Urban Gardening to the Extreme: Aquaponics

I was stumbling this morning and I found an amazing video that I hope tons of people will check out! This is an incredible video that talks about something I'm very new to which is Aquaponics. This is an enclosed system that encompasses the growth of plants and fish to help meet the needs of our growing population. It is really inspiring to here about this type of urban gardening and I hope to check it out sometime soon!

Please watch the video below to see some really amazing Aquaponics!

Book of the Week: Compact Cabins

So lets say that you just got some land, maybe a bit more secluded and you want to farm. Well if you are like me, this book could probably give you a great idea for a cabin to build on that secluded property.My girlfriend and I found this book and have really enjoyed it. There are numerous customizable plans in this book that are for cabins of 1000 sq feet or less, which keeps things fairly affordable. This is definitely a book to check out!



Enjoy!

Day at the Park!

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I spent the afternoon at a park near our house. It was a wonderful afternoon full of flowers, frogs, and fun! Here are a few good pictures of nature and gardens that I thought people might enjoy! The garden on the roof was really cool. It looked like the park was using it to help reduce run off in the park!

Once Again...Long Time No Seed!

Hopefully everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying their gardens. I haven't posted in awhile due to the fact that I moved to Minnesota for the summer because of my job. However I do have some good news to put up. I found a really amazing store in the St. Paul area that deals solely with Urban Gardening.

It's called Egg| Plant Urban Farm Supply and you can check out their website here. It was really cool to find a store that specializes in urban garden after making a few posts about the subject. They had all sorts of goodies available, tools, artwork, chicken supplies. It was really quite something. Please comment if you've been there and what you thought!

Rain Gutters as Planters

The other day I was stumbling the internet and I found a page that had a list of 35 "crafty" ideas. There were some really cool pictures/ideas for small planters made from old gutters. I thought readers would like this if they were looking for a new project or something that could hold small flowers, lettuces, or herbs. If you have made this or if you try to make it, please let me know how it works!

Here is the link to the other crafty ideas: 35 Crafty Ideas

Summer Travels!

So the past week and a half I have been downstate visiting some family, getting some work done and also, hunting  the elusive Morel Mushrooms. We did very well and even sold a few pounds. But now the time comes for a change of scenery! I got a summer job through Michigan Tech and will be moving to Minnesota for the summer! So for the coming months I will be telling gardening stories from the wilderness of Minnesota. Hopefully it will be quite the adventure! I hope everyone keeps visiting and enjoying the site! Good luck to all of the gardeners of the Keweenaw and enjoy this wonderful weather! I think today I'll be planting a few spuds that sprouted eyes while I was traveling. Hopefully I will be able to put some of my urban gardening posts to good use also!

Morel Mushrooms!

Although this is a gardening blog, I wanted to add a few non gardening things in here and there to keep things lively. Morel mushrooms are one of those things because before the garden takes over your life for the summer the woods has a lot to offer in the way of wild delicacies that can be found and enjoyed and I also love hunting for them. My girlfriend and I found a few Morels yesterday and then found a half pound today. With the weather finally starting to cooperate the white mushrooms are starting to show and they look great!

So if you have pictures or comments to post feel free. Also if you are interested in purchasing some mushrooms, let me know! I'll be around Leelanau County for a week or so and will hopefully have an abundance!


Enjoy!

I found Pallets!

So the other day I happened, to be out riding my bike and a lady who lives a few blocks from me had her yard pretty torn up and full of old pallets. I got a chance to ask her what she was doing and she said she was making a GARDEN! How awesome. I'm going to try and get some pictures put up of that too!

Wonder if she saw my post about pallets?

Enjoy

Behind, Behind

I know it has been a few days since my last post, and I apologize. Exam week as Michigan Tech has kept me quite busy. I plan to get out and do a bit of gardening this coming week, as well as post the pics of my germinated plants. I have well over a dozen sprouts now of cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, and peppers.  Hope everyone has been getting out to enjoy the nice weather.

