… from the Natural Handyman Every now and then I wonder, “Will I be found out?” Ever have the sense that you are in the wrong place, or that you really aren’t who everyone thinks you are? Perhaps you are…
Author: Jodi
This has been an ongoing project since I was twelve when my mother let me dig up a ten by twenty foot section of the backyard to put in what was to be my first gardening failure er, learning experience. Mom knew more about composting than I did and I had no idea I was going to have to 'save' all that icky stuff in the kitchen for that nasty 'pile' in the backyard!
Chicken Laying Nests
One of the most critical pieces of a new chicken coop is how and where to build the laying nests! This is important because if you don’t give attention to a few, but basic rules, you have a healthy chicken…
Blossoms falling off bean plants
Bean blossom drop can occur when temperatures stay consistently over 90 degrees and/or if the plants are stressed. There’s not much you can do about the heat except wait it out. It may help to put a breezy row cover…
Organic Squash Bug Control
Let me share with you our squash bug control plan. I am not, I repeat NOT going to be overrun again this year by squash bugs! Young squash plants (especially zucchini and pumpkin) are generally more susceptible to damage by…
The Difference Between Gardening and Farming
My father once said… I am a gardener, NOT a farmer. There is a difference. As if to provoke the obvious question, “What is the difference?” I never asked. But had anyone asked if my father was a farmer, I…
Organic Gardening and Bugs
I have focused on the soil for the last (large) number of years always hoping to get it just right, to have an exceptional year. Truth is, as I re-examine this idea, I have begun to realize that I want…
Colorado Potato Beetle
Okay. It’s a really pretty beetle. (Click on it and look at it up close if you don’t believe me) Even if you don’t really like bugs, if you leave that part out, and really look at it with open…
Squash and Cross Pollination
Summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins and gourds belong to the Cucurbita family. Members of this family may cross-pollinate with each other. (Insects can bring pollen from other plants to female flowers.) However, the first year of a cross, the resulting…
Watermelons and Cross Pollination
Do you have to separate watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) from other types of melons to keep them from cross-pollinating? No, other types of melons like cantaloupes or honeydew (Cucumis melo), and cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) can all be grown close together without…
Blossom End Rot
Blossom end rot on tomatoes Photograph by David B. Langston, University of Georgia Tomatoes grown in containers and indeterminate (vining) heirloom tomatoes can be more susceptible to Blossom End Rot (BER) that is caused by an inability to adequately uptake…
How are beans pollinated?
Do you want to save your own bean seeds for growing next year? Do you want to re-grow the same fabulous beans next year that you grew this year? It may not be as easy to do with any other…
May Garden Calendar
seed packet
Wow… May already. Where did the time go? The gardening calendar for May provides a list of recommended food growing tips and
As I mentioned in the last calendar update, April and May, about growing organic food, more people garden in April and May than any other time of the year.