How I Protect My Garden From Wildlife, Part 1

Groundhog climbing fence

As much as I love wildlife, I can’t afford unexpected guests dining in my garden. They don’t understand the concept of “share and share alike” and can often destroy dozens of garden plants overnight. And, the smaller your garden, the fewer bites it takes for a rabbit or deer to raze your garden to the ground!

The most effective methods I have used over the years to protect my gardens have involved using barriers, such as solid, well-designed fences, netting, and cages. You can read or hear about dozens of different types of repellants, scare devices, and makeshift fencing. Many of these ideas work for some people some of the time, but most of them are simply not reliable control methods.

Wildlife are smart. They have strong survival instincts, and will go to great lengths to reach a high quality food source. [Continue reading]

Growing Watermelon on Trellises

Young watermelon fruit on trellis

If you’ve been avoiding growing watermelons because your garden is too small, wait no longer! You can grow a watermelon plant in a small 4′ x 4′ raised garden bed – if you use a trellis.

A single watermelon plant, given good growing conditions, can almost fill a 15-foot-wide circle on the ground. Yikes! There’s no avoiding that they are large, vigorous plants. But if you select the right variety, take good care of them, and train them up a trellis, you can enjoy fresh melons from your own small garden beds. [Continue reading]

When Life Takes a Left Turn

Hi, folks. I'm sorry I haven't written a blog post in several weeks. My health issues have flared up so badly, that I haven't even been able to think clearly, let alone do much work in my garden. My doctors finally diagnosed the problem (yet another … [Continue reading]

Slow to Warm Up This Spring

Like many of you, I have spring fever. I'm more than ready for warm, sunny weather and the wonderful smell of fragrant soil coming to life again. We had a fairly mild winter this year (low of only 11 F, instead of a normal low of 0 to -10 F). I … [Continue reading]

Cutworms – A Common Pest

I had an early start with cutworm problems this year - in my hoop house! They must have moved in last fall, before we sealed up both ends with plastic. Take a close look at these green onion plants: … [Continue reading]

March 2013 Garden Tour

We are nearly at the end of winter here in Virginia. It has been a very mild one so far, with the coldest temperature only being 11 F. As a result, my winter vegetables are starting to sprout new leaves or bolt (send up flower stalks) earlier than … [Continue reading]

Spacing Plants in Square Foot Gardens

When Mel Bartholomew developed Square Foot Gardening, he encouraged people to use a permanent planting “grid” on the beds. This clearly divides each small garden into separate sections for planting. It's a fantastic concept, and it greatly … [Continue reading]

So Many Seeds to Choose From!

One of my winter pleasures is browsing through seed and nursery catalogs, and dreaming what my garden will look like this coming year. That's one of the benefits of gardening – we always start fresh every year. Each year, we are determined to have … [Continue reading]

Final Broccoli Harvest in Our Hoop House

My sister and I just harvested our last fresh broccoli florets for this winter. These were from broccoli plants in large Smart Pots® inside our unheated hoop house. This is the second year I've grown broccoli in our hoop house, and our final harvest … [Continue reading]

Work Day in the Winter Garden

After several days of pretty cold weather (highs in the 20's-30's and lows 11-16 degrees), it reached 68 last week and all the snow melted. What a gorgeous day to work in my garden! What do I do in my garden in the middle of winter? Well, it's … [Continue reading]