I am currently in love with love in mist. Last year I sowed seeds with only a few plants growing here and there in whites, pinks and blue. However this year, the reseeded plants are just plain beautiful. The white were the first to bloom, and now the puffy seed pods are forming, which are [...]
New vegetable gardener, Emily, sent me a few pictures with a note of concern about zucchini shading out her onions and beans. This will happen, and it’s time to prune. Pruning allows for air circulation, helping prevent mildew, a common issue with squash. The plant can be cut back 1/3 to it’s main vine. This [...]
Compost easily in your garden. Take a look at Ecofilms’ Permaculture Garden Worm Tower! And thanks to Apartment Therapy for posting this!
This weekend, Pete and I extended our raised beds a little. Have a look! We moved mulch and planters around a bit. Placed broken down cardboard boxes (minus any tape or plastic) to act as a weed barrier. Laid out new plan, bricks and planters. Watered the cardboard, and added compost, then soil, then compost, [...]
Today, a lovely 45 degrees, brought me outdoors to cleanup for spring. I had been thinking of expanding a bed into the yard for quite awhile now. Since my pinwheel marigolds went a little crazy last summer and shaded out the grass anyhow, I figured it was easy enough to cover dead grass. I used [...]
What a great idea! HOW? Composting can take many forms. There are piles, manufactured bins, and vermiculture homes. Here’s a little break down. Compost Piles Think about enclosure, will it be open to the world to see, or screened off from view? Start your pile on bare ground so that microbes and air can easily [...]
Avid coffee drinkers love the kick of caffeine. Well, our plants find it pretty great too. Dilute your left over coffee every other week and water your house plants. Coffee and coffee grounds are a source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, and copper that will help keep your plants green and strong. Add coffee grounds [...]
Martha “raised” (pardon the pun) a great question about how to get through root bound soil. This No Dig formula from Organic Gardening, Dec 2010/Jan 2011 issue, is the answer. If you live in the city it might be wise to plant your vegetables in raised beds. Any unwanted city soil metals will always leach [...]