Sharon asks…
Growing vegetables.?
I am thinking of using my very large garden to grow vegetables. Any tips on which are easiest to grow in the UK ( Shropshire ) I want to grow stuff that will attract as few as possible insects and pigeons.
GardenersCardiff answers:
Beginning a vegetable garden is a massive project but is worth a lifetime of happiness. Begin by getting the soil tested in several locations to determine what nutrients are lacking in your soil so that you can amend the soil before planting. Also it is not so much knowing what plants grow in the UK as knowing what has been successful right in your own neighborhood. Talk to folks with vegetable gardens that are near your home and find out what has worked best for them. Neighhborhood experience is the best education. Insects are good and bad. In a well balanced garden, insects take care of each other. If you use pesticides you might knock off the “good bugs.” Get some really good gardening books that give you layouts for plants that complement each other. Give your plants lots of space for good air circulation. Til and enrich your soil. Any vegetable such as a carrot, parsnip, etc that is a root vegetable, needs unobstructed soil about 12 inches deep. Your top 6 to 12 inches of soil must be free of rocks, sticks, etc. A vegetable garden is a wonderful challenge but initially a lot of work. If you dont do this work, you will be disappointed with your results.
Paul asks…
Is it easy to grow your own vegetables?
I was thinking of growing some stuff to save money but if its very difficult and time consuming, i won’t do it. just how much work is it to grow something like tomatoes or green beans? how long does it take?
GardenersCardiff answers:
It is a committment to time and physcial effort…not mentally difficult. Getting started, no you won’t save money. You have tools to assemble and physical effort to get the soil in shape for growing. If you container garden, then you have the expense of containers and soil, etc.
You save money when you are experienced, have enough growing to justify the time and put quality over quanitity. If you are not gun-ho…….don’t bother.
Time: couple of weekends to get the soil in shape, planting a tomato in May, it won’t bear until August. Green beans from sowing to harvest is 75 days or so. During the time you have to be on top of watering, weeding and pest control.
You don’t sound like a good candidate, instead spend the time searching out local growers at farmer’s markets.
Mark asks…
Is it cheaper to grow my own vegetables or get it from the supermarket?
Do people plant their vegetables in the backyard nowadays more as a hobby or do they actually find it more economical to do so? Is it worth the time and water?
GardenersCardiff answers:
A little bit of both. Many people enjoy tending their own garden and enjoying the fruits of their labor. I spent about 15.00 on seeds at Walmart and have already gotten it back in lettuce, carrots and summer squash. And sweet peas. I should be picking my cukes very soon and as always, I will need to give some away as there are more than I can ever use for my family. Now tomatos this year are a different story. Normally I alwaaaaaaays start by seed under lights, but decided it would be cheaper to get plants than spend the electric on my plants 12 hours a day. So, I went to Lowe’s and spent 45.00 on 26 tomato plants and 1 frying pepper and one salsa verde pepper plant. While the tomatos need more time to get red (some yellow types and 1 purple), there are literally too many to count any longer. With the price of tomatos on sale for 2.99 a pound, I will easily recoup my 45.00, plus some. These will be canned and stored for salsa and sauce all winter. So to answer your question completely, while vegetable gardening is pleasurable, it is also well worth it to plant your own as opposed to buying at the supermarket. Additionally, the veggies are fresher and if you are an organic person, you can buy your plants and seeds as organics and raise them and feed them organically. My question, is why wouldn’t someone plant their own veggies? 
Good luck and I hope you try it yourself next year.
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Susan asks…
Starting Vegetable Garden in February South Texas?
I live in S. Texas and would like to start a vegetable garden. It’s February and I don’t know where I should start or how to begin. What should I plant, etc. Please help.
GardenersCardiff answers:
To start a vegetable garden, you really have to plan it:
“Planning a vegetable garden is not difficult though, so we’ll go through an overview of each step here for you.
1. What vegetables do you want to grow? Knowing which vegetables you want to grow in your garden is the first step in planning. There’s really no use planting things you will not use yourself, unless you plan to give vegetables away or sell them.
