By MELINDA MYERS Now is the time to plan and plant vegetables for a bountiful fall harvest. Planting now extends the harvest season for greater yield without expanding the garden. Start by looking for vacant spaces in the vegetable garden. Fill areas that were not planted this spring or replant rows of quick maturing vegetables like lettuce, spinach, radishes, and beets that have already been harvested. Expand your search to other vacant spaces in flowerbeds, mixed borders, and containers. Select vegetables that … [Read more...] about Still time to plant vegetables
Home Improvement
Garden-fresh vegetables help fight cancer
By MELINDA MYERS Cancer prevention starts on your dinner plate; actually, it starts in the garden. Growing your own nutrient-rich cancer fighting vegetables allows you to grow pesticide-free vegetables, harvest them at their peak, and use them right away, ensuring the highest nutrient value and best flavor. Be sure to include some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and turnip greens. These cruciferous vegetables release cancer fighting substances that help fend off lung, breast, liver, colon, and prostate … [Read more...] about Garden-fresh vegetables help fight cancer
Keep your garden looking its best all summer long
By MELINDA MYERS Summer means hot and often dry weather for many gardeners. Keep your garden looking its best with less water and maintenance throughout the summer. Spread a layer of organic mulch like leaves, evergreen needles or woodchips on the soil surrounding plants. This helps keep plant roots cool, conserves moisture, suppresses weeds and improves the soil as it decomposes. Use a three- to four-inch layer of coarser material like wood chips and a thinner, one-inch layer of finer materials like leaves. Pull the mulch away … [Read more...] about Keep your garden looking its best all summer long
Maximize the harvest with proper care
By MELINDA MYERS Grow an abundant harvest with some timely garden care. Arm yourself with a few basic tools, a bit of time and regular visits to the garden throughout the growing season to keep plants healthy and more productive. You don’t need to invest in every garden tool on the market. A shovel, trowel, weeding tool, gloves and kneeling pad are the basics. If your budget is tight, ask gardening friends and family if they have extras to spare or lend. Now you are ready to get started. Weed control is an ongoing task. … [Read more...] about Maximize the harvest with proper care
Maximize the harvest with proper care
By MELINDA MYERS Grow an abundant harvest with some timely garden care. Arm yourself with a few basic tools, a bit of time and regular visits to the garden throughout the growing season to keep plants healthy and more productive. You don’t need to invest in every garden tool on the market. A shovel, trowel, weeding tool, gloves and kneeling pad are the basics. If your budget is tight, ask gardening friends and family if they have extras to spare or lend. Now you are ready to get started. Weed control is an ongoing task. … [Read more...] about Maximize the harvest with proper care
Manage mosquitoes to better enjoy your outdoor space
By MELINDA MYERS Dine, play, and enjoy your outdoor spaces more than ever this year by managing annoying and disease-spreading mosquitoes. Use a multifaceted approach to boost your enjoyment and help keep mosquitoes away. Plan your outdoor activities when mosquitoes are less active. Females are the ones looking for a blood meal and are most active at dusk and dawn when looking for warmth and food. Screened-in porches add a layer of protection but only when they are intact and properly sealed. The same applies to your home. … [Read more...] about Manage mosquitoes to better enjoy your outdoor space
Garden-fresh vegetables help fight cancer
By MELINDA MYERS Cancer prevention starts on your dinner plate; actually, it starts in the garden. Growing your own nutrient-rich cancer fighting vegetables allows you to grow pesticide-free vegetables, harvest them at their peak, and use them right away, ensuring the highest nutrient value and best flavor. Be sure to include some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and turnip greens. These cruciferous vegetables release cancer fighting substances that help fend off lung, breast, liver, colon, and prostate … [Read more...] about Garden-fresh vegetables help fight cancer
Grow edamame for better health and nutrition
By MELINDA MYERS Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet. Consider growing edamame (edible soybeans) in this year’s garden. Soybeans help promote overall health reducing the risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Plus, the high fiber in soy helps fight colon and some other cancers. Edamame is an ancient Asian vegetable and is often eaten right from the pod like peanuts. Edible soybeans are also used for making tofu, tempeh, soy nut snacks and more. In addition to their high fiber … [Read more...] about Grow edamame for better health and nutrition
Dress up the landscape with spring flowering shrubs
By MELINDA MYERS Add a burst of color to the start of the garden season with spring flowering shrubs. Small or large, these beauties add color, support pollinators, and help attract birds to the landscape. Make room in mixed borders and gardens for these spring bloomers. Use varieties with slightly different bloom times to create continuous color throughout the spring. Complement these with spring flowering perennials and bulbs. Once the shrubs finish flowering, they add some nice greenery to the border. Plant a few compact … [Read more...] about Dress up the landscape with spring flowering shrubs
Planting tips for growing success
By MELINDA MYERS Increase your growing success by giving your transplants a good start with a few simple planting techniques. Preparing them for the transition outdoors and planting properly will help you grow your best garden yet. Transplants started indoors from seed or purchased at a local garden center or greenhouse need time to prepare for their outdoor home. Gradually toughen them up with a procedure called hardening off. This process helps them adjust to the outdoor growing conditions, so plants will suffer less … [Read more...] about Planting tips for growing success