Contest over. Please go here for voting instructions
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/962268/
I'm offering the following seeds as the prize:
Abutilon Chinese Lantern – 10 seeds
Corkscrew Vine – 5 seeds
Snail Vine Vine – 10 seeds
J- Morning glory Double Blue Picotee – 5 seeds. The seeds are from the Blue Picotee strain that throws mutants.
Good Luck!
Xeramtheum
This message was edited Mar 13, 2009 1:53 PM
ENTRY
Ok..I'll bite...here's my best tip: Before going out to work in the garden, rub about a half to one tablespoon of any cooking oil or rich lotion onto your hands, in your cuticles, and up under your fingernails. I find that olive oil works great--its just the right viscosity. Rub it in enough that the oil does not prevent you from gripping tools etc (if you get too much, just put on some garden gloves until its absorbed).
When you come in from gardening you will find that dirt and stains come off your skin much easier, and that the dirt doesn't stick up under your nails--all is easily washed away with any soap that breaks down the oil. Plus, your hands are moisturized--a real plus if its cold, or if your soil irritates your skin. Also a huge plus if you have red clay that stains your hands, as I do. Even if I wear gloves, I seem to end up with just enough dirt inside the gloves to get up under my nails and into my cuticles--this trick really helps.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 4:59 PM
This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 5:00 PM
Wow! great tip! gotta try that one
Cool tip. : )
Entry. Cut pieces of pvc pipe and then cut in half again and can use differrent sizes to make collars just below and above soil line to keep slugs from crawlign up plants and eating them.
If you cut the collars in half then it easy to remov e if ya need to put bigger size collar around without damaging plants
ENTRY
When I 'm in the yard there is always a chore to do, pull a weed, deadhead a flower...my yard is just big enough from front to back that's it's a pain to have to walk to the shed or garage for a pair of snippers or a tool. If I am just out there for a few minutes before work or something it's seem to be much easier to have things on hand. I Have my good tools or serious work but for quick jobs I keep quite a few pair of cheap (dollar store~flea market) items all around the yard so I always have them at arms reach. I'll put them under something to try to keep them dry but don't worry to much about that if they are recycled, and most tools are pretty long lasting even the cheap ones! Makes for quick clean up and I'm not looking all over the place for something, it's right at hand.
I laughing as I'm reading grtdanes entry--hubby was looking for the bottle of bleach water we keep under the kitchen sink to disenfect the trash can etc--and it was out in the yard. Then he was looking for the scissors and, yep, they were out in the yard. And so on and so forth! I really need to just buy some cheap tools to leave out there, instead of stealing the stuff from inside because its closer....
ENTRY:
what you can do with all my tools is ,get an old mailbox or buy a new one,you can either paint it the color you need to go with your gardens colors or leave it the color it came,and stick it in the yard in your gardens to put your tools in and dont have to worry about them getting wet
I have a question. Is this contest only for flower gardening or does it include veggies also?
It includes anything gardening.
ENTRY,,,
Well, my entry isn;t soooo differnt but I think more convenient., I use a "tool belt"......I keep a small sniper, a large sniper, and a pair of "claws"
and a sharp pointed tool, I don't know what they call it but it's great for aireiating (?) plants in the ground and in pots. In any case with the tool belt I can keep track of my tools and don't have to wonder if I left such and such around to use. With the tool belt you can put whatever you like and it's handy when ever you need it. Wkith the tool belt you don't have to carry it, you can leave your tools in it, and it's with you whenever your out in the garden. It's not heavy, it's not cumbersome and you just hang it up in your favorite place when you come in from the garden.For me that's on a hook by the back door.....................
I liek that mailbox idea. Every day I go out and try to remmebr where i left my tools. They scattered all over the yard. Not so bad in late summer, but at the beginign of spring it terrible, cuz the leave s have totally covere dthemup and by then I have forgotten where I last saw them. I stil lookign for the top to my sprayer. it buried somewhere under the leaves. LOL
ENTRY
Here's a quick, easy and econimical hanging planter. You will need an empty gallon jug, something to cut with, a hole punch, a square of lanscape cloth or similiar material about 4' x 4" and a pants clothes hanger ( one with a cardboard tube ) Cut the bottom off the jug. Make a slit about 1 1/2" long up each corner. Turn the edges down. On opposing sides, punch a hole in the center of the flap through both layers. Remove the cardboard tube from the hanger and thread the ends through the holes in the jug. Place square of material inside the jug over the spout. This will keep the soil in and still allow drainage. Fill your container with soil of your choice, plant and hang. I plant my cucumbers in them to save room in my small garden space.
