The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 8, 2007
Dear friends,
I realize that some of us don’t have large yards or gardens, and that some of us have to grow our veggies in pots. But perhaps we need to rethink “garden space.” I’ve seen gardens grown on concrete pavement, and I’ve seen gardens grown in old plastic bags. Here’s a neat article about a different kind of garden….roof gardens.
Even if you don’t want to turn your roof into a garden (we couldn’t do that here because our roof is metal and any garden would literally COOK), it might give you some ideas about “gardening outside the box”, so to speak.
Many of my readers are still snowed in. I try to remember that, even as the temps here are already way too hot for this time of year. It was 85 yesterday in Austin, yet we will probably have one more freeze before it’s safe to put out the tomato plants. We always do!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights reserved.
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 9, 2007
As y'all know, I’m very fond of watching the birdies out my office window. That’s one reason I was distressed when I read that the month of March is the hardest of all for birds. According to an article by George H. Harrison on the eNature.com website published by the National Wildlife Federation, birds have a tough time in March because there just isn’t enough native food for them to eat–not many seeds, berries, insects, etc. So it’s doubly important to keep those birdfeeders filled. As I mentioned before, the longer we keep seed in our feeders, the more different varieties of birds we’re attracting to our gardens.
I’m celebrating the arrival of thousands of bees to my garden. They are busy with the nectarine tree that is gorgeous and dripping with blooms. The irises are blooming, and the one lonely tomato plant I put out in the garden yesterday is still alive this morning. That’s a reason to celebrate! I can almost taste that salsa now!
dig it!
bobbi c.
All photos and text copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. all rights reserved.
March 9, 2007
As y'all know, I’m very fond of watching the birdies out my office window. That’s one reason I was distressed when I read that the month of March is the hardest of all for birds. According to an article by George H. Harrison on the eNature.com website published by the National Wildlife Federation, birds have a tough time in March because there just isn’t enough native food for them to eat–not many seeds, berries, insects, etc. So it’s doubly important to keep those birdfeeders filled. As I mentioned before, the longer we keep seed in our feeders, the more different varieties of birds we’re attracting to our gardens.
I’m celebrating the arrival of thousands of bees to my garden. They are busy with the nectarine tree that is gorgeous and dripping with blooms. The irises are blooming, and the one lonely tomato plant I put out in the garden yesterday is still alive this morning. That’s a reason to celebrate! I can almost taste that salsa now!
dig it!
bobbi c.
All photos and text copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. all rights reserved.
Don't count your chickens, but don't give up...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 12, 2007
Dear friends,
I was annoyed to find that some of the seedlings I’m growing here in my office succumbed to some kind of withering disease. Maybe damping off, which is a sort of fungus. A good cure for that is to water them with chamomile tea. Also, two of the tomato plants I bought at a nearby garden center withered and fell over practically overnight. I suspect that the plants might have been carriers of some sort of virus that spread to the seedlings.
Lesson learned. I had already thought about all the salsas, homemade sauces and sundried tomatoes I would make from the fruit of those seedlings. In other words, I was “counting my chickens before they hatched”, as we say down here.
But, as we also say, never give up. I seem to have a stubborn Gardener Gene passed along to me from my paternal grandmother, and her parents who were farmers and share croppers, and my maternal AND paternal great-grandparents, who were avid gardeners. So I suppose I couldn’t give up on gardening if I even wanted to!
I’ll replant more tomato seeds, make a trip to the garden center with withered plants in hand and demand that they exchange them for something else.
We had a violent storm last night with almost 4-inches of rainfall. Many areas around here are flooded, but we’re up on a hill so that’s not a problem for us. The house shook with the thunder, and the lightning was fierce and so bright I could have read from the front porch if I’d wanted to. We needed the rain, but we didn’t need it all at once! On the bright side, our rainwater collection tanks are full. Since we are frugal with our water, that will last us for quite some time.
I was reluctant to peek outside this morning, fearing storm damage, but everything seems to be intact…even the nectarine and peach blossoms. Man, I’m already tasting the jelly I’ll make from those! LOL
dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. all rights reserved.
March 12, 2007
Dear friends,
I was annoyed to find that some of the seedlings I’m growing here in my office succumbed to some kind of withering disease. Maybe damping off, which is a sort of fungus. A good cure for that is to water them with chamomile tea. Also, two of the tomato plants I bought at a nearby garden center withered and fell over practically overnight. I suspect that the plants might have been carriers of some sort of virus that spread to the seedlings.
Lesson learned. I had already thought about all the salsas, homemade sauces and sundried tomatoes I would make from the fruit of those seedlings. In other words, I was “counting my chickens before they hatched”, as we say down here.
But, as we also say, never give up. I seem to have a stubborn Gardener Gene passed along to me from my paternal grandmother, and her parents who were farmers and share croppers, and my maternal AND paternal great-grandparents, who were avid gardeners. So I suppose I couldn’t give up on gardening if I even wanted to!
I’ll replant more tomato seeds, make a trip to the garden center with withered plants in hand and demand that they exchange them for something else.
We had a violent storm last night with almost 4-inches of rainfall. Many areas around here are flooded, but we’re up on a hill so that’s not a problem for us. The house shook with the thunder, and the lightning was fierce and so bright I could have read from the front porch if I’d wanted to. We needed the rain, but we didn’t need it all at once! On the bright side, our rainwater collection tanks are full. Since we are frugal with our water, that will last us for quite some time.
I was reluctant to peek outside this morning, fearing storm damage, but everything seems to be intact…even the nectarine and peach blossoms. Man, I’m already tasting the jelly I’ll make from those! LOL
dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. all rights reserved.
Recipes for your garden goodies...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 13, 2007
Dear friends,
Since several people have asked me for recipes, I thought I’d post a link to our friendly local organic farm, Angel Valley Farm in Jonestown, Texas. My good friends Jo and John have a whole selection of simple veggie (vegetarian, as a matter of fact) recipes on their website. Try a few; they’re delicious!
http://www.angelvalleyfarms.com/recipes/index.htm
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 13, 2007
Dear friends,
Since several people have asked me for recipes, I thought I’d post a link to our friendly local organic farm, Angel Valley Farm in Jonestown, Texas. My good friends Jo and John have a whole selection of simple veggie (vegetarian, as a matter of fact) recipes on their website. Try a few; they’re delicious!
http://www.angelvalleyfarms.com/recipes/index.htm
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Obesity--another reason to grow organic!
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 14, 2007
Dear friends,
I was horrified when I read a news item yesterday that links the use of chemicals in our environment to obesity. It seems that scientists have found a link between certain chemicals and obesity. If so, then we’re all doomed. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’ve felt for quite some time that chemicals, pesticides and such in our environment was bad news, and cause many of the diseases and health problems that we all face these days. I myself have lingering health problems as a result of a chemical exposure in my home years ago–a supposedly “natural” product that was anything but natural.
This news story has links to the Washington Tribune and the Columbia Tribune, where the story was first reported. And it’s not just the chemicals in food that are problematic; chemicals in other things, such as plastics, are also blamed for numerous maladies.
I know how hard it is to avoid plastics, but we can avoid chemicals in our foods. Grow organic, use organic seeds if at all possible (I’ll be talking about that in a future blog post), buy and eat organic produce, and suggest to your favorite restaurants that they also buy and use organic foods. Every little bit helps!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 14, 2007
Dear friends,
I was horrified when I read a news item yesterday that links the use of chemicals in our environment to obesity. It seems that scientists have found a link between certain chemicals and obesity. If so, then we’re all doomed. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’ve felt for quite some time that chemicals, pesticides and such in our environment was bad news, and cause many of the diseases and health problems that we all face these days. I myself have lingering health problems as a result of a chemical exposure in my home years ago–a supposedly “natural” product that was anything but natural.
This news story has links to the Washington Tribune and the Columbia Tribune, where the story was first reported. And it’s not just the chemicals in food that are problematic; chemicals in other things, such as plastics, are also blamed for numerous maladies.
I know how hard it is to avoid plastics, but we can avoid chemicals in our foods. Grow organic, use organic seeds if at all possible (I’ll be talking about that in a future blog post), buy and eat organic produce, and suggest to your favorite restaurants that they also buy and use organic foods. Every little bit helps!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
A 7-acre, small space garden?
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 15, 2007
Some person yesterday commented to me that anybody could be a good gardener if they had seven acres to play on. LOL. Well, that’s not the case here. Yes, we have seven acres, but it’s almost solid rock and rubble covered by scrub and thousands of junipers. I got around that by enclosing a small area in the front of my house where the garage and house make an “L” shape and fencing it in. We have horrible deer problems out here, and lots of resident wild critters, so we had to make the fence at least 7-feet high.
As for the garden itself, raised beds to the rescue! I built a series of small raised beds, some perimeter beds and two larger ones. The small ones are built from untreated 2×12″ cedar boards that have lasted for over ten years so far. The larger beds are simple, inexpensive concrete blocks laid on the ground in a rectangle. The perimeter beds are simply rocks that I gathered from the property and stacked around the edge of the fence. I filled all the planting areas with a mixture of top soil, compost that I either made or purchased, a few loads of good garden dirt from Gardenville in Austin, and whatever else I could scrape up to include. We have almost no topsoil here, either. Did I mention that?
I thought you might enjoy this photo of one end of the garden, the one closest to my office. To the left, you can see one of the rock beds, at the far back you can see the deer fence where I’m growing a grapevine. To the right you can see a few of the raised cedar beds.
That whole area is around the size of a small suburban backyard, and most of the veggies I grow fit in that space. So you see, you don’t need lots and lots of acreage to have a garden. I actually prefer gardening in small spaces. It gives me a sense of an enclosure, a garden wall, secluded and safe. AND it’s more manageable. So far, the fence has kept the deer out. The squirrels are another matter!
