While reading one of my favorite Frederick, MD blogs, I came across this useful post from 2007 about nurseries and stores for gardeners in the Frederick, MD area.
If you are looking for a good place to buy plants, vegetables, and gardening products beyond the box stores, check it out.
Monday, March 9, 2009
How to Keep Houseplants Alive
Is you thumb some other color than green? Do you consistently kill your plants? Here's a great and short article on just how to keep houseplants alive.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
TV Shows on Gardening
In my quest to learn about gardening, I have turned to classes, web sites, books, and, yes, television. I recorded a slew of shows that mentioned "garden" in the description. Thus far, I have found three that have been worth my time. Maybe they'll warrant your attention, too.
Victory Garden on PBS. This is a classic. It has a series of small segments in each 30 minute show. Each segment focuses on a different aspect of gardening. I've recently seen segments on cooking with your home-grown vegetables, composting, adding art to your garden, robust year-round plants, and plants for the office. The web site is great and features video from the show.
Gardening by the Yard on HGTV. The host, master gardener Paul James, is pretty funny in a goofy sort of way. The show focuses on techniques for getting the most out of your garden in the least amount of time. The web site features full episodes and smaller segments from the show.
Landscape Smart on HGTV. This isn't just about gardening, per se, but I've gotten some good ideas for walking paths and raised beds from this show. This show is in the style of lots of the "get a massive project done in one day" shows on HGTV. The web site does NOT appear to feature videos.
Victory Garden on PBS. This is a classic. It has a series of small segments in each 30 minute show. Each segment focuses on a different aspect of gardening. I've recently seen segments on cooking with your home-grown vegetables, composting, adding art to your garden, robust year-round plants, and plants for the office. The web site is great and features video from the show.
Gardening by the Yard on HGTV. The host, master gardener Paul James, is pretty funny in a goofy sort of way. The show focuses on techniques for getting the most out of your garden in the least amount of time. The web site features full episodes and smaller segments from the show.
Landscape Smart on HGTV. This isn't just about gardening, per se, but I've gotten some good ideas for walking paths and raised beds from this show. This show is in the style of lots of the "get a massive project done in one day" shows on HGTV. The web site does NOT appear to feature videos.
Class: Growing Your Family’s Produce
I attended a class on Growing Your Family's Produce by Ted Lambert and Moira Weldon on Thursday night at the Frederick County Cooperative Extension. The class is a part of the Master Gardeners Seminar Series that I've mentioned previously.
This class, like the one two weeks ago on pruning and soil, was very informative. Mr. Lambert and Ms. Weldon discussed techniques for creating a raised bed (bordered or not), container gardening, guidance on when and how to plant various vegetables in central Maryland, dealing with pests, and tools, among a ton of other great stuff. The speakers also recommended three books that I plan to pick up:
This class, like the one two weeks ago on pruning and soil, was very informative. Mr. Lambert and Ms. Weldon discussed techniques for creating a raised bed (bordered or not), container gardening, guidance on when and how to plant various vegetables in central Maryland, dealing with pests, and tools, among a ton of other great stuff. The speakers also recommended three books that I plan to pick up:
- The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward Smith
- Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza
- Weedless Gardening by Lee Reich
Soil Analysis Results
I received my soil sample analysis results back via email a couple days ago and then again via snail mail the next day. I used Waters Agricultural Laboratories.
I'm not sure, but I think these results are telling me that my yard is basically OK, but I just need to add some lime. So, I guess I'll add lime and a spreader to the shopping list.
I'm not sure, but I think these results are telling me that my yard is basically OK, but I just need to add some lime. So, I guess I'll add lime and a spreader to the shopping list.
Getting Organized
Well, I haven't yet built my raised bed(s). I'm excited about getting started, though, so I took advantage of some great weather this weekend to get organized. A few days ago, I purchased some essential gardening tools at Sears. I had some rusted out tools already, but wanted to replace them with ones that I swear to take better care of! I also had a Sears gift card, so I managed to pick up:
Once I got my shiny new tools, I realized that I was going to need to get my shed up-to-snuff. My shed is in horrible shape. I don't have $$ to buy a new one, so I tried to patch it a bit by re-nailing some things that had gotten loose. My shed would have none of it -- parts of it are so rotten that the hammer simply bashed holes through the wood.
I soon realized that I would have to just make do, so I put down my hammer and organized the shed. I removed all the stuff I never use, all the stuff that was rusted, and cleaned off everything else. I then re-organized the shed so that I can easily get to everything I need when I'm gardening this spring. I am essentially a very lazy person, so anything I can do to ease getting to my tools increases the likelihood that I will actually use them :)
Some of the "stuff I never use" was old cans of paint. I took it out of the shed and added kitty litter to it to dry it out. Assuming that works, I'll be able to take it to the landfill).
- digging shovel
- gardening spade for making nice edges
- trowel
- hedge shear w/ extendable handles
Once I got my shiny new tools, I realized that I was going to need to get my shed up-to-snuff. My shed is in horrible shape. I don't have $$ to buy a new one, so I tried to patch it a bit by re-nailing some things that had gotten loose. My shed would have none of it -- parts of it are so rotten that the hammer simply bashed holes through the wood.
I soon realized that I would have to just make do, so I put down my hammer and organized the shed. I removed all the stuff I never use, all the stuff that was rusted, and cleaned off everything else. I then re-organized the shed so that I can easily get to everything I need when I'm gardening this spring. I am essentially a very lazy person, so anything I can do to ease getting to my tools increases the likelihood that I will actually use them :)
Some of the "stuff I never use" was old cans of paint. I took it out of the shed and added kitty litter to it to dry it out. Assuming that works, I'll be able to take it to the landfill).
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Step 1: Taking a Soil Sample
According to Gardening for Dummies, my instructors at the pruning and soil class I attended Thursday night, and www.thegardenshed.net, a good first step when planting a garden is taking a soil sample and having it professionally analyzed.
Many gardeners fight year after year with problem spots and plants in their garden. They try different nutrients, additives, and techniques hoping to get their garden to grow. A good way to avoid this frustration is to send your soil away for analysis. A professional analysis, like the one I've sent away for from Waters Agricultural Laboratory, will cost you less than $20 and provide you with specific information on what your garden needs more or less of. Save yourself the insanity of years of failing plants!
The truth is that all regions are different so my garden in central Maryland may need quite different additives than your garden.
To take a soil sample:- Dig a small hole down 4" - 6". Make sure to use a clean and dry shovel
- Scrape out about 1 - 2 cups of soil and put them in a zip lock bag. Be sure to remove any extraneous stuff (leaves, worms, grass, etc). If you want, you can take samples from different places in your yard and mix them together. Or, if you're going to do different things (vegetable garden vs. lawn) in different areas of your yard, you may want to get one test for each functional area.
- Pick out a soil testing laboratory (see the last page of this pub) and mail your sample, along with their order form, to it.
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