Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) At Wholesale Prices Just in Time for Winter: How to Build Your Own Mini-Greenhouse | Living on GOOD Gardeners looking to extend the growing season into winter can do so with a cold frame. These handy mini-greenhouses trap heat and keeping cool-season veggies growing in spite of frosty weather. Cold frames are inexpensive to build and don't consume a lot of energy. They yield fresh, local vegetables when mediocre grocery store fodder is being shipped from afar. Fall is the perfect time to build a cold frame and start planting. This modular cold frame design offers two frame options: single- and double-tier. The lid should be kept shut on cold days and propped open for ventilation on unseasonably warm days. WOOD SELECTION: Cedar is best. WOODCUTTING 1 — Each 10-foot, 1 x 12-inch board will yield one 60-inch front/back panel and one 40-inch side panel. 2 — For the two-angled side panels, choose the most flawless 40-inch side panel and mark a diagonal line lengthwise, from corner to corner. 4 — Cut the lid pieces from the 1 x 6-inch lengths of cedar. Text by Wilder Quarterly.
Marbleizing Paper « Skip To My Lou To make this fun and easy marbleized paper you will need: 1/2 tsp alum (helps paint adhere to the paper), 2 cups liquid starch, liquid acrylic paints, a long wooden skewer , a 9 X 13 pan and white copy paper cut to fit the inside your pan. You can change up the size of the pan, just keep the proportions of starch and alum the same. The starch should be 1 to 2 inches deep in your pan. Pour 2 cups of liquid starch in the pan then add 1/2 tsp alum stirring until mixed. Gently drop acrylic paint on the surface of the starch. Take the wooden skewer and drag the paint through the starch. Lay your piece of paper on top of the starch. Lift the paper out of the pan and allow the starch to drip off the paper Rinse the paper under running water removing any extra starch. After the paper has been rinsed, lay it out to dry. You may find that you can print two sheets of paper before adding more paint to the starch. Have fun! Like this: Like Loading...
Aquaponics 4 You - Step-By-Step How To Build Your Own Aquaponics System “Break-Through Organic Gardening Secret Grows You Up To 10 Times The Plants, In Half The Time, With Healthier Plants, While the "Fish" Do All the Work...” Imagine a Garden Where There's No More Weeds or Soil Pests, No Tilling or Cultivating, No Fertilizer Spreading or Compost Shredding, No Manure Spreading or Irrigating, and No Tractor Shed Required... And Yet... Your Plants Grow Abundantly, Taste Amazing, and Are Extremely Healthy. WARNING: What You're About To Read Is Life Changing Information, DO NOT Read This If You Don't Want To Discover a Way To Grow Up to TEN Times the Amount Of Organic Produce In the Same Area of Ground, Use 70% Less Energy, And Absolutely Revolutionize Your Gardening and Farming Forever. Dear Gardener, Imagine you knew a secret about growing plants in a break-through new way... to the outside world your organic garden or farm would seem almost "magic", Why? This one family in Hawaii spends less than 1 hour per day. Now wait... this sounds way too good to be true.
August gardening tips: storing fruit, harvesting onions, sowing fall veggies | Big Blog Of Gardening ~ organic gardening and organic lawn care By Charlie Nardozzi, Horticulturist and Leonard Perry, University of Vermont Extension Horticulturist Sowing fall vegetables, storing summer fruits, and harvesting onions are some of the gardening activities for August. August harvest includes sweet corn, tomatoes, carrots, beans, scallions and herbs. August is the time to sow veggie seeds for a late summer or fall harvest: Lettuce, broccoli, beets, carrots, radishes, and other short-season crops. Shade lettuce, if possible, during late afternoon to keep young plants cooler, or grow them next to larger plants, such as tomatoes, that provide some shade. Shading is easy using white row cover over a frame or wire hoops. Freezing berries and other fruits Don’t let fresh fruits and berries go to waste. Onions and garlic drying in the sun Harvest onions Begin harvesting onions when about half to three quarters of the leaves have died back. Harvest sweet corn Harvest sweet corn early in the day for the best flavor. Begin to sow cover crops Dr.
Making DIY Coffee Filter Flowers: The Complete Guide Hello lovely readers, Apologies for the delayed post today. This post was originally one sweet little DIY tutorial all set to go live at 9am this morning then I got immersed in the intoxicating world of coffee filter flowers and ended up adding another and another until I was up to my eyeballs in coffee filter tutorials and inspiration! So it took waaay longer than expected but I do hope you’ll find it useful. If you’re looking for a cheap, simple and pretty DIY project for your wedding, coffee filter flowers could be just the thing! photo via Just Simple Designs Who knew coffee filters could look so pretty? The great thing about coffee filter flowers is that they can be used in so many different ways, from decor (they’d make a mean ceremony backdrop) to centerpieces, place settings, wreaths and, if done in miniature, they’d look so sweet attached to escort cards or favor boxes! You could even create a bunch of them, attach them to ribbon wrapped florist’s wire et voila! Dying Coffee Filters
How to Prevent Tomato Cracking + 4th of July Update Vertical Gardening Ideas....Tube Planters - Gardening Gone Wild I was transformed into a lover and student of vertical gardening after seeing Patrick Blanc’s vertical wall designs years ago in a magazine. I’ve written about vertical gardening on GGW over the past few years. Since then, the field has continued to grow at a quick pace. In he 1980s, Pat McWhinney noticed that many rock and waterfall type projects were lacking plant life around the rock formations. Tube planters are made of an industrial cloth: Patrick has them sown up by a seamstress into circular tubes and lengths of varying dimensions. Five tube planters secured to a latticed screen, ready to be planted. An example of a single tube (on the production table) planted with a lush variety of succulents Succulent framed walls in a variety of sizes Close up of an intricate tapestry of color and shapes Fewer varieties of plant material can still make for an outstanding living wall Vertical and horizontal succulent tube planters on latticed wall Agapanthus in 4 inch tube planter in full bloom.
