Victory Garden Contest garden tips – Group One

Here are 5 entries to the Victory garden contest. If you have used any of these tips or use a slight variation please leave a comment

1. Plant a circle of sunflower seeds around your compost pile. Within a short time there will be a wonderful circle of healthy, happy sunflowers that will hide your pile. This is also a great place to grow a crop of gourds. Your crop will be abundant. (Carole Sanford, Ashville, N.C.)

2. Geraniums are a wonderful garden plant. They are fairly drought tolerant, don’t need fertilizer, and have no pest problems or diseases. They also repel certain plants and can be saved from year to year. (Bob Taylor, Buffalo NY)

3. To save a geranium in the fall, dig it up before a frost. You can shake the dirt off the roots and cut the plants down and stick the plant in a brown paper lunch bag and store in a cool location until late March. Or you can keep the geranium, in soil and a pot and store in a dark cool location. Bring the plant out in late March and mist it. Do not water the plants too much too soon or they will suffer shock and the roots will rot. (Bob Taylor, Buffalo NY)

4. To speed the decay of a tree stump, drill holes in the stump, deep, big, and close to the edge. Fill the holes with any kind of sugar, such as white, molasses, etc. Buttermilk also works. Wet thoroughly, cover with a 6″ to 12″ layer of mulch.

You can also successfully remove a stump by hollowing a hole in the stump and putting your leftover charcoal biscuits in the hole. The stump will slowly burn itself away. (Sam Clayborn, Moultrie GA)

5. Garlic, leeks, and shallots grow well in a gardens or containers. They take up very little space, have shallow root systems and don’t need deep soil preparation, and have few insect or disease problems. If you grow in a container, harvest at the end of the season by tipping over the container. Hang by the tops until they dry (a few days) then cut off the tops and store in a cool dark place. (Sarah Williams, NY)

Thanks to all the Victory garden contest participants who sent in gardening tips.