Most people start vegetable gardens for their own personal use though. And starting simple and small is usually best, so try selecting five to ten of your family’s favorite vegetables to get started with, then you can grow from there each year.
2. Where will your vegetable garden be? The location of your vegetable garden is an important decision that needs to be made in the planning stage. Not only do you need to plan for enough room to grow all the vegetables you want in your garden, but you also need to plan the space based on how much sunlight it gets throughout the day, and how easy it will be to get water to the garden.
Most vegetable gardens need at least five hours of sunlight each day in order to grow abundant amounts of healthy produce. If you don’t plan the location well, you may end up with no vegetables to harvest from your garden because there’s not enough sunlight or water for the plants to grow.
Since you planned your vegetables already in the first step of this process, you should have a good idea of how much sun and water each of them will need. And this in turn will help you with planning the location for your vegetable garden.
3. How large will your garden be? This ties in closely with planning the location of your vegetable garden, because you must make sure you have enough space for the amount of vegetables you intend to grow.”
I found the above tips on the following site:
http://www.gardenbot.com/vegetable-garden.html
It’s a huge gardening site with tons of information on vegetable gardening as well as gardining in general
Nancy asks…
How Have you contributed to saving the planet in the struggle against Global Warming?
I cant say that I have made a start yet but Its been on my mind a lot because of the media coveage on the topic as well as the obvious change in weather patterns we are experiencing.
Well last week I planted 2 rose trees in my garden but I hardly think it was enough.
GardenersCardiff answers:
I don’t consider that I have done anything,because I consider this as a lifestyle and not a “save the planet” thing.Recycle,reuse,redo that can apply to most anything you can buy.So it all lasts much longer and is more usable keeping your garbage down.However as lots more of us do that prices will go up even more because less is being bought,there are no easy answers anymore,we each just have to figure out whats works best and stick with it.And still keep some level of comfort,with me its not about owning things but to have some comfort in my home,without waste as much as possible.I don’t like the new light bulbs they will have to get much better before I do them completely.Its not saving money if every light in the room on just to read a book.Congratulations on the roses,the bees love them(we need the bees)they will be beautiful,your enjoyment,and every little thing helps.Bless you.
Chris asks…
What can I make with zucchini and squash?
My friend has a huge garden, and he gave me a bunch of vegetables. I tried growing some over the summer and failed miserably…I guess he felt sorry for me or something. Anyway, I’m only going to be home until Tuesday and I need to use all of it by then, because I know the rest of my family won’t and it will end up rotting.
I just want to make something that will be quick and easy. I have a lot of it so I’ll need to make multiple things.
GardenersCardiff answers:
Well, Zucchini Bread is always good to make. I liked this recipe, it was moist and tasty: http://awellplannedmeal.com/?p=84 ***EDIT*** I found a better recipe, when I made it, it was absolutely perfect. Http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/08/chocolate-chip-and-walnut-zucchini.html
You could make a casserole; with chicken, rice, condensed soup, and of course your zucchini and squash. I like making casseroles because I can play around with the ingredients; I usually add broccoli and green beans, and top mine with cheese
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Lizzie asks…
Gardening Tips for Peas and Watermelon in Canada?
I live in Saskatchewan Canada, and this is my first garden.
I saw one flower on one of my pea plants yesterday, and I am wondering how long they will take to produce now that they have started flowering?
Also I have about 13 watermelon plants that have been doing ok, but a few of them are right next to others, how much space do I need inbetween plants?
Thanks for any help!!
GardenersCardiff answers:
From flower to pea pod takes a week or so.
Watermelon plants, like pumpkins, tend to sprawl. Ideally, you’d have a square metre, at least, per plant. Maybe you should take out some of your seedlings, so the other plants have room to grow. If you’re ruthless about pruning, clipping off the growing tip of the plants, so you have only a few flowers, you’ll get larger melons. If you don’t prune, you’ll get more smaller melons.
How I miss Big Sky Country!!
Mandy asks…
Can anyone give me a web site that offers complete tips on vegetable gardening?
