Carol asks…
Is it a good idea to grow your own flowers for a wedding?
GardenersCardiff answers:
I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a professional or very experienced gardener. I grow my own garden every years with both vegetables and flowers that I grow for the purpose of having fresh cut flowers in the house. But I know my limitations. I grow peonies, dhalias, roses, gladiolus, hydrangeas, and gerber daisies every summer. But I am no professional, and most of the flowers I grow are not perfect. And I don’t use pesticides or sprays, so the flowers I cut often have bugs in them that need to be knocked off (mostly earwigs), and sometimes have bug feces in them. They also tend to get a few wholes in some of the petals due to bugs eating them. As I said, I am no professional. My fiance and I are also on a budget. So the only product I use to care for my flowers is Miracle Grow. It can get mighty expensive and complicated buying all the right products to get perfect flowers.
In addition, at any one time I only have maybe three or four fresh new flowers that are in good enough condition to bring in the house in a vase. For wedding flowers, you probably want flowers in excellent condition – free from bugs, bug feces, bug bites, or wilting. In order to get enough flowers in good condition for your wedding, you would need to spend a ton of money on gardening products, plant a very large garden to get enough blooms at one time, and spend a lot of time caring for your garden. In the end, it’s worth the money to just buy fresh cut flowers from a florist for this one special day. Plant a garden for flowers in your home – but I wouldn’t do it for your wedding.
Paul asks…
Need help on starting my own organic vegetable garden to grow indoors! will give points to most helpful :D?
okay..so i’ve never grown anything before,complete noob at this stuff..but i really would like to live organically & get practice on growing my own foods for the sake of my familys health & for the money in my pocket. it’s going to be winter soon,so i need to start with simple things to grow indoors for practice & eventually get outside & start a bigger better garden.. i don’t know HOW to start,what vegetables grow well indoors,how to have my own organic compost (i’ve heard coffee grounds are good to use) what to grow my veggies in ect..i would like to grow tomatoes,carrots,potatoes,spinach,sugar snap peas,a variety of different herbs,maybe some berries etc etc….please help! i don’t know how to get started & need creative ideas to grow these things indoors for this winter!! any tips & advice? MUCH APPRICIATED!^_^
GardenersCardiff answers:
You need to get proper soil for inside. (:
You could try multipurpose compost but you can sprinkle gravel or sand over it. I’ve never really done this stuff before.
You need a grow light. Or jusst alot of light. Foil helps to reflect.
To start yur own compost make sure you have a place to compost it. In your garden preferably. Use browns and greens- leaves for browns and greeen leaves, weeds, old plants for greens. COFFFEE grounds are great.
I heard that pepper plants do very good inside. Pineapple plants, pomegranete. Coco bean. Herbs on the windowsill- basil, dill, oregano etc. Beans and peas. Basically tropical plants do welll. You can try tomatoes.
Root veg although it won’t look as impressive but you can grow radishes, beet. Potatoes.
Blackberries, and lycheeberries are brilliant.
Leafy plants are goos too.
You need to keep your grow room warm and full of light as winter will be very cold you need to feel the heat when you walk into the room.
GOOD LUCK. (:
David asks…
How many of you grow some or all of your own vegetables/fruit?
and what methods do you use?
acowen: they might think your grow light was for something else huh;)
Fabulous: if you’re in Indy like your name suggests, I’m about 40 minutes north of you…
I’m trying to make our garden completely sustainable but that’s a project in the making……last year was not real great (sweet corn was terrible but we had a ton of squash and tomatoes)
Fabulous….I’m not veggie now, just used to be and I love vegetarian meals (I’m just outside Lafayette and we have a couple of really good health food stores, Nature’s Pharm and Sunspot)
Harley, companion planting is great and it’s not as commonly used as it should be!
Mike: I find it very disturbing that people can’t do what they want in their own backyards, especially when it’s something so good as growing your own food……zoning laws don’t prevent me from it yet but boy if they ever try…..
Andro…..oh how I agree, there are alot of resources on using native plants instead of turf (more natural and don’t use as much water) you can’t go to your states’ d.n.r. (if you’re in the u.s.) for regional sales of native plants.
GardenersCardiff answers:
I used to garden when we lived in the Berkshires on 47 acres and our planting was done in raised beds with bio-dynamic consciousness and companion planting. We also had a fabulous organic garden and orchard at Koinonia in Stevenson, MD years ago before it was sold. And there was an organic garden at the Merciful Lion too.
