GrandpaâÂÂs Garden is a collection of hints and tips to help you get more enjoyment out of your garden. Grandpa in his native habitat - the garden. Suggested Grandpa's Garden Articles Health Benefits of Gardening I also realized how much back stretching exercise picking is. Bending over to wipe the leaves away from the strawberries, cucumbers, and zucchini is keeping me limber. It's A Good Time To Gather Up Seeds You can strip them right off the stems by the handful. I dry mine in the afternoon sun to get the morning dew to evaporate, otherwise they might mold in storage. Fall Critters in the Garden They are most welcome in the spring when they chase away all the other birds that are eating everything that is tender. I've had to cover all of my plantings with bird netting until they arrive. I Guess The Last Direct Seeding I'll Do this Fall The spinach came up so I've got two boards available. I would be wise to pick up a couple six packs from our local gardening center, but I've still got half a pack of lettuce seeds. Now That The Ground Is Wet Trimming bushes and vines is a good thing to do at this time of year. Wearing eye protection is not something I'm used to doing, but as I get older I find that more branches are hitting me in the face. What An Incredible Spring We're Having My son and I both have ripe zucchini. Zucchini before Father's Day is a record breaker for me. Woke Up to the Sound of Wind Turbines this Morning The package says 7-15 days for them to sprout, so the seed starting mat I had them on cut the germination time in half. I got cucumbers started today and some " Black tomato " seeds that were given to me. I Don't Have the Heart to Cover The birds are voraciously fighting over them as if they are in a life or death situation. Old Seeds I keep them in their original envelope with the top folded down a couple of times in a gallon size zip lock bag with 5 or 6 other seed packs, and they have remained viable. I know that dormant seeds respire and having more than one packet in the bag probably helps keep the moisture content up so they don't dry out. Heated Seed Starting Mats are Great I'll be moving the six packs outside in the morning and back in at night for awhile. Last year we had so much sunshine in January that I had to prop open the plastic dome covers so the sprouts wouldn't cook. August Gardening Is Primarily About Water Any barren spots of soil will allow water to evaporate out, and any breeze will exacerbate the problem. Mulched soil is a gardeners blessing. I Tried A Product Called Sluggo It's an organic slug control method that relies on iron phosphate to stop them from eating your plants. It's safe for children and pets and is certified organic, so it won't hurt the soil organisms either. More Gardening Articles
