A good year to Garden

[E_]

If you have never grown a garden before now might be a good year to give it a try. Even if you don't care about being in control of what fertilizer, pesticides, etc. you are eating if money motivates you here is a good article to look at: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/04/ ... es-rising/

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Don't have room? Live in a apartment? There are all kinds of window planters etc. If you have a window that faces the south that is your best bet but also one you would need to make sure is watered more frequently. At my home I have a small 10x15 plot and then I have about 6 LARGE planters around my patio and one little planter (pictured below) next to my daughters play house just for fun. The planters alone provide a bounty of tomatoes and peppers (more than my house can consume). ...my parents then also grow a much more diverse and larger garden as well.



I like to plant early and to do so I use Reemay (some still called it cotton but it wasn't) It is what we used for the last 10-20 years of growing tobacco beds on the farm. I remember as a kid how before reemay, the cotton always tore up and also could smother the plants but the reemay is a much better product.

Sadly the freeze yesterday DID kill many of my tomato and pepper plants that were over a half inch tall either with the regular or thick reemay both suffered. I do see several new plants coming up so hopefully they are late sprouts and will make up for the ones I lost.

This is the first year in a decade I lost plants. We have had other years with frosts or even brief freezes but we were below freezing Tuesday late afternoon and well below freezing Wed morning (22 degrees) and did not get above it until around 11am. I guess that is what it takes to do them in.. Oh well, heres to hoping the other lil plants are the same as what turned black and all will be good. I guess I'll know in a week what all I need to replant. I just hate buying plants. When you have several that could add up. lol

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Apparently pumpkin, squash, etc plants and sunflowers are a lot more hardy as those did not look affected at all in some of the same plots. Mom also started on the much larger garden at the farm yesterday afternoon so we should be set one way or the other.

Get out and give it a try! If you are not good at grown stuff just try a planter or two and put Miracle Grow potting soil in it. That is pretty much a fool proof way to grow stuff where all you really need to do is make sure you have water in your planter. It is such a dirt that if your planter has drainage holes you can't really overwater as the soil only retains what is needed. Just water it every day. About half way through the growing season you might want to dig a little dirt out and add fresh or repot it, or add some 10-10-10 or something.

One random picking from the back yard in 2013 this would be pretty much weekly. Sometimes with more cucumbers etc.

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Squash June 2013

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Some 8' Sunflowers May 2013

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Get out and save some $$$ and more than likely have a less chemically contaminated option.

[Sunset Lady]

E, that is a nice harvest that you had last year.
We did well with tomato's also last year. Hoping
for the same this year, plus I think we are going
to plant pepper's and beans too. If we can keep
the rabbits out of the garden

I also like the sunflower's, maybe I can find some
seeds to plant this year.