Dr. Greenthumb

[Anna Michele]

[Anna Michele]

[macw1960]

So many great ideas on this thread.

[Anna Michele]

this is a great idea I might throw a few in my garden bed

Ever heard of a keyhole garden?
Designed for arid environments with poor soil, it's a raised bed system with a built in compost basket. Self fertilizing, and super efficient at holding in moisture.
Don't miss the YouTube video link on the page that explains it in great detail. You can build one in a day!
http://www.gardeningchannel.com/how-...eyhole-garden/

[Anna Michele]

Carton planters are easy to use to germinate seeds.
They pack easily next together too.

[Anna Michele]

http://crazyhorsesghost.hubpages.com...Never-Tell-You

Seed Starting, What To Do And Not To Do.

I like to use natural top soil to start my garden seedlings in. I usually don't use potting soil because it generally does not produce the results I want. I usually fill a large, deep baking pan I have with top soil and bake it for thirty minutes at 350 degrees. This sanitizes the soil and makes sure that no weeds or grass come up in your soil. I usually start on this project in the winter and I fill up a couple of large plastic barrels with lids with the sanitized soil.
I fill my trays up with my potting soil and then I plant my seeds. After I have planted the seeds in the sanitized top soil I sprinkle the top of the soil with powdered cinnamon. This keeps away fungus that can cause damping off.
I cover each seedling with a clear plastic cup that I wash and reuse. This protects the seedling and keeps the moisture in. It also keeps away cold and wind. I do my seed starting on a screened in porch.
If you want to root a plant or cutting in water, add a aspirin or two to the water. Buy a cheap bottle of aspirins and grind the aspirin up before you add it to the water. This will aid in water absorption and will help the cutting to start roots. You can often use this method to start cuttings putting out roots that would not do so otherwise.
If you plant your seeds outdoors sprinkle flavored powdered gelatin in the soil with the seeds. This will feed beneficial bacteria and provide needed nitrogen to your plants as they come up.
Transplanting Tomatoes Or Pepper Plants

When planting any type of tomato or pepper plant, pinch off all but the top leaves of the plant. Dig a hole deep enough to have the leaves left on the plant just above the surface of the ground when planted. Always add a cup of water to the prepared hole and then set the plant into the hole and put a tablespoon of powdered flavored gelatin in the hole as near to the roots of the plant as possible. A teaspoon of cinnamon also goes in the hole.
Then carefully fill the hole with dirt and pack the dirt down tight. The gelatin will feed and encourage helpful bacteria and the cinnamon will keep away fungus and cut worms. Try it this way and I promise you that you'll be rewarded with faster growing and healthier plants.
The Lint From Your Dryer

Instead of throwing away the lint your dryer filter collects save it in a tightly covered container and till it into your garden to help hold moisture in your garden.
You can shred your daily newspaper and add the shredded paper to your compost bin. It will help you to have healthy compost and it will help to retain moisture in your garden.
Left Over Apple Peelings, Banana Peelings Etc.

Take all of these peelings and vegetable scraps and run them through your food processor. Put the ground up vegetable scraps around tomatoes, peppers, egg plants, pumpkins and etc. to feed your growing plants. Peppers especially love this and will grow and produce bumper crops of peppers when you feed them this way.
Gardening Tips, Suggestions And Information

1. Never add mulch to plants your going to winter over until after the first frost has occurred. If you add it sooner, you may be providing insects with warmth and shelter from the cold.
2. Plant the vegetables in your garden that your family likes to eat. Why plant asparagus if no one eats it.
3. The easiest plants to grow for the new gardener include beans, tomatoes, radishes, Swiss chard, peppers, corn, cucumbers, and potatoes. Anyone should be able to grow these very easy to grow vegetables.
4. If you want to harvest your vegetables in a hurry plant radishes, sweet peas, beans, squash, and cucumbers.
5. Plant your cucumbers so they can grow up a fence or trellis and you will grow far more cucumbers than if you try to plant them on the ground.
6. Plant pole beans around the base of a tee-pee bamboo frame and the pole bean plants will grow up the tee-pee frame and you can easily pick and enjoy your pole beans.
7. Be sure to use tomato cages or sturdy stakes to provide support for your tomato plants. If you don't provide support for your tomatoes your tomato plants won't produce nearly as many tomatoes and they may catch diseases.
8. Radishes, Swiss chard, beets, and carrots can be planted up to four weeks before the last frost. They are quite hardy.
9. Its important to plant varieties of vegetables that grow well in your area. Ask, for instance what variety of radishes seem to do well in your area down at your local farm and garden center.
10. Always plant several marigolds around among your tomato plants to keep away garden pests. This works especially well with tomatoes and squash.
11. To always have gardening twine available in the garden put a ball of gardening twine in a clay flower pot with a hole in the bottom. Bring the end of the twine out the hole and turn the pot over. Put it in a convenient place in the garden and you'll always have gardening twine available when you need it.
12. Do you have a problem with aphids. Use a strong insecticidal soap to get rid of them.
13. When you boil or steam vegetables don't throw the water away. Use it to water, vegetables you are growing in containers after the water has cooled. I bet you'll be surprised how growing vegetable plants respond to this type of water.
14. Always put left over tea, tea bags and coffee grounds under your azalea plants. You will end up with healthy azalea plants and your flowers will be bright in color. You can dig a hole near the plants to bury left over tea bags.
15. The quickest and best place to dry herbs is on a few sheets of newspaper on the back seat of your car. The herbs will dry out quickly. You can usually have dried herbs in 1 - 2 days.
16. Don't be afraid to grow your own kitchen herbs. Most herbs are easy to grow and you've never tasted anything as good as your own homemade pesto sauce. I grow purple heirloom sweet basil and it is so delicious. It also gives a wonderful smell to my garden.
17. You can grow plants like rhubarb and asparagus and they will come back year after year. All you have to do is keep the weeds out and fertilize them. I add heavy mulch once they are up and growing and this keeps the weeds out. Rhubarb pie is so delicious. I like it mixed with just picked strawberries.
18. When you plant things like radishes or carrots mix the seeds with powdered flavored jello like this. To a pack of radish seeds add three tablespoons of powdered flavored gelatin. Then plant the seeds and powdered gelatin together just like it is all seeds. This way your radishes won't be to thick when they come up and the gelatin will provide the radishes with needed nitrogen. You can try an experiment and the radishes planted with gelatin will be much healthier than radishes planted with out gelatin.
19. Always plant marigolds in your garden, especially near tomatoes and cabbage because the marigolds will keep garden pests away from your plants and garden.
20. Plant one long, wide row in your garden for crops like radicchio, white beets, bock-choy, bulb fennel, celeriac,and escaroles. Plant a few of each of these in this mixed row and you can sample a lot of varieties of taste from this row. When you grow a row of these veggies mixed and planted together this way you can keep up with the vegetables and you get to try a wide variety of tastes.
21. Do you stir fry. You should if you don't. If you do try picking things like immature broccoli, tiny baby squash and tiny baby eggplants to use in your stir fries. You won't believe the wonderful flavor of these tiny baby vegetables. Don't be afraid to pull baby green onions to add to the mix. You can come up with some wonderful flavors this way.
22. Try to plan to harvest your vegetables in the morning when the veggies are packed with nutrients You can preserve the flavor and nutrients of leafy green vegetables by chilling them in the refrigerator but don't put onions or tomatoes in the refrigerator. If you do, they will lose some of their flavor.
23. If you harvest your squash on a regular basis as tiny baby squash you'll be rewarded with twice as many squash as you would have if you allowed the squash to mature. They are so delicious when the seeds in the squash are very small.
24. Weed early and often. And once your vegetables start growing mulch your plants heavily to keep the weeds out. Don't let your garden get over run with weeds or you will lose control of your garden.
25. Water your garden wisely. Never water your garden when the sun is on the garden. Water before the sun comes up or after the sun has set. Consider watering with a good quality sprinkler after the sun has set or late at night. Your garden will get a lot more water this way and it will be a few hours before the sun comes up to dry up the water.

[Anna Michele]

Gardening Tips, Suggestions And Information

1. You should plan to grow crops that store themselves. These crops include dry beans, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, and butternut winter squash. You just harvest and store these items in a cool dry place and they will be there for you to use way up into the winter. Butternut squash and shallots allow you to enjoy food from your garden all winter long.
2. You can use a very small green house or small handmade cold frame to grow and harvest radishes and lettuce all winter long especially in the American south.
3. Harvest and freeze your garden in small batches as it gets ripe. If you do this you will lose much less of your vegetables. You can for example add chopped peppers, cubes of summer squash, green beans and cut off sweet corn to zip lock plastic bags and toss them into the freezer. Write on the bag whats in it with a permanent marker. You can freeze mixed bags of veggies this way and then use them in the winter to make delicious soups or stews in the winter.
4. If you have an abundance of cayenne pepper keep it picked off green and keep adding it to a gallon zip lock bag. As the bag gets full zip the bag full and store it in the freezer. You can if you wish go ahead and cut the stems off before you freeze the cayenne. You can add a tablespoon or two of fine diced green cayenne to soups and stews to add spice and flavor.
5. You can if you wish let your cayenne pepper turn red on the plant and then pick it. As soon as you pick it use a needle and thread and string the red pods on a long string. When you have a full thread of the red cayenne hang it up in a cool dry place and let it dry completely. You can use the dried cayenne to season foods, stews and soups with. As soon as the pods get red pick them off the plant so the plant will keep producing more peppers. You can run the dried peppers through the food processor but wear plastic kitchen gloves and a face mask while you do it. You can make the red dried cayenne peppers into a fine powder this way that you can store in a tightly covered container or you can put it into a large shaker to shake it out on foods or in your cooking.
6. If your going to be growing a garden each year you should learn how to can as soon as you can. You can find a great Hub Page on Growing And Canning Tomatoes by Clicking Here. You also need to do your own research and learn everything you can about canning and preserving what you grow in your garden. There is a lot of satisfaction in doing your own canning. Just be sure you know what your doing.
7. If you don't have one yet purchase a food dehydrator to preserve and dry your vegetables. You can make wonderful sun dried tomatoes this way. You can dry almost any kind of fruit or vegetable and if you do it right you'll end up with delicious dried fruits and vegetables. Be sure that you read the book that comes with your food dehydrator. This is very important. You can dry various vegetables and add them to a tightly covered container or freeze them in a large zip lock bag. If you make a dried mixture of tomatoes, peppers, squash, and onions you'll have the perfect dried vegetable soup mix. Add the dried vegetables to chicken or vegetable stock and you can quickly have a delicious vegetable soup. Add pasta and fried hamburger for a delicious stew. Be sure to brown your hamburger and drain it well before adding it to your soup.
8. Keep in mind when laying out your garden that tomatoes and peppers must be planted where they receive 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day. You can not grow tomatoes or peppers even in partial shade. So be sure to keep this in mind.
9. Ideally your entire vegetable garden should get at least 8 hours of full sun a day. Most vegetable plants won't do well even in partial shade. So be sure to plan and plant your vegetable garden where it will get full sun.
10. You'll need a hoe to use to chop or hoe weeds up out of your garden. The one mistake a lot of gardeners make is letting the weeds get ahead of them and then they can never get back control of their vegetable garden. As soon as your vegetable plants are large enough mulch around them to prevent weeds from coming up.
11. Every year in the late fall or winter work well aged manure and compost into your garden and work it in with a garden tiller. Be sure that any manure you add is very well rotted or you will burn your plants up and kill them. You can put green rabbit manure in the hole under tomatoes and peppers. I always make use of my rabbit manure this way.
12. If you have rhubarb and it sends up flower stalks cut them off close to the plant to encourage it to grow foliage and not flowers.
13. If you grow herbs like basil cut the top third of the plant off every time it tries to put on blooms. This will encourage the plant to keep putting on more foliage and you can dry and use what you cut off. If your going to be using dried herbs soon store them in a brown paper bag tightly closed in the freezer.
14. Most in ground garden plants need one to two inches of water a week. Buy a rain gauge for your garden so you can keep a eye on how much natural rain your garden is getting. If your garden soil feels moist to the touch its okay but if you dry powdery soil you need to water your garden. Just be sure to water with a soaking sprinkler and do it when their is no sun on your plants. The ideal time to water is before the plants come up or after the sun goes down.
15. Do like the Native Americans did and plant pole beans near each corn stalk as soon as it is a foot high. When the pole beans come up encourage them to grow up and around the corn stalks. You can plant pumpkins between your corn rows and allow them to grow in the middles. Your pumpkins will fill up the middles between your corn rows with their runners and pumpkin plants. This way you can use the same ground to grow multiple crops.
16. If you want to grow really huge pumpkins remove all but one or two pumpkins per pumpkinplant and be sure that your pumpkin plants get an abundance of water and nutrients. I use miracle grow for this. I use post hole diggers to dig holes for where I'm going to be planting my pumpkin plant. I dig a hole about two foot deep and I use miracle grow potting soil to fill the hole with. Then I plant my pumpkin seeds in the miracle grow potting soil and usually end up with healthy pumpkin plants with huge pumpkins on them.
17. If you have lots of fall leaves don't discard them. Instead build a big compost bin and add the fall leaves to the compost bin. In a year or two you'll have ideal compost.
18. Did you know that you can grow luffa gourds in your garden or yard and have your own natural sponges that are better than any dish sponge you could buy. Plant the luffa gourds in full sun and allow them to mature completely. In the fall dry out the gourd and cut the shell away. You'll end up with luffa sponges you can use to wash your dishes with or use to wash your back with in the bath tub. And they are environmentally friendly.
19. You can easily grow bird house gourds in your garden and by doing so your growing your own bird houses. All kinds of birds will make nests in bird house gourds. And your kids will love the fact that your growing bird houses in your garden.
20. Vinegar is a better weed killer than most commercial weed killers but don't spray it on your vegetable plants because it will kill them to. If you have weeds or grass coming up in cracks in cement then this is a ideal place to use vinegar. The vinegar will kill the weeds and grass and it will not come back any time soon.
21. Buy lady bugs and preying mantis egg sacs from your local garden supply store in the spring and turn them loose in your garden to declare an organic war on garden pests.
22. You can put up bat houses and provide bird bathes for the bats to drink from. Bats eat huge amounts of insects and bugs.
23. Encourage toads to move into your garden by providing a small pool of water and clay pot flower pots for the toads to use as houses. Burn a light in the garden at night and they will show up at the light to eat the insects and bugs that show up to. Provide the toads with a cool dark place and they will stick around for years helping to keep your garden insect free.
24. Put up bird houses around your garden and the birds will build thier nests there and help to keep your garden free of bugs and insects.
25. Unless your terribly afraid of spiders let spiders like the golden orb weaver spider ( Writing Spider ) make a home in your garden. Believe it or not but every year spiders eat more weight in bugs than all the weight of all the humans on earth.

[Anna Michele]

Make Use Of The Rainwater That Falls At Your House

You should set up a system where all the gutters on your house feed all the rainwater that falls into them into a large rainwater tank. It needs to have a spigot where you can attach a hose and easily get the water out of the tank so you can use it to water your garden.
You need very thin wire mesh over your rain barrels or water tank to keep mosquitoes out. Its very important to keep the mosquitoes out of your stored water. its very important that you keep your gutters clean to keep leaves and derbis out of your stored rainwater.


More Gardening Tips, Suggestions, And Information

1. Save all your banana skins and let them dry out outdoors. Plant them at the base of your tomato plants. Its like giving your tomatoes a pick me up. This really works well and will encourage tomato growth.
2. Buy tomato cages or wooden stakes and garden twine to tie your tomato plants up and give them support. You must support your tomato plants to keep them from getting blown over by the wind. If the tomatoes aren't supported they won't produce nearly as many tomatoes and they may develop fungus diseases if the plant is laying over on the ground.
3. Lay down sheets of newspaper before you put down potting soil or top soil. This will help to keep weeds and grass from coming up in your garden. You can also lay down sheets of newspaper before you put down mulch. This will let you make sure that no weeds or grass can come up through the mulch.
4. You can use foam packing peanuts in the bottom of large planting pots to save on soil and to help with drainage.
5. Put your garlic skins, and onion skins into a gallon jar with a lid. Cover the garlic skins and onion skins with water and put the lid on. Leave the skins soaking for a week and then strain off the water. Spray this water any where you have aphids or spiders and it will get rid of them quickly.
6. If you have a slug and snail problem put out small saucers of beer at sunset and the slugs and snails will crawl in over night and drown. Simply discard the contents of each saucer the next morning.
7. Put fabric tents up over cabbage plants, Brussels sprouts, or broccoli to keep away garden pests. Sprinkle cabbage heads with cinnamon and the cabbage worms will stay away.
8. Grow your potatoes by going vertical with them. See the photo below that shows you exactly how to grow your potatoes vertically.
9. If your using a string trimmer to cut down weeds you should spray the string on the weed eater with vegetable cooking oil and you won't have any problems with your string getting stuck or tangled.
10. Measure off three foot on your garden hoe with a permanent marker so you can measure this distance off between your rows. If your going to use your garden tiller to keep the weeds down you'll need to have at least three foot between rows. Mark it off at one foot to so you can measure off one foot between tomato, pepper, or squash plants.
11. You can use chamomile tea to prevent damping off fungus with your garden seedlings.
12. Blood, fish, and bone-meal is a great organic fertilizer. Apply it all through out the growing season to your vegetables and flowers.
13. You can easily start cuttings from roses, saliva, and geraniums. Just take your cuttings and dip them into a rooting hormone. Then put them into potting soil. Spray the cuttings several times a day with water until you are sure they are rooted. Hibiscus are also easy to root this way.
14. In the spring before you start using your shovels or hoes paint on a coating of car wax and the dirt will come off them easily and won't cling to them. Repeat this about every month and the hoes and shovels will be so easy to use.
15. Buy a sturdy basket with a carrying handle to carry small garden tools to the garden.
16. Always draw a plan out on paper where your going to be planting each vegetable in your garden. Put taller plants towards the back of the garden with shorter plants at the front of the garden.
17. You should know that the better your soil is the better your garden will be. You should purchase and have a soil test kit to test your soil and know what you need to add so that you'll have the best garden soil.
18. Be sure that you don't try to grow things too thick. Read the backs of seed packs so you'll know how far apart your various vegetable plants should be. You can plant items like radishes too thick and then you'll have to thin them so they are not to thick. If you plant them too thick they won't produce the best.
19. Keep your plants healthy by anticipating the plants nutritional needs. You'll most likely need to add fertilizer while your plants are growing. This is where research is important. Always keep a journal with detailed notes that you can refer back to later.
20. You can spoil your veggies with manure tea. Use a barrel and add sheep, cow, or rabbit manure to it. Finish filling it with water. Stir it every day for a week and then strain off the water and give it to your vegetable plants. The plants will get a boost and they will be a lot more healthy.
21. Grow cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets. Be sure that you keep the cherry tomatoes well watered. They will grow well and the cherry tomatoes will be easy to pick when they have grown.
22. Go on the Internet in the winter and very early spring and order all the seed catalogs. This way you can order seeds and pick out things you want to grow in your garden.
23. You can make your own insecticidal soap by mixing two tablespoons of liquid soap into a gallon of water. This is an excellent solution to get rid of aphids.
24. Don't forget to purchase yourself a couple of good quality garden gloves. Having garden gloves will make it so much easier for you to work in your garden.
25. Always wash your garden tools and put them away in a cool dry place. Spray the metal parts with vegetable oil in the late fall when you put your tools away for the winter.
26. I suggest that everyone learn everything they can about heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes have much better flavor than modern tomatoes.
27. If your bothered by ground hogs pour moth balls down the ground hog holes. Every time they dig a new hole fill it up again. You can also pour red pepper flakes down their holes.
28. If you find your green onions developing seed pods before the onions are mature cut them off with scissors and the onions will keep developing larger onions.
29. You can easily grow your own herbs. Plan what kind of herbs your going to grow and be sure to read the information on the seed pack so you'll know exactly what you need to do with that particular herb.
30. You can grow and enjoy a mixture of baby greens. As soon as they are a few inches high harvest them with scissors.

