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Making Your Own Herb Garden Door Wreath Making Clay Seed Balls Seed & Plant Swap: Save $100's!
Edible Flowers Holiday Ensemble Designing Your Herb Garden Roses P. Allen Smith Easy Watering
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If you can grow vegetables in the garden or flowers, then you can learn how to grow your own herbs. Herbs not only give off a nice scent, but they can also be used in cooking. Growing your own herbs is a cheaper alternative than buying them at the grocery store too. If nothing else, this is a great easy gift for you to put together and give anyone who likes to cook! First, you must
decide on what kinds of herbs you would like to grow in your herb Plant's That Grow Enough to Share: Basil, Peppers, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Coleus, Hydrangeas, and Old Roses. For the best quality seeds go to Gurney's below. Watering time holding you back? Try the water retention beads. Garden Water Retention Beads
If you use more than 1/3, the beads will float up through the dirt and that does not look very good.
You have seen him on TV, and the Mabel staff has seen no other entity make soil or "life" as interesting as P. Allen Smith. I caught a quick segment where he recommended storing fresh cut herbs in ice cube trays for future use in soups and the like. His delivery was also very relaxed and comforting. Who would have thought of storing your herbs in ice cube trays other than P. Allen Smith? After looking through his web site, I found that was not the only idea he spawned, it was just the tip of the iceberg (lettuce) of course. We determined to leave our gardens in his beautiful hands as he is so far more gifted than anyone we know in the area of gardening. P. Allen Smith also embraces every little treasure that can be resulted from simple planning and just a little TLC. Please visit his site if you would like to be amazed. Deborah R. Dolen, Editor Designing Your Herb Garden is Easier Than You Think!
Next, plan out your
herb garden by using a pencil and paper. Decide how many plants The next step in your project is to till up your herb garden spot. Using a rototiller is your best bet, but if you don't have one, or if your garden is going to be very small, too small for a rototiller to fit into, then you will have to use a spade. And, if you made a compost pile last year, it should be ready to use. Compost would be a beneficial addition to each plant.
The leaves of the herb plants will be ready for harvesting when the plants have matured. Then, the leaves are removed, washed, and hung up to dry. They are then ready to be crushed and used in your favorite recipes. Post Bugs: We tend to love to put edible oil in spray bottles with perhaps some neem oil for natural insect deterrent. If birds are an issue, just criss cross fishing line above your garden. They will not like getting in that. Top Be a Mabel Club Member! Craft Supply Store Mabel Archives Roses and a "Banana Smoothie" Killer Home Made Fertilizer Recipe  When you
make a banana smoothie for your own health, make one for your roses using the banana
skins or whole over ripe banana's! Roses are big feeders and quickly use up
all the nutrients in the soil and they just love potassium. This is true for
even the best-prepared rose beds. Furthermore, many essential minerals quickly leach
out due to rain and watering. Light soils are especially needy of constant nutrient
replacements. This recipe is for one rose bush. For a rose cocktail you
can also soak the banana skins in water for two weeks and spray the water directly
onto the roses.
The Queens of the garden like to be
treated as royalty and this means continual fertilization and a bit of Many store bought fertilizers are available, but making your own may bring better rose results: bigger blooms and in general, a more healthy plant. Please note Jerry Baker's Flower Feeder: 1 cup beer, 2tbsp whiskey, 1 tbsp. clear corn syrup, 2 tbsp. fish fertilizer, 2 tbsp. ammonia, 2 tbsp. liquid dish soap, 2 tbsp. hydrogen peroxide, 1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin, 4 tbsp. instant tea granules. Mix it all up with 2 gallons of warm water. He recommends feeding this to all your flowering plants every two weeks. To make a home made brew (use no more than twice a month) in a blender or food processor:
Use Your Seasonal Door Wreath Colors to Select the Colors of Your Garden!
I always select flowers that are known to bloom as long as possible and hold up well after being cut. Snap dragons are my all time favorite and they come in almost any color. They seem to last forever when fresh as do carnations. Your Choice of vase is really to most important feature in how your arrangement can fan out. Vases with a straight up mouth do not allow for much movement. Another neat feature is if your garden does match your wreath then any flowers you cut and bring in the house match everything outside! Top Be a Mabel Club Member! Craft Supply Store Mabel Archives
Top Be a Mabel Club Member! Craft Supply Store Mabel Archives
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*See
my favorite "seed exchange" web sites at the bottom of this page. My first
thoughts on gardens in general is to pick plants that are most likely
to bloom year round. Grow them in containers if you must.
There are a few solid reasons for this. Number one, you can
arrange floral designs from your own garden saving money as well as
a trip to the store. The second reason is because many petals
are edible and can play a neat role in your entertaining, drink, or just
salad designs. Please see below for edible petals. I do
not make a habit of buying plants that just bloom one time and they are
history. In my mind, that makes for just more time and expense.
Beyond the search for long lasting bloomers, herbs play the second key
role in my focus. See the article below about how easy it is to
have and enjoy your own herb garden. Good Luck! ~Deborah R.
