May, 2009

Below are links to articles posted in May, 2009

Pictures of My Front Yard

My front yard is looking really good this year, and I thought I would share a picture. Here it is circa May 23rd 2009. Click the picture to see it bigger. The two smaller beds are brand new, I’ve got two dwarf apples and a paw paw tree planted in them, as well as some […]

Recycle Nursery Pots, Grow Potatoes

What do you do with the big mammajamma containers that trees or large shrubs are delivered in from the nursery? Well you could recycle them if they’re made of #2 plastic, but many are made of #5 or something and unable to be recycled (at least at our recycling center) and in anycase reuse is […]

How to Stake a Tree

Short answer, don’t. Most trees that are staked do not need to be. In fact I would venture that most trees you, the individual homeowner, plant do not need to be staked. Yes, any tree small enough to be handled by one person really doesn’t need to be staked. Trees only need to be staked […]

Video: How to Assemble Your Compost Tumbler

This was the first video I filmed, but I hadn’t posted it to my blog until just now (obviously). This video covers how to assemble a UCT9 Compost Tumbler from Organic Compost Tumbler. I do it in less than 10 minutes (though, I did three takes, so by the third take I was pretty good […]

Video: How to Build a Raised Island Bed with Retaining Wall Bricks

I’m doing videos now, this is the first one I’ve posted (though the fourth I’ve filmed). Some notes. 1. Expect to spend around $5 a linear foot for a 2 brick above ground (3 rows total) retaining wall as in the video. This assumes $1.50 per brick. 2. Use high quality soil for back filling. […]

How to Protect Plants from Frost, and Building Microclimates

So, bad knews. I thought last weekend was the end. I allowed myself to say “Wow, no late frosts this year, awesome!” Boy was that stupid. Now, tonight, they’re predicting a late frost. I bought some hardy kiwi vines in 2004 and they have grown quite a bit. Had I known in advance I would […]

Carpet Phlox, a great groundcover

When this blog started I really liked Ice Plant and it was my favorite groundcover. Not anymore. As much as I liked ice plant for it’s drought invulnerability and it’s nonstop all summer long flowers, it is only marginally hardy here and I had problems keeping it coming back. I planted some carpet phlox way […]

How to Protect a Row of Seedlings from a Late Freeze

I live in Michigan, we are not blessed with the longest growing season known to man. So we try to stretch that, and to stretch it we need to be able to protect plants from late frosts or Freezes as late as late May if we’re really unlucky. You can put in a hoophouse or […]

Water Garden in Spring

Last spring I built a water garden, I had wanted one for years but was seriously intimidated by it. Turns out it was far easier than I thought it would be, and I completed it in a weekend by myself in all aspects except having a new outdoor outlet installed in the middle of my […]

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