Contest! Win Seeds and a Seed-Starting Kit!
The contest is now closed. Thanks everyone for entering! Check back on Thursday, February 25th to find out the winner.
The best gardening advice I ever received was this: Don’t worry so much, there is always next year. These words were uttered by Joyce, the chain-smoking, plant-loving manager of the nursery I worked at in high school. Joyce taught me how to propagate plants by seed and transplant seedlings. During my years at the nursery I started and cared for whole greenhouses of tomatoes and annual flowers with her guidance. Now, whenever something fails in my garden, I think about Joyce and her roll-with-the-blows philosophy of gardening.
I know that there is tons of gardening wisdom out there, and I think it would be fun to collect it all in one place. So, I’m holding a contest! To enter, all you need to do is post your best gardening advice in the comments selection below. The contest will close next Tuesday, February 23rd at midnight Pacific Standard Time. I’ll choose my favorite piece of advice and announce it—and the winner—on February 25th.
Burpee is kindly offering up a great prize package, including their eco-friendly seed-starting kit and five packets of seed of the winner’s choice from The Cook’s Garden seed company. The seed-starting kit is really cool, it has compostable fiber containers, a compostable water catchment tray that is made of bamboo, wooden plant markers, and organic fertilizer (you can check it out right here). The winner will surely have a hard time choosing their seeds, because The Cook’s Garden has an awesome selection of vegetable varieties, including some of my favorites like ‘Romanesco’ broccoli, ‘Parmex’ carrot, and ‘Chioggia’ beets.
Okay, start commenting! I can’t wait to see the advice come rolling in.
If a plant isn’t thriving, move it, rip it out, or do what it takes to either get the plant happy or get rid of it. I see gardeners spending so much time and energy on straggly struggling ugly things when there are beautiful plants that would thrive with far less attention.
Instead of thinking of your plants as your children, think of your garden as your child, and the plants as the clothes it wears. Clothes wear out and get replaced. Sometimes they look good in the store, but never fit, or itch. Sometimes they get torn or stained and have to be discarded.
If what you want is to grow rare or unusual plants, figure out what will work best in your site. Maintaining a diseased or distressed specimen just so that you can say you have it does no favors to that species, and isn’t good for your garden.
On the other hand, a well placed specimen both draws attention to the rare plant, and preserves healthy and vigorous growing tissue that could help propagate or at least preserve it. And your garden will be healthier, and look better.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:14 am.-= Jennifer Leigh´s last blog ..Ant War =-.
The one herb that absolutely everyone should plant is rosemary, because it’s cold hardy AND heat-resistant. I planted a rosemary seedling about 5 years ago and have not done a thing to it except watered it a couple of times during a 3-month-long summer drought. It is still going strong and has lasted through weeks and weeks of 100+ temperatures as well as several uncharacteristic hard freezes this last winter, without even being covered. It is always sad when the fresh basil is gone for the year, or a freeze knocks out even the Mint That Just Won’t Die, but rosemary has got me through the times when no other fresh herbs were available.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:15 am.-= melissa´s last blog ..I’m baaack =-.
Well, I learned to love gardening from my mom. Her best advice was given through her actions: don’t forget to sit in your garden and just enjoy it!
February 16th, 2010 at 11:18 amThe best ‘advice’ I ever got was the experience I gained from my own experimentation. And you just said that on the radio show. Now I need to come up with something else.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:41 amDon’t forget your native plants.
I use to live in Barcelona where bougainvillea grew wild over the wall around my parents finca (farmhouse.) It is one of my favorite plants (except for the week when we pruned the thorny beast) but it will not grow here in Spokane and can’t exist in my home (one word, toddler.) I pined for a long while over that and one day realized how many gorgeous native plants were in this climate (Arrowleaf Balsamroot and Lady Slippers comes to mind.) There are also many heirlooms that were developed in this area and therefor suited for our climate. While I may not be able to grow my mother’s watermelons in this climate I discovered a beautiful heirloom watermelon from North Idaho that is just amazing.
So my advice is simple, don’t forget about your native plants when planning the garden.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:52 am.-= Jaspenelle´s last blog ..Damian’s Inunnguaq =-.
Once I asked my Grandpa what to do about some gardening glitch I was having and he said, with his Irish accent, “Hell lass,stop fussing, you can’t STOP things from growing”.
