TendingMyGarden.com

Wintersown and garden report – Radishes – Lettuce – Spinach

Theresa — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:48:03 +0000

The snow we had Sunday was much to my liking. Started at 6PM. Ended during the night. Looked lovely for an hour or two and was gone. Left a nice crisp chill in the air, but not enough to keep me from enjoying this mild winter and the promise of early crops from my winter sown seed.

Report on Lettuce Transplanted

The Green Deer [...]

Honey – Know Your Source

Theresa — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:36:14 +0000

Honey is considered by many of us to be a staple to have on hand for cooking as well as lavishing on a homemade biscuit. I don’t think I’d be too far off to say that when most of us pick out a jar of honey and it says pure honey — we think it’s pure honey.

Another assumption that I’ll bet would be [...]

Trying to Cut Back on Meat?

Theresa — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:22:24 +0000

If you’re like me – you were raised on meat and potatoes. (My Father was a meat salesmen — so we had plenty of it.) I can also add dumplings, canned peas and spinach with an occasional piece of iceberg lettuce thrown in for good measure on a sandwich made with Wonder Bread and tomatoes. And of course, homemade apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, [...]

Transplanting Root Crop Seedlings

Theresa — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:05:03 +0000

I’ve really had fun with winter sown seed this year. Just for the fun it, I’m starting some root crops that are usually traditionally seeded in the garden.

And they’re traditionally seeded directly in the garden because in most cases they do better that way.

But if you’re like me and want to start some beets, carrots, turnips, or radishes either inside or winter [...]

Beets – An Answer to Sue’s Question

Theresa — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:46:21 +0000

Sue, a reader from zone 7a (like me) planted beets last fall and they didn’t form beets although the leaves did very well. She plans to plant beets again this spring, and wants to know what she’s missing to make them produce beets.

Since I’ve heard this dilemma many times and have experienced it in my own garden, I thought it would be helpful [...]

Frost Free Date – Deciding When to Start Seed / When to Set Out Seedlings

Theresa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:35:13 +0000

There are several seed starting charts online. They list various vegetables, how many weeks before or after the last frost it’s safe to set them out, and how many weeks beforehand you need to start the seed.

You use your area’s last frost free date to determine the date to start your seed and the date to transplant your seedlings to the garden.

Frost-Free [...]

Looking at Winter Sown Seedlings and the Garden

Theresa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:36:43 +0000

Since starting winter sown seed on Dec. 21st, I’ve planted new ones every few days. Jugs total 51 with more to come. I figure with the mild winter we’re having, it’s a great opportunity to experiment with seed I may not have planted this way.

Jugs have been planted, tapped closed, and tops removed for ventilation. I also label each jug on the [...]

Canned Foods – One your Garden can Help You Avoid

Theresa — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:38:43 +0000

We don’t eat very many things that come in cans. But according to statistics I saw sometime ago, 17% of the average American’s diet comes out of cans.

The one canned item that was a staple in this household for many years was tomato paste. Even after I found out about the dangers of BPA, I was naive enough to think that because I [...]

Onions – Starting from Seed is Easy and Economical

Theresa — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:31:00 +0000

I’ve been growing onions for 34 years and they’re one of my best crops. Took me about 3 years of gardening to find out that the best, the biggest and the healthiest onions come from transplants. But what I didn’t find out until recent years was — how easy and economical it is to start the seed and grow your own transplants.

It’ll cost [...]

Seed Starting – It’s Easy – Even with less than perfect conditions.

Theresa — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:39:22 +0000

Seeing that the big chemical companies like Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont, Dow, and Syngenta are buying up all the seed companies —- if we look to the future with some thought —- one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to start our own seed and save some seed.

I for one, don’t want companies whose history as well as current deeds [...]