Bonnie Plants Veggie basket near raised bed

Who would have thought getting dirt under your fingernails would ever be considered one of the hottest trends going? According to Doug Jimerson, Garden Core Director for Better Homes and Gardens, “growing your own fruits, veggies and herbs is something Americans are doing in record numbers this season”.
“It’s cheaper to grow your own produce than buy it – one $3 tomato plant will yield pounds of produce all season long, says Jimerson. Plus, the produce you grow just tastes better than even your grocer’s best. And while it’s healthy to eat and grow your own, gardening is rapidly gaining popularity as a great way to get some exercise, relieve stress and spend healthful family bonding time.”
Eating foods grown in your own backyard means you won’t be contributing to the carbon footprint left behind by the “food miles” it takes to bring imported produce to your local grocers – so you’re helping the environment, too.
Growing vegetables is easier than you think. Plan it properly, and you can enjoy a healthy, homegrown harvest from the fruits of your labor — without having to spend hours tending it.

Gardening 101

Sunshine is sustenance – Vegetables need at least six hours of full sun per day. The easiest thing to do is to place your garden in full sunlight. Make sure it’s easily accessible for watering….if the garden is too far from your house it could get neglected. Check the last frost date in your region and wait until threat of frost is past before you begin planting.
No yard necessary – Gardening doesn’t require a lot of room – although if you have the space and time to go large, go for it!. Many popular vegetables and herbs grow just fine in containers, making them a great option for those with limited space. For smaller yards, raised beds are an easy, low-maintenance option. If your garden is going right into the ground, just turn the earth with a shovel, toss out roots and rocks, mix in a soil amendment for healthy soil, and plant.
Water relief –Water regularly, but avoid doing so during the heat of the day when evaporation will diminish the effectiveness of irrigation. Water to wet the soil about 8 inches deep, but don’t over-water.
Feed your food– All edible plants draw nutrients from the ground, and can quickly exhaust the soil without the help of a fertilizer. Always follow label directions.

Growing for it

Now that you’ve got an idea of the basics, it’s time to pick your plants.
Start with transplants – seedlings are way easier to get growing than seeds, so you’ll save loads of time and enjoy improved success. Fortunately, national purveyors like Bonnie Plants make it easy to find hardy, high-quality, regionally appropriate plants at your local garden retailers. Bonnie offers time-tested vegetable and herb favorites, as well as new varieties, in eco-friendly, biodegradable pots that not only reduce plastic waste in landfills, they reduce transplant shock. Simply tear off the bottom of the pot and set the whole thing – plant in pot – directly into the ground. Be sure to pay close attention to plant tags, they’re packed with facts and details to help you successfully grow your plants.
Here are some favorites to consider for your garden:
* Tomatoes – The most popular, most-grown vegetable, tomatoes are always a best bet. Disease-resistant “Bonnie Original” is a hardy, flavorful addition to any backyard garden. For containers or small spots, try “Sweet n’ Neat,” a prolific plant that sets fruit in grape-like clusters.
* Basil – The perfect complement to tomatoes, basil works well in gardens and containers. New Greek Columnar Basil is particularly bountiful, as it grows high, leafs out densely and rarely flowers. The flavor blends traditional basil with spicy overtones of cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
* Bell peppers – Versatile, flavorful and nutritious, bell peppers are great raw snacks and make an awesome ingredient for a variety of cuisines. Harvest peppers when they’re green or red when the vitamin levels are higher.
* Eggplant – “Black Beauty” is the quintessential eggplant with a deep purple, glossy skin and meaty texture, and thrives in hot weather. White-skinned varieties like “Cloud Nine” offer a sweeter, bitter-free flesh.
* Mints – Easy-to-grow mints are available in traditional spearmint and peppermint and in more exotic flavors like Bonnie Plant’s new apple mint, orange mint and even chocolate mint, which has a flavor that echoes the classic Girl Scout cookie.
Hefty Harvest- The general rule: If it looks good enough to eat, it probably is. With many vegetables, the more you pick, the more the plant will produce.

For more gardening tips, ideas and advice, visit www.bonnieplants.com.

Citrus Plant & Herb Themed Garden: Using Mint, Lemon Verbena And Lime Balm For a Themed Garden Space.

