Having a garden is not just for those who have large plots of land that they can till up and plant seeds in.  Even someone with no more space than a deck can have a bountiful container garden that can produce just as much and in some cases more than a garden planted in plain old dirt.  This is possible because you can tailor the soil medium for maximum growth and place the pots where they can get the perfect amount of heat and sunlight.

There are a few things to consider when establishing a container garden.

• Type of Container
• Size of Container
• What you will plant​
• How will you water them 

So spring is finally upon us again and you are starting to think about what needs to get the garden planted this spring.  There are several things you can do right now to get the process going long before the weather is warm enough outside for the early spring crops. ​

Here we are at the end of December and for most us were are long past the end of the growing season and we are enjoying the fruits of our labor.  Maybe you are the type of person that is saying finally I can take break and relax a bit or maybe you are like me and are bemoaning the lack or warm sun and rainy nights that led to such a beautiful outside garden.
Even though the weather is getting colder and you know the frost is coming fear not because you can continue to grow delicious food inside your home.  With today’s LED light technology it is easier and cheaper than ever before to set up a system for growing food inside all winter long.

Here we are again at the very beginning of the spring planting season.  If you live down in the southern part of the US chances are you are already gearing up for planting since you have that wondrously long growing season.  Up here in the Midwest we do not quite enjoy that luck so we are still dreaming of the spring planting and the only thing we can do is start our seedlings.  

So with that in mind now is the time to start your own seedlings indoors so that they will be large enough for transplanting when it is finally warm enough.  In reality you need to start very few types of plants indoors and that is only because they need a longer growing season than can be provided.  

I will typically only start tomatoes, peppers and watermelons indoors and will instead direct seed the rest when the weather allows.  You can also use season extension techniques like low tunnels or hoop houses to protect and encourage new growth earlier.

It is very tempting to jump the gun when it comes to new planting especially if you have unseasonable warm weather but make to pay attention to the local last frost dates and if you want to plant earlier  seriously consider using low tunnel hoop house to protect against those surprise frosts.    

I am just going to come right out and say it I really like plastic shopping bags but not for their intended purpose. I like them because I will admit they can very useful items to have around the house for a variety of reasons. In the spirit of trying to live a greener life I do my best to phase out the use of plastic bags in all their forms but I will be honest enough to admit I don’t always succeed. For me most of the time I simply forget to grab my reusable cloth bags and as much as it annoys me I will take the plastic bags.

So like most people I end up with a big bundle of plastic bags usually underneath my kitchen sink that I have to do something with. I won’t just throw them away because that conflicts with my Reduce, Reuse, Recycle lifestyle so something must be done with them. Overtime I have found a few useful ways in reusing plastics bags in a way that allows multiple uses and sometimes long lifespans.

The first couple I am going to touch on are very obvious but I feel like they need mentioning anyways since people insist on buying custom made single use alternatives when a free plastic bag will work just as well.  

Getting ready for the garden this coming spring is more about what plan you put into place this winter than it is about tilling the soil and planting the seeds.  Getting a solid plan into place can save you a lot of headache in the spring.

The first thing you should do is take a look at notes you should have been taking during the summer.  Good notes along with pictures will act as a record of what you had success and failures with.  For example I kept a log that I put in planting dates, germination dates, rainfall and production success of plant varieties. 

Have you ever had trouble starting seeds in the spring or fall or maybe in the middle of winter if your crazy like me. Well I know I have and I have been searching for a long time for effective seed starting methods that don't involve purchasing something custom made for the job. Items like the Jiffy Greenhouse or the Hydrofarm Germination Station are wonderful tools but they don't provide the versatility I like.