seed savers exchange – gardenerscardiff.co.uk

Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:05:05 +0000

Donna asks…

Any gardening tips??

I am planting a garden this year for my first time, can anyone tell me when to plant what to plant and anything else that you find helpful in gardening.
Thanks in advance for all your help

GardenersCardiff answers:

Try a mix of veggies and flowers. Do stuff that you like to eat and is not so picky about growing. And if you’ve got the space try out some kind of melon. Get a bunch of seed catalogs and get excited, check out some garden books from your local library.

Also, don’t try to do too much. Start small and really do it well. Next year you can always expand

Some good seed companies – you can look at their catalogs online-
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Johnny’s Select
The Seed Savers Exchange
High Mowing Seeds
Fedco (get the fedco paper catalog it is totally fabulous!)

Sharon asks…

What website has gardening tips on it?

Name of website only needed and what it contains

GardenersCardiff answers:

A websit that is filled to the brim with gardening tips soil preparation, planting, planter boxes, rose gardening, butterfly garden articles and much more is

secilysgardentips.com

Beautiful site filled to the brim colorful with bright ideas and tips.

Best Wishes for a wonderful garden
Secily

Mark asks…

Any helpful veggie garden tips?

I love learning new things about gardening, esp. the veggie garden. Would love to hear anything helpful like- how to keep the bugs off your veggies and from destroying your garden, what to plant early, etc. Would love to hear your knowlege about gardening!
Live in maine, have a problem w/ Green horned catipillars on tomatoes, lots of potato bugs too. Frost usually lasts until end of may.

GardenersCardiff answers:

I live in connecticut so not to far off.. Love to garden. For the pests you can plant marigolds around the outside for natural bug control any plants with excess pests you can use seven dust it is sold most anywhere . You can plant most root veggies early like carrots, onions, turnip, also some beans and peas.when you plant carrots you can add a little sand to the soil if the soil is too hard the carrots will come out short and fat.tomatos however are my specialty you can plant basil in between the plants aloso helps with the bugs . Don’t know if this is true but old time farmers tell me that if you plant your carrots next to the tomatos then it will help sweeten the tomatos .. Good luck and happy gardening

Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 12:05:03 +0000

Steven asks…

what is the best compost for growing vegetables?

I’ve recently started to grow my own vegetables but I’m wondering if using multi purpose compost if this is ok for vegetables or if I need to use a specific compost for vegetables.

GardenersCardiff answers:

You have a choice between hot or cold compost.
Http://www.naturalenviro.com/Article.php?ArticleSKU=Compost-Soil-Additive

Jenny asks…

Starting to grow own vegetables and herbs?

I’m beginning to grow my own vegetables and herbs, and I’m curious on where to buy the seeds from. The town I live in only has a wal-mart which sells seeds, however, I do buy organic produce and was wondering whether or not to purchase seeds at walmart. Would it matter where I get the seeds from? or not really?

thanks

GardenersCardiff answers:

If you want to buy seeds from a box store than opt for K-mart and the martha Stwart Collection-not organic but lots of heirloom varieties.

Thge best way to buy seeds though, is via mail order. My all time favorite seed house is Johnny’s Selected Seeds out of Maine (http://www.johnnysseeds.com) they are the best in the business, they are a small independent, employee owned seed house that has been in business for about 30 years. The seed is on the expensive side but it is excellent quality, always. I have been using them as my main seed supplier for the past 15 years. They offer a wide variety of seeds, have heirlooms, certified organic seed and do not sell seeds owned by Monsanto.

Seed savers exchange is the best place to get heirloom seeds on the planet. It is all they do and they have one of the biggest collections of heirloom seed anywhere. They are a not for profit that should be supported

Fedco Seeds (http://www.fedcoseeds.com) is another seed house out of main that is also a small independent company that does not sell GMO seed or anything from Monsanto. They carry a lot of heirlooms and certified organic seed. The quality is not as good as either Johnny’s or SSE but they are well worth supporting

Michael asks…

How can I grow delicious fresh vegetables when theres every chance of them being eaten by possums,rabbits,wall?

I may be in a position to live somewhere,where i am at last able to grow my own vegetables.Only thing is,I’m told there will be rabbits,possums,wallabies and usual pests.To erect a green house cover would be expensive and unsuitable,what else can i do to make sure I’m the one who eats what i grow and not the hungry wild-life?

GardenersCardiff answers:

A wired fence. We tried it, and no rabbits, possums, or wallabies out. It is simple and easy. You buy some wired fence and a staple gun. You have to also get thin pieces of wood, and staple the wired fence against it. It’s simple and easy, but make sure to wear gloves, because my dad got a staple in his finger, so ya.

Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:05:03 +0000

Sandra asks…

Who has knowledge of the Goji shrub/tree? as I am going to buy one, their Berries are?

Very high in vitamin C. According to my gardening catalogue they are easy to grow, they fruit in their second year. No information on the prep/site/ & care of this plant. Advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
edit:
Are they a sweet or a bitter fruit, also are the for cooking only.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Actually pretty easy. They are not picky about soil, but well draining is best. Don’t need a lot of fertilizing and have a good soil PH range. They get a very extensive root system so give them room or a large container. Full sun is best for fruit production. I give them an all purpose fertilizer twice a year, spring and fall and water when they begin to dry, they are also pretty drought tolerant. They are cold tolerant, hardy to about zone 7.

EDIT: Kind of sweet sour, hard to describe. You can use them fresh or dry them, makes sort of a tangy raisin.

Mary asks…

Has anyone used or heard of Amazoy zoysia grass?

We saw an add in a gardening catalogue for this “amazing” grass that you receives as plugs. It is excellent for horrible soil and we have tried everything for the past 6 seasons to get half decent grass in our yard. I am just wondering if anyone has used it and if they had any luck with it. Also, how tedious is the planting of the the 1,000’s of plugs?

GardenersCardiff answers:

This is a hearty grass that will go dormant in the winter as most grasses do. I’m not sure if you can water it during the winter to keep it green as some grasses will do this. The reason this particular grass does so well is because it grows sideways and not straight up.

The plugs will take time to establish themselves in your yard, and you have to water quite often to get them started. I would check out a sod company and see if they have this variety.

I have bermuda in my back yard and St. Augustine everywhere else. These are also good grasses that can easily be taken care of if you take the time.

David asks…

Garden Seed Catalogs?

What are some good garden seed catalogs that have vegetable, herb and flower seeds. I like Urban Farmer Seeds (http://www.ufseeds.com) catalog but would like some more opinions! Thanks

GardenersCardiff answers:

Here’s a list for you:
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds – www.kitchengardenseeds.com
The Cook’s Garden – www.cooksgarden.com
Seeds of Change – www.seedsofchange.com
Pinetree Garden Seeds – www.superseeds.com
Vermont Bean Seed Company – www.vermontbean.com
Territorial Seed Company – www.territorialseed.com
Jung Seeds & Plants – www.jungseed.com
Johnny’s Selected Seeds – www.johnnyseeds.com (this is one of my favorites)
Seed Savers Exchange – www.seedsavers.org
Burpee – www.burpee.com

However, I would avoid buying from Michigan Bulb – lousy service, and their plants and bulbs are substandard. I once ordered several varieties of bulbs from them and only a few of one variety actually grew. They have a really poor track record.