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Garden Gate:  Your favorite gardening trick, tip or tool?  |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 07 2012 : 08:24:35 AM
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I'm planning my first serious garden for this fall (October is supposed to be our prime planting season), and I'd like to hear from you! What is your favorite gardening trick, tip, or tool? There are many gardening gadgets in catalogs... are any of these necessary? How about that planting trick you swear by? What plants grow best together? Organic pest control tips? Sound off, ladies! Believe me, I need all the advice I can get! :)
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2012 : 2:37:48 PM
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Hula Hoe is a gardeners best friend, I also always keep a jar of alcohol close by to sterilize garen shears/pruners/etc, if I've had to trim any plants that might have some ceeping crud...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2012 : 7:04:18 PM
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I'm with Tina, except I call mine a "stirrup hoe." Same thing. Absolutely magical.
I also swear by my hand cultivator. It has four long, pointy-sharp prongs on a handle about a foot long. It's the best ergomonically designed tool I've ever owned.
The third weapon in my arsenal is a Japanese garden knife. It's HEAVY steel with a wooden handle. The blade is wide, thick, and evenly curved, coming to a point at the tip like the top of an arched church window. One edge is serrated and really come in handy for all kinds of tasks. The first two items are available from Johnny's Seeds. I've seen versions of the knife that don't seem quite as heavy-duty as mine, and (yuck) they have plastic handles. I can't vouch for them. See if you can get the real thing. I got mine about 20 years ago from the (sadly) defunct Smith & Hawken company. The blade will rust if left wet, do I clean it faithfully after every use, towel it dry, let it air-dry some more, then give it a thin coat of mineral oil.
Use French marigolds -- the more old-fashioend the better -- scattered around. Look up "companion planting" online. You'll see things that go well together and things that are not a good combination. Figure out what you'd like to harvest someday, then see how to position them in your garden to best advantage.
Confuse the bugs that like to zero in on particular crops by mixing up your veggies! Instead of having carrots all here bush beans all there, put part of each type of vegetable in two or more different spots in the garden. This is the single best advice I ever got from a master gardener! Really works.
The best tool or trick in any garden is...wait for it...THE GARDENER. Spend time in your garden at different times of the day, every day, to listen and observe. Assassinate bugs, pinch off dead leaves, prune, water when needed, provide shade (in the form of row covers) when the sun seems to be burning too hot.
Water the soil, not the plants. And do it in the morning, to prevent mold from forming.
Invest in an inexpensive soil test and soil thermometer. You might only use these things your first or second year, but they will get you close to the earth and give you greater understanding of why some things need to be planted at different times, and will help you figure out how to get your soil in good shape.
Have fun!
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2012 : 7:27:42 PM
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also: "compost", very importent...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Sep 07 2012 : 7:54:27 PM
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Newspaper on the ground around prevents weeds. i put straw over the top. Coffee grounds and egg shells on everything I take them and put in to a 5 gallon bucket when I get about 1 gal of grounds I crush the egg shells and put them and the coffee in the bucket and water and let it sit 12/24 hours and pour on any thing that needs a boost. Epsom salts. 1 tab to a gallon of water, beans tomatoes and peppers LOVE it. I also spray my plants when I water them I don't have a bug problem or nasty crud.
Good luck
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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Garden Gate: Your favorite gardening trick, tip or tool? |
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Your favorite gardening trick, tip or tool?
