This is a post by Sharon Naylor

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 books on family celebrations, including weddings, bridal showers, vow renewals, and more. She is beyond thrilled to be the new guest blogger for The Farm, and she will be posting inspirations and tips for your parties, get-togethers and big family moments throughout the year. Visit her website www.sharonnaylor.net for more on her books and articles.

To mark your success with your New Year’s Resolutions, reward yourself for each milestone – each five pounds lost, each week without an unhealthy habit – with the prize of new garden supplies. Buying a fresh garden plant or a pack of flower seeds to reward yourself for your dedication and efforts creates an all-positive momentum that’s far better than choosing a reward of, say, brownies or a fattening latte.

When you know that you’re just a pound away from a fragrant new herb garden, your reward for ten pounds lost, the excitement of your reward can inspire you to skip that dessert temptation and put in an extra effort at the gym.

Here in Morris County, our customers love their gardens, and they miss working on them during the winter months. Bringing garden supplies into their New Year’s Resolution reward plans allows them to get back in the gardening mindset, dream of their springtime plantings, sketch out designs for their dream vegetable garden or tomato plant row…and they begin right now, in the depths of winter, to prepare for their dream gardens of the near future.

Here are some garden supply items that we recommend for your New Year’s Resolution rewards list:

• Organic vegetable seeds

• Herb garden planters

• Container herb garden

• Tomato garden supplies, such as stakes and planters

• Terra cotta pots for planting strawberries

• Organic herb seeds

• Herbal plants

• Gardening gloves

• Gardening shoes

• Gardening kneeling pads

• Bamboo plants

• Perennial seeds

• And additional garden supplies

Save the big prize, such as a raised vegetable garden or a garden pond or a palate of stones for a rock garden, for when you reach your ultimate goal, and you’ll further motivate yourself in your efforts…and when spring arrives, your healthier and happier self will be well on your way to the garden of your dreams.

Experienced gardeners know that vegetable or flower gardening begins in the cold months of winter, not with new growth in spring. Planning a garden takes work that beginners often do not realize. However, with a little organization and some creativity, this becomes a winter tradition that is as anticipated as Christmas to a child.

We all hate doing our autumn gardening chores, but you know they need to be done. Your list may include things like:

• Sharpening blades on clippers, shears, and lawnmower blades.

• Cleaning and servicing your mower, edger, and tiller and other large equipment.

• Washing dirt and grass from hand tools and putting them in their place in your garage or shed. Don’t forget to put away the garden hose.

• Replacing worn out tools or equipment during off-season sales.

• Pruning dead branches throughout the yard to prevent ice or snow build-up from pulling them down and causing damage.

Now the fun begins. To plan for your spring garden, you must get your seed catalogs from your favorite garden supply store. I always draw a scaled version of my garden to make sure that I take advantage of all my gardening space without over-ordering seeds and plants. This helps me to plan which plants I’d like in which locations in my garden or yard.

Take the time to research native plants, which often require little care and help foster local wildlife. It is also a good idea to study composting and perhaps start your own compost bin or worm farm. These are fun to do and a great learning experience for children. Determine where in the yard you would like to place your compost bin and perhaps locate plans to build one during the cooler months.

To help conserve water, consider getting a rain barrel. My sister put hers under a runoff spout from her roof to gather more water for her garden. You may also choose to move your garden to an area that is lower than the rest of your yard. Rain from other areas of your yard will seep into the soil of this lower area, making the most of each rainy day.

Throughout the year, you should keep a gardening journal and refer to it during winter gardening planning. This always helps me to remember which plants thrived and which ones died so that next year’s garden will be even more successful.

http://www.iwantmarylandsbest.com/

This is a guest post by Sharon Naylor

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 books on family celebrations, including weddings, bridal showers, vow renewals, and more. She is beyond thrilled to be the new guest blogger for The Farm, and she will be posting inspirations and tips for your parties, get-togethers and big family moments throughout the year. Visit her website www.sharonnaylor.net for more on her books and articles.

