(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from the Old Farmer's Almanac))

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 20:00:00

I've heard that "fire days" are when you can cut thistle and it won't come back up. Is this true, and what are the days? (answer).

From The Old Farmer's Almanac.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 13:50:21

For those of us who don't have access to the wondrous mother earth, we can still grow some (or most) of our own vegetables using an organic hydroponic system. Now this may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it is possible to provide all the organic nutrients that our vegetables need via their water/food uptake, without having to resort to harsh chemicals.

(Via Girl Gone Gardening)

Posted by admin to Freya, Mr. Hyper, Winter, animals, blue, herbs, idiots, neighborhood, photos, seeds, wildflowers on 2007-12-04, 13:15:00

34*, 64% humidity, calm wind, cloudy, SEVERE WEATHER ALERT: Snow Advisory up to 6" Every now and then I do a search on Google or yahoo for 'Free Seeds'. You never know just what will pop up. Just the other day I discovered Burt's Bees has a free wildflower seed offer. Last year I received 2 packets of herb seed from Celestrial Seasonings teas. Well going through my seed stash I found the

(Via Plant Care)

Posted by admin to Indoor Color, Plants - General, Troubleshooting on 2007-12-04, 13:10:30

This winter promises to again bring higher hating cost to homes and also growers...

(Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 13:02:02

Thanks to Angela from Garden Bliss I've been tagged for the "8 Things I'm Thankful For" meme.

It's okay though. Ever since reading Colleen's Thanksgiving post I've been wanting to share a few of the many blessings that I've been endowed with. Plus, after reading this quote by Bobby Kennedy in our Saturday paper I've been thinking more on how I measure success in my own life and what are the many things I just take for granted. Sometimes I get it wrong...

Gross national product...measures neither the health of our children, the quality of their education, nor the joy of their play. It measures neither the beauty of our poetry, nor the strength of our marriages. It pays no heed to the intelligence of our public debate, or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our wit nor our courage, neither our compassion nor our devotion to country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worth living, and it can tell us everything about our country except those things that make us proud to be a part of it.

So, here are the eight things that I'm truly grateful for;

1. Firstly, my God and his Son for whom my life would have no meaning without.
2. Then, my drop-dead gorgeous wife, Debbie, who wraps that meaning of life into abundant selfless care and adoration. We've been married for 13 years yet it seems like mere minutes and I've only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of getting to know her.

   The band 1927 sang a song titled "If"that explained how inadequate the songwriter felt for expressing his feelings to his true-love. He goes on to say, "If I could do anything at all, I'd do it for you". Deb, I'd do anything for you.



3. And, you can't have a gorgeous wife without having beautiful children. Our four sensational ankle-biters give me incredible joy and lighten up every situation. They're healthy (another blessing), active and each so very different.


4. I'm thankful for my health. I have a friend who's suffering from cancer and has lost his ability to move and engage life in his usual effervescent way. I often take my health for granted yet I know I shouldn't.


5. If there were ever a time to be born into this world, now would be it. In fact, I think I was made for this period in the world's history - computers, gadgetry, fast cars. If I had been born in the 1800's I'm sure I would have become a miserable, depressed hermit. So I'm thankful I'm living in the 21st century.


6. I'm so thankful for my garden and that I have this little piece of dirt to landscape, cherish and nurture.


7. My new camera. What an awesome toy.


8. All the people who were kind enough to offer feedback and suggestions when I asked what I should be discussing here on this blog - a big thankyou. BTW - I am getting to some of it soon...I promise.

So, there's my little share and care for this meme now it's over to a few others. I'm going to tag;

BlueBlue - A Spot With Pots
Jodi - bloomingwriter
Mary - How Mary's Garden Grows
Bare Bones Gardener - Bare Bones Gardening
Kris - Blithewold
Philip Voice - Landscape Juice
JH - The Allotment Underground
James M - Aussie Green Thumb

(Via OregonLive.com: Dig in with Kym)

Posted by admin to Cool ideas on 2007-12-04, 12:56:28

I'm passing along some good product information written by George Weigel, a certified horticulturist in Harrisburg, Pa., and distributed by Newhouse News Service: THE BUG BLASTER: A lot of gardeners are trying to get away from spraying chemical pesticides. On...

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 12:52:41

Water and fertilizer are the two basic elements that your lawn needs. By giving them these, there is nothing else for you to worry about with your lawn. The lawn will do everything else on its own. Sometimes you don't even have to provide the water or fertilizer, depending on the soil and climate in your area.

(Via An Iowa Garden)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 12:31:00

After spending an hour chopping ice off the driveway, I thought it was time to ramble around the garden and check things out. As I started to walk across the sloping backyard, I began to slide downhill in loops on the surface of an inch of ice that coats everything. Chastened, I gingerly crept back uphill to the house and put on my crampons, then crunched across the yard as if I was walking through a potato chip factory. All of the garden gates save one were frozen shut, but I was able to enter that gate and wander about, and except for a few fallen limbs from the ice, everything looked good.
Unfortunately this winter is rapidly shaping up to be long and brutal; snow is forecast on five of the next seven days. This reminds me of the winter a few years ago, when we got a layer of ice, then a foot of snow on top of it, so the ice never melted until April. By that time, the deer were all starving, shambling about with their coats hanging from them in wrinkles. I felt so badly for them that I started feeding them shelled corn just to get them through the winter. For several years after, I would see deer with big scars and patches without fur; apparently where sores and wounds didn't heal properly because of starvation.
Still, I shouldn't complain too much about our winter; the other day I was reading an online discussion about the hardiness of some little garden plant, and someone from the far north chimed in, saying that the plant had survived one winter where he lived when they had brutal cold with no snow cover... the ground froze ten feet deep. There is nothing better than reading about some poor soul who tries to garden on the north slopes of Alaska to cheer you up in winter.

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 11:37:21

As a storm threatens I think about how the birds who are not migratory might be willing to come and visit in exchange for some berries and seeds. I can sit in the living room and watch them. But, where do I begin?

(Via Home and Family: Gardening Articles from EzineArticles.com)

Posted by admin to Uncategorized on 2007-12-04, 11:21:15

Landscaping can really add a homey touch to your home. The angular corners of the home can be softened quite a bit with some bushes, trees, plants and flowers.