Garden Supplies News » vegetables

Growing Vegetables On A Balcony Or In A Jar

hughe — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:41:23 +0000

“No Excuses, Just Vegetables” is the title of an article by Mike Lieberman in which he shows how, with a little ingenuity, even apartment dwellers can grow their own veggies. “It’s worth the time and effort if you grow even one herb or vegetable. It will make a difference” he says. Of course he really means that you should cram your balcony with as many containers as you can and plant vertically as well. What I found particularly interesting in his piece was his use of self-watering containers. As he says you can buy these or make them yourself. There is a link in the article to another page where he gives full instructions on how to make these containers. Read more..

If you don’t fancy the idea of having lots of containers on your balcony, then sprouts or micro-greens might be the answer for you. All you need is a jar or a small seed tray and a windowsill. This article taken from the Nashua Telegraph claims that “Leafy greens picked at the “sprout” stage, or let go to the “microgreen” stage hold more nutrition than their adult counterparts, and they need no cooking–an energy and time saver!” If you think this sounds all too good to be true, then take a look at the comment at the bottom of the original article in the Nashua Telegraph. Read more..

For a complete no grow solution you could follow Sam Thayer and try “Foraging The Weeds For Wild, Healthy Greens”. Delicacies such as shepherd’s purse, sow thistle and wild carrot can be found for free. But you need to know what you are doing since some wild plants such as poison hemlock are dangerous and can kill. Read more..

Organic Loses Out On Vitamins And Antioxidants

hughe — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:21:16 +0000

I’ve just come across a recent study that claims that vegetables grown using chemical fertilizers contain more vitamins and so may be better for you than organic produce. This is a report by the British consumer magazine Which? and has caused some consternation among organic gardeners. The claims follow a two year study growing potatoes, broccoli and tomatoes. The three vegetables were grown side by side, one using chemical based fertilizer and pesticides, the other organic feed. It seems that the non-organic potatoes contained more vitamin C than their organic counterparts. Similarly the non-organic broccoli contained more antioxidants and, probably most controversially, the non-organic tomatoes were rated higher by a panel of tasters. Read more..

I’m sure that from time to time most of us have tried planting unusual seeds just to see if they would germinate and produce an interesting plant. Writing in the New York Times Michael Tortorello has taken this to the extreme. Emptying out his kitchen cupboards and his fridge he has assembled a huge array of seeds large and small to carry out his botanical experiment. Needless to say most had little chance from the start, but it makes a good story. Read more..

Roses, Radishes and Squared Recipes

hughe — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:17:30 +0000

Following the revival of interest in his space saving “square foot gardening” technique Mel Brooks has recently published the natural sequel the “All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook“. The book covers fruits and vegetables from A to T, Asparagus to Tomatoes with Melons and Berries for the fruit. Unlike the average cookbook this one starts with advice on when to harvest, how to know that it’s ready and even when it’s too late. Then there are tips on storage and even companion planting receives a mention. Finally we come to the recipes which include Roasted Asparagus With Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus Wild Rice Salad.

Source(which includes recipes for Squash and Crab Soup and Cool Cucumber Ginger Limeade).

Krystle Vermes writes a regular Plant of the Week column in the Boston Green Community Examiner and her piece on radishes caught my eye. Radishes are ideal crops for kids because they are easy to grow and take only a few weeks from planting the seeds to harvest. With their bright pink skin and peppery taste radishes make a coloful addition to any salad. Read more..

A recent subject in the Plant of the Week series covered a flower that has been flourishing for over 35 million years. Certainly the rose has been prized throughout history and remains a firm favorite today. The article by Krystle Vermes includes advice on planting and varieties as well as the best time to pick them for use in flower arrangements. And it gives me an excuse to include some of photos of a few of my favorites. Read more..

The strongly scented GertrudeJekyl

St Swithun climbing rose

Rose border at RHS Wisley

Heucheras, Hostas And A Portable Garden

hughe — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:40:12 +0000

The technique known as “square foot gardening” has been around for many years. In fact it was way back in 1981 that Mel Bartolomew wrote about this method of growing plants in small 4 foot square boxes. The benefits are now well known – less work, fewer weeds and less water. It is also an ideal system for the beginner and, what I have not seen mentioned before, for someone whose job involves frequent house moves.

Bryn Bird’s husband is in the Navy and so each time they move to a new posting she packs up the soil and boards of her square foot garden and loads them into the removal van along with her other belongings. On arrival at the new station she can reassemble her garden and be ready to plant straightaway. Read more..

On a similar theme, if you want to grow grow climbing vegetables in a small space, here is a simple design for an A frame that is an easy DIY job. A neat feature of this design is the replaceable foot. Read more..

“Heuchera is a shady alternative to hosta” writes Sara Busse in the Charleston Gazette. I love hostas but so do slugs, and there is nothing worse in my eyes than a hosta that has been decimated by these slimy pests. Mind you I do not find heucheras as attractive as hostas, but they are useful plants and I do have several in my garden. Read more..

Garden Ramblings – March Issue Now Online

hughe — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:02:26 +0000

The March issue of Garden Ramblings is now online. This will be the last issue of the newsletter which has been published every month since 2004. Unfortunately the number of subscribers has reduced recently and this has been mainly the result of several changes in my autoresponder service.

As regular readers will know the newsletter has relied on guest authors for much of the content over the last year or so and I have tried to bring you useful articles on various gardening topics. Although this newsletter will no longer be published, I plan to increase posts to this blog to include guest authors whenever I find interesting articles. I have added a subscription form to the blog so you can sign up and receive an email each time there is a new post.

On to this month’s issue where I have included articles by four guest authors. First comes a warning from Abel Jones about the dangers of toxic mulch. This is clearly a significant problem and something you need to be aware of when buying chipped bark for mulch.

Our second guest is Jeffry Bullock who writes about “The Different Colours In Your Garden”. His article looks at the way that color can be used to create a mood in the landscape. He discusses the effect created by different colors and suggests plants that can be used for each.

Next Geoff Wolfenden gives us his ideas on “How To Keep Cats From Wrecking Your Garden”. This is a constant problem for many of us and Geoff has some useful tips.

Finally Mike Podlesny writes about “The Least Favorite Vegetables To Grow In The Garden”. This is the result of a poll he carried out with his subscribers and you may find the results surprising.

As usual we start with a video which is looking forward “Primavera – Spring is Coming”.

Here is the link to Garden Ramblings.