Here are my few tips
- Gardening is mostly about trial and error!
- Gardening is more about soil quality and prep than the plants or seeds.
- When you plan tomatoes, take off the lower leaves on the stem (giving yourself more stem to plan, if that makes sense) and then plant the tomato kind of like an L shape (the horrizontal part in the ground and then the verticle part coming up, of course). Stronger plant w/ more roots.
- Save your egg shells in a bucket all year long to use with your tomatoes when you plant them. Clean the shells first, of course. When you ready to plant, crush up very fine and put a little in each hole where you going to plant. It’s calcium and helps with blossom end rot.
- Plant peas after tomatoes (in their place)to replenish the soil.
- Again, you are totally right about marigolds. They work GREAT. I also like it b/c in early spring, when you just planted, it gives the garden some pretty color. Hehe.
- You are better off watering less often but when you do water, water for a longer period of time. This encourages the plant to dig deeper for the water and become stronger.
- Check out your local university’s agricultural extension and see if they have a gardening guide for your area. Most states have them and they are super helpful in picking varieties that do well in your area.
- I get my seeds from Seed Savers Exchange and Seeds of Change.

One of my good friends from CO who now lives in OK said she missed having the Earth between her fingers… she enjoys getting dirty and seeing what God rewards her with after gardening. This is a hobby I fear I shall never understand.

For the love of your blessed tastebuds, DO NOT plant sweet peppers (like bell peppers) next to hot peppers. Cross-pollination is oh, so very real, people. Unless you WANT to slice up a bell pepper for a salad and have it burn like a jalapeno, in which case… you know, do whatever.

Also, hybrids are NOT “genetically modified” in the creepy, bubbling beakers in a lab way. They’re just cross-bred, like people do with dogs. There are some very old, reliable hybrids that are extremely tasty, like “Mortgage lifter” tomatoes!

Almost all the veggies we eat have been fooled around with by intrepid gardeners trying to boost production, get a particular trait to emerge, or whatever. Remember Mendeleev and those peas?

For example, all cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, etc.) came from one type of wild parent plant thousands of years ago, and people in different places bred it over time to exhibit characteristics they wanted.

All that to say, some hybrids are great. Grocery store hybrids, not so much. But old-fashioned ones, yes!

Don’t forget companion planting. I have basil starts to plant with my tomatoes. It makes them happier.

Since seed starting isn’t your gig and it was my WFMW post for today, I hope that you don’t mind that I’ve included the link for you here:
http://baileysleaf.blogspot.com/2009/03/works-for-me-wednesday-starting-seeds.html

I’ve got another WFMW gardening post in the archives, as well. We have new little sproutlings. They were born yesterday. We’re so excited! :)

Green thumbs up!

Have fun and Good Luck with this years crops! I can’t wait to put all the info I have learned on your site about canning and freezing to good use!