Growing Things In Small Shady Places

I like to have things growing even though I do not have ideal growing conditions here I am very grateful that I can grow anything at all. I have some container growing going on and I have my niece who sells fresh vegetables in the fall. I am affirming daily that I have clean fresh food to eat. I have solved some of this problem by having food delivered right from the farm.  I have gone into partnership with raising 100 pasture run chickens to eat, then later in the year to get all the fresh free run eggs. I get lots of vegetables in the Fall from Patty my niece and can and freeze lots of food. I save all year to be able to buy this extra food. I am on a list for a community garden. I may be moving soon to Seattle and then I will have a community garden at my apartment. I am grateful that my food supply and water supply are healthier all the time.

HUD Housing is not very accommodating even though they should be the first to recognize  the need for low income people to grow their own food. The money spent on training welfare recipients how to cook from scratch was very successful and cut down on the need for food stamps. Now in a time when everyone wants to save on Food Stamps and other benefits given it seems that they would go out of their way to find ways for people to connect with people who have bare land or house for sale that have garden spaces. Give people who have garden space a tax break. It would pay off in the end in saving in benefits.  Here in Portland and the surrounding areas there are lots of community gardens but long waiting lists to use on and high fees. Up to $50. a plot with three year waiting lists. This is not good land use planning.  It does not offer the person an alternative to benefits and dignity by growing some of their own food. I found a friend who is in a nursing home for the summer and she gave me her garden just for this year. Before I found her I advertised on Craig's list. However, the people who answered wanted to much to use their land. I understand that they have insurance issues and watering costs. However, a lot of farms here have watering ponds, wells, and cisterns. Having people buy their own insurance would make sense.

I have written this before but supporting the local farmer is everything. You can buy a lot cheaper if you go directly to the farmer and make an offer on him raising you a pig, a beef cow, 100 chickens. Ducks, Geese, pheasant, other wild game can be raise on a farm. I buy rabbit on a regular basis from a farmer who has his rabbits on a field they are not in hutches. I own the rabbits, buy the food and he feeds my rabbits until they are raised.  This works well with the rabbits as they dress out  at about 6 or 7 pounds at 6 weeks.  "Technically Flemish giants aren't really meat rabbits. I believe they are considered fancy rabbits. I had a litter of flemish once, and I would say, at 8 weeks they are around 6 or 7 lbs. ( I never did butcher them due to me being a softie.) They have big frames and heavy bone. Big ol' bunnies, but they eat a ton and I don't think the amount of meat on them is worth it. 
NZW are supposed to be fine boned, nice and meaty and are good for converting feed to meat." from the meat rabbit forum.

I bought Flemish last year and am trying New Zealand's this year.  Try some of this information and leave the rest. 

Judi Singleton is a Free lance writer and content advertiser who can write you specific content for SEO or you can advertise in her blogs for only $5. a week in one to twenty blogs

Growing Hanging Tomatoes

It is safe to say that you are figuring out how to develop your own sweet, delicious tomatoes? Fortunately for you, tomato plants can become anyplace, that is warm and somewhat clammy. Anyhow, as with most vegetation that deliver a natural product, somewhat "delicate, adoring consideration" or TLC goes far. With satisfactory daylight, water, and persistence, you'll be enormously compensated with a six foot tall tomato plant with enormous (or cherry size), red, or other treasure hues, succulent tomatoes! Tomatoes take quite a while to develop so you must have awesome persistence. That is everything you need to do to get your tomato plant developing. Have a ton of fun developing

Hanging Tomatoes: the Best Tomato Varieties for Baskets

For baskets, choose hanging tomatoes with shallow root systems. Seedlings won’t need staking – foliage tumbles and sprawls over basket sides.

(Share a variety you’ve grown in baskets, including special tips and photos if you have them! Click here.)

