A Checklist for starting a home garden

Grabbed from: www.Realsimple.com/garden


Start-a-Garden Checklist

"Assess your exposure. If you are planting vegetables, keep in mind that most need at least eight hours of full sun every day. Flowers and other decorative plants have different sunlight needs, depending on their type. Study what sort of light your yard gets during the day, particularly noting the sunny and shady areas.





.Designate your planting areas. You need a plan before you plant. A four-by-four-foot plot of land is a good start for vegetables. For flowers, decide where you’d like to dig the beds.








.Consider a fence. Fences are especially important if you are planting vegetables (although some flowering plants may be enticing to critters, too). Build it before you plant the garden, so rabbits or raccoons never get a glimpse (or a taste) of that lettuce.








.Know your dirt. Most soil—even sand—can be enriched with compost and be fine for planting. But you need to determine how much organic material and mulch you’ll have to add to make it fertile. A local gardening center can help.





.Decide between tilling and creating a raised bed. If you don’t want to till and nourish the soil you’ve got—or if you have a bad back and would rather not be bending down so low to garden—you can build a raised planting bed with non-pressure-treated wood. Go to thegardenhelper.com to find out how.





.Contact your local cooperative extension service. You’ll need help determining what plants will grow in your part of the country (hint: Lemon trees don’t grow in Maine), when frosts are likely to hit, and the ideal time to plant and harvest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a network of cooperative extension services dedicated to providing that information. Go to usda.gov to find the one closest to you.








.Write down your preferences. For a vegetable garden, think about what you like to eat and what you generally buy (or can’t buy) at a local farmers’ market. With flowers, make a list of the colors you love and what you’d like to see in a vase on your kitchen table.








.Make a seasonal plan. Once you determine what will grow, what you like, and what time of year certain plants will flourish, you need to create a schedule. If your flowering plants all bloom in July and then die off, have some evergreen plants to keep the area looking lush. If your tomato plants take months to get big, plant smaller vegetables nearby that can make quick use of the space. Again, a local gardening center can help you plan.





.Buy some basic tools. Have these essentials on hand before you begin: spade; garden fork; soaking hose; hoe; hand weeder; and a basket for moving around mulch or soil. "

Home Made

Gotta love that word(or words/whichever)! Most anything tastes better homemade. So I was envying and daydreaming today about how lovely it would be to have my own big backyard with plenty of room to grow any vegetation I wanted. Tend to it, care for it, and love it is all it takes...oh and water. So today Im making my wishlist and Im jotting down right here, dog gone it...and so help it someday it WILL come to pass.

My "growing" wishlist:

Trees:

the lemon,

the blood orange,

the ruby grapefruit,

the plum,

the cherry

the peach.

(homegrown oxygen! you can't go wrong!)

green grapes(mmmmm...delicious to the taste)

blackberries(black-classy, berry-o'delish)

rosebush(for smell, beauty, and memories sake)

Im still debating which garden fruits and veggies but "for sures" would be:
watermelon
corn
cucumber
lettuce
hanging tomatoes(oh yes, tis possible...see below)


(finger tapping)...I know theres more..im just shootin' blanks. Hm, oh well, to be continued...




ya know, ...Im sure as hella Glad were coming back to the "reap what you sow" era of and sticking IT to the "middle man"!!!!



The benefits of growing things hung:

better air circulation for lack of disease issues

fruit stays fresher longer

critters are no-where-to-be-found!(well, at least there are dramatically less of em')

***

How to grow a hanging tomato plant

"

What You Need:

A five gallon bucket with a hole in the bottom and some cord to hang is all you need to grow upside down tomato plants!
Five gallon bucket purchased at your home and garden center
Soil with the correct vitamins additives recommended for growing tomatoes (you will need one 40 pound bag of soil for each plant)
Tomato seedling (preferably a smaller variety of fruit like Roma)
Several feet of 1/8 inch cord
Utility knife

Instructions for Hanging Upside Down Tomato Plants:

You can purchase your empty five gallon bucket at any home and garden center.



A green bucket will be less ugly than the orange or white ones or you can paint your bucket whatever color you like. Be sure the inside of the bucket is clean, using warm water and mild dishwashing soap and then rinsing it well.



Next, cut a hole about two to three inches in diameter in the center of the bottom with your utility knife.



Lay several layers of newspaper in the bottom of the bucket and cut a small slit in the newspaper through the hole in the bucket; this will help hold the seedling in place when you initially hang the bucket.



Drill four small holes evenly around the top edge of the bucket to attach your cord. You will want to measure the distance from the hook or other point you will hang the bucket from.

Cut four lengths of cord and tie one end of each piece to each of the four holes.


Turn the bucket on its side and carefully remove your tomato seedling from the container it came in and thread it through the slit in the newspaper so that the stem protrudes through the hole in the bucket and the roots are inside the bucket.



Fill the bucket with the potting soil, which you can purchase along with your bucket at any home and garden center or local nursery; be sure it contains the right vitamin additives suggested for tomatoes. ---Be gentle to your seedling and try to allow it to protrude about three inches out of the hole in the bottom of your bucket.



Cut several holes in the lid and place the lid on the bucket, taking care you do not harm your seedling in the process!



Now you are ready to hang your bucket in a sunny place with plenty of room below for your tomato plant to grow down. Tomatoes need a lot of sun so do not hang it in a predominately shady spot; it should get direct sunlight at least fifty percent of the day.




Keep your upside down tomato plant well watered and in about 50 to 75 days you should begin to see flowers and not long after you will have tomatoes.


Let your tomatoes ripen on the vine and pick them as they become red and firm and ready to eat!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Hanging Tomato Plant Tips:
Plant tomatoes such as cherry or Roma varieties that have smaller fruit, which do best with the upside down hanging tomato growing method.




If you don’t like the look of a five gallon bucket, you can also purchase planters specifically made for hanging tomatoes.




Be sure to pick a solid place and use a good strong hook or other means from which to hang your tomato plants; each planter will weigh between 35 and 40 pounds.
Plant your hanging tomato plants in spring (between late April and early June depending on how far north you are located) so that you can enjoy fresh tomatoes all through the growing season. "



Resourse and pictures:

http://www.howdididoit.com/home-garden/how-to-grow-hanging-tomato-plants/

www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm