Top 10 Rules for Growing a Kitchen Garden: #5 Be ready to supply cover...
if a late frost hits. Here, early-spring veggies grow under plastic. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Growing a Kitchen Garden: #4 Time Your Crops...
Time your crops. Soil temperatures matter as much as air temperature when you're planting. Even peas, which are spring crops that are resistant to light frost once they're growing, won't germinate when the soil is below 39 degrees. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Growing a Kitchen Garden: #3 Build Up Your Soil...
Build up your soil. The foundation of a healthy, productive garden is a rich, well-draining, crumbly soil that has good tilth. Liberally add organic matter such as finished compost, bagged humus and straw. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Growing a Kitchen Garden: #2 Start Small...
Start small. If you're beginning your first garden, help yourself avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed with weeding and general maintenance. You can grow a surprising amount of food in a bed just 10-foot square. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Growing a Kitchen Garden: #1 Find the Sun...
Find the sun. Most vegetables want six hours of direct sun a day — and more if they can get it. Exceptions include lettuce and radishes, which can get by with less. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Spring Gardening: #10 Hydrangeas are the exception to...
Hydrangeas are the exception to the pruning rules for summer-flowering shrubs. Mophead hydrangeas— and others that flower in summer— need to be pruned in fall. Fall-blooming hydrangeas such as H. paniculata are pruned in late winter or early spring. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, March 8, 2013
10 Rules for Spring Gardening: #9 Synchronize pruning chores to bloom time.
Synchronize pruning chores to bloom time. Prune summer-blooming shrubs, such as abelia and butterfly bush, in early spring. Buds form on the new wood that emerges the same year. Later, cutting spent flowers on your butterfly bush will produce new flowers. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Spring Gardening: #8 Rotate your veggie crops.
Rotate your veggie crops. Grow them in different spots every year. Tomatoes are especially vulnerable to diseases that may linger in the soil or in plant residue. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Spring Gardening: #7 Rationale For Watering Deeply!
Water deeply. Your veggie garden will need about an inch of water a week; if enough rain hasn't fallen, water till the top 6 inches of soil are wet. Simply wetting the soil's surface with daily watering doesn't reach most of the root zone and is harmful to plants. Saturate the soil around the base... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Top 10 Rules for Spring Gardening: #6 Use Mother Nature to feed your plants
Use Mother Nature to feed your plants. The best amendment for your soil is one you can make yourself: compost. If you don't already have a compost pile, start one now. Source: HGTV.com Sign in to see full entry.