showing up.

Thank you for growing with me. Happy Planting! 🥦☺️

#gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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Day 29 of Baddies know how to garden, start my new composter with me. I've been vermicomposting for the past two years, but it's tedious and small so I bought a new one that doesn't require worms and larger.

This isn't really needed intially but as you begin gardening more you'll realize how much money you spend on compost and how much garden scraps and foods you waste that could be put back into your soil.

Make sure you turn your pile every 2-3 days, and avoid adding meats, dairy, and pest and diseased garden scraps.
#gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden #fall

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Day 28 We’re planting romaine lettuce in a 20 gallon fabric grow bag and companion planting it with cilantro and marigolds.

Romaine: The main crop. Growing it yourself means you know exactly how it was grown, watered and handled. Romaine has been tied to several foodborne illness outbreaks, including Cyclospora, a parasite spread through contaminated water and produce.

Cilantro: It confuses pests with its strong scent. When it flowers it attracts hoverflies and ladybugs, which eat aphids.

Marigolds: They repel aphids and other pests and attract pollinators and beneficial insects.

Organic compost: It adds nutrients and improves the soil’s structure so it holds moisture.
Sure Start (4-6-2): A starter fertilizer with beneficial microbes that helps new transplants build strong roots.
Bark mulch: It keeps moisture in, keeps the soil cool and blocks weeds.

These are perfect for fall temps, just swap marigold for mums, calendula, or allyssum If you live in a colder climate. #gardening #fallgarden #fall

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Day 27, ever wondered what to do with your fall seedlings once they start growing? Well the difference between the two leaves lets you know when your seedling are ready for more.

Those first two leaves that pop up are seed leaves. They were already packed inside the seed. Their job is to feed the baby plant with stored energy and get it started. They usually look nothing like the actual plant. They’re often smooth and simple.

The next leaves are the true leaves. These look like the real plant. Tomato true leaves look like tomato leaves. Squash true leaves get that lobed, fuzzy look.

Why does this matter? Once true leaves show up, the plant is making more of its own food. That’s your green light to start light feeding, thin out the extras, and pot up if they’re outgrowing the cell.

And if your seed leaves turn yellow and fall off later, don’t panic. Their job is done.

#fallgarden #gardening

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Day 21 of Baddies Know How To Garden: Brassicas

Spacing may seem confusing at first. You’ll plant a three inch seedling eighteen inches apart, and the bed will appear empty, leading you to believe you’ve wasted space. But in six weeks, they’ll be touching and you’ll understand.

I crowded my first planting. The broccoli heads were golf-ball-sized, and I was confused all season. The only difference between that garden and the next was spacing; everything else remained the same.

Frost isn’t an emergency. Cold temperatures actually enhance sweetness. Also, the critical sign to harvest is yellow flowers; that’s when you’ve waited too long.

#baddies #fallgarden #broccoli

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Day 20 of Baddies know how to garden: How to grow carrots for fall 🪏🥕

The first carrot was direct sown in the ground by seed. The forked, twisted ones in the basket were thinnings I transplanted as an experiment. Carrots do not transplant. Disturbing the taproot causes forking and stunting.

Soil: Loose soil 12 inches deep. Anything the root hits makes it fork. Which if you’re a beginner you already have.

Fertilizer: Low nitrogen, like 5-10-10. Excess nitrogen grows leaves, not roots.

Sowing: Direct sow only, 1/4 inch deep. Keep the top inch moist for the full 14 to 21 day germination.

Thinning: Thin to 2 inches apart when tops are 2 inches tall. Snip at the soil line. Do not replant the thinnings.

Water: consistently. Irregular watering causes splitting.

