We planted our garlic in the fall and it is almost ready for us to pull up...and I will be glad because I really need to make a batch of bug spray. I still have been battling bugs on my herbs...I make this solution and it really seems to work.
Bug Spray:
6 large cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 small onion
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dish soap (cheap)
1 quart of water.
I mix this all together and let it sit over night. I strain with some cheese cloth...I then put the solution in a spray bottle.
This will work on many plants just don't let the solution sit on your plants for many days...I always test it on one plant to even see if it will kill the bugs and it usually does!
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
My Favorite Tool.... the Hoe
We have been busy working in the garden pulling weeds mostly...we have been getting so much rain it amazes me how fast the weeds seem to grow. I mostly hand weed because the raise beds make it easier...but after I hand weed I usually take the hoe through the whole bed. I started thinking this is my favorite tool in the whole shed.
I usually run the hoe along all my garden beds to stir up the soil and by doing this I am removing all smaller weeds, loosing up the soil which improves aeration. Many times after a hard rain our soil takes on a hard crust....this needs to be removed so the plant can get all the nutrients and moisture it needs to grow.
I hoe very shallow without going to close to the plant and never deep enough to hurt the roots. I scrap the top crust off making the soil look like new on top...it really looks nice after a good scraping.
I have many friends that mulch their beds with straw, leaves, hay, grass clippings etc.. I have not gotten into the habit of this...all my beds are plain dirt. I know if I did this I probably wouldn't have as many weeds and I wouldn't have to hoe.. I guess that would take all the fun out of me trying to battle the weeds every year. Plus it's good exercise.
What's your favorite gardening tool?
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
I usually run the hoe along all my garden beds to stir up the soil and by doing this I am removing all smaller weeds, loosing up the soil which improves aeration. Many times after a hard rain our soil takes on a hard crust....this needs to be removed so the plant can get all the nutrients and moisture it needs to grow.
I hoe very shallow without going to close to the plant and never deep enough to hurt the roots. I scrap the top crust off making the soil look like new on top...it really looks nice after a good scraping.
I have many friends that mulch their beds with straw, leaves, hay, grass clippings etc.. I have not gotten into the habit of this...all my beds are plain dirt. I know if I did this I probably wouldn't have as many weeds and I wouldn't have to hoe.. I guess that would take all the fun out of me trying to battle the weeds every year. Plus it's good exercise.
What's your favorite gardening tool?
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Raised Beds
When we first started gardening we started by planted all our vegetables and herbs in rows...It was very hard keeping up with weeds and we nearly gave up until we found out about square foot gardening or raised beds. We grow everything in raised beds all our vegetables, herbs and our fruit. Here are a few reasons why.....
We usually had big puddles in our beds after it rained our drainage has improved.
Soil warms up faster and dries out more quickly....this means we can plant earlier in the spring.
We don't walk up to our plants so we don't disturb the soil.
Our beds are smaller so we can reach the weeds easier....when we pull weeds it is easier to clean a whole bed in a matter of minutes instead of hours.
We can build our beds in the fall and have them ready for spring...remember we add lots of compost to all our beds in the fall.
We can plant our plants closer together so this leaves little room for weeds to grow.
Okay what are the disadvantages of raised beds?
Our garden beds dry out in the heat of the summer. (which means extra watering) (you could add extra mulch or even a soaker hose during this time.)
The paths down the middle get rather weedy.... we just mow between our beds and I kind of like the look. I have friends that pile up leaves or use straw to get rid of the weeds. I myself do not like this look so I would rather mow between the paths.
I wanted to remind you.... we don't use treated lumber for our raised beds so they do need to be replaced after a few years. I know lots of people that use cinder blocks which work great but they are a little expensive for me.
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
We usually had big puddles in our beds after it rained our drainage has improved.
Soil warms up faster and dries out more quickly....this means we can plant earlier in the spring.
We don't walk up to our plants so we don't disturb the soil.
Our beds are smaller so we can reach the weeds easier....when we pull weeds it is easier to clean a whole bed in a matter of minutes instead of hours.
We can build our beds in the fall and have them ready for spring...remember we add lots of compost to all our beds in the fall.
We can plant our plants closer together so this leaves little room for weeds to grow.
Okay what are the disadvantages of raised beds?
Our garden beds dry out in the heat of the summer. (which means extra watering) (you could add extra mulch or even a soaker hose during this time.)
The paths down the middle get rather weedy.... we just mow between our beds and I kind of like the look. I have friends that pile up leaves or use straw to get rid of the weeds. I myself do not like this look so I would rather mow between the paths.
I wanted to remind you.... we don't use treated lumber for our raised beds so they do need to be replaced after a few years. I know lots of people that use cinder blocks which work great but they are a little expensive for me.
