When my youngest son goes off to college next year, I will lose a great help in the garden. So for the last two years he and I have been working on several gardening projects to make gardening less labor intensive for me. This spring we’ve already completed two big projects: new raised bed and…

Save money A garden starts with a modest investment of just a few dollars in seeds. But it gives you hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and veggies. And if you preserve the surplus produce you’ll get even more. If you are willing to do a bit of canning, freezing or dehydrating, you can provide…

I know, I know. After a long winter, you are anxious to get out into the garden and start planting. It’s been beautifully warm for several days, surely it’s time to start gardening. Right? Wrong. I hate to burst your bubble, but you really need to pay attention to last average frost dates for your…

Organizing my seeds Well, I finally did it. I finally organized my seeds. Well, actually, I’ve had them organized for several years, but over time my filing system has become inadequate and my seed box has been a jumbled mess for a couple years. So I needed to clean it up and make it work…

It’s still too early to plant your garden. But there’s still lots to do to get ready for this year’s garden. While you’re waiting for the weather to warm up, you can be getting ready for a great gardening season with these seven spring gardening chores: Test your soil and add nutrients if needed A…

I know, I know. You are itching to start gardening but warm weather is still weeks away. That’s OK–it’s almost time to start your seedlings indoors. Tomatoes are at the top of the list of seeds to start indoors. But that’s not all–here are some other seeds you may want to start early: Eggplant Most…

As you nurture your plants along from seedling to full-grown plant, your plants may encounter some rough spots or bumps along the road. You can help your plants along and encourage them to grow bigger and stronger with a little foliar feeding. Why foliar feeding? The leaves of plants are amazing things. Their primary function…

One of the main reasons I garden is to provide fresh, tasty and chemical-free food for my family. But it seems like the bugs and pests are determined to thwart me at every turn. When you see your broccoli covered in green worms or cabbage moths have destroyed your cabbage, it’s enough to make you…

Pamper-your-plants Easy does it Now, the leaves are limited on how much nutrients they can take in. Too much fertilizer will create mold or scalding spots on the leaves, so a little goes a long way. Use a very diluted fish emulsions, liquid

Get off to a good start in your garden with the right garden tools. These are my favorite products, the kinds of things that I could not live without and that make it easier to produce a more bountiful harvest. Wheel Barrow or Garden Cart You’ll want something with wheels to haul around compost, dirt and…

You already know (hopefully) how much gardening benefits adults–physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and socially. What’s not to like? Now you can double your gardening pleasure by including your children. They will not only enjoy similar benefits from gardening that adults do, but there are some added bonuses particular to children. If you include your children…

Get the best out of your garden You probably already know that farmers rotate their crops every year. This is to prevent their soil from becoming depleted and to ensure a productive harvest. Good gardeners will do the same thing and for similar reasons. Some types of plants are heavy feeders. Others share similar diseases.…

(In case you missed it, here’s Part One and Part Two of my series on Planning Your Garden.) There’s a buzz going around about “heirloom seeds” especially heirloom tomatoes,  leading people to believe that heirlooms have more flavor or are otherwise superior to all other tomatoes (thus they can charge you double for the seeds or plants.)…

As promised, here is my first installment of posts on planning your garden. First things first: tomatoes. It’s the reason God created gardens. I don’t care what else I grow, if I couldn’t grow tomatoes, I would be an empty shell of a person. We love our tomatoes And don’t think just any old tomato…

Right now it looks like spring is a long way  off. But don’t be fooled—before you know it, it will be time to plant your garden. This is the time of year to sit down and plan what you want this year’s garden to look like. What’s the Number-one Hobby in America? You guessed it–it’s…

Make the Most of the County Extension If you haven’t used the information and services offered by your County Extension, you are missing a lot.  The County Extension has lot of FREE booklets–both online and for pick up at the office–with a wealth of information including: Gardening–what plants do best in your area, when you…