vegetable gardening tipsToday, in a world where the cost of living is constantly increase, vegetable gardening is practiced more and more in backyards all around the world.

It’s a way Jenny and I save money, get some exercise and best of all we are eating better.

Now that Jenny and I have started vegetable gardening I want to turn most of the lawn into vegetable gardens and save even more money. Plus there will be less lawn to care for.

It’s Not Difficult Being A Vegetable Gardener

trees are way too tall and block our garden from getting sunBy following just a few simple vegetable gardening tips pretty much anyone can start their own vegetable garden.  It all starts with a plan and the first step in the plan is LOCATION. Where does the summer sun hit your yard the best and for the longest period of the day?

Although it’s great to have a yard, for some it might mean using a balcony high off the ground for their garden, as long as it gets enough direct sunlight each day.

Pay attention to the trees that block direct sunlight. The picture on the left shows our little vegetable garden with towering trees behind it, which is the east, so our garden doesn’t get direct sunlight until after 10am.

When we started our garden we didn’t even think of the trees as they were fairly small back then. Now we have to remove a few trees along the fence because I’m not relocating our vegetable garden and in a couple more years it will be noon before they get direct sunlight.

Follow the vegetable gardening tips below and you’ll do fine:

1.  Start With A Vegetable Garden You Can Manage

veggie garden afterOf course I knew I had a desire to start a vegetable garden but I also needed to know it was something I would stick with so rather than start big and wish I hadn’t I started with a very small vegetable garden.

The following year I doubled the size, which was still not very big and each year since I have increased the veggie garden size and plan to increase it again next spring or even this fall. But first I have to be sure I remove the problem trees that are blocking the early morning sun from our garden.

2.  Have The Right Tools For The Job At Hand

garden gloves and tomato plantI have used old garden tools before and they can make gardening hard than it has to be. In the years since we started gardening we have purchased at least one or two new garden tools each year so that it’s not too costly.

Get yourself good quality gardening tools then be sure to take care of them so they will help you tend your vegetable and flower gardens for years to come.

Some Basic Gardening Essentials Include:

  • a spade
  • a garden fork
  • a hoe
  • a hand weeder
  • a wheelbarrow
  • a rake
  • a garden hose
  • rain barrels

I think the first thing we bought was a cheap hoe for weeding the garden. I should have known better but it was on sale and they were pretty much giving it away. Turned out it was a piece of crap hoe and every time I tried to use the pointed corners of the hoe the head would spin inside the handle making it pretty much useless. It was returned right away.

It’s not the first thing I’ve bought that was cheap, just to save a buck. My advice is to buy quality tools and keep in mind they will last for years. It took me time and cost me money returning the hoe and then going somewhere else to buy a good one, so I was wasting both time and money, just to save a buck.

Get yourself a quality garden hose that will be able to reach your vegetable garden. You might even want to get a soaker hose for the days you need to really give your garden a soaking.

It’s a great investment to buy a couple of rain barrels and collect rain water rather than using the city supply, which likely has chlorine in it. We have found that the city water tends to leave a white powdery residue on the leaves when we go for stretches without much rain.

We have been looking for a wheelbarrow that has two wheels that would be easier to balance than a single wheel but then we borrowed our neighbours wheelbarrow, which has a single wheel and it worked just fine, no balancing issues at all, so now we are just waiting for a good deal this fall.

Extra Gardening Tools Tip: I never thought of this but this morning I read a vegetable gardening tips that suggested painting the handles of our tools with a bright color that contrasts heavily with green.  It immediately reminded me of the times I looked around the yard to find a tool and have walked right past it.

3.  Get Your Garden Seeds From A Good Source

Learn your growing zone or plant hardiness zone so you know the types of vegetables and fruit that will thrive where you live. Just do a search in your favourite search engine. You can enter a search string such as:

plant hardiness zone +’your location and country’

For example: plant hardiness zone +New Brunswick +Canada

Using this search text I found a map that showed us we are in zone 4. Next I did a search for vegetables that grow well in hardiness zone 4.

