Gardening Disasters

We all make mistakes when gardening. This is how we learn and become better gardeners. It is great to learn from others mistakes so that we can make our own set of mistakes. Right? Using the garden planner, is a great tool to help you know how many plants will fit the the area you have and also send you reminders to plant those things. I LOVE using the garden planner because it helps me have a master plan so that I can make the most of the growing space I have. It can also help with the next years garden and show you where not to plant so that you can have proper rotation.

Happy Gardening!

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Bitter Sweet

[caption id="attachment_1530" align="alignleft" width="300"] The view of our garden from the back door.[/caption]

Some of you may have noticed that my articles have been far and few between lately. It is not that I have lost interest in the blog, but we have had a crazy summer. We decided to move homes. This has been a very bitter sweet thing for us. Leaving our home and our picture perfect garden was very hard to do. We left behind a vigorously growing garden with lots to harvest, knowing it was soon to be someone else's harvest. The sweet part came when we knew we would be moving to a home with a much larger yard and space for a garden twice the size of our last one. The possibilities are endless for the garden in our new home. So moving and getting settled in our new home has taken quite a while and we are not yet all settled yet. Thank you for your patience.

One of the things I am excited about is that we will be starting our garden from scratch again. There is nothing but bare ground. I can now document everything we do to show how to start a garden from nothing and how wonderful it can turn out to be. I may even need to do a little container gardening in the mean time as this will be an amazing amount of work.

If you have not yet taken the plunge into growing your own food, don't keep delaying! It is so gratifying and the rewards are endless. Just start this year by planning it out very carefully. If you need to build grow  boxes or start improving your soil- do so now so you can be ready one spring arrives. Planning a garden means planning for a harvest.

Happy Gardening!

5 Things You Should Be Doing in the Garden Now

What should you be doing in your garden right now? There are many things you could be doing in your garden right now and really it depends on what your particular garden needs but here are a few ideas for you.

1. Adding organic matter. I add organic matter AT LEAST twice a year. One is in the fall we grind up our leaves with the lawn mower and spread them all around the grow boxes after they are all cleaned out for the winter. Then we also add a nice thick layer of mulch around
   
   

Planning Out Your Eye Catching Vegetable Garden

How do you know where and when to plant your vegetables not only to get the best production, but also to look the best? The answer is different for every yard, of course, but the best thing you can do is to simply plan it out!

Visual elements that add a nice look to your garden, is layering. Putting different height plants together that complement each other makes for a pleasing looking garden. Growing green beans up a trellis in the corner, or growing them up the corn is a fun element. This year we are growing the pole beans up the corn, and growing the pumpkins underneath the corn and beans. That is called the three sisters, and is how the native Americans grew those vegetables.
I also like the look of grow boxes. It adds a nice clean look to it, and helps me to keep the weeds down. The grow boxes are easy to keep weeded, and then in the paths, we put down some plastic with wood chips over the top.
Do no be afraid to add some flowers into your vegetable garden. In fact some flowers are beneficial to your garden, such as Marigolds planted around tomatoes destroy nematodes, and repel white flies, tomato horn worms, bean beetles, and cucumber beetles. Basil is also a great companion to tomato as they also repel horn worm. Also putting pots of mint in your cabbage patch will help to repel cabbage moths and ants. Just keep the mint in pots as they will try to take over the garden if not in pots.

Planning is key.
I planned out our garden with the garden planner, and have been referring back to it often to see what I should be doing in my garden to stay up to date on my chores. I find that when I am out in the garden, I sometimes make changes to my plan and plant things in a slightly different location. Then I will go inside and make those changes on my garden planner, so that I can remember exactly where everything was planted for next year. I also take notes on the plants in the plant list in the garden planner like; I have that are heirloom and should save the seeds for next year, or when they germinated and the such. Take a look at my vegetable garden plan, and start your own no risk trial of this great garden planner, I know you will love it!
Happy Gardening!

Planning your garden

One of the most important steps in planting a garden is to plan. If you do not plan your garden, you might forget to plant things at the correct time or in the wrong place. The first step is deciding what you want to plant, then map it out. We like to use an online tool called The Gardener's Spot Vegetable Garden Planner. All you need to know is what you want to plant, and the size of garden you have. Then it is easy to draw out the plan in the garden planner, and then simply add the vegetables. What I love so much about it is the reminders that are sent by email telling you when it is time to start the plant from seed or outdoors. Then the next year when you are planning it out again, it will help you know how to rotate successfully. It is all based on the frost dates from your area, and is thus personalized for your own garden. You can try it free for 30 days with no obligation to pay for the yearly subscription which is only $25. It is such a great tool, and I highly recommend it. So now the only question is, what are you going to plant this year?