Gardening Season!

[mamalove]

I learned this tip the other day:

Instead of using that black plastic stuff to block weeds, use newspaper. The thicker the layers, the better. It is supposed to last about 3 years.

[cmotherofpirl]

Groundcover works even better.
Remember to save your banana skins for your tomatoes!

[Old_Joe]

[url="http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=2"]Jerry Baker[/url]

Use cayenne pepper to keep creatures away from your plants.

tie your tomato plants to stakes or cages with pantyhose

[T-Bone _]

For weed control, a 50/50 mixture of 2,4D and round-up (with a squirt of dish soap added to kill surface tension) kills just about everything green.

[T-Bone _]

A 30/30/30 mixture of beer, soda, and ammonia in a 20 gallon sprayer greens up a lawn in a jiffy and helps keep it green.

[T-Bone _]

Laying down chicken wire under the mulch on new lawns and in flowerbeds keeps cats from digging. In flowerbeds, just cut out holes for plants, in lawns, it can be left down, it will add iron to the soil.

[cmotherofpirl]

Tomatoes also like a spoon full of epsom salts mixed into the ground before you plant them.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Old_Joe' post='1841621' date='Apr 20 2009, 05:10 PM'][url="http://www.jerrybaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=2"]Jerry Baker[/url]

Use cayenne pepper to keep creatures away from your plants.[/quote]
Cayenne pepper was not effective for me against rabbits and deer. Cougar pee was, though.

[T-Bone _]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1841673' date='Apr 20 2009, 04:50 PM']Cayenne pepper was not effective for me against rabbits and deer. Cougar pee was, though.[/quote]

A 20-gauge or a .410 is pretty effective against rabbis. A .30-06 works wonders with the deer. Both yield tastier food than vegetables.

Edit: rabbits, not rabbis. If you have rabbis in your garden, I'm not sure how to help.

Edited April 20, 2009 by T-Bone _

[Sojourner]

[quote name='T-Bone _' post='1841679' date='Apr 20 2009, 04:52 PM']A 20-gauge or a .410 is pretty effective against rabbis. A .30-06 works wonders with the deer. Both yield tastier food than vegetables.

Edit: rabbits, not rabbis. If you have rabbis in your garden, I'm not sure how to help.[/quote]
a) I don't like rabbit or deer.
b) I'm fine if a rabbi wanders through my garden.
c) My husband will be all over shooting whatever is bugging my garden, but we have a lot of wildlife around us. We can only eat so many deer/rabbits.

[icelandic_iceskater]

Yay gardening! Tomorrow I'm planning on heading to the greenhouse across the street to throw together some moss baskets for my mommy for mothers day. I'll leave em there on some dippers until they're full & pretty!

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1841589' date='Apr 20 2009, 06:34 PM']Remember to save your banana skins for your tomatoes! [/quote]
coffee grounds, too!

Don't trim back your hydrangea's when they're done blooming. Just... don't.

Also, if you're buying veggies in a greenhouse it's not always a good idea to go with what the tag says. Some greenhouses will take out the real liable and replace it with a similar yet more popular tag. Check the leaves. Or better yet, grow your own from seed!

[T-Bone _]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1841696' date='Apr 20 2009, 05:00 PM']b) I'm fine if a rabbi wanders through my garden.[/quote]

What if there's several, and they won't leave?

[T-Bone _]

Use the soap bucket you use to wash your car to water your veggies. The soap in the water is good for the soil, plus it puts the water to good use instead of going down the drain. (By the same token, wash your car on the lawn, not the driveway.)

[farglefeezlebut]

Apparently, cold black tea is really good for sunflowers.

[CatherineM]

When it comes to putting down new sod, I find green side up works best.

Ditto for new seedlings.

Got a great place for heirloom veggie seeds. [url="http://providence.ca/seeds/"]Sisters of Providence[/url]