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Friday, June 12, 2009
Lettuce for all Seasons.....and a recipe
We love that we can pick lettuce almost all season long...until it gets real hot. There are so many different kinds of lettuce and they all like different temperatures so you can almost grow it all season.
We grow a lot of Romaine lettuce because of its crunchy texture. We can grow this lettuce in the summer months. Our favorites are Apollo and Jericho.
We also like loose leaf lettuce...you just pick its outer leaves and it will keep on growing. We have had lettuce grow for months and months. I like that we can grow this in the summer months our favorite is Red Oakleaf and Salad Bowl.
My ultimate favorite lettuce is Butterhead or Buttercrunch (Yum!) It is soft green with red heads and has a buttery flavor you can grow this in early spring and summer. Cool season Capitane warm season Esmeralda.
What about Iceburg? We have tried to grow this....I think we get to warm in the spring time. We just can't get it to grow.
We plant lettuce all around our garden...we have lettuce in our potato beds around our onions ect... When it starts getting bitter we pull it up....making room for are other plants to grow. This works really well in the early season.
Here is one of my favorite Salad Dressings:
Creamy Herb
1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon soymilk or fat free milk
4 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a small whisk together and then chill....wonderful over fresh crisped lettuce.
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
We grow a lot of Romaine lettuce because of its crunchy texture. We can grow this lettuce in the summer months. Our favorites are Apollo and Jericho.
We also like loose leaf lettuce...you just pick its outer leaves and it will keep on growing. We have had lettuce grow for months and months. I like that we can grow this in the summer months our favorite is Red Oakleaf and Salad Bowl.
My ultimate favorite lettuce is Butterhead or Buttercrunch (Yum!) It is soft green with red heads and has a buttery flavor you can grow this in early spring and summer. Cool season Capitane warm season Esmeralda.
What about Iceburg? We have tried to grow this....I think we get to warm in the spring time. We just can't get it to grow.
We plant lettuce all around our garden...we have lettuce in our potato beds around our onions ect... When it starts getting bitter we pull it up....making room for are other plants to grow. This works really well in the early season.
Here is one of my favorite Salad Dressings:
Creamy Herb
1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon soymilk or fat free milk
4 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a small whisk together and then chill....wonderful over fresh crisped lettuce.
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Recommended Seed Spacing
When you plant your seeds do you ever think about how far apart you need to space them? I know that not every seed will germinate but if they did I want them to be spaced far enough apart. It saves me time not having to thin them out. This is my recommended seed spacing I hope it helps you....out in your garden.
Radishes 1 inch apart
Onions 2 inches apart
Parsnips 2 inches apart (I thin to 4 inches apart)
Carrots 3 inches apart
Kohlrabi 3 inches apart
Beets 4 inches apart
Leeks 4 inches apart
Swiss Card 5 inches apart
Leaf Lettuce 6 inches apart ( I usually have to thin this)
Broccoli 15 inches apart
Cabbage 15 inches apart
Collards 15 inches apart
There are many vegetables I left off here because most of the time I start my seeds indoors like tomatoes. I think it is a lot cheaper to start your plants by seed and planting at seed out it good rich dirt does produce a hardy plant that will give you vegetables. Remember to buy extra seeds at your garden center for fall planting!
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Radishes 1 inch apart
Onions 2 inches apart
Parsnips 2 inches apart (I thin to 4 inches apart)
Carrots 3 inches apart
Kohlrabi 3 inches apart
Beets 4 inches apart
Leeks 4 inches apart
Swiss Card 5 inches apart
Leaf Lettuce 6 inches apart ( I usually have to thin this)
Broccoli 15 inches apart
Cabbage 15 inches apart
Collards 15 inches apart
There are many vegetables I left off here because most of the time I start my seeds indoors like tomatoes. I think it is a lot cheaper to start your plants by seed and planting at seed out it good rich dirt does produce a hardy plant that will give you vegetables. Remember to buy extra seeds at your garden center for fall planting!
Happy Gardening...
Lynn
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Heavy and Light feeders? What is Crop Rotation???
Last year we had to get rid of a few of our garden beds to make room for a greenhouse. That means after the beds were built we then added lots of compost to get the soil ready in those new beds. We also rotate our beds every year to prevent pest and to keep diseases down. Some plants like very rich soil and others do not.
We have 12 garden beds.... In the spring when we built our new beds we added the soil that we got from the beds and we then added at least 2 inches of compost to those beds. At the end of the season we add compost to all our beds to let the soil get rained on and snowed on until spring. The older beds have had this done many seasons so the soil is so rich...and some plants like rich soil (heavy feeders) and others like leaner soil not as fertile (light feeders).
Heavy feeders like (rich soil) : beans, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, kale , celery, corn, asparagus, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, artichoke, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes.
