Miscellaneous Tidbits

Have you been frustrated trying to keep kitchen scraps for compost and ending up with either a wretched stink or fruit flies? Try using a freezer bag (or a few....) and keeping your veggie and fruit scraps for your compost pile in the freezer until you're ready to dump them. No stink. No fruit flies!

Earthworms are the kings of compost piles. They turn all the "trimmings" into the ultimate plant food. If you're finding that you don't have quite enough big fat earthworms in your pile, just add shredded cardboard to your compost. They love to rest in the shredded cardboard after a filling meal. 

Shred leaves for compost with your basic yard tools. Shredders are expensive. But if you have a garbage can that you use for cleaning up leaves and other garden waste, simply stick your weed wacker in it to shred it. Googles or sunglasses are a good idea while doing this. It will either decompose more quickly in your compost pile or you can spread it on your garden after fall clean up to decompose over the winter.

Mulch on the cheap! Check with your city to see what the heck they do with all the fallen branches and trees that they clean up on city properties. Many times you can get it for free. Some cities may even deliver it!

Use native plants for a thriving, easy to grow garden! I recently posted on both Minnesota Wild Flowers in Danger and Easy to Grow Plants for Northern Gardeners. While it will be difficult to find the threatened plant species, the more prominant native species will make gardening a breeze. Here in Minnesota, choose Cone Flowers, Coreospis, Daisies, Black Eyed Susans, Bee Balm, Lilacs and Day Lillies. If you need more suggestions for an easily maintained northern garden, I have plenty!!

Better, bushier annuals grown at home! If you start your own annuals from seed at home, snip the first bud before it blooms (I know it's hard). They will go into panic mode and produce more shoots with more buds than they would have. Annuals live to propegate (produce seed), so they will work very hard to do so~!


More to come!

Credit: Gardener to Gardner: The Best Hints and Techinques from the Pages of Organic Gardening Magazine