The other best advice I’ve ever had is that if you’re having people over and you want to spiff up the garden really quickly, just trim all the edges very neatly — everything immediately looks cared for.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:02 pmBest gardening advice I ever received was, “Be patient, young grasshopper. Like any skeleton, the bones of a garden take time to grow.” This from a maternal Master Gardener, gently chiding me for wanting/expecting a fully mature garden the first summer I began planting.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:03 pmMy best advice, especially for a newer gardener, is to photograph your garden all throughout the year. I needed a way to see what grew best in my new garden, so I took lots of photos. What I thought was planted too sparsely soon developed into a very crowded garden where the plants didn’t thrive as I wanted. Now I can look back at the photos from planting and compare them to the end of the growing season to reconfigure my plantings and hopefully give them more room. The photographs also give me a record of what grew well, what didn’t, and what pollinators came for a visit. It also gave me something to keep my hopes alive for another spring during the always-long winter season. And I’m still out taking photos as I’m experimenting with over-wintering some Walla Walla Sweets.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:28 pmMy best advice for gardening is to keep up with the weeding! Don’t let those little buggers have a chance to grow, or they will be so much more work for you.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:48 pmHmm my best gardening advice? Just try it! If you want to try a new vegetable, or a new planting spot just try it. Want to see if you can grow tomatoes from store bought tomatoes? Just try it! Or like me, want to see if you can overwinter tomatoes? Just try it! You lose nothing by trying!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 1:38 pmI grew up watching my dad plant different gardens each year, and every season came along some bug or bird or varmint that would be the demise of some patch of our food. Dad would try his best to keep out the beasts or at least deter them, but nature has its own way of working. The broccoli would come up beautiful one year but the chard would be nibbled to bits. Sometimes, a crop would seem to thrive or come out weak due to no help or hinderance of anyone else.
What I learned wasn’t something I was explicitly told. It was to accept that nature has its own ways of doing things, and that if you love what you are doing it doesn’t matter when something goes wrong.
Gardening is a love affair with the earth. This includes the bugs, the weather, the seasons and all you are trying to make happen.
February 16th, 2010 at 2:03 pm“The best time to prune is when the knife is sharp.”
From a experienced person who knew how easy it is to put a task off because for some reason it isn’t the perfect time to do it. Over the years, I’ve found that doing it, when I’m ready (when the knife is sharp) is better than putting it off and never getting back to the job. It applies to nearly everything. In and out of the garden.
February 16th, 2010 at 2:10 pmWhat I learned wasn’t something I was explicitly told: to accept that nature has its own ways of doing things, and that if you love what you are doing it doesn’t matter as much when something goes wrong.
Gardening is a love affair with the earth. This includes the bugs, the weather, the seasons and all you hope to accomplish when you plant something.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:21 pmStart with the soil-buy it (instant pleasure) and then build-it after that. Draw out your garden and change the drawing as you go along- erase and redraw- fun to look at in the end of the season. Take alot of pictures. Take notes as to what worked where and why as well as what did not work and why.
February 16th, 2010 at 4:11 pmCreate and Enjoy!
Get dirty and enjoy it! If you’re having fun, you will always find time for your garden and that’s really all it takes – attention.
Other than that, start with good soil. Use compost, throw coffee grinds out and rake them in (worms will infest your garden), buy new soil: the biggest issues I have had were from not having good soil to start with. You want it to drain well yet still retain moisture. And you want AS MANY micro and macro organisms as possible! The better the soil, the less the maintenance necessary for vegetative growth – plus your fruits and veggies will have more nutrients – hooray!
February 16th, 2010 at 5:17 pm.-= Alana´s last blog ..Photo =-.
First, I live in the Midwest. I’ve only been planting a family garden for a couple years. I have very fond memories of working (and eating) in the garden w/my grandmother. I was very young and don’t remember many pearls of wisdom. I have been told not to wory about planting in the ground till after May 1 b/c you’ll always get another frost in April.
Other advice – look up Square foot gardening. It’s been great for my husband and me in the city.
Most of all, have fun! Experiment. Go to the farmers market to pick up heirloom seedlings or look up heirloom seed companies. Learn about the bugs, pests and prevention (we just grow more) as you go. Just get started and have fun!
