Entry bubble Tomato Planting Time!

By: Joanne | June 03, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

tomato tepees in the gardenHow’s your garden coming along? I’m going to be really devoted to my garden this year and hopefully it will help me save some money. I almost went into shock in the checkout aisle of the grocery store this weekend. The price of food is so crazy that I feel like it’s worth my while more than ever to grow my own food and become a thrifty meal planner. One of my favorite foods to grow is tomatoes. They’re not only one of my fresh summer favorites, but they’re pretty easy to can and use all year long.

This weekend I planted two varieties of heirloom tomato plants. There’s nothing like a home-grown tomato still warm from the sun, and this year I’ll grow my tomatoes on tepees. Yes, tomato tepees. In the past I’ve tried to support my tomatoes with stakes, cages, cages and stakes and every year it’s the same thing—the plants get big and heavy and fall over. I hope the tepees will help keep the plants under control, and I think they’ll also be a great use of vertical growing space.

In concept, it seems quite simple: take three 1 inch stakes that are 10 feet long, lash them together with some twine and form a triangle with the posts, so each post is about 3 feet apart. Instead of buying posts, I saved a few bucks and cut some bamboo from a friend’s yard.

What’s the worst that could happen? If the plants fall over, I’ll be no worse off than if I used the cages. I think of this as an experiment and if it doesn’t work I’ll try something different next year. What works for you?

| View Comments [9] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: garden   heirloom   joanne   teepee   tomato   vegetable  

 

Entry bubble Organic Gardening – Do It for Your Kids

By: Joanne | March 18, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Bailey shows off the strawberry harvestAs you’re planning your garden this year, consider going organic. It’s easier than you think. It’s as easy as NOT applying chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers on your food.

Why have organic gardens? There are many reasons; the one that is dearest to me is for my kids. Nobody needs to ingest pesticide residues, and that is especially true for children who are going through critical stages of development. We hear so many claims that kids don’t want to eat fruits and vegetables, but when you give them a chance to wander through the strawberry patch and pick their own berries and then eat them – perfectly ripe and still warm from the sun – yum! The fact is, they beg for more. Many times we’ve picked up our baskets, picked peas and then moved under a shady tree to shell and eat sweet, raw peas straight from the garden. As a mom I know that I can hardly give my children a more nutritious (and easy to prepare!) lunch than that.

The people that owned the property before us had horses, so let’s just say that I’ve been blessed with an ample supply of organic fertilizer, and we augment that with our compost. I bet I’ve had an organic garden for over 10 years now, and I have to tell you that I never felt like I needed the chemicals. Give it a try, for your health, the health of your kids and for the good of the soil and water.

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: compost   fruit   garden   joanne   organic   vegetable  

 

Entry bubble Think Spring! Time to Buy Seeds for your Garden

By: Joanne | February 19, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Last week I injured my back (again) shoveling the snow. When will it end? It seems like these injuries only make me intent on spending more time with my face in the garden catalogs. I’ve already selected 5 different types of sunflowers and still need some more—perhaps a Jerusalem artichoke? You see, I like some diversity in my garden. I don’t design with great architectural precision in mind; I like to see lush diversity.flowers, potatoes, and carrots fresh from the garden

To that end, I stay away from the seed packets found in most stores. I don’t like the commercial hybrids because I think they’re overbred to make them bigger or prettier or pesticide resistant. I like heirloom seeds. I think plants are really just fine the way mother nature made them. It’s been my experience that heirloom seeds are vigorous, taste wonderful and will often go to seed and come back as volunteers next year. I really don’t even have to buy tomato plants any more—they just spring up!

I’m always on the lookout for interesting varieties and I was happy to see that the Department of Agriculture offers a list of sources for all types of plants and seeds. What’s your favorite garden catalog? I’ve got lots of work to do this summer!

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: biodiversity   garden   heriloom   joanne   seed  

 

Entry bubble I Dream of Sunflowers

By: Joanne | February 05, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Each February I tire of clouds and ice and snow, and I long for warmth and sunshine and lush green leaves everywhere. But Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and it looks like I’m in for 6 more weeks of dreaming of my garden. Lately I can’t stop thinking of sunflowers. I can’t wait to plant sunflowers – and not just the big, tall yellow ones. I’ll plant the yellow polyheads, the velvety maroons, the vibrant oranges and the supermanes. I’ve got the space and I’m always looking for a new variety to plant. What’s your favorite?

Joanne standing in her garden surrounded by sunflowers

There are lots of different kind of sunflowers, just like there are so many varieties of apples and tomatoes and lettuce. We’re used to seeing the few varieties found in the grocery store or in the seed packages in the stores, but there’s really an amazing variety of garden plants out there. I like to do my little part to support biodiversity on this planet, and sunflowers are such a fun way to pitch in.

I found this nice quote attributed to Helen Keller: “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do.”

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Entry bubble Get a Dose of Summer in Winter: Visit a Botanical Garden

By: Jake | January 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

I can’t claim to have a green thumb, but it’s not due to lack of trying. I have successfully planted some houseplants including my hippopotamus chia pet, but my experience is limited since I don’t have a yard.

I know it’s probably too cold to think about gardening, but the topic has been on my mind ever since I visited the U.S. National Botanic Garden (USNB) last month. My parents were in town and my mom, who is a master gardener, wanted to spend some time looking at the holiday exhibit. While the holiday exhibit was impressive, I was struck by the sheer volume of the 4000 plants growing in  the garden year-round.  Also, the USNBG provides gardening tips and recipes.

There are thousands of botanical gardens around the world according to the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), a conservation organization that links botanical gardens worldwide in order to preserve and promote plant diversity. BGCI says that botanical gardens hold documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education.

It's very likely there is a botanical garden near you since there are hundreds of botanical gardens in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides various resources to find botanical gardens in the U.S. Not all botanical gardens are open to the public, so you should check public visiting hours before you go.

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: botanical   flowers   garden   gardening   plants