Container Gardening

With times as they are in this economy, having vegetables and herbs grown at home can really stretch a budget. I’ve been spending a lot less at the grocery this summer with the produce from my garden as a supplement. We’re fortunate to have room in our yard to have a sizable garden, but you can grow your own fresh organic vegetables in containers very easily.

I like to set up a drip irrigation system for my container garden, ala my husband, since plants do much better if they are on a set watering schedule. We feed them regularly, as well, and nip off dead or yellowed leaves. I recommend tomatoes in sunny locations, whether upright or hanging ones. There are so many different types of tomatoes you can choose from, too, and a plethora of recipes that can accommodate this versatile veggie.

Some of the benefits to container gardening, aside from the fresh produce are:
- bugs and slugs are virtually non-problematic
- weeds are usually not a problem either
- you can have as many as you can fit or as few as you want to deal with
- almost anything can be used as a planting container, as long as it holds soil and has adequate drainage
- potting soil can be used with confidence, since they have the proper pH balance
- containers can be brought indoors when the weather turns cold so you can prolong your growing season
- container gardening beautifies your patio, porch or balcony with color and foliage
- even small, tight spaces like as window sills and steps can be utilized to grow herbs
- they love the compost that you've, hopefully, been making!
Happy Composting!

Feel Good...Garden!

The news is rife with articles about gardening and I'm loving it! We have the Grow insert in our Denver Post weekly which overflows with information about plants and gardening, and there was the article about the woman who had survived WWII teaching school children about victory gardens, and then the school that dedicated a portion of their grounds for some third graders to grow a garden and learn about where food comes from. It's all the rage, I tell you! The reasons are varied, but one of the best reasons that gardening is popular is that it's just plain good for you.

Gardening provides physical exercise that helps prevent heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. It helps prevent osteoporosis if you're lifting water jugs, pushing a garden cart or turning compost.

When you're working in the garden you're most likely relieving stress and getting lots of fresh air. There's a connection to nature, and a brain boost as you plan your garden and research tools and plants.

Then there's the obvious: if you grow it, you'll eat it. Fresh vegetables and fruits improve your physical wellbeing. You can control the use of pesticides and fertilizers. You will notice how much better the food tastes when it's picked and consumed the same day, and need we talk about using fresh herbs to enhance the flavors of your meals? Think about how much sugar and salt you can cut back on when fresh herbs are used instead.

So get out there and dig in. Garden with your kids, or the neighbors, and build relationships through gardening. Don't forget to add organic compost in your garden for healthier, more productive plants, and a healthier you. Happy Composting!

Not So Common Chive

I walked in my garden this week in our BestComposters.com Lawn Aerator Shoes so that all that wonderful moisture that we’ve gotten all week can make it’s way down to the roots of our lawn. It’s a really easy way to do something nice for your lawn! Beforehand, we’d spread a little of our compost as a dressing onto the lawn as well, and the nutrients will be absorbed more quickly with the aerating too. As I did my aerating and checked out what damage the storms might’ve done in our yard, I was overjoyed to see my alum schoenoprasum, or Common Chive, poking up through the Spring snow. This hardy and easy to grow perennial is one of two planted in my garden years ago when I discovered that my family enjoys snipped chive on baked potatoes. I personally love the sweet pink blossoms and look forward to adding them to my salads for a blast of color and splash of mild onion flavor. The chive plant is a member of the same family as onions, garlic and leeks and is lovely whipped into softened butter and added to mashed potatoes or on grilled meat. It can be added, as well, to sauces, soups and salads, and is especially yummy in chicken or tuna salad. The vibrant green pleases the eye as much as the flavor enhances the salad!

You can plant the seeds of the chive plant now in your garden, or anytime in a pot to set on a sunny window sill. Once it has bloomed (don’t forget to add those gorgeous clover-like blossoms to your salads!), the tops should be snipped all the way to the soil. You’ll be pleased to see them shoot right back up and provide you with more chives all through the summer and early fall.

Being from the garlic family, the flavor of chives is comparable to garlic, but can be savored by those of us who are sensitive to garlic without concern. And like garlic, chive has therapeutic qualities. It won’t keep the kids from Twilight away in a ring around your neck, but will aid digestion of rich foods, protect your respiratory system, and has antiseptic value.

Hints:
1. Freeze fresh chives by mincing the shoots, spreading in a flat casserole dish and flash freezing. They can then be stored in plastic freezer bags.
2. When cooking with chives, add them at the end of cooking.
3. Make chive butter by creaming 4 TBSP chopped chives with ½ cup softened butter. Add ½ tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Roll into a cylinder in a sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate for approximately one week.