With the trend towards “going green”, recession or victory gardens and the economy The Gardeners Rake will be doing its part to encourage gardening with a Win Free Seed’s contest. Whether you are a new gardener or a seasoned gardener come join in the fun.

photo credit: operaticomnivore

There are three contests.

1.    Write a mini story on a gardening experience. No, it does not need to be long. This story could be a gardening tip that saves time or money, a humorous event while gardening, or just why you garden. You can send your story to me via the contact page or post it in the garden forum that will be opening in a few days. The winner of this contest will receive 10 seed packets and directions for a mini recession garden.
2.    Best gardening tip: Enter your best gardening tip and win 5 packets of seeds and a garden plan for a small raised bed garden. This plan is perfect for a patio or balcony garden. There will be two winners.
3.    Best natural control for insects. Send a recipe for natural control of insects. The winner receives a booklet of insect identification.

And everyone receives something for entering. But that’s a surprise. It’s a lot like a garden you plant the seeds and wait to see what happens.

************** Rules: ***************

If you live overseas I may have to send something other than seeds depending on the country.

Legitimate entries only. No spamming, business ventures, etc.

Send your entry to me via the contact page on the site. Or you can use the comment section on the post.

The contest will run two weeks. It begins on Ground Hogs Day, February 2nd 2010  and will end February 15th 2010.

Check out my garden section on free seeds and plants and Recession Gardening.

Good luck and have fun. Denise

Technorati Tags: free seeds, free seeds information, recession gardening, win free seeds

It’s that time of year again, for garden planning. I have a tablet nearby and graph paper available for any garden thoughts and plans.

photo credit: RuTemple

One problem area in my yard and gardens is the fact I have very little flat land. Living in the foothills of the Appalachia Mountains flat land is scarce – particularly on my property.

This year I have decided to terrace a lot of the yard. It will be easier, cut back on mowing and create interest in the yard.

The problem is terracing can take time and money depending on how you go about it.

So this year most of my terraced gardens will be what I call the overnight straw bale terrace garden. Fast, cheap and this idea will prepare the slope for next year but be practical this year.

Overnight Straw bale Terrace Garden

1. Start early by picking your hill or slope to terrace.
2. Select the site and figure out how many straw bales you need. I suggest straw for this project so that when the bales break down you will be able to create good compost without a ton of seeds.
3. Place the bales in the desired spot. You will have to level the bales. I use soil placed under the bale to make them level. Fill behind the bale with soil or compost even with the bale.

You can set the straw bale on end so that you plant in the stubble part of the bale or lay it flat and cut an area for any plants. (The choice depends on the area you will have to fill behind the bale and the area you want to plant in.) A flat bale has a little more planting space and less soil that needs to be added behind the bale. A bale on its side has less planting space on the bale and more soil will need to be added behind the bale.

Tip: I use materials that I can compost in later behind the bales with a little soil mixed in and top the mix with about 5 inches of soil.

As with any straw bale gardening you need to age the bale first. You can do that by setting the bales out over winter or very early in the spring and watering well. You can also add nitrogen to the bale.

The reason for adding nitrogen to the bale is as the bale breaks down it uses nitrogen and the plants will be missing this nutrient unless you add it or compost heavily.  I set my bales out early and add a compost tea before planting.

You also need to add soil to the top of the bale to plant seeds and plants in. I add 4 to 5 inches of soil. Water to firm the soil in place and ignore for a day or so.

The straw bale terraced garden will have a unique look. It will give you a fast terraced hillside with plenty of color or vegetables at a reasonable price. And depending on how often you fertilize the bales they will last for one or two years.

While your gardens are producing and adding beauty to you yard you can find stone, cement block, wood or whatever material you plan to use for the terrace walls.

When you ready to terrace the area all you need to do build your walls and break down the bales. Add more compost or topsoil and you will have a rich area to plant in.

Technorati Tags: frugal hillside garden, Straw Bale terraced garden, strawbale gardening

They say the tomato is America’s favorite vegetable (some call it a fruit). And I have to admit the tomato is a favorite of mine, particularly the heirloom varieties.

photo credit: thedabble

But in my zone 5 climate I need to start my tomatoes indoors and early so that the plant will be ready to produce as early as possible. I have learned tricks to accomplish this over many years.

