Earthly Garden

I finally have tomatoes! Two perfect little green tomatoes have appeared so far. I also have at least half a dozen little cucumbers and some beans too! The peppers still have awhile to go. I love watching my veggies grow and love eating them fresh off the vine even more! I have to be careful now though-my cukes will need very regular and even watering to grow and look their best! I’ll post pictures soon!

Today’s Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens,gardening,vegetables,tomatoes,peppers,cucumbers,vegetable gardening

gardens, gardening, vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, vegetable gardening

Good morning!
If you haven’t already, now is the time to make sure your veggies such as tomatoes and cukes have the proper support. Don’t wait until they are full of developing fruit, by then it’s too late!
Cukes and zukes appreciate a trellis or tepee made of wooden stakes to climb. Training the vines to grow up saves space and protects the fruits. and tomatoes need a good strong cage around them. You can buy them at the hardware store or garden center, or make your own with twine and wood scraps. Just be sure they are sturdy yet flexible enough to allow the plant to grow. Without the proper support your tomatoes will sprawl out messily and the developing fruits could be damaged.

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens,gardening,tomatoes,cucumbers,trellis,cages

gardens, gardening, tomatoes, cucumbers, trellis, cages

Good Morning!

Many gardeners believe that certain plant combinations have definite
benefits, and science has proven this is indeed true. For example, garlic
repells rose pests such as aphids, so it is often planted with them. As
a bonus, garlic’s flowers look great with them! Another great combination
is tomatoes and cabbage. Tomatoes repel cabbage worms, a common
cabbage pest. Dill is another great companion for cabbage. It attracts
wasps that eat cabbage worms and other pests,and in return, the
cabbages support the dill.

Here are some other great combinations:
Corn and Beans-the beans attract insects that feed on
pests like leafhoppers and army worms.
Radishes and Spinach-Radishes attract leaf miners away
from the spinach. The miners don’t harm the radishes themselves.
Cauliflower and Zinnias-the Zinnias attract lady bugs, a very
beneficial insect that helps protect the cauliflower.

There are lots of other great combinations.Think about planting tall plants
near shorter,sun sensitive onesto provide protection and shade,
or planting vining plants with upright plants to make the most of your
garden space. What combinations do you have in your garden?
Post here and let me know!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

gardens,gardening,plants,combination planting,repelling pests

gardens, gardening, plants, combination planting, repelling pests

Good Morning!

Tropical Storm Barry, or what’s left of him, blew in last night. I was thrilled. The soaking rains gave my garden a nice deep drink. I think rain water is much better for our plants than tap water. Sure, there are concerns about acid rain and the like, but our tap water can contain many things that are harmful to our plants such as chlorine, salts, and other chemicals used to purify and soften it. Rainwater is much gentler on our plants and it conserves resources as well! Outside I’m growing tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peppers, and a variety of herbs and flowers, and they all seem particulary happy after a good rain. My houseplants enjoy it too! When a rainstorm is forecast I like to put my plants on the porch and let them get a nice shower. It knocks off all the dust and grime that indoor plants tend to accumulate on their leaves. and leaves them looking glossy and beautiful. You can also place your plants in window sill and let them get their shower this way. I do this in my kitchen which has two large inset windows that are all lined in tile. This allows my houseplants to enjoy the rain without any worries about water damage. Of course I’m talking about gentle summer rains, not tropical downpours or thunderstorms. If that kind of weather is forecast, close your windows and batten down the hatches! You don’t want your precious plants to get damaged or blown away!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

rain,houseplants,vegetables,rainwater,watering plants,gardening,gardens

rain, houseplants, vegetables, rainwater, watering plants, gardening, gardens

Good Morning!

If you’re like me and love botanical prints and art, you’ll love the new gardening related stamps out there! Canada Post has released some absolutely gorgeous Lilac Stamps:

And the United States Post Office has a series of vegetable stamps called “Crops of the Americas”

Even if you don’t collect stamps, these will look great framed and hanging on your wall. The artwork and photography are top notch and they depict a gardeners favorite things-flowers and veggies!

gardening,gardens,lilacs,vegetables,Canada Post, USPS,Crops of America

gardening, gardens, lilacs, vegetables, Canada Post, USPS, Crops of America

Hello! I’m the new writer for this blog and I’m thrilled to be here! I’m passionate about gardening-in fact I just spent the day in mine planting some veggies. I’ve got cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, green peppers, jalapeños, habaneros, and cayenne peppers along with several herbs and lots of flowers. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and warm breezes. My roses are fully out of dormancy and look lush and green with plenty of buds. Here is a pic of them from last year when they were newly planted:

They are about twice as big now and look amazing. Apparently the aphids think so too, as they were all over them earlier today, but I took care of it using some homemade insect spray I mixed up. You can find the recipe here. (Scroll down)

Happy gardening!

gardening, gardens, roses,herbs,vegetables, vegetable gardening

gardening, gardens, roses, herbs, vegetables, vegetable gardening

Yesterday, Stephanie asked me if I had any suggestions for growing veggies in pots. As a matter of fact, I just got a new packet of lettuce seeds that are great for growing in pots and small containers. Specifically, the seeds are for Garden Babies Butterhead Container Lettuce, and are available from Renee’s Garden seeds. The Baby Butterhead lettuces are a new variety, originally developed for the Japanese luxury salad market, where flavor and quality are very important.
Here’s a specific link to more info. about the lettuce.

I potted up some seed into small peat pots, and they sprouted within a week. Once they get larger, I’ll put them outside in a semi-shady spot in a small pot. They don’t get huge, and supposedly are bolt resistant, which means they can take a little heat, unlike a lot of other lettuces.

Other than these specific lettuces, there are lots of veggies you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, bush cucumbers, miniature eggplants, etc. Most large seed catalogs have a section specifically for the smaller plants. Just remember, if they’re in pots, they’ll dry out faster. You might want to put one pot inside another, that will help with the watering because the inner pot won’t get so hot. Water them daily, keep an eye on them for insects, feed them with a good organic fertilizer such as liquid seaweed (my fav) or fish emulsion, and harvest when the veggies are young and small.

Enjoy, and dig it!

bobbi c.
All text and images here (other than photos provided by others) is Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

growing vegetables in pots, cherry tomatoes, Renee’s Garden, vegetable and flower seeds, liquid seaweed organic fertilizer, fish emulsion

Mornin’ gardeners!

Our spring garden here is coming along….at a crawl! The seedlings inside are not growing very fast; I think the light from my new growing stand is too weak for them. We’ve also had two unusual freezes during the last week. I usually have a few tomato plants out by now, although covered at night. No brag, just fact! LOL

I realize that a lot of my readers live in places where you can’t garden for a while. I feel for ya’, so dug up this link to a lot of great info. you can be reading in the meantime. On the great *You Grow Girl* website, a complete Beginner’s Guide to Starting Vegetables from Seed chart, more info. than you can shake a stick at, etc. etc. The site is maintained by Gayla Trail, author of the You Grow Girl book (also recommended!).

In the meanwhile, have happy dreams of spring!

dig it!

bobbi c.

All material here is copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran

seed starting, You Grow Girl, Gayla Trail, garden books, spring gardening