I get most of my vegetable garden seed from Mike The Gardener’s Seed of the Month Club and for just a couple of bucks a month I have all kinds of great quality seeds that have provided us with plenty of good veggies over the past few years. Give them a look and see if it’s something you can benefit from.

Find locals who already vegetable garden in your area and pick their brains for helpful tips. Most gardeners are quite willing to share what they know if you’re ready to listen.

Save your seeds for next year like have started doing and even trade seeds with friends and neighbours so that you can get seeds you haven’t tried before.

4.  Learn How To Keep Pests And Weeds at Bay

garden slugsIt can be a bit depressing when you work hard to have a great vegetable garden and then pests and/or weeds take over. There are ways to protect your vegetables from these garden pests, without using chemical pesticides I might add.

Try growing plants that tend to repellent insects such as onion, garlic, and chives. Plants these as a border around the edge of your garden to help keep pests away.

Having your garden soil well tilled so that there’s a good balance of microbes and earthworms which will help your veggies to grow strong healthy root systems which will keep your plants stronger and more resistant to pests.

Using an an inch or two of untreated mulch around each plant will also keep the dirt away from vegetable leaves and will also help to keep weeds from getting any sunlight which will keep them from growing.

5.  Water Your Veggie Plants Regularly

We can go a few days without water before it really starts to show but your veggies are likely to show lack of water in just one day. Be sure to give your veggies enough water to establish strong healthy roots. Keep in mind that mulching will not only help to keep dirt of the leaves and weeds from growing, it also helps to keep moisture from evaporating and being wasted.

Don’t flood your garden thinking more is better because it will cause your veggies roots to rot and drown. It’s a balance and good draining soil will help keep your garden drained of excess water.

Take the time to check each vegetable you’d like to grow with online sources or seed guides to see how much water they require each week.

We like to water our gardens before the sun is high in the sky so that there is less evaporation which takes less water getting the job done. Watering done early mornings helps to stave off mildew and other fungus due to water on the leaves.

There may seem to be a lot of things to do for a successful vegetable garden so starting small is the way to go. We have found that starting small allowed us to deal quickly with any problems so we learn how to avoid problems before our garden gets too big.

It’s a great time to get yourself a copy of Food4Wealth and learn how to be the best vegetable gardener you can be and this package includes videos which is my favourite way of learning next to actually have a pro in my garden showing me hands on.

Be sure to share your vegetable gardening experience with our readers.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Growing Fat Pumpkins For Pies And Halloween

pumpking and winter squashThis is the first year I’ve grown pumpkins. Usually we just buy a pumpkin for Halloween. As part of my membership with Mike The Gardener’s Seed of the Month Club I received winter squash and pumpkins.

You can see in the image on the left that our pumpkins are looking like pumpkins. It was only about a week ago they were still green and I was wondering why they were green and not orange like pumpkins I’ve seen my entire life.

I was so happy to see them changing.

You can also see one of our winter squash in the background of the image above. It’s a few feet behind the pumpkin and looks small but it’s nearly as big as the pumpkin.

Our son Steve moved from Moncton to Saskatchewan for work in the welding field. It’s the first time he’s moved so far from home, making it tough to come home for a good home cooked me or pumpkin pie.

pumpkin patch

As soon as he saw the pictures I have of our pumpkins he was asking us to mail him a pumpkin pie. Pumpkin just happen to be his favourite kind of pie.

Save Money, Give Your Gardening Tools Some TLC

garden rakeMoney is always tight so I don’t always like spending money on gardening tools but I love shopping for gardening supplies, so it’s important to me that I take care of the garden tools we have. It’s fun seeing all the new things but we have to choose wisely as well.

I remember the splinters I used to get as a kid raking the lawn. That was because I would forget to return the rake to it’s proper place and the wooden handles would get wet and dry so many times the handles would split. Today I take better care of our garden and yard tools.

