Great Gardening Posts to Ponder Over the Weekend

Here are some of the posts I really enjoyed reading this week. As there is less and less work to do outside, there is more and more time to read gardening blogs!

Winter-Blooming Annuals to Help Your Garden Shine: Gen has some great tips for how to use winter-blooming annuals and also some plant recommendations. I think she is right that you can get away with guadier flowers in Winter and early Spring than you can the rest of the year. It’s been so foggy in my neck of the woods, stuff with really bright flowers or foliage really grabs your attention (in a nice way).
A Quick Seasonal Container Idea Using a Pumpkin Instead of a Plant: Sharon posted a photo of a container she saw at Roger’s Gardens (a pricey nursery is South Orange County, CA) that used a blonde pumpkin in place of a focal point plant.
Pumpkin Seeds Are Good For Ya: Marye writes about all the good things the seeds from the pumpkin decorating your balcony can do. They can help you fight colds, lower your cholesterol, and…You’ll have to click over to find out the rest.
How to Grow Garlic on Your Porch: Cindy responded to an emailer’s question about growing garlic in a pot. With economic times pinching a lot of pockets, growing your own food, is a smart choice.
Recession Proof Gardening: Stewart provides a link round up and philosophical point of view about gardening when financial times are tough.

p.s. Bah Humbug! I hate Halloween!!!

October 31, 2008 | Filed Under Good Reading | 2 Comments

The Decision

I apologize for the ominous title, but cutting off some of my tomato plant’s flowers was a difficult decision for me to make. You see, I grew this tomato plant from seed. I fertilized it every week, watered it regularly, I bought it a special, really tall pot so it could send it’s roots deep into the soil. I picked off caterpillars and directed lady bugs to eat smaller pests.

I really pampered this tomato plant, and my effort was rewarded with three stems of flowers, with 7-14 flowers each. I was going to have around 30+ tomatoes!

So why in the world would I cut off the flowers? Well, even Southern California’s beautiful weather has its limits. It is cooling down here and I was afraid my beloved tomato plant wouldn’t have enough energy to finish growing all the tomatoes. So I sacrificed a few of the flowers that haven’t yet started to set fruit, so that the plant could concentrate its effort on growing the tomatoes that are already started.

What would I have done with 30+ tomatoes in November anyway?!

October 30, 2008 | Filed Under Fall Gardening, Fruits & Vegetables | 8 Comments

Great Herb Window Box Advice

Check out this article about growing herbs in windowboxes from Herb Companion Magazine. While it is technically for outdoor windowboxes, I think you could easily adapt the advice in the article for an indoor windowbox for a sunny window sill. Lots of good stuf, definitely check it out!

October 29, 2008 | Filed Under Container Gardening, Herbs | 2 Comments

Anyone Can Grow Iris in a Container

As someone with legal training, I’m hesitant to make such a broad claim, but I am pretty sure I am safe with this one:* Anyone can grow Iris in a pot. If you can add water when the soil is dry, you can have a beautiful one of these…

Photo by **Mary**

The ideal time to buy iris rhizomes (fat roots that look sort of like fingerling potatoes) was back in August and September, but you should still be able to find rhizomes in your garden center. When you head out to the garden center, you will probably find rhizomes with clipped roots and leaves. The rhizome should be firm; it should not be dried out, mushy, smell bad, or have holes from insect damage.

Planting and caring for Irises is really easy:

A 6″ to 8″ pot will work for Dwarf Iris; a 12″ pot will work for Tall Bearded Iris. Make sure your pot has good drainage (i.e. a big hole in the bottom or several smaller holes).
For soil, choose a fast draining, light potting soil.
To plant, dig two shallow trenches with a ridge between them. Put the rhizome on the ridge and spread the roots carefully in the trenches. Cover the roots and rhizome with dirt, but don’t bury deeply. The top of the rhizome should be very near the surface and the leaves should be above ground.
Put the pot in a sunny location.
Water only when the top two inches of soil are dry (it’s better to water too little than too much with irises).
Fertilize one month before blooming with 5-10-10 fertilizer. Bearded irises generally bloom in May and June, dwarf irises in April. Check the tag of your particular iris for a more precise bloom time.

If you live in an area with mild winters, you can leave the pot outdoors for the winter. But if you have “real” winters, bring the pot inside and find a sunny spot. Since this is a bit late to start irises in temperate climates, they might not have enough time to get established before winter. But next year, you can leave the pot outdoors with a protective layer of straw or leaf mulch or something similar.

If you forget to water or fertilize, don’t worry, your iris is most likely fine. I know my grandma didn’t fertilize her irises and they still bloomed like clock work. Many varieties of iris can even tolerate partial shade.

