Mother Earth's Garden

Saturday was a great day to get some work done in my Ohio garden. I got some Spring clearing done in some of my perennial beds, and got some early vegetables planted in the garden.
What did I plant this early in the season?

I planted 3 different varieties of onion sets, a red variety, a white variety, and a yellow.
I planted 4 rows (15ft each) of potatoes, 2 Yukon gold, and 2 Kennebec.
I planted plenty of Spring greens, spinach, butter crunch lettuce, a mesclun mix, and some early small headed cabbage.
I also planted a row of snow peas, …read more

3 Comments

My sister and I were talking about growing potatoes in an old tire, or old barrel last fall. I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve heard you can get more potatoes per plant by planting them this way.
Plant your potato at ground level in a barrel with the bottom cut out, or an old tire. As the potato plant grows, add dirt around the plant, and fill the tire or barrel with dirt. When your plants are mature, just remove the container from around the plant, and you have tons of potatoes that you don’t even have to …read more

5 Comments

Did you know you can force flowering trees and shrubs to bloom in the early Spring or late Winter indoors? If you cut off a few branches of apple, cherry, forsythia, pussy willow, or most other spring blooming tree or shrubs you can force them to bloom early.
While you’re pruning your trees and shrubs for summer growth, grab a couple of those pruned off branches and bring them indoors. Place them in a tall vase of water on your dining room table and watch them come to life. A little bit of early Spring indoors.
I forced some …read more

No Comments

The first of my daffodils are blooming. It’s only going to get better from here! The daffs are always a sure sign Spring is in full swing! Next up come the tulips, then the lilacs, and poppies, then irises, then the whole garden seems to be in bloom for the rest of the summer. Can you tell I get a little excited about a few blooms? Flowers are wonderful therapy, they always cheer me up!
Technorati Tags: daffodils,daffs,spring blooms,spring flowers

No Comments

It’s that time of year when everyone is buying mom or grandma a beautiful Easter Lily, but what happens to these beautiful plants after the Easter celebrations are finished? You have this beautiful blooming plant, now what do you do with it?
It’s likely that your Easter Lily gift was forced to bloom early by a florist or greenhouse. This makes it a little trickier if you’d like to transplant your lily and have it come back next year. But it can be done.
Keep your Lily indoors in its original pot until all danger of Spring frost is done. …read more

No Comments

I started some tomatoes seeds this weekend. I started them in some plastic and homemade pots indoors. They’ll be residing in my windowsills for the next couple weeks, then outside in the cold frame before they move to their permanent home in the garden at the end of May.
I started several varieties. Including:

Sweet Tangerine (a yellow variety)
Beefsteak (for summer sandwiches and slicing)
San Marzano (an Italian paste tomato for sauces, drying, and freezing)
Brandywine (one of my all around favorite tomatoes)

I’ll also be planting some Early Girls and cherry varieties, just so I can have some tomatoes at the beginning …read more

No Comments

Gardening with your children can be a great way to get your children to eat more vegetables. If children see where their food is coming from, and help grow their food, their more likely to give it a try.
I love this song by the Banana Slug String Band, called “Dirt Made My Lunch.” It’s a catchy tune, once you hear it you’ll be singing it yourself. I love all their songs and videos, they’re great for kids. All the songs have a good message to help kids understand their Earth.

Kids will find joy watching the seeds they planted grow …read more

No Comments

I love Spring, I’ve had the worst case of Spring fever this year ever! I couldn’t wait for the weather to warm up, and everything to turn green. Now I can give a big hoorah! It’s official, the weather will start warming up, and my flowers will be blooming.
I think the first day of Spring is one of the best reasons to celebrate all year!
Spring begins on what is known as the Vernal Equinox, or the time when the days start getting longer than the nights. That’s today, March 20th in the Northern hemisphere. If you’re in the Southern …read more

No Comments

Bloom in vegetable gardening is a hot trend right now in gardening. With everyone wanting to make the most out of their gardening space. Learning how to combine a vegetable garden into an overall pleasing landscape is a subject that interests many right now.
Burpee will host a garden festival event to help people learn about bloom in vegetable gardens on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Burpee’s historic Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Here are some of the details of the event from Burpee:
“Our first Open Day will allow visitors to see our …read more

1 Comment

I recently had the opportunity to take a look at Reader’s Digest All New Illustrated Guide To Gardening. I have to say, it is a fabulous gardener’s resource! The new revised and updated version is all organic!
This book is definitely an all inclusive how to guide for gardeners. From planting to pruning, and dividing perennials, there are step by step instructions for most of your gardening questions.
The guide includes a fabulous listing of all types of plants, shrubs, and trees. If it grows it’s probably listed. It’s loaded with tips, tricks, and fabulous illustrations.
There are sections on wildlife gardening, …read more

1 Comment