Ways to Support Garden Birds in Times of Drought

Here at Catnip Cottage, the headquarters for the Earthly Gardener blog, we are all about the birds, bees and other little critters and are always looking for easy things we can do to support wildlife.

Cardinals LOVE black sunflower seeds!

That's why I enjoyed this short article from Horticulture magazine. Take a look; it's a short read with some easy ways to support garden birds in the time of drought.

http://www.hortmag.com/headline/ways-support-garden-birds-times-drought

Since my surgery and subsequent *hospital-acquired* infection, I've been avoiding a lot of the heavy garden work. But I was finally able to plant some fall cukes and squash this week. So some progress was made, although a tiny bit. That's why I love my galvanized tub garden and raised wooden bed; it's so easy to bop outside, poke a few seeds in the ground, then bop back inside without a lot of fuss. :-)

Sometimes that's all you can hope for. :-)

Happy gardening!

bobbi c.

Growing from Seeds….the Top Ten Easiest Plants to Grow from Seed

Dear gardening friends,

According to the Home Garden Seed Association, seeds are nature's miracles —little packets of energy just waiting for you to plant them! The HGSA has compiled a list of the top ten easiest plants to grow from seed. These are:

beans
cucumbers
lettuce
peas
pumpkins
radishes
squash
cosmos
sunflowers
zinnias

Check out their wonderful EZ from Seed website. It’s full of free information and articles on growing from seeds, growing vegetables in containers and window boxes, the differences between hybrids and self-pollinated seeds, growing fall veggies and flowers, gardening with toddlers, growing nutritious, safe, pesticide free food of your own, and more.

Don’t be afraid to try growing from seeds. It’s easy, inexpensive and fun! Now, go plant something!

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Earthly Gardener

Fall gardening in Texas

I was happy to see a great article about fall gardening in the current issue of the Pedernales Electric Co-op magazine that we get here. I was also happy to see that they have the entire issue online as a PDF download. Check it out, not only is there the gardening article, but also other great articles on Texas history, an article about Larry McMurtry's bookstore, and as always, great recipes and recipe contests.

Enjoy!

bobbi c.