[BlindTlk] Working in a Garden

Wed Oct 3 21:51:06 UTC 2018

A tradition among American Indians for planting corn was to make a mound
and put a dead fish in its bottom and plant corn and squash in the
mound.  When the corn had surfaced, the Indians planted beans right next
to the corn.  The beans found the corn and climbed up the corn stalk as
it grew.  The squash grew large leaves and protected the mound from
weeds.

On Wed, 3 Oct 2018, Julie Johnson via BlindTlk wrote:

> Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 15:14:01
> From: Julie Johnson via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Julie Johnson <julielj at neb.rr.com>
> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> Honestly, I don't have time for more groups, but feel free to forward my
> messages there if it would help someone.
>
> Julie
> On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
> http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
> also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
> <https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=1916046>
> -----Original Message----- From: Judy Jones via BlindTlk
> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2018 12:18 PM
> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
> Cc: Judy Jones
> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> I hope you post on Blind Know-How group, that would be great.
>
> Judy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindTlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie
> Johnson via BlindTlk
> Sent: Wednesday, October 3, 2018 9:54 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Julie Johnson
> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> That's tricky.  I plant the seeds or transplants in rows or a pattern I will
>
> hopefully be able to distinguish later, which helps with knowing what's a
> keeper and what should be pulled.  Mostly though I wait for the plants to
> get to maybe 6 to 8 inches tall.  Then they are big enough to more easily
> identify by touch.   The longer you garden the more practice you get and it
> does get easier.  The first couple of years I struggled with knowing what is
>
> what.  Things like onions, beans and tomato's are easier to identify, at
> least for me.  You also get used to the most common weeds and can feel more
> confident pulling them before they get too big.
>
> I pull weeds by hand.   Well, unless they are truly large and I can't
> physically pull it.  Then I get a tool and place the blade by touch, then
> proceed like anyone would.  However using a hoe, walking down the rows and
> chopping weeds is not a workable weed strategy for me.
>
> If you're really new to gardening, I'd suggest any sort of bean and squash
> either summer or winter varieties.  Those are easy things to grow, have a
> lot of varieties to choose from, do well in most climates and are fairly
> easy to distinguish by touch.  Onions are also easy to identify by touch,
> but a bit tougher to grow.  Tomato's are moderately easy to grow and are
> reasonably easy to identify once they get to be 6 to 8 inches tall or so.
>
> Julie
> On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
> http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
> also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
> <https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=19
> 16046>
> -----Original Message----- From: Judy Jones via BlindTlk
> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2018 11:25 AM
> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
> Cc: Judy Jones
> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> I love reading your thoughts.  My question has been, how to tel the young
> plants from any weeds that are also growing?
>
> Judy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindTlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie
> Johnson via BlindTlk
> Sent: Wednesday, October 3, 2018 4:21 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Julie Johnson
> Subject: Re: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> Yes, I garden both at home and in the community garden.  There are some
> things that aren't practical, like using a hoe to chop weeds, but other than
>
> that it's pretty much the same as for sighted people.  Learning what is a
> weed and what is a vegetable/flower took some practice.   I prefer to set up
>
> the garden so I don't walk through where the plants are.  The square foot
> method works well.  I also have a few raised beds.  I plant some things in
> the landscaping so they can vine on the fence or porch railings, much easier
>
> than setting up trellis and then tearing it down at the end of the season.
> My main garden area at home is only 4 feet wide and about 30 feet long,
> which allows me to be able to walk around the outside of the plants and
> reach in to pull weeds or collect vegetables without walking through where
> the plants are.  The community garden space is a big rectangle of 15 feet by
>
> 30 feet, where I do have to walk through rows.  I have to be super careful
> not to step on the plants, especially early in the season when they are
> tiny.  It's doable, but not my preference.
>
> I tried different labeling methods in the garden, but never did find
> anything that worked well and lasted throughout the gardening season.  I
> have a few things in flowerpots and those I just stick in a braille plastic
> label right in the dirt.  For the rest of the garden I keep notes on the
> computer to help me keep track of what is where, when it was planted and
> anything else I want to remember.  I don't label seed packets.  I just use
> Seeing AI or something similar.
>
> Knowing when the vegetables are ripe can be done by touch.  It's not much
> different than picking out produce in the grocery store.  You have to be
> familiar with the vegetable to know what you should check, size, firmness,
> ease of removing from the vine etc.  That all comes with practice.
>
> It took a number of years before I could reliably get things to grow and
> produce.  I'm not naturally gifted at growing things.  Now my general
> strategy is to plant 10x more than I will want at the end, so after I kill
> off most of it, I'm still left with a reasonable amount.
>
> Happy gardening!
> Julie
> On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
> http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
> also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
> <https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=19
> 16046>
> -----Original Message----- From: Ella Yu via BlindTlk
> Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2018 7:18 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Ella Yu
> Subject: [BlindTlk] Working in a Garden
>
> Hi all,
> I'm supposed to start working in a garden soon and I'm wondering
> if it's possible for people who are completely blind.  I will
> have assistance.
> Thanks in advance.
>
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> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
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> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
>
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