You’ve worked hard on your garden. You’ve spent months cultivating those tiny seedlings. You’ve banished weeds and bugs as best you could.  Your toil has been rewarded with some fruits, but there’s still more on the vine.  And now… vacation time.

If you’re relatively new to gardening, it can be a worrisome thing to let go of your garden for a week.  You’ve been its caretaker, and it has been your hobby and your respite from the busyness of modern life.  Now you’ve got to give it up to the care of either another person or to providence.  Either case can be concerning.

There is another option.  With a little bit of forethought, you can make preparations for your garden’s care while you are away.  You can purchase a timer system for watering the plants for about $25 to $50, depending on the size of your garden and the number of zones needed.  With a timer and some well-placed sprinkler heads, you can leave your garden for up to a week without worrying.

Bug protection is another matter altogether.  There’s not much that you can do to protect your garden from the creepies while you’re away.  The best alternative that I know is to have a friend come by once every three days or so to give it a spraying.  If any alert readers have a better plan for protecting the garden while they’re gone, I’d love to read it.  It’s so devastating to come home and find your prize pumpkin/eggplant/fill in the blank eaten up, leaving only a shell to mock you with its size and sheen.

The next time you’re going out of town for a few days, remember to plan ahead for the care and protection of your garden while you’re away.  It will be well worth the effort, expense, and favors called in when you come home to a rich, full garden.

Every garden needs mulch. It serves several important purposes.  The two biggest are moisture retention and weed control.

A good, thick layer of mulch will hold in significantly more moisture than the soil alone would normally retain.  This is one of those multiple blessing kind of applications.  It’s good for the environment, because you’re not needlessly funneling excess water through to the aquifer.  It’s good for your wallet, because you don’t have to water as much.  It’s good for your garden, because the plants are more resistant to the occasional lapse if you miss a scheduled watering.  In other words – it is a good thing all around.

Another key benefit of mulching is that it will impede the growth of weeds.  When it comes to mulch, the thicker the better.  A rookie mistake that many new gardeners will make is spreading the mulch too thin, either because they don’t know any better or to try to save money by spreading the mulch farther.  Don’t do it.  Pile the mulch good and deep.  Weeds are survivors; they’ll  find a way to grow in almost any conditions.  You need that thick barrier to stop most of the weed growth and to retain a good level of moisture.

You can get all the mulch you need for your garden without breaking the bank.  Many municipalities recycle wood from lawn pickup and provide it back to the taxpayers as mulch.  Check your local landfill to see if they have a mulch bin.  Some landfills will have different types available.

Some common variations available are fine, course, and glass mulches.  Stay away from the glass mulch for anything other than decorative planter areas.  Even if your local landfill doesn’t separate out the fine and course mulch, you can still have your choice.  The course mulch will be on the top of the pile.  Fine mulch will work its way to the bottom and can generally be scooped up at the edges of the pile without much trouble.

Whatever kind of mulch you choose to use, with a trip to the landfill and a little sweat equity you can save money and get a high quality mulch for your garden.

Just like in real estate, the three most important factors in gardening are location, location, and location. This point was driven home to me recently when I moved my papaya tree ten feet to the left. One day in the full Florida sun and the leaves turned yellow and shriveled to nothing.

One day.

Before you ask, I had the little tree in a container awaiting planting in the ground. Did you know that there are male and female papaya trees? Apparently you don’t need both to cross pollinate, but you need to have a female to produce fruit. And you can’t tell if it is male or female until it flowers. So… you end up with the little tree in a pot for nine months, just in case it is a boy plant, and you have to take it back to the nursery.

Anyway, while the effects of proper water and nutrition are obvious, placement is less obvious but equally important. I’ve had two eggplants side by side and one thrived while the other merely survived when they were no more than three feet apart. Elephant Ears grow like weeds along the side of my house but will shrivel and die three feet away. Not enough sun – bad. Too much sun –even worse.

If you’re planting a new crop in a new location, I’d recommend starting the seeds in a pot. Once the seedlings are healthy enough, set the pot in your proposed location and watch it like a hawk for a day or two. Only when you are convinced that you’ve got a location with the proper balance of sun/shade, then go ahead and plant in the ground.