Learn How To Maintain Garden Tools

The garden tools that were left behind by the previous owners were in bad shape and I was certainly glad I had a tough pair of gardening gloves to save my hands from splinters and blisters.

Garden tools can last for years and years if you just take a few minutes to clean them before putting them away, each time. It’s so much better working with tools and equipment than function as they should.

Keep Your Lawn Mower In Tip Top Condition

We chose to own an electric lawn mower instead of a gas mower so we wouldn’t have to burn gas and oil. So all we have to care about is keeping the lawn trimmings cleaned out from the underside and caring for the electric cord.

If you own a gas lawnmower be sure to:

  1. clean out grass clippings
  2. change the oil periodically
  3. clean the air filter for better performance
  4. clean or change the spark plug as needed

I could tell that those gardening tools left behind were left outside more than once, perhaps all winter or most of the summers. Of course they could also have been much older than I though but it’s more likely they were not taken care of.

Get Some Tool Hooks

I have added a few rows of hooks on our garden shed wall so that I can hang shovels, rakes and other garden tools. We also have a set of shelves we can store our smaller garden tools so that they are not left in a pile to rust.

I am going to get a peg board with hooks so that I can have more space in our garden shed and use the shelves for other things like pots and containers. It’s nice to have them organized instead of looking here and there wondering where I last used that tool.

Clean Your Garden Tools After Every Use

I don’t know about you but every time I use a shovel, spade or trowel dirt sticks to them. Dirt that sticks usually means there is moisture and they seem to start rusting over night. For this reason it’s important to clean them right after using them. I clean all the dirt I can find and even wash them. Then I hang them up as usually, so they can dry and also so I can find them next time I need them.

I remember back to my childhood. Dad kept used oil in a bucket and it was my job to clean the garden tools, well all the farm tools, and then put the metal pieces in the oil to prevent rust from starting. If I didn’t do this I would certain have extra chores and maybe even a sore butt.

Any tools that were left out meant I had to get the wire brush out and clean every spec of rust and then put them in the oil bucket.

Sunny Saturday Morning Moncton, New Brunswick

clear blue skiesIt’s so nice to get up with the bird, before they are drowned out by the sounds of trucks, cars and bikes burning up the pavement.

Listening to the birds chirping at one another while I sip a hot fresh coffee and check my email is so relaxing.

The sky was clear, bright blue and the air was just cool enough that I needed my jacket. There wasn’t the slightest breeze blowing. It was just a little too dark to get any pictures but I was able to get the one on the left. It’s the roof of our garage/garden shed.

The first thing that popped into my head was that it would be a great day for early morning top water bass fishing. That’s what Casey and I have planned for Monday morning. As usual I won’t likely sleep Sunday night.

Had Fresh Red Tomatoes With Dinner

first ripe tomatoesIt’s been a few months since I started our tomatoes from seed and last evening we got to enjoy a couple of them with dinner.

They have started getting ripe so now I am expecting to have way more than we can eat. This is my opportunity to learn how to can tomatoes to use during the winter.

All I did was cut them into slices, added some salt, cracked pepper and a thin slice of onion, just like I used to do as a kid growing up on the farm.

I can see there are a few yellow pear tomatoes ripening and Jenny already has her eye on the first one.

The Risks of DIY Tree Removal

Trees on propery fence need to be removed

See our tiny little vegetable garden on the left. Those trees on the east side of the garden and block direct sunlight until well after 10am so they have to go.

However, I am 60 and haven’t cut a tree down in many years so I feel it’s better and safer for me to hire someone who does know how to remove trees safely.

I have mentioned those trees in a few other articles I’ve written and received a response from Paul Lee who offered to write about the risks of DIY tree removal. Enjoy.

