By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

My son loves carrots and as a matter of fact the only fight he ever got into was over, you guessed it, carrots.

In the past, when I have grown my own carrots I have always gotten forked roots.

Heavy clay soils and/or stones in the soil cause this root problem.

The confinement of the soil is what changes the shape of the root. If you have had the same problem, do not despair. There is a solution to this setback and it is as simple as a container.

Growing carrots in a container has its own challenge but this can be overcome. The first step in this process is selecting the correct container. The container needs to work with the variety of carrot you plan to grow. But to make life easier, always select a container that is 2-inches deeper than the mature size of the carrot variety.

Next consideration is the soil. Carrots require a Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Prevention is worth a pound of cure some say, and I believe this principle.

Many problems can be nipped in the butt from the start.

Many times though, we just skip over a simple step in hopes of getting to the prize sooner.

Gardening is no different.

This year I am making a resolution to nip a tomato problem in the butt from the very beginning. One may wonder what that problem is and the answer is simple. It is the notorious bottom rot.

While I know you may be thinking, just buy plants that are bottom rot resistant and be done with it. But I have philosophy about plant resistance. If Mother Nature felt plants needed to be immune to a certain disease it would have been made that way. While I have bought plants that are immune, I still like to stay with Mother Nature’s best.

Bottom rot is caused by Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Every gardener knows the heartache of checking on ones seedlings and finding them lying down on top of the soil.

The cause of this is a simple fungus that can build up in damp conditions.

The same conditions that seeds need to germinate but there are two solutions to this simple problem.

The first solution is one that is used when you first plant your seeds. To begin this process, simply plant your seeds as usual. If you plant your seeds in a row, this technique is easier to use but it can be used if you simply broadcast your seed.

Once the seed is planted sprinkle crushed sphagnum moss in between the rows. If you broadcast your seed, just sprinkle a thin layer of sphagnum moss on top of the soil. After this is done, care for your seeds as usual.

The second technique is one that should be used Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Years ago, I had a friend that got the gardening bug.

This friend was the true definition of a Brown Thumb Gardener.

She was always calling me with questions and many times would show up at my door begging me to come over and look at her garden.

She used to call me “The Garden Whisper” because I could take plants cast out as trash and make them grow.

Well, I would never say I am a “Garden Whisper” but instead I would say that I am a frugal gardener that really knows how to grow plants. But since I have been blessed with this skill, I always go over and “whisper” to her garden.

But one day, she showed up to my door with a package and on the surface it was just a plain, brown envelope. Inside though, was not items that were just plain, instead that contained life, life that would thrive with a little care and understanding from its caretaker. Unfortunately, this caretaker was a new mamma that had no clue how to take care of this potential life.

Taking my friend under my wing, I opened her package and found s Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

January brings about a new year, goals, and resolutions.

While all these things are true for me, January is also the month that I begin to receive my seed catalogs.

If you are not a gardener you may not understand the feeling one gets when the mailbox is opened and the glimmer of the first catalog of the season appears.

It is a thrill that every gardener understands and I compare it to a runner’s high. All the hopes and dreams of the upcoming gardening season seem to be wrapped up in the shiny, magazine like pages of the catalogs.

Before I go on and on about these wonderful treasures that arrive every spring, I would like to decipher the hieroglyphic language in these magazines.

The first thing you will need to do is discover what USDA Plant Hardiness zone you live in. This is easily done by reading the map that is located in the front of most catalogs. It is color-coded and you simply look for your state. As you will notice, the colors seem to go in a wave across the United States. This is tracking the average low temperatures. When dealing with plants, the lowest temperature is Read the rest of this entry »