Archive for July, 2007
Making More Plants Book Review
July 20th, 2007 | 
Author: As a gardener, I find that my desire for new plants rapidly outstrips my yearly garden budget, so I was delighted to see the wonderful new Ken Druse book, Making More Plants: the Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation. Despite the stylish, sleek cover, this book is not just another pretty coffee table book. I read it from cover to cover three times and constantly refer back to sections of the book.
If you never knew anything about botany, the first chapter of Making More Plants gives a fascinating overview of the science of plants, complete with striking photographs. Once you know the parts of a plant, you can better understand the growing process.
As the book progresses, there are several chapters that deal with seeds. You will learn techniques for seed collection and how to prepare them for the most successful germination. Then, Mr. Druse leads us through the process of sowing seeds and caring for the seedlings as they sprout and grow.
Next, Making More Plants discusses vegetative propagation. There are several excellent sets of instructions that lead you through the making of a sweat box and a misting system. These inexpensive propagators are very easy to construct and they work well. I used the instructions to make a sweat box that rapidly rooted several shrubs.
As he continues the book, Mr. Druse discusses how to propagate using cuttings, layering, grafting, division, and root cuttings. The back of the book includes a useful plant propagation guide.
If I only had one propagation book in my reference library, Making More Plants would be that book. It is well written, informative, and fun to read. The joy Mr. Druse feels when he talks about gardening comes through very clearly in this book. I give it five out of five sunflowers.
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5-in-1 Garden Tool Set with Interchangeable Handles $20.1 This 5-piece garden tool set is perfect for use in the yard, planter, or gardenEach piece in the set can be used with or without the interchangeable handle Install the interchangeable handle for added length or leverage |
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Gardeners Delight 8-piece Garden Tool Kit $65.99 Cultivate your yard with this eight-piece gardening kit. This kit includes everything you need for a fruitful garden. |
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Joshua Roth 1515 Japanese Hori Hori Garden Digging Tool $27.99 Joshua Roth Hori-Hori digging tool has a stainless steel bladeLandscaping tool is perfect for scooping soilTool was originally designed for excavating aged plantings |
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All-purpose 6-piece Pink Garden Tool Set $37.99 Get started on your gardening projects with this tool set that is designed with the Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon and features various shades of chic pink. Equipped with 6 essential tools, the set has everything you need to garden with joy and ease. |
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Arrow Steel Eggshell Garden Shed $389.98 This steel garden shed comes with swing-out doors, a floor kit, four shelves and tool hanger. The shed comes in an eggshell color with a taupe trim. |
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Radius Garden 204 40-inch Pro Border Fork $34.49 Discover garden tools unlike any you’ve ever held before. The Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip PRO garden tools were designed using the most current research into human factors and tool usage. |
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Radius Garden 42.5-inch 201 Pro Spade $34.49 Discover garden tools unlike any you’ve ever held before. The Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip PRO garden tools were designed using the most current research into human factors and tool usage. |
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Lifetime Garden Shed $1184.99 Safely store garden items, ATVs and more in this handsome shed from Lifetime. Give your property a clean and organized look with this storage shed. |
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Radius Garden 205 42-inch Pro Weeder $34.49 Discover garden tools unlike any you’ve ever held before. The Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip PRO garden tools were designed using the most current research into human factors and tool usage. |
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Radius Garden 202 41.5-inch Pro Shovel $34.49 Discover garden tools unlike any you’ve ever held before. The Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip PRO garden tools were designed using the most current research into human factors and tool usage. |
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Melissa & Doug Bella Butterfly Gardening Gloves $1.99 Make gardening extra colorful with the Melissa and Doug Sunny Patch Bella Butterfly Gardening Gloves! Sized just for kids, these adorable gloves feature a bright striped design. Beautiful Bella the Butterfly decorates the front and becomes a friendly companion on all of their gardening adventures. The Bella Butterfly Gardening Gloves also make a great dramatic play toy!… |
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Melissa & Doug Be Good To Bugs Good Gripping Gloves $2.03 Grow a beautiful garden and give those little bugs a place to live with the Sunny Patch Be Good To Bugs Good Gripping Gloves from Melissa and Doug! These kid-sized gardening gloves feature an adorable Be Good to Bugs design. The gripping surface allows for easy weed pulling and washes off easily with a hose. The Melissa and Doug gloves are also great for dramatic and pretend play!… |
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Gardening, The Gardener’s Journal – Dk Green Hard Cover (prompts on every page, recycled paper, read more…) $18.95 Help remember all of your planting experiences with this easy to fill-in format. Each of our journals is complete with thoughtful prompts true to the Journals Unlimited style. Gardening, The Gardeners Journal features prompts including; Weather (precipitation, temperature, sunlight, shading, other elements), Activities in the garden (seeds planted, bulbs, blooms, growth, highlights), and Wildlife … |
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Magic School Bus – Goes to Seed [VHS] $6.98 … |
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Bonsai for the Beginner [VHS] $18.75 … |
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Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening: Getting Started (Volume 2) … |
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Gardening Classics $15.98 … |
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Books Lasagna Gardening $31.88 …. |
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Books Gardening in Your Greenhouse $40.87 …. |
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All About Creating Japanese Gardens (Ortho’s All About Gardening) $1.45 These days, people crave gardens that fill the soul and comfort the body. Japanese gardening answers those yearnings. This book demonstrates how to… Create a feeling of sanctuary Make tranquil spaces Arrange plants and ornaments Use centuries-old garden design techniques Emphasize personal taste Calm a busy lifestyle Inspire peace of mindReflect nature to create serenity Appropria… |
Posted in 
Organizing Gardening Tools
If you’ve ever gone out and purchased new pruning shears because you couldn’t find your other ones in the scary depths of your garden shed, you aren’t alone. I was so frustrated by the mess in my shed that I actually went out and bought tool organizers to straighten the whole thing out. I think the most useful thing I got was a metal pegboard to hang all my little tools on. I have used the old fashioned pegboards before, but they tended to warp and get icky. I love the sturdy metal pegboards because they hold up much better.