Good Luck. Pictures coming soon....Really, I promise.

Recycle Wooden Pallets

Do you ever find yourself with a large amount of extra pallets? Do you find yourself looking for a neat project that could add a bit of flavor to your garden. Well I found a great website during a Stumble session that had 35 uses for old pallets. Several of the designs pertain to gardening and I definitely hope to implement a few them in my future gardens! There are also many other ideas that are quite ingenious.

35 Amazing Uses for Old Pallets

I also put this on the Compost Pile section of the site for an easy way to reference later on. Enjoy!

Busy Week

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy and I haven't had much time to get another post together. However, I did want to make an update about the seeds I planted. They have long since germinated some more than others but they are looking great. I have several cucumbers and tomatoes, a pepper, and I think maybe a watermelon or two.

I have also been looking for some info to add to the compost pile. Be sure to check that out.
More coming soon. Plus pictures!

Enjoy

Garden Artwork!

I've been posting artwork once and awhile because I love to draw and hopefully visitors to the site find it neat as well. If you have any garden artwork that you would like to show off, please send it along! Click Here to email your photo!

Pumpkin

Seedling

Gourd Birdhouse

Enjoy!

Germinating Plants (continued)

Finally got my pictures loaded onto the computer! I wanted to put some up of the plants that are germinated so far! There was first one lonely tomato which is shown below, and then it seemed like they all popped. Now there are several cucumbers and tomatoes. I'm still waiting for peppers, watermelon, and pumpkins.

Enjoy

Newspaper Seedling Starters

In an effort to get my watermelons and pumpkins planted, I had to do a bit of recent for reusable containers that I could find around the house. I ended up finding a very useful tool on the Urban Gardener website.

This useful technique involves creating seedling pots from newspaper! All you need is some newspaper and a small soup can.

One of the great things about these little pots is that you can plant them directly in the ground once the plants are ready to transplant. Since the newspaper decomposes, this sturdy container provides a good home while the plant germinates and then keeps the plant from damage during transplanting.

Newspaper Pots

Urban Gardening

I just wanted to put up a post to let people know that you don't have to have large amounts of land to garden! Great, fresh food can be grown even in you live in an urban area! I found a really good site to pass along to people that can give people a heads up on growing their own fruits and veggies in the city!   Urban Gardening

Pictures courtesy of: Urban Garden Resource


Take a look and enjoy!

Germinating Plants!

Today I was pleased to find that I have a couple of plants germinated in my green house. One was a cucumber and the other is a tomato plant. Pictures coming soon!

Irrigating Your Garden

Before long, your plants will be in the ground and growing quickly. This means that they will require lots of water. Since summer rains can be hard to predict, it could be wise to irrigate your garden. Watering by hand with a watering can is more than adequate, but if you have lots of gardens or just a large plot in general, irrigating could be a more efficient solution.

Water dripping for a black irrigation hose.

Last summer, I took a few scraps of black irrigation hose home from work to put in my garden. One of the gentlemen I worked with suggested I pick up a hose attachment from the local hardware so I could attach it to my house water spicket.  After doing this, I ran the irrigation line through my summer and winter squash plants to see how it would work. It worked beautifully! Because the hose has pre-made holes already placed at consistent intervals (6, 9, or 12 inches), I could place the holes near the plant's roots without water the rest of the non used garden space which just generates weeds.

I would definitely consider purchasing some of this hose if you are looking for a watering solution.

Enjoy!


Photo courtesy of DripWorks.com

Green House!

Finally, my green house is put together! After I finally found the charger for my power drill, I was able to finish assembling it. It is loaded up with seeds and egg cartons and I'm hoping to start planting this evening. Here are some pictures of it.

I have it sitting high in a southern facing window, so it gets plenty of sun during the day. Because of this, it is also very warm and I don't know if I will need to wrap it in plastic at all. I will be posting more pictures as the plants start to germinate!

Stay Tuned!

