From the article: Gardening Quick Tips for a Better Garden
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Extending the Season
- Fall is here and my lantana, purple hearts and potato plants are still beautiful. Instead of deadheading these plants, I insert my pansies early and when these plants meed to be removed, I already have blooms for the winter season.
- —Guest Susan Brown
Plant Stakes
- Remove yard-size political sign print. Wire frame props droopy flowers.
- —Guest norma leary
Leaf Mold
- Hi , I have a 8 foot by 24 foot garden , here is what i do i gather all of the leaves that i can and spread them all over my garden then i cover them with a plastic tarp and every month or so i pull it back so it can get rain or snow then i let Mother Nature do her thing. then in the spring i mutch them with my tiller . Have Fun Lou
- —Guest Lou
Substituting Bamboo for Straw
- I have found even the small bamboo or the large goes through my leaf grinder and makes a great substitute for straw (great mulch) That fact keeps me from being so aggravated at my neighbors.
- —Guest Charlie
Mailbox Storage
- An oldie but goodie that bears repeating: Use a vertical mailbox to hold your gardening stuff in, and keep it handy in your garden all planting season. I attached my "garden" mailbox to the wire fence in my city backyard. Always conveniently there when I need my pruners, etc.
- —Guest Joan
Decorative Plates as Garden Art
- I like to go to the thrift stores & look for unusual plates (all sizes). They are usually very inexpensive (25-50 cents). I particularly look for a color or pattern to complement the shrubs/flowers where I will place the plate. I tuck the standing plates under a shrub or collection of flowers. For me, example, I found a pasta plate with herbs/spaghetti/tomatoes depicted on the plate & I tucked it into the oregano in the herb garden.
- —Guest Virginia
Using Bamboo
- I have bamboo that I don't want growing in the borders of my yard. So, I cut it and clean off the main stem which makes great plant stakes. It's like using lemons for lemonade. If the bamboo is cut and allowed to dry it lasts longer in the garden. Otherwise, it lasts about a season. Nice, cheap stakes.
- —catlady3
water your plants
- I have 7 barrels that I keep under the drip line of the car port, they catch rain water for my garden and I use it to water everything in my sight, using the water from the faucets dont do one bit of good to the plants, it has too many chemicles in it.I have 5 ubder the drip and 2 others under the downspout of front porch, I even fixed them where they have spickets on them by boring a hole and screw the spicot into the hole,. my garden and all the plants LOVE it!!
- —Guest Jo
mulch from ground up junk mail and misl
- I grind up all my junk mail and misl thin paper for mulch in my shredder
- —Guest Donald Rupp
Plant Markers
- To mark plants I buy plastic spoons, spray them a light green, magic marker the name and then spray with polyurethane. Stick the handle in the ground. To make stakes I buy 10 foot plastic 1/2 inch pipe, spray it light green, cut in 1 1/2 foot pieces. 85 cents for 10 ft. at Lowes.
- —Guest Jim Dally
Greenhouse Prep
- It's time to remember to change the anchor ropes on those little starter greenhouses. They will have lost all their strength. If you are in an area that is at all prone to wind consider using two pieces for each or heavier gauge clothes line (which comes in too late to get it in the spring). A heavy gust broke mine and toppled the rack and I lost almost everything using single lines that is how I learned.
- —Guest CtheBear
repels ants 2!
- Baby powder also repels ants, just place where you don't want them and they won't cross!
- —Guest jj
note on fall garden clean up
- Tomates often have various types of blights that may stay in the ground for a few years. I always pull up the entire tomato plant to aviod more soil contamination.
- —Guest Mary Bodily
Garden Tips
- you can get spent coffee grounds at Starbucks for free!
- —deidre2382
Preserving garden bounty
- A quick way to save tomatoes for making tomato sauce, gravies, etc. is to wash the tomatoes, put them in a single layer in a freezer bag, pop them in the freezer. When ready to use them, thaw them a little and the skins will slip right off. Or thaw for a few seconds in the microwave oven.
- —Guest Tiempe
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