My grandfather had an organic farm on sandy Rhode Island soil that had never seen a chemical in 300 years. He gathered the sea veggies after a Nor’easter down at the beach to add minerals to his soil base. He also moved his hen house every three years to plant asparagus after a fallow season to grow the best asparagus in the state. Composting was very important to the success of all of these gardens.
If you are serious about gardening fruit and vegetables check out the work of Rudolf Steiner on BioDynamic Gardening. You may know about him through his educational philosophy — via Waldorf Schools. Steiner was a visionary and intellectual giant who had positive, practical ideas about everything from growing food to growing children and healthy living hich includes education. His work has which has stood the test of time. Weleeda products are connected to his philosophy.. Interesting man – great information.
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Helen asks…
What are some helpful hints for growing fruits and veggies?
I decided to grow my own garden this year (finally).
I am starting small.
I bought –
5 tomato plants
1 eggplant plant
2 cucumber plant
1 cantelope plant
I bought cages for the tomato plants.
How do I plant them? What is a good fertilizer (preferrably natural)?
How do I know when they are ripe???
Thanks!!
GardenersCardiff answers:
Hi Penny:
Well, you are getting a late start for this year. I typically spade (turn the soil over) my beds in March or April, and put down some general fertilizer like 12-12-12 then.
A sunny spot is best for the bed.
Of course, manure is a great natural fertilizer, but you typically put that down in winter before you spade it.
In any case, prepping the bed by spading is an important step many people miss. Normally, as mentioned, it best to do it and let it sit, but you are going to have to do it and then hoe it down a bit (getting rid of big clods and leveling it) and then plant right away.
Dig holes for the tomato and eggplant at least 3-4 feet apart, and plant them fairly deep. Compact the soil firmly and water thoroughly.
I recommend Jobs tomato spikes. (I know they aren’t natural!)
Do the same for the cucumber and catelope, except, be prepared that they are vine plants and need room to spread out.
Hoe and pull weeds regularly. Water them if you have a dry spell.
Pepper plants are easy to grow too, then you can make fresh salsa.
Put the tomato cages on early, perhaps right away. If I don’t do it right away the plants are big before I know it, and I tear them up putting on the cages.
Of course, the tomatos will turn red, cantelope a golden brown, and egglant and cucumbers can be picked anytime they get a good size, but best if picked before they get too big.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a great year. It takes a year or two to really get things off the ground.
Good luck. Email me if you have any questions.
Charles asks…
Does Wiz Khalifa has his own marijuana grower?
Like his own chemist to personally grow his own weed?
GardenersCardiff answers:
Idk but I wanna smoke with him one day.
Sandy asks…
what are three species of native plants that grow in the natural vegetation region of ontario?
yeaa.
its a geography question.. I need to know it
and natural vegetation means that the plants have to have grown there on there own without humans putting it there.. like there natural to that region. so yeaaa ?
any ideas of what some natural plants are that grow here in ontario?
GardenersCardiff answers:
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed, Large-flowered Bellwort, and Blueflag.
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Maria asks…
i have no clue what im doing but im starting a garden looking for advice and tips?
im looking to start a garden. i have not a clue what im doing but im going to try it out. need a hobby. ive been reading books and watching some gardening shows. i started this weekend by shoveling the spot that i want to have the garden. i bought a few tomato plants and a few pepper plants but havent planted them yet.
just looking for any advice or tips on how to make this an easy painless experience starting out.
GardenersCardiff answers:
Start small, to start with–you’re on the right track with just a few easy plants first.
When you plant your tomato plants, notice that there are little bumps along the bottom of the stem. These are also roots, and you can plant the tomatoes up to the top of these, which will root them better, and they’ll be less likely to fall over.
Also, you may want to put down a layer of black plastic before you plant, then cut X’s in it where you plant the plant–that way, you won’t spend all your time weeding, plus it holds in moisture.
Check the backs of your packs of seeds–they’re very good about telling you what zone you’re in, and when you should be planting what.
Unless you LOVE zucchini, tomatoes, or peppers, or you have a big circle of friends, don’t plant a lot of them–one year we planted 60 pepper plants and 120 tomato plants (my husband’s idea, not mine), and we were taking out a bushel of produce twice a week!
Nancy asks…
What are some pretty colorful flowers that bloom in the winter in zone 7?
I need some hardy flowers or shrubs no taller than a 2 feet. I live in Zone 7 there is never snow. My landscape right now consist of boxwood and rose trees… What can you suggest for me?