Spring IS coming, I promise!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 15, 2007
Some person yesterday commented to me that anybody could be a good gardener if they had seven acres to play on. LOL. Well, that’s not the case here. Yes, we have seven acres, but it’s almost solid rock and rubble covered by scrub and thousands of junipers. I got around that by enclosing a small area in the front of my house where the garage and house make an “L” shape and fencing it in. We have horrible deer problems out here, and lots of resident wild critters, so we had to make the fence at least 7-feet high.
As for the garden itself, raised beds to the rescue! I built a series of small raised beds, some perimeter beds and two larger ones. The small ones are built from untreated 2×12″ cedar boards that have lasted for over ten years so far. The larger beds are simple, inexpensive concrete blocks laid on the ground in a rectangle. The perimeter beds are simply rocks that I gathered from the property and stacked around the edge of the fence. I filled all the planting areas with a mixture of top soil, compost that I either made or purchased, a few loads of good garden dirt from Gardenville in Austin, and whatever else I could scrape up to include. We have almost no topsoil here, either. Did I mention that?
I thought you might enjoy this photo of one end of the garden, the one closest to my office. To the left, you can see one of the rock beds, at the far back you can see the deer fence where I’m growing a grapevine. To the right you can see a few of the raised cedar beds.
That whole area is around the size of a small suburban backyard, and most of the veggies I grow fit in that space. So you see, you don’t need lots and lots of acreage to have a garden. I actually prefer gardening in small spaces. It gives me a sense of an enclosure, a garden wall, secluded and safe. AND it’s more manageable. So far, the fence has kept the deer out. The squirrels are another matter!
Spring IS coming, I promise!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Where to buy organic seeds?
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 16, 2007
I was going to compile a list of great places to find organic, non-genetically modified, open-pollinated seeds online, then ran into this link on the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. All of these seed companies are highly recommended, and supply a wide variety of seeds for your organic garden.
The weather has turned cooler here, but so far, no more freezes or frosts. The few tomato plants I’ve already set out are not growing rapidly, but are still alive and perky. I’m going to take advantage of this overcast, coolish weather and plant more beans, cucumbers, etc. directly into the garden this weekend—and keep my fingers crossed!
Happy seed shopping!
dig it….
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 16, 2007
I was going to compile a list of great places to find organic, non-genetically modified, open-pollinated seeds online, then ran into this link on the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. All of these seed companies are highly recommended, and supply a wide variety of seeds for your organic garden.
The weather has turned cooler here, but so far, no more freezes or frosts. The few tomato plants I’ve already set out are not growing rapidly, but are still alive and perky. I’m going to take advantage of this overcast, coolish weather and plant more beans, cucumbers, etc. directly into the garden this weekend—and keep my fingers crossed!
Happy seed shopping!
dig it….
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Why grow organic?
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 19, 2007
Mornin’ friends!
A few have asked me why I go to such great lengths to make my garden organic when there are more and more organic items in the grocery stores these days. There are several reasons for that.
One, the items in grocery stores (unless they are supplied by local farms) have been shipped thousands of miles before they get to my local store. It’s a big waste of energy and resources, and the food just isn’t as fresh as your own or locally grown produce. Frozen organic foods are a good compromise if you can’t grow your own, but it takes a lot of energy to process those.
Two, I can also grow things that you just can’t find in the stores…heirloom tomatoes, fruits that might not make it through the shipping, etc.
If you can’t grow your own, there are hundreds of small organic family farms around the US….buying locally is a great thing to do, and a great alternative to having your own organic gardens.
After seeing the news reports about all the snow in New England, I’m thankful that I don’t have to deal with that. Our weather has been somewhat cool, not too humid yet, but it’s been very overcast and rainy, and the garden is just in a neutral mode right now…..waiting for sunshine!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 Bobbi A. Chukran
March 19, 2007
Mornin’ friends!
A few have asked me why I go to such great lengths to make my garden organic when there are more and more organic items in the grocery stores these days. There are several reasons for that.
One, the items in grocery stores (unless they are supplied by local farms) have been shipped thousands of miles before they get to my local store. It’s a big waste of energy and resources, and the food just isn’t as fresh as your own or locally grown produce. Frozen organic foods are a good compromise if you can’t grow your own, but it takes a lot of energy to process those.
Two, I can also grow things that you just can’t find in the stores…heirloom tomatoes, fruits that might not make it through the shipping, etc.
If you can’t grow your own, there are hundreds of small organic family farms around the US….buying locally is a great thing to do, and a great alternative to having your own organic gardens.
After seeing the news reports about all the snow in New England, I’m thankful that I don’t have to deal with that. Our weather has been somewhat cool, not too humid yet, but it’s been very overcast and rainy, and the garden is just in a neutral mode right now…..waiting for sunshine!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 Bobbi A. Chukran
More on the disappearing bees...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 20, 2007
It seems that I was one of the first to report on the disappearing bees story, a few weeks ago. Since then, the story has blazed across the ‘net like wildfire, and many experts are getting worried that there might not be enough bees to pollinate all the food crops in the US. This is a serious matter!
I’m getting news items from all over the US. It seems that garden groups, and beekeeping groups, are urging home gardeners to keep a hive or two of bees. I’ll admit that the idea crosses my mind every once in while, but I really didn’t want more chores to do around here. As is, it’s a full time job taking care of the garden, house, cats and Husband . But now it might make sense for me to do so.
Sure, I have a swarm of honeybees that stay around my garden. They love the rosemary, especially, and were “on the job” with my blooming fruit trees. I’m not sure where they live, though…perhaps in a dead tree on the property. A friend suggested they might live in the walls of my house. Eeek. Of course, I’m really curious about where they are hiding the honey.
All I know is that the swarm has gotten larger over the last five years when they appeared here. I hope they stick around, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they do. Which means being extra careful in the garden. We never spray anything in or near our property, but I also want to make sure they have a good supply of blooming plants for them to forage on. That, and a good water supply.
I’m not suggesting everyone rush out and start a beehive, although, if you can, that would be great! But you can do other things….do not spray pesticides in your gardens, make sure there’s at least a small water source (see my previous article about the low cost birdbath), and plant things that bees love. They really love the rosemary, that would be a good start!
Until tomorrow,
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran all rights reserved to text and photos.
March 20, 2007
It seems that I was one of the first to report on the disappearing bees story, a few weeks ago. Since then, the story has blazed across the ‘net like wildfire, and many experts are getting worried that there might not be enough bees to pollinate all the food crops in the US. This is a serious matter!
I’m getting news items from all over the US. It seems that garden groups, and beekeeping groups, are urging home gardeners to keep a hive or two of bees. I’ll admit that the idea crosses my mind every once in while, but I really didn’t want more chores to do around here. As is, it’s a full time job taking care of the garden, house, cats and Husband . But now it might make sense for me to do so.
Sure, I have a swarm of honeybees that stay around my garden. They love the rosemary, especially, and were “on the job” with my blooming fruit trees. I’m not sure where they live, though…perhaps in a dead tree on the property. A friend suggested they might live in the walls of my house. Eeek. Of course, I’m really curious about where they are hiding the honey.
All I know is that the swarm has gotten larger over the last five years when they appeared here. I hope they stick around, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they do. Which means being extra careful in the garden. We never spray anything in or near our property, but I also want to make sure they have a good supply of blooming plants for them to forage on. That, and a good water supply.
I’m not suggesting everyone rush out and start a beehive, although, if you can, that would be great! But you can do other things….do not spray pesticides in your gardens, make sure there’s at least a small water source (see my previous article about the low cost birdbath), and plant things that bees love. They really love the rosemary, that would be a good start!
Until tomorrow,
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran all rights reserved to text and photos.
EarthBox–How to Grow your Own Herbs, Flowers or Vegetables without a Garden
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
I mentioned a while back that I had bought an EarthBox for my birthday. I finally got around to setting it up last weekend, and so far, I’m very happy with it. The EarthBox is an ingenious system that’s sort of a hybrid hydroponic/soil-based system, that allows you to grow flowers, herbs or vegetables anywhere. These are especially good for folks who don’t have a real garden….people who grow things on balconies, patios, decks, places where the soil is bad or non-existent, etc. It’s basically a large, self-watering container garden.
I got the terra cotta colored one (it also comes in dark green), and it fits in well with the other clay pots and objects in my garden. The idea behind the EarthBox is that you fill the bottom with water, insert a screen thing, then fill the rest with any potting soil. I used two bags of organic potting soil I found at the local garden center. You add a line of organic fertilizer (provided with the box) along the top of the box, put on a plastic “mulch” over the top, then cut holes in that and plant. The plastic fits over the top snugly like a shower cap, with elastic around the edges. The fertilizer will last all season; you don’t have to add more until after the harvest.
After a while, you do have to add water (through a convenient pipe that sticks out the top) but there’s an overflow hole so you never over-water. That’s always a problem with tomatoes. We had a hard, driving rainstorm, and the whole thing, including plastic mulch top, is still intact. I have mine sitting out in the front garden by the porch. It has casters on the bottom so you can roll it around easily. I wish I could put it up on the wooden porch, but that area just doesn’t get enough sun.
The two plants I put in the EarthBox last weekend already look better than the two I planted out into the garden several weeks ago.
It’s raining now, but eventually I’ll get some photos and include them here. I love experimenting with new garden “systems” and am curious to see how this works for us. The EarthBox website has more information, and a great forum there for folks who use these in all sorts of situations.
The only thing I didn’t like about the EarthBox was the fact that I had to stick my hands through the holes in the plastic mulch to plant the tomatoes. I would much rather plant, then add the mulch over the top, but I see why that wouldn’t work so well unless you were very careful. Also, I used large plants….using smaller seedlings is recommended, and would be much easier to deal with, too.
Some online users have expressed dismay at the customer service when ordering directly from the company. I bought my box at a local garden center, so that wasn’t a problem for me. I would suggest calling or e-mailing the company to make sure the boxes are in stock before ordering.
