To talk about the best plants for straw bale gardening, it’s probably important to clarify what straw bale gardening is exactly. The short version is that you can grow vegetables in straw bales just as you would in a raised bed or large container. It’s a popular option in areas where the soil is contaminated or simply not conducive to growing plants.
Oh! The joys of family gardening. I realize that might sound a little sarcastic, but I’m being serious. I love gardening with my family. It’s gives us a chance to spend time together outdoors, with the sun overhead, warm soil at our feet, and the reward of delicious fruits, herbs, and vegetables nearly all year […]
I might be dating myself here, but anytime I think about adding manure to garden beds, I have a vision of the scene from Back to the Future. You know the one – Marty (played by Michael J. Fox) is on a skateboard and getting chased by the bully Biff and his cronies. Biff is in his convertible car (top down) when Marty makes a quick turn. Biff tries to follow, but the car slams into a dump truck full of… you guessed it: manure. The manure falls out and fills the car. Talk about a smelly situation!
When it comes to hydrangeas, there’s one secret that many new gardeners aren’t aware of: you can actually change the color of your hydrangea blooms, specifically to achieve those stunning pinks and lavenders, by adjusting the pH of your soil. When I first started gardening, I had no idea about the whole soil pH thing. […]
I’ll admit that part of the joy of gardening is having a good excuse to play in the dirt. As adults, we don’t get to do that very much, but it sure does feel good. Of course, playing in the dirt actually means getting the soil ready; there’s always compost to add or weeds to dig up. Even when you have “perfect” soil, you still have to do some prep work. Preparing clay soil for planting your garden isn’t that much different.
There’s nothing like the fragrance of fresh herbs in the kitchen. I love the way they flavor a meal and add color to sauces. And I love how easy they are to grow. You can grow herbs like basil in a sunny windowsill, rosemary will stay fresh outdoors well into the colder months of the year, and I’m pretty sure mint would even grow on the moon. But can you help your herbs grow even better and stronger? Should you use mulch for an herb garden?
Javier’s class is digging dirt in the community garden by P.S. 102 in the Bronx And Javier says: ”why am I digging dirt, I haven’t done anything wrong?’ He knows that men from Leland Ave., from the barrio, maybe from the block go to jail go to prison He knows that men from the block […]
When I think of deer-resistant vegetables, it’s usually a cartoon that comes to mind. I can picture little veggies with shields and swords trying to ward off a herd of hungry deer, mouths drooling, hooves stamping, and a little fire in their eyes. The vegetables are tenacious and scrappy, maybe leeks, banding together behind Sgt. Garlic and Captain Onion.
I live in New England, and I love having four distinct seasons, even if winter is a bit longer than I’d like. If you’re reading this based on the title, you are likely in New England too (howdy neighbor!) so you know that New England also has a long history of farming, and you probably live on a plot that was once farmland. Bartlett Farm, one of the oldest farms in New England, is in Massachusetts and began growing vegetables in 1659 (or possibly 1639, depending on your source).
If there’s one thing we should know about gardening, it’s that we have to have patience. Our hard work may take weeks, months, even years to produce the results we hope for. Which is why gardening mishaps can feel so devastating. All that time we spend hunched over the soil, spade in hand, creating the […]