Flowers or shubs with color would be appreciated
GardenersCardiff answers:
Here you go.
Http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Gardening_Zone_7
David asks…
How to know which native plants are good for a flower garden?
There are so many pretty plants and wildflowers along the roadside right now. How can I learn which ones would make a good flower garden without the neighbors thinking I have a weed bed?
GardenersCardiff answers:
Your state or one of your surrounding states that are in the same gardening zone as you are should be a good resource for you. Also, there are often smaller garden centers that specialize in native plants and they are often very happy to provide advice.
Try searching with key words such as : native plants – horticulture -and then name of your state. Or gardening with native plants and the name of your state.
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Maria asks…
What’s “greener”: Growing your own vegetables or buying locally farmed seasonal vegetables?
I’m keen on reducing the impact I have on the world. Yet it’s hard to know what’s best. I mean, you could look at growing your own vegetables… Say runner beans, or you could go to the local shop and buy locally farmed runner beans which could in theory be greener.
Say you grow enough runner beans to last a whole winters worth of roast dinners*.
Also you buy enough runner beans to last a whole winters worth of roast dinners*.
*a roast, every sunday where runner beans make up a portion.
In my heart I believed growing my own would be greenest, but my head says buying would… since if you produce something en masse in theory it could be more efficient. (i.e. you water a couple of square meters of runner beans compared to a couple of hectares of runner beans you’ll probably use more water per bean on the former)
Hi, Please exclude my single example of the different amounts of water used. I wish to include machinery emissions involved in harvesting, transportation emmisions, assuming loose runner beans not the evil plastic wrapped crap, and so on. Any factor that contributes towards it being less green. ‘Green’ is not carbon, it is not water, it is not chemicals, it is many things:)
Hi, Thanks for all the answers. I have been trying to grow some of my own herbs and vegetables with varying success. It is also on my list of things to do to plant native plants, trees and so on. I want to try to reduce my negative affects of the earth and it’s inhabitants (yet, I do want to live!) and I want to do more positive things for other nature (like encourage insects to native plants encouraging birds!)
GardenersCardiff answers:
When i come across such “petty green things/initiatives”(no offense),i think of those people who modify their cars and do drift racing.racing sports is such a waste of fuel and resources in itself but on top of it people are engaged in drift racing ! ? This makes m sad and i come to the conclusion that torturing yourself to be green helps these people to waste some more precious resource and be just opposite to GREEN.Think of it tell whoever you meet forget about such silly things.BUY from LOCAL FARMS.
Sharon asks…
How often should I water my vegetable seeds?
I’ve just bought a starter kit to grow my own vegetable patch and I’m unsure as to how often I should water the seeds. In the kit there are 5 small pots with compost and 5 packets of seeds (pumpkin, tomato, spring onion, cucumber and carrot). The instruction booklet tells me how to plant the seeds but has no instructions on how often they need watering or feeding.
I’m a complete novice at this sort of thing and any advice would be much appreciated. It would be great to be able to eat fresh vegetables that I have grown myself!!
GardenersCardiff answers:
You have a huge variety of plants there!! They will all need different amounts of water once they germinate…until then just keep the soil moist but not soaking. Once they germinate, you will find the pumpkin will grow very fast and probably need transplanting into a bigger pot. The cucumber will also grow pretty fast and need transplanting. You didn’t specify the pot size, but a pumpkin should go into a 4″ pot, and the cucumber into a 2-4″ pot….one plant per pot. The cuke and pumpkin will be ready to transplant into the garden much sooner than the tomato(slower grower) Carrots are usually direct seeded into the garden, not started in pots. I suggest you just go buy a pack of seeds and wait and plant them later in the garden. Good luck!
David asks…
I want to start a vegetable garden in my yard. Any suggestions?
I live in Maryland. I was wondering what vegetables would be ideal to grow in my area? I guess, to be more specific, are there any vegetables that I can plant in August and will be ready to harvest in the fall?
I am not sure how green my thumb is but I certainly would love to at least try to grow my own vegetables. I am just unsure of what vegetables are ideal for each particular season.
GardenersCardiff answers:
You can get in a nice harvest of peas, bush beans, radishes, turnips, salad greens, basil, cilantro, and if you can still find some broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage plants, you can get a small-to-decent harvest of those.
Now, get off the computer and start planting! Time’s a wastin’ girl!
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