What is happening? Our poor succulent, Sophie, has taken a turn for the worst. Over the last year, Sophie has been deteriorating. We thought she was being watered too much, then too little. We changed her position in the window. But nothing changed her outcome. We intervened. This is a before and after. The first photo is from January, the second is from this weekend. When we first bought her,…
Garden Thyme: Green Machines
May 19, 2015Lettuce is one of the few vegetables that is the easiest to grow, and staple green machines hardcore smoothies. This year, I’ve done kale, bib lettuce and red romaine. All of these lettuces are tolerant to colder weather, shade and can last well through the fall. You’d be surprised how well they’re easy to grow in containers. Last year, I put romaine in my garden and it brought all the animals…
Garden Thyme: Wedding Cleaning
September 10, 2014Ahhh, what a summer! Although the heat wasn’t as bad, this rainless summer was not good for my plants. While I had an abundance of almost everything I planted, I had a small window to harvest my crops before they began to wither. This summer was so dry, but I was surprised by how juicy my tomatoes were this season. Usually I’d wait until October to start cleaning up my space, but there…
For the past two years I’ve had an abundance of eggplant! They grow the best in sunny, well drained areas but also need lots of water. I bought 6 young plants this year and planted them about two feet apart. I can’t believe it’s August now and I already picked 10! To make sure the plant is ready to pick, the skin should look glossy and when you slice it open,…
Garden Thyme: Sunflowers
August 6, 2014This is my first year planting sunflowers and I still have a lot to learn. My sunflowers started from seeds I bought at Home Depot and I planted them in my garden in the back row on Memorial Day. I have different kinds of sunflowers to create different heights and colors. My flowers became so tall and sturdy because I planted them in an area that gets 7 hours of sun a…
This is the second year I am doing pumpkins. Last year, I had the pumpkins growing in my garden but they didn’t have enough room to expand so they never produced and I think I planted them too early. This year, I have a separate area (aka the Pumpkin Patch) to grow them! Starting with the pumpkin seed and planting them into the ground is the best way to start. You can…
Garden Thyme: Citronella Mosquito Plant
July 23, 2014Do you have a backyard, terrace, or other outdoor space? Constantly getting bitten by mosquitos? The citronella mosquito plant is great for the summer. Have you ever thought about where the “citronella” in citronella candles come from? Although the citronella mosquito plant is not a sole deterrent to mosquitoes, you can crush the leaves up and rub them on your skin for a more “natural” bug repellent. Especially areas that you hate spraying with…
Hi, I’m Colleen, Brian’s younger sister. Over the past two years, I’ve transformed our back lawn into an edible garden of Eden. Brian asked me to start a weekly post to share my gardening tips, so here’s a little intro before I get started. This is only my second year getting down and dirty in my gardens. Last year I only had one vegetable garden, and now I have four main…