Aloe

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One of my favorite movies is a Clint Eastwood flick called “The Outlaw Josie Wales”. I won’t go into great detail about the movie but if you haven’t seen it and are an Eastwood fan like myself you should definitely put it on your Netflix queue.

During a part of the movie, Eastwood’s character, Josie Wales, meets up with a salesman that is selling a potion of sorts that he, the salesman claims can heal anything, is a wonder ailment and good for tackling just about everything. At that moment, the tobacco chewing Josie Wales expectorates onto the salesman’s nice white suit in which Wales then asks the salesman if it removes stains.

Well, I can’t tell you if Aloe vera (Aloe for short) will remove stains, like this salesman’s super potion from the movie, but it seems we use Aloe for just about everything from burns to bug bites and anything in between. The bigger question is, can you grow Aloe in your home vegetable garden to have access this “wonder” plant?

The answer is, it depends on where you live. According the USDA, Aloe is hardy in zones eight through eleven. It is able to survive in areas with low natural rainfall and is intolerant of heavy frost or snow.

If the plant gets infected with Spider mites and aphids it will cause the health of the plant to deteriorate and if you plant Aloe in pots (Terracotta pots preferred) make sure the pot has plenty of drainage and the soil is a bit more sandy.

Aloe, like most plants loves full sun, unless you live in a very hot and humid climate where they should be protected from the sun because they can burn. In areas of the country where cold, frost and snow sets in, it is best to bring your aloe plants indoors for protection.

Your best bet is to purchase an already established Aloe plant as it will make growing and caring much easier. Once full grown I can not guarantee that the aloe will remove the stain from your carpet, but it does help sooth sunburn (at least in my opinion).

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the administrator for the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook. Join in the vegetable gardening conversation today with your Facebook account and find out how you can get 2 packs of seeds absolutely free.

Vegetable Gardening 1st News for Monday March 14th, 2011

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The clocks might have been moved ahead an hour over the weekend, but the birds that chirp giving off the sound of spring do not seemed affected as we are. Without fail, this time of the year, a clear sign that vegetable gardening season is at hand is when I can hear the birds sing in the morning. They sound, like we all do, thankful that this harsh winter is behind most of us.

In today's first news we have some gardening seminars coming up and some indoor seed starting techniques. Enjoy!

Grow your own: Indoor seed-starting techniques give you a head start on spring gardening
Vegetable gardening increased a whopping 20 percent last year, according to the Garden Media Group, and community gardens are up 60 percent. Whether it's a salsa garden --- tomatoes, peppers and cilantro --- in a container or two on the deck or rows of edibles planted in a...
http://wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/gardening/article_bbd909ab-663e-526e-ae43-eafe05a21bcf.html

Gardening seminar scheduled
A gardening seminar will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). The event offers participants an opportunity to learn from educators and local gardening specialists and get an early start on the gardening season in North Iowa. Workshops will address subjects ranging from beekeeping, landscape design, vegetable gardening, preserving our ...
http://www.globegazette.com/news/local/article_e1fc86dc-4d39-11e0-90e9-001cc4c03286.html

Seminars set for garden show
The 20th edition of the Bucks Beautiful Garden & Home Show, which runs Friday through Sunday at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Township, offers a slate of seminars on these issues, as well as good environmental practices and ever-popular novelties for landscaping. The exhibit also includes ...
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/seminars-set-for-garden-show/article_fe32c998-ded8-5316-956e-1a20e502b346.html

Brought to you By:

First news is brought to you by Mike the Gardener Enterprises who administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

Garden Bloggers Wanted!

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Do you currently write for or administer a blog surrounding gardening? Then we want to talk to you!

Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, home of the Seeds of the Month Club, is looking to work with 20 garden blog writers (from anywhere in the world) for a project we are working on.

If you are a garden blogger and are interested to learn more about the project, and expose your garden blog to over 100,000 home vegetable gardening enthusiasts, then please contact me immediately at mike@averagepersongardening.com

Regards,
Mike "Mike the Gardener" Podlesny
@mikethegardener
http://www.facebook.com/veggiegardening

Vegetable Gardening 1st News for Friday March 11th, 2011

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In today's first news we have discovered a couple of neat trends in home vegetable gardening that you are sure to enjoy. Also, we have discovered 5 really cool ideas for garden planters. Hint, don't throw away that old charcoal grill just yet. Finally, we wrap it up with an in depth article on raised beds and how they can help anyone grow the best food possible.




SPRING FORECAST: Gardening trends for 2011
Each gardening year is different, and not just with the weather. As with fashion, food and other obsessions, gardening weather trends change each season. Some stick, and others are blown away by...
http://www.heraldnews.com/garden/x904836185/SPRING-FORECAST-Gardening-trends-for-2011

5 creative, truly useful garden planters
I love every single one of these ideas for repurposing items into garden planters. Whether you have little space, little sun, or little energy to build a raised garden bed, there's a solution here for...
http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/blogs/5-creative-truly-useful-garden-planters

Vegetable gardening: Raising the bed improves your odds
There is a good chance you are among the multitude considering planting a vegetable garden this year. You may find yourself wondering where to start. Over the years I have humorously said ... http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-28/classified/sc-home-0228-garden-veggie-20110228_1_local-garden-club-soil-vegetable-gardening

Spring is Coming

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The days are getting a little longer. In our Zone 5, Western New York neck of the woods, the sap is running. The arrowwood shrubs are red. The willow twigs are bright yellow. Snowdrops have been peaking through. It can only mean one thing. Spring will be here soon.

As long as people have been gardening, they have been chancing it, pressing their luck with the weather, sometimes with great success and sometimes not so much.

The important thing about being a “seed gardener” is you can experiment, set your own timetables and next month, if you’re like me, four new packages of seeds will appear in your mailbox. If you have a package of 30 or 60 seeds, you can experiment with 10 or 20 and still have plenty left to use.

There are two ways to stretch the front-end of the season: Indoors and outdoors. Today, we’ll talk about indoors.
Indoors, recycled containers and a sunny windowsill are a fine place to start. Also, don’t start tomatoes too soon. They will get leggy and not be as hardy. If you do make that mistake, turn them sideways at planting time and bury the stem.

The home improvements stores have eight and 10-quart bags of seed starting mix available for about $3.50. Use it for planting indoors if you don’t have soil ready to go. You can even splurge on little peat pots and seed starting trays with plastic covers. You still will end up economically ahead.
There is something awesome, however, about using your own compost, containers and soil and growing a bounty for the cost of the seeds (less than $2.50 per month).

Many seeds do fine in cooler temperature, but they will be slow to germinate, so after you have planted a container, set it somewhere warm until you see signs of growth. Artificial lights can be a great help, too.
A warming coil, available in many stores and catalogs, can offer a good assist but is not totally necessary.
Starting things indoors like broccoli, spinach and lettuce will give you a small jump. Follow the seed package instructions about how much before last frost to start, but don’t be afraid to push the limits.

Also, if you’ve decided to take a shot at a longer-season plant, like artichoke, plant now and try to get it going indoors. It may take 180 days to produce and in many areas, our growing season is too short. Still, it can be done.
The important thing is there is little risk in experimenting. Keep a garden diary with dates and specifics so you can refer back and remember what worked and what didn’t.

Joe Genco is a contributing writer to Mike the Gardener Enterprises, the exclusive home for the Seeds of the Month Club, and an avid vegetable gardener himself, who works for New England Financial as a financial services representative. You can contact him at joegenco@gmail.com.