Easy Durable Raised Bed Trellising

Easy Durable Raised Bed Trellising

Germany Bans GMO Corn by Monsanto - MON 810 deemed unsafe for people or ...

Water Wise Gardening

Growing SWISS CHARD

All about delicious swiss chard. How to grow swiss chard. Go to.. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/How-To-Grow-Swiss-Chard.aspx

Jethro Tull Songs From The Wood

Urban Food Growing in Havana, Cuba

Gardening Tips : How to Start a Window Sill Herb Garden

Garden Girl TV: Natural Insect Control with Diatomaceous Earth

Towards Permaculture Centres Worldwide

Worm Guys: WORM GUYS On Growning Fungi

Worm Guys: WORM GUYS On Growning Fungi

Survival Gardening Video

Diners in the basement: Restaurant feeds worms too | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Diners in the basement: Restaurant feeds worms too The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Gardening Tips with Willie Nelson

Homemade Garden Watering System

Gardening Is Not For Sissies??

Come on now...gardening is SO worth it...eating ' pretty store-bought dead cardboard' food is NOT for sissies. I found this article from PENNLIVE.COM and it has some very good tips for lifting and turning correctly, being careful on ladders etc. , great things to know and I wanted to give everyone the link. So, go here.. http://blog.pennlive.com/life/2010/04/gardening_is_not_for_sissies_t.html

BUT, eating your own safe delicious veggies is so worth it...yumm..your home grown veggies always taste like real food because it IS real food and your body will get some real nutrition from it too. Putting harsh chemicals/fertilizers on your plants and poisoning your body, when you eat those plants IS dangerous! It's easy to learn to grow healthy plants without using the harsh stuff. Let's do it. JA ROSE-BARTLETT ;WORM GUYS' http://www.wormguys.com/
Photo by ell brown

Life Without Onions...NO WAY

This week end, we noticed that a 50 lb. bag of plain dried yellow onions that we use to buy for under $7.00 at the grocery outlet store 2 years ago, was now selling for over $30.00 at the same store! Well, that got our attention because we use onions ALL the time...everyday in fact. Onions are so wonderful with all types of beans, in soups, eggs, rice, and pasta dishes. etc...just think about it. We're eating more of these easy on our pocketbook foods now...as living costs rise and wages don't seem to be. 'What would we do without onions?'

I looked today online for yellow onion seeds or sets for our garden, we want heirloom onions too for saving for next year...most places were 'out-of-stock'...'WHAT?' Well, It is spring and some places were closed on Mondays. BUT, I love onions and garlic in my cooking and 'could not imagine' life without onions...cool. So, kept looking.
If you love onions or need more garden seeds etc. TERRORITAL SEEDS in Oregon have done a fine job for us before and have onions still..Go here if you need garden seeds. http://www.territorialseed.com/ Jan
Photo by iLoveButter
JA ROSE-BARTLETT 'WORM GUYS'   http://www.wormguys.com/

Top Secret Gardening

A couple of our top secret ideas for our garden this year..

1. Plant our vegtables in a hay bale. That's a bale of hay or straw. Why not? Hay or straw are both great for mulch and will decompose next winter into excellent mulch that will help your 'normal' garden and make a home for worms, hay is affordable. I know hay or straw holds moisture, putting newspapers under the bales may help with less watering and newspapers will turn into great mulch [Steve and I like using cardboard...usually contain less ink than newspapers and worms seem to just love cardboard and move into your garden and help with your garden]....hopefully....less watering too. We'll see this growing season and know more next fall.
2. Another new idea that I like is from Kim Wood .. and we will use this year...using wire fencing in the garden. By that I mean , a a roll of welded wire. cut into several lengths and 3-foot widths, they are placed as a dome over each garden bed after they are planted. This prevents kids, pets etc. from walking on small delicate new plants. The wire also acts as a support for plastic if weather turns cold unexpectly in the spring.
And,all the plants that spread out in a garden, Kim uses a welded-wire cage, around a compost pile of dried leaves, horse manure and other organic material, the wire fence pieces are held together with zip ties. DO NOT plant your garden/plants in the compost inside this wire cage that's been created. The compost will get too hot and damage plants. But, plant your veggies etc. along the outside of the wire fence, the plants can be tied to the fencing if needing support during the growing months so the vegetables are off the ground. Water only the inside of wire cage by hand by pouring a bucket of water in side this compost cage or use a hand held hose to water inside the compost, and let the water run out into the plants, this slowly fertilizes the plants. I think this is a great idea, and I will be trying it this year, I will be be careful and watch the compost pile for heat and use aged manure only.
Kim Wood's favorite book on this subject is “Tips for the Lazy Gardener” by Linda Tiglner, which I will find and read right away.
For Kim Wood..go here.. KIM WOOD's Site
Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
JA ROSE-BARTLETT 'WORM GUYS' http://www.wormguys.com/

Window Farm Video

Worms Say: 'Be Careful How You Till'

   Dennis Linden, at U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service soil lab in St. Paul, Minn., discovered this about worms...'When worms find a good eating hole...they tend to return again and again.'...Kind of like us. when we you go to the same favorite eating spot over and over. Worms are sign of healthy soil. They loosen the soil, create pathways for plant roots, drain and aerate the soil and spread organic mulch around your garden.