Harvest: 60 to 80 days, when shoulders are about 3/4 inch wide. Cover exposed shoulders with soil or mulch to prevent greening.
Happy planting! #gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden #carrots

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Day 19, of Baddies know how to Garden! Green beans are the easiest thing in my fall garden. Sow 1 inch deep, 2 to 4 inches apart, in rows. Cover, water daily, and you’re harvesting in about 50 to 60 days. That’s it. #gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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Day 18 of Baddies know how to garden. We’re talking about my FAVORITE aromatic Garlic!
It’s still too hot here in zone 10b but we can still get a head start by pre chilling the garlic. Garlic needs cool temperatures to form proper bulbs through a process called vernalization. Put your garlic bulbs in the refrigerator for 30 to 40 days before you plan to plant them, which is what I will be doing. Then plop them in the soil and that’s it. For zones 1-7 you begin planting garlic between early to late October which is only two weeks away! No refrigeration needed. It’s so easy to grow because there isn’t much maintenance besides water. #gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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Day 16 of Baddies Know How To Garden Week 2 recap. Tomorrow we plant!! 🌱
Seeds, can’t-kill fall plants, fertilizer, mulch, deep watering, pests without the war mindset (plus organic options), and seed vs transplant.
Save this if you’re catching up.
#gardening #fallgarden #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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Day 15 of Baddies Know How To Garden.

Nobody told me you shouldn’t buy baby carrots. I bought carrots as transplants and didn’t realize that they fare better from seed.
If the part you eat grows down, it has to start where it will finish. If the part you eat grows up, you can buy it half raised as transplants.

Both lists are in here. Save it so you are not the girl asking for carrot starts.

#gardening #fallgarden #directsow #beginnergardener #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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PLEASE WATCH TILL THE END! Or just read the below caption that gives you a synopsis of how to deal with common garden pests.

Before you run out and start spraying random sprays here’s some organic alternatives:

🍅 TOMATO HORNWORM
• Handpick them (drop in soapy water). Most effective in a home garden.
• If you see white rice-looking cocoons on their back, LEAVE THEM. parasitic wasps already got to work.
• Bt bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) on young caterpillars they have to eat it. Best early.

🐛 GRUBS
• Dig and remove when you see them while turning beds.
• Beneficial nematodes (right species, moist soil, follow the label) for soil larvae.
• Birds, chickens if you have them, and healthy soil life help keep balance.
• Don’t nuke the whole bed grubs can also part of the soil food web.

🦗 GRASSHOPPERS
• Handpick / knock into soapy water when populations are small.
• Row cover on tender crops.
• Support predators (birds, wasps, beetles) with habitat don’t wipe every insect out. They eat them.
• Accept some leaf damage; total erasure isn’t the goal.

🐜 ANTS (+ often APHIDS)
• Ants love aphid honeydew: fix the aphids and ants calm down.
• Blast aphids with water. Insecticidal soap on leaf undersides if needed.
• Protect ladybugs, lacewings, hover flies; they eat aphids.
• Skip sprays that kill your free pest control.

🌿 COMPANION / HABITAT (pest control you can eat)
• Dill, fennel, cilantro, alyssum=food for parasitic wasps + hover flies
• Calendula, nasturtium, chives, mustard = diversity + trap/distract energy
• Flowers = “attract and reward” so beneficials stick around after they show up

🌱 cool planty things
• Plants under attack can send scent signals that call beneficial bugs in
• Healthy soil → stronger plants → less of an easy meal
• Inspect first. ID second. Start gentle. Escalate last.

We’re guests in their home. Protect your food, don’t declare war on the whole ecosystem.

#gardening #gardenpests #organicgardening

Sources: Univ. of Minnesota / Virginia / Nevada / Florida Extension on hornworms; standard IPM for aphids + soil nematodes. Always read the product la

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Baddiesknowhowtogarden Day 13!!!

Deep watering looks like this. If nothing’s coming out the bottom, you only wet the top.

Here’s the science: roots grow where the moisture is. Frequent shallow watering keeps water in the top inch, so roots stay shallow. Deep, thorough soaks push water down into the root zone, so the plant builds a deeper root system and handles dry days better.

That’s why you water until it drains as proof the whole root zone got wet, then let the top dry a bit before the next soak.

Deep watering + mulch + and an irrigation setup will have your gardening days on easy mode.

This is one of my favorite tips that’s universal to most plants indoor and out.

#gardening #fallgarden #wateringtips #baddiesknowhowtogarden

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