Light Feeder like (leaner soil) : beets, radishes, turnips, carrots, parsley, sweet potatoes, potatoes.
You can improve your soil by adding heavy feeder's like spinach in the spring you then can plant beans right in their place in the summer. The soil will become richer because you had the spinach there in the spring..like wise if you have a light feeder such as peas in the spring replace them with another light feeder such as carrots in the summer.
Now...the next year you should rotate those beds... you should plant your spinach in the pea bed and so on... This is how I rotate my beds I never plant the same plants in the same beds each year and that includes plant families such as broccoli and cabbage they are in the same plant family...this means they get the same pests and diseases.
If you get nervous and can't decide what to plant and when...I suggest you plant beans. I believe beans plants are the best thing for any type of soil....it adds nitrogen to the soil and this will help any plant you plant afterward.
A few suggestions:
The first year I plant tomatoes and the next year green beans
The first year I plant parsley and the next year carrots
The first year sunflowers and the next year green beans
The first year green beans the next year sweet potatoes
I hope this helps you understand crop rotation...I would love to hear how you rotate your garden beds.
Happy Gardening....
Lynn
We have 12 garden beds.... In the spring when we built our new beds we added the soil that we got from the beds and we then added at least 2 inches of compost to those beds. At the end of the season we add compost to all our beds to let the soil get rained on and snowed on until spring. The older beds have had this done many seasons so the soil is so rich...and some plants like rich soil (heavy feeders) and others like leaner soil not as fertile (light feeders).
Heavy feeders like (rich soil) : beans, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, kale , celery, corn, asparagus, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, artichoke, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes.
Light Feeder like (leaner soil) : beets, radishes, turnips, carrots, parsley, sweet potatoes, potatoes.
You can improve your soil by adding heavy feeder's like spinach in the spring you then can plant beans right in their place in the summer. The soil will become richer because you had the spinach there in the spring..like wise if you have a light feeder such as peas in the spring replace them with another light feeder such as carrots in the summer.
Now...the next year you should rotate those beds... you should plant your spinach in the pea bed and so on... This is how I rotate my beds I never plant the same plants in the same beds each year and that includes plant families such as broccoli and cabbage they are in the same plant family...this means they get the same pests and diseases.
If you get nervous and can't decide what to plant and when...I suggest you plant beans. I believe beans plants are the best thing for any type of soil....it adds nitrogen to the soil and this will help any plant you plant afterward.
A few suggestions:
The first year I plant tomatoes and the next year green beans
The first year I plant parsley and the next year carrots
The first year sunflowers and the next year green beans
The first year green beans the next year sweet potatoes
I hope this helps you understand crop rotation...I would love to hear how you rotate your garden beds.
Happy Gardening....
Lynn
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Why Do You Plant Your Tomatoes So Deep?
We have had many people walking through our garden lately and I believe the biggest question asked is "why do you plant your tomatoes so deep."
Tomatoes have this great advantage over many other plants because their stems can grow roots when they're in contact with the soil. When you plant deep you are giving your plant a stronger root system and a strong stem. When we do this we always remove a few lower leaves( if you don't do this the leaves will wilt under the soil or they will rot and cause disease problems) then place the plant deep into the soil just up to the leaves.
We have bought many tomato plants at garden supply stores and they look so leggy...we try to dig a deep enough hole but there are times when we have had to plant the tomato plant sideways...to do this dig a shallow ditch sideways and lay your tomato plant on the ground with it's head just sticking out of the soil we then scoop up the soil around the stem and the leaves. the plant will look like a small tomato plant but within a few weeks your plant will grow into a big strong tomato plant. I can almost guarantee you will get more tomatoes then ever before!
We have done this ever year... and we actually look for those sad leggy plants at the store now mainy because we can get them pretty cheap.
How do you plant your tomatoes?
Happy Gardening..
Lynn
Tomatoes have this great advantage over many other plants because their stems can grow roots when they're in contact with the soil. When you plant deep you are giving your plant a stronger root system and a strong stem. When we do this we always remove a few lower leaves( if you don't do this the leaves will wilt under the soil or they will rot and cause disease problems) then place the plant deep into the soil just up to the leaves.
We have bought many tomato plants at garden supply stores and they look so leggy...we try to dig a deep enough hole but there are times when we have had to plant the tomato plant sideways...to do this dig a shallow ditch sideways and lay your tomato plant on the ground with it's head just sticking out of the soil we then scoop up the soil around the stem and the leaves. the plant will look like a small tomato plant but within a few weeks your plant will grow into a big strong tomato plant. I can almost guarantee you will get more tomatoes then ever before!
We have done this ever year... and we actually look for those sad leggy plants at the store now mainy because we can get them pretty cheap.
How do you plant your tomatoes?
Happy Gardening..
Lynn
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