Vegetable Gardening Today

Back in the late 60′’s early 70’s when I was a teenager growing up there was a great movement towards back to the land and homesteading. Sustainable living was the big thing. I was involved to some extent and that is where part of my roots in gardening comes from. Many years before that during World War II there were Victory Gardens and seems like everyone was growing their own vegetable garden to be able to have fresh Vegetables on the dinner table . Oh, and no I was not around back then but have done extensive reading and research on the subject through the years.

In the last few years there has been a resurgence in people growing a vegetable garden. This is a very good thing for those of us who love gardening. The thing that I worry about is that sometimes people will get started with a garden and then because of inexperience take on more than they can chew and then get discouraged and quite before they even get a chance to taste the fruits of their labor. Gardening is fun and very enjoyable and an important life skill that should be passed on to children. Fortunately there are a lot of resources available on gardening that can make the job of growing your own garden a lot simpler and fun.

Working in an urban environment, every day I get the chance to see a lot of gardens in the neighborhoods as I go from place to place in the city. Even the smallest of yards seems to have a vegetable garden of some type or the other. There is even a restaurant in Chicago that has a full blown organic garden and grows most of it’s vegetables on the roof top. Just for good measure they also maintain 4 bee hives as well and harvest upwards of 50 lbs of honey each year to use in their cooking and baking. This is a bit of an extreme example, but one that none the less shows you can grow a garden just about anywhere.

Maybe you don’t have the space for a full blown garden or would just like to start out small, then maybe a small container garden would be your answer. You could grow a kitchen herb garden and it would take very little time and effort. The is a great advantage to starting small especially if it is a kitchen herb garden. You can get started for a relatively small amount of money and once you have cooked with fresh herbs you will be hooked.

Planting a kitchen herb garden is as simple as getting a large container with holes punched out in the bottom. Fill it with good compost and potting mix and placing it in a convenient location. You can grow four or five different herbs in one container.

This is just one idea the same could be done with tomatoes or peppers even cucumbers could be grown this way. The possibilities are enormous. The other nice thing is that by starting with a small garden like a container garden your chances for success and reward for a small amount of effort may spur you on to bigger challenges such as a small patch in the back yard.

I would encourage this spring to plant a small garden even if you opt for just a container garden. I think you will be very surprised out how good your veggies will taste. There is a lot of advice on gardening available and I encourage you to take a little time and plan a small garden for yourself this spring. I warn you though once you taste your homegrown super market veggies will never compare again.

Lawn Care Core Aeration

With Spring on the way I thought it would be a good idea to add some cultural care of lawns information to the site. Here we will discuss core aeration and it’s benefits for having a beautiful home lawn.

What is core aeration and what does it do? Core aeration is a mechanical process that actually opens up the surface of the lawn to expose 4 times the surface area with out destroying the turf grass.

On heavy soils the ground can be compacted, especially clay soil, from heavy foot traffic or even heavy rain. The more compacted the soil is the less space between the soil particles for air spaces. Space between the soil particles is very important for several reasons. First these air spaces allow for the exchange of gases in the soil. If the soil is too compacted the gases manufactured by the plant can not escape and are trapped in the soil leading to poor growing condition. The more compacted the soil is the harder it is for water and nutrients to move down into the root zone. Without adequate moisture and nutrients the turf grass will weaken and die. Most important of all is that the roots of the turf grass do not actually grow in the soil they grow in the air spaces around the soil the less air spaces the less roots. Core aeration helps alleviate compaction and opens the soil up to help make the soil more able to accomplish these tasks.

A core aerator is a machine with hollow tines that penetrates the soil to a depth of 4 to 6 inches and actually pulls a plug of soil out and throws it on the surface of the lawn. The tines are spaced 3 to 4 inches apart and do a good job of pulling the plugs out on moderately moist lawns. In order to achieve best results the machine should be run over the entire lawn area in 3 to 4 different directions to really open the lawn surface. On heavily compacted turf such as sports fields up to 8 passes may be needed to get the desired results.

Now that the lawn as been aerated water and fertilizer will be able to get through the holes and down to the root zone of the grass plants. The plugs that are left will break up as you mow the lawn and actually work as a top dressing throwing the soil on top and help to break down the thatch layer by spreading the micro organisms in the soil on top of the thatch layer.

To really appreciate just what core aeration does for the plant a simple test can show you the benefit. After 3 to 4 weeks go out on the lawn with a spade and dig up a square block of soil about 8 inches by 8 inches about 10 inches deep. Next take a large knife and slice straight down through the soil over the center of one of the aeration holes and pull the soil apart and look at the two sides. You will find the aeration hole is packed with new healthy white roots ready to provide and store nutrients and moisture for the turf grass plants.

A Backyard Greenhouse

For those who would like to do more gardening but live in a short growing season area, a hobby greenhouse is the answer. A backyard greenhouse is not large enough to produce vegetables or flowers on a commercial basis. It will, however, give you a place for a tomato plant or two and some fresh greens even if you live in the northern regions. Hobby greenhouse enthusiasts even have their own association, called the Hobby Greenhouse Association, which publishes a quarterly magazine. The organization also sponsors events and helps individuals connect to get help with other gardeners that share their same interests, whether it’s growing cacti or saving seeds.

If you are in the market for a hobby greenhouse, there are several types on the market. The smallest type is not large enough to walk into and must be accessed from the outside. It resembles an old-fashioned phone booth made all of glass and outfitted with shelves. This type of greenhouse is designed to fit as many plants as possible in as small a place as possible. The shelves are made of glass to allow as much light as possible to reach plants on the lower shelves. Another inexpensive version of this sort of hobby greenhouse is shelving covered with a zippered tent of clear plastic. This sort of arrangement is great for the small-scale hobby gardener wanting a place to keep her flowers or houseplant starts.

There are a variety of designs of hobby greenhouse that are large enough to walk into but made entirely of clear glass or plastic. They are often about the same size as a small storage building. Better hobby greenhouses are equipped with automatic sensors that open vents which allow ventilation and keep the interior temperatures from getting too high. These are a great labor saver, but can get expensive. Another benefit sometimes found in nicer greenhouses is a built in irrigation or misting system. Members of the Hobby Greenhouse Association, or HGA, have invented many interesting designs of greenhouses.

If you are interested in building your own hobby greenhouse there are many plans available for free you can get some great plans at http://www.freeplans.glenns-garden.com/?page_id=6 . These plans are free and offer all different types of greenhouse structures you can build in your own backyard. From simple to elaborate. There are also many companies now selling assembled kits on line featuring instructions and all the accessories.

If gardening is your hobby,no doubt greenhouse growing will interest you. With a greenhouse, you can have the earliest tomatoes and fresh salad greens all year. You can also start seedlings for the main garden early in the spring when outdoor temperatures would kill them.This not only allows you to get a head start but will save you money as well. You can buy a lot of seeds for the price of a couple of nursery grown plants. Having you own hobby greenhouse will allow you to start plant varieties from seed that you can not find at your local nursery or garden center like special tomato varieties or heirloom vegetables . Yes a hobby greenhouse can be a good investment and one which will open a whole new aspect to your gardening .