Garden Art: Tips To Recycle Old Junk
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
In this episode of Gardening Tip One Minute Audio we are going to talk about garden art.
Garden art can come in many forms and if tastefully done it can add a new dimension to your yard.
People have been recycling their old junk, and using it as garden art for years. You can use anything from an abandoned piece of farm machinery as metal garden art to a washing machine as a raised planter.
Old wooden window frames can be renewed into an art piece by gluing bits of different colored glass and creating a Mosaic, or painting any type of themed picture on the glass itself. As long as you protect them from the weather with polyurethane they will last for years. If the glass is broken use a backing of a piece of plywood and attach your art to it.
Here are a few more ideas and use your imagination to add to this list.
Take your broken down wheelbarrow, set it at a nice angle and fill it with dirt plant flowers in it for a nice planter over along side of an old stump.
You can take an old leather work boot and plant hen and chicks in it for a conversation piece.
Place a pot of flowers where the cane bottom used to be in an old cane bottom kitchen chair.
Use an old copper tea kettle for a planter.
If you missed last weeks episode we talked about growing tomatoes.
Tomato Problem
Monday, September 15th, 2008
The soil is damp around the tomato plant but not so wet that it should cause your tomatoes to split.
Some reasons tomatoes will split:
Allowing your tomatoes to dry out and then giving them too much water.
Too much water during high heat conditions.
Weather conditions that cause the fruit to increase in size faster than the skin can stretch.
Genetics can be a factor in splitting tomatoes.
Here is a link to a crack resistant variety tomato. The “Park Whopper” at Park Seeds
It is best to deep water tomatoes on a regular basis. Balance the water they receive. Don’t allow them to dry out but don’t over water either.
Growing Tomatoes
Friday, September 12th, 2008When your tomatoes turn red they are ripe.A lot of time bugs and birds feast on your tomatoes just before they are ripe leaving you with a tomato rotting on the vine.
It is best to leave your tomatoes on the vine as long as possible. Vine ripened tomatoes have the best flavor, with lots of extra vitamins and nutrients.
If you are losing the battle with the hungry bugs and birds in your garden and your tomatoes are getting damaged and rotting on the vine then pick them. Put your tomatoes in a paper bag or set them out on the counter to finish ripening on your back porch or in your kitchen window.
