Category: How To

Depending on your hardiness zone, July might be a good time to give plants another blast of fertilizer before they can harden off and survive the next winter. Or, it might be time to stake some of those tall floppy flowers.  Be sure to double check that your plants are getting enough water. You may need to consider a soaker hose to prevent evaporation in the hot summer air.  Adding some fresh mulch is always a good thing to do around this time.  Pull out the scissors and deadhead flowering annuals so they’ll produce more blooms. Remove spent blooms.  A light pruning will perk them up with strong new flowering growth.

July is also a good month to start thinking about the fall garden. Preparations should include getting the space and soil ready and deciding exactly what you want to plant. One suggestion, plant tomatoes and peppers as well as pumpkins that you will enjoy in the months ahead.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program HERE: http://southeastagnet.com/2020/07/06/what-to-cross-off-your-gardening-to-do-list-this-month/

The coronavirus has kept us housebound for months. During that time, many of us figured out that having a garden is one answer to getting outside and away from the crowds, as well as a welcome break from the next binge-watch series.

Most importantly, we feel a strong desire to grow our own food crops and plant flowers to remind us that we are vital in the whole circle of life.

Now that your garden is planted and well on its way to producing fruit, vegetables, flowers and bliss, where are you finding answers for questions about growing care and remedies for issues that crop up (pun intended)? You know, questions about common summer plant issues like soft, brown spots on tomatoes, bugs munching on leaves, and whether talking to your plants will really help them grow better.

Are internet sites and the jillion YouTube videos worth your time? Shouldn’t we rely on science and testing?

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://theknow.denverpost.com/2020/07/04/gardening-myths-that-are-either-true-false-or-a-little-bit-of-both/241204/

If you’ve ever failed at something, we know it can be hard to want to try again. Don’t give up! Even the best of the best have killed a plant or two in their days. Read on to learn from this one gardener’s mistakes!

“One of my go-to fantasies when life is tough is that I’ll run away to start a vegetable farm. I’ll spend long days covered in sweat, soil caked underneath my fingernails, satisfied with the knowledge that I was able to feed myself through hard work and a deep understanding of the natural world. Given our current circumstances—living in an unprecedented global pandemic resulting in much more time spent at home and much more stress when we have to venture to the grocery store—this fantasy is seeming particularly appealing.

The problem with that fantasy is that I am an absolutely rubbish gardener. Name an indestructible plant and I have probably watched it shrivel. Zucchini and mint, for example, which I remember being warned would “take over my garden” if I wasn’t careful—didn’t last a week in my Arizona soil. It became a bit of a running joke. Every summer I’d try again, and every summer I’d fail.

Then I moved to Washington State, where the weather was friendlier and the foliage was lush. I managed to eat a few tomatoes from my potted plant last year and suddenly felt like a new woman. Maybe I could do this gardening thing.”

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.self.com/story/gardening-tips

Urban gardening has taken on a renewed relevance as the coronavirus has declared war on us from Los Angeles to New Orleans; Seattle to Saint Louis. People are reaching out to organizations far and wide about how to grow their own food for a wide array of reasons: concern about food supply chain vulnerabilities, frightened of going to the grocery store for lettuce they could potentially grow themselves, eager to be more self-sufficient or looking to help their neighborhood by donating food to local food banks.

“We need to open our hearts and connect with the struggles of those most vulnerable.” That connection, Fredie believes, can involve carrots, corn, kale, and more. It’s a refrain heard from gardeners across the country. “I think we’ll come out of this,” notes Margee Green, the executive director of Sprout NOLA, a farmer and gardener training program based in New Orleans, “with a lot more people understanding the sacrifices that farm workers make every day and the importance of supporting agriculture that is in harmony with nature, and closer to them.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/peas-and-quiet-urban-gardening-in-the-time-of-covid-19/

Nicole Johnsey Burke had lived and gardened in many places where her plants would just shut down in the winter. When she moved to Houston in 2013, she started growing that fall and was stunned at how abundant her harvests of greens were. She pulled from her boxes every day and didn’t buy salad from the grocery store for six months.

When she told friends and neighbors of her lettuce successes, they looked at her like she was crazy. Nothing grows here in Houston, they said, it’s too hot, it’s too humid, and the soil is terrible.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/food/article/What-a-gardening-pro-learned-about-growing-food-15310783.php#photo-19486815

As the pandemic smolders and the economy plunges into an abyss, Americans have reverted to the venerable World War II–era tradition of organized disaster gardening. According to headline writers, that is.

“Food Supply Anxiety Brings Back Victory Gardens,” declared the New York Times in late March. “Just like World War II, many are relying on their garden’s bounty to get them through this uncertain time,” echoed Good Housekeeping in early May. The multinational lawn-chemical giant Scotts Miracle-Gro wants to leverage this sentiment. “Plant your #VictoryGarden today,” a recent ad urges watchers over scenes of sun-dappled suburbanites pulling produce from loamy backyard plots.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.motherjones.com/food/2020/05/gardens-have-pulled-america-out-of-some-of-its-darkest-times-we-need-another-revival/

Natural disasters, economic crises and viral outbreaks have greatly impacted our cities in the past. Today, we witness this effect with the COVID-19 viral outbreak. It has heavily impacted food, accommodation, livelihoods, public transport, economy, and other public amenities available to cities globally.

While we struggle with the containment, it is important to reflect on how we can develop sustainable, resilient and liveable cities in the face of such shocks. We at UNICITY have identified 3 elements of resilience our cities need to strengthen: public spaces, urban agriculture and quality of life. So, we here share a few informative best practices.

Urban public spaces that adjust to new needs

Today, 20% of the world’s population is under lockdown. As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, once vibrant public spaces are now deserted. Our social interactions have essentially migrated to the digital space. Yet, we know this is anything but good for our mental health. As per the WHO, physical inactivity, poor walkability and lack of access to recreational areas account for 3.3% of global deaths. So how do we sustain a lockdown, which promises to be longer than we have anticipated?

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-05-12/urban-resilience-learnings-from-covid-19/

Spring is here and, after spending a great deal of time indoors over the past few months, it’s the perfect time to (safely) get outside, unplug from technology, and interact with the earth. And what better way to do this than by gardening? Whether you live in an apartment with limited outdoor access or have a spacious yard to work in, there are plenty of options that allow you to grow your own food and reap the mental and physical health benefits of gardening.

If you’ve never gardened before, you may think that you simply don’t have a “green thumb” and your efforts will be fruitless. But Chris Cunningham of the Landscape and Construction Services division at Cedar Grove says you shouldn’t let this deter or intimidate you. “You don’t necessarily need to have a ‘green thumb,’ ” he says. Just start by reading the directions on seed packets and you’ll likely surprise yourself with what you can grow.

When you’re ready to get planting, the first thing to take into account is how much space you have for a garden so you can plan accordingly.

CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE: https://www.seattletimes.com/sponsored/how-to-make-the-most-of-any-garden-space/