By Vanessa Richins

I have 2 guinea pigs. Sometimes it feels like they can eat their own weight in carrots. I need to start growing my own carrots!

Carrots are a cool season vegetable.

They can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground has thawed. You can also plant a second crop in the fall. Best growth happens when the temperature is between 60-70F.

If it is too hot, growth will slow and the roots will become coarse and develop a bad flavor. If it is too cool, the roots will be too thin and long.

Growing your own carrots starts with well-drained soil. There shouldn’t be any stones or clods, and it needs to be loose. Carrots are the roots of the carrot plant – if it encounters rocks or other hard items, the root may curve, fork, or both! It also needs to be fairly deep so the roots have room to grow. You can use a container as long as it is at least 1′ deep.

Plant seeds .25″ deep in rows that are 1-1.5″ apart. You can plant seeds every 3 Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

What is the weather forecast for your region tomorrow?

Chances are, if you’re a gardener, you know the answer to that question.

However, for non-gardeners who don’t have barbecues planned, the fascination with the weather may not be the same.

I grew up on a farm, and it was our business to keep an eye on the weather. Our hay and crops, and sometimes even the safety of our livestock, all depended on trying to guess what nature had in store for us. Farm kids grow up knowing that a dry summer will mean Read the rest of this entry »

By Reggie Solomon

• Seattle, Washington may be known for its coffee scene, but Shibaguyz prove you can garden in the city no matter how small your backyard and get beautiful results.

• A Detroit Michigan gardener at Georgia Street Community Garden discovers a city ordinance that actually forbids community gardens. Yikes!

• David Pescovitz at Boing Boing discovers an urban garden in the unlikeliest place, under a New York City sidewalk grate.  That’s gorilla gardening indeed!

• Eco urbanists at LJ Urban aspire to turn vacant city lots into urban garden oasis.

By Cindy Naas

Rosemary is a perfect choice for city gardeners who have some room on a porch or balcony, since it is one of the herbs which really should be grown in a planter.

Rosemary is too tender to be left outside in the winter in most of the U.S.

It also makes a beautiful indoor plant in the winter, filling your home with the spicy-fresh scent of rosemary.

Growing – Rosemary needs a fertile yet well-drained soil. I use an extra handful of manure added to my container potting soil mix, and I line the bottom of the pot with small rocks. Water fairly often, letting the soil become nearly but not quite dry between watering.

This plant will not thrive in constantly damp soil. Grow in full sun. In regions with late summers/early falls, place small stones on top of the planter soil to retain heat into the evening.

This will allow the essential oils to become more concentrated, at least according to my elderly Italian neighbor who grows perhaps the finest vegetable garden I have ever seen.

Harvesting – Rosemary is used in fairly small quantities. Using scissors, snip off ends of branches. Peel off the needles or snip the needles directly into your recipe. Rosemary doesn’t keep as well as some herbs, I always pick it just before I need it.

Recipes: Here are a couple of really good uses Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Adding brightly colored blossoms to a fresh garden salad is nothing but frivolous.

And fun, and something I love to do.

After seeing the price of freshly packaged edible salad flowers in the grocery store, I’m glad I plant a few kinds in my own garden.

Here rre a few which are easy to grow, pretty in bloom, and that make a great addition to your salad bowl:

Nasturtiums – These are probably my favorite edible flower. They have a spicy, peppery flavor which goes well with bitter greens such as romaine and arugula. They are also Read the rest of this entry »