Just Gardening: FREE Download “How To Make Superior Compost” Book

June 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

Yummy Veggies! Do you know what it takes to grow delish veggies? Good rich soil. If you need help starting or maintaining your garden to produce veggies like these (not the cheese, that comes from cows), click here to Download a FREE copy of “How To Make Superior Compost”.

From ComposTumbler:

This book will answer all your composting questions! Just join our email list by filling out the form below and get your free instant download.
This informative book includes:

  • The keys to successful composting
  • A comprehensive list of materials for composting
  • 9 sure-fire composting recipes
  • Getting the carbon/nitrogen ratio right
  • And much more!

You’ll also receive emails about sales and be the first to learn about new products and limited-time offers that we provide only to subscribers. e promise never to share, sell or trade your email address.

Provide your name and address and you’ll also receive a free information kit by mail with an informative DVD to learn more about composting in just 14 days with the ComposTumbler.

Read here for more Just Gardening.

 
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Key To Saving: What Do You Plant And Where? And When? And How?

April 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

From: The Home Depot Garden Club

With so many different edibles to choose from, limiting your choices can be a challenge. The best advice is to grow what your family enjoys eating. When planting your vegetable garden, consider this list of easy-to-grow favorites:

 

 

 

 

  • Herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley and rosemary are a culinary staple. Purchasing herbs is very expensive at the grocery store, but
    planting herbs is so economical and fun.
  • Tomatoes are by far the most popular homegrown vegetable. There’s a variety of tomato plants suited to every garden and every gardener’s taste. Recommended varieties include Better Boy, Big Boy, Early Girl, Celebrity and Sweet 100.
  • Peppers follow closely in popularity, ranging from sweet bell peppers to the hottest chillies. There’s something for everyone.
  • Lettuce is one of the easiest and quickest foods to grow, making it very kid-friendly. Ensure a continuous supply, by planting in
    succession every two weeks from early April until June.
  • Cucumbers range in size from the small pickling types to long, thin slicing varieties. Though they grow on vines and tend to sprawl, you can conserve space by growing them up a trellis.
  • Eggplant’s beautiful glossy fruit make this veggie a desirable ornamental as well as a delicious edible. Choose from solid purples,
    purple-and-white streaked, white or green varieties.
  • Broccoli, famed for its health benefits, is a cool-weather veggie that tolerates frost. So, it is possible to have two crops when you plant
    in both early spring and in the fall.

Vegetable Gardening Tips

Have you wondered about how to plant a vegetable garden? Here’s what you need to know.

  • Start with Good Soil – A healthy vegetable garden requires well-drained, nutrient-rich soil with good drainage. To improve the condition of the soil, dig in several inches of compost. This helps with drainage and the ability of the soil to hold nutrients.
  • When to Plant – Warm weather vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers should be planted when night time temperatures remain above 50° F, usually in April or May in most parts of the country. Cool-season vegetables, such as lettuce and broccoli, prefer cooler weather and can take some light frost.
  • Location – Find a sunny spot. For optimum growth, most vegetables need a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of full sun per day.
  • Water – A general guideline is an inch of water per week, whether by rain or watering by hand with a hose or an irrigation system.
  • Fertilizer – Apply vegetable fertilizer at planting time and about every 3 weeks during the growing season. Check with The Home Depot Garden Center for suitable formulas.
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Key To Saving: Don’t Pay High Produce Prices, It’s Time To Plant Your Own!

April 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

From: Home Depot Garden Club

When you think about vegetable gardens, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Fresh, summer tomatoes? Sweet, sumptuous corn? More zucchini than one family could possibly eat? How about extending your vegetable garden’s season with early crops that love the cooler weather of April and May? Plant these vegetables and enjoy fresh harvests sooner than ever before.

  • Lettuce and spinach. Some of the easiest of all spring vegetables, lettuce and other leafy greens, grow fast from seed and can be harvested in as few as 45 to 50 days. An early April sowing will give you fresh greens by mid-May. Lettuce seeds are small and one tip for success is covering the seed with store-bought potting soil instead of heavy garden soil. Potting soil holds moisture and is lighter weight, making it easy for tiny seedlings to break through.
  • Carrots and radishes. Nothing is sweeter than a homegrown carrot! Carrots can sometimes be a challenge to grow in clay soils, but if you dig deep and add lots of soil conditioner and compost, you’ll get beautiful results. A fun trick is to plant your carrots and radishes together in the same row. You’ll pull the radishes first and leave room for the carrots to continue growing, getting double use from the space! Carrots and radishes are great for growing in raised garden beds, the deep soil is perfect for their long roots.
  • Peas. Snow peas, shell peas, and sugar pod (also called “sugar snap”) peas are surprisingly cold hardy. They can be planted from late March to early April and will even tolerate a few degrees of frost. Sugar pod types, where you harvest the baby pods for use in stir-fries and fresh salads, are the first to be harvested, with others following a few weeks behind.
  • Onions. Onions are easiest to plant from “sets” small bulbs specifically for planting or onion plants sold in bundles of small starts about the size of a pencil. Plant onions about 2 inches apart and harvest every other one for use as green onions beginning about six weeks after planting. The remaining onions, the ones you didn’t pull, will now be 4 inches apart and can be left to develop into full size onions later in the summer.
  • Potatoes. If you haven’t planted your potatoes yet, you still have time. It is important to purchase “seed potatoes,” which are available in early spring. An April planting will yield “new potatoes” in June and full-grown potatoes by mid- to late summer depending on the variety.
  • Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. These vegetables are all closely related and are sometimes known as “cold” crops. All of them thrive in cool spring weather and should be planted early to take advantage of warm days and cool nights. Harvest will occur from late May to late June.

By planting any or all of these garden vegetables you can be harvesting lettuce, spinach and radishes before it’s even time to plant your tomatoes!
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