home vegetable gardens Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

I am now a book reviewer for Crown Publishing, a subsidiary, of Random House. I will be reviewing various books published by their company. I jumped at the opportunity to become a member, I love to read and I also love to have reference books around if I need to refresh my memory on a particular subject. As you know, I’m a home gardener. I received a copy of The Mix & Match Guide to Companion Planting by Josie Jeffery to review. This book was heaven sent, as I companion plant my kitchen garden.

I was impressed with the book when I opened the package. The cover and binding of the book are beautiful. It would be easy to wipe off dirt or accidental spills and the illustrations as you see are just lovely. It’s a hardcover book with a strong binding. You won’t have to worry about this book falling apart, it is quality.

The book is very detailed, but not to a point where you would loose interest in the details. For example, it gives the history of companion planting and how it is used around the world. It provides information on soil preparation, manure, composting, and setting up rain barrels to help water your garden. This is information that you truly need to know if you want to become a sustainable gardener and do it efficiently and at minimal cost. I have been composting for years, added manure, have devised a method to keep weeds down, but have yet to add a rain barrel. I hope to add a barrel this summer for next year’s use.

Lets move to the content. I love how the book is designed. The book is set up with 2 cards, for a lack of a better word. One card has the name of the vegetable/flower along with information on when to plant, where it should be planted, growing tips and when to harvest. Opposite the first card is the second card which shows a beautiful picture of the plant. The content is set up with three sections, which is great if you want to hold your place to make notes on a particular plant, but still want to browse another section or find a particular plant in another section.

In the back of the book is a place to make notes. I think the books to beautiful to write in, so I would make notes elsewhere. It also contain an index in the back of the book, which will help you find a particular page for the plant you wish to research.

I have this book a thumbs up and 5 stars. It’s actually one of the most beautiful and informative gardening books that I have come across, and it’s an easy read. The book retails for $17.99 in the states and $20.99 in Canada. I would encourage you to purchase a copy, especially if you’re a beginner gardener. It’s a great reference for the advance gardener as well. I’m grateful that I now own a copy.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

My 2014 Vegetable Garden Plan

Spring is here and I’m making plans for my 2014 vegetable garden. This is a picture of a few of my sunflowers from last year’s garden. It was quite productive. I’m planning to put more flowers into my garden and cut back on the peppers this year since I have a nice supply stored. My pepper focus will be belles this year for vegetable trays and the freezer.

I started my seeds this week and have several that have germinated already. I use my laundry room to start my seeds since they don’t need light to germinate. I like to grow everything from seed, because it’s cheaper than purchasing plants from a garden center and because it gives me a jump start on the growing season. Direct sowing everything can be quite challenging.

I purchase my peat pots on clearance each year from Big Lots or the Dollar Store and save them for the next season. Each pot is filled with a seed starting mix, I use Miracle Gro, watered from the bottom by placing them in a tray filled with water, and covering them with Saran Wrap, which helps keep the pot moist and assists with germination. Once the seeds have germinated, I immediately move them under this grow light to keep them warm and assist with growth. My grow light is 4 foot long, so I’m able to get quite a few pots under it, and I raise the light as they get taller.

Here’s my list of seed starts for 2014. I only plant vegetables that I will eat, can or freeze:

Fruit:

2 Sugar Baby Watermelons
1 Yellow Watermelon
2 Hales Cantaloupe

Misc.

2 Crookneck Squash
2 Zucchini

Tomatoes:

1 Mortgage Lifter
1 Paul Robeson
1 Tiffen Mennonite
1 Oxheart
1 Early Girl
1 Delicious
1 Cherokee Purple
1 Red Brandywine
1 Sweet 100

Herbs:

2 Spicy Globe Basil
2 Genovese Basil
1 Oregano
2 Dill (Use to make dill and spicy hot pickles)
2 Cilantro (Use to make salsa)

Peppers:

1 White Belle
1 Golden Wonder
1 Mixed (It will be a surprise)
1 Jalapeno

I will be direct sowing the following:

Greens:

Blue Lake Greenbeans (Pole)
Jade Greenbeans (Bush)
Butter Crunch Lettuce
Noble Spinach

Cucumbers:

Boston Pickling
Marketmore
Lemon
Salt and Pepper

Garlic (Already growing)
Red Onions
Carrots

Not sure I will get 100% germination, but I’m hoping for at least 80%. I currently have 1 1/2 flats on the heating pads to germinate and about 6 starts that have already sprouted under the grow lights. I’m hoping to have the 1/2 flat germinated by next week. Stay tuned.