February 16th, 2010 at 6:56 pmShare plants! You’ll keep your own garden from getting overstuffed to where you don’t even want to go out and work in it. You’ll learn how to take care of the plants from the people who have grown them successfully. You’ll grow plants you thought you wouldn’t like, you didn’t think would look good or were too expensive to try, just because someone gave them to you and you thought, “why not?” You’ll make friends, you’ll build relationships, you’ll network. Best of all, you will build a garden full of memories, your aunt’s hostas, your neighbor’s daylilies, your grandmother’s roses, your sister’s favorite tomatoes and it goes on and on.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:50 pmI’m not the gardener in the family, but I do know you need to start with good soil. The years when we’ve incorporated Zoo Doo (a composted blend of animal manure)into our soil, our veggies have grown like monsters! Plants love to be fed!
February 16th, 2010 at 7:53 pm.-= Tiffany S.´s last blog ..A quick quiz …. =-.
It’s a path. Don’t worry what’s at the end. Enjoy thewalk.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:17 pmbest advice from me? be patient with yourself, don’t be afraid to try new things, it doesn’t have to be treated like a science so don’t feel like you have to have perfect mixtures of dirt and compost and fertilizer, just love what you do and find out what works.
best advice from mom? put hummingbird feeders near your blueberries (and any berries you don’t want the birds to eat). why? they are ‘guard dogs’ near their feeders and will keep all the other birds away. no nets needed
February 16th, 2010 at 8:19 pmActually these are all out of my first year garden journal(from 2 years ago!)
February 16th, 2010 at 8:21 pmDon’t plant anything in July or August unless you can give it your undivided attention.
Dig it up if you feel like it.
Write it down.
Let happy Hour happen early.
Good pruning shears can make or break your day.
Share the vegetables you grow.
No really. Water everything in its first year. Alot.
Garden Buddha DOES bring peace!
Best advice from an amateur gardener–grow things that you like, be sure to take time and sit back to enjoy your labor and I’ve found taking pictures helps me to remember the amazing flowers, plants, and insects I find in my yard. Oh and share your love of gardening with anyone who will listen!
February 16th, 2010 at 8:32 pmif you are just starting out with your first veggie patch, or are one of those impatient types, buy seedlings rather than seeds – they’ll grow a lot quicker and give you a lot more satisfaction when you first start out =)
February 16th, 2010 at 9:10 pmThe best gardening advice I’ve ever gotten was from a caller on the Greendays show you and others do on KUOW. The caller was describing her garden and she said, “Well, I just think, why not go ahead and try it? What do I have to lose, besides a few bucks and a little patch of dirt?” This advice has inspired me to be more adventurous and creative in my gardening–it’s with this philosophy in mind that I’ve grown cantaloupes, hops, funky squash, tomatillos, amaranth, and other weird and wonderful fruits, veggies, and flowers. It reminds me that the spirit of gardening is not perfection, but joyous experimentation. And it’s true–what *do* you have to lose when you plant a garden?
February 16th, 2010 at 9:36 pmI am a very very beginner gardener so this may not apply to a more experienced gardener. My best advice was to write everything down.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:03 pmThe best advice I have heard is to WAIT – wait until the soil warms up. Just because the sun has been out for a few days and spring flowers are blooming, it’s not time to plant most of the vegetable garden. Seeds planted after the soil warms up quickly catch up with seeds planted in cold probably wet soil.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:10 pmThe best bit of (gardening) advice I received?:
“Consistency is the hob-noblin of the feeble-minded.”
-Walt Bubelis, Director of Horticulture at Edmonds Community College
This came as a response to my personal frustration in trying to cultivate (sorry) perfection. I found this to not only be useful in gardening, but a priceless bit if advice for life in general.
Loved the show today!
-Amy
February 16th, 2010 at 10:13 pmGardening isn’t a perfect science, don’t spend too much time trying to find the perfect plant, method, etc, just go for it! The garden forgives.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:50 amSave seeds from your successes, to plant next year.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:20 amMy favorite advice, a hand-me-down from my Grandfather to my Mother to me:
Put restaurant-size cans (empty, top and bottom removed) around Rhubarb plants as their leaves start to grow in spring. The stalks grow to ‘reach’ taller than the cans for sunlight and the result is much longer stalks to harvest.
As a beginning gardener I make my share of mistakes. My sentimental Rhubarb patch is the highlight of my edible garden!
February 17th, 2010 at 11:42 amI consider a plant hardy unless I’ve killed it three times!
February 17th, 2010 at 12:33 pmI love Donna Dederer’s Grandpa’s advice! If you’re taking votes, that’s my fav and so totally true.
My advice:
Grow things closer than you think you should. Makes your garden look lush and keeps the weeds down.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:43 pm.-= Amanda´s last blog ..I heart snow (sometimes) =-.
