KNOL: Building a Squash and Cucumber Vine Trellis Garden

Copied from Googlk Knol to be stored on my blog.Squash and vine crops are great additions to the garden. They, however, take up a lot of space. One way to defeat this need is to plant them with a place to grow upward. Squash and vines need four things to do really well. They are heat, water, food, and...

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KNOL: Identifying and Removing Tomato Suckers (In Pictures)

Transfered from Google Knols to be stored on my blog.This is a quick knol that provides pictures to help you identify the sucker. They are often removed to focus growth on one main tomato stem and to prevent over-growth. You don't have to remove them. Removing suckers is a method of tending your tomato...

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Thyme and Oregano 7 Weeks Later: Over Seeding Can Work!

7 or 8 Week Old Oregano and Thyme: Gary PilarchikMy Oregano and Thyme are doing fine!You can't over seed every plant. I found that out with Tarragon. But as I have mentioned due to space reasons, I over seed. Thyme and Oregano should never be planted 1 seed to cell. It doesn't make sense.A walk down...

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Transplanting Coleus Plants From Cells to Cups: Save Money!

Coleus are annual flowers in my area and most areas. They are tender, don't like cool weather and die at first frost. They are also really expensive to buy! They make for great container plants and flower bed fillers.  They aren't grown for their flowers but for their leaf color.  In fact,...

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Hardening Off Vegetable and Herb Seedlings

The process of hardening off your seedlings and soon to be transplants is to get them acclimated to the sun, temperature and weather. If you just put them out into full sun, they can get damaged. They can also get temperature shock.I have a tendency to push things but I would recommended taking a at...

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Starting Perennial Flowers Indoors: Lupine, Foxglove, Painted Daisy, Carnations

The perennial flowers are great for gardens because they come back year after year. They grow well and need to be divided every 2 years or so. Before you know it, you have lots of flowers to landscape your whole yard and some to trade. That saves you a lot of money. At $6.99 to $8.99 a quart/gallon...

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Time to Plant Onions: Bulb Sets for the First Planting!

How exciting. You can plant your Zone 7 Garden now.  Start with onion sets. You can buy onion bulbs now at Walmart, local nurseries, home building mega-stores and just about any place that sells seeds. Onions  come in various forms from seeds to bulbs and one in between.  The bulbs can...

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Lumens and Fluorescents and Light in Your Vegetable Grow Closet

I wanted to give you an idea about how cheap it is to buy fluorescent bulbs for your grow closet. I also have some information to keep in mind, so you don't pay a lot or more than you should.The tubes in the picture are 48 inch tubes and that should be the standard you are buying. They are 40 watt...

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Play with Your Parsley and Plants

I know it sounds weird. The actual term would be to stimulate your transplants but either way you say it - it sounds odd. The truth is that without stimulation of wind and motion your seedlings and transplants will be weak. Moving your hand across your plants is important. It stimulates normal development....

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Rotating Seed Transplants: Rotation Saves Room!

Well I am lucky enough to have a grow closet. I am stubborn enough to grow more than it will hold. You can see I have my Thyme and Oregano in containers with a light on them. It helps a bit but it really has to be closer to get maximum light to the transplants. On the floor is my Parsley. It has been...

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Dried Out Oregano and Snapdragons: No Worries!

There is no timer to tell you when to water. Sometimes I forget or miss by a day and my cells dry out. Very often the cells to the edge of the seed tray dry out first. It is sort of a casualty warning watering system. A few will show dehydration first and save the others. This is because the water trays...

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Sheepskin Car Seat Covers... Sure!

We are logging in driver education miles for the next six months. My daughter is doing a great job. Soon she will be driving on her own. Thank goodness I have the garden for a break between drives. The highway comes soon!  She is having a great time looking for a vehicle and has moved on to sheepskin seat covers. All I could say was - sure why not.  She found the website and the look she...

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KNOL: What is Garden Soil PH? Alkaline or Acidic? What Does it Mean?

Transfered from Google Knols to be stored on my blog.Your garden soil has a PH value that determines whether or not the soil is on the acidic side, alkaline side, or relatively neutral. Vegetables and other plants do have a preference for soil PH but it is often a range. This is a good thing. Generally speaking you want your garden to have a neutral PH. This Knol will answer all your questions about...

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