Planting Vegetables

Ikea Hacker is a really cool site with household “hacks” and craft, featuring (what a surprise!) Ikea products. I came across a really cool project that uses SAMLA boxes to create mini greenhouses. I would think any clear tote would do, however, if you unfortunate enough to be far from an Ikea.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're going to be growing vegetables in your home garden, you probably are encouraged by the fact that you are providing your family and yourself with pesticide free produce. You may not realize that some of the plant foods could contain harmful chemicals. Soil could also contain remnants from previous plants and pesticides.

When planting vegetables, you want to use quality organic soil and organic plant food . Even manure could have remnants, if the animal is fed antibiotics or eats food with pesticides or other chemicals in them. 

One example is Whitney Farms, which contains a full product line of 100 percent natural plant food and organic soil. The products contain absolutely no additives, artificial ingredients, low to zero dust, no yucky manure odor, beneficial microbes and special protien blends that feed your vegetable garden macro and micronutrients, helping you get the most from your vegetable garden. Whitney Farms®  has been in business for over 25 years, so they have experience and reputation. 

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

USDA Hardiness Zones in North America (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, what’s a gardener to do? Can our plants thrive in spite of climate change? I’m certainly hopeful for our Catskill garden this year. We are already preparing the beds, but before we commit to buying the seeds, I’ve been doing my research and have come up with a few good starting tips:

• Check out the new hardiness zone maps: NOAA recently updated its planting zone maps based on the new climate norms. This means that in some areas, certain crops can be planted earlier or planted later without the danger of frost.
• Plant for resilience: In a world of extreme weather events, a key buzzword is “resilience.” As temperatures rise, plants need more water. For more resilient crops, small farmer Alan Detwiler suggests choosing drought resistant plants, such as blackeyed peas, tepary beans, asparagus, okra, and tomato. Vegetables that are somewhat tolerant of drought are squash, cabbage, New Zealand spinach, and asparagus beans.
• Timing is everything: Plant fast-growing vegetables, such as peas, spinach, and short season corn, in the spring. These crops can be sewn early so they mature before the dryness of summer. Vegetables that do well in the fall’s cooler weather include beets, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuce, and broccoli. And don’t worry: A late spring frost will not harm peas or spinach, and early fall frosts cause little or no damage to kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and rutabaga.

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Crops for pots

•  Herbs: They will be right at your fingertips when you cook, and they thrive in containers. Parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, French tarragon and other herbs are pretty and prolific. Chives and mint will quickly fill a large pot. Pineapple sage is nice in a pot, Bunch says; use the leaves for tea, and toss the bright red flowers in a salad.

•  Transplants: The selection right now at garden shops is at its peak. Lettuce and greens can be planted now. Traditionally, summer crops (tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplants and others) are planted around the first of May in Kansas City.

Pamela Crawford, author of “Easy Container Combos” books, experimented with hundreds of vegetables in her garden and on her deck in Georgia to find the most productive varieties for pots. Cherry tomatoes and other small-fruited varieties produce a bigger yield in pots than beefsteak tomatoes, she says. Crawford also found that small pepper and hot pepper plants were more prolific than large bell peppers.

•  Fruit: Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and other small fruit will thrive in pots.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I know this is a little off topic of vegetable gardening, but I wanted to share this information with the many Americans that face the healthcare crisis. In a way it can relate. For example, I, personally, have trouble gardening of late due to arthritis in my hand, and medications are quite expensive. Unfortunately, many other Americans are faced with the same problem–having no health insurance, eye coverage, dental coverage or prescription coverage. Then, those of us who do have coverage, have very expensive or poor coverage.

• Bonuses when purchasing the Walgreens brand products or using their photo finishing services
• Discounts on nebulizers, flu shots, pet prescriptions (Wow!) and diabetic supplies
• Savings on over 8,000 brand name prescriptions and ALL generic medications.

You can support the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club by following their updates here:

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