Garden Maintenance Articles
Using Mulch in Your Garden
There are many individuals who automatically think of mulch as being the shredded bark that is colored red, brown or black and is used primarily to beautify the landscape in flower gardens. This method of mulching has its benefits which should not be discounted. Any type of mulch retains moisture and suppresses weeds. However, this should not be the only type of mulch that is used in the garden. What other types of mulch are …
Pollination 101
“Let me tell you about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above. . .”
The birds and the bees, huh? It is time for a refresher about pollination, because this is the time of the summer when many vegetable/fruit plants are at their peak of producing, and it is very important that everyone understands what that means for them, as gardeners. Especially, organic gardeners.
Where’s the Bees?
You’ve probably …
Using Natural Insecticides in Your Organic Garden
Unless you began your life as an organic gardener, this time of year can get frustrating as you try as hard as you can to keep bugs, insects, worms, and caterpillars from chewing through your precious crop.
You really want to do the right thing, but the pull toward the ”just this once”, application of mass-destruction full spectrum insecticides and toxic chemicals are calling out to you. Perhaps you still have some lurking in the corner of garage, …
Watering Your Garden – Proper Techniques
Many gardeners don’t think about how they water – they just go out, turn the hose on the sprinkler, and forget about it. Either that, or they use a watering can and give a gentle sip every morning.
However, there are proper techniques that will not only keep your garden healthier, it’ll teach them to grow stronger roots, disease will be less prevalent and, most importantly, you’ll save money by wasting less water….
Plan Your Garden For Fall Color
Your yard and garden can look just as great in the fall as it does during the spring and summer, if you plan ahead and plant accordingly.
Setting the Stage
For the super stars of your fall color garden spectacular to show up, you need a nice background. In beautiful, mountainous regions with spectacular fall color (think Vermont), evergreen trees scattered throughout the mountainside provide a bit of …
The Wonderful World of Rain Barrels
English Rain Barrel, from GardenersWhy use a rain barrel when you can just hook your hose to the outdoor spigot and get all that you need? Because water is not an infinite resource, and it often freely falls right out of the sky and can be harvested by the responsible organic gardener. The …
Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Keep Your Garden Cool During Those Wicked Summer Months
There are some plants classified as cool weather plants that cannot handle the scorching sun during the growing season’s hottest months. In this case, you must find ways to keep your garden cool. For those in the south, this may be needed more months out of the year. Northerners generally need only worry about July and August.
Some may wonder why plants should not get sun in the summer months. Most of the seed packets and …
Habitat Gardening: No Need to Destroy
Recent interactions with friends and relatives have made me muse about how wide the gap is between perception and reality regarding gardening, chemicals, weeds, pests and food. Whew, that sounds like a lot to cover during one blog post. I’ll try to be brief.
Not all Bugs are Bad
Yeah, most experienced gardeners are aware that there are beneficial insects and insects that eat everything …
Breaking Butterfly News!
The Butterflies are Back! This weekend in Wilmington, NC, the Azalea Festival is going full-swing. I took in my share of fun, and my azaleas are blooming. However, the big news today is that we saw our first Eastern Black Swallowtail flying around our little butterfly garden, and it was laying eggs like crazy all over the fennel plants. …
Gardening Tips for my Friend
I am hoping to be in good enough shape-physically and economically-this fall to have Nancy teach me how to surf. In the meantime, she said she has been reading the blog for gardening tips, so I told her I would write one in her honor today. I am not exactly …
