Mother Earth's Garden

I asked my son the other day what I should write about gardening. He said, “It’s fun!” Sometimes in the heat of summer when we’re worried about garden pests, or weeds taking over our precious plants we forget about the fun. Or at least I do.

The main reason I garden is because it relaxes me, and I enjoy it. When my husband or my son join me in the garden, it’s even more enjoyable and fun.
Sure it’s nice to put some fruits and vegetables in the freezer, save on the grocery bill, and have a bouquet of …read more

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This was the haul from yesterday from the garden. It doesn’t seem like much, and it’s way less than I usually have this time of year. We also have onions ready, but I’ve been going out and plucking them as I need them for cooking, since at this stage they’re still growing.
 
I’ve been picking the tomatoes when they start to turn ripe, because by the time they get ripe they start splitting and rotting on the bottom. I think it’s from the damp cool conditions we’ve had this summer.
I do have quite the variety of tomatoes going on though. …read more

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It’s that time of the year again. When I’m scurrying around, trying to preserve all the fruits and vegetables in my garden for later. The time when I have squash, green beans and other produce overflowing on my counters and in my fridge.

Over the last couple years I’ve written several posts on how to preserve part of that harvest, with some yummy recipes thrown in there too. I thought I’d revisit some of those posts since we’ll all soon be in a canning and freezing frenzy.

Hot Pepper Jam
Freezing Peppers
My grandma’s recipe for canning red  beets
Freezer Pickles
Zucchini cobbler
Freezing Blueberries

I’ll …read more

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I mentioned the other day that we just returned from a trip to North Carolina. I already showed you the beautiful Crepe Myrtle trees in full bloom, but I wanted to show you some other images I captured while I was there. North Carolina is in zones 7 and 8, so they’re much warmer year round than my zone 5 Ohio garden.
I’m so jealous of some of the fabulous plants they can grow there year round. I would love to be able to grow palm trees.

Or keep hibiscus outside all year round.

I saw this fabulous rosemary …read more

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I love how the garden takes off in June. It starts the month with new plants, blooms, or seeds, and by the end of the month things are really starting to happen.
Here’s my main vegetable garden. It’s actually right at the edge of a pasture, so that’s why it looks like it’s surrounded by grass (it is).

I have most of my garden planted. I’m still debating on adding a couple half rows of sweet corn, and some green beans. Everything else is in and growing.
At the beginning of this month I’m harvesting some spring greens, spinach, strawberries, onions, and …read more

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This month’s Lifestyles b5media post theme is the 80’s. I grew up in the 80’s so it’s one of my favorite decades. Some of my favorite movies and TV shows are from the 80’s. I have the big hair naturally, so I fit right in.
I have some great gardening memories from the 80’s. My dad has always had a big garden, and I enjoyed picking tomatoes, apples, and strawberries and eating them right in the garden. Of course I wasn’t always happy about planting, hoeing or weeding back then.
I loved sitting out in the flower garden, sometimes digging roads or …read more

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Since this year is a leap year it’s a great time to reflect on where you’re going with your garden. Where will you be in your gardening efforts in 4 years, where were you 4 years ago?
I have  always leaned toward gardening naturally and organically, but I think I pay more attention now to where my seeds come from, and what is in the soil I start my seeds in than I did four years ago.
I pay more attention to where the produce I purchase comes from, I buy locally whenever possible and I buy organic produce whenever I can …read more

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Deborah NG at Simply Thrifty put together a great list of Money Saving Links, but I can’t resist making my own list of some of the great posts I think other gardeners may be interested in from the last couple days.
My absolute favorite is Jennifer’s post at Offbeat Homes about Sustainable Homes for Furry Friends. You’ve got to check these out, whether your a birding fanatic, or a pet lover you will love these unique, enviro friendly animal homes.  I think I may have to get one of those birdhouses.
Tracey at Foodie Obsessed has a post about one of my …read more

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What are my gardening goals for 2008, and what are my goals here at Mother Earth’s Garden?
My gardening goals for 2008:

1. I have several houseplants that need re-potted. I plan to re-pot them in the upcoming months, so they’ll be ready for spring growth spurts.
2. I would like to add a new water feature to my garden this summer. I would like to “redo” an old concrete trough into a fishpond. If I accomplish this, I’ll show you the renovation process. If I chicken out on that major project, I want to add a small pond to my main perennial …read more

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I showed you my before photo on Sunday, now here’s the after. I finally sorted through my seed “collection” and threw out anything not labeled, or more than a couple years old.
After the seeds were sorted I put them in a plastic container to keep the moisture out. I was going to label them alphabetically, but decided to label them by type instead. I made a label for flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruits, tomatoes, and ornamentals. I do better at keeping things organized if my system is simple.
My largest section was the ornamentals. I love novelty plants, and plants I can …read more

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