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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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Cool nights and warm days are what we are feeling now. It is a great time to plant just about anything. For color pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, calendula, and stock will bloom thru winter, especially if they are planted next to a building or house. You can plant just about any type of tree or shrub. October gardening in cool weather is the perfect time to plant your tree!

The soil stays warm, which will help keep roots growing. The above ground temperatures are cooling down considerably, which reduces the need for constant watering. This combination will help get these plant a real good jump start for next spring.

Palm trees, small oleanders, red bird of paradise may do better if planted in the spring, summer, as opposed to fall and winter. Our sub freezing temps may injure these plants if planted too late. You may use a “winterizer” fertilizer to help protect less hardy specimen or valued plants that may get winter damage. This type of fertilizer has a higher amount of potash.

Potash will help strengthen winter hardiness in most plants. Don’t forget to reduce watering on established plants during this time of year. If they are watered too much at this time of year they may produce “lush” growth which is subject to winter damage.

This does not mean you need to stop watering. Most plants will need occasional watering in the winter months. Watering 2 to 3 times per month during the winter months will suffice.

Do not fertilize after October 31st, except for cool season grasses. Again as mentioned above pansies, and viola’s will provide you with winter color from now until next spring (April, May). If you have any questions please email us at mgr@guzmansgreenhouse.com

The article below can be viewed online at: http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com/seasons/octobergardentips.htm

Gary & Paul Guzman are the authors of this article: Gary is the owner and Color Your World Nurseries Located in Las Cruces, NM. Paul is the webmaster of guzmansgreenhouse.com Comments should be sent to mgr@guzmansgreenhouse.com

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If you are just beginning with gardening, don’t be afraid for it is not meant to be difficult. In fact, it can be so much fun much more than what you think. If you don’t know how to start, there is always an avenue of knowledge for you: your grandmother to assist you, informational books and magazines to read, and the internet to browse more information.

It used to be that gardening appeals only to the older folks. But nowadays, people of all ages, children, young adults, adults, and old folks alike, they see gardening as a refreshing and rewarding hobby to take. Why not? With all the benefits that you get, your being a busy, career person should never be used as a hindrance to start growing your own plants indoor or outdoor. You will see the big difference when you get to reap your own fruits of labors.

It doesn’t matter what you prefer. Would you like to have a bed of beautiful and colorful flowers, country garden full of wild flowers and shrubs, manicured lawn strategically placed with shrubs and little trees, or just a simple backyard with lots of pots and containers planted with grown plants? It isn’t a problem to start one because you can find lots of information on how you can start doing them. You can also ask questions and assistance from the experts.

For a starter, you will need these basic tools: trowel, spade, lawnmower, rake, and plants of your choice to grow. It would help a lot if you have some sort of garden plan based on the space that is available. In this way, it won’t be difficult for you to arrange some things like flower beds, lawns, paths, and on your garden bed or space.

The kinds of plants that you will grow will depend on what you want, the availability, and the climate that your location has. There are plants that grow only for the season but there are others too that can be cultivated to grow year after year. If you consider yourself a hobby gardener, then you would want to have plants that do not grow more than two seasons. These are perennial plants that allow you to tend to other things other than mere gardening.

If you don’t know what plants to start growing, you can always ask assistance from the local nursery available in your location. The experts from there should know what types would thrive specifically considering the climate in your area. And speaking of the local nursery, it is one avenue to buy plants you want on your garden. It is usually available with packets of seeds or small young plants for the beginners to grow. You can obtain them whether via online or mail order.

The small young plants are great choice if you want to have an automatic decorative display on your garden. Otherwise, choosing seeds to grow and watching them grow will provide great satisfaction from the accomplishment of having to cultivate and care for them. You can have the seeds planted on pots or containers, or you can plant them onto pre-designed bed of soil. Gardening should be this fun and exciting, and of course, rewarding, even if you are a beginner.

For more information about Gardening and other gardening tips, check out my Tips for Moms site.

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