By now you have probably seen
those inverted tomato planters. You are probably also wondering if they
really work. The answer in short is yes. So as long as you give the
tomato plant plenty of sun, water, and room for their roots to grow, it
will work.
However, did you also know that you can build your own upside down
planter with some basic material and of course a tomato plant? Well,
you can. Here is a great step by step instructional to do just that.
If you are short on garden space, but have a lot of hanging space, then
this is yet another tool for you to use to expand what you can grow, by
utilizing vertical area you may not have thought you had.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
Using a trellis in your home
vegetable garden has a wide range of benefits. For starters it allows
you take advantage of vertical real estate you may not have though of.
You save a lot of space when growing vertically and a trellis allows you
to do just that.
Second, some items grow great on a trellis and I could not imagine growing them any other way, such as cucumbers.
Here is an excellent trellis that you can build with some basic
materials, a little time and folds up for better storage in the
offseason.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
Screening your compost is a
good idea. You will be able to filter out many larger items that have
yet to break down which you can easily toss back onto your compost pile.
If you keep a vermicompost bin like I do, then screening is also a great
way to make sure your worms do not end up in your garden.
Worms in your garden are not a bad thing, but you want to keep your worms doing their jobs in your vermicompost bin.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
Soil blocks are an excellent
way to keep your plants from experiencing any type of shock during
transplant and are recommended by many gardening experts from around the
globe.
You could go out and buy a soil block maker for $20 to $50, or, with
some basic skills and household items, you could put together one for
under $5.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
I came across this project while perusing some Facebook pages, and had to take a closer look. After reading the step by step instructions I just had to share with our gardening community.
I had to share because I think it is a very creative idea and twist to
container gardening, and I know many of you out there love to grow a lot
things in containers (me included).
Here are the Step by Step instructions
I am always looking for new and creative ways to start seeds. And just as importantly, ways that are inexpensive as well.
Buying supplies from the store can add up over time. However, this
method, is virtually free. Free because you more than likely have all
the supplies needed to build it.
If you have about 20 minutes and basic (and I mean real basic) arts
& crafts skills, then you have just about everything you need to
create this seed starting tray.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
Who doesn't get excited when
the seed catalogs start arriving in the mail or when you browse the
web looking at the many different things you can grow from seed? I know
I do. So you can imagine how anxious I get as a seed retailer, with thousands of vegetable seeds staring at me, when vegetable gardening season is so close at hand.
Like you, I am ready to get my tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil all
going, even if the weather tells me otherwise, and in 2013, the weather
has been saying all kinds of crazy things. One day it's 80 degrees,
the next 50. Those types of temperature swings make it tough to
pinpoint when you can move your young seedlings outdoors. I will save
that for a future article.
Today, I wanted to concentrate of why you need to start your vegetable,
fruits and herbs from seed. Specifically, let's talk about four
benefits.
Control
I won't say that I am a control freak, but when it comes to my garden, I
sort of am. When planting from seeds, you are in complete control from
beginning to end of that plant and your garden. You know where your
seeds come from, what is in your soil to make your vegetable seeds grow
and so on.
Cost
Buying seeds is much cheaper than buying the equivalent number in
plants. So, for example, in a typical tomato seed packet, you will
receive a couple hundred seeds. If you were to buy that number of
plants, one, you probably would not have enough room for all of them,
and two, that cost would be astronomical.
Time
When stored properly, your vegetable seeds can last you for many years.
Proper storage simply means a cool, dry location. I have onion seeds
that are 9 years old and I am still getting those onion seeds to
germinate. This means you won't have to plant all of your seeds from
your packet. You can plant the seeds that you need and save the rest of
your seeds for subsequent years.
Space Saver
I like to start a bunch of seeds of the same variety in a single
planting pot, then thin the seeds out as the seeds germinate and get
bigger. This comes in handy when indoor space is limited, such as is
the case for what I have available on my window sill. I can have 7
different varieties going at once on one window sill, and when the time
comes, I will thin the seedlings out.
I am sure if I were to post the question on our Facebook
page, "What are your benefits for starting your veggies, fruits and
herbs from seed?", I would get hundreds of different reasons. These are
4 that I believe are good reasons to start your garden from seeds.
If you have always wanted to
get a jump on your vegetable gardening season, but lacked the space (or
funds) for a greenhouse, then here is a solution that is sure to solve
both of those problems.
This is a counter top greenhouse that you can build with some simple
tools, basic woodworking skills and for less than $20. Heck, you may be
able to find these supplies for free if you look hard enough.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
Mosquitoes can be a pain in the "you know what". You certainly can put on some repellent such as Off! or burn a citronella candle. Both will work.
However, wouldn't you like some natural insect repellent for your entire yard? Well look no further.
The five plants shown in the picture each give off their own unique
scent which can throw off the sensory perception of mosquitoes ... i.e.
they can't find you.
Sure this isn't 100% fail proof, but it will help, and you will also get a really nice looking landscape in the process.
Do you have a cherry tree or access to the boat loads of cherries that a cherry tree will produce?
If so, then here is a great canning recipe for you.
All you need are some basic supplies, ingredients (many of which you can
grow yourself), and some basic canning skills. Put these altogether
and you will be all set to make your very own cherry salsa.
Here are the Step by Step instructions
