Spring done Sprung!


Thu. Mar. 20, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Spring done Sprung!

What a week of celebration!  First St. Paddy’s day and today, the first day of Spring officially begins at 11:57 this morning.  I danced a little happy dance on my way to the garage this morning to ensure a perfect combination of sun and rain for our gardens.  Oddly, I swear I heard laughter in my neighborhood!

Here’s to the Vernal Equinox!  The word equinox means equal night.  So, it’s a global celebration as pretty much the  … [Continue reading]

Salt damage


Wed. Mar. 19, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Salt damage

I love salt, it’s a wonderful seasoning, enhancing the flavor of anything it’s put in.  However, I do NOT like what it does to my plants!

My city ran out of salt and had to start using sand.  That means they used ALL the salt, which means there’s a lot that got on my lawn.  No plants really LIKE salt although there are some that are TOLERANT.  I’ll talk more about those later in our season.  Today, let’s  … [Continue reading]

Ice Damage


Tue. Mar. 18, 2014

Click below to listen to my  Garden Bite radio show:  Ice Damage

As I tooled around the neighborhood it was obvious that my house wasn’t the only one with plenty of ice dripping off the roof, creating dams and nasty issues for our more delicate shrubs.  Luckily the warm temperatures have melted a lot of that ice.   My plan was to warn you not to knock ice off of your shrubs and trees, the branches can be brittle and knocking off the ice could further damage your plants.   Pre-melt:

Ice on Lilac

Ice  … [Continue reading]

Shamrock or not?


Mon. Mar. 17, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Shamrock or not?

Well, no, not really.  There is no “real” plant called Shamrock.  This is a slurred interpretation of the Irish word seamrog (pronounced shahm rogue) that simply means White Clover aka Trifolium Repens.

White Clover

Ireland’s national symbol of pride and the early Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity is also a fantastic survival food for cattle and a nitrogen fixer for your lawn.  As well as a weed to many of us!

You could brew up a  … [Continue reading]

UPcycling/REcycling


Fri. Mar. 14, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  UPcycling/REcycling

Upcycling became a new buzzword last year.  It’s really recycling old stuff into cool looking newer stuff.  The difference between UPcycling and REcycling, is pretty much up to you.  Would using yogurt cups as starter pots for seeds be recycling?  Does it matter?  

That’s a WWII German bedpan.  Can you say “awkward!”?  Any number of items can be used for containers and other ideas.

herbs in tool box

Just make sure ANY container you use, you drill or pound drain holes into.  I  … [Continue reading]

Cole crops


Thu. Mar. 13, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Cole (cold) crops

Yes, it’s C-O-L-E crops, not C-O-L-D crops, although this family of vegetables enjoy cool weather.  If you follow the family tree of a cole crop it turns out they are from the Brassica family which is in the genus Mustard and are known as cruciferous vegetables.  Cole crops comes from the Latin word caulis, meaning stem or cabbage.  A tad convoluted unless you’re of the scientific bend of mind.

Bottom line:  Cole crops are really  … [Continue reading]

Gardening lifts depression – eases stress


Wed. Mar. 12, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Gardening lifts depression – eases stress

This winter has been rough, to say the least.  I’m usually not one to complain but the bitter cold for so long and the snow after snow after snow, well, it got to most folks!  Another reason why I’m happy to spend time creating my radio show and this blog!  It takes me to my happy place.  And there’s proof that gardening takes most of us to a happier place!

My motto is “The  … [Continue reading]

Tomato care


Tue. Mar. 11, 2014

Click below to listen to my Garden Bite radio show:  Tomato care

I grew ‘Fresh Salsa’ in 2009 and really liked them for their meatiness.  They were great for slicing on sandwiches, drying, roasting and salsa.  I ordered this from Burpee.

Yesterday I gave you some great ideas for new tomato varieties to try.  They may not all be at your local nursery, but can be ordered.  There are a number of reputable companies online.  Burpee and Gurney’s are two I buy from.  But there are plenty of other places.   … [Continue reading]

Cherry pickin’ Tomatoes


Mon. Mar. 10, 2014

Click below to hear my Garden Bite radio show:  Cherry pickin’ tomatoes

It’s not really shorts weather yet but we’re all fairly giddy with warmer temperatures and then Organic Gardening magazine came out with some results of tomato testing.  So, I just HAD to talk tomatoes!  And most of the varieties I chose to talk about are cherry tomatoes.

A couple of cherry tomatoes made the “stand out” list.  ‘Black Cherry’ is a sweet and rich flavored dark pink/dusty purple delight.  Other reports say that ‘Black Cherry’ is very tomato-ey  … [Continue reading]

Bright colors to brighten your Friday


Fri. Mar. 7, 2014

Click below to listen to my radio show Garden Bite with Teri