[Anna Michele]

Things To Remember When Planting Tomatoes	How Can I Keep Garden Pests Out Of My Garden	What Should I Keep In Mind About Caring For My Garden
Plant Marigolds With Your Tomatoes To Keep Garden Pests Away	Purchase Lady Bugs And Release Them In Your Garden	Water Your Garden Only Before Sunrise Or After Sunset
Remember Only Water Your Tomatoes Before Sunrise Or After Sun Set	Purchase Preying Mantis Eggs And Put Them In Your Garden	Put Powdered Flavored Gelatin Under Plants You Plant
Put Powdered Flavored Gelatin In The Hole When Setting Out Tomato Plants	Plant Marigolds and Mint To Keep Away Garden Pests	Tomatoes And Peppers Need To Be Planted In Full Sun

[nmcgrath]

http://www.goodshomedesign.com/cast-...dscape-accent/

My uncle worked for a concrete company when I was a kid, and he would bring these home to his sister (my auntie) as a result of experiments they would perform on their breaks. My auntie ended up asking for an order of these, lightly skimmed with metallic paint, these look amazing!

[Anna Michele]

Good idea for a planter

http://www.softgardening.com/post/48...en-for-a-patio

[endi2000]

Things To Remember When Planting Tomatoes	How Can I Keep Garden Pests Out Of My Garden	What Should I Keep In Mind About Caring For My Garden
Plant Marigolds With Your Tomatoes To Keep Garden Pests Away	Purchase Lady Bugs And Release Them In Your Garden	Water Your Garden Only Before Sunrise Or After Sunset
Remember Only Water Your Tomatoes Before Sunrise Or After Sun Set	Purchase Preying Mantis Eggs And Put Them In Your Garden	Put Powdered Flavored Gelatin Under Plants You Plant
Put Powdered Flavored Gelatin In The Hole When Setting Out Tomato Plants	Plant Marigolds and Mint To Keep Away Garden Pests	Tomatoes And Peppers Need To Be Planted In Full Sun

So - I have a questio'n - why do you put gelatin in the pot? Why does it have to be flavoured?

There is a differing of opinion on the 'releasing ladybugs' option - http://insects.about.com/od/insectpe...g_releases.htm - from the native species aspect to the area.

[Anna Michele]

????
I was just sharing fmy finding feel free to correct the info as I dont actually know Im still learning mysrlf.

Sent from my GT-S7560M using Tapatalk

[Anna Michele]

Plan out your raised vegetable beds with this useful Plantagram! Which of these veggie combinations will you be planting this year?

Click here to see some classic combinations: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/...-plant-a-gram/

[nmcgrath]

I do all of my plants organically with leaves, wood stove ashes, powdered milk. I also order the following products from the following places:

The Organic Gardeners Pantry (Out of BC - Affiliated with Gaia College) www.gardenerspantry.ca/
These guys are graduates from Gaia College that formed a company to fill their needs as organic gardeners and consumers. The founder, Phil Nauta, has also written a book called "Building Soils Naturally".
They supply EM(Effective Micro-organisms), Kelp Fertilizer, Black Strap Molasses, Humic Acids, Mycorrhizae...and they are very helpful and great to deal with!

I also buy Bat Guano and Mycorrhizae from Amazon.ca, and I have obtained a large bag of worm castings from my local farmers market.

After experimenting with some of these items, I have taken notice that I need to put less effort into my crop, and my plants are HUGE and HEALTHY with minimized pests!!