I like recycling things. It helps my wallet and my world. A win win situation any way you look at it. And who doesn't always have too many plastic jugs and wire hangers? LOL
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 8:08 PM
ENTRY: I keep a clothespin on each of my tomatoe cages so that when I see one of those nasty hornworms on my plant I just place the clothespin on the creepy critter. It will eventually let go of the plant and fall to the ground. Once I see that it is dead I just release it from the cpin and go after the next one. This way I don't ever have to touch them!
Cajin. Do ya happen to have a pic. I gettign ready to plant cuke s and that soudns like a system better maybe than the mess i had last year that collaped on me. : )
I'll take one tomorrow. It's hanging out on the swing right now.
ENTRY
I use an old lamp shade when spraying for weeds in my flower beds. I cut the wire center out with a wire cutter. You can put over the plant to protect it from the spray and still get all the weeds around it.
ENTRY
Save all your cereal, oatmeal, and any other kind of cardboard box for lasagna gardening. It will help with landfills and give you plenty of cardboard material to make your beds. I break them down flat and put them inside other boxes until I can get outside to put them in the garden. You will be surprised how many cardboard boxes you throw away in a week, when you start to save them. Even though they are not thick, they will still work. I have even saved the Pizza Hut boxes !!!
Sandra
slcdms I save my pepsi 12 pack box's for that LOTS..LOL
Your right better than the landfill
Tubby
It has amazed me how much less garbage I have to be picked up when I save all the cardboard, I save those drink boxes too.
I bought 4 cinnamon rolls at Freds for 1.99 yesterday. They are individually wrapped but then in a box too--I even threw that box in with the collection, anything cardboard.
Sandra
Entry
I keep plastic knifes in my pocket when weeding especially in the spring and when I find new seedlings I mark them both so they do not get pulled and also when I am finished with a bed I get small pots and dig seedlings to share or move ...the knife is then labeled and added to the pot.
What a great idea for a thread!
ENTRY :
I keep a small shovel,garbage bags,gloves,paper towels and wet wipes in the trunk of my car.Ever been driving down a road and see flowers in a ditch or just along the road?Well be prepared at all times!Old country roads or even dirt roads are the best.At times you can find a gold mine,and what a pity to have to just drive by and let the county just mow those beauties over when they would be such an addition to your garden.Last summer I found a patch of Wild Bergamot,waiting to see what comes back up this year in my flower bed.
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 7:09 PM
Entry
I have a 5 gallon bucket that I put a 30 pocket tool bag in it. I have all of my garden tool, seed packets, ties, bug spray etc. Also other tools like screw drivers in case something needs to be repaired where I'm working then I don't have to go back to the shed. Plus I keep some sand in the bottom to stick the muddy tools in to clean.
The picture is not mine,lol mine is DIRTY plus I didn't want to have to out to the shed to take a pix.
Cindy
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 12:48 PM
great thread. would love to see this repeated regularly.... I've learned great stuff from pretty much every post. be hard to vote for the best tho...... ;-)
Kyla
Entry
not sure if this really counts as a entry but here goes
#1 I take empty milk jugs cut the bottom off and use them over my tomato, pepper and any other plant for the veggie garden to protect them from the birds and winds until they start coming out the top hole.....gives a lil bit of a green house effect and protects them when I put them out a lil early from any cool weather that happens to come by.
#2 part...have a hubby that is retired and likes to be outside and move from Illinois to Texas to 2 acres and let him do the garden work for something to keep him busy while you go to work LOL
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 4:51 PM
synda and Mibus2, please read the instructions.
Starlight
Here is a pic of my recycled container. It has lemon cucumbers planted in it but they haven't come up yet.
This one has holes on all 4 sides. If I plant something that is too heavy for just 2 holes, I can easily put another hanger on it to reinforce it.
CajuninKy Very intuitive .Probably a one season plant.caused fro sun breaking down the plastic..But easy to replace..Good thinking..Better than the dump
Tubby
Thanks. I like to use things as long as they last.
Yep X, ya cam eup with a really good thread idea. I learnign abotu new stuff too. never thought abotu using boxe s for lazana beds, thought it was onyl newspaper.
Canjun thanks for the pic, now I get the idea and man that is cute adn a great ide a to keep critters from eatign your plants too. : )
Sorry Xeramtheum, missed that part.......... How do you get the bold type?
Hey, Synda, X asked for all caps, not bold type..... probably knowing people like me would nto know how to do bold type but we can all usually do all caps. LOL! sometimes my shift finger gets mighty lazy tho.........
Kyla
The all caps wasn't critical .. the Entry part is .. I want to be able to scan down the replies quickly and not miss any.
X
gotcha. not competing anyways, just learning. ;-)
Xera
I went back and fixed the caps but I don't know how to do bold type. Sorry.
The bold is not necessary. The bolding is done with html code. I can't show you how here, but look at the picture. b is bold, i is italic, u is underline.
X
This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 8:56 PM