There are lots of links online to alternatives to the EarthBox. Just do a search for “self-watering containers” and you should find plenty of information and ideas.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
I mentioned a while back that I had bought an EarthBox for my birthday. I finally got around to setting it up last weekend, and so far, I’m very happy with it. The EarthBox is an ingenious system that’s sort of a hybrid hydroponic/soil-based system, that allows you to grow flowers, herbs or vegetables anywhere. These are especially good for folks who don’t have a real garden….people who grow things on balconies, patios, decks, places where the soil is bad or non-existent, etc. It’s basically a large, self-watering container garden.
I got the terra cotta colored one (it also comes in dark green), and it fits in well with the other clay pots and objects in my garden. The idea behind the EarthBox is that you fill the bottom with water, insert a screen thing, then fill the rest with any potting soil. I used two bags of organic potting soil I found at the local garden center. You add a line of organic fertilizer (provided with the box) along the top of the box, put on a plastic “mulch” over the top, then cut holes in that and plant. The plastic fits over the top snugly like a shower cap, with elastic around the edges. The fertilizer will last all season; you don’t have to add more until after the harvest.
After a while, you do have to add water (through a convenient pipe that sticks out the top) but there’s an overflow hole so you never over-water. That’s always a problem with tomatoes. We had a hard, driving rainstorm, and the whole thing, including plastic mulch top, is still intact. I have mine sitting out in the front garden by the porch. It has casters on the bottom so you can roll it around easily. I wish I could put it up on the wooden porch, but that area just doesn’t get enough sun.
The two plants I put in the EarthBox last weekend already look better than the two I planted out into the garden several weeks ago.
It’s raining now, but eventually I’ll get some photos and include them here. I love experimenting with new garden “systems” and am curious to see how this works for us. The EarthBox website has more information, and a great forum there for folks who use these in all sorts of situations.
The only thing I didn’t like about the EarthBox was the fact that I had to stick my hands through the holes in the plastic mulch to plant the tomatoes. I would much rather plant, then add the mulch over the top, but I see why that wouldn’t work so well unless you were very careful. Also, I used large plants….using smaller seedlings is recommended, and would be much easier to deal with, too.
Some online users have expressed dismay at the customer service when ordering directly from the company. I bought my box at a local garden center, so that wasn’t a problem for me. I would suggest calling or e-mailing the company to make sure the boxes are in stock before ordering.
There are lots of links online to alternatives to the EarthBox. Just do a search for “self-watering containers” and you should find plenty of information and ideas.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright © 2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Every third bite...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 22, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
Just ran across this quote about the disappearing bees in the My Dog’s Nose blog. Experts have a name for the disappearing bee thing now….Colony Collapse Disorder. The blog author has an opinion that the bees don’t like the genetically modified plants out there. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s not a correct assumption.
“Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. Every three bites….think about that for a minute.
Many people have written to me, saying that they’d keep bees if they weren’t allergic to them. This can be a problem for many folks. As far as I know, I’m not allergic to bee stings (although I am allergic to everything else in the world), and I will truthfully say that I work amongst them everyday in the garden and have never been stung. Honeybees are usually docile creatures, unless you happen to disturb their nest. One thing to remember, never swat at a bee!
This story is “burnin’ up the wires” so to speak, and it should. It’s an important issue for all of us.
We’re getting lots of nice, soft spring rains. We need it badly, although it’s too wet in the garden to plant much. I get around that by digging a hole, filling it with slightly moist potting soil, then smoothing that over. That way, the roots aren’t over-saturated. That’s one advantage of growing in raised beds; they drain fairly fast and are a bit drier than the surrounding soil.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
March 22, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
Just ran across this quote about the disappearing bees in the My Dog’s Nose blog. Experts have a name for the disappearing bee thing now….Colony Collapse Disorder. The blog author has an opinion that the bees don’t like the genetically modified plants out there. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s not a correct assumption.
“Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. Every three bites….think about that for a minute.
Many people have written to me, saying that they’d keep bees if they weren’t allergic to them. This can be a problem for many folks. As far as I know, I’m not allergic to bee stings (although I am allergic to everything else in the world), and I will truthfully say that I work amongst them everyday in the garden and have never been stung. Honeybees are usually docile creatures, unless you happen to disturb their nest. One thing to remember, never swat at a bee!
This story is “burnin’ up the wires” so to speak, and it should. It’s an important issue for all of us.
We’re getting lots of nice, soft spring rains. We need it badly, although it’s too wet in the garden to plant much. I get around that by digging a hole, filling it with slightly moist potting soil, then smoothing that over. That way, the roots aren’t over-saturated. That’s one advantage of growing in raised beds; they drain fairly fast and are a bit drier than the surrounding soil.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
The hummers are here!
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 23, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
I’m up early this morning for some reason. It’s still dark so I can’t look out the window to the garden.
I had a thrill yesterday when I was sitting here and heard a distinctive roaring sound go by my window. It was the first hummingbird of the season! That’s always exciting to us here. Like I’ve mentioned before, when we first moved into this house, there were almost no birds that came near the garden. After ten plus years, we’ve attracted numerous new species to the property by adding a water source, plants that birds love, shelter and food. Husband is the official Keeper of the Hummers here, and lovingly boils up a combo water and sugar for them and keep the feeders full and clean. Bacteria grows easily in sugar water, so it’s important to clean out the feeding tubes once a week or so. We don’t like to use the commercial foods out there, because many of them have harmful dyes. The water doesn’t need to be red as long as the feeder has some red on it. Believe me, the birdies will find it!
Thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of a tropical canna that I’m growing in pots here. This is from last year, and just last weekend I divided the bulbs and repotted them into several larger containers. These things multiply fast, and the bright colors also attract hummingbirds.
I also grow a lot of native salvias here, and the hummers love those, too. I have white, but mostly grow the reds and dark pinks. They also go for the rosemary when it blooms, which was a surprise to me. Since discovering that, I’ve planted lots more rosemary, which does well in our Mediterranean-like climate.
Other things that attract the hummingbirds is the red trim on our porch. LOL. Our birds are feisty, and have been known to buzz our heads if we are too late in the morning getting the food out. Although we can’t be for certain without tagging them (and neither of us wants to deal with that) I’m pretty sure that some of the same birds have come back over the last few years, and they bring their friends with them. Last year, we had at least four pair of them that nested here. It’ll be interesting to see how many show up this year.
Happy spring!
bobbi c.
All photos and text copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran
March 23, 2007
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
I’m up early this morning for some reason. It’s still dark so I can’t look out the window to the garden.
I had a thrill yesterday when I was sitting here and heard a distinctive roaring sound go by my window. It was the first hummingbird of the season! That’s always exciting to us here. Like I’ve mentioned before, when we first moved into this house, there were almost no birds that came near the garden. After ten plus years, we’ve attracted numerous new species to the property by adding a water source, plants that birds love, shelter and food. Husband is the official Keeper of the Hummers here, and lovingly boils up a combo water and sugar for them and keep the feeders full and clean. Bacteria grows easily in sugar water, so it’s important to clean out the feeding tubes once a week or so. We don’t like to use the commercial foods out there, because many of them have harmful dyes. The water doesn’t need to be red as long as the feeder has some red on it. Believe me, the birdies will find it!
Thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of a tropical canna that I’m growing in pots here. This is from last year, and just last weekend I divided the bulbs and repotted them into several larger containers. These things multiply fast, and the bright colors also attract hummingbirds.
I also grow a lot of native salvias here, and the hummers love those, too. I have white, but mostly grow the reds and dark pinks. They also go for the rosemary when it blooms, which was a surprise to me. Since discovering that, I’ve planted lots more rosemary, which does well in our Mediterranean-like climate.
Other things that attract the hummingbirds is the red trim on our porch. LOL. Our birds are feisty, and have been known to buzz our heads if we are too late in the morning getting the food out. Although we can’t be for certain without tagging them (and neither of us wants to deal with that) I’m pretty sure that some of the same birds have come back over the last few years, and they bring their friends with them. Last year, we had at least four pair of them that nested here. It’ll be interesting to see how many show up this year.
Happy spring!
bobbi c.
All photos and text copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran
Protecting your garden against critters...
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
I was annoyed and generally peeved yesterday morning when I walked through the garden and noticed one of my tomato plants was missing. After scouting around a bit, I found it, deader than a doornail, a few feet away from the root ball. We’ve had one pesky rock squirrel in and out lately, and I suspect him in the dastardly deed. The other plant was OK; it’s in another bed, and was surrounded by plastic milk jugs filled with water since I kept expecting a late freeze. The milk jugs help keep the plant warm.
We have an over seven foot high fence around the garden area to keep the deer out, but squirrels are like raccoons and rabbits; they can squeeze into tight spaces.
Husband got busy and filled in one teeny corner with hardware cloth. I hope this keeps the little Tree Rat out, but we’ll see. In the meantime, I’m trying to come up with some other sort of protection for the individual plants. I haven’t set out my Brandywines yet. I have LOTS of those.
If anybody has any ideas about how to keep squirrels away from individual plants, I’d love to know about it. My friend Wanda suggested using large cans, or PVC pipe around the plants. I think that would work for smaller plants, for a while. Ya know, we had tons of brown squirrels back in town when we lived there, and they NEVER bothered my garden. Pooh.
Here’s a photo of some blooming Mexican Sage and some caladiums in a pot I grew last spring. I LOVE caladiums! They remind me of batiks.
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
I was annoyed and generally peeved yesterday morning when I walked through the garden and noticed one of my tomato plants was missing. After scouting around a bit, I found it, deader than a doornail, a few feet away from the root ball. We’ve had one pesky rock squirrel in and out lately, and I suspect him in the dastardly deed. The other plant was OK; it’s in another bed, and was surrounded by plastic milk jugs filled with water since I kept expecting a late freeze. The milk jugs help keep the plant warm.