The Risks of DIY Tree Removal

Safety – One of the main risks that come with DIY tree removal is the safety factor. If you do not know what you are doing, then you run the risk of being hit by falling branches, being crushed or even hurting others. This may sound melodramatic, but it does happen. A professional Arborist will have been trained in order to ensure their safety and the safety of those around them.

Damage – Due to the fact that parts of the tree will be falling at some point during the process, there is the very real risk that you could damage your property if you do not know what you are doing. Obviously, this can be incredibly expensive, especially if the tree that you are removing is a large one.

Machinery – A professional tree removal service will have access to the tools necessary to remove the tree safely. However, it is very unlikely that you will have access to these types of tools yourself, which again, makes the process a very dangerous one.

Legality – In some cases, it is actually illegal to remove a tree, depending on where it is. A professional tree removal service will know whether or not certain trees are allowed to be removed. This means that they will not face legal issues, and neither will you. If you are not a professional tree removal specialist then it is unlikely that you will be knowledgeable in the laws surrounding the removal of trees.

There are so many other reasons as to why you should use a professional Arborist. If you do have a tree on your property that needs to be removed then you would be very wise to contact a professional.

By doing this you can ensure that the removal process is completed properly, and that you will not run into any problems at all. There are many professional services out there who will be able to offer you a very good deal.

Found Some Tree Removal Services In Moncton

I see a few truck going by our home that say tree service on the side but never get a phone number or see a website listed. So, even though I won’t get those trees removed until later fall or winter, after we harvest our little veggie garden, I took a few minutes to look through the yellow pages for Moncton. I have only listed those with a website because I like to see what is offered before I call someone.

This is going to make me so happy and I’m sure I’ll be able to grow even more veggies in 2012.

Friday Flower Photos Moncton

things we grow in our home garden

flowering lily

sunflowers againsta wooden fence

wall of sunflowers

vines climbing a hydro pole

westmorland horticultural societyIt’s Wednesday and I had a wordless Wednesday set of photos I was going to add to my blog today but I just learned that we have a horticultural society here in Moncton called the Westmorland Horticultural Society and that they are having their annual garden show.

So I decided I would rather share a little info about them and let you know the 2012 garden show is on the 21st of August. Here is a direct link to their 2012 Annual Garden Show, take a minute to visit and then try and get to the show. I’ll likely see you there.

I noticed they have a Facebook page so I hopped over and gave it a like. If you’re a home gardener you should give their Facebook page a visit as well. One can never have too many friends, especially gardening friends.

I have four gardening related blogs so I added a link to their site from each blog.

As much as I have come to love gardening there is something that would keep me away. An addiction that might just be a little stronger than the gardening addiction I’ve gained over the past seven years and that would be a fishing trip with friends.

I hope to see you there.

High Winds Brought Down Our Tomato Plants

tomatoes on tomato plantVegetable gardening is definitely a growing experience and it’s not always a great experience, especially when you wake to find the tomato plants in your vegetable garden are lying on the grown after a night of high winds.

I looked at them in horror expecting them to be broken right off at the ground and my dreams of canning tomatoes smashed. It was such a let down.

I was so stressed I didn’t even think of taking a picture and I usually snap pictures of everything. Not the best way to start New Brunswick Day.

tomato plants staked
This is what my tomato plants looked like yesterday.

I rushed out to see if I could salvage anything at all. As I looked closer I couldn’t find any damage. Not a single plant had broken off, no branches broke and not even a single tomato feel off. I was amazed and ecstatic to say the least. New Brunswick Day felt pretty good all of a sudden.

Over the next half hour or so I retied my tomato plants and then I noticed one plant was still standing. How strange but when I looked at it I noticed the stake wasn’t like the other stakes I had bought. This one was a small tree branch I used because it looked rustic and I like it.

branches for stakesThe tree branch had bumps from other smaller branches I’d cut off and they kept the tie strings from slipping down. That’s when I realized what had happened to those with the square smooth stakes.

I’m thinking the small smooth stakes had allowed the strings to slip down the stake as the wind agitated them throughout the night.

The good news is this happened gradually over night letting the tomato plants collapse slowly, thus nothing was broken. I will definitely remember this for next year and may just use branches for all my stakes as they look great and work well.

I started a second garden plot this year, right over the lawn. I put cardboard down and piled dirt about a foot deep over it. I just planted things to keep the soil from washing away and the weeds down.

I planted four tomato plants there and they were still standing. I had used branches for those as well because I ran out of the other stakes. I have to say New Brunswick Day is looking a whole lot better now and it’s only 10:30.

So Enjoying Our Clematis Blossoms

clematis blooming wildly

Every time I look at my beautiful Clematis blossoms I’m reminded that I could have killed them last fall when I cut them back, just a little more than I had planned.

The Clematis we have in our raised bed started putting out new shoots and vines at least a week before the guy in the image on the left did.

Once I saw that first shoot appear I realized it was the fact we have the other in a raised bed that was heated up long before this guy who was planted directly in the ground next to our garden shed. It just keeps making me smile every day when I go out to our vegetable garden, just so many blossoms.

our newest clematisHere’s a picture of the entire Clematis plant growing on the trellis that’s attached to our garden shed. Sure looks skinny doesn’t it, but it’s really producing some beautiful blossoms.

I keep thinking about next year. If it has just a couple more vines started next spring it will be breath taking for sure.

It’s the Clematis we started two years ago and would likely have over taken the others in the raised bed if I hadn’t cut it back so much.

Cutting it back so much was a real beginner gardener’s mistake but I’m learning more each year so we’ll see what next year.

The Clematis in the picture below grows in one of our raised bed gardens and climbs a huge trellis. It was so big they couldn’t get a hold of it so I had to add some mesh netting so they could climb it.

clematis growing on trellis

This raised be has a huge rose bush which grows on our property fence and it blocks direct sunlight until at least 10am. The sunlight hits the back of the trellis first so the blossoming started behind the trellis.

I didn’t even see them at first and was wondering why they weren’t blossoming. Then I walked around to the back and saw dozens of blossom hiding back there. Now they have blossoms on both front and back and are looking great.

I work from home blogging about my hobbies and interest. There are times I just sit and stare out my office window. I can’t help it they are just so pretty.

Enhanced by Zemanta

indoor vegetable garden
Using Recycled Milk Cartons For My Indoor Herb Garden

I just started an indoor herb garden and was able to recycle milk cartons as containers. They don’t look as cute as fancy pots but they serve a purpose and they aren’t in the local landfill. I started with four herbs we like but I plant to grow more in our indoor veggie garden. I just need a taller plant stand that will hold more.

I started with an indoor vegetable garden when I lived in my first apartment, not long after leaving the farm for a life of my own. It was an interesting and exciting project to start my very own indoor vegetable garden, even if it was only tomatoes the first year.

So even people who live in small spaces without any available outdoor planting area can grow their own vegetables by means of indoor vegetable gardening techniques.  Many find such indoor vegetable gardens convenient since they do not have to go out especially in colder weathers to take care of their plants.

I like the fact that I can grow an indoor garden at any time of the year. Nothing like fresh herbs with dinner, without a trip to the grocery store. I don’t even need any specialized garden tools or equipment although some will use just the right tools and equipment to grow more even without direct sunlight like I have.

Where To Place Your Indoor Vegetable Garden

mini greenhouseThe first thing you need to take into consideration is where you can successfully start your indoor garden. An indoor vegetable garden can be placed along a window sill where they can be exposed to more sunlight.

Our windows are covered with plastic during the colder months so the windowsill is out of the question for most of the year. However I have a mini greenhouse I bought as a place to put my starter plants to harden a bit before transplanting them to the outdoor vegetable garden. I will use that this winter.

If you do have available windowsills they are actually an ideal location for your indoor vegetable plants.  The reason for using a windowsill is the direct sunlight required to grow vegetables, indoors or outdoors. The further your veggies are from direct sunlight the less they will grow. Instead they will most likely stretch toward that light and just be spindly looking plants.