When I was a kid, Christmas morning was all about whether or not there’d be a Barbie Dream House, a bike or a puppy under the tree. Now, I’m all about the stocking stuffers.

Yes, I love the Victoria’s Secret gift card, my most wished-for bestselling novel from Barnes & Noble, and the exotic spice collections that my family and friends have given me as lovely wrapped presents, but the real fun begins when the little treasures from my stocking spill across the couch, and I see the wonderful items for my garden that my loved ones know I adore.

The gift of gardening

With Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa on the way, I thought I’d inspire you to give your fellow garden-lovers some fabulous stocking stuffers, or collections of these little treasures in beautiful baskets as their main gift! Here are my favorite stocking gems to give and get:

• Cute, colorful garden gloves

• Unique garden gadgets – as thrilling as those kitchen gadgets from Bed Bath &
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• Beyond! I love my bulb planter and my Ph level tester!

• Garden stones with inspiring words on them…you can never have enough of
•
• those! I place mine on my windowsills as well as out in my garden.

• Garden and potted plant markers, telling me what’s growing where in style.

• Tiny charms to glue onto a wooden potting bench’s top shelf. My favorite is a flat, metal dragonfly.

• Packets of unique seeds, something new each year.

• Packs of blank, colorful stickers – such as pastel-hues circles or daisies – to affix in the new year’s calendar to mark those upcoming days of seeding, planting, mulching, yard collections, and other big days in a gardener’s season.

• And Gift cards to The Farm, of course.

The best part is how affordable these are, and how much joy just a few small things can bring!

Some don’t think twice about gardening in fall. Many gardeners start in spring and have vegetables through the summer. The fact is here in New Jersey we have hard zones from 5 to 7 which makes for great fall family vegetable gardens. You could be planning in fall or planting in fall, it doesn’t matter. Planting in fall has key benefits for gardens and there are a few tips to follow to have a successful fall garden.

There are many benefits to fall gardens. The benefits to a fall family vegetable garden are that it’s cool in the fall for the most part. Insects are usually less of a problem for gardeners come fall. Falling leaves can be used as mulch and compost in most situations. With weather moderately cooling, the bugs will start to diminish, it will be more pleasant to work in the cooler days, soil will become moister and your need to water will be less. The only drawback to fall gardens is you must act fast before it’s too late for many crops. With fall gardens it is usually ideal to start from plantings to avoid the winter coming and destroying your corps.

There are many vegetables that will thrive in a fall family vegetable garden. You can plant summer squash, green beans; cucumbers maybe even another round of tomatoes. You can plant cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, Brussels sprouts, and more. So many plants to start with and the perfect time to do it, with fall being a cooler season in most areas; the whole family will enjoy working together keeping up the garden and eating the fruits of the families labor. What is stopping you? Grab a gardening catalog and see what you can plant in your local area today.

vegetable garden

In today’s day and age young children don’t want anything to do with their vegetables, seem to not want to partake in family activities, nor are they getting enough exercise. Why is this that most families are getting fast food for dinner more often, not spending time together, and not getting enough exercise? Too many people are busy at school, working on their careers, playing on video games, and watching their favorite shows? Something needs to be done to get the family together, eating well, and to get them much needed exercise.

How about starting a family vegetable garden? I know, lil’ Jimmy doesn’t like his vegetables and wants to play his video games after school. Wouldn’t it be a site to see lil’ Jimmy eating his vegetables, getting his exercise and spending time with you? It’s not just lil’ Jimmy that needs help, you need to make that extra time for him and you need to be creative.

Starting a vegetable garden means you will work together as a whole family. Not only spending time together, all the digging, bending, and lifting means all in the family will exercise and have fun doing so. Get this, once lil’ Jimmy sees that his vegetables are producing real food… he may want to eat the fruits of his labor and may even want to work on cooking meals with his new creations. Gardening and cooking as a family, what a site to see!