I’m in Texas close to Dallas and am starting a garden this year. I’m planting tomatoes , squash , bell peppers , cucumbers ,okra , and herbs.. The past few years I have had no luck with tomatoes at all and I’ve tried everything. I did the topsy turvy thing last year and my plants got water loged and died. Any tips for me would be great, And also does anyone know anything about having a raised garden?
GardenersCardiff answers:
Hello fellow Dallasite. Check the link for Texas A&M info. Covers everything about our area. Raised garden info is there among a bunch of other info.
I can tell you from experience, planting small tomato varieties will help you be successful. Large tomatoes take too much time to ripen before the heat in mid summer kills the plant. A really good producer with excellent taste is the Sun Gold tomato. And the Butterstick Yellow Zucchini grows well.
Soil amendment is key, so a raised bed with compost as the soil really helps as well.
Laura asks…
I’m new to roses and gardening in general….Any tips for pruning?
I live in an apartment, so I am limited to patio gardening. I have minature roses in an 8 inch pot, and a ‘Victory’ rose (med. sized, also in 8 inch pot) both in Miracle Grow potting soil, in full sun watered daily or as needed.
The mini’s are doing great, I’ve had them for weeks now and they look even better than they did when I bought them, no questions there.
The med sized, ‘Victory’ roses, I have only had for a few days now, they were budding when i bought them and now fully bloomed for the most part. I live in southern california, so frost pruning is not necessary (during the colder months I intend to leave them outside during the day for full sun, and bring them inside at night)
My questions are, when should I prune? And how exactly should it be done?
Also any other tips you think I might need to know.
(Please understand that I am new to gardening in general so if you could explain in detailed lay-man’s terms it would be greatly appreciated.)
Thanks
GardenersCardiff answers:
Prune in the winter months, but only prune if they have actually grown too big. When you cut the blooms, use pruning shears or scissors and cut the stem just above the closest cluster of 5 leaves from thee bloom. Clip the blooms as soon as they reach full size, and the roses will bloom all year in S ca. I have blooms from March to November in Atlanta. Have 200 rose bushes and 14 rose trees.
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Chris asks…
Help with vegetable gardening?
I have made a 12×4 raised garden bed and found the perfect sunny location for it. Within a couple of days I will put in and prepare the dirt. I live in Virginia and have nice, hot summers. We would love to have lots of peppers, maybe cherry tomatoes, parsley & oregano. I would love to hear some information on if these would go well together and maybe what other types of vegetables would grow well with these as well as the easiest to take care of. This is our first vegetable garden so the easiest is best. Also, should I be planting a particular flower plant with these to keep away bugs? Any help is appreciated…
GardenersCardiff answers:
I agree that those plants should grow well together and would add that you might like a bush cuccumber or two. Basil and thyme are also a good herbs and as a plus they’re a natural insect detterent. Nasturtiums are pretty, edible (leaves and flowers taste peppery and the seed pods are used as a substitute for capers), and certain bugs don’t like them. Lemonbalm is another good plant for this as well. One last suggestion would be lettuce. Its dead easy to start from seed, it grows fast and fills in the empty areas till your other plants can get bigger, and if you grow a salad bowl mix you’ll be eating tons of gourmet salads in no time. If you check around a little you can even find varieties that are slow to bolt (go to seed) in the heat which means you’ll have lettuce much longer. I like to make salads with a little of all of the above except the lemonbalm. Lemonbalm just smells fresh and wonderful and is good for tea.
Thomas asks…
Is there somewhere to buy resin material to make your stepping stones?
I want to make some garden statues and stepping stones like they sell at the garden stores. Most are made out of a polyresin. Where do I buy it and is it easy to use? Where can I find out more about this material and how to use it?
GardenersCardiff answers:
I use materials from Smooth On. They are very good. Used by Hollywood special Effects. They have mold materials and casting resins in many varieties
David asks…
how to make an easy grenade?
im doing a project and i need to make a grenade that blows up after you throw it (duhh) and it must be made out of household items that the commmoon person already has in their house. no like peter stuff for gardening just regular materials
GardenersCardiff answers:
Maybe you want to ask to Osama. A project for school? Where do you live?
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