Sources: Iris Colorado, Schreiner’s

*Please don’t sue me if I’m wrong. I promise it would be a waste of time because I have no assets to take if you won the suit!

October 29, 2008 | Filed Under Fall Gardening, How To | 3 Comments

Facebook

Psst. Yeah, you there. Are you on Facebook? I just joined and I have all of 11 friends. Help a girl out….

October 28, 2008 | Filed Under General | 5 Comments

Outdoor Furniture Sale @ West Elm

Check it out if you need an umbrella or tables and chairs or even a cool outdoor mat.

October 28, 2008 | Filed Under General | 2 Comments

Would You Pay $800 for Someone to Plant Vegetables?

In the current issue of Sunset Magazine (a U.S. West Coast Home and Garden Magazine) there is an article about an “Urban Farmer for Hire.” Basically, this guy comes to your house and for $800 he plants a 120 sq. ft. vegetable garden and for $25/week he comes buy and maintains it for you. If he works in your garden for 39 weeks (every week out of the year except during the winter) you’ll pay him $975 in maintenance fees. So that’s a grand total of $1775 for the vegetable garden.

In return, each week, he gives you one basket of harvest and then sells one basket of the harvest from your vegetable garden to someone else.

American Gothic available at Art.com

Would you be interested in that service? Do you think it’s worth it? I highly doubt I spend $1775 a year in vegetables and my husband and I are a vegetarians. We eat a lot of vegetables! I do tend to buy what is in season to save money. But on the other hand, lots of people are willing to spend that kind of money on landscaping and a gardener, and in this case, you would get a nice looking backyard that also happens to be producing something to eat (that is organic and SUPER local!).

Anyway, I’d love to know what you all think about farming for hire.

October 28, 2008 | Filed Under General | 7 Comments

Grow Your Own Food So Your Kids Will Eat Healthily

I just read a shocking fact. Fifty-nine percent of American children are either overweight or obese according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s such a huge number, I’ll let it sink in for a moment: three out of every five children in America is unhealthy.

Photo by Stitch

Now that you’ve had a chance to climb back on your chair, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Fern, that’s a shocking fact, but what in the world does that have to do with plants in pots on a balcony?” I’ll tell you what. I’ve been a camp counselor before, and babysat tons. I know how hard it is to get kids to eat anything remotely healthy. But I’ve also seen the pride kids take in a radish they grew from seed in a paper cup.

That last observation is the secret I think. Involve kids in healthy food growing (and buying). If you grow vegetables with your kids, they’re more likely to taste the fruits of their labor. Not having a huge garden is no excuse. A cherry tomato plant can be grown in a pot next to your front door. Same thing if you take them with you to the farmer’s market and they meet the farmer and can talk to him about how he grew the corn they selected for a BBQ later that afternoon. Get kids excited about and interested in fresh fruits and vegetables by making the process of obtaining them personal and fun.

When picking vegetables to grow with your kids, choose seeds that germinate quickly and opt for transplants for those vegetables that take longer to produce something edible. Get your kids involved in picking out what to grow and planning out your container garden. And set your kids up for success by chosing stuff that is easy to grow. If you’re new to vegetable gardening in containers, I highly recommend the book Bountiful Container.

Here are some articles that will help you get started:

Edited to Add: Nancy blogged about a school gardening project that was a great success in getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.

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October 27, 2008 | Filed Under Container Gardening, Fruits & Vegetables | 7 Comments

How to Move With Your Plants

Master Gardener Julie Bawden Davis has these tips for moving with potted plants:

Wait to water your plants until they arrive at the new location.
Secure the soil in the pot by putting crumpled newspaper in the pot and taping it in place
Use green garden tape to secure the limbs of large plants to avoid as much damage as possible.
Transport your plants inside an enclosed vehicle, not in the back of a pickup truck.

October 25, 2008 | Filed Under How To | 3 Comments

Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe, mostly because I haven’t been cooking much myself. To get back in the swing of things, I will definitely be making up a batch of these potatoes this weekend.

This is a great go-to recipe when you want a more interesting side dish. You can cut up the potatoes and toss them with all the other ingredients the night before, if you’d like. Simply refrigerate in an airtight container after step two, then pick things up with step three 40 minutes or so before you plan on serving dinner.

Photo by su-lin

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F / 220°C
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss.
Arrange potato slices in single layer on heavyweight rimmed baking sheet.
Place on top rack of oven and roast until tender and slightly browned, about 40 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

p.s. Thyme is a great container herb and can be taken inside for the winter if you live in a temperate climate.

October 24, 2008 | Filed Under Recipe | 6 Comments