Humour: You Know You're Addicted to Gardening When...

Your neighbors recognize you in your pajamas, rubber clogs and a cup of coffee.
You grab other people's banana peels, coffee grinds, apple cores, etc. for your compost pile.
You have to wash your hair to get your fingernails clean.
All your neighbors come and ask you questions.
You know the temperature of your compost every day.
You buy a bigger truck so that you can haul more mulch.
You enjoy crushing Japanese beetles because you like the sound that it makes.
Your boss makes "taking care of the office plants" an official part of your job description.
Everything you touch turns to "fertilizer".
Your non-gardening spouse becomes conversant in botanical names
You find yourself feeling leaves, flowers and trunks of trees wherever you go, even at funerals
You dumpster-dive for discarded bulbs after commercial landscapers remove them to plant annuals.
You plan vacation trips around the locations of botanical gardens, arboreta, historic gardens, etc.
You sneak home a 7 foot Japanese Maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.
When considering your budget, plants are more important than groceries
You always carry a shovel, bottled water and a plastic bag in your trunk as emergency tools.
You appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry
You talk "dirt" at baseball practice.
You spend more time chopping your kitchen greens for the compost pile than for cooking.
You like the smell of horse manure better than Estee Lauder.
You rejoice in rain...even after 10 straight days of it.
You have pride in how bad your hands look.
You have a decorative compost container on your kitchen counter.
You can give away plants easily, but compost is another thing.
Soil test results actually mean something.
You'd rather go to a nursery to shop than a clothes store.
You know that Sevin is not a number
You take every single person who enters your house on a "garden tour"
You look at your child's sandbox and see a raised bed.
You ask for tools for Christmas, Mother/Father's day, your Birthday and any other occasion you can think of.
You can't bear to thin seedlings and throw them away.
You scold total strangers who don't take care of their potted plants.
You know how many bags of fertilizer/potting soil,/mulch your car will hold.
You drive around the neighborhood hoping to score extra bags of leaves for your compost pile
Your preferred reading matter is seed catalogs

And last but not least:
You know that the four seasons are:
Planning the Garden
Preparing the Garden
Gardening
~and~
Preparing and Planning for the next Garden

Organic Farming: How to prepare the soil ?

Soil preparation is critical if you are going in for organic farming. You do not have the liberty of adding a load of chemical fertilizers later if you find some deficiencies in the soil; and the motto for organic farming remains, "do adequate preparation rather than react later".
Making sure that the soil is healthy is an important first step in the preparation for organic farming. If the soil used for organic farming was earlier used for commercial farming, then you need to spend time to ensure that the presense of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been removed from the soil (how to do this is a separate post), the duration for which you need to have kept such soil clean before using it for organic farming depends on the organic gardening certification in your country or state, and you should check those regulations.
The steps that you should take in order to get your soil ready are:
- Make sure that there are no weeds, stones, or pieces of other debris in the soil, and that it is ready for next steps
- Do a soil analysis. You can get a proper soil analysis done, or you can look at the rough ways of estimating the quality and breakup of your soil. Soil should have 3 main components (sand - 40%, silt 40%, and clay 20%). The soil should be one that you can compress with your hand, and it forms a solid mass that breaks when you poke it. If it either is unable to form a solid mass, or does not crumble when you apply effort, then the soil either has too much sand, or too much clay. An imbalance can result in the soil not being optimum, with imapct on water logging, or the ability of soil to let plants grow in it.
- You can also take a sample of your soil, put it in a glass beaker or jug of water, and then shake, and then let the soil settle down. The settling inside the glass leaves you with 3 different layers, of sand, silt and clay (with clay on top). The levels of each will slowly start giving you an idea of what is missing, and then you can add more of the missing element to get a better mixture. of course, if you are not able to get a correct mixture, go to the store and ask them for the amount of soil you require (make sure that you specify that you are going to grow organically)
- Look to see how you can encourage the growth of healthy stuff such as microbes, earthworms, etc. They do a lot to make your soil better.
- Read up about the various fertilizers you can add to your soil to make up for deficiencies. This would mean that you need to find out what your soil is missing, and requires some amount of knowledge (or if you don't have knowledge, either learn, or get somebody who can advise). Be sure that adding some good compost is typically helpful for the soil.
- Learn about crop rotation, so that you plan ahead for the crops you are going to put in the soil, and learn about which plants add which element, and remove which nutrient from the soil. Doing this is essential if you want to make sure that you soil is good in terms of nutrients, not only now, but for the future.
- Soil is improved when you add organic matter to the soil. This means that you should items such as compost, and even some more strange items such as hair (for nitrogen), grass clippings, purchased organic fertilizer, peat moss
- If you can, enable poultry to have free access to your soil. Hens do a fair amount of the manual hard work required, such as removing weeds, adding manure, and undertaking tilling of the soil.

