Gardening season is all too short here in the Midwest which leaves us garden lovers with too much time not gardening! Aside from spending that time planning next year's garden, I've found some easy (very easy because I'm lazy) projects that can be done in the off-season to stave off the gardening blues.
Aluminum Can Plant Markers
Any project that involves recycling is a project for me! Not having to buy stuff and create even more stuff is a good thing. I like this project not only because it involves recycling but is really simply as well. Many people who commented on the project were concerned about sharp edges and while others who have done this project claim it's a non-issue, others offer easy solutions to combat that if it's a problem for you. The sizes, shapes and labels are only limited by your imagination. I do have to say that I don't quite agree with the author though in her statement that they aren't the most attractive. I love the minimalist industrial design!
Lighted Herb Bookcase
When I first saw the headline for this project I wrongly assumed this was going to be some complicated woodworking project. Not so! What I love about this is how easy it is to turn something I already have into something functional. I have many prefab book cases I've gotten from various places that I could easily use as a light box. The project suggests using it for herbs which I think is an excellent idea, however, why limit yourself to that? It would also be a great way to add house plants in rooms that don't get much light like north side rooms or the basement.
Potatoes in a Barrel
More nutritious than a barrel full of monkeys! This isn't exactly an off-season project but I included it because I think it's genius and it may take some planning, particularly if you choose to use a found item rather than purchasing something specific. The basic concept is you plant potatoes in a barrel or other container of proper size in shallow soil. As the foliage grows up, you add more soil and the plant puts down more tubers. When the season is ready, you dump out the container and harvest your potatoes. There is another version here if the barrel thing doesn't work for you. It's basically the same concept but seems more work than I would want to do. However, if you're handy with wood and have scraps laying around, this may be the way to go.
Showing posts with label garden links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden links. Show all posts
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Gardening Around the Web: Research Sources
I used to volunteer at the University of Minnesota Extension on the Horticultural Line when I was an active Master Gardener (I'm lapsed! Just got my letter today...I'm going to have to remedy that). It was some of the best education I've ever had. My job was to answer the phone of course and answer people's horticulture questions. Sounds daunting, right?
I thought so, too. Fortunately, the first thing my supervisor told me was unless I knew the answer for sure, I needed to just get the information and call the person back. He then showed me how to research for the answers I needed because his view was, no one knows it all, not even himself. This was a man with a master's degree in horticulture so he knew way more than me. He was a good person to learn from. So in addition to learning lots more about horticulture I also learned how to do good research to get answers to my own gardening questions.
University of Minnesota Extension
Obviously, as I worked for the U of M Extension, their site was one of the primary resources we turned to. One of my favorite tools they have available is "What's Wrong with My Plant".This is a diagnostic tool for identifying disease and insect damage. It breaks it down by type of plant, specific plant and then symptoms. It's complete with pictures which makes it easy to pinpoint problems. Also, I recommend the Yard & Garden News for Minnesota gardeners as it provides timely state specific gardening information. You can subscribe by email or rss feed.
Dave's Garden
I use this resource quite a bit in my work at the greenhouse. I've found very few plants that aren't in the plant files. What I like about this database is that it has all the scientific information I need about a plant such as zone, height, sun requirements as well as a gardener's forum for each plant. Members of the site can upload their pictures of the plant and give their comments about that specific plant. They also rate their experience with the plant as positive, negative or neutral. I find this invaluable because the scientific information is necessary but it never tells the whole story. Some plants are invasive in some areas, some don't do well although they should. To have gardeners with actual experience with the plant share their information is invaluable because sometimes what you really need to know about plant you won't learn from the scientific information or the retailer who's trying to sell it to you. The site also has insect and bird files as well as a tool for figuring out frost dates in a given zip code.
While browsing through gardening sites today, I came across one with a headline that read "Buy Water Butts Online." Well, you know I had to check that out! Turns out that water butts are nothing more than these. I can't even fathom how they came up with that name but then again, I don't live in the UK. I do have to say that all of these are much nicer than my water butt!
I thought so, too. Fortunately, the first thing my supervisor told me was unless I knew the answer for sure, I needed to just get the information and call the person back. He then showed me how to research for the answers I needed because his view was, no one knows it all, not even himself. This was a man with a master's degree in horticulture so he knew way more than me. He was a good person to learn from. So in addition to learning lots more about horticulture I also learned how to do good research to get answers to my own gardening questions.
University of Minnesota Extension
Obviously, as I worked for the U of M Extension, their site was one of the primary resources we turned to. One of my favorite tools they have available is "What's Wrong with My Plant".This is a diagnostic tool for identifying disease and insect damage. It breaks it down by type of plant, specific plant and then symptoms. It's complete with pictures which makes it easy to pinpoint problems. Also, I recommend the Yard & Garden News for Minnesota gardeners as it provides timely state specific gardening information. You can subscribe by email or rss feed.