the DIY: MAGAZINE ENVELOPES 18K+ Well I got this idea from our friend Nina. She was making these super cute envelopes out of scrapbook paper and I really wanted to make some! So I came home and made some! You will need: An old magazine, scissors, an envelope, a glue stick and a Sharpie. Tear out some magazine pages that you like. Carefully pull the envelope apart. Trace the envelope on a magazine page. Cut the envelope shape out. Turn the envelope over as well as the magazine cut-out. Unfold everything and separate the magazine cut-out from the envelope. Glue the bottom flap down to the two side flaps. And you've made your own envelope! The great thing about making these envelopes our of magazine pages is that the envelopes have a character all of their own.
Grow 100 lbs. Of Potatoes In 4 Square Feet: {How To Quite the clever gardening tip here folks! Today’s feature includes tips from three different sources for growing potatoes vertically (in layers) instead of spread out in rows across your garden. If you have limited garden space or want to try some nifty gardening magic, this could be a great option for you. First, there’s this article from The Seattle Times: It’s Not Idaho, But You Still Can Grow Potatoes: The potatoes are planted inside the box, the first row of boards is installed and the dirt or mulch can now be added to cover the seed potatoes. As the plant grows, more boards and dirt will be added. You plant in one bottom layer, boarding up the sides of each layer and adding dirt as you go higher (you wait until the plants have grown a bit before adding a new layer). I traced the information provided in the article to Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, they also advise you can skip the box and try growing them in a barrel or wire cage instead. Bonus! Here’s a photo:
No-till Gardening Gardeners traditionally dig, or turn over the top layer of soil before planting to get rid of weeds, and make it easier to use fertilizers and to plant crops. This also speeds up the decomposition of crop residue, weeds and other organic matter. Tilling the soil is often the most strenuous of a gardener’s tasks. A complex, symbiotic relationship exists between the soil surface and the underlying micro-organisms, however, which contributes to a natural, healthy soil structure. With ‘no-till’ gardening, once the bed is established the surface is never disturbed. Benefits of no-till gardening Promotes natural aeration and drainage. Worms and other soil life are important to healthy soil structure, their tunnels providing aeration and drainage, and their excretions bind together soil crumbs. Saves water. Thick layers of mulch allow water to pass through easily while shading the soil. Reduces or eliminates the need to weed. Saves time and energy. No-till gardening helps soil retain carbon.
wind-up paper butterflies are my fave (guest post from amelia) I had a baby so I’ve invited some fave guests to take over for me while I spend time with the little guy. Today’s post is from super crafter and cute mom, Amelia of The Homebook. Growing up, I had an aunt who lived in Canada. Every year for my birthday she’d send me a card and a fancy little gift. She always found the neatest things! One year, when I was maybe 10 or 11, she sent me another card—and when I opened it up, a paper butterfly fluttered out of the card. I made my butterflies into Monarchs, but you could use different materials to create any sort of colorful butterfly. Materials: You’ll need heavy cardstock, 24 gauge wire, silicone rubber bands (I found mine in the hair aisle at Walgreens) needle-nose pliers, scissors, tape, a paintbrush, a black marker, and a white ink pen. Step 1: Measure and cut your wire. Step 2: Find the center of the longer wire. Step 5: Find the center of the shorter wire, and wrap it around the base of the paintbrush.
Gardening Tips - 7 Habits of Successful Gardeners Originally published January 2009 Or is it the Seven Pillars of Horticultural Wisdom? As everyone's resolutions remind us, we love attaching a number to advice, a number smaller than the one I regard as most realistic: The Twenty Three Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty-Two Things It's Important to Remember Before Getting Out of Bed. So be warned: I haven't really honed it down to only seven; these are just the first seven essentials that came to mind when I decided to do this. And not in order, either. Make CompostUse CompostPlant Crops in Wide BedsMulchFeed the Soil, Not the PlantsShare SomethingBe There Photo: The compost bins at Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, N.Y. 1. Short version: Mother Nature never throws anything away. Longer version: Composting is the rare silk purse from sow's ear, something for nothing, win-win. It's easy to fall into thinking that compost's last name is bin, and that careful layering and turning are part of the deal. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Got seeds? 7.
5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Fukuoka spent over three decades perfecting his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work. 1. With ‘no-till’ gardening, weeding is largely eliminated. 2. Gardeners are always on the lookout for free sources of clean organic mulch to add to their garden.