   When worms find a good food source they remember the location and keep coming back for more..Worms eat organic matter...leaves, old vegetables, fruits etc.,... now if you till your soil and till this 'worm food' deeper than 6 inches, worm tunnels will tend to be horizonal and when the worms look for their meals, they create horizonal holes. BUT, if you keep this mulch--organic matter closer to the surface, the worm tunnels or burrows will tend to be vertical instead of horizonal. This is much better for your garden's health.. Your garden's soil will have better air and water penetration, helping with removal of chemical toxins. Vertical tunnels also encourage more beneficial microbes growth, these microbes break down pesticides and fertilizers.
   Let's keep our earthworms happy and have them coming back for seconds. They will remember our gardens and return year after year.
JA ROSE-BARTLETT 'WORM GUYS' http://www.wormguys.com/
Photo by [177]

Water Features In Your Garden

Running or quiet still water features add a great deal to your gardens, they can provide lots benefits. In addition to the natural beauty of the water, a water source is important for the well-being of beneficial insects, birds, wildlife , plants, trees and shrubs and give your family a calming 'oasis' to unwind, relax and focus.

    I believe an artistic, beautiful calming water focal point in your garden is well worth the time and expense in creating one, and the peace of mind they give is priceless. Adding lighting and music to the water are are just two creative ways to make your garden very unique and special to you...who would want to live indoors with this beauty at your doorstep? Really, it extends the living area of your home. We find that we spend more time in our 'special' space and in the warm weather months than ever before...in warm weather that's where you will find us.
Think about creating your own unique 'water space' in your garden too.
JA ROSE-BARTLETT 'Worm Guys' http://www.wormguys.com/
Photo by pvera

So, What Do Composting Worms Really Want?

Well, have you ever asked yourself...'What do composting worms really want?' I didn't think so, I hadn't either... until I started learning about these wonderful creatures and all they do for us. And, we started raising them for our garden.
     I'll give you my answer first. The Answer: Composting worms want to COMPOST, of course. So, how do they do that and how can we help?
1. Give worms a home...Welcome them into your life. See them as helpful creatures, which they are...don't go running off into the night after seeing a worm. Teach your children how they safely turn kitchen wastes into valuable rich soil, so,we can all raise safe healthy food, taking care of ourselves without putting harsh chemicals in our gardens or our bodies. Our children will keep this with them and pass it on to their kids too.
2. Raise some worms. Yes, this is fun and easy. Just get some worms. Where? Worms can be found online and can be shipped right to your home. That's easy. Some composting worms are named Red Wigglers or Red Worms...there are about 900 to 1000 Red Wigglers per pound..they are small, but eat lots of kitchen wastes and make great castings or soil for our plants. Put them in a worm bin [there are several types also found online or most gardening stores, or easily make one yourself with a big plastic or wooden tub]. You can also raise worms indoors or outdoors. You can read more about worms in a book by Mary Applehof called 'Worms Eat Our Garbage'.
Worm castings are safe for even the most delicate of plants. Just sprinkle a small amount on the top of the soil around your plants..castings are food for plants. Plants love castings. It is dark rich crumble sweet pleasant earth-smelling 'worm poop'. Compost tea can be made with castings too, by mixing water with the castings and pouring this on your plants. You can more read about this in a book by Dr.Elaine Ingham PhD , called..'The Compost Tea Brewing Manual'.
3. Feed worms your table scraps. That's what they like. Worms like vegetables, peels and scraps, fruit rinds and peels, some coffee grounds. tea bags are fine, things we throw away. Just don't feed them meat, meat products, milk, milk products or grease...these things will spoil and start to smell up your worm's home and attract flies too.
4. After raising your very own worms. In no time, you will see how really easy and fun it is. How happy your plants are and how much safe and delicious food your garden produces. You'll wonder why we didn't know about how wonderful and safe worms were before now.
I just love worms. JA ROSE-BARTLETT 'WORM GUYS'. http://www.wormguys.com/
Photo by Comrogues .

So..You Don't Have Room For A Garden..Now What?

So,You do not have a yard to plant a garden, there are veggies and flowers that that grow well in containers: Like.. beets; cabbage; cucumbers; lettuce; lima beans; onions; peppers; radishes; spinach; squash and tomatoes, tulips, grasses and any annual plants.

Go to this site for great info.. http://www.blogger.com/goog_1658125807

 Photo by Maggie Hoffman

Welcome To My 'WORM MACHINE'

Hi! My name is Jan, and I raise worms. Composting and fishing worms. My internet business is http://www.wormguys.com/  I find and post worm info., garden tips, recipes, music too. What I find interesting online. Enjoy and welcome. Jan