Soil for Starting Seeds
A question came in over the holiday: "What is a good commercial soil in which to start vegetable seeds?"
Planting a Nectarine Tree
For those who have been tracking our landscaping project, you might recall there are 5 spaces for fruit trees in the front yard, and only 4 trees. On Christmas Eve, the final addition arrived via FedEx (upside-down, despite the multiple appearances of "up" arrows all over the box, thank you very much). Our Fantasia semi-dwarf nectarine arrived virtually safe and sound, with only a couple of broken branches. Admittedly, I had never planted a bare root fruit tree before. I've killed a couple bare root roses in the past, so ...
Take Inventory
Seed catalogs are starting to appear in your mailbox. Be prepared with a list of seeds that you want or need before diving in.
Creating a Concrete Jungle
A brave new gardener sent in this question recently:
"I finally want to have some greenery on my patio. Can you suggest some flowers and foliage that will make it look warm and inviting? I SUCK at this. = )"
Good for you! It's always a big first step to get growing on a patio, and I have to say, not always successful at first. Take heart if something doesn't work out the first time, though. My husband is a firm believer in survival of the fittest. He'll buy 3 different plants and waits to see which one thrives, then ...
Rat-Proof Compost Bin
A new gardenerd wrote in recently:
"Any suggestions [for a rat-proof compost bin]? We do trap and try to control the rats but they just exist and like to
come around compost in our neighborhood."
There must be a global increase in rats this year. We've been seeing an increase in these critters around our community garden as well. I had them nibbling away at my tomatoes all summer. Here are a couple suggestions I can across in my research:
First of all, you will want to make sure that you aren't composting any animal fats, bones or flesh. Rats are ...
Re-Use that Cardboard
Learn new ways to use garbage in your garden. Don't throw that box away - turn it into soil amendment!
Winter Harvest Recipe
In the middle of writing this month's newsletter, I was struck with hunger and a craving for soup. Could it be that I've been subsisting on gingerbread cookies all morning (made fresh last night)? They are a complete protein, aren't they?
Anywho - the need to eat right away was overshadowed by the idea of having something really nice to eat that could be assembled with minimal time. I cracked open my handy dandy binder of torn out recipes from magazines and leafed through to find something that used chickpeas and diced tomatoes - because that's what's in the fridge. I fell upon a ...
Eco-Gift Festival
There's been a bit of a lapse on blog entries in the past week. Reason being, I was at the Eco-Gift Festival for 4 days, and the workload leading up to it was tremendous. Now that it's over, and after a little much-needed rest, blogging can resume as regularly scheduled.
For those who couldn't attend, here is a little taste of what it was like at the Festival. First of all, we had a great location - the first booth you saw upon entering the tent. You couldn't possibly miss our banner, which was wonderfully designed by Lenore ...
Collecting Water
Utilize nature's gift of rain to your advantage. Learn more about rain barrels and other ways to collect water.
Recipes for your Harvest
When you are looking for new ways to use your harvest from the garden, this week's Tip of the Week helps you find the perfect solution.