My advice would be don’t be intimidated. Gardening or “growing” can be done on whatever scale or level of involvement that you wish. Simple or complex. Large or small. If you want it to be as simple as growing a sunflower seed in a pot or forcing an amaryllis then go for it. If you fancy some tomatoes on your patio in a container then that’s doable too. If it’s a vegetable garden or something on a larger scale then gardening has a place for everyone and every project, but remember that the best way to learn is to get your hands dirty and give it a try.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:12 pmSpend as much time caring for your soil as you do caring for your garden. Refrain from putting seed bearing weeds into the compost pile as they will surely be your bane the next year, again.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:18 pmMy grandfather had gardens that ranged from smallish, 15 feet wide to 30 feet long to extremely largish, one-half a city block. His gardens always produced more than he and his neighbors could eat. His advice, “the bad bugs would rather eat weeds than vegetables so leave a nice set of weeds for munching, just pull them before they go to seed”. When I heeded this advice (especially the pull before they go to seed) I always had bumper crops of everything from corn, tomatoes, broccoli, beans, beets and cabbage. Who would have thought that would work, but it does!
February 17th, 2010 at 4:06 pmI live in Utah, and if you plant your garden before Memorial Day, you are taking your chances with Mother nature. One year we had unusually warm weather in May, and we planted our garden early in the month, only to have a freezing cold snap a week later that froze most of the plants we had just planted. When we went back to the nursery to get replacement plants, the owner of the nursery told us his favorite saying was: “plant early, plant often”. We have chuckled over that statement ever since.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:49 pmStart small and have a plan.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:02 pmLiving in Texas, my advice would be “check it every day”. So much can happen if you leave the garden unattended for a couple days, especially during our brutal summers!
February 17th, 2010 at 8:34 pm.-= Megan´s last blog ..Antonelli’s =-.
The best advice I can offer is don’t be afraid! Try something new, let that mystery seedling grow, do something that you’re not sure will succeed. That’s how I have the most fun in the garden!
February 17th, 2010 at 8:37 pmReal simple: START SMALL. Too many times I’ve seen (even when I look at myself) people say, “What the heck, what’s another 50, 60, 80 sq. ft. really?” Go too big… most people just get overworked and discouraged. Start small and if want to get bigger – add a bit each year. (Kinda lame/basic advice, but if’n you bite off more than you can chew, nothing much matters after that.)
Good luck to all my fellow gardeners this season!
February 17th, 2010 at 11:06 pm‘Ken’
Don’t feed your plants anything you don’t want to eat.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:26 amChicken Manure: When I was living in Pasadena, my neighbor would mix a spoonful of chicken manure into the soil before planting her tomatoes. Always at the bottom of the hole. She said it gave the best tomatoes — and now that I grow my own, I agree! We get fantastic yummy tomatoes following this advice. We skipped this step last year, and despite the record heat in Seattle, our tomatoes were just OK.
The corollary is: NOT TOO MUCH. One year we were too enthusiastic with the chicken manure and burned all our poor little starts
February 18th, 2010 at 8:50 amoops, I forgot my second favorite: if you live in an area with short summers, use Walls of Water for a head start!
February 18th, 2010 at 9:06 amIf you grow ‘maters – plant some yellow striped pink tomatoes, Mr. Stripey or Brandywine, whatever – then when the first one ripens – take a salt shaker out to the garden. Sit down by the tomato plant in the dirt with your salt and eat your first yellow striped tomato. Not much better is this life.
Gardening ROCKS!
February 18th, 2010 at 12:18 pm.-= Lisa S.´s last blog ..Flowers in February! =-.
Weeds are just flowers with a stronger will to live.
-Joe from Bainbridge Island
February 18th, 2010 at 1:34 pmThe site coordinator at my first P-patch gave me this advice: Plant enough to share. Over the years I’ve taken this to mean sharing with strangers who might pick a few Sun Gold tomatoes as they wandered through the garden, with friends who gladly accepted a bowl of June strawberries, with folks who frequented the food bank down the road, with creatures large (bunnies!) and small (aphids), and with the compost pile when things go “wrong.” Gardening has helped me cultivate in all aspects of my life the notion that there is enough.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:12 amMy best gardening advice, Love does great things. Love your plants and learn what they need so they can love you back. Oh yea, and peppers like sulfur, so place a few match sticks in the root bundle.