I start my tomatoes indoor early then transplant them into homemade hot houses. By using a hot house I can start my tomato plants outdoors at least a month early. Here is a cheap and easy hothouse you can set up.

Hint: I use old aluminum storm windows that I pick up for free at garage sales or for a buck at auctions. This is one very economical hot house to set up.

Homemade Aluminum Window Hothouse

Dig a trench about 18 to 24 inches deep. If you have a tiller you can break the ground up and make the job a lot easier. Mound the excavated soil along the sides of the trench.

I then plant my tomatoes in the trench (your tomatoes will be about 18 inches below the actual soil line.) Then take the storm windows and place them over the tomatoes. This will create a very successful hot house where the tomatoes will thrive.

photo credit: iLoveButter

Tip: when placing the storm windows leave about 6 inches open at the end of the row for ventilation. At night cover this space with a board. And on very cold nights I will cover the hot house with a blanket for extra protection.

In about two to four weeks the tomatoes will be touching the glass window. If your nights are still cold you can place bricks or cement blocks on the top of the excavated soil to raise the sides. Make sure the bricks or blocks are secure and place the storm windows back on top.

When your nights are warm enough, remove the storm windows. But keep them close just in case you get a surprise frost.

There is one more very important advantage to using this hothouse method. As the plants grow I fill the trenches in with compost and soil. This means my tomato plants have roots that are 18 to 24 inches deep. This will make the plants sturdy and they will produce twice as well as ordinary tomato plants.

Tomato plants are one of the few plants that will produce roots up the stem and re-root. These additional roots are beneficial to plant production.

Technorati Tags: early tomatoes, homemade aluminum window hothouse, hothouse, tomato growing tips, tomatoes

With the recent Ground Hogs day celebration it bring to mind the destruction this fury beast can cause to a garden or backyard in a small amount of time. I have has a row of bean ruined in less than half an hour. And even if you do not garden, the ground hog holes can cause damage to buildings and it hurts when you fall in one.

photo credit: kellycolganazar

Groundhogs have a large appetite and it’s rumored they never met a plant they didn’t like. Groundhogs will get used to your schedule and plan a “plant attack” late at night or when you’re not home.

Here are a few ideas to help if you have a groundhog infestation problem.

1.  Visit your garden frequently. Frequent visits to your vegetable garden at random times of the day will scare the groundhogs… but not totally discourage them. Groundhogs love fresh small cabbage plants! I cover them when they are young.

2.  Use scarecrows in your garden. The most successful scarecrows will make noise and move in the wind. This scares the groundhog. And as strange at it sounds a fresh change of clothes for the scarecrow will make a difference too. I also move the scarecrow around the garden.

You can use other items that will move in the wind such as wind chimes, pinwheels, balloons or streamers. These also scare the groundhog.

Motion-activated lights, radios left on near the garden, alarms and sprinklers will also work. Overall groundhogs want to be left alone so if your garden is a scary place, he will try to find an easier meal. But remember, the groundhog is persistent!

3.  Use repellents. You can buy commercial repellents or create your own mix to keep groundhogs out of your garden. A homemade mix that works well is 1 tbs. hot sauce mixed into 1-gallon water. You can spray this along the perimeter of the garden and directly onto the plants. Just remember to wash you vegetables well.

4.  Build a fence. The fence needs to be three or four feet high. You will also need to bury the fence about 1 foot deep. An alternative to burying the fence is to fold the fence away from the garden at the bottom. Extend the fencing along the surface of the ground for 6 to 12 inches. This will prevent them from being able to dig under the fence. This method also will scare rabbits away. They do not like the feel of the fencing on their feet.

Install a two-wire electric fence to keep groundhogs out of your garden. The bottom wire should be 1 to 4 inches off the ground, and the top wire should be 8 to 9 inches from the ground.

5.  Change your gardening methods to raided bed gardens or container gardens. This is easier on the back, more versatile and frankly easier than maintaining a garden fence.

photo credit: jimbowen0306

Groundhogs can be a garden menace. They are hard to keep out of the garden once they move in so the best way to keep groundhogs out of you garden and backyard is to use preventative methods.

TIP: one of the times the groundhog is most active is right after it rains. Groundhogs do not drink water; they get it from the plant or take it off plants when they are wet from a rain or heavy dew.

Technorati Tags: controlling groundhogs, garden pests, groundhog garden damage