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How to start an Organic Garden - tips

What do you mean by Organic Gardening ?
Organic Gardening primarily means not using synthetic products such as fertilizers and pesticides. It means working much more closely with nature, and using natural means to increase the level of ingredients and essential materials such as nitrogen to the soil, and using natural means to counter pests such as insects.
An important part of going organic is that you need to change your style of dealing with problems. In normal gardening, where you do not have to follow organic principles, you can deal with pests once they occur by treating them with pesticide; you can deal with scarcity of nutrients by adding fertilizer. If you are following organic gardening principles, what you really need to do is to try and prevent problems rather than having to deal with them as they occur. Taking the initial steps to make your garden healthier results in having fewer problems to deal with and healthier plants, fewer pest and disease problems.
As a part of this, you need to make sure that your soil is healthy, has all the required nutrients, that you take care to ensure that the plants you are planting are healthy (and you have enough knowledge of the plants you are planting in terms of their requirements and their growth cycles), that you check your plants on a regular basis and have setup a frequency of checking along with a checklist of what to check. It is very important to have a knowledge of the pests in your garden, as not all insects and animals in the garden are harmful (many insects and animals actually help in pest control); further, the damange inflicted by some pests can be minimal and not really affect your plants.
The insistence of not using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers is an important part of the growth of an organic garden, and not to be compromized with. It is more of a mind set change that you need to rule out the use of such chemicals. This does not mean that you cannot use pesticides, there are a whole range of pesticides and insect repellants that are based on organic ingredients and which are overall of benefit to the environment (the run-off of pesticides and fertilizers into water systems is now a major environmental and health problem).
Finally, let me round off this summary of organic gardening principles with this definition:

"an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony"

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Kitchen Garden: Crop Rotation - Some details (why required, what happens, and so on)

The previous post talked about crop rotation in a brief way, without going into too much detail about why this is required, which are the types of crops for which this is needed, and so on. So, here are some more details.

The whole purpose of rotating crops is to:
1) Ensure that harmful pathogens (insects or disease) specific to the crop do not build up in the soil over a number of years, and;
2) To ensure that soil does not get depleted of specific nutrients due to some plants that are heavy feeding. It is an integral management tool for organic farmers, and homeowners with large vegetable gardens.

Protection against pests and disease: If you want to rotate your crops, and want to avail the best benefits in doing so, make sure you choose plants from different plant type over successive years, and so to be not closely related, else you lose the benefit. If you rotate broccoli and then cabbage, you are not likely to get away form insects and diseases that tend to zero in on the Cruciferae family (to which both cabbage and brocooli belong), and your crop rotation won't do much good, because they are both attacked by the same types of insects and disease.
Now onto the other major reason for crop rotation, being able to fix nutrients.

Adding to nutrients in the soil: There are an awful lot of people who have not done enough research to find out more about crop rotation, in terms of both crops that use up nutrients, and those crops that add nutrients to the soil. For example, if you consider the Fabaceae family of plants (legumes, beans, peas, lentils, alfalfa, clover, caraganas, honeylocusts, etc.), they have a very useful ability to add nitrogen to the soil, under certain conditions. This is a process whereby they are able to extract nitrogen from the air and turn it into the soil (actually in special nodules along the roots) in a form that's usable by plants.
The contra position for these plants is that one should not add nitrogen to the soil if these plants are being grown, since an excess of nitrogen would be harmful for these plants. They are very useful if you have soil that is deficient in nitrogen, and are used by knowledgable gardeners and enthusiasts, especially since these legumes remain in the soil even when the plants die. The idea is by rotating crops all around the garden, section by section, one can spread the ability to enrich nitrogen around the garden.
How does this actually happen ? This is also called "inoculation". Inoculation defines the process by which members of these specific plant families are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and this is done in collaboration with a set of bacteria that attach themselves to the roots of these plants. These bacteria are essential to do this fixing. Most decent garden soils already have these necessary bacteria in them, so usually it's not an issue. However, if you don't have some "inoculants" in your soil, you can buy them and put it in the soil. These are mixed into the soil when planting happens, to ensure that the plants will have the proper bacteria when they develop their roots so that they can fix their nitrogen and thrive.

When you read all about the plants that help in increasing nitrogen, what about the plants that suck up all the nutrients from the soil. One of the main families is called nightshades (Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplants).
The plants belonging to the nightshades family are part of some of the biggest starvation incidents in history. They are equally famous for being the plants that encourage pests, soil infections, and disease. If you grow them in your garden, then don't grow them in the same soil until other crops have been grown that give the nutrients back, and not before a period of 3-4 years.

Tips for growing organic food - 1

Organic food has a lot of promises. At the very base level, organic food meets the expectation of people that their food be grown without a fertilizer and chemical cocktail. In organic farming, some of the concepts revolve around food growing practices that rely on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests. Some of the practices that are strictly excluded include limiting the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms. Demand for organic food has grown massively.
What are some of the tips that one should follow when attempting to start the process of growing organic food.
1. Be convinced about not using weed killers and pesticides to your garden. If you are not convinced, then there is no point in going organic.
2. When starting out, do not plant in areas close to walls or fences. Such areas could be contaminated by paint, heavy chemicals, metals, etc.
3. Search for areas in your garden that received sun or are in partial shade the year round.
4. Clean the entire area, including removing earlier plants (if starting out organic the first time). Use a shovel if necessary to remove the roots from earlier plants.
5. Get into the habit of using organic compost material (learn how to prepare compost - an excellent growth material for the soil)
6. Prepare the garden by spreading leaves / already prepared compost all over your garden. This ensures that your garden gets its fill of organisms that are beneficial to it.
7. Once you have spread the compost / leaves / other such organic material over the soil of the garden, turn the top soil over, mixing the soil with the organic material so as to make sure that the top layer of the soil is very rich.
8. Water the soil frequently so as to make sure that it remains damp (not a flowing river though); this ensures that organisms get a good environment to propagate in
9. Do not take steps that could harden the soil - this includes stepping on the soil yourself, or moving heavy objects on the soil.
10. Learn about crop rotations for getting different sorts on nutrients in the soil.
This is it for this post. In the next post, there will be more details on how to get a good organic garden up and running.