February 19th, 2010 at 5:26 amEven the most seasoned gardeners never refuse advise. Keep growing, keep asking and keep learning.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:21 amHave Gratitude.
Think of every living thing as having a purpose and think of everything as living. Every stick every stone every plant bug and animal has a reason for being. Give them gratitude. I first started practicing gratitude in the garden a few years ago and found I could be grateful for the plants but not for the bugs eating the plants. When I first started working on gratitude for the bugs it made me feel well, guilty because I’d killed a whole bunch of them and then what of the weeds that I was ripping out, was I grateful for them? The answer is a resounding YES! The bugs are barometers, they tell is when a plant is unhealthy or the garden is out of balance. I can be grateful for their message. A healthy garden is seldom over run by pests or disease and I’ve found that if I’m willing to mindfully sacrifice say one cabbage to the aphids they usually leave everything else alone so long as I practice healthy gardening.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:19 amAnd weeds, also a barometer. I find that if I have lots of chickweed my soil is sweet and healthy but if I’m pulling up sorrel the soil is too acidic and I need to add an amendment or two. Listen to the weeds they have good stories to tell and weeds like dandelions are very high in mineral content…so put them in a bucket of water, wait for them to turn to mush and add them to the compost pile.
Years ago I heard Carl Elliot suggest that gardeners ‘plant a few for the slugs’. This idea became a gardening philosophy for me…I stopped thinking of gardening as battling slugs and smothering weeds. Instead I now toss slugs away into the bushes and deal with weeds when I have time. I am more relaxed and my garden brings me joy and satisfaction.
February 19th, 2010 at 11:51 amBest Advise from the Comments Posted Above: Nancy Leshinsky’s… very well stated!
Best Advise I’ve received from someone else: Nature provides everything it needs… there is no reason to use pesticides.
Best Practical Advise to Others: Raised beds are the best way of controlling the quality and nutrients of your soil. Manure, manure, manure… mother earth’s natural steroids for veggies…
Best General Advise to Others:
Witness the full circle of life by planting from seed. There is no greater satisfaction than harvesting a crop that you planted from seed…
Experiment, Observe & Learn. Observe your plants and look at how they are changing with different things you use, e.g., watering, nutrients, etc. Plants will tell you what they need, you just need to pay attention to them.
Always share your seeds & crop. This is the best way to induce others to start their own garden and share in the joy of discovering new heirlooms. We have to reduce our carbon footprint!
Be grateful and enjoy your garden!!!!!
February 20th, 2010 at 11:46 amMake friends with your plants. Get to know their personalities, their prefrences and needs. If you make friends with your plants, they will make friends with you.
February 20th, 2010 at 12:03 pmKeep a note book of what works and doesn’t work. that way next season you can look back on it and try again if you want too.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:00 pm.-= Lisa´s last blog .. =-.
“Prune With a Shovel”… this wisdom came from a local garden advice column… my only reason for picking up a newspaper! Those four small words have been particularly poignant for me, since I have such difficulty in ‘letting go’ of any plantings in my self-made xeriscaped yard. Rather than disposing of a division, I habitually moved it elsewhere; however now, thanks to that ‘comfort’ advice, natural plant beauty is defined and clearly visible!
February 21st, 2010 at 8:54 amMy friend passed on this bit of advice to me. Always keep a pair of gloves and an gardening apron at the back and front door. Then you can pop out in the garden for a bit of work, even if you only have 3 minutes and are wearing your nice work clothes.
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:28 pm[...] the contest to with the seed-starting station and seed from Burpee and The Cook’s Garden. Just click here and leave a comment with your best garden advice! Share and [...]
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:56 amI am a newish gardener. I had limited success last year and will be at it again this year. My best advice is to just get dirty and do not worry when things do not go as planned. There is always next year.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:32 am.-= Terri´s last blog ..all my jars are packed, i’m ready to go =-.
Just start gardening. Read, plant, water, grow. Relax, ask questions from old timers, they have the best advice.
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:42 am*You need less lawn than you think.
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:58 pm*Bring your child, or any child, into the garden.
*When said child moves all your garden markers, don’t worry. You planted it so you’ll likely love it…even if you have no idea where it is. Or write down where you planted. Because the markers WILL be moved.
*Learn to preserve your bounty so you can remember summer year-round!
I am a new gardener, but I got some great advice from a friend last year when I was doubting certain starts would grow… she told me that regardless of the outcome, planting anything will add to your knowledge and get your hands in the dirt. She’s never regretted planting anything as it’s all an experiment and always an adventure.