We have an over seven foot high fence around the garden area to keep the deer out, but squirrels are like raccoons and rabbits; they can squeeze into tight spaces.
Husband got busy and filled in one teeny corner with hardware cloth. I hope this keeps the little Tree Rat out, but we’ll see. In the meantime, I’m trying to come up with some other sort of protection for the individual plants. I haven’t set out my Brandywines yet. I have LOTS of those.
If anybody has any ideas about how to keep squirrels away from individual plants, I’d love to know about it. My friend Wanda suggested using large cans, or PVC pipe around the plants. I think that would work for smaller plants, for a while. Ya know, we had tons of brown squirrels back in town when we lived there, and they NEVER bothered my garden. Pooh.
Here’s a photo of some blooming Mexican Sage and some caladiums in a pot I grew last spring. I LOVE caladiums! They remind me of batiks.
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Husband's Homemade Hummingbird Food
The Earthly Garden by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 27, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about hummingbirds, and just dug up this great link with lots of information about them on the Bird Watchers Digest website. Great site, BTW!
I also got questions about Husband’s Homemade Hummer Food, so he shared his (very easy) recipe with ya’ll:
Boil a quart of water and mix in one cup sugar, stir until dissolved. Let cool until you can put your finger in it. Pour this into feeders, hang the feeders in a protected spot away from pets, and stand back! Our feeders each hold one quart, but we only fill them halfway each time. We change them twice a week or refill sooner if needed, and it’s important to keep mold and other gunk like that from growing in the sugar water. Every week or so in the high hummer summer season, we clean the feeders using just a few drops of vinegar in a lot of water, scrubbing with a brush if necessary. Then rinse very well.
We don’t use red dye in our food; it’s just not necessary, and I’d hate to harm the birds. Most feeders either have red tips on the ends of the tubes, or red disks at the bottom, and these are sufficient to attract the birds.
Growing lots of red flowers and vines and things that have red blooms will also help you attract hummingbirds. And then there’s the blooming rosemary bush, which they love!
Until next time, go attract some hummers to your garden, and
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
March 27, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about hummingbirds, and just dug up this great link with lots of information about them on the Bird Watchers Digest website. Great site, BTW!
I also got questions about Husband’s Homemade Hummer Food, so he shared his (very easy) recipe with ya’ll:
Boil a quart of water and mix in one cup sugar, stir until dissolved. Let cool until you can put your finger in it. Pour this into feeders, hang the feeders in a protected spot away from pets, and stand back! Our feeders each hold one quart, but we only fill them halfway each time. We change them twice a week or refill sooner if needed, and it’s important to keep mold and other gunk like that from growing in the sugar water. Every week or so in the high hummer summer season, we clean the feeders using just a few drops of vinegar in a lot of water, scrubbing with a brush if necessary. Then rinse very well.
We don’t use red dye in our food; it’s just not necessary, and I’d hate to harm the birds. Most feeders either have red tips on the ends of the tubes, or red disks at the bottom, and these are sufficient to attract the birds.
Growing lots of red flowers and vines and things that have red blooms will also help you attract hummingbirds. And then there’s the blooming rosemary bush, which they love!
Until next time, go attract some hummers to your garden, and
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
How does your garden inspire you?
The Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 28, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
The theme today is “garden as inspiration.” How does your garden inspire you? While flipping through some photos we took last year in my garden, I ran across this arty shot of my sundial. It sits on an old dead cedar stump and is one of the first things you see when you walk into my front garden gate.
Of course, being silly, I want to plant “thyme” underneath it, or perhaps “four-o-clock” flowers. It could be the beginning of a whole theme garden based on the word “time”.
I love garden ornaments, and have several. Birdbaths, sundials, little gargoyle guys, even a few gnomes, a “Welcome to my Garden” sign that a neighbor/friend gave me, and a great aged-looking cement rabbit with really long ears. Plants are definitely the reason for the garden, but the ornaments add to its inspiration.
How does your garden inspire you? Come on, I wanna know!
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
March 28, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
The theme today is “garden as inspiration.” How does your garden inspire you? While flipping through some photos we took last year in my garden, I ran across this arty shot of my sundial. It sits on an old dead cedar stump and is one of the first things you see when you walk into my front garden gate.
Of course, being silly, I want to plant “thyme” underneath it, or perhaps “four-o-clock” flowers. It could be the beginning of a whole theme garden based on the word “time”.
I love garden ornaments, and have several. Birdbaths, sundials, little gargoyle guys, even a few gnomes, a “Welcome to my Garden” sign that a neighbor/friend gave me, and a great aged-looking cement rabbit with really long ears. Plants are definitely the reason for the garden, but the ornaments add to its inspiration.
How does your garden inspire you? Come on, I wanna know!
dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Antique roses for the soul....
Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
Dear earthly gardeners,
I love antique roses! If you thought you couldn’t grow roses, try some antiques. Also know as heirloom roses, they are low-maintenance, gorgeous plants that actually smell like roses are supposed to smell! I have nine antique rose bushes growing in my small garden, and each one is different. Unlike hybrid roses, heirlooms require no pesticides, strong fertilizers, or a rigid training/pruning schedule. I cut mine back when they get too large and that’s about it. I bought all of our roses at the wonderful Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX, but they also do mail-order. Here’s a photo of some of them, just opened.
Yesterday I noticed that another of my favs, Mutabilis, has started blooming profusely all of a sudden. The roses on this large bush look like little butterflies, and each one changes color as they open! You can see a great photo of a Mutabilis rose HERE. Mine is actually taller than the six-feet mentioned on there, and covers part of the front fence. Here's a photo!
Check out the information on the Antique Rose Emporium website…..lots of great color photos, inspiration, and you can order from there, too. And if you’re in the area, visit their gorgeous display gardens and take a picnic and a camera! You’ll find acres of blooming roses, antique buildings and other native and heirloom plants for your “inspirational” garden. And please, tell ‘em I sent ya!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to text and photos.
Dear earthly gardeners,
I love antique roses! If you thought you couldn’t grow roses, try some antiques. Also know as heirloom roses, they are low-maintenance, gorgeous plants that actually smell like roses are supposed to smell! I have nine antique rose bushes growing in my small garden, and each one is different. Unlike hybrid roses, heirlooms require no pesticides, strong fertilizers, or a rigid training/pruning schedule. I cut mine back when they get too large and that’s about it. I bought all of our roses at the wonderful Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX, but they also do mail-order. Here’s a photo of some of them, just opened.
Yesterday I noticed that another of my favs, Mutabilis, has started blooming profusely all of a sudden. The roses on this large bush look like little butterflies, and each one changes color as they open! You can see a great photo of a Mutabilis rose HERE. Mine is actually taller than the six-feet mentioned on there, and covers part of the front fence. Here's a photo!
Check out the information on the Antique Rose Emporium website…..lots of great color photos, inspiration, and you can order from there, too. And if you’re in the area, visit their gorgeous display gardens and take a picnic and a camera! You’ll find acres of blooming roses, antique buildings and other native and heirloom plants for your “inspirational” garden. And please, tell ‘em I sent ya!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to text and photos.
Starting a spring garden...
Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
March 30,2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
I thought I’d share a photo of my little Mexican lime tree with you.
A friend says it’s the same as the “key lime.” Last year it bloomed off and on all spring and summer, and actually made a handful of fruit. What fun! It sits on a semi-shaded porch, and was doing great until we got a lot of ice last winter. I thought it was dead, but it’s not–it’s coming back! I’m always amazed at the rejuvenation power of plants.
It’s been raining profusely here off and on for the past week or so, and the garden is waterlogged. I’m really anxious to get these seedlings out of the office and into the ground. They aren’t quite ready, but I figure IF the sun comes out, they’ll catch up eventually. That’s the hope, anyway.
I hope some of you others are closer to spring. I haven’t heard the weather reports from other parts of the country in a few days, but I expect some of you are still chillin’. Now is the time to pore over those garden seed catalogs (if you still do the paper thang) or sit and browse through all the online garden seed suppliers.
If you haven’t started seedlings yet, there’s still time. My new idea is to set out a few at a time, spaced a few days apart. I don’t really have room for all these seedlings, so some will have to go into containers. Speaking of containers, the tomatoes in the EarthBox are doing fabulously, as are the two remaining tomato plants out in the raised beds.
Next week, I’ll talk about using raised beds in your garden, and tell you how you can build an easy, fast, almost instant garden anywhere! Really! So until then, do a Google for “small raised bed gardens” and get some ideas. And have a good weekend…
Until then, dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.
March 30,2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
I thought I’d share a photo of my little Mexican lime tree with you.
A friend says it’s the same as the “key lime.” Last year it bloomed off and on all spring and summer, and actually made a handful of fruit. What fun! It sits on a semi-shaded porch, and was doing great until we got a lot of ice last winter. I thought it was dead, but it’s not–it’s coming back! I’m always amazed at the rejuvenation power of plants.
It’s been raining profusely here off and on for the past week or so, and the garden is waterlogged. I’m really anxious to get these seedlings out of the office and into the ground. They aren’t quite ready, but I figure IF the sun comes out, they’ll catch up eventually. That’s the hope, anyway.
I hope some of you others are closer to spring. I haven’t heard the weather reports from other parts of the country in a few days, but I expect some of you are still chillin’. Now is the time to pore over those garden seed catalogs (if you still do the paper thang) or sit and browse through all the online garden seed suppliers.
If you haven’t started seedlings yet, there’s still time. My new idea is to set out a few at a time, spaced a few days apart. I don’t really have room for all these seedlings, so some will have to go into containers. Speaking of containers, the tomatoes in the EarthBox are doing fabulously, as are the two remaining tomato plants out in the raised beds.
Next week, I’ll talk about using raised beds in your garden, and tell you how you can build an easy, fast, almost instant garden anywhere! Really! So until then, do a Google for “small raised bed gardens” and get some ideas. And have a good weekend…
Until then, dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.
Tiny Residents in the Garden
Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
April 2, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
This morning I’m musing on the small residents of the garden…the spiders, the arthropods, the ants, the crickets, the grubs, the worms…it goes on and on.
I recently caught this little fellow on one of my antique roses. His body was almost transparent, and he was very hard to photograph. I can’t even remember what type of
Next time you’re out in your garden, or tending your container plants, look for the tiny residents there. And please, don’t do anything to harm them (unless they are really bad bugs, of course…LOL).
Until tomorrow, dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
April 2, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
This morning I’m musing on the small residents of the garden…the spiders, the arthropods, the ants, the crickets, the grubs, the worms…it goes on and on.
I recently caught this little fellow on one of my antique roses. His body was almost transparent, and he was very hard to photograph. I can’t even remember what type of
Next time you’re out in your garden, or tending your container plants, look for the tiny residents there. And please, don’t do anything to harm them (unless they are really bad bugs, of course…LOL).
Until tomorrow, dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
More on the disappearing bees...
Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran
April 3, 2007
I’ve been watching the disappearing bee story carefully. Seems that reports are coming in that colonies of *organic* bees are not being affected as much as the non-organic hives. Huh. Can we say “I’m not surprised”? Anyway, I just ran across this story written by Dan Sorenson in the Arizona Daily Star. It seems that Dee Lusby, the owner of Lusby Apiaries, has 900 hives of “free range” organic bees. She’s only lost several hives since this whole mess started. Fascinating story! (BTW, it seems that the Africanized “killer bees” are also immune to whatever’s bothering the domestic hives.)
The experts now are agreeing that it might be a number of factors causing the disappearance….pesticides, lack of organic (as in, non-genetically modified) crops and plants, or perhaps some mite that has spread among susceptible bee populations.
It never occurred to me that my bees—actually, they aren’t MY bees, but I like to call them that–are a free-range organic hive. That has a nice ring to it! They’ve been BEEzy (groan) this week with the native yaupon holly, which is starting to bloom.
In other news, I’ve been working on a short piece about how you can build your own easy, inexpensive raised bed garden using plain old cement blocks you can buy at any home center, garden center or hardware store, and I hope to run that tomorrow with photos of some of mine.
Until then, dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.
April 3, 2007
I’ve been watching the disappearing bee story carefully. Seems that reports are coming in that colonies of *organic* bees are not being affected as much as the non-organic hives. Huh. Can we say “I’m not surprised”? Anyway, I just ran across this story written by Dan Sorenson in the Arizona Daily Star. It seems that Dee Lusby, the owner of Lusby Apiaries, has 900 hives of “free range” organic bees. She’s only lost several hives since this whole mess started. Fascinating story! (BTW, it seems that the Africanized “killer bees” are also immune to whatever’s bothering the domestic hives.)
The experts now are agreeing that it might be a number of factors causing the disappearance….pesticides, lack of organic (as in, non-genetically modified) crops and plants, or perhaps some mite that has spread among susceptible bee populations.
It never occurred to me that my bees—actually, they aren’t MY bees, but I like to call them that–are a free-range organic hive. That has a nice ring to it! They’ve been BEEzy (groan) this week with the native yaupon holly, which is starting to bloom.
In other news, I’ve been working on a short piece about how you can build your own easy, inexpensive raised bed garden using plain old cement blocks you can buy at any home center, garden center or hardware store, and I hope to run that tomorrow with photos of some of mine.
Until then, dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.
Raised bed gardens--easy, fast and inexpensive
april 4, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ Earthly Gardeners!
As promised, today I wanted to give you a few ideas for some small raised bed gardens you can make in your own backyard, front yard or small piece of land. One uses common cement blocks you can find at stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot or a masonry supplier. They usually cost less than $1.25 each, last time I checked. The blocks are around 12″ each, so it’s easy to decide how many to buy.
Here’s a photo of my largest cement block garden.
And here’s another view, at the corner.
To make the bed, all I did was find a relatively flat spot in our front yard, stacked the cement blocks end to end until the bed was as long as I wanted it, filled it with a mixture of homemade compost, store bought compost, topsoil and bagged dirt and sand. I mixed it with a hoe, and raked the top smooth. Then I planted! It really was as easy as that. We didn’t have a lawn there, so it was a bit easier. But if you do have lawn, cut it as low as possible, try to dig out the grass, cover the grass with a thick layer of newspapers, then put down the cement blocks and fill with soil.
I told you it was easy! I eventually painted my bed to match the garage that you can see in the background of the corner photo. I used a very watered-down latex paint, leftover from painting the house. It’s been painted for years now, and still looks as good as in the beginning.
One thing I learned is that most smaller plants and vegetables don’t have to be planted in two feet of soil. Over the years, the organic matter has changed the consistency of the soil in these beds, and it’s deeper. But the height of the blocks is sufficient for most things you’d want to grow. I actually have a small fig tree at the end of the bed, and it’s doing fine.
Also, we have a series of cedar board beds, at the other end of the front garden. Here’s a photo of those:
Those are a bit more difficult to make, but basically I used 2″ x 12″ untreated cedar boards and screwed them together using butt joints at the corners. It wasn’t hard, but was unwieldy since I didn’t have a workshop set up at the time. I basically assembled them in the garden. Each of those are about 4-feet square and I grow all sorts of things in them: rosemary (seen at the left), lavender and native salvias (at the right in the front), garlic, potatoes, and even a few small crepe myrtle trees for shade in the middle of several of them. Since potatoes require deeper soil, I made a little division in the middle bed at the right side for them using two scraps of pine boards. As the plants grow, I’ll put in more soil in that area.
Neither of these beds take up much room. The cedar beds are in an area that’s smaller than a normal sized backyard. They could also be painted or “colorwashed” to match a fence, or whatever. I just wouldn’t paint on the inside of the boards.
And speaking of small container gardens, here’s a photo of my tomatoes I planted some time back in my new EarthBox. I spied a baby tomato on one of them yesterday! How exciting!
The weather guys are calling for colder temps this weekend. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a “late” freeze this time of year. It’s already down in the 60’s (it was 86 yesterday!) so I’m keeping a close eye on the plants! That’s the beauty of the EarthBox, you can wheel it inside the garage, or to a sheltered location, if the weather threatens.
dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright©2007 bobbi a. chukran. All rights to text and photos reserved.
Mornin’ Earthly Gardeners!
As promised, today I wanted to give you a few ideas for some small raised bed gardens you can make in your own backyard, front yard or small piece of land. One uses common cement blocks you can find at stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot or a masonry supplier. They usually cost less than $1.25 each, last time I checked. The blocks are around 12″ each, so it’s easy to decide how many to buy.
Here’s a photo of my largest cement block garden.
And here’s another view, at the corner.
To make the bed, all I did was find a relatively flat spot in our front yard, stacked the cement blocks end to end until the bed was as long as I wanted it, filled it with a mixture of homemade compost, store bought compost, topsoil and bagged dirt and sand. I mixed it with a hoe, and raked the top smooth. Then I planted! It really was as easy as that. We didn’t have a lawn there, so it was a bit easier. But if you do have lawn, cut it as low as possible, try to dig out the grass, cover the grass with a thick layer of newspapers, then put down the cement blocks and fill with soil.
I told you it was easy! I eventually painted my bed to match the garage that you can see in the background of the corner photo. I used a very watered-down latex paint, leftover from painting the house. It’s been painted for years now, and still looks as good as in the beginning.
One thing I learned is that most smaller plants and vegetables don’t have to be planted in two feet of soil. Over the years, the organic matter has changed the consistency of the soil in these beds, and it’s deeper. But the height of the blocks is sufficient for most things you’d want to grow. I actually have a small fig tree at the end of the bed, and it’s doing fine.
Also, we have a series of cedar board beds, at the other end of the front garden. Here’s a photo of those:
Those are a bit more difficult to make, but basically I used 2″ x 12″ untreated cedar boards and screwed them together using butt joints at the corners. It wasn’t hard, but was unwieldy since I didn’t have a workshop set up at the time. I basically assembled them in the garden. Each of those are about 4-feet square and I grow all sorts of things in them: rosemary (seen at the left), lavender and native salvias (at the right in the front), garlic, potatoes, and even a few small crepe myrtle trees for shade in the middle of several of them. Since potatoes require deeper soil, I made a little division in the middle bed at the right side for them using two scraps of pine boards. As the plants grow, I’ll put in more soil in that area.
Neither of these beds take up much room. The cedar beds are in an area that’s smaller than a normal sized backyard. They could also be painted or “colorwashed” to match a fence, or whatever. I just wouldn’t paint on the inside of the boards.
And speaking of small container gardens, here’s a photo of my tomatoes I planted some time back in my new EarthBox. I spied a baby tomato on one of them yesterday! How exciting!
The weather guys are calling for colder temps this weekend. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a “late” freeze this time of year. It’s already down in the 60’s (it was 86 yesterday!) so I’m keeping a close eye on the plants! That’s the beauty of the EarthBox, you can wheel it inside the garage, or to a sheltered location, if the weather threatens.
dig it!
bobbi c.
copyright©2007 bobbi a. chukran. All rights to text and photos reserved.
The "Mutabilis" Antique Rose
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
Back in a previous entry I mentioned my “Mutabilis” antique rose bush. The roses on it gradually change color as they open, and look like a flock of butterflies. I finally got a photo, and thought I’d share it with you.
Hope this inspires you to try an antique rose bush of your own!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights reserved to photos and text.
Back in a previous entry I mentioned my “Mutabilis” antique rose bush. The roses on it gradually change color as they open, and look like a flock of butterflies. I finally got a photo, and thought I’d share it with you.
Hope this inspires you to try an antique rose bush of your own!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights reserved to photos and text.
Irises at Easter!
April 6, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
Thought I’d post a photo of some of the new irises blooming now. We’re supposed to get some colder weather (as in the 30’s) this weekend, but for now the garden is thinking “SPRING is here!”
To me, irises are one of those “must have” flowers. After all, you plant them once and can leave them for years with no maintenance. And they take up very little room. I think for me they evoke memories of long-ago gardens like no other flower!
All of the grocery stores and garden centers around here are filled with pots of blooming bulbs and flowers and fragrant lilies. If you don’t have flowers blooming in your gardens, why not BUY a pot and give yourself a little early breath of spring? (And grab a bag of bulbs while you’re at it and grow your own for next year!)
Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to text and photos reserved.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
Thought I’d post a photo of some of the new irises blooming now. We’re supposed to get some colder weather (as in the 30’s) this weekend, but for now the garden is thinking “SPRING is here!”
To me, irises are one of those “must have” flowers. After all, you plant them once and can leave them for years with no maintenance. And they take up very little room. I think for me they evoke memories of long-ago gardens like no other flower!
All of the grocery stores and garden centers around here are filled with pots of blooming bulbs and flowers and fragrant lilies. If you don’t have flowers blooming in your gardens, why not BUY a pot and give yourself a little early breath of spring? (And grab a bag of bulbs while you’re at it and grow your own for next year!)
Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to text and photos reserved.
Freezing on Easter
Posted April 9, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
I have to tell ya, I’m not in the mood for talking about fresh tomatoes right now….it’s been freezing here! We had a freakish late freeze on Saturday night, and at the last minute we were scurrying around covering plants, hauling the EarthBox into the garage, turning off the water in the garden hoses, checking the pump house, etc. etc. It was supposed to get up to the 50’s yesterday, but it didn’t. We got some sleet Saturday morning, and friends just north of us got up to three inches of snow. People who don’t believe that our climate is changing need to get a clue…..80-degrees in December and freezing on Easter eve….NOT normal. I’m worried about the hummingbirds since I haven’t seen any out today.
To cheer us up a bit, I dug around in the files and found a photo of one of my antique roses blooming in April of last year. Several people have expressed an interest in growing heirlooms, but wanted roses that they could cut. This particular one grows on a long sturdy stem, and makes a wonderful cut flower.
My other bushes are blooming now, too, and have been for about a month. I hope this one short freeze doesn’t do them in!
Keep warm, and dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
I have to tell ya, I’m not in the mood for talking about fresh tomatoes right now….it’s been freezing here! We had a freakish late freeze on Saturday night, and at the last minute we were scurrying around covering plants, hauling the EarthBox into the garage, turning off the water in the garden hoses, checking the pump house, etc. etc. It was supposed to get up to the 50’s yesterday, but it didn’t. We got some sleet Saturday morning, and friends just north of us got up to three inches of snow. People who don’t believe that our climate is changing need to get a clue…..80-degrees in December and freezing on Easter eve….NOT normal. I’m worried about the hummingbirds since I haven’t seen any out today.
To cheer us up a bit, I dug around in the files and found a photo of one of my antique roses blooming in April of last year. Several people have expressed an interest in growing heirlooms, but wanted roses that they could cut. This particular one grows on a long sturdy stem, and makes a wonderful cut flower.
My other bushes are blooming now, too, and have been for about a month. I hope this one short freeze doesn’t do them in!
Keep warm, and dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
Need help with your garden?
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Scanning the news items online, I ran across this cool story about a company in Seattle, WA that helps people put in small urban gardens. There are many such companies around the country that will come to your house, talk to you about what you want and help you get a small garden started. Out with the lawn, in with edibles...I agree!
Here’s a link to the story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
I love the fact that they are putting some of these gardens in the FRONT yard! It’s time to reclaim all those boring, water-guzzling lawns and turn them into flowers and veggies! Nobody really needs a lawn; we don’t have a lawn, and we do just fine!
Spring is just around the corner!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
Scanning the news items online, I ran across this cool story about a company in Seattle, WA that helps people put in small urban gardens. There are many such companies around the country that will come to your house, talk to you about what you want and help you get a small garden started. Out with the lawn, in with edibles...I agree!
Here’s a link to the story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
I love the fact that they are putting some of these gardens in the FRONT yard! It’s time to reclaim all those boring, water-guzzling lawns and turn them into flowers and veggies! Nobody really needs a lawn; we don’t have a lawn, and we do just fine!
Spring is just around the corner!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.
Gargoyles in the Garden
april 11, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
New visitors to my garden always comment on my small and growing collection of garden ornaments. There really isn’t a theme, although I do tend to go for the quirky.
This little gargoyle fellow called out to me from the shelves of a craft store. I didn’t think it would last long in the garden, but I’ve had it for years now. It’s made of resin and fiberglass. I like placing the ornaments in pots with plants, in the middle of garden beds, etc.
He’s sitting in a pot of oxalis, which I planted ten years ago when we first moved in. Oxalis comes as small bulbs, and it multiplies nicely over the years. I have it all over the garden now, in pots, in beds, along edges. It stays green much of the year, and blooms off and on throughout the year, too. It’s just one of those small pleasures that make my garden so special to me.
Other garden ornaments include the birdbaths, a wonderful sundial, a long-eared rabbit, a “Welcome to my Garden” sign that my neighbor gave me, and several bizarre garden gnomes, which you will meet later. Gnomes are camera shy, you know.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved by the author.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
New visitors to my garden always comment on my small and growing collection of garden ornaments. There really isn’t a theme, although I do tend to go for the quirky.
This little gargoyle fellow called out to me from the shelves of a craft store. I didn’t think it would last long in the garden, but I’ve had it for years now. It’s made of resin and fiberglass. I like placing the ornaments in pots with plants, in the middle of garden beds, etc.
He’s sitting in a pot of oxalis, which I planted ten years ago when we first moved in. Oxalis comes as small bulbs, and it multiplies nicely over the years. I have it all over the garden now, in pots, in beds, along edges. It stays green much of the year, and blooms off and on throughout the year, too. It’s just one of those small pleasures that make my garden so special to me.
Other garden ornaments include the birdbaths, a wonderful sundial, a long-eared rabbit, a “Welcome to my Garden” sign that my neighbor gave me, and several bizarre garden gnomes, which you will meet later. Gnomes are camera shy, you know.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved by the author.
Check out this small garden...only 1/3 acre!
Mornin' earthly gardeners!
You have GOT to check out this garden. Actually, it’s really a mini-homestead on only 1/3 acre. You won’t believe how much food they grow on this tiny plot of land.
http://www.pathtofreedom.com
And they have bees, too! Read about them here.
Be inspired, I was!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
All rights reserved to text and photos.
You have GOT to check out this garden. Actually, it’s really a mini-homestead on only 1/3 acre. You won’t believe how much food they grow on this tiny plot of land.
http://www.pathtofreedom.com
And they have bees, too! Read about them here.
Be inspired, I was!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
All rights reserved to text and photos.
Growing veggies in pots and containers
Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
Yesterday, a reader asked me if I had any suggestions for growing veggies in pots. As a matter of fact, I just got a new packet of lettuce seeds that are great for growing in pots and small containers. Specifically, the seeds are for Garden Babies Butterhead Container Lettuce, and are available from Renee’s Garden seeds. The Baby Butterhead lettuces are a new variety, originally developed for the Japanese luxury salad market, where flavor and quality are very important.
Here’s a specific link to more info. about the lettuce.
I potted up some seed into small peat pots, and they sprouted within a week. Once they get larger, I’ll put them outside in a semi-shady spot in a small pot. They don’t get huge, and supposedly are bolt resistant, which means they can take a little heat, unlike a lot of other lettuces.
Other than these specific lettuces, there are lots of veggies you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, bush cucumbers, miniature eggplants, etc. Most large seed catalogs have a section specifically for the smaller plants. Just remember, if they’re in pots, they’ll dry out faster. You might want to put one pot inside another, that will help with the watering because the inner pot won’t get so hot. Water them daily, keep an eye on them for insects, feed them with a good organic fertilizer such as liquid seaweed (my fav) or fish emulsion, and harvest when the veggies are young and small.
Enjoy, and dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and images here (other than photos provided by others) is Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Yesterday, a reader asked me if I had any suggestions for growing veggies in pots. As a matter of fact, I just got a new packet of lettuce seeds that are great for growing in pots and small containers. Specifically, the seeds are for Garden Babies Butterhead Container Lettuce, and are available from Renee’s Garden seeds. The Baby Butterhead lettuces are a new variety, originally developed for the Japanese luxury salad market, where flavor and quality are very important.
Here’s a specific link to more info. about the lettuce.
I potted up some seed into small peat pots, and they sprouted within a week. Once they get larger, I’ll put them outside in a semi-shady spot in a small pot. They don’t get huge, and supposedly are bolt resistant, which means they can take a little heat, unlike a lot of other lettuces.
Other than these specific lettuces, there are lots of veggies you can grow in containers. Cherry tomatoes, bush beans, bush cucumbers, miniature eggplants, etc. Most large seed catalogs have a section specifically for the smaller plants. Just remember, if they’re in pots, they’ll dry out faster. You might want to put one pot inside another, that will help with the watering because the inner pot won’t get so hot. Water them daily, keep an eye on them for insects, feed them with a good organic fertilizer such as liquid seaweed (my fav) or fish emulsion, and harvest when the veggies are young and small.
Enjoy, and dig it!
bobbi c.
All text and images here (other than photos provided by others) is Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.
Rainy days and Fridays...
april 13, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
It’s raining again here today. The tomato plants are sitting here in the office, under lights, and they really really need to go outside. They are about two feet tall, sitting in little paper cups. I thought I’d be able to set them out before now, but that last freeze we had prevented that.
I did transplant a few of the baby lettuces I wrote about in a previous post (HERE) outside in a large pot, but I expect that marauding squirrel that’s been visiting the garden will have salad for lunch.
I have a sinus headache, and plan to spend the rest of the day reading, and writing non-blog projects. It seems that Hanna over on This Garden is Illegal likes to read Terry Pratchett when it’s raining too hard to garden. Good choice. I have a new book of mystery stories involving cats (what else?) and plan to read a few of those.
I had a friend in town once who believed that the best time to plant stuff was while it was raining, as long as lightning wasn’t an issue. It makes sense; the plants won’t get stressed out by too much sun, and the soil will stay moist for a while.
Still, I’d rather sit inside and read, and gaze at the garden through the window.
Have a good (gardening) weekend!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. All rights to photos and text is reserved.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
It’s raining again here today. The tomato plants are sitting here in the office, under lights, and they really really need to go outside. They are about two feet tall, sitting in little paper cups. I thought I’d be able to set them out before now, but that last freeze we had prevented that.
I did transplant a few of the baby lettuces I wrote about in a previous post (HERE) outside in a large pot, but I expect that marauding squirrel that’s been visiting the garden will have salad for lunch.
I have a sinus headache, and plan to spend the rest of the day reading, and writing non-blog projects. It seems that Hanna over on This Garden is Illegal likes to read Terry Pratchett when it’s raining too hard to garden. Good choice. I have a new book of mystery stories involving cats (what else?) and plan to read a few of those.
I had a friend in town once who believed that the best time to plant stuff was while it was raining, as long as lightning wasn’t an issue. It makes sense; the plants won’t get stressed out by too much sun, and the soil will stay moist for a while.
Still, I’d rather sit inside and read, and gaze at the garden through the window.
Have a good (gardening) weekend!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by bobbi a. chukran. All rights to photos and text is reserved.
Video on How to Plant in Containers
april 16, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Saturday was cold and windy, so I had a chance to poke around online. I found this nice introductory video about planting in containers. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, right? Well, I say a video’s worth a million words!
Here’s the direct link to the video. CLICK HERE. It’s short and loads fast and has links to several other related videos.
I like planting in containers because I can be creative with my garden. You don’t have to use the same ol’ same ol’ terra cotta pots. Here’s an old iron cauldron that we bought from a roadside junk dealer. I’ve planted catnip, elephant’s ears and a variety of small bulbs in it. It sits right by the front porch and is green year round! And I can add a few annuals around the rim if I want, for more color.
I’m feeling a trip to the garden center coming on. How about you?
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Saturday was cold and windy, so I had a chance to poke around online. I found this nice introductory video about planting in containers. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, right? Well, I say a video’s worth a million words!
Here’s the direct link to the video. CLICK HERE. It’s short and loads fast and has links to several other related videos.
I like planting in containers because I can be creative with my garden. You don’t have to use the same ol’ same ol’ terra cotta pots. Here’s an old iron cauldron that we bought from a roadside junk dealer. I’ve planted catnip, elephant’s ears and a variety of small bulbs in it. It sits right by the front porch and is green year round! And I can add a few annuals around the rim if I want, for more color.
I’m feeling a trip to the garden center coming on. How about you?
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Bloomin' roses!
april 17, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
All of a sudden, every rosebush in my garden is blooming! I still have to get some overall view photos, but I don’t think we’ve ever had this many blooming at one time. The bees are still here working on the blooming yaupon holly tree, and I’ve also seen some hummingbird moths flitting about.
I thought I’d share this one photo with you this morning before I have to go visit the dentist. Blech.
More photos later this week!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to photos and text.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
All of a sudden, every rosebush in my garden is blooming! I still have to get some overall view photos, but I don’t think we’ve ever had this many blooming at one time. The bees are still here working on the blooming yaupon holly tree, and I’ve also seen some hummingbird moths flitting about.
I thought I’d share this one photo with you this morning before I have to go visit the dentist. Blech.
More photos later this week!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to photos and text.
Let us eat lettuce!
April 18, 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Just got this link to a great article from Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden Seeds. It’s all about lettuce…how to plant, different varieties, etc. Lettuce can be planted in pots, too.
More on the disappearing bees…..Scientists in Germany have a theory that the bee problem is being caused by mobile phones! They think that the radiation from handsets is disrupting the bee’s navigation systems. I am NOT making this up! Here’s a LINK to a story in the Independent, a UK based online news source.
It seems that Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t just a problem in the US anymore!
Scary stuff…
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Just got this link to a great article from Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee’s Garden Seeds. It’s all about lettuce…how to plant, different varieties, etc. Lettuce can be planted in pots, too.
More on the disappearing bees…..Scientists in Germany have a theory that the bee problem is being caused by mobile phones! They think that the radiation from handsets is disrupting the bee’s navigation systems. I am NOT making this up! Here’s a LINK to a story in the Independent, a UK based online news source.
It seems that Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t just a problem in the US anymore!
Scary stuff…
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Injuries and gardening
April 19, 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
I’ve had some major arm and shoulder pain, and finally went to the doc yesterday. Seems I have either a torn or a sprained rotator cuff in my right shoulder, AND tendinitis. Ay yi yi. Of course, the doctor was full of advice….take pain relievers, get some physical therapy, quit key whacking (yeah, right) and don’t do any heavy lifting, rock flinging, or digging. Uh huh. You can imagine what I thought. I just nodded my head and came home, took the pills and made the PT appointment. We’ll see about the other stuff. I do plan to look into some different tools to make things a bit easier.
Spring is definitely here, although the nights have been nippy. The veggies are not happy, and planting has been delayed because of all the rain. We LIKE rain, but it does cause problems at times. Here, we need to get an early start on the garden, because by early July a lot of the plants will wither away and die from the heat. This year I have to think about erecting some shade in the garden to help with that. I did plant several small crape myrtle trees (minis) in the middle of my raised beds. Every little bit of shade will help and the watermelon pink color attracts hummingbirds.
I recently ran across the website for The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. Their site is gorgeous, and has quite a nice “virtual tour” of their gardens. Take a break, take a look, be inspired.
dig it!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
I’ve had some major arm and shoulder pain, and finally went to the doc yesterday. Seems I have either a torn or a sprained rotator cuff in my right shoulder, AND tendinitis. Ay yi yi. Of course, the doctor was full of advice….take pain relievers, get some physical therapy, quit key whacking (yeah, right) and don’t do any heavy lifting, rock flinging, or digging. Uh huh. You can imagine what I thought. I just nodded my head and came home, took the pills and made the PT appointment. We’ll see about the other stuff. I do plan to look into some different tools to make things a bit easier.
Spring is definitely here, although the nights have been nippy. The veggies are not happy, and planting has been delayed because of all the rain. We LIKE rain, but it does cause problems at times. Here, we need to get an early start on the garden, because by early July a lot of the plants will wither away and die from the heat. This year I have to think about erecting some shade in the garden to help with that. I did plant several small crape myrtle trees (minis) in the middle of my raised beds. Every little bit of shade will help and the watermelon pink color attracts hummingbirds.
I recently ran across the website for The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. Their site is gorgeous, and has quite a nice “virtual tour” of their gardens. Take a break, take a look, be inspired.
dig it!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
A simple method of gardening...
Dear friends,
A few years ago, I noticed that more books were out on the whole simplicity movement. Since I've always considered myself a "simple gardener" or one who likes doing things the easy way, I proposed a book to my publisher at the time on simple gardening. The editor told me that the "simple movement" was out of date, and that people didn't want to do things the simple way.
EXCUUUUSE ME? LOL!
Well, I disagreed with her vehemently. After writing the Earthly Gardener blog for several months now, I find that people need easy and simple solutions for their garden more than ever. We don't have time to putter in the garden all day, or at least, most of us don't. And if we do, we want to do the fun things, not the back-breaking stuff.
So I decided to start this blog to talk all about natural, simple gardening---done the organic way, the easy way, the sustainable way. Why make gardening harder than it has to be?
So please bookmark this site and come back to see what's going on in my garden! And please, help me spread the word by telling your friends, too!
dig it!
bobbi c.
A few years ago, I noticed that more books were out on the whole simplicity movement. Since I've always considered myself a "simple gardener" or one who likes doing things the easy way, I proposed a book to my publisher at the time on simple gardening. The editor told me that the "simple movement" was out of date, and that people didn't want to do things the simple way.
EXCUUUUSE ME? LOL!
Well, I disagreed with her vehemently. After writing the Earthly Gardener blog for several months now, I find that people need easy and simple solutions for their garden more than ever. We don't have time to putter in the garden all day, or at least, most of us don't. And if we do, we want to do the fun things, not the back-breaking stuff.
So I decided to start this blog to talk all about natural, simple gardening---done the organic way, the easy way, the sustainable way. Why make gardening harder than it has to be?
So please bookmark this site and come back to see what's going on in my garden! And please, help me spread the word by telling your friends, too!
dig it!
bobbi c.
I'm an Expert Author!
My article on Honeybees and Rosemary has been accepted by Ezinearticles.com. They've also given me "Expert Author" status, which I think is pretty darned cool! The article is available for reprint in ezines, on websites, in print publications as long as the proper credit is given, with all the links intact.
To go to the article, CLICK HERE.
I hope to have other articles submitted there soon.
bobbi c.
www.bobbichukran.com
To go to the article, CLICK HERE.
I hope to have other articles submitted there soon.
bobbi c.
www.bobbichukran.com
Community of the Land--Recommended blog!
Susan J. Tweit blogs over at Community of the Land. Susan is a wonderful, talented nature writer. You'll love her blog!
Enjoy!
bobbi c.
Enjoy!
bobbi c.
Organic Gardens for Schools in the UK
http://www.rocketgardens.co.uk/dig-for-their-future.asp
A free organic kitchen garden is being donated to schools in the UK. Great idea! Some company in the US should do this. Hint hint. :-)
bobbi c.
A free organic kitchen garden is being donated to schools in the UK. Great idea! Some company in the US should do this. Hint hint. :-)
bobbi c.
Sale at Gardens Alive!
Gardens Alive! is my favorite online organic gardening supplier. I just received notice that they are running a $20 off of any $40 purchase sale!
Click HERE for information.
Happy gardening and have fun shopping at Gardens Alive!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
Click HERE for information.
Happy gardening and have fun shopping at Gardens Alive!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
Yet another reason to grow, and eat, organic foods
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
Some of you who also read my cat blog know that I’ve been talking about the whole pet food recall issue. It’s scary stuff, folks. More and more foods are being added to the list. For a link to the FDA website, CLICK HERE. You’ll find a link to a list of all the recalled foods there.
In addition, the contaminated substances have just been found in pig urine on a farm in California. These are pigs that are destined to be HUMAN FOOD. This sounds like somebody’s idea of a sick joke, but believe me, it’s no joke.
Organic farms don’t use industrial chemicals like these on their crops! With the discovery of the melamine in the pig’s urine, that means that the contamination has entered the human food chain, and that’s really, really, bad news.
So I’d encourage you even more strongly to do several things. One, if you can, grow as much of your own foods as possible! Two, seek out local small organic farms or perhaps even individual gardeners who can share their produce with you. Eat local produce. If you must buy canned or frozen foods (yes, we all do that!), then buy organic.
I’ll be watching this news story carefully, and will report back with any further developments.
On a lighter note, go out and buy something from a small business this weekend…spend your money supporting a small farm or indie artisan, shop at a local farm stand, buy a bouquet of flowers or a packet of organic seed.
Until later,
dig it!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Some of you who also read my cat blog know that I’ve been talking about the whole pet food recall issue. It’s scary stuff, folks. More and more foods are being added to the list. For a link to the FDA website, CLICK HERE. You’ll find a link to a list of all the recalled foods there.
In addition, the contaminated substances have just been found in pig urine on a farm in California. These are pigs that are destined to be HUMAN FOOD. This sounds like somebody’s idea of a sick joke, but believe me, it’s no joke.
Organic farms don’t use industrial chemicals like these on their crops! With the discovery of the melamine in the pig’s urine, that means that the contamination has entered the human food chain, and that’s really, really, bad news.
So I’d encourage you even more strongly to do several things. One, if you can, grow as much of your own foods as possible! Two, seek out local small organic farms or perhaps even individual gardeners who can share their produce with you. Eat local produce. If you must buy canned or frozen foods (yes, we all do that!), then buy organic.
I’ll be watching this news story carefully, and will report back with any further developments.
On a lighter note, go out and buy something from a small business this weekend…spend your money supporting a small farm or indie artisan, shop at a local farm stand, buy a bouquet of flowers or a packet of organic seed.
Until later,
dig it!
bobbi c.
http://www.bobbichukran.com
copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Sunday is Earth Day!
Posted on April 20, 2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran
Mornin' Earthly Gardeners!
Just wanted to remind my readers that Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day! There will be tons of special activities and events happening all around the world, lots of coverage in the news and online, too.
Here are a few links that give you information you can actually use to help and save the planet.
EarthSave
Christian Science Monitor article focuses on Global Warming
E Magazine
Plant something green this weekend!
bobbi c.
Mornin' Earthly Gardeners!
Just wanted to remind my readers that Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day! There will be tons of special activities and events happening all around the world, lots of coverage in the news and online, too.
Here are a few links that give you information you can actually use to help and save the planet.
EarthSave
Christian Science Monitor article focuses on Global Warming
E Magazine
Plant something green this weekend!
bobbi c.
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Posted on April 23rd, 2007 by Bobbi Chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
We had a special gift yesterday out here on the Rockin’ R&B Ranch…a new arrival, just in time for Earth Day. Here’s a sneak preview:
For the whole story, and more photos, CLICK HERE.
Enjoy!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Mornin’ earthly gardeners,
We had a special gift yesterday out here on the Rockin’ R&B Ranch…a new arrival, just in time for Earth Day. Here’s a sneak preview:
For the whole story, and more photos, CLICK HERE.
Enjoy!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Great articles on organic gardening
Posted on April 24, 2007
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
It’s raining AGAIN here today, and I’m sore from a round of physical therapy yesterday. So all my gardening work will be in the form of reading for a few days. Good thing I just ran across this index of old articles from Mother Earth News. CLICK HERE for list. There’s enough there to keep you busy for months! Put it in your permanent bookmarks file for your next rainy day…
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
It’s raining AGAIN here today, and I’m sore from a round of physical therapy yesterday. So all my gardening work will be in the form of reading for a few days. Good thing I just ran across this index of old articles from Mother Earth News. CLICK HERE for list. There’s enough there to keep you busy for months! Put it in your permanent bookmarks file for your next rainy day…
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran.
Recycled garden art
Mornin’ earthly gardeners!
I’ve been finding a lot of artists who make garden art out of recycled objects. One of my favs is Shirra Wall of Shining Sun Gardenworks in British Columbia. Shirra and her husband Don make whimsical outdoor firepits, unique metal garden art and more in their studio. Firepits and wall ornaments are made from recycled propane tanks and other materials.
And this link will lead you to the website of the Artful Garden, a gallery for gardeners in Oregon.
Check out their sites, and get inspired to add a little garden art to your collection!
bobbi c.
coyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
I’ve been finding a lot of artists who make garden art out of recycled objects. One of my favs is Shirra Wall of Shining Sun Gardenworks in British Columbia. Shirra and her husband Don make whimsical outdoor firepits, unique metal garden art and more in their studio. Firepits and wall ornaments are made from recycled propane tanks and other materials.
And this link will lead you to the website of the Artful Garden, a gallery for gardeners in Oregon.
Check out their sites, and get inspired to add a little garden art to your collection!
bobbi c.
coyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Physical Therapy and gardening…
Mornin’ Earthly Gardeners!
I went to my first physical therapy treatment the other day, and have another one today. My right arm has been locking up, muscle spasms, the works. The PT cautioned me against lifting anything heavy, doing too much key-whacking, pushing or pulling anything heavy, OR lifting and flinging rocks (one of my most often used gardening techniques). She might as well have told me to go crawl under a rock and never come out! So, I’m doing the exercises she recommended, going back to the appointment today, but am not willing to give up the garden completely (or the key-whacking).
Just ran across this article about how gardening is *good* for arthritis. And another one on “Weeding the Pain out of Gardening.”
I don’t plan on giving up on my garden; gardening is about 85% of my life! But I guess I will cut back on the rock flinging….for now.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
I went to my first physical therapy treatment the other day, and have another one today. My right arm has been locking up, muscle spasms, the works. The PT cautioned me against lifting anything heavy, doing too much key-whacking, pushing or pulling anything heavy, OR lifting and flinging rocks (one of my most often used gardening techniques). She might as well have told me to go crawl under a rock and never come out! So, I’m doing the exercises she recommended, going back to the appointment today, but am not willing to give up the garden completely (or the key-whacking).
Just ran across this article about how gardening is *good* for arthritis. And another one on “Weeding the Pain out of Gardening.”
I don’t plan on giving up on my garden; gardening is about 85% of my life! But I guess I will cut back on the rock flinging….for now.
dig it!
bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 bobbi a. chukran
Announcement about blog....
Dear friends,
All of the stories, posts and photos from my previous Earthly Garden blog will be transferred over to this one. I no longer work for 451Press. I hope that you will bookmark this page and visit daily, and please, tell your friends about The Earthly Gardener!
thanks.....
bobbi c.
All of the stories, posts and photos from my previous Earthly Garden blog will be transferred over to this one. I no longer work for 451Press. I hope that you will bookmark this page and visit daily, and please, tell your friends about The Earthly Gardener!
thanks.....
bobbi c.
Hummers!
The hummingbirds are in full force this year. Every year since we’ve started feeding them, the numbers have grown. We have two feeders, and consistently have four or five hummers hovering around each of them throughout the day. I’ve been trying like crazy to get good photos of them, but alas, that hasn’t happened yet.
I did run across this website though, that has some excellent photos of hummingbirds as well as maps, other information, etc.
And here's some good information, Q&As, etc. about hummingbirds over on the Birdwatcher's Digest website. And another article there lists the thirteen best plants that will attract those tiny feathered friends!
As well as the food we put out for them, we also grow native plants that they love. One of my favorites are the native salvias. Almost indestructible plants, they bloom off and on all year here, and the bright red and hot pink blooms attract the birds. That's the key--bright colors, and especially red!
dig it!
bobbi c.
I did run across this website though, that has some excellent photos of hummingbirds as well as maps, other information, etc.
And here's some good information, Q&As, etc. about hummingbirds over on the Birdwatcher's Digest website. And another article there lists the thirteen best plants that will attract those tiny feathered friends!
As well as the food we put out for them, we also grow native plants that they love. One of my favorites are the native salvias. Almost indestructible plants, they bloom off and on all year here, and the bright red and hot pink blooms attract the birds. That's the key--bright colors, and especially red!
dig it!
bobbi c.
Welcome to the new Earthly Gardener blog!
Dear friends,
Hope you can make this a daily stop on your visits around the 'net! I'll be writing about natural and organic gardening, why it's important, and simple solutions to your home gardens. I'll be covering container gardening, and gardening the easy way! Book and product reviews, fun photos and more to inspire you in your gardening projects.
Until tomorrow....
dig it!
bobbi c.
Hope you can make this a daily stop on your visits around the 'net! I'll be writing about natural and organic gardening, why it's important, and simple solutions to your home gardens. I'll be covering container gardening, and gardening the easy way! Book and product reviews, fun photos and more to inspire you in your gardening projects.
Until tomorrow....
dig it!
bobbi c.
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