Composting tips - what works and what does not

For those people who are able to successfully create a compost pile, there is nothing like it; however for those who are not able to or fail in this attempt, there can be numerous reasons. Following are some tips on failure causes as well as what to do:

Drainage: Good drainage is essential. One solution for this is to have the base of the bin somewhat open so that excess water can flow out. This gap will also allow more microbes and insects to move in and out.

Accelerators: To get a pile started faster, use something called a compost accelerator. This is material that should be high in nitrogen - ideal things are human urine, blood meal, alfalfa meal, compost from a previously completed pile, manure, all these made good accelerators.

Water: Water in a pile is critical. A lot of failures to form compost happens when either the pile is dry or too wet. The definition of the desired level of water in a pile is: "Looks moist like a sponse that has been wrung-out", but this is not something that is easily measured. You need to have some understanding of the water levels of some of the ingredients of a pile. Some of the materials contain much water than seems evident.
Fresh materials such as grass, fresh leaves, vegetable wastes, manure, hay, kitchen scraps, etc contain far more water than seems evident. Fallen and dry leaves are browns that contain lower amounts of water. If you pile seems too wet, then you need to turn it out, mix it and add some brown materials that have less water. On the other hand, if the pile seems to heat up too much and then stops, then you need to add water.

Nitrogen content: Not enough nitrogen will lead to the pile stopping. You need to add items that have high nitrogen content - fresh green material such as grass, wastes, fresh green leaves, etc have a lot of nitrogen.

Newsprint: People have been warned of newspapers containing toxic or non-biodegradable materials, but that has reduced significantly. Shredded newsprint is useful for the compost.

Shredding: Shredding means that you have smaller particles in the compost, which means more surface area for the microbes to work through, and a faster pile.

Soil: Add some finely dispersed soil in the pile, since the soil comes with a lot of microbes and worms that are very important for the compost pile.

Areration: Aeration in this case means that the pile gets a lot of air (oxygen). The pile needs to be loosened with a fork so that air gets to the different parts of the pile. In addition, you can push bars down to the bottom of the pile so that air gets to inside the pile.

Measure the temperature: Keep a soil temperature to measure the temperature of the pile at frequent intervals. When the temperature of the pile falls to below 40 degress Celsius, then turn the pile. The temperature should be between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius.

Using manure: Manure can form an important part of any compost pile. Use manure from any animal that is not a carnivore. Avoid using manure from commercial farms since the animals are fed a mixture of antibiotics.

Odours: If you compost pile has an unpleasant odor, then it is either too tightly packed, over-watered or has too much nitrogen. You should add some materials high in carbon content such as grass clippings, straw to the pile.

Worx GT WG150 10-Inch 18-Volt Cordless Electric String Trimmer/Edger

The WORX GT is the perfect tool to neatly manicure your yard after you mow. It even won the prestigious Editor’s Choice award from Popular Mechanics Magazine at the 2006 Lawn and Garden Show. The lightweight WORX 18-volt battery-powered string trimmer weighs less than a gallon of milk and is the only trimmer on the market which converts from a standard grass trimmer to a true walk-behind edger – 2 tools in 1. The integrated Edger wheel allows you to quickly and easily roll the trimmer along your patio or driveway for adding that perfectly edged look to your yard or garden.
And forget the hassle of pull starters - the WORX GT starts with the single push of a button. Forget the aggravation of untangling extension cords – the 18-volt battery-powered WORX GT can trim up to a 1/2 acre yard on a single charge. It goes anywhere you need to. And unlike some competitive cordless models, the WORX GT comes with a 1-hour quick charger so you don’t have to wait for hours for the battery to re-charge…you’re back to work in minutes not hours. The unique trimming head of WORX GT pivots up to 90-degrees to reach under decks, under play equipment, under trees and bushes or on slopes and hills.



Technical Details

* 10-inch electric line trimmer with a hardy 18-volt battery
* 100% automatic line feed for best cutting performance
* Telescopic shaft adjusts to user's height and posture; rotating handle
* Includes 18-volt battery pack and charger, 16-foot spool trimmer line
* 2-year manufacturer's warranty

Customer feedback:

1. I got this to replace a 2001 American Gardner 18 volt cordless trimmer that finally would no longer hold a charge. The Worx has much improved ergonimics, the handles, telescoping shaft, adjustable head angle and light weight are nice. However it lacks the power of the American Gardner, it is unable to cut through as heavy a growth and the string that comes with it is crap. The auto feeder jammed several times the first time I used it and the line would not cut well compared to the 5 sided Shakespeare .65 line I had been using when rewinding my spools on the American Gardner trimmer. So I unwound the Worx spool and replaced their line with the Shakespeare line. The result was much improved cutting. I recommend this to everyone.

2. Strengths:
- electric cordelss (a requirement for me)= no mess/fuss & low noise
- lightweight
- adjustable trim head is very handy - I've never seen this on a line trimmer before. I like it a lot.
- durable - seems like a solid design.
- easily swapped batteries. Inexpensive battery replacement.

Weaknesses:
- not as powerful as their ads led me to believe. I've used a Craftsman 10 in. Electric Weedwacker for the past two years which uses a powerful 24 volt battery system. This trimmer uses an 18 volt. I'm not sure if that's what makes the Craftsman more powerful but something does. The Worx does fine with grass, but I don't think it would work well with anything heavier...
- so so as an edger. Not really powerful enough to dig the edge - but it will trim it and the wheels actually make it work fairly well for this.
- advertise how great the auto feed system is. Mine often required me to take off the bottom and manually feed it. The spool did seem to be poorly rolled so maybe I had a non-typical problem. Seems like it worked ok when the line didn' get caught up inside.

