Backyard Farming W e e k - veggies & herbs Hello, friends! We're home from Colorado, rested and centered. I can't wait to share some of the pictures we took along the way- camping, hiking, and spending time on the open road. Before we left, I started Backyard Farming Week. This year, I planted radishes, carrots, jalapenos, beans, sweet banana peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, strawberries, and a handful of herbs: basil, rosemary, patchouli, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro, and cat nip. My cucumbers I planted from seeds that I got from Grandma. In no time you'll be making salads, or filling jars to make pickles. My jalepenos are out of control. Most types of peppers grow under the same conditions. My beans were incredibly short lived: In fact, that one bean is the only bean I got from the entire batch. My tomato plants took off, like always. Give them a couple feet of space, a cage to grow on, and let them get busy on their own. This year I bought a couple plants from the Farmer's Market, like I always do. Guilt.
Tree Tape Measures the Climate Benefits of Your Backyard Trees - Environment Want to know how much that big oak in your front yard is helping in the climate fight? Designer Nitipak Samsen created this very cool—and educational—tool that helps put the carbon sequestering ability of trees into context. The Tree Tape can be customized for specific types of trees—rainforest, native hardwood, or softwood—and will tell you the amount of carbon dioxide that is absorbed in terms of a more common activities like air travel, electricity consumed, and even cheeseburgers eaten. You can download Tree Tape here. Samsen writes: Ever wondered how much CO2 absorbed in a tree? I think this could be really useful for kids and adults alike.
Blog » 5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Fukuoka spent over three decades perfecting his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work. 1. With ‘no-till’ gardening, weeding is largely eliminated. 2. Gardeners are always on the lookout for free sources of clean organic mulch to add to their garden.
In the Garden Online - Colleen's Picks - Ten Vegetables You Can Grow in Shade It's a common misconception that the only site to grow vegetables in s one that's in full sun. For some vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash, this is entirely true. But those of us who have shade are not doomed to a life without homegrown produce. Basically, a good rule to remember is that if you grow a plant for the fruit or the root, it needs full sun. If you grow it for the leaves, stems, or buds, shade is just fine. Keep in mind, no vegetable will grow in full shade. Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, cress, and radicchioBroccoliCauliflowerPeasBeetsBrussels SproutsRadishesSwiss ChardLeafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kaleBeans The best thing about knowing that these crops will successfully grow in some shade is that you'll be able to get more produce from your garden.
Plants for Pathways These are the most forgiving Woolly thyme likes to stretch its flat branches out over sidewalks and stairs. It is useful in softening the lines described by hardscaping materials like brick and concrete. Ornamental thymes (Thymus spp. and cvs.) are probably one of the most forgiving groups of plants when it comes to foot traffic. Like other thymes, woolly thyme is fairly easy to care for. Growing a Healing Garden | Mama Knows Rating: 7.9/10 (9 votes cast) When you visit your local market or garden centre, check out their herb selection. You may be surprised at the varieties of herbs that are available. Here are a few ideas for your own herb garden – easy to grow plants with medicinal properties. Here are 12 the most popular herbs that are easy to grow: Peppermint: Peppermint Peppermint tea is a traditional remedy for an upset stomach or gas,because it supposedly relaxes gut muscles. Echinacea or Coneflower: Echinacea or Coneflower Herbalists use an extract of this common cold preventive to boost the immune system and the production of white blood cells. Sage: Sage In medieval herbals, sage is a cure-all, supposed to heal grief,fever and the nerves. Rosemary: Rosemary Ancient herbalists recommended rosemary for headaches and claimed that its fragrance could ward off infections. Dog Rose: Dog Rose In ancient times. the wild dog rose was the most popular source of rose hips – tiny fruits related to apples. Lavender: Borage
Garden Article: Growing Ginger Do you love Asian foods, ginger ale and pumpkin pie? It’s the taste of ginger that’s won you over. Zingiber officinale is easy to grow and makes for a great project with kids. And with its attractive foliage, this plant will add beauty to your home and garden, as well. Because ginger root tubers grow right near the soil surface, don’t bury them when you transplant them to your garden. Photo Credit: John Buettner Simply lay the ginger root on the top of the potting soil to “plant” it. Pull the roots from the ground and allow them to dry in the open air before removing the stalks and harvesting. Ginger root is sold in a clump that’s often called a “hand.” Planting is easy as pie: Simply pick a pot that’s at least twice the diameter as the length of your root section. Studies say ginger’s peak flavor arrives at 265 days. With proper care, your ginger can reach 2-4 feet tall. You can use these flavorful roots in many recipes. Candied Ginger Peel and slice your ginger root into small sections.
DIY Succulent Table « Far Out Flora's Blog Matti's Succulent Table Mission DIY succulent table complete. I’ve wanted to make this baby for months. It’s a dissected old shipping crate and some other random scraps of wood lying around the house turned into a patio side table with a planting strip down the middle. Old shipping crate deconstructed. The next couple of pics show a bit of the process. Center planting box layed out. The outside walls were about the same shape as I wanted the table, and I started to build everything around that size. Table tops getting set in. Randomly walking around looking at gardens in the hood, I spotted a big pile of old scrap lumber. Fastening it together. I really tried to screw everything in so that the screws were hidden from sight. Matti's test of strength. …and it passes the Matti’s strength test. Nearly finished. DIY magic. ...and filled with succulents. Yeah, another project to check off the list.
How to start a vegetable garden Spring has sprung, and even if you have a black thumb, you may be feeling inspired to dig in the dirt. How about starting a vegetable garden? Though the process involves more than picking a random spot, making holes and planting seeds, taking these simple steps can help ensure a successful growing season. Plan your plot. Best results require good soil and good sun, which means the location of your garden is crucial. Find a spot in your yard that you see often, such as near the door or the mailbox, so you can keep an eye on progress. Test the soil. Purchase the right tools. Prep the soil. Choose the right seeds. Plant your seeds. Keep it up. Have other ideas on how to start a vegetable garden? See also: MNN homepage photo: tboard/Flickr