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If you are looking to save a few extra bucks at the grocery store and have some fun at the same time, then I can think of no better activity than planting a vegetable garden. It might seem on the surface like a lot of work, but with some of the techniques and tips I am about to give you, you will have no problems, or at least keep them to a minimum.

Gardening is a great activity, especially if you have kids and get them involved. Some of the special moments I had with my own father came when he was teaching me how to plant and nurture his own vegetable garden. Now with children of my own I plan on doing the same.

There is also a lot bending and moving with gardening so you will get some exercise, just don’t plan on it being enough to compete in the Olympics though.

My first tip is to start your garden indoors. If you have a room with some windows where the sub hits first thing in the morning than that is the perfect area. You can start your plants in a variety of ways but I found what works best is buying one of those miniature green houses from Home Depot or Lowes and starting them that way. These miniature greenhouses range in price depending on size, from $1.99 to $7.00. They are really more like plastic trays with a clear plastic top. They come with rock hard pellets made from a variety of soils that when you add water they expand to create a great starting environment for your seeds.

It’s best, as I found the hard way, to not start your plants too early indoors. You want to time it just right so that when the plants are ready indoors to be moved, you can take them directly to your garden.

Here in New Jersey, I start in indoors on April 1st, so that by May 1st, I am ready to go. I tried starting earlier one year, and halfway through the month of April it snowed and wiped me out. Now I wait out April and have never had any problems since.

Once I have moved my indoor plants to the outdoors I then put down my weed barrier made from wet newspaper, because lets face it, I hate weeding, and if you don’t do this step you will be doing plenty of it. Simply take two pages of your newspaper and lay them down, making sure you overlap the edges until your garden is covered. Just make sure you don’t cover up your plants.

I am also very fortunate that in my area our township has a recycle center where you can pick up leaf mulch absolutely free. I grab a few buckets and lay it over top of my newspaper weed barrier and I am done, and the garden looks great. If you do not have access to leaf mulch as I do, you can always buy some from a local nursery, or you could just mow your lawn and throw the grass clippings on top.

Putting the mulch on afterwards will allow for better water drainage, it will keep the soil underneath a lot cooler and as the mulch and newspaper biodegrades it will add nutrients to your soil.

Once the garden season comes to an end, and the plants have stopped producing vegetables and fruit, do not throw them away. Start your own compost pile. Although it goes beyond the scope of this article, in essence a compost pile is where you add leaves, grass and other biodegradable material, turn it over every so often and when it’s done, you have great compost that you can use the following year for your top layer above your newspaper weed barrier.

One final note that I want to get across that I can’t stress enough and that is to compost your food waste. What this means is, instead of throwing away leftovers or uneaten food, dig a hole about a foot to two feet deep and bury it. Worms and other earthly creatures will find it and eat and their castings create compost that far outweighs the benefits of any chemical fertilizer. Do not, however, add food waste to your compost pile explained in the previous paragraph. It will create a fowl smell and I don’t think your neighbors will appreciate that.

About the Author
Bruce is the co-author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A guide to vegetable gardening for the rest of us”. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds. To learn more about Mr. Tucker or to inquire about the book you can visit: AveragePersonGardening.com

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Holding a positive attitude is all the rage right now. “If you focus on the things you don’t want, you will attract them to yourself” – is what’s on many peoples’ lips today. This no doubt is all very true, but without decrying the wisdom being imparted today, the amateur home gardener should be aware of the things that may be lurking in the backyard, some of which can actually endanger life and limb.

Poisonous plants

Admittedly, many plants are toxic to at least some extent. Some people are allergic to common favorites like Olive and Cypress trees. Furthermore, there is always the proverbial one in a million chance of a person being allergic to a particular plant that is not generally supposed to be allergenic. Taken to an extreme, we would be frightened of putting anything at all in the garden. There is of course no need for this. Nevertheless, common sense should prevail, and the life threatening species ought to be avoided. One such case in dry climate gardens, is the ornamental shrub Nerium Oleander, where all parts of the plant, if eaten, can be fatal. Even burning dry branches is liable to be dangerous.

Spiky and thorny plants

As with plants that posses some level of toxicity, the exclusion of every thorny species would mean that many excellent ornamental mainstays would be lost to the garden. Roses for instance, would suffer a banning order. Without going to such lengths, it is nonetheless prudent to avoid plants that can cause serious injury. The spikes of Yucca are horrific, and often spring out at a child’s eye level. I am always horrified to see them at the edge of a lawn, where children are innocently running around.

Another horror plant is the widely used date palm. (Phoenix dactilyfera) It is totally unsuited to a small garden or to any narrow space. I personally know a 5 year old boy who is suffering one year on after being stabbed in the arm from a date palm leaf, for the plant is not only dangerously thorny, but highly allergenic as well. If you want a palm tree in the garden, choose a non-violent type like Archontophoenix instead. For similar reasons, the Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) with its razor sharp leaves, should only be planted where there is no danger of people brushing passed it.

It is worthwhile therefore taking an inventory of the plants currently in your garden. Spikey plants in vulnerable places should be removed, while an expert specializing in poisonous plants should be consulted with, in order to ascertain as to which are dangerously toxic to an unacceptable degree.

My name is Jonathan Ya’akobi.

I’ve been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984. I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners. I also teach horticulture to students on training courses. I’d love to help you get the very best from your garden, so you’re welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com

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