Recipe: GARDEN PASTA SALAD

1/2 pkg rotini pasta, uncooked
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli and carrots to pasta cooking water during last 2 min. Drain pasta and vegetables, rinse with cold water. In bowl, stir together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add pasta, broccoli, carrots, red pepper and onion, toss to coat well.

COVER, REFRIGERATE OR SERVE IMMEDIATELY.

Makes 8 servings.

Quick note on celery

CELERY
Celery is often referred to as a vegetable, but it is actually a herb. It is a biennial plant, growing well in moist soil in a sunny position.

Growing conditions:
Thin your plants out by transplanting them, and water well every 3 days and pile compost and sand around the plants base. The seeds can be collected as soon as it is ripe and kept in airtight bottles until ready to plant.

For drying, plant should be pulled up that are going into the flowering stage, or pick off the outside leaves throughout the year

Celery and leeks enjoy growing next to each other, as do tomatoes and bush beans

DOMESTIC USES
An excellent compost maker. It helps to break down the compost and can be layered
between lawn clippings to break them down quickly.

COSMETIC USES
An infusion of celery leaves makes an excellent cleanser for oily skin. Pour 2 cups
of boiling water over a cup of celery leaves and allow to cool, then strain. This can be added to the rinsing water for oily hair

MEDICINAL USES
Celery is great for weight loss and rheumatism. It also relieves flatulence. An infusion made with celery leaves or seeds is an effective diuretic

CULINARY USES
Celery, dried or fresh, can be used in soups, salads, stews or bouquet garnis.
The flavour combines well with most vegetables.
Celery seeds can be used to flavour savoury dishes and also in salad dressings, as
it cuts down on salt intake

Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

Growing herbs indoors is a cost-effective--and handier--alternative to buying them at the supermarket. Some of the easiest ones to grow indoors are thyme (Thymus vulgaris), basil (Ocimum basilicum), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), oregano (Origanum vulgare), chives (Allium schoenoprasum), mint (Mentha sp.) and sage (Salvia
officinalis). For people who love garlic, a great alternative is garlic chives (Allium tuberosum). Cut the tops of the grasslike blades and chop them up into your food for a mild garlic flavor.
There are three ways to start an indoor herb garden: transplanting store-bought or garden-grown plants or starting new ones from cuttings or seed.

A Seedy Beginning

For those who like to get their hands dirty, try starting herbs from seed. This is the least expensive way to grow an indoor herb garden, but it takes a bit of babysitting.
You'll need the following materials: a lightweight soil less mixture, seeds of your favorite herbs, clear plastic baggies and small pots with drainage holes. Some pots are too large to start seeds in, so plant them in a peat pot to get them started. Once they germinate and grow a bit, transplant the whole thing--peat pot and all--into the larger container. Fill the peat pot completely with the soil less mixture, then place it in small bowl filled with water. Allow the peat pot to absorb the water from the bottom up, until the entire soil less mixture is saturated. Make certain the peat is completely wet; otherwise, it will act as a wick and pull water away from the seeds. Watering seeds after they're planted can wash them away, so it's important not to skip this step.
Bury seeds to a depth that's three to four times their diameter. With really small seeds, like basil, you'll only need to press them into the soil. Plant a few in one pot to ensure success in the event that one doesn't germinate.
Slip a plastic baggie over the peat pot. The plastic will help the seedling retain moisture and create a warm environment, essentially simulating a greenhouse effect. To prevent the pot from drying out, place it on a saucer and add water to it so the peat can continue to soak up water.
After all the prep work is completed, leave the plants in a sunny location or positioned under grow lights.

A Cut Above

Stem cuttings are an easy method to grow herbs indoors. Before the growing season ends, you can always take some cuttings from your outdoor plants or use cut herbs available from a grocery store. Cut about six inches of a stem at the base of the plant.
Once the branch is cut, strip the foliage off the bottom so it won't rot. A root should develop everywhere that a leaf or stem has grown. Place the cutting in a small jar of water, and in no time it will set roots. When that happens, pot the cutting and let it grow. Keep in mind that these cuttings need a sunny location, and the water should be changed out every day.

The Easiest Way

If you don't want to wait to start seedlings or grow plants from cuttings, you can have an herb garden now by purchasing live, grown plants from your local garden center. Keep plants in a sunny location with sufficient water. Once a week, feed them, using a diluted, organic fertilizer; fish emulsion is one good option. Also give your plants a periodic trimming as it helps them to branch out and grow
more vigorously.

Treating home grown herbs

Drying Herbs

If you have an herb garden, you'll find that home-dried herbs can be just as tasty as those bought at the store. However, proper handling is as important to the success of your herb harvest as good cultural practices.

Preparation

Most herbs are at their peak flavor just before flowering, so this is a good time to collect them for drying and storage. To be certain, check drying directions on specific herbs in a reliable reference book. Cut off the herbs early in the morning just after the dew has dried. Cut annuals off at ground level, and perennials about one-third down the main stem, including the side branches.
Wash herbs, with the leaves on the stems, lightly in cold running water to remove any soil, dust, bugs, or other foreign material. Drain thoroughly on absorbent towels or hang plants upside down in the sun until the water evaporates.
Strip leaves off the stalks once plants have drained and dried, leaving only the top 6 inches. Remove all blossoms.

