Gardening Life

During high heat conditions, bottles of ice can cool the area around your tomato plants to allow the blossoms to set fruit.

Follow the photo-link to read about how frozen water in 2-litre jugs can help tomatoes to set fruit in the extreme heat of the deep South.

There are many great perks to gardening. It makes your home look welcoming, adds warmth to a bare room, and burns some extra calories. 

Follow the photo-link to read more.

Square food gardening is the perfect introduction to growing a successful vegetable garden. In a square-foot garden, plants thrive in raised boxes that are sectioned and filled with nutrient-rich soils.

Follow the photo-link to find these instructions, and you can start enjoying organic vegetables from your own backyard!

How to build an inexpensive 12 by 32 foot hoop-style greenhouse made from pvc pipe for under $400

Follow the photo-link to read the tutorial.

A study shows that wild bees are more effective pollinators than honeybees. As domestic honeybees decline, native bees will become even more important.

As quoted from the creator of this project – ” Everything for the discerning arthropod, this simple, elegant and fun to make large insect hotel, using pallet wood with foraged interiors."

Follow the photo-link to find a step-by-step instruction with alternative roof structure for those not wishing to use a circular or band saw.

A rare, parasitic, rootless and leafless southeast Asian plant, Rafflesia arnoldii is the largest known flower in the world.

Rafflesia arnoldiionly becomes visible when its plump buds emerge through the bark of its host and develop into the large, fleshy flowers which are pollinated by carrion-flies.

Follow the photo-link to read more about this unique plant.

If you have warm temperatures during the day but cold nights and want to add plants to your Fall or Winter garden you can start your seedlings in small containers stored inside clear plastic totes. Take the totes outside before you leave in the morning so they can get a day's worth of sunlight and build up cold tolerance then bring them inside at night.

This idea comes from homesteading weblog The Prairie Cottage. They recommend grouping seedlings into plastic totes according to their cold tolerance. That way you can bring in your most vulnerable plants well before sunset while other plants may be fine for another hour or two. Eventually most of your plants will grow and build up their cold tolerance so they can be planted in the soil and you can flip the clear tote over as an improvised cold frame while the plant's root systems are getting established. The plastic totes may not seem like much but they will keep wind chill from hurting your plants as well as trap a little solar heat.

Since the beginning of recorded time, mankind has been using collections systems to gather and store rain water for future use, and while the appearance of the systems has changed, the basic elements that make them up have not. All you need is a wide surface and a piping system to direct the water to the storage device.

Roofs and down spouts fulfill the first two requirements and are at the disposal of every homeowner, it’s getting a proper water storage device that trips up most would be water collectors.

Follow the photo-link to read detailed, step-by-step instructions for building your own "perfect rain barrel system".

Plant trivia! Indulge your inner gardener with the "World of Plants Quiz". Play now and get to the 'root' of your knowledge!

"On my last day in India, I had my first taste of rose petal honey, swirled into the yogurt I ate for breakfast as I sat on a balcony watching the Taj Mahal shimmer through a haze of humidity. Back home, I couldn't forget the taste—sensual, sublime, exotic, and familiar all at once, like India."

Virtually all roses are safe to eat; just make sure they're organically grown.  Follow the photo-link to find the recipe.

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for your garden is feed it with nutrient-rich compost. This mix of decaying vegetable matter, grass clippings, and leaves may not be glamorous, but it improves soil structure and provides the nutrients your plants need to thrive. And it’s easy to create your own compost in your backyard or patio, at little or no cost.

Follow the photo-link to find the Guide.

Better than store bought and packed with flavor, these little liqueur gems are versatile in the kitchen and very easy to make. What’s more, they make terrific gifts at holiday time. What could be better than that?

Find recipes by following the photo-link.

The TERRAform pod is made from food safe, UV-treated, recycled polyethylene that is molded to fit the dimensions of wheelchairs. When the three-sided pen is built around the pod it creates a garden at table height that allows easy access for planting, weeding and harvesting. Currently there are around 100 of the TERRAform pods being tested and used in gardens throughout France.

Follow the photo-link to read more about this collaborative effort.

Seventeen years ago Kamal Meattle found out that the air in his home city of Dehli was killing him.  He had grown allergic to the pollutants in the air and his lung capacity started declined to 70%.  He began researching and found that these three plants can provide a human with all the fresh air they need indoors to be healthy.

Follow the photo-link to read about the plants and their benefits.

It doesn’t matter what kind of spring garden style you have, whether it is smart and modern, stark and minimalist or wonderfully old-fashioned, there is always room for a strong display of spring plants. The secret is choosing the most suitable plants for your preferred style, and then finding the right position.

Cacti and succulents often seem intimidating, but they are actually forgiving plants that respond to a gardener’s attentions by multiplying freely (succulents) or bursting into bloom (cacti).  Because they require little water, succulents are a great choice for rooftop gardens.

Follow the photo link to discover the benefits of, and instructions for, planting succulent gardens.

The best way to maximize our effort is to plan now for what we want to eat later.  It’s really no different than the age-old concept of planning out your week’s meals before heading to the grocery. It eliminates ending up with produce that you have no idea what to do with in late fall – and not enough of the ones you need to can and freeze to feed your family.  

Follow the photo-link to find helpful tips to help "Plan to Can".

There have been 117,000 of these snails picked up in Miami-Dade County since they first noticed the infestation in September 2011. 

Denise Feiber, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services told Reuters that it is important to get these massive guys under control as soon as possible. The snails are not just a problem for the area's vegetation, but they are for the areas human population as well. "These little buggers carry a parasitic lungworm that can cause meningitis in people."

Follow the photo-link to read more about this.

A vegetable garden can be a bountiful and beautiful thing. These garden layout ideas will help you design your own vegetable garden. . .