Monthly Archives: April 2010
How To Build Tomato Cages
Emilee, one of my readers, gave me the instructions to build some pretty cool tomato cages. You can see from this picture that her tomatoes were over 5′ tall, and still growing, thanks to these supports. Supplies: Steel remesh–I found a roll of 5′x100′ for $100 at Home Depot Bolt cutters–$16-$20 Zip ties–$7 for pack of 100 It’s pretty expensive to tackle this on your own, especially if you don’t need 20 tomato cages. Find some friends and neighbors who are interested in buying some and share the cost! It ends up being about $6.60 each, including the bolt cutters … Continue reading
Organizing Your Seeds
This is a picture I took in front of my happy place–the seed aisle. I love shopping for seeds. The packages are so colorful, offering hope of beautiful and delicious home grown vegetables. I could spend hours (and sometimes do!) debating between varieties of cucumbers, green beans, and tomatoes. Before you head to the store to buy anything, organize your seeds–then take your list, leave any kids at home, and have an enjoyable and productive trip to the seed aisle! Step 1: Review your garden plan. Step 2: Gather all your seeds. Square foot gardening uses so few seeds that … Continue reading
And the winner is. . .
Becky Pottinger Congratulations, Becky, you have won a FREE Gardening Bundle!!! Check your email for details. Thank you to everyone who entered! Don’t forget–your 15% off coupon expires on the 16th. Happy gardening!
Creating A (Square Foot) Garden Plan
Whether you are doing a traditional or square foot garden, having a plan helps everything run more smoothly. Here is a simple outline for creating your square foot garden plan. I love using Excel, but you can use graph paper or just plain old paper! Step 1: Draw an outline of your garden. I’m going to use the example of my 4′x8′ garden bed. Step 2: Add landmarks and features North, South, East, West Fences, paths Step 3: Choose what to grow Go here to see a list of vegetables and how many should be planted in each square. Write … Continue reading
FREE GIVEAWAY: Gardening Bundle E-books and 15% off coupon
What is the Gardening Bundle? The Gardening Bundle is a set of two e-books to help jump start your garden. The first, Planting By Color, is a week by week guide of what to plant in your garden. It covers 18 weeks, and lets you know when to start seeds, transplant, and plant seeds outside, based on your location. The second, Gardening for Beginners, is a step by step guide that walks you through planning, building, and planting your own garden. It includes irrigation options, a companion planting chart, and recipes. How do I enter to win a free Gardening … Continue reading
Square Foot Gardening Plans–My 2010 Gardening Plan
I just realized that I never posted my 2010 gardening plan, or instructions on how to create a gardening plan. Here’s the first, and the “how to” will be following in a few days. Please note, the colors on here have nothing to do with my Planting by Color schedule. I just have a tendency to color code everything! This year I’ve made the switch–all my spring veggies are on the west side of my yard. These will get full sun all day, but shade in the afternoon. I have found this makes a big difference when the temperatures rise. … Continue reading
What the . . . hail?
Yesterday it was hailing. No joke, hail. I decided last week that I’m not waiting for warm weather to prepare my garden beds–as long as it’s 45 degrees or more, I’m going to do it. And then it hails. And snows. And last night when I tried to write this post–the power went out. My only consolation is that if it’s cold enough to snow, it’s not yet warm enough to grow. So even though I should be able to transplant my broccoli and parsley this week, I’m going to wait until it stops snowing. My peas, onions, and spinach … Continue reading