One of the struggles that all gardeners face is the constant battle against the bugs. We face the continual conflict between our desire to keep the garden as natural as possible and the need to protect the fruits of our labor from unwanted insects.

I live in Florida where the insects grow to roughly the size of a small dog, so it is even more of a challenge to keep my fruits and vegetable safe until harvest time. I recently discovered a simple and effective natural alternative to pesticide. This is the first natural pest-control recipe that has worked well in my personal experience.

The two part plan involves one old trick and one new. You’ve probably heard that planting marigolds will help protect your plants from insect invaders. You’ve also probably tried it unsuccessfully. Alone, marigolds don’t do enough, but they will boost the effectiveness of other remedies, especially if you plant a busload of them around your most sensitive fruit and vegetable plants.

The new twist is a simple mixture of garlic and Tabasco sauce in water. Put two teaspoons of minced garlic (the equivalent of 4 cloves) and one teaspoon of Tabasco sauce in a quart of water. Mix well in the blender or food processor. Don’t skimp on the mixing. The chunks will clog up your sprayer, so really mix it up well. Then strain through cheesecloth into a glass jar for storage.

Spray the mixture onto the leaves and fruit of the plants. Again, don’t skimp. If you want to do away with the chemicals, you’ve got to really douse the plants with the stuff. I reapply every other day, unless we get heavy rains.

I was initially concerned about the massive doses of garlic affecting the taste of my vegetables, but so far we haven’t detected even a hint. The garlic/Tabasco/marigold remedy has spared me the expense and harmful consequence to our health and the environment that can come with harsh chemical pesticides. The marigolds even improve the look of the garden.
A final word of warning: wear gloves if you don’t want your hands to smell like extra-spicy garlic for the rest of the day. Bugs aren’t the only things that are repelled by the odor of this mixture.

Spring and summer may be the best months to grow vegetables, but they are not the only months! In fact, there is a selection of veggies that you can grow as the weather begins to get colder. It never hurts to talk to a professional who works in a nursery or greenhouse to verify which vegetables work best in your region before you plunge ahead.

Escarole is a cold and hardy green that is an excellent choice for growing in the garden during the cold months, as are carrots and other types of root crops. The decision of what to plant in your fall and winter garden is connected with where you live. For example, if you tend to have wet and cooler temperatures in the autumn, then you need to be careful with your vegetable choices, as these weather conditions can lead to diseases and pests.

This also holds true for places that experience extreme cold during the wintertime. In these areas, growing vegetables in a temperature controlled greenhouse might be the only option. Some vegetables are strong and resilient enough to handle the cold, some plants cannot.

If a high amount of rainfall is common in wintertime where you live, then raising the beds for your plants is a means of controlling the moisture level in the soil. If your beds are raised or if you choose to grow your plants in containers, then the soil will dry out faster, which is what you want. During the days when the temperature dips the lowest you might even want to cover your plants to protect them as best as you can.

Pumpkins and a selection of winter squash can be planted in the autumn and will be ready for harvest later in the season and into the winter. Hot chile peppers are also a later season plant, as is rhubarb which can be grown in the months of October and November.

Bear in mind as previously mentioned that the area you live in and the temperatures you have play a role in what you can plant. Here are some of the best fall/winter vegetables to plant:

•    Collards
•    Kale
•    Lettuce
•    Arugula
•    Broccoli
•    Cabbage
•    Turnip
•    Lettuce
•    Leeks
•    Mustard
•    Rutabagas
•    Spinach
•    Artichokes

Radishes are vegetables that are relatively easy to grow in your garden. The growing season can start any time after the last frost in early spring and can last into the month of September. If you wish to extend the growing season, then cloches can be used.

Radishes are uncomplicated vegetables that are not picky about the ground they are planted in,but they do have a preference for ground that is made up of organic substances, such as manure or compost. The organic material should not be added to the soil in the spring but the autumn before for best results.

When you plant the radish seeds, prepare the row by loosening the soil and raking it gently. Then take a bamboo stick or hoe, and mark out a spot that is approximately half an inch deep. Sow the seeds thinly along the spot you have prepared, and then cover them with a thin soil layer. You then need to water the freshly planted seeds.