My friends Carrie and Gary had a huge bay style window in their living room and get so much sunlight they have to have blind to hold it back.

Portable Mini Greenhouse

We have a lot of trees around our house so in order to get the most of the direct sunlight I move them from window to window. It’s easy when my mini greenhouse has wheels. It takes about a minute or two and they have a new location with lots of direct sunlight.

Heard Six Blue Jays In Garden At Daybreak

early morning blue jayThe most blue jays I’ve ever seen in our yard is two. I usually see them patrolling our home garden keeping other birds away, although they seem fine with the robins we have living here.

This morning however there were at least six I saw jumping and squawking around our Clematis trellis. They were having a great ole time running along the top of it.

I try to keep my new Canon VIXIA camcorder handy and charged so I quickly grabbed it and snapped a few shots before they were gone and while they were all together close enough to capture an image. Just as I was ready to snap the picture Blue Jay #6 flew into the closest tree, but I did get 5 in one shot.

blue jays wrecking havoc again
Didn’t quite get the sixth blue jay in the shot.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Wordless Wednesday Moncton Gardening Tips

robin in our backyard

our home vegetable garden

home garden Moncton

squash blossoms

grape vines on property fence

How To Grow An Indoor Herb Garden

mikethegardenerseedclubIn our house we love garden fresh herbs however we don’t like buying them as we feel it’s a waste of good money when we could be growing herbs on our kitchen windowsills.

Today I am starting an indoor herb garden so we save money and have all the fresh cut herbs we want for those chicken, beef and pasta dishes.

Every year the cost of living gets higher but our income never increases so we look for ways to save money when we can and for us that means growing our vegetable garden from seeds we get from Mike The Gardener’s Seed Club. We also collect seeds from the plants we grow each year.

So as I am getting ready to start a herb garden for our kitchen I will go over the details so you can have your own indoor herb garden as well. So let’s start with the most important thing for growing most vegetables and herbs.

Deciding What Herbs To Grow

For Jenny and I the herbs we want to grow are the same herbs we use dried so I just have to go to the kitchen for a minute to see what herbs I want to grow indoors, be right back. Okay, I’m back and know the herbs I want to grow:

  • Coriander
  • Basil
  • Parsley
  • Garlic Chives
  • Summer Savory
  • Thyme

We also love a bit of hot spice with most things we eat, especially Jenny’s awesome spaghetti sauce so I started growing hot peppers in our vegetable garden.

Plenty of Direct Sunlight

Without adequate sun light or a sufficient artificial lighting source such as grow lights or fluorescent lights it’s going to be tough growing anything more than mushrooms. Your herbs are going to need about six hours of sunlight a day or 12 hours if you are using fluorescent bulbs.

Pots or Containers For Your Herb Garden

It’s not necessary to go out and buy fancy pots for your herbs, unless that’s what you really want. We just want an indoor herb garden so I personally chose to recycle milk cartons that would be going to the landfill site.

recycled milk carton

It was pretty straight forward as I just cut them in half and after putting a few drainage holes in the top I turned it upside down and stuck it in the bottom half to catch any water the runs through during watering. How simple is that?

Using the bottom half to catch water means I don’t need a saucer under but if you are using pots you will want a saucer to catch extra water and to NOT destroy your windowsill.

Use A Few Stones For Drainage

As I dig through our yard creating new gardens we find lots of small stones that work great for the bottom of your posts or containers as they help with the drainage and to keep the soil from plugging drainage holes. You can also use pottery shards as long as they are small enough to fit in your pots.

Herbs Need Good Soil

You want your herbs to grow healthy and that takes good top soil. To help the soil hold a little more moister I like adding some perlite to the top soil mix. This way they don’t dry out as fast.