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Popular Medicinal Plants: St. Johns Wort, Ginseng and Gingko Biloba for Natural Health.

Organic Herbs Guide.

Hear what Sheri Ann Richerson, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening, Magical Gardens and 101 English Garden Tips has to say about growing and using dill weed.

Hear what Sheri Ann Richerson, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening, Magical Gardens and 101 English Garden Tips has to say about growing spearmint and bronze fennel.

I’ll never forget the first time I went herb shopping. I read a book about housecleaning with herbs. How cool I thought. The lady who wrote the book talked about putting mint in her wash water, so away I went in search of mint. I knew I liked the smell of mint and the way my mouth felt cool when I chewed mint gum, so I reasoned why wouldn’t I like cleaning with mint?

When I got to the nursery I was shown a candy mint. The lady encouraged me to smell it. It did have a candy smell to it, sweet, but refreshing. That plant was going home with me. What other plants were there that smelled good I asked. She showed me numerous other herbs, but I don’t remember any of them as clearly as I do the candy mint.

When I got home, I planted it in the ground and promptly cut off all the leaves – every last one. I assumed it would grow back. What a mistake! Not only did I lose the plant but when I went back to get more they were all gone! I did however, enjoy mopping the floor and doing dishes that day! What a delight it was to work with candy mint!

That was my introduction to herb gardening. Within the next two months I had a proper herb garden complete with different varieties of mint, dill, horseradish, lemon balm, thyme, oregano and a slew of other fragrant leaved herbs including scented geraniums.

Since I had no idea what to do with these plants other than use them in my wash water, I went to the library to find out. Wow! Potpourri! How cool that idea was! I could make my own. Then I discovered I could make incense. Awesome! The real eye opener however was that they were edible! Imagine that, scented and edible! What more could one ask for!

From that day on, herbs went into everything. Friends started talking about coming to my house to eat weeds in their foods. Even my kids were saying I fed them weeds! I patiently explained they were herbs, but not a lot of people caught my drift. I kept on using them, experimenting, sometimes using a bit too much, sometimes not enough. My love of herbs grew. No garden was complete without them. I brought them into the house in winter, then as I graduated to a greenhouse, added them there.

My first few herb gardens were hodge podge gardens with this herb and that herb mixed together. No one but me could tell what the herbs were. I tried labeling but the labels broke or were blown away. Today my herb garden is being revamped. It is being moved into raised beds with one type of herb per bed. I am still working on labeling ideas, but at least they are organized.

From that tiny candy mint plant years ago, I have evolved. Herbs I now grow include culinary sage, yarrow, thyme, lemon balm, lime balm, hops, horseradish, comfrey, spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, banana mint, chocolate mint, fennel, chamomile, rue, hyssop, motherwort, parsley, dill, oregano, lady’s bedstraw, sweet grass, vanilla grass, echinacea, St.John’s Wort as well as a slew of others. On my most wanted list is candy mint, ginseng and goldenseal.

If you haven’t started an herb garden, there is no better time than now. Growing your own herbs will not only delight you if you toss a few into your wash water, but will liven up your cooking, your bath time and many can be used medicinally to boot!

Yes, folks, you read that right, today’s topic is planting vegetable seed in July. It is not too late here in the Midwest to get started gardening. If you already have a garden going, maybe there are some things that are just puckering out that could be replaced or maybe you have room to add some new crops. If you didn’t get around to planting this spring, well, you still have a chance to do just that. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and get your garden in gear!

Seeds that can be direct sown outdoors this month include beans, both snap and dry, just be sure to pick short season varieties. Carrots, chard, chinese cabbage, collards, cucumber, edamama, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, okra, parsnip, radish, rudabaga, sorrel, squash – both summer and winter varieties and turnip seeds can all be direct sown in July. As with the beans, look for short season varieties. This information can be found on the back of seed packets.

If you didn’t get enough herbs planted earlier in the season, now is the time to direct sow basil, cilantro and parsley.

Keep the weeds down to encourage better growth in your garden. Use newspaper – shredded or whole, straw – even if it has got wet, cardboard or any other type of material that will help block weeds. Plastic should be avoided if possible as it will sour the soil. You can also mulch your garden with finished compost to add extra nutrients to the soil and help block weed growth.