Island Beds

I recently found a really interesting article about construction of island garden beds. I've done a few of these at home and they have turned out really nice. These beds are a great way to add features to the landscape around your house and they look very elegant when completed.

The author of this article below had a cool quote: "An island bed is a bed not connected to anything, such as your foundation or property line. It exists as an island, alone in a sea of grass."

Click here for the article: How to Build an Island Bed with Retaining Wall Bricks

Homemade Stool & Garden Shed

Surprise, surprise, there is another awesome find in the April issue of Popular Mechanics. On page 104, there are instructions on how to build collapsible stool. Among its many possible uses, I thought would be perfect for gardening. It is small and sturdy which mean it would be great in many different situations that come up while gardening. Having done a lot of gardening myself, I figured that it could be a very nice tool if you have to sit and pull a few weeds, pick berries, or do small hedge pruning.  

Since I love to draw, I sketched up the plans described in the article. Feel free to try it out. It should be an inexpensive project. I am excited to make one and see how it works. At first I thought it might be kind of small so, I may want to make the chair a bit bigger. The Popular Mechanics website also boasted a garden shed design that is available here: Build Your Own Garden Shed, Plans Here

Many thanks to PM. Enjoy.

Time to Germinate!

Within the next couple weeks, I will begin posting pictures of my green house shelves and give reports on the germination process. It should be quite exciting watching the little plants sprout and it will also liven up the house a bit, getting some fresh green into the mix. Please check back for updates on that. I will probably being doing my first post on the green house I build over the fall and winter.

Thanks!

Garden Tools at TJMaxx

If you happen to be a fan of gardening and also a fan of TJMaxx, you might want to stop into a store near you. I recently visited a TJMaxx and found them to have a very nice display of garden tools that included pruners, trowels, and the enlarged forks for pulling weeds!

 Enjoy!

Organizing Those Tools!

As I continued through the latest issue of Popular Mechanics, I found yet another awesome method that could benefit a fellow gardener. It is fairly common to end up with a hose that gets a leak or gets a bit worn out from use. However, instead of just tossing it in the trash, try using it for tool organization. The article in P.M.shows how to cut a hose into segments and then make it in into useful tubes that you can put tools through. You can check out the picture below (page number coming soon).

When you cut up the hose, leave a portion that creates the tab shape shown in the picture. This will be used to secure your new tool holder to a wall. I drew up a picture from memory because I don't have the picture from the magazine to reference. Thanks to P.M. for publishing such a useful article!

Save those Egg Cartons!

When it comes time to start planting seeds and your looking for nifty ways to reuse materials or keep a tighter budget, try saving up those egg cartons. Many egg cartons are now made of a soft, cardboard like material that is perfect for holding dirt and germinating seeds.

It's a great way for little anyone to get a start at gardening without having to buy lots of trays for germinating. I found this picture on a fellow bloggers page and it is a perfect example of a simple, easy to use germination tray that can hold a large number of seeds.

To read the story behind this picture click here: Mastering Horticulture

Gardening with Popular Mechanics

As promised I wanted to post an article regarding all the great gardening tips in the latest issue of Popular Mechanics. Page 27-30 has a variety of great tools for people who are into gardening.The first page talks about really awesome, American made shovels and things to look for when purchasing a shovel so that you don't find yourself with a broken handle.

On page 28 there is an awesome garden tote bag that you can use to carry around tools, bulbs, and what ever else you need out in the garden. It's a very robust, handcrafted bag that takes 16 hours to make.  There are also items like the "multipurpose garden knife", a pruner blade sharpener, and a backyard spy glass.

Check out this tips and tricks section here for more stuff from Popular Mechanics!

Long Time, No Seed

It's been awhile, but I plan to get back in to the swing of things and what better way to start putting up some fresh posts.Spring is just around the corner and with it comes big amounts of fresh inspiration, so I hope everyone enjoys what I have planned for my blog.

Something to look forward to:

I found a few great articles in this months, Popular Mechanics magazine that I would like to share. Also, I'm put up pictures of my new green house that I'm building. Look back soon.

Thanks