By Vanessa Richins

I’ve always been quite a bit disorganized in life.

I am a very visual person and have to see things in front of me, or I can forget all about them.

I am absentminded and start projects, only to get distracted by something new.

I’ve known about a website called Flylady for a while now. It’s a system developed to help you keep your house and life in order. I recently decided to start really working this into my life so I can be better organized.

I realized tonight that there are some things taught in Flylady that can help gardeners too when they’re battling weeds.

One of the first things she has you do is make sure you wear your shoes every day. It sounded silly to me; I’ve always been fond of going barefoot. She points out, though, that you care more and feel better when you get fully dressed for the day, even if it’s just around the house. Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

If I could afford it, I would just go to school for the rest of my life.

Well…I’m not so keen on tests and grades, but I enjoy learning new facts and exploring.

Did you know there are free classes you can take online that can help you become a better gardener?

Many universities are now allowing the general public access to some of their courses for free via the Internet. Here are some examples:

Biology 1 and Biology 2

UMass Boston offers these general biology classes at a college level. It’s a good way to better understand how the biological world around us functions.

Agricultural Science & Policy 1 and Agricultural Science & Policy 2

Tufts will help you learn about resource conservation and aspects of plant care such as nutrients, breeding, pests and production. There are outlines of the lectures, along with suggested readings, exams and quizzes. Image galleries are included for some crop pests.

Plant Diseases and Chemicals

USU has Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

“Why I’m a Victory Grower” – Kids Video Contest

As part of Food Independence Day (July 4th – created by Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International and White House Victory Garden fame), a video contest for kids entitled “Why I’m a Victory Grower” is being held.

Once the child is signed up with TEL•A•VISION, they will receive a free one year membership to the Seed Savers Exchange, along with a packet of seeds.

The TEL•A•VISION site will provide them with the tools that they need to make their victory garden video.

As the site advises, the child should, Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

The urban garden movement is growing larger every day, as people find their food budget stretched and long for the taste of fresh foods.

In Ferndale, Michigan, Trevor Johnson runs the Ferndale’s Good Neighbors Garden, a community garden allowing people to rent out plots so they could grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs.

He didn’t want to just stop there, however.

He knew there were homeowners with land, but no gardening experience.

“To that end, Johnson has started his own business called “Rent-a-Farmer,” which offers clients the chance to use the expertise of real farmers to help them grow fruits and vegetables in their back yards. “This is not about going back to the farm,” said Johnson, who graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in horticulture. ‘It’s about bringing the farm back to us.’”

What services can you get with “Rent-a-Farmer”? It’s all up Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Once you start venturing into the wonderful world of urban gardening, you may notice that plants can be called by many different names.

Every plant has at least two names – a common name and a botanical Latin name.

Why would you want to learn the Latin (botanical) name of a plant?

The Latin name of each plant is determined using a system called binomial nomenclature, invented by a botanist named Carl Linnaus. This system gives each plant (and animal, too) a specific two word name – the genus and the species. The genus refers to a group of plants with similar characteristics. The species refers to one specific plant.

One advantage to knowing the Latin name is that you can Read the rest of this entry »