Dolen, Editor
garden. There
are many different kinds to choose from, such as Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Chives,
Rosemary, Dill, Bay Leaf, Garlic, Caraway, Celery, Chili Pepper, Ginger,
Horseradish, Red Pepper, Paprika, and Sage, just to name a few. All of these herbs
can be used in cooking. And, if you have a cat, you might want to please him or
her by planting one of their favorite herbs, which is Catnip! P.
Allen Smith (below) is such a green genius. He recommends using a
lazy Susan to make the job of potting your small pots or large container
garden easier. Basically you just put the small pots or large
container on the turn table and spin as you work. This is similar
to how a floral or pottery designers create their art! His recent
book
People
in part think they do not have a green thumb, because time may not
permit the right watering. The beads we sell as "
Another thing that
you will have to keep in mind is that herbs are just like any other plants in that
some herbs are annuals, while others are perennials. Annuals will only grow for
one year, and then they will die. Perennials, on the other hand, will come back
the next year on their own and they will grow again and again. They do not need to
be replanted like the annual plants do.
Water: When
planning any garden, more so in these days of very dry weather, make
sure moisture rocks (that absorb lots of water) are well implemented at
the bottom of well drained beds. Good drainage typically inhibits
some plant disease.
you want to grow
and how much room you will need for your total garden. Decide what kinds of plants
will be planted where in your garden. You will need to find a spot in your
backyard that will receive plenty of sunlight every day. Approximately six hours
of sunlight is plenty for most herbs. Be careful, though, as some types of herbs
like to grow best in a shady spot. Then, visit your local nursery or garden store
and purchase your plants. Make sure the plants you select look healthy and green.
Check the soil to make sure it is moist too.
Bugs: "Good garden
planning starts with good natural insect and disease prevention
strategies. We find the higher the garden off the ground, the less
pest issues. Marigolds, Basil, Nasturtiums, and Chives are also
used generously for our borders as well as crushed shell or sand as a
finishing touch. Some insects do not like going over sand or
crushed shell."
Then, dig a hole
for each plant to be placed in, and do not make the holes too close together. Each
plant needs its own space to grow in, and plenty of it! Make sure the plant's
roots have plenty of space to grow in too. Add some compost or fertilizer to the
bottom of each hole before you place the plant in it. This will help the young
plants by adding much-needed nutrients to the soil. Then, gently replace the soil
around each plant and pat it down gently.
TLC. This way
they will flourish and bring brilliant blooms for an extended season. To
control Black Spot spray roses once a month with water, a little cooking oil and a
little baking soda. Epsom Salts are simply superb for everything in your
yard-trees, shrubs, flowers, and especially your lawn. Epsom Salts contain 16%
magnesium and 22% sulfur to deepen the color, promote new growth, and even help
strengthen stems and roots.
Using flowers straight from your
own garden is always a wonderful luxury. For each of the four seasons I generally
select a wreath for my door to honor that season and then I update my garden to
match the colors that are in the wreath and I try to use the same flowers that are
in the wreath. This gives the appearance you had a designer involved!
You can also do this vise versa. Meaning select your
greeting wreath based on your outdoor plants.
I
did not know places like Starbucks gave away used coffee grinds
for soil enrichment. Not only is that a trump of a marketing
tool, it is an honest one. From what I understand, Tim
Horton's Coffee Shops (Starbucks to the Canadians,) does also.
First let's address the coffee grinds! I could not remember
what purpose they serve in the garden. I thought it was the
fact slugs do not like to venture over them. Some quick
research on The Garden Web revealed USED grinds fertilizes
anything green, including grass, by supplying organic matter
high in nitrogen and is quick to decompose since it's already in
tiny pieces (and usually wet.) Acid-loving plants,
such as Gardenias, really like coffee grinds. Worms are very
needed in a garden and they go nuts over coffee grinds. 
Garden Web groupies
also report loving the smell! I like the Garden Web, and I
even got a free nice high quality t-shirt for donating. I
ordered X-Large so I can sleep in it also. Back to coffee
grinds, how much do you spread out? Well, as one Garden Web
member said "just don't cover the grass, otherwise, anything
goes." Well, then what about tea remnants? I have been
drinking a lot of that, AKA Chai. But I start with real
Darjeeling Tea from the Himalayas. Well, this gets technical
because compost aficionados call certain combinations
"teas" or "soil amendments." I will skip
that part, sounds too legalistic. But it was interesting
that even old cat and dog food is great for your yard! And I
just pitched a 50 pound bag in the garbage because it was too old.
Duh. But it maybe best I did, as I assume old food it would invite
rodents. I will pass on fish emulsion, thanks, and everyone
knows cow manure is the best, and free source of nitrogen--if you
know a cow. Speaking of cows, some new commercial features a
cow named Mabel, and I really do not appreciate that. I will
be a heifer as it stands when we add chocolate in the fall.
And finally, if you are in a hurry, human urine is an excellent
source of organic nitrogen.