Heirloom Tomato Varieties for Hanging Baskets
Baxter’s Early Bush Cherry Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 72 days, red, cherry (1 ½” round)
Matures 7-10 days earlier than most other cherry tomato varieties. They’re known to be prolific producers even if conditions aren’t perfect. Taste is typical sweet/tart tomato flavor. Fruit resists splitting and keeps well after picking.



Whippersnapper Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 52 days, pink/red, cherry (1 inch)
Yields clusters of 5-18 fruit. Whippersnapper grows well in containers, pots, and baskets.
Hybrid Tomato Varieties for Hanging Baskets

Floragold Basket Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 55 days, yellow/orange, cherry
Developed for containers and baskets. Floragold Basket’s early maturation also makes it suitable for growing indoors.

Florida Basket
Hybrid, determinate, 70 days, red, plum-shaped (2 inches), resistance: gray leaf spot
Developed at the University of Florida specifically for hanging baskets

Micro Tom Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 85-88 days, red, dwarf cherry (1/4 inch)
Micro Tom is an unusually small tomato plant developed at the University of Florida’s breeding program. Micro Toms can even be grown successfully in 4” pots! The average 6” plant produces a couple of dozen tomatoes. Great for kids!

Tumbling Tom Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 70 days, red, cherry (1-2 inches)

Judi Singleton is a Free lance writer and content advertiser who can write you specific content for SEO or you can advertise in her blogs for only $5. a week in one to twenty blogs

Easy Tips for Successful Container Gardening

Summary:
Here are some easy things to do to guarantee a successful container garden - no matter the plants you're growing

Here are several tips for creating a wonderful hanging basket or container this summer.  The first is to use an artificial soil composed mostly of peat moss.  Good soils such as Fafard or Pro-Mix use perlite, peat, and other ingredients to produce a soil that will not compact over the summer.  Real garden soil compacts and turns into concrete under the pressure of regular watering.  And when it does, plant roots stop growing because they require good open spaces to move into and absorb nutrients.  Hard, compacted soils do not grow good plants so do not use real soil in your containers.  I re-use my artificial potting soil from year to year.  I dump it out of the pot. Chew it up with a shovel to cut up all last year’s roots and add approximately 10 % by volume of compost. The compost increases air spaces and gives plants a boost in healthy nutrition.

Feed your plants weekly.  Nitrogen, the engine of plant growth, is water soluble and as you water your containers from the top the dissolved nitrogen is leaving from the bottom.   I use a fish-emulsion liquid feed with seaweed to provide all the trace nutrients my plants require and recommend it highly.  You can use any liquid plant food (like Miracle Grow or Shultz) to promote growth.  Compost tea is the Cadillac of liquid plant food and if you make your own compost tea, your plants will respond with bigger and better blooms as well as increased vigour.

And finally, no matter the size of the container, it is important to soak it all the way to the bottom at each watering.  Continue watering until water emerges from the pot bottom.  This ensures the roots can reach all parts of the container and grow properly.

It’s easy to spend a fortune every year creating a beautiful yard. These five tips can help save you money in both this, and future gardening seasons.

1. Plan your vegetable garden according to what your neighbors are planting so you can share your vegetables when they’re ready for eating. Often I’ve had too many of one kind of vegetable I couldn’t give away because my friend’s were ripe at the same time.

2. Select perennials rather than annuals for your flowerbeds. As they multiply each year, cut them back and exchange with your friends so you both have lovely gardens and save money at the same time.

3. Compost your kitchen scraps, as well as your coffee grounds.  The end result is much better than any potting soil you can ever get buy from a nursery or hardware store. The price is right, and this is definitely recycling!

4. Instead of using mulch, try pebbles or small rocks in your garden as ground cover.  This will save you lots of cash since you won’t need to buy mulch in the spring and fall of every year.

5. Spend more money now by purchasing better quality gardening tools and you will save in the long run.  They will last for years, saving you dollars because you don’t need to replace them every planting season.  Same goes for gardening gloves- make sure you buy the best you can afford so they last all season.

