Tips for your Garden, Part 1

I recently have read and come across a whole slurry of organic gardening news, notes and just tips in general. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of these as a benefit to anyone reading this and also as a change of pace from the typical "this is what my garden looks like right now" posts.

Drawer Beds: Any old dresser drawers can have their bottom removed, placed in a spot where you want to grow something and then fill it with some good composted soil and there you have a make shift raised bed. Not the biggest area but if you place a few of them in a row you could get a decent amount of things planted. Just be careful if there are certain kinds of paint or if the wood has been treated with anything hazardous that could leach into the soil. 

Organizing Seeds: One way to organize all of those seeds that you have left over from all of the seed catalogs (aka seed porn) is to get one of those over the door shoe organizers with the 24 see through pockets and hang it up where you keep your gardening things. It will keep them organized, out of the way and make them easy to see and find.

Ripening tomatoes: This information is pertinent to myself and may be to any of you out there experiencing this very mild Michigan summer. (Or any other location that is having unseasonably cool temperatures) Warm temperatures, particularly night time temperatures of 70 degrees F and above, are key for ripening tomatoes. When it is cooler the tomatoes will continue to grow but it takes much longer for them to ripen. I am having this issue in my garden right now. A lot of green tomatoes but no red ones yet (or black in the case of my black cherry tomatoes). This time last year I was already swimming in mass amounts of ripened tomatoes due to the record breaking heat waves of 2012. So if you are experiencing this slow ripening phenomenon this year, the low temperatures are why.

Growing fruit: Want to grow fruit but worried that you don't have enough room for the permanent beds fruits usually demand? Look to growing fruit in pots. There are a good amount of strawberries and blueberries that are well suited for container growing. With a little research and care, these fruits can do very well in the space provided. Take care to make sure the soil you prepare for blueberries is slightly acidic by using peat based potting mixes along with some sphagnum peat moss and compost.

BLTs: This isn't exactly a tip FOR your garden but I figured it should be in here nonetheless. There is no better BLT in the world than the one you make with your home grown garden tomatoes. And that's the truth.

Wasps: While generally feared and hated, wasps can actually be beneficial to your garden by feeding on many of the common garden pests that haunt your garden and your nightmares. (Don't worry. I'm still creeped out by wasps as well)