Natural or Air Drying

Herbs must be dried thoroughly before storing. Herbs with high moisture content, such as mint and basil, need rapid drying or they will mold. To retain some green leaf coloring, dry in the dark by hanging plants upside down in bunches in paper bags. Hanging leaves down allows essential oils to flow from stems to leaves. Tie whole
stems very tightly in small bunches. Individual stems will shrink and fall. Hang in a dark, warm (70o-80oF [21.1o-26.7oC]), well-ventilated, dust-free area. Leaves are ready when they feel dry and crumbly in about 1 to 2 weeks.

Drying Seeds

Seeds take longer to dry than leaves, sometimes as much as 2 weeks for larger seeds. Place seed heads on cloth or paper. When partially dry, rub seeds gently between palms to remove dirt and hulls. Spread clean seed in thin layers on cloth or paper until thoroughly dry.
You also can dry herb seeds by hanging the whole plant upside down inside a paper bag. The bag will catch the seeds as they dry and fall from the pod.

Oven Drying

For quick oven drying, take care to prevent loss of flavor, oils, and color. Place leaves or seeds on a cookie sheet or shallow pan not more than 1 inch deep in an open oven at low heat less than 180oF (82.2oC) for about 2 to 4 hours.
Microwave ovens can be used to dry leaves quickly. Place the clean leaves on a paper plate or paper towel. Place the herbs in the oven for 1 to 3 minutes, mixing every 30 seconds.

Silica Gel or Salt Drying

Silica gel or noniodized table salt can be used to dry or "cure" non-hairy leaves. Clean and blot dry leaves before placing them in a tray or shallow pan of the silica gel or salt. After the leaves have dried, approximately 2 to 4 weeks, remove the leaves from the drying material, shake off the excess material, and store them in glass containers. Before using, rinse leaves thoroughly in clear, cold water.
Another method of drying herbs is to remove the leaves from the plants, wash them, and spread them thinly on screens to dry, avoiding exposure to bright light. Cheesecloth makes a good screen material and stretches well.

Freezing Herbs

Herbs also can be frozen. Harvest herbs according to recommendations. Wash them thoroughly and blanch them in boiling, unsalted water for 50 seconds Cool them quickly in ice water and then package and freeze them. Washed fresh dill, chives, and basil can be frozen without blanching.

Storage

When completely dry, the leaves may be screened to a powder or stored whole in airtight containers, such as canning jars with tightly sealed lids. Seeds should be stored whole and ground as needed. Leaves retain their oil and flavor if stored whole and crushed just before use.
For a few days, it is very important to examine daily the jars in which you have stored dried herbs. If you see any moisture in the jars, remove the herbs and repeat the drying process. Herbs will mold quickly in closed jars if not completely dry.
Once you are sure the herbs are completely dry, place them in the airtight containers, and store them in a cool, dry place away from light. Never use paper or cardboard containers for storage as they will absorb the herbs' aromatic oils.

Information on carpenter ants

When searching for information about carpenter ants (identification, control, and other such information), I came across this link that provides some information in this regard, and should help you to learn more about this problem. Here are some excerpts from this site:

The presence of a few foraging ants in the home, or 1 or 2 winged queens during swarming times does not mean you have an infestation. These foragers may merely be scout ants seeking food or nesting sites or queens that have flown in an open door.
Foraging ants have been seen entering homes along telephone wires or along branches touching the roof or even from ground trails that come under a door. In such cases, the house may be a nesting area.
If ants are coming in, there may be a nest outside the house and eventually they may establish satellite colonies in some part of the structure. Be certain they are carpenter ants and not moisture ants, termites or yellowjackets.

Most infestations were in houses with these characteristics:

* Wood frame
* Crawl space
* Cedar or plywood siding
* Moderately to gently sloping roof
* 5-25 years of age
* Vegetation (trees and shrubs) surrounding the house
* "Structures located near the edge of the forest were more liable to attack than those located further away." This is because the ants which have well-established nests in trees or stumps can easily move to the nearby house and establish satellite colonies.

GARDENING BOOKSHELF - Reviews about gardening books

Do you wonder what book would best serve your needs on a particular topic? Are you looking for a gift idea? Do you need a book for those rainy afternoons when you can't play in the garden? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, look through the many gardening, horticulture, botany, and nature study books reviewed at this site. I'm sure you'll find something to meet your need.
Books reviewed belong to the following categories:
- Alpine and Rock Gardens
- Water Gardens & Wetland Plants
- Specific Plants, Trees, and Shrubs
- Orchids & Other Houseplants
- Wildflowers
- General Plants, Trees, and Shrubs
- Lawns
- General Gardening Information
- Michigan Books
- Wildlife
All the reviews available at this location.

Planting strawberried

Planting: Strawberry plants (crowns with roots) should be planted only half way up the crowns. Any deeper and they rot and die. Any shallower and they dry and die. The plants need to be about 10-12 inches apart and, planted either in rows about the same width or a little wider. Because they do well in weedless area, they need to have some sort of protection against weeds.

Types: If they are June bearing types, they produce only a single crop per year, and love very rich soil. If they are everbearing types, they will produce throughout the summer, but usually are smaller and less berries.

Propagation: Most plants will send out runners. These look like long stems and will start to form new leaves and roots at their tips. Usually they should have all the runners picked off and removed in the first season, so the plants can put more energy into the berries. After about two years, the crowns tend to get longer and 'leggy'. Usually after the third year, these older leggy plants need to be replaced. Because a single plant can send out several runners in all directions, you can have small pots positioned under each small plant runner, so the roots will take in the small pots. The same fall, these small plants can be cut off from the mother plant and transplanted the following spring. You will eventually have an endless supply of plants if you allow them to root the runners. If they grow unchecked, they will soon over take the patch nearby the runners and if planted too closely, these tend to produce smaller berries if crowded.

