I guess it's that time again!!! What are y'all growing this year ..read more

My observations regarding raised garden beds. A raised bed is not always the solution. If a yard is wet for long periods then it is probability prudent to put drainage tiles in place. A wet yard with poor drainage and a raised bed only means that the raised beds will be wet, due to wick effect. My yard was a bog six years ago. I put in about 300 feet of tile and ran the water to the city storm sewers. Now the surface water is gone. My yard is basically dry. The raised beds are convenient to... My observations regarding raised garden beds ..read more

Been busy all day, running errands in town, but I scored three more fruit trees for my planned orchard, and they only cost me a total of $55 (plus tax). Saw 'em on sale, marked down because it's fall, I suppose, and I couldn't turn down the deal. I chose apple, peach & pear trees, which I already have in my orchard, but these are different varieties, aye? Eventually, I hope to have at least a dozen different fruit & nut trees in my yard; pecan & pistachio nut trees do very well in this... Picked up three more fruit trees for my orchard ..read more

Fern-Leaf Peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) http://www.durgan.org/URL/?FernLeaf 2 May 2009 Fern-Leaf Peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) A very pretty Spring flowering plant. It is four years since planted from another's garden. The clump gets a little larger each year, and appears to be slow growing in my area ..read more

Last year, I waged war on goatheads, drastically reducing the noxious weed population by pulling mature goathead vines, burning off rafts of young goathead seedlings with my propane flamethrower, scuffing out other young seedlings with my Vibram-soled boots, whatever it took to eradicate these things... but enough burrs must have been left amid the gravel and dirt areas of my yard to set up a second wave of goatheads after the recent rains. Therefore I've been dealing with goatheads for the... Dealing with goatheads... AAARRRRRGH ..read more

A few days ago, this tortoise appeared in my yard, and I'm trying to make her feel at home, even though tortoises are known to chomp on herbs, flowers, veggies & fruit, etc. I'm pretty sure it's a female, due to the flat plastron (web says males have a concave plastron, or breastplate). Anyway, we had a good bonding experience this morning when I set out some fresh water and lettuce for my little girl---her carapace measures 6" in length, just over 4" in width---plus she macked some cracked... Shelly the Desert Tortoise ..read more

Hello, I recently bought online seeds and also potted them according to the instructions but I am facing some issues with papaya plants. Everything was going well but I found some black and brownish spots which looked like they were infected and are making papaya getting even worse. So what might be the cause of this infection? Also, how can I protect it now ..read more

I'm wanting to do some vegetable planters in my window sills in the kitchen. I will not be taking any of the plants outside. Any tips you can give me? Any vegetables I should avoid? Hubby and I will make a couple shelves to mount in front of the windows. I have grown flowers in the basement under a fluorescent light then transplanted them outside in the spring. I plan to do the same with the vegetables then move them to the kitchen as they start growing a bit ..read more

Anyone here used Green Giants on any installs? I'm interested in using this on my own property for a windbreak treeline but want to know what type of track record people have with it. Also, what would the planting separation be for a windbreak, it seems like every website I find has a different spread diameter ..read more

I have a huge Spider Plant that I bought at a yard sale last summer. It has just tons of baby Spider Plants hanging down from it. The large Spider Plant has been looking a little sad. Just not the huge strong plant I bought! Do you think I need to cut off some of the little Spider Plants? I haven't because I couldn't possibly plant them all. Anyone know anything about Spider Plants ..read more