grow your own 2010: it starts with a seed order

The Brown Turkey fig, Ficus carica, produces large, sweet, juicy figs even in British conditions.

Violas are perennial and grow best in well drained soil that has an open structure to encourage fibrous roots and promote many stems from the same root. They may get a bit leggy so cut back two or three times during the spring and summer to encourage new shoots and more flowers. Aid this by applying a liquid rose fertilizer or seaweed and keep watered.

When God became the first gardener after creating the earth and heavens he noted that ‘no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, he had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.’

Garden designer Alison Jenkins in her Somerset smallholding

Check out How to Grow Perfect Bunch of Peace Lilies with These Tips and ensure you have a blooming and thriving plant always!

In South Carolina, where many of our ponds have been constructed in clay soils, pond water quality may be less than ideal for fish management. Liming can be an important step in a productive and healthy fish pond as lime can improve pH, hardness, and alkalinity conditions, all important factors in fish health. For highly-fished, low-flow ponds where fertilization may be needed to support a beneficial phytoplankton community, liming may be required for effective fertilizer applications. (Contact your local Extension agent to find out more information on pond fertilization and if it is appropriate for your pond.)

While enjoying a slice of delicious locally-made pecan pie, I felt motivated to share with you some tips on growing and enjoying pecans. Whether you say “pee-can” or “peh-cahn,” they are one of the most nutritious nuts you can buy. Or grow for yourself!

By now, everyone involved with gardening or growing plants has heard the term “soil health” thrown around. What is soil health, and why is it important?

T HERE IS LITTLE CHANCE THAT ANYBODY on this dirt road is stealing my garden-design ideas; they don’t want to go stark raving and have to take care of all this stuff. But our doodling friend Andre’s right: Cookie-cutter gardens all in a row would be no fun, and the garden’s a place for each of us to express our individuality, not try to recreate someone else’s picture or point of view.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, total $15 including shipping‘Blue Lake Bush’ bean ‘Blue Hubbard’ winter squash ‘North Georgie Candy Roaster’ winter squash ‘Jumbo Pink Banana’ winter squash ‘Sweet Dumpling’ winter squash Another confession: After I posted the previous details of the order, I suddenly felt embarrassed. And then I did the math.As I mentioned in the earlier post’s comments, I haven’t bought any tomato sauce or canned tomatoes in years, for instance. Last time I looked, the organic ones are not cheap, and I use red sauce or something made with it once a week or more. If I credit myself $2 for each container of frozen or jarred meals I created from my 2009 garden produce–just $2, e

YES, IN THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO, preparing to save seeds starts with decisions about what variety to plant in the first place, and rouging out weak and then “off types” that don’t measure up, or conform to the desired traits of that particular tomato or squash or zinnia. Inferior or atypical? Out you go!It’s a process that is repeated throughout the life cycle. For instance, you might pull the lettuce seedlings that are slowest to germinate from your row or cellpack; later pull and eat any with off-type foliage, and perhaps even rogue a third time if some individuals prove more inclined toward disease than others. Only let the best and brightest go to seed and provide the genetics for next year.Want to guard against inadvertent cross-pollination? A chart in the OSA’s guide clarifies what crops are vulnerable (and what close cousins they can cross with—such as carrots with wild Queen Anne’s lace, or that many brassicas, such as Brussels sprouts and kale

APPARENTLY I AM OPERATING A PICK-YOUR-OWN blueberry farm, but my customers arrive early, before the fruit is even ripe; skip the baskets altogether, and leave without paying.