Radish seeds generally take anywhere from four to 10 days for the process of germination to take place. As the seeds begin to grow, make sure that the soil is kept moist. This is particularly important to do during the hottest months of the year. Watering your radishes on a regular basis is essential to make sure that their roots swell and to ensure that they are not attacked by flea beetles.

While sun is important for their growth, they will do better if they are provided with enough shade. Too much sun can slow their growth.

If you are growing summer radishes (there are summer and winter radishes), then they should be ready to harvest in three to six weeks time. The three most common types of summer radishes are small, red and globular. They have reached full maturity once their diameter is that of a 10 pence coin. On the other hand, winter varieties of radishes are ready to harvest after 10 to 12 weeks.

If you have no room in your garden for radishes but wish to grow them, then try your hand at planting them in containers. These include such things as window boxes or pots. The advantage of this is you can bring them indoors and the growing season lasts for a lengthier span of time.

You always have been a flower gardener but have decided to break into the world of growing vegetables. Planting the seeds for your vegetables of choice is only the beginning. Next comes the stage where you need to tend to and nurture your precious plants, so that they will grow to be happy and healthy and, eventually, ripe for the picking!

What do you need to do in order to grow a prosperous garden that will bear fruit or vegetables?

Sunlight is a given for vegetable plants. Just as people require it to get their fill of vitamin D, so do your vegetables need it in order to grow. The second most important element to encouraging vegetables to grow is a sufficient amount of water. Watering your plants the proper way is a necessity.

It is preferable to water your garden in the morning, as that gives the moisture time to absorb before it gets warmer and drier. Most vegetable plants need at least an inch of water on a weekly basis.

Another option for watering, if you do not have a lot of time to do it yourself, is to set up a system with a timer, so your plants get the irrigation they need.

Fight the growth of weeds that can harm your plants at every stage of their development by weeding on a consistent basis. Don’t wait until you see an abundance of weeds, but check the garden frequently and when you see them, remove them immediately!

When getting rid of weeds, pull or dig up the entire weed, root and all. This makes reseeding less of a worry. Make sure you dispose of the weeds you have dug up, and don’t just leave them in a pile in the garden.

Fertilize your crops as directed. Find out what techniques are required for individual plants before you buy them. In order for your plants to grow to be healthy vegetables full of all of the good things, you need to feed your plants and nurture them with TLC.  Bear in mind that your crops need nutrients, and the flow of nutrients must come from the soil they are living in. That is why fertilizing is so essential.

Enjoy those tomatoes, zucchinis, or corn that your vegetable garden will delight you with when you give it what it needs to thrive!

The answer to this question is a resounding yes!

But what is compost exactly? To define the term, compost is a “dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling form of decomposing organic matter”. If this sounds kind of icky to you, then read on to learn more …

There are many reasons why composting is a good idea. It has been estimated that approximately 35% of the waste in any given residential area is made up of materials that easily could be composted, such as waste from the kitchen and yard. Composting in your backyard is one of the most practical, convenient and simplest means of taking care of wastes around your home and reducing the waste that gets carted off to landfills.

Composting helps to decrease the disposal cost for waste, and it saves energy. Not only that but composting reduces both water and air pollution. When you compost you are able to conserve resources. All of the organic resources from your kitchen and yard contain plenty of essential nutrients, and these can then be returned to the earth. This will improve your soil and keep it in top notch shape. This also will enrich the soil and make it healthier for the plants and flowers you have growing in it. If you are growing food, your yield will be greater thanks to the nutrient rich soil.

Another way that resources are conserved is that less fossil fuels are used in delivering organic waste to landfills because there is less to transport. Think about it.

Building the healthiest soil possible should be a goal of every gardener, regardless of what you are growing. Compost is excellent for improving air circulation, water retention and the texture of soil. It does this by breaking down the heavy soils.

Did you know that compost provides a natural slow release type of fertilizer? It does. It is also very mild and will not burn your plants in any way. The other good point that should never be overlooked is that composting won’t cost you a thing!

Organic material in landfills produces methane gas that contributes to an unnatural change in the climate. Prevent this from happening by composting. Do your part to help sustain the planet.