Thanks for the question!
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:49 pmBest gardening advice I’ve ever received was to play and experiment as much as possible; only through mistakes and missteps we can be sure to always learn.
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:56 pmGarden like you are making love:
Start slow.
Take your time.
Pay attention to detail.
Use your hands and your heart in equal measures.
Leave all poisons out of the area.
Don’t worry about outcome; just enjoy the process.
Remember to say thank you.
(You might well get some delicious vegetables and exquisite flowers. They are just the bonus. In any case you will reap the best, cheapest, psychiatry on the planet.)
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:39 pmFor vegetable gardening, my best advice is to make sure to plant things that you know will work. That way you will still be able to harvest, even if the weather doesn’t cooperate, or you mess something up. For example, I always plant a lot of radishes, peas, lettuce, and pole beans. I have never had trouble with them. When my corn gets eaten my raccoons, my squash is covered with powdery mildew, my eggplants do nothing but sit there, my tomatoes don’t ripen properly, I don’t feel so bad because I’m harvesting all kinds of other stuff.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:07 pm.-= Kate´s last blog ..growing fruit trees in small spaces =-.
My best gardening advice:
When seed starting, write the day you planted the seed on the front of the tag. Look at the ‘Days To Maturity’ on the seed packet and check your calendar for X number of days. Write that date on the back of the plant tag, so you don’t have to pull up that carrot (etc, etc) to check if it is ready yet.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:20 pmFrom my grandmom: plant rhubarb so that you will always be able to make a pie!
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:43 pmI grew up in Olympia, we had a lot of slugs. Maybe this is because Olympia is near Elma and they have that slug festival.
Lettuce was always surrounded by slug bait which is yucky and didn’t help much.
One year we took 4 pieces of plywood (5′ by 7″) and nailed them together into a square. We pushed the structure into the ground around the lettuce starts, about an inch in. I don’t know how, but it kept the slugs at bay. Maybe slugs have no sense of smell and miss the lovely greens inside, who knows but it works! I have never since planted lettuce without it. Willi, I saw you were going for iceberg lettuce and thought this might help. Good luck with the experiment!
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:43 pmIn college, I gardened for an elderly woman. She mentioned more than once that plants do best when grown in the right spot under the right conditions. When I graduated and was getting ready to move, she gave me one of her very own Christmas cactus’ as a gift with the parting advice, “Remember to grow this in the right spot: a real sunny window perhaps!” Well, for many years, I stuffed that poor cactus in any old corner and the poor thing never bloomed. A few years ago, I heard that she had passed away. With her in mind, I moved the cactus to a sunny window and it has since bloomed spectacularly and faithfully ever since!
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:56 pmI live in TX and we have drought conditions during the summer, making watering hard to keep on an even scale. So I cut the bottom off a 2 liter soda plastic bottle and bury it upside down, leaving the narrow opening at the bottom and the bottom sticking out of the soil about 2″. This way, I can fill the bottle with water when needed, avoid splashing on plants with sensitive leaves, and put just about the right amount of water to each plant.
February 24th, 2010 at 3:09 am.-= Linda Crowder´s last blog ..What is the screening process for breast cancer? =-.
As a new gardner (I’ll be planting my first vegetable garden this year), I’ve been soaking up advice from many sources. My favorite piece of insight came from my dad- just get into the garden, start trying things, and watch what happens. I think he was diplomatically trying to tell me that gardening is something best learned by doing.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:49 am.-= Sasha´s last blog ..Photographic Interlude: Two =-.
My best advice is to start small! It’s fun to buy tons of seeds in the spring, but the work of taking care of a big garden in the summer can get overwhelming. So, pick your favorite 10 or fewer vegetables and plant only those. Keep notes on the ones you love so you know what to plan the next year.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:19 amMy second piece of advice is to plant perennials! It’s great to plant things like asparagus, blueberries, strawberries, rhubard just once! Then you have great food for years to come.
Use your winter cloche hoops and clips with trellis netting to keep your free ranging chickens out. Just pull the netting up when you are ready to change the bed over to another crop. They will clean up and till the soil in a raised bed easily in a day. Nothing like them doing yard work while you are at work.
February 24th, 2010 at 5:03 pm[...] I announce last week’s contest winner, I want to send out a huge thank you, a big round of applause, and a hug to everyone who [...]
February 25th, 2010 at 11:31 am