Starting a family garden is a benefit to the whole family for health reasons and to keep the family strong with values. You may even catch lil’ Jimmy working out in the garden by himself a time or two. Even better, he may invite his friends over to partake, creating a community bond because of your excellent example of setting a family bond like no other.

One of the hardest decisions about gardening is which fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers to use. More and more people are realizing the benefits of organic choices; however, some gardeners wonder about their effectiveness.

Gardening products, such as fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers, are available in different varieties, such as chemical, natural, and organic. Chemical options are most commonly used, simply because they’ve been around the longest. But many farmers, as well as individual gardeners – myself included, are starting to shift towards organic choices.

The biggest and most compelling reason to switch to organic products is that it is safer. Who wants toxic chemicals on their salad? The easiest way to ensure that your vegetables do not have harmful chemicals on them is to not expose the plants to them to begin with.

Traditional gardening products which contain toxic chemicals are linked to diseases such as cancer, heart stroke, and skin disorders. People consuming produce grown with organic fertilizers, weed killer, and pesticides have less instances of theses diseases. That’s enough reason for me. But if you need more reasons, consider cost.

The cost of organic products is often much less than their chemical counterparts. They are often prepared locally and sometimes you can even make them yourself. Vinegar makes an excellent weed killer on sunny days. Diluted soapy water, followed by a clear water spritz, can be used as a pesticide for aphids.

Additionally, organic products are less taxing on the soil, making you need less fertilizer over time. Organic fertilizers return nutrients to the earth, making better soil, which in turn, grows better plants. Chemical fertilizers destroy the soil, and over time, the soil is unable to support plant growth. Can you imagine not being able to grow your plants?

Chemical products pollute the earth and cause environmental damage. They can leach into the soil. They can filter into water sources, including drinking water. They can aversely affect area plants and wildlife.

Organic products not only work, but using organic materials will heal the soil and grow beautiful, healthy plants. And that’s enough for me.

http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-cultivation/organic-fertilizers/benefits-of-organic-fertilizers.html

When I started my first flower garden I had troubles with this very issue, choosing the right Annuals and Perennials for my garden. Many starting out ask me which flowers are best to start with. Do you want your flower garden to have a lasting beauty for a solid year or longer, a few years? Maybe you want the best of both worlds? In my experience, it is best to plant both, Annuals and Perennials. Having both means there is room to plant new plants each year as your annuals die off and there will be no bare spots through the year in your flower garden when this happens; thanks to the lasting life of Perennials, making your yard a beautiful site to see.

A few recommended Perennials for the Northeast region are as follows:

• Astilbe – blooms white, pink, and red flowers. This variety does well full sun or partial shade.

• Veronica – lush and thriving flowers in colors of blues, reds, pinks, whites and purples.

• Miscanthus sinensis – grassy appearance, attracts birds, detours deer, and looks great at the ends of flowerbeds. .

Great choice of Annuals, flowers that last a year, are as follows:

• Begonia – ideal in flowerbeds, hanging baskets, in containers, and for indoors coming in a variety of colors

• Dahlias – spiked delightful petals that come in many colors, great for walkways, flowerbed edges, and to arrange a beautiful centerpiece.

• Gazania – does best in sun and comes in yellows, oranges, reds, pinks, cream, mauve, and burgundy.

A beautiful and well maintained garden can make all of the difference in the world and can greatly improve the look and feel of our yards. If you follow the advice provided above you will make your garden the envy of the entire neighborhood!

Planning the landscape of a garden or a yard can be intimidating. Many start off by choosing plants that look pretty in the nursery without looking into which plants are best for the landscaped plan decided upon. In researching the proper plants, you will have better success with your garden.

Don’t only look into the colors and beauty of a plant when choosing plants for your garden, look into the purposes of the plant and how the plant will work with your landscape plans. Plants can be used for screening, shade, erosion control, noise control, and for simple beauty. Use all of these specifications to build a great garden for your home.

