By Reggie Solomon

• Julie Ann at Jewells in Seattle laments this year’s cool season which is impacting her tomatoes.

• Moonwolf at Guerrilla Gardeners: Now Public captures photos of sunflowers growing under a city sidewalk grate proving gardening can happen in the unlikeliest of places.

• Fern at Life on the Balcony shares advice on how to keep cats from eating plants in your garden.

• Adam at Gardener’s World shares tips on how to build a water feature in a pot for your urban garden.

By Vanessa Richins

There are many options available if you would like to extend your growing season.

Some of these include using hoophouses, greenhouses, and cold frames.

A hoophouse is a version of an unheated greenhouse. For about $100 or less, you can build your own 10′ x 21′ using these instructions by Travis Saling.

As he says in his intro, a hoophouse “keeps excessive rain off the plants, blocks the wind, raises daytime temperatures 5-10 degrees (and often much more), and keeps frosts and heavy dew off the leaves. This can extend your warm-season gardening a Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Sage is a wonderful herb with many uses.

Herbalists use it as a digestive aid, some people grow it just for its aromatic qualities used in freshening a house, and its uses in cooking are numerous.

For the urban gardener, sage can be a great choice for a dry sunny corner where nothing else likes to grow.

Growing: Sage is another Mediterranean herb which likes hot dry well-draining soil. This is one plant which will be very unhappy during a humid summer. If you live in a humid region, add a lot of grit and sand to the soil around the sage, and make sure it is not crowded near another plant. Without adequate air circulation and well drained soil, your sage will not thrive.

Harvesting: Sage has large soft leaves which feel Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

You don’t have to live in Hawaii to grow your own pineapples.

It makes a lovely houseplant, and if you are patient, you may just be able to get it to produce fruit.

They will be a bit sour if grown outside its ideal conditions (again, think Hawaii) but it can be mixed into recipes along with some sugar.  Even if you don’t eat the pineapples produced, they are sure to attract attention.

Starting your pineapple plant is as easy as cutting off the top of a pineapple fruit.  Be sure to cut it so it has a small amount of flesh on it.  Apply some rooting hormone to the cut.  Let the top dry for several days or it will rot.

Next, plant it in a pot that is about 8″ wide.  Use a light potting soil so your pineapple plant will be Read the rest of this entry »

Urban Garden Casual and Tomato Casual were recently featured on “Rick’s RSS” segment on FOX 61 News in Connecticut.

Rick Hancock interviewed Reggie Solomon, about his blogs during the FOX News show’s weekly segment that let’s you know what’s hot on the web and what’s tops in technology.

If you ever wanted to check out Reggie’s backyard garden and tomatoes, here’s your chance. Many kudos to Rick Hancock for choosing to keep it casual.

See Video Here