Incredible Edibles

If nothing else, you have to admire the people of Japan for one thing- they've gotten it right when it comes to making things work in small spaces. Cars, electronics, housing and yes, even food. In order to conserve space, watermelons are grown in molds that shape them into perfect squares so that they will fit into the small apartment refrigerators commonly used in that country. So if your excuse is that you don't have room to grow your own food, think again. Many folks don't have the room for large gardens so this month I'm going to give you ideas and methods for producing incredible edibes in small spaces. There are two factors that need to be considered when planning your garden. The first would be location and the second would be the plants themselves. Small space gardening in the yard can be done in several ways. The first is simply a small bed. A second way would be to use to the popular "square foot" method, where you buid a grid and plant one variety in each square foot. This could contain as many square feet as you wish. Another way to accomplish small space gardening in your yard is to use raised beds. Raised beds are attractive for those of us whose aching backs are starting to let us know that bending over isn't as much fun as it used to be! But if planting in the dirt is still your calling and working in your yard isn't practical or even feasible if you live in an apartment, then consider vegetable gardening in containers. Get innovative! Practically any type of container can be used - a decorative plastic pot, whiskey barrels, Earthboxes, old tubs -- just about anything that will hold soil and water will work. If you don't have a place to set containers, then go vertical. Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and other small space fruits and vegetables can be planted and harvested successfully in hanging baskets or topsy turvy planters. Give a gardener the opportunity and they will find the way to make it work! And the beauty of container gardening is usually, you can get through the season with very little, if any, weeding. Many vegetables can be grown in a limited amount of space. Crops such as lettuce, kale, spinach, mustard or any kind of greens work well. Lettuce can even be planted in a decorative "salad bowl" that can be grown in a sunny window, or put outside during the day and moved indoors to protect it from cool nighttime temperatures. If you are planting in your yard, beets, turnips, carrots, radishes, garlic, celery, onions, chard, and other leafy or oriental vegetables work well. Read the seed packages when you select your varieties- they will tell you what selections work best for small space areas. In many cases, spacing can be cut to about half of what's recommended. Select "bush" varieties rather than "pole" unless you have a pole to run the vines up. Pole beans, for instance, will work well if you have a fence or other vertical place to plant them, with out taking up too much horizontal space. Trellises or tomato cages can even be used in containers to support vining plants, provided whatever they are producing won't be too heavy once it matures. Pumpkins, for instance, would not be a good choice for trellising or caging. Succession planting is the practice of planting a crop in an area as soon as one is finished. This extends the life of the garden by producing several different kinds of vegetables from the same space over the course of the season. You'll have to watch your maturity dates and timing if you want to try this. Interplanting methods can also be used. This means planting one slow maturing along with one faster maturing crop in the same area. The short season crop should be one that takes less space, such as radishes, whereas the longer maturing one might be potatoes. Once the radishes are harvested, this allows additional room for the potatoes to grow, but you've only utilized one area of your garden for both crops. For more ideas, stop by visit with us. We can share some of our other customer's success stories and we'll be happy to show you the best varieties for your particular area and space. It's time to get your garden on!

Even though it's the dead of winter, ice and snow present some problems to your outside environment. Here are some helpful winter tips for keeping your yard in tip top shape in preparation for spring!

~Remove snow and ice from tree limbs and branches as soon as possible after a storm. Snow and ice can bend, break or shred trees and shrubs.

~If a branch does break or shred, prune it off cleanly so that any chance of disease or pests entering the plant are minimized.

~Use rock salt and ice melter sparingly. These can run off into lawns and hurt the grass and other vegetation in flower beds. Instead use birdseed or sand as anti-skid materials on walkways and paths.

~Check stored bulbs for any signs or rot. Discard bulbs that have begun to go bad.

~Seed catalogs will begin arriving soon. Pour over them, decide what plans you have for your garden this year and dream away the cold, snowy days of winter!

~Recycle evergreen branches left over from holiday decorations to lay in your garden. They'll help provide extra protection during a cold winter.

~If the winter is dry in your area, remember to deep water at least once a month. A good way to remember is to do this each holiday between Halloween and Easter.

~Set out food for the birds and other friends that you may wish to attract to your yard. This is especially important if the snow cover lasts throughout the winter.