Getting started, understand the plants growth habits and requirements to grow properly. So many don’t research the size that the plant can reach, the amount of sun or water a plant may need, tolerance to the weather elements, or the type of soil a plant will need. What about trees that crack sidewalks and bust through pipes, proper planning can help you avoid this. Also, the texture of a plant is of great importance, don’t plant a rough or thorn filled bush in the middle of a walkway.

Things to look into when choosing the right plants are the size of the plant at full maturity, insects that the plant may attract, sun and shade requirements, moisture and drought tolerance, seasons roles in your plants life cycle, planting zones with their specifications, and soil type that best suits your plants of choice. It is vital to understand what is needed for your garden to thrive.

Research a plant encyclopedia or leave plant planning to the experts. Doing your homework or hiring a professional in regards to choosing the right plants will solve this. Why spend so much time and money on a lovely garden that won’t work when you can simply do it right the first time.

Plant seeds can be difficult to grow, although plant seeds are quite manageable if proper steps are taken. Some wonder why people bother in planting from a seed since it takes more time and can be difficult. Planting with seeds can be more affordable and it may feel more rewarding when your plant begins to emerge. I have planted my share of both, seeds and plantings. I agree that it is more rewarding, knowing the time spent, planting something as small as a seed and watching it form into something so grand.

Now that you are aware of some of the benefits that come from planting seeds, listed are simple steps to follow in planting seeds:

• Record keeping – keep records of what worked and what didn’t work whenplanting from seeds. Make sure you label everything; you want to be sure to take proper care of the seeds you’ve planted.

• Follow package directions – some seeds require chilling or light to germinate. Generally the smaller the seed then the closer to the top of the soil it should be.

• Use containers – use small containers to start with, make sure your container has air holes at the bottom. Containers need holes for air flow and proper drainage. Adding holes will prevent disease to your plants. Plant a few seeds per container, some seeds won’t take and this will give you a higher success rate.

• Cover trays/containers to lock in moisture – seeds are delicate, covering your trays or containers will help keep the plants warm and moist evenly. Be sure to remove cover when plants emerge.

• Proper care – make sure your seeds stay the right temperature, usually 65° to 75°F is needed to germinate. Again, follow package instructions.

• Acclimate seedlings – once your plants are ready to be planted outside, acclimate your seedlings. Introduce your plants to the elements of being outside several times before you plant them into the ground. This will help them adjust.

Following these tips will help you plant from seeds the right way and will lead you to successful gardening.

Back when our parents started their families, gardens and yards took on a different view from what we are now accustomed to today. Lawns appeared freshly cut, lush, green, and adorned with beautiful flowers along a structured pathway. Fruit and vegetable gardens were in perfect rows and were decorated with handy labels. Gardens sat at only one end of the backyard, while fruit trees were placed strategically in areas that needed shade most.

Today’s top trends in gardens and yards have a whole new approach. Low maintenance and wild array is what people are looking for this day and age. Many families are too busy with their careers, education, extra curricular activities, and with entertaining friends and family. Finding time to mow a large yard and to stick to a gardening regimen becomes harder and harder as we fill our days with more tasks. I’ve seen many front and back yards that posses a wild array of beauty, no structure, but speaking beauty in a way that our parents would only find at a botanical garden or like place.

Saying no to lawns is a big movement currently. Lawns take up too much of our water supply and this water supply can be used for better things. Sticking to a lawn free yard helps our environment and wildlife.

Organic, need I say more? All natural with no chemicals are what people want. Using no chemicals is better for our environment and our health. We aren’t limited to shopping at local farms and farmers markets anymore; we can find what we are looking for in our own organic gardens.

Fruit and vegetables aren’t just found in the backyard in one single corner any longer. A good friend of mine has a wildlife setting in his front and backyard. His yard consists of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits throughout. Edible plants are strewn about his property. What more could you want? Go out front and grab that perfect herb for the meal you are presenting for your family and friends!