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Showing posts with the label container garden

Award Winning Hydrogarden Bottle

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I  I found these awesome grow bottles on  SeedsNow.com . This revolutionary hydroponic growing bottles are only $29.99!  "About the Grow Bottle  |  The Grow Bottle is an  upcycled-hydrogarden  that has been made completely out of hand-crafted and re-claimed wine bottles.  The Grow Bottle was winner of the 2011 NYIGF Eco Choice Award for Most Innovative Product.  This is the ultimate gift for any occasion and is the perfect gift for the person who has everything." Use the Code SAVE10NOW to take off 10%. Shipping is $4.95 or less and FREE on orders over $40. I love their seeds and have gotten excellent results from all varieties. SeedsNow.com  sells only NON-GMO seeds. 

Taking Root, Houseplants to Share

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Starting house plants from cuttings is much easier than you may think. Many plants will take up root anywhere they can. Members of the Pothos family ( Wikki Info ) are easy to start, very tolerant of poor care and live well in limited light. I have one that was given to me as part of a gift from my office when my son was born 18 years ago, I have drug it back and forth across the county a few times, forgotten to water for  long periods, it's been mangled by cats, dogs and kids and yet it is still around. Over the years I have rooted many cuttings for myself and for friends. We have three pots in our house that are all from the same plant. I've started a few cuttings for a friend recently with only a few simple steps. Find the nodes on the vine. They are small, dark raised bumps, usually just below a leaf. You can cut off as long of a piece as you'd like, but three or four leaves from the end of the vine works well. Snip the vine above the leave that is after the no...

FREE Lettuce Growing Kit

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Picture is property of  seedsnow.com   For a limited time get a free lettuce seed starter kit with purchase from seedsnow.com!    Click on the banner on the top of Seeds Now's home page. Kit includes Tom Thumb lettuce, directions and a seed starting disc. Organic, Non-GMO seeds staring as low as $.99 a pack. Shipping starts at $1.99.  SeedsNow.com is a great source for Non-GMO and Organic seeds. They also carry a great line of growing gifts and seed starting supplies. Plant the lettuce in a sunny window and plant some Kale outside and enjoy fresh salads every day!  Happy Growing

Regrowing Veggies from the Root Up

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Usually I toss the scraps from my veggies into the compost bin. What about using them to grow new veggies to eat from the roots, cuttings and seeds? I was looking for something else and came across a very good article  on exactly how to and what yummy things can become new plants. We have tried many of these with some mixed success. Our most recent; the avocado pit. We got farther than we ever did before. I had a tiny tree, 6 to 8 leaves and about a foot tall. I moved it from my air conditioned kitchen to my very hot, but shaded back porch. By the time I did a walk through the garden pulling some weeds, it looked very sad and wilted. Twenty minutes was all it took to make all of the leaves fall off. I snipped the top off and waiting to see what happens. Staring a new one on the sill today. Check out this article 7 Fresh Veggies You Can Grow From Kitchen Scraps   for more ideas on what to try!

Space Saving: Going up

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Space is a premium in space gardens. If it's pots on the patio or in a suburban backyard, there's never enough room. Going up is a great way to grow! I have a several small backyard raised and border beds in my back yard. I love using inexpensive tomato cages to multiply my space. These cucumbers two cucumber plants are thriving. Without the tomato cage moving them up instead of out, they would easily take up a quarter of the raised bed they are in. Cucumbers are natural climbers. They don't have the grip to go up walls and must be well supported. When I planted the seeds, I simply pushed the tomato cage in the soft dirt, centered over the small mound. As the plants grow you can gently move them up through the middle and over the top.  Not only is this a space saver, but it stops the common problem of "blossom end rot". It's devastating to go check on the tiny veggies and find them turning yellow and dying where the blossom is still attached. Blossom rot...

Get Your Greens! Kale for the Winter

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Photo from seedsnow.com Now is the time to start planing and planting a winter garden. Kale has become one of the super foods that everyone is interested in at the moment. Kale is a great container crop. Kale is full of antioxidants, beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein and  rich in calcium. SeedsNow.com  has sample packs of Blue Curled Scotch and three other varieties for only $.99 for approximately 50 seeds, larger packs for $4.99. The small packs are great for a patio garden, or a backyard garden like mine. Plant Kale in pots or in flower beds of summer's fading flowers now. Refresh beds with some fresh compost or manure, greens like this love high nitrogen! Kale is frost tolerant and most people think the frost or a snow fall improves the taste, making it sweeter. In warmer climates like mine in Arizona, plant Kale in a partly shady spot that wont get the hot afternoon sun. Shop the  entire selection of Non-GMO seeds at SeedsNow.com