Pests: Birds like these as do chipmunks, and they can both carry away a whole berry. One way is to paint some small rocks with bright red paint and set these around the plants to act as decoys. Also rat traps baited with grapes can get rid of many of the other pests. You wil be on your knees a lot, so get used to crawling and weeding, picking and thinning.. Spider mites are an enemy of these plants.

Winter care: Usually they need no covering in winter, but do benefit if there is a heavy weight white platic fabric put down over the plants for the winter months. Covering them over in winter with plant mulch or leaves tend to cause rotting, so should be avoided.

Making compost at home

Composting is an easy, economical way to keep nutrient-rich plant food at the ready. Not only is it good for your plants, if you pay by the can for waste removal, it can also be good for your garbage bill! Here is an inexpensive way to get started.
Materials needed:

* A 55-gallon garbage can with a tight fitting lid ( use plastic or galvanized metal).
* Hammer & large nail (or drill)
* 2 Cinder blocks (or bricks, or lumber scraps) to elevate the finished bin off the ground.
* Pie tin to catch compost tea
* Work gloves & protective eyewear
* Watering can or garden hose
* Bungee strap to secure lid (optional)
* 100 Red Wiggler worms (optional)

Directions for Assembly

Organic materials need oxygen to decompose, so using a hammer and nail (or drill), punch air holes into the garbage can at 4-6 inch intervals until you have covered the surface of the can (don't forget your gloves and eyewear). Flip the can over and punch 4 equidistant holes near the center of the bottom for drainage. Elevate the can using blocks and place the pie tin underneath it to catch any liquid compost tea that drains out (this is great for feeding houseplants).

Layering the Compost
Layer 1: Start by spreading a layer of garden soil (or saw dust) 3 inches deep on the bottom of the can. For faster composting, you can add Red Wiggler worms on top of this layer. Unlike earthworms (don't use them, they won't work), Red Wigglers are champion composters. They are inexpensive and easily available online. They multiply rapidly, so 100 will be plenty to start with. If you don't want to use worms,
don't worry. You don't need them.

Layer 2: Next add some chopped leaves, junk mail, shredded cardboard, or a few sheets of newspaper. These materials are rich in carbon and referred to as browns. Other examples of browns include straw, woodchips or saw dust.

Layer 3: Your next layer should contain nitrogen-rich materials, also called greens. Greens include grass clippings, pet hair, dust bunnies, vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds, and other non-fatty kitchen scraps including eggshells. If you are composting with worms, avoid onions and keep citrus peelings to a minimum (worms don't care for them). Avoid meat scraps and fatty foods like salad dressings and dairy products. They emit a strong odor when decomposing which attracts animals. Finish with another couple of handfuls of garden dirt and a few sprinkles from a watering can. Close the lid and you are all set! If you don't have enough materials to create all three layers right away, don't worry. Just keep adding waste as you generate it. Each time you add a layer of green, cover it with some browns and
a few more handfuls of garden dirt.

Moisture
Along with oxygen, moisture must be present for the organic materials to break down. Ideally, try to maintain moisture levels in the can similar to that of a wrung out sponge.

Mixing
At least once a week, roll the can on the ground to mix its contents. If the can becomes to heavy to handle, mix it using a pitchfork or shovel.

Adding Compost to the Garden
Depending on conditions, you can expect finished compost in as soon as 4 to 6 weeks. If composting with worms, leave the cover off for a few days before emptying the compost into the garden. The worms don't like light and will move to the bottom of the can where they'll be easy to separate out and use again once the can is empty.

Organic Gardening tips

1. Mulch your flower beds and trees with 3" of organic material - it
conserves water, adds humus and nutrients, and discourages weeds. It gives your beds
a nice, finished appearance.

2. Mulch acid-loving plants with a thick layer of pine needles each fall. As
the needles decompose, they will deposit their acid in the soil.

3. The most important step in pest management is to maintain healthy soil.
It produces healthy plants, which are better able to withstand disease and
insect damage.

4. Aphids? Spray infested stems, leaves, and buds with a very dilute soapy
water, then clear water. It works even on the heaviest infestation.

5. Compost improves soil structure, texture, and areation, and increases the
soil's water holding capacity. It also promotes soil fertility and
stimulates healthy root development.

6. Look for natural and organic alternatives to chemical fertilizers, such
as the use of compost. Our use of inorganic fertilizer is causing a toxic
buildup of chemicals in our soil and drinking water.

7. When buying plants for your landscape, select well-adapted plant types
for your soil, temperature range, and sun or shade exposure.

8. Landscaping your yard is the only home improvement that can return up to
200% of your original investment.

9. Plant trees! They increase in value as they grow and save energy and
money by shading our houses in the summer, and letting the sun shine through for
warmth in the winter.

10. Think of trees and their locations as the walls and roofs of our outdoor
rooms, when you are planning their locations and sizes.

11. Grass won't grow? Find an appropriate ground cover for the exposed earth
and fill the problem space, creating an interesting bed shape.

12. Plant vines on walls, fences, and overhead structures for quick shade,
vertical softening, and colorful flower displays.

13. If gourmet cooking is in your plans, organically grown herbs make
wonderful landscape plants. They flavor foods, provide medicinal properties, and
offer up fragrances. And most thrive on neglect.