Happy Gardening!
Judi Singleton is a free lance writer who writes 20+ blogs a week. You can subscribe to her blogs and advertise in them for only$5 a week

Happy Planter Walk-in Portable Greenhouse with Shelving, 6'3" x 4' x 6'3"

Happy Planter Greenhouses are robust strong and portable. Produced from high quality materials, these greenhouses are built to last. They come in multiple size and cover options. Start planting early and continue to plant longer. Greenhouses provide...

Green Vertical Living Home 16 Pockets Garden Hanging Wall Planter Green Field Pots Grow Container Bags

The new wall-mounted planting bags can be hung on the railing, wall to save space. It is appropriate for planting Strawberries, vegetables, foliage plants, hanging plants, etc.It is Reusable, lightweight, economical and practical; and there are drainage...

3 Easy Tips for Successful Container Gardening I Want To Grow Heirloom Tomatoes

I am especially fond of planters that are on wheels so I can maximize the sun. But as I live
in an apartment they will not let me use this kind of thing.

Here are three easy things to do to guarantee a successful container garden - no matter the plants you're growing  This is only my second year growing tomatoes in Lake Oswego, but last year Sungold, Jaune Flammee, and Cherokee Purple were all productive and tasted great. This year I'm also growing Kimberley, Spudakee, Indian Stripe, Vorlon, and New Big Dwarf, which have similar productivity to Cherokee Purple. Kimberley was the first to blush after just 67 days from transplant, two days before Sungold. The others are still a few weeks away from ripening, so I can't attest to their flavor. Last year my favorite farmers' market tomato was Paul Robeson, so I saved seed from it. Unfortunately, it's the least productive of the black tomatoes, having produced only about a dozen fruit compared to 18-20 for the others.  Of course you can expect this of Heirloom tomatoes they were bred for hardiness not production. 

Here are several tips for creating a wonderful hanging basket or container this summer.  The first is to use an artificial soil composed mostly of peat moss.  Good soils such as Fafard or Pro-Mix use perlite, peat, and other ingredients to produce a soil that will not compact over the summer.  Real garden soil compacts and turns into concrete under the pressure of regular watering.  And when it does, plant roots stop growing because they require good open spaces to move into and absorb nutrients.  Hard, compacted soils do not grow good plants so do not use real soil in your containers.  I re-use my artificial potting soil from year to year.  I dump it out of the pot. Chew it up with a shovel to cut up all last year’s roots and add approximately 10 % by volume of compost. The compost increases air spaces and gives plants a boost in healthy nutrition.  I have a worm farm which I use worm dropping for at least half the soil. I feel it is good use of my wet garbage as well. I love that Portland adopted using wet garbage to compost. Here is hoping Lake Oswego, does the same soon.

Feed your plants weekly.  Nitrogen, the engine of plant growth, is water soluble and as you water your containers from the top the dissolved nitrogen is leaving from the bottom.   I use a fish-emulsion liquid feed with seaweed to provide all the trace nutrients my plants require and recommend it highly.  You can use any liquid plant food (like Miracle Grow or Shultz) to promote growth.  Compost tea is the Cadillac of liquid plant food and if you make your own compost tea, your plants will respond with bigger and better blooms as well as increased vigour.

And finally, no matter the size of the container, it is important to soak it all the way to the bottom at each watering.  Continue watering until water emerges from the pot bottom.  This ensures the roots can reach all parts of the container and grow properly.  My niece has green houses and through out large pots often so I am lucky I get them. I have to sterilize them,
How to disinfect clay and plastic planters and pots
 but I am a recycle person. When I was in my house I painted old tires and stacked them. I used rain gutters, I once had an old wringer washer I planted in.  Now I live in apartments that have strict rules about what I can plant in, so I am really grateful for my niece now. My landlady only allows me 3 large pots. I have been on a waiting list for community gardens for three years now.
 I use whatever I can get to grow in that is interesting and that the apartments will allow me to use.