Dave's Garden
I use this resource quite a bit in my work at the greenhouse. I've found very few plants that aren't in the plant files. What I like about this database is that it has all the scientific information I need about a plant such as zone, height, sun requirements as well as a gardener's forum for each plant. Members of the site can upload their pictures of the plant and give their comments about that specific plant. They also rate their experience with the plant as positive, negative or neutral. I find this invaluable because the scientific information is necessary but it never tells the whole story. Some plants are invasive in some areas, some don't do well although they should. To have gardeners with actual experience with the plant share their information is invaluable because sometimes what you really need to know about plant you won't learn from the scientific information or the retailer who's trying to sell it to you. The site also has insect and bird files as well as a tool for figuring out frost dates in a given zip code.
While browsing through gardening sites today, I came across one with a headline that read "Buy Water Butts Online." Well, you know I had to check that out! Turns out that water butts are nothing more than these. I can't even fathom how they came up with that name but then again, I don't live in the UK. I do have to say that all of these are much nicer than my water butt!
Labels:
garden links
Monday, October 4, 2010
Gardening Around the Web
So much great gardening information to be found around the web. Kind of makes me wonder how we gardened or did anything else for that matter before the Internet! Here's some garden links I found interesting this week:
You Grow Girl: Make Your Own Pop Bottle Irrigation System
This is a post from 2001 but it seems more relevant today than ever. This combines two things I love: drip irrigation (I'm lazy, there's nothing more to it than that) and recycling. I have looked at commercial variations of this same thing. Of the commercial products I have looked at (and not purchased, I might add), one was simply a set of spikes to attach to recycled 2 liter bottles. The other was a more "scientific" and "highly engineered" system that included both the spike and bottle in addition to a special disc that was supposed to guarantee proper watering. Whatever. It didn't work. Sometimes things can be just too thought out. I like the idea of using things I already have and re-purposing them for something else. I think this could also work with smaller pop bottles for house plants as well.
No Dig Vegetable Gardens
This site caught my eye precisely because I'm a lazy gardener. However, I'm also a marketing major and prone to skepticism when I see claims like this. Turns out this is just a really clever way to talk about raised bed gardens, which for many of us is an excellent idea. This site is not selling anything other than the idea of raised bed gardening and has wonderful information about vertical gardening, children's gardening and other general gardening information. Is a raised bed garden a no dig garden? Technically, but they are still work initially so the idea that this is less work will depend on interpretation. However, there is a wealth invaluable gardening information regardless if you use raise beds or not.
Overwintering Geraniums
Ok, yes, this is my own article so I didn't have to search very hard for it. I included it for it's seasonal timeliness. This article was written based on my own personal experience with overwintering geraniums. I don't have a sunny window in which to overwinter geraniums in pots and I don't have a cellar that is cool and dark. What I do have is a finished basement that is heated because my children's bedrooms are down there and, of course, the big TV. I had read about how you're supposed to overwinter geraniums by hanging them upside down in paper bags in a cool dark place. Since I don't have those requirements (not even a paper bag!), I decided to see what would happen if I put the plants in a cardboard box in the laundry room next to the dryer since it was the only out of the way space I had. What happened was that out of 15 plants, 11 survived. Talk about drastically cutting down on the spring flower bill! Of the 4 that did not survive, 3 were ivy geraniums. I will do the same this year to see if I get the same results from the ivies.
You Grow Girl: Make Your Own Pop Bottle Irrigation System
This is a post from 2001 but it seems more relevant today than ever. This combines two things I love: drip irrigation (I'm lazy, there's nothing more to it than that) and recycling. I have looked at commercial variations of this same thing. Of the commercial products I have looked at (and not purchased, I might add), one was simply a set of spikes to attach to recycled 2 liter bottles. The other was a more "scientific" and "highly engineered" system that included both the spike and bottle in addition to a special disc that was supposed to guarantee proper watering. Whatever. It didn't work. Sometimes things can be just too thought out. I like the idea of using things I already have and re-purposing them for something else. I think this could also work with smaller pop bottles for house plants as well.
No Dig Vegetable Gardens
This site caught my eye precisely because I'm a lazy gardener. However, I'm also a marketing major and prone to skepticism when I see claims like this. Turns out this is just a really clever way to talk about raised bed gardens, which for many of us is an excellent idea. This site is not selling anything other than the idea of raised bed gardening and has wonderful information about vertical gardening, children's gardening and other general gardening information. Is a raised bed garden a no dig garden? Technically, but they are still work initially so the idea that this is less work will depend on interpretation. However, there is a wealth invaluable gardening information regardless if you use raise beds or not.
Overwintering Geraniums
Ok, yes, this is my own article so I didn't have to search very hard for it. I included it for it's seasonal timeliness. This article was written based on my own personal experience with overwintering geraniums. I don't have a sunny window in which to overwinter geraniums in pots and I don't have a cellar that is cool and dark. What I do have is a finished basement that is heated because my children's bedrooms are down there and, of course, the big TV. I had read about how you're supposed to overwinter geraniums by hanging them upside down in paper bags in a cool dark place. Since I don't have those requirements (not even a paper bag!), I decided to see what would happen if I put the plants in a cardboard box in the laundry room next to the dryer since it was the only out of the way space I had. What happened was that out of 15 plants, 11 survived. Talk about drastically cutting down on the spring flower bill! Of the 4 that did not survive, 3 were ivy geraniums. I will do the same this year to see if I get the same results from the ivies.
Labels:
fall gardening,
garden links,
tips
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