Gardener's Corner

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Comment by Chief Walks on October 28, 2013 at 9:13am

Comment by Chief Walks on October 24, 2013 at 9:44am

Want to transform a weedy spot in your garden or a portion of the lawn into a garden bed without digging?

Think like a chef and make lasagna. You won't need noodles and cheese, but you will need newspapers or cardboard, compost, mulch—and patience.

Called the lasagna method or sheet mulching, this technique is a nearly effortless way to kill weeds or turf and create rich soil. How does it work? You layer various materials over an area; over time, weeds and turf die because they've been deprived of the sunlight they need to grow. As the materials you put down decompose, you're left with healthy soil ready for planting.

You can use this method any time of the year, but many gardeners prefer to do it in the fall so that the new beds are ready in the spring.

It's a recipe for success without straining your back!

NOTE: If you are using cardboard, be sure to remove any packing tape. If you are using newspaper, be sure to separate out any of the glossy pages and do not use magazines.

Comment by Chief Walks on October 9, 2013 at 8:40am

So much information can be found under "Pages" here in Gardeners Corner. See "Real-World Winter Gardening Tips From Your Growing Zone" under pages to the right. ------------------------->

Comment by Chief Walks on September 30, 2013 at 11:00am

Comment by Chief Walks on September 30, 2013 at 10:43am

Comment by Chief Walks on September 23, 2013 at 2:16pm

My grocery budget for my family of two is $250 a month (less in the summer when my garden is producing). That buys me local meat, milk, eggs (if my new chickens ever start laying, I won’t have to buy them anymore!), produce, and some grains. The rest of our dietary needs are met by items from my garden, a standard grocery store.
Walking through a traditional grocery store, it is simple to see how people can easily drop a large amount of money on groceries. There are so many items to choose from, and advertisers work hard to fight for your hard-earned dollars. My approach to cooking and food shopping confuses the heck out of food processors, but it serves the needs and stomachs of my family. So how do we do it? Before we get too deep in the “art” of food shopping, please understand I am not telling you how to eat. The food my family enjoys may look very different from your family’s, but ideas can be applied to any situation.
Buy Ingredients, Not Food! By purchasing components of a meal instead of a meal in a box, I’m spreading out my dollars amongst many food groups. Parts of a recipe can be used in multiple dishes, thereby maximizing my food dollars. Let me give you an example: I can buy a complete chicken meal at a fast food restaurant for about $25. That meal will feed my family for one dinner, and possibly lunch the next day. It will save me time by allowing me to pick up dinner through my car window.
On the flip side, I can wait patiently for my favorite local grocery store to have their twice annual organic free-range whole chicken buy one get one sale and fill my freezer to bursting. Digging some potatoes from my summer garden, I can make homemade fries to roast in the oven while I’m roasting the chicken. Veggies could be picked from the garden, or a simple and delicious salad could be made out of the spinach I purchased at the grocery store.
Using the leftovers for next day’s lunch, my husband and I can save money by not getting take out at work. The leftovers are then put to work to create other meals, which brings us to the next concept of putting your scraps to work for you.
My family consumes a lot of fresh veggies throughout the year. Rather that tossing the veg scraps like carrot peels or celery tops in the garbage or compost, I put them in big freezer-proof Ziplocs and store them in the freezer. After picking the roasted chicken clean of meat, the carcass and a big bag of vegetable scraps gets put in my crockpot to make a nutritious and nourishing stock. I cover the meat and veggies with water, add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and spices like parsley, peppercorns, thyme, sage, and bay leaves, and I let my slow cooker convert the “trash” in to a stock that will flavor many future dishes. From my 7 quart slow cooker, I usually get between 3-4 quarts of stock that I then can in my pressure canner.
Invest in the Best When You Can
I try my hardest to purchase organic produce item like apples, strawberries, peaches, etc., but don’t stress about a non-organic label for items like onion, avocado, asparagus, etc. Additionally, I frequent local farmers and produce sellers, and I talk to them about how food is grown. If a small farm grows their fruit and vegatables using safe and organic practices, but can’t afford the organic certification, they can still have my food dollars!
By being thoughtful about your meal planning, looking at “scraps” in a whole new light, and focusing on healthy priorities, your grocery budget and stretch further than you ever thought before!

