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Gardening Tip: Avoid Tree Roots by Building Raised Beds with Bottoms

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:58:46 +0000

This great tip comes from my friend Anthony, who gardens in New Jersey (zone 6) and blogs at The Compost Bin. Anthony says:

"After pulling a few giant piles worth of roots out (of my raised beds) yesterday, I made an executive decision. Whenever I build a new bed, a bottom will be a mandatory feature. I don't think I'll use a sheet of plywood for the floor as suggested in the book (Square Foot Gardening), but at a minimum, I'll load the bottom up with landscape fabric. Usually, I'd layer newspapers to stop weeds and because I know they'll break down and feed those earthworms. But since I want to avoid future root invasions, I think I'll pass on the newspapers. Do they make landscape fabric out of steel?"

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Garden Quote: Carol Deppe on the Imperfect Garden

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:00:20 +0000

Carol Deppe's fantastic book, The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times , is currently one of my favorite books about gardening. If you're determined to grow a good portion of your own food, it's definitely worth a look.

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Weekly Garden Link-Up

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:42:38 +0000

Here are some of the things I've enjoyed reading over this past week:

Margaret Roach over at A Way to Garden featured an absolutely stunning sunflower on her blog. The silver-leaf sunflower, Helianthus argophyllus, is now on my "must grow!" list. If you love silver foliage, you need to see this plant.
Over at Growing the Home Garden, Dave reviewed The 20 Minute Gardener. It looks like it might be worth a look -- especially for those who wonder how to fit gardening into their already-busy lives.
Susy over at Chiot's Run shared a homegrown meal, featuring fresh lettuce from the garden, venison, and eggs from their flock. This is the stuff my dreams are made of. Seriously.
Over on the BBC News Science and Environment blog: more about the link between bee deaths and
neonicotinoids.
If you love arugula, you'll appreciate this tip from the Timber Press website: cut and come again arugula.
And, over on my own blog, I gave a quick early April tour of my garden. My compost bins were featured. What can I say?

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Plant of the Week: African Violets

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:48:13 +0000

I am still waiting for the first crocus to bloom in my garden (really, I go out and check the front garden every morning. No crocuses yet. Sigh....)

So, I am desperate for blooms. Luckily, my African violets have been blooming the last few weeks, spurred on by the increased light they're getting in the kitchen window. The pretty one pictured above is blooming now. Unfortunately, I don't know which variety it is -- it was a NOID purchased on clearance at my local nursery.

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Garden Quote: Damrosch and Coleman on Learning from Pests

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:28:16 +0000

"Yes. A few pests may show up in your garden -- say, some Colorado potato beetles on your potatoes. You can then go out every morning and knock them off into a jar filled with soapy water. But let's be clear: This is not an act of war. It isn't even a solution. It's an 'oops' moment, a learning moment. It is a signal to ask yourself whether the soil in that potato row is up to snuff, and whether a hay mulch might keep the soil more cool and moist, thus relieving the plants (as research has shown) of summer heat stress." ---Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman, The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook

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Reader Question: White Fuzzy Mold on Seedlings?

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:54:11 +0000

I've gotten a few questions over the past week or two from readers who have noticed white, fuzzy mold growing on their seedlings. This is a fairly common issue for those who start their own plants from seed. The good news: the fungus itself is not going to hurt your seedlings. The bad news: that fungus is a sign that your soil is too wet. Soil that is too wet can result in having the delicate roots of your seedlings rot, which will eventually result in plant death.

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When to Start Fertilizing Seedlings

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:49:51 +0000

I've gotten this question about fifteen times in the last couple of weeks in my email, so I figured it's something that many of you may be wondering about. Seeds don't need any fertilizer to germinate. Everything they need is right there in the makeup of each seed. However, once they've got their first true leaves (as opposed to the "seed leaves" or cotyledons that appear first) they will start needing nutrients for strong growth.

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The Dreaded Damping Off

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:49:14 +0000

If you haven't had to deal with damping off at least once or twice in your seed starting experience, you are a very lucky gardener. If you have, then you know the feeling of helplessness of seeing your teeny, tiny seedlings keeled over onto the soil. It is not a fun gardening experience!

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Make Your Own Soil Block Maker

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:16:14 +0000

I love my block maker, which I received as a gift after numerous hints and references to the Johnny's catalog. I also mentioned that I never would have bought it myself, being kind of a tightwad by nature. So I got it as a gift, and everyone's happy.

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Have You Considered Companion Planting?

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:33:36 +0000

Most people think organic gardening is simply gardening without the use of synthetic chemicals. In truth, organic gardening is using every method at your disposal to make your garden thrive. You may use organic fertilizers and soil amendments. You might try to attract beneficial insects to keep the insect pest population down. You might use mulches and cover crops to improve your soil.

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