Gardening

Temperatures are finally cooling down, and your garden is now more of a pleasure and less of a chore. Even though most of the time-consuming work is in the past, there is still some essential tasks that must be done to ensure a successful spring. Let's get started.

Most of us think of Spring as the start of our growing season and forget that Fall offers the ideal growing conditions for various crops. Fall is great for planting cool season vegetables as well as perennials, shrubs, and trees. Now is a great time to plant for an Autumn harvest or your spring garden.

You take your car in to have the oil changed because you want your car to last and run as efficiently as possible right? So why not do the same with your garden and drip system. Midsummer or before you take off on vacation is an opportune time to walk through your garden or landscape looking carefully for any problems. Your irrigation system works hard for you. Here are some simple necessary steps to think about that can keep your irrigation system running 100% effectively.

Garden fresh veggies that you grow are by far the most beneficial. Here is our easy to grow favorite veggies that will provide fresh, healthy food for your family and save you money. Having fresh garden grown veggies will help you eat more salads and vegetable dishes every day. Store bought vegetables lose a lot of their nutrient content by the time you get them home. Some examples of this are spinach that loses 64 percent of its vitamin C after one day in the fridge, green beans that lose 23 percent after a day, green peas that lose 61 percent after two days, and carrots that lose 42 percent after a week. Eating and enjoying the harvest will improve your overall health in so many ways! Here are some old favorites to consider, and some welcome surprises.

Finding arable land to produce food is at a premium as the population grows. The demand for high quality locally sourced food has caused some small companies to develop some very creative solutions. Repurposing steel shipping containers and using vacant buildings for vertical gardens are two innovative techniques that are beginning to be a part of the answer to our growing demand for fresh produce.

As we dream about our upcoming gardening plan for this year, I want to suggest being creatively imperfect. I'm talking about taking the stress out of your garden design and making it fun and environmentally friendly. Beautiful, healthy plants displayed brilliantly will remain the top priority.