Comment by Chief Walks on September 23, 2013 at 2:14pm

How to Grow Garlic

Comment by Chief Walks on August 28, 2013 at 8:46am

Make Your Own No-Space Potato Barrel
Enjoy homegrown potatoes no matter how much space you have with these step-by-step instructions for creating and using a potato barrel. The flavor and texture of freshly dug potatoes is worth the effort to grow your own.
Start in spring. Potatoes take all season to fully mature, so begin this project around your average last frost date (which you can find out from your county extension agent).
Select the spuds. They grow from chunks of last year’s crop — chunks with an “eye,” or rootlet, are referred to as “seed potatoes.” Each “eye” produces a cluster of new tubers. You can find countless potato varieties in nurseries and online, and you can use any one you want, but small to medium-size ones work best in a barrel. Be sure to get certified disease-free seed potatoes, because they can suffer from nasty problems like scab.
Pick a barrel. Plain or fancy, it’s your call. Gardening catalogs and Web sites offer barrels specifically designed for growing potatoes. But they are mostly about being more attractive — not functionally better — than one you make at home out of a whiskey barrel or a common trash can. If your container has been used before, be sure to scrub it out well to get rid of fungi that might cause your potatoes to rot before you harvest them.
Drill for drainage. If the barrel doesn’t already have holes in it where excess water can drain out quickly, drill a few in the bottom and in the sides close to the bottom. Quarter- to half-inch holes are big enough.
Give it a lift. Set the barrel in a sunny spot and get it up on blocks or bricks so it sits a few inches above the ground and air can circulate around it.
Add the soil mix. Make up a soil mix by blending three parts of compost with two parts of peat moss. Fill the bottom of your barrel six inches deep with the mix. Dampen the mix.
Plant your spuds. Place the seed potatoes a couple inches apart in the soil mix. Keep the mix moist but never soggy (which can cause the potatoes to rot).
Cover after sprouting. In a week or so the seed potatoes will have sprouts about six to eight inches tall. Add more soil mix to cover them up to their bottom leaves. Again, keep the mix moist, but not soggy. Repeat the process of allowing the sprouts to grow, adding more soil to cover the sprouts and moistening the soil until the barrel is filled to the top.
Keep the moisture constant. Remember to keep the soil damp but not wet. Feed the plants with liquid fish and seaweed fertilizer (available at nurseries and home centers) weekly or biweekly until you see little white or yellow flowers on the vines, which indicate that the new potatoes have begun forming.
Dig for buried treasure. At the end of the growing season, the vines turn yellow and die back. The potatoes are fully grown. Carefully tip the barrel over, and sift through the soil for the potatoes. Brush the dirt off them (don’t wash them until you’re ready to cook them), and store them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Comment by Chief Walks on August 12, 2013 at 1:57pm

The calendar says it's August, but you need to think spring and plant some seeds!
Beets grow best in cool weather, so now is the time to plant seeds for fall harvest. By the time they sprout and mature—50 to 60 days—the temps will have started to drop, giving us cooler days.
This video gives tips on growing beets from seed. If your soil is depleted from a first round of summer crops, be sure to add some compost to the soil before planting.
Not a beet fan? There are lots of other cool-weather edibles you can plant now, including spinach, collard greens, lettuce, arugula, chard, kale, carrots, radishes and turnips. Check seed packages for maturity dates and frost-tolerance.
The second crop could be better than the first!

Comment by Chief Walks on August 9, 2013 at 9:26am

Houseplants are a wonderful addition to your home. They provide warmth and color, and if you choose the right plants, they're not difficult to care for. Some of them even remove toxins from the air.

One of the most important steps in caring for your indoor plants is irrigation. It's a common question from homeowners: am I watering too much? Not enough?

One of the leading causes of houseplant death is improper watering. Plant species differ on the amount of water they need, so do your research to determine the proper amount to keep your particular plant healthy. Overwatering can cause many problems with your plant such as root rot, mold, and leaf drop. Under-watering your plant can be just as harmful. The plant's growth will slow, leaves will curl and wilt, and the plant will eventually die.

Check houseplants frequently to evaluate their moisture needs. Environmental conditions, as well as light intensity and humidity levels, will affect the amount of water your plant should receive. Check the moisture of your plants' soil by sticking your finger about an inch into the soil; if the soil is dry, your plant should be watered. If the soil is still moist you generally do not need to water your plant yet.

Make sure your plant is in a properly sized container. If your plant has outgrown its pot, it will need significantly more water and should be repotted. On the other hand, plants that are in oversized containers have a hard time using all the water in the soil which often results in overwatering.

Most houseplants can be watered with regular tap water at room temperature. Some plants, especially those with long, thin leaves like spider plant, are sensitive to chemicals in tap water. You can let the water sit out overnight to give the chemicals time to dissolve. Softened water contains sodium, and shouldn't be used for watering plants. If this is the case, use a faucet from outdoor taps, as they're not usually connected to the water softener.

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