Get Out Your Herb Seeds

Now you have everything you need to grow herbs indoor so all that’s left are your choices of herbs to grow. I just checked our cupboard for a quick reminder of the herbs I want to grow most.

From here it’s just a matter of reading the planting instructions on each herb packet so that you aren’t planting them too deep.

It’s not difficult but if you’re anything like me you may do better with a little show and tell so I have included a short video from Youtube.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Wordless Wednesday Garden Pests Moncton

garden pest

fly on my tomato plant

slug trying to escape

red garden pest

black garden pest

garden wheelbarrowLife can be stressful these days so it’s good to have a way to get rid of that stress. For Jenny and myself it was home gardening that turned out to be our stress buster.

However home gardening for beginners can be so much easier with the proper home gardening tools. Having the right tools for the job will help to keep the beginner interested and not stressed because of using the wrong tools.

We started gardening using the garden tools left behind by the previous owners of our home. They were old and rusted which made them harder to use but over time we have replaced most of these old rusty tools with he more efficient garden tools.

Below are a few of the tools we use in our home garden:

A Round Mouth Shovel And Garden Spade

round mouth shovelgarden spadeI never saw a spade until I after I was married. All my life we used round mouth shovels for all digging related tasks. Once I learned about garden spades I found it so much easier to do some of our home garden tasks.

Garden spades that I’ve used have a flat or straight mouth compared to the round mouth the round mouth shovel has. It’s a lot more work to make a straight edge using a round mouth instead of the straight edge spade.

As you can see from the picture of the round mouth shovel on the left that the handle is longer and doesn’t have a hand grip like the spade on the right. The spade is so much easier to use for edging, in my opinion.

I Love My Garden Trowel

garden trowelReally a garden trowel is a mini garden spade that we use in our raised bed gardens or confined spaces where a full sized shovel or spade just won’t work.

I have found the garden trowel to be an important tool in our home garden.

I use our garden trowels to break up soil as well as to dig out weeds. I also use the trowel when I am transplanting plants I’ve either bought or grown from seed, into our garden when the last frost has pasted.

Don’t Forget Your Trusty Garden Hoe

garden hoeMy dad ruled the garden hoe and even though we had to help weed the garden he made us crawl around on our hands and knees to do it.

He told us we weren’t big enough to use the hoe yet. Well I’m plenty big enough now and have my own hoe. Ha.

The hoe has been around as long as history itself. It’s been used to loosen the soil, to dig and cut off weeds in the garden as well as for making the crease in the soil where seeds get planted.

Hilling is another thing I learned from him as he would pull soil up around the vegetables so the root balls could increase in size for a healthier crop.

We Have Two Rakes

garden rakeThe rake we use in the garden is the one on the right but we also have a fan rake we use to gather up leaves and yard waste for our compost bin.

The comb-rake we use in the garden to level the soil as as well as break up any large clumps of soil before planting for the season.

The first rakes I ever used, while living on the farm, was made completely from wood however today they comb part of the rake is made of steel.

We Need A Good Wheelbarrow

garden wheelbarrow-2We don’t have a wheelbarrow yet and have been either carrying things around the yard in buckets or by borrowing our neighbour’s wheelbarrow.

We have been looking for a wheelbarrow that has two wheels for better balancing and weight distribution but haven’t found one locally, so we may have to order one online.

The first time I borrowed Geoff’s wheelbarrow I did more work in a single hour than I had been able to do in an entire day previously. I was convinced that we have to have our own wheelbarrow before next growing season.

Gardening has now become one of the most discussed topics at communities, at work, in the church, as well as between friends and relatives. In most cases, the more serious gardeners are the ones who strongly seek out to find the best home garden tools around.

Whether you’re just a starter or an experienced gardener, having the basic gardening equipment and supplies is very important in making gardening a fun and entertaining activity for the whole family.

Home Gardening Tools on eBay

Enhanced by Zemanta
 Page 3 of 58 « 1  2  3  4  5 » ...  Last »