A few additional tips on organizing your garden shed (or the gardening corner of your garage):
* Use buckets to store items that you use at the same time to create easy to carry gardening kits. For example, I put the pruning shears I use on the hedge, a pair of gloves, a mat for my knees and a tarp to catch clippings in a bucket. Now, I just grab it and go when it is time to prune the hedge.
* Keep a tool cleaning area set up near your tools, so you are more likely to wipe down your equipment or sharpen dull edges before hanging them up.
This post was sponsored by carguygarage.com .
Garden Fest July 2007
Watermelons are getting larger, produce is everywhere and butterflies and other winged creatures are drinking from flower after flower. Yes, it is July, a time when vegetable gardeners worldwide are wishing they would have planted just a few less tomatoes or squash plants this year. As you wonder through the booths in this month’s carnival, don’t be surprised to find that fried green tomatoes have replaced cotton candy!
If you don’t have winged wonders flitting through your garden this year, don’t miss Emma’s post on how to set up a butterfly garden.
:: Suzanne :: presents Sunday garden stroll posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.
Garden Memories
Callie Works-Leary presents Why We Garden posted at Xylem & Phloem, saying, “A reflection on the reasons that we, as passionate gardneners, do what we do.”
Garden Woes
Stephanie presents Location is Everything posted at Stop the Ride!.
Gardening Brags
Diego presents How to create a WOW effect posted at Garden renovation journal, saying, “Think ‘Vogue Gardens’…. only I did it (almost) all by myself! Check this incredible journey of garden renovation that ended creating an astonishing WOW effect on every visitor in the last month.”
Silvia Barrett presents Passion Flower and More posted at Po Moyemu–In My Opinion, saying, “I’d love help identifying unknown plants in this post and in other gardening posts.”
Stephanie presents Garden Green Beans posted at Stop the Ride!.
Silvia presents Swiss Chard in the Garden and in the Frying Pan posted at Po Moyemu–In My Opinion
Misc.
Laurie Bluedorn presents Working in the Garden posted at Laurie Bluedorn.
Jon Rochetti presents >Pick Your Own Flowers posted at The DC Traveler – Washington DC travel & tourism information, saying, “Pick seasonal flowers in someone else’s garden.”
Jeff presents I will walk in the garden, and feel religion within?? posted at Quid plura?.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
garden fest using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags:
garden fest, blog carnival.
Technorati tags: garden fest, blog carnival.
What Do You Do With All That Produce?
If you’re anything like me, your garden harvests have started to become a bit stressful. Suddenly, you have to figure out what to do with 20 fresh squash a day, containers filled with beans and a ton of tomatoes. What on earth are you supposed to do with more produce? Well, I don’t really like canning. I will make jelly and can a few tomatoes, but I’d rather take the easy way out and package up my produce with my FoodSaver. I love this thing. It really takes no time at all and it is a lot less hot and steamy than canning during hot weather. I freeze fresh fruit, too. The good thing about the FoodSaver is that it keeps my frozen food from being freezer burned. I just finished using last year’s peaches the other day and they tasted nice and fresh. Anyway, if you don’t have one, get one. I’ve seen them at Kohls and Overstock.com, but you can order direct from the manufacturer right now with some nice incentives.
A few tips:
* Don’t overcook. Follow the manufacturer cooking instructions exactly.
* Drain off as much excess juice as possible because sometimes the juice gets in the seal and messes it up.
* Sometimes pre-freezing things that are especially juicy helps me get a better seal. I just pop them in the freezer for about an hour. I don’t know how that affects the freshness of the fruit or veggies, but they taste fine to me.
Recommended Resource:
Butterfly Sightings
Last year, a butterfly landed on the little guy’s hand and he’s been trying to recreate the event ever since. No luck this time, but we did see a ton of beautiful butterflies in the garden. Here are a few shots of butterflies on some of their favorites: coneflowers, butterfly bushes and liatris.
