Some of the garden is doing great….other parts not so great. Potatoes are the best of all this year. I have 5 or 6 kinds out there, including All Blue. Several varieties are blooming, which means potatoes are beginning to form down below. Blooming Norland (red) Potatoes The plants in the hay bales are mature and doing…
This year I am more intentional about and focused on container gardening. I collected lots of low cost containers, and I am trying everything. Some things I bought new. To keeps things somewhat aesthetically pleasing, I grouped containers made from similar materials together. Here’s the rundown so far. Metal Garbage Cans, Locker, Buckets, Tool Box Long Metal Box, Filled with…
One way to increase yields is to grow upwards. The newest buzzword for this is vertical gardening. We used to trellis things. Over the past few years I have been trying some new trellising ideas. This year I am into it even more since it really packs stuff into smaller spaces (that darn drought again)…
The photo below shows how I solved three different problems. The first problem was: how to keep my trellis’ from blowing over to Nebraska. Last year I played around a bit with tent stakes and cinder blocks. This year, using the same materials I may have perfected a way to keep a trellis in place…
Memorial Day weekend usually is a time of frenzied garden activity. After all, the frost season is officially over and it is time to get in all the main season stuff. However, it is so chilly and so very windy, there is no joy in being out there or any reason to plant A THING.…
Today is warm but overcast. In town the wind WAS light. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days. This is our average last frost date too! That made early today a great day to plant seed and transplants in our town. Early this morning before work I set out all my peppers…
Everything has changed since I started this blog. Our lovely mild winter has turned into severe drought conditions. Many ranchers are selling off cattle because there is no summer pasture. Our town is officially on water restriction (for lawns). Today was nearly 90 degrees and bone dry. This is August weather, not May. I am…
I decided to set out some tomato transplants a few days ago. I was in a hurry to get the tomatoes out of the AeroGrow because they were shading the eggplant and pepper seedlings. What a disaster. I took the seedlings from the AeroGrow and placed them directly in the soil. I did not harden…
by: Networx.com Home composting isn’t just for farmers anymore! The practice is becoming increasingly popular among urban environmentalists who are eager to cut their landfill contributions: from apartment dwellers growing gardens on top of NYC roofing, to folks who participate in their local municipal compost program, to homeowners looking to turn their backyards into a teeny tiny…
By THE ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION A key question that is often asked about ecological agriculture, including organic agriculture, is whether it can be productive enough to meet the world’s food needs. While many agree that ecological agriculture is desirable from an environmental and social point of view, there remain fears that ecological and organic agriculture produce…