Kathy Anderson Profile and Articles

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1). Which of the Hundreds of Tomato Varieties Should I Plant?
Tomatoes are such a staple in the modern diet that it is hard to believe there was a time when this versatile fruit was once thought to be poisonous. Thankfully this member of the nightshade family has been known for centuries now to be a delicious and healthful addition to our diet and is now one of the most popular garden vegetables.

For many people, tomatoes are the most challenging, yet desirable, vegetable crop to grow.

2). Saving Seeds from Your Garden
For many gardeners, the garden actually begins in January when the first seed catalog arrives in the mailbox. While the cold wind howls outside, we retire to a cozy chair and leaf through the catalog, carefully notating which varieties of lettuce and tomatoes to try and wishing we had the space to plant each and every flower so artfully displayed on its pages.

3). How to Create a Butterfly Garden
People who love to garden also tend to enjoy watching butterflies flitting about. After all, butterflies are just as pretty to look at as the flowers that they visit. Gardeners can entice even more butterflies to visit their gardens by creating gardens specifically for butterflies.

It’s quite easy to create a butterfly garden. You may even find that you already grow some flowers that attract butterflies.

4). Let's Plant Potatoes in the Garden
Potatoes, taters, spuds…call them what you will, potatoes are a staple in the diet of many people all over the planet. Potatoes are a nutritious, versatile vegetable, and they’re incredibly easy to grow. But before you run out to the garden with your shovel and hoe, there are a few things you should know about planting potatoes.

You may have heard old timers say that potatoes should always be planted on Good Friday.

5). Prune and Trellis Your Tomato Plants to Achieve Higher Yields
For many home gardeners, the tomato crop is often a source of pride. Gardeners often compete to see who can grow the earliest ripe fruit, the biggest or most flavorful tomato. The desire for perfect tomatoes sends many gardeners to their local garden centers in search of the latest potions or products that promise to help them achieve their goals.

A simple way to ensure a larger number of picture-perfect tomatoes is to keep the fruit and foliage up off the ground.

6). Planting Tomatoes in Your Garden
Tomatoes are without a doubt one of the most popular vegetables in the home garden, and for good reason. Homegrown tomatoes are very nutritious and much more flavorful than those bought from a store. Tomato plants will produce an abundance of fruit for the home gardener if they are properly planted and cared for.

Tomatoes require a fairly long growing season, and for this reason the seeds are typically planted indoors about six to eight weeks before they can be planted in the garden.

7). How to Read a Seed Catalog
Long before the first daffodils of the year come into bloom, seed catalogs are delivered to our mailboxes to herald the arrival of Spring. A good seed catalog contains so much information, it can sometimes be overwhelming for a novice gardener to decide which seeds to buy for their garden. Today I’ll explain how to interpret catalog descriptions for vegetable, herb and flower seeds.

8). Garden Housekeeping
Most gardeners, myself included, would much rather be outside working in the garden than inside doing housework. Gardening also requires some housekeeping, but plant lovers generally don’t mind being outside fussing with their plants.

Garden housekeeping is done for two reasons. Keeping the garden neat and clean is done to maintain the aesthetics of the garden, and also to maintain the health of the plants in the garden.