14. Shade gardens are low maintenance - they require less watering, slower
growth, and fewer weeds to fight.

15. Everyone loves flowers! Annuals are useful for a splash of one-season
color. But since replacing them each year is expensive, concentrate them in
just a few spots.

16. There is no need to work the soil deeply when adding compost or soil
amendments. Eighty five percent of a plant's roots are found in the top 6" of
soil.

17. The best organic matter for bed preparation is compost made from
anything that was once alive, for example leaves, kitchen waste, and grass clippings.

18. Dig an ugly hole when planting a tree or shrub. A hole with "glazed"
sides from a shovel will restrict root penetration into the surrounding soil.

19. Planting from plastic containers? Carefully remove the plant and tear
the outside roots if they have grown solidly against the container.

20. Think of mulching as "maintaining the forest floor": add 1" to 3" of
compost or mulch to planting beds each year.

21. Natural fertilizers, compost and organic materials encourage native
earthworms. Earthworms are nature's tillers and soil conditioners, and
manufacture great fertilizer.

22. Bare soil should not be visible around a new planting. Always cover with
a layer of mulch, any coarse-textured, loose organic material.

23. Think "biodiversity". Using many different kinds of plants encourage
many different kinds of beneficial insects to take up residence in your yard.

24. Organic pest control is a comprehensive approach instead of a chemical
approach. Create a healthy biodiversity so that the insects and microbes will
control themselves. Using natural products and building healthy soil is the
best long-term treatment for pests.

25. Weeds? Spot-spray with common full-strength household vinegar, on a
sunny day. It's an organic weed killer that's safe for you and the environment.

26. Mulch! The rain and irrigation water runs off the land, eroding and
depleting your unprotected soil.

27. Residential users of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides apply more
pounds per acre of these chemicals then farmers do. As these pollutants run off,
they harm aquatic life and contaminate the food chain. If you keep your soil
healthy, you won't require chemical fertilizers.

28. Some mulching benefits are protection of roots from the sun's heat, and
protection of plant crowns from winter cold.

29. To prevent diseases and pest infestation , avoid piling mulch against
tree trunks. Spread mulch out as far as the drip line.

30. For effective weed control use a layer of coarse mulch 3" or more in
depth. Some hardy grasses may need to be rooted out for successful removal.

31. For a good start, water the ground thoroughly before and after applying
a mulch cover.

32. Use plants in your landscape that are either native to your area, or
were imported from areas with similar climate and soil. They require a lot less
water and care, and won't die off in the winter.

33. Compost is what happens when leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and
fruit scraps, woodchips, straw, and small twigs are combined, then allowed to
break down into a soil-like texture. Use it instead of commercial fertilizers.

34. Formal gardens are for you if you love symmetry. They work best around a
focal point like a fountain, sculpture, specimen tree, or group of plants.

35. Some flowers, including sweet peas, iris, foxglove, amaryllis, lantana,
lupines, clematis, dature, poinsettia, and oleander, are poisonous.

36. When buying annuals or perennials, select plants that are budded but not
yet in bloom, so their energy the first two or three weeks in your garden
will be directed toward making larger and stronger plants with better-developed
root systems.

37. To increase water conservation, look for drought-resistant plants.
Usually these plants have silver leaves, deep taproots and small leaves.
Succulents are also able to withstand dry weather.

38. When planting, take into consideration the plant's size at maturity.
Layer by height and bloom time for emphasis and constant color.

39. Soaker hoses deliver water directly to the base of the plant, reducing
moisture loss from evaporation. Early morning is the best time of day to water.

40. Compost balances both acid and alkaline soils, bringing PH levels into
the optimum range for nutrient availability. It contains micronutrients such
as iron and manganese that are often absent in synthetic fertilizers.

41. Avoid frequent, deep cultivation, which can damage plant roots, dry out
the soil, disturb healthy soil organisms, and bring weed seeds to the surface
where they will germinate.

42. Use the least-disruptive and least-polluting protections against a pest.
Try the following methods as applicable: first physical removal, barriers,
and traps; next, biological controls; then, appropriate botanical and mineral
pesticides.

43. Red, orange, and yellow in your landscape will draw the eye and bring
objects closer.To make a small garden feel larger, place warm colors in the
front of the space and cool colors in the back.

44. Cover street noise - sound pollution can be minimized by the use of
water features, such as a waterfall, or a pond with a fountain jet. Wind chimes
also help, as can bird feeders that attract songbirds.

45. Newly planted trees need supplemental water to avoid transplant shock,
so water deeply on a weekly basis throughout the growing season.

46. Give order to your garden by defining the boundaries with fences, stone
walls, or hedges. Include paths for movement.

47. Less than 2 percent of the insects in the world are harmful. Beneficial
insects such as ground beetles, ladybugs, fireflies, green lacewings, praying
mantids, spiders, and wasps keep harmful insects from devouring your plants.
They also pollinate your plants and decompose organic matter.

48. Plant newly purchased plants during the late evening or on a cloudy day.
They have a much better chance of surviving if planted during cloudy, rainy
weather than dry, sunny weather.

49. Compost introduces and feeds diverse life in the soil, including
bacteria, insects, worms, and more, which support vigorous plant growth.

50. Bright light washes out the cool colors, blue, green, and purple. They
are best used in shaded areas for maximum impact.

Gardening's Better Than Sex

Here are the top reasons why gardening is better than sex:
#25 - Gardeners are not embarrassed explaining the birds and the bees to
their kids.
#24 - If your regular gardening partner isn't available, he/she won't object
if you garden with someone else.
#23 - It's absolutely acceptable to garden before you're married.
#22 - The Ten Commandments don't say anything against gardening.
#21 - You don't have to shower and shave before gardening.
#20 - You'll always be able to garden, no matter how old you are.
#19 - You'l never hear anyone say: "Is gardening all you ever think about?"
#18 - You don't have to hide your Gardening magazines.
#17 - Telling gardening jokes, and invite co-workers to garden with you is
not considered workplace harassment.
#16 - Email with gardening content is not considered offensive material.
#15 - When you become famous, you don't have to worry about pictures and
videotapes of you gardening being shown on the Internet.
#14 - Your gardening partner doesn't get upset about people you gardened
with a long time ago.
#13 - It's perfectly respectable to enjoy gardening with a total stranger.
#12 - When you see a really good gardener, you don't have to feel guilty
about imagining the two of you gardening together.
#11 - Every time you garden, you hope to produce fruit.
#10 - Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blind if you garden by
yourself.
#9 - When dealing with a gardening pro, you never have to wonder if they're
really an undercover cop.
#8 - You don't have to go to a sleazy shop in a seedy neighborhood to buy
gardening stuff.
#7 - You can have a gardening related calendar on your wall at the office.
#6 - There are no gardening-transmitted diseases.
#5 - No one objects if you watch the gardening channel on television.
#4 - Nobody expects you to garden with the same person your whole life.
#3 - Nobody expects you to give up gardening if your partner loses interest.

#2 - You don't have to be a newlywed to plan a vacation primarily to enjoy
your favorite activity.
#1 - Your partner will never say, "Not again? We just gardened last week! "

Tips for a garden

PRESERVING BRITTLE FLOWERS
Use high quality fabric softener full strength or dilute using 1 part glycerin to 3 parts softener , remove leaves from the bottom stems and place in solution until they feel supple.

HARVESTING HERBS
To ensure good flavor and scent pick fresh herbs right before the plant begins to flower, on a warm dry day.

HERBAL INSECT REPELLANT
Grind 1 ½ cup of dried herbs or 3 cups fresh and place in 1 quart of water, let it sit for 24 hours, strain, add 1/4 t. of dish soap. A variety of herbs are known to repel a variety of insects. Experiment to see what works best in your situation. Here are some that may work: catmint, feverfew, marigolds, sage, thyme, pennyroyal,
wormwood, chives, painted daisies, southernwood, lemon bam, tansy, lavender, bay and garlic.

COMFREY TONIC
Comfrey significantly is high in potash and other essential for plant nutrition, which makes it ideal for feeding your plants. Put comfrey leaves and water into a water tight container with a brick on top to weigh the leaves down and allow the mixture to stand for 4 weeks. The result is a ready to use evil smelling brew that can be diluted and watered onto plants. I add 1/8 to 1/4 of the comfrey tonic to a
watering can and fill the rest with water to use the comfrey spray, dilute 1 tablespoon with 2 pints of water. Add a drop of dish soap as a spreader sticker.

MOLES
Bury a glass bottle upright in the soil near their run. Leave about an inch of the neck above ground, the weird whistling vibration disturbs the moles. You can also stick inexpensive pinwheels into the soil near tunnels and mounds. Moles with their delicate skulls are extremely sensitive to vibrations.

HERB TONIC FOR HEALTHY PLANTS
1 1/2 teaspoon dried plantain herb
1/2 teaspoon dried horsetail herb
1/2 teaspoon dried nettle
1/2 teaspoon dried yarrow
1 clove garlic
1 kelp tablet (about 150 micrograms) crushed
6 cups boiling water
Combine all ingredients, pour on the water, and let steep, covered, for 5 minutes. Strain and use to water herbs. Or make a sun tea, letting the herbs steep all day. This tonic provides nutrients that herbs needs, and helps keeps pests away.

Apply a surface application of an all around garden fertilizer in late fall to help plants survive the winter. Add another in early spring while plants are dormant and once more about six weeks into the growing season.

Controlling pests that enjoy devouring the hard-earned fruits of our labor is as important to a healthy garden as water, fertilizer, and weed control. Always remember that any chemical pesticide is by definition toxic to something, and may have direct or even an indirect effect on other living things, not just on what you are
wanting to treat. You can easily mix your own simple and effective sprays. Following are probably the most popular among those who like to keep chemicals out of the garden.

Garlic Spray Insecticide
One whole garlic bulb
Two cups water
Combine in blender the entire garlic bulb and two cups water, and blend on high speed until garlic is finely pureed. Put in storage container and set aside for a day. Strain out pulp, and then mix liquid with one gallon water in sprayer. Spray tops and bottoms of leaves thoroughly. Apply about once a week, and after a rain.

Fungicide Spray Treats Powdery Mildew & other fungus
One gallon water
Three tablespoons baking soda
One teaspoon dishwashing liquid
One tablespoon bleach
Warning! NO more than this amount Mix all ingredients in sprayer and spray all areas on the plant that look affected. It's best to remove all leaves and other parts of the plant that are the worst affected. Apply sparingly to unaffected areas, and keep in mind that too much bleach can harm the plant. Try to avoid getting it on healthy leaves.

Hot Pepper Spray
Helps repel rabbits, deer, and other nibblers
6 - 10 Hot Peppers
2 cups water
1 quart water
Combine peppers and two cups water in blender and blend on high speed for 1 - 2 minutes. Pour in storage container with lid and put aside for a day. Strain through cheesecloth, and add this liquid to one quart of water in sprayer. Spray plants liberally every week and after a rain.