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About this episode
On this week's episode of Ask Grumpy, Steve Bender, aka Southern Living's Grumpy Gardener, talks about planting fall vegetables and herbs. Grumpy's complaints again this week.
Question of the week
We will fill our beds to plant vegetables and fall crops. What soil mix should we use?
Grumpy Gardener's Answer: This is a good question because planting in containers or raised beds is a little different than planting in the ground. So I'll give you a good general recipe for the soil you should plant in your raised beds.
First, start with a good potting soil. And not all earth is the same. When purchasing potting soil from a garden center or supplier, look at the color of the soil if possible. If it's dark gray or maybe has a hint of brown in it, that's fine. What I don't like is seeing red soil because that means it has a lot of clay in it and clay is not a good type of soil to put in pots. So please take a look and take your best guess and hope it works out.
Now you need to mix it with some organic matter. This means 50% topsoil, 50% organic matter. Now what is organic material? Yes, many things can be your organic matter. You can use composted cow dung. You can use kitchen compost. You can use chopped leaves. You can do 50% on all three and they all work fine. The reason you want to put organic matter in there is because it loosens the soil. This will facilitate the penetration of water into the soil, and at the same time improve drainage. This will increase soil fertility and prevent compaction. But this will also help the soil retain water. So, organic matter is basically gold for your plants, especially for container plants in any growing conditions. This is my recipe for a raised bed.
This week's complaint
Cut them, do not dig up fallen leaves.
So I did it. But apparently it's a Southern Living writer who writes the back cover every month under the name Rick Bragg. In the September issue, he devoted an entire column to whether or not you should delete. And he doesn't believe in final solutions. And he gives a big speech about Snoopy and diving into piles of leaves... and how leaves are beautiful and when you pick up leaves you have some kind of emotional problem and you don't leave them alone. And so he said. I have circled these two paragraphs that apply to me. He said, "but the worst thing that happens when the leaves fall," he said, "someone please help me, is a tool called a mulching machine, which uses a knife, a spinner, a steel mower blade to reduce all the leaves whole. .cut them into small pieces. .You've got to really hate something to tear it up. I remember the gardeners were outraged...in that magazine they were actually in favor of this cruel practice. But it didn't work. t I'm totally surprised. I know how. Looks like someone didn't hug the baby enough."
Everyone in the south knows not to pick the leaves in September because they are still on the tree. And you're not out there raking leaves, Rick. You watch the Crimson Tide destroy a Division 6 team in Tuscaloosa, like the Bunny State or something. So don't tell me the story you told me. But September is not the right time.
Second, you insulted my poor old mother. How can you do that? I will visit, my mother will be 101 years old. They hugged me many times.
When I advise people to cut leaves in their yards, it's usually because they want them gone. Now most people will just blow it onto the pavement with a leaf blower and let it blow away and clog the gutters. But not me. I say, if you want to remove leaves from your lawn, buy mulch, cut it into small pieces - yes, I said it - because those small pieces will go through the grass and into the soil, rot and feed the shepherds. . shepherd. I think a healthy lawn is a good thing. I don't know what kind of herbs you like, Rick.
But when it comes to gardening, there's no need to include the Grumpy Gardener in the pages of Southern Living.
About Ask Grumpy
Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Grumpy Gardener aka Steve Bender from Southern Living . Grumpy has been sharing tips on what to plant, when to plant and how to manage everything in your garden for over 20 years. Tune in to short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal puzzles, and gives helpful advice to gardeners with a wonderfully wry sense of humor. Be sure to tune in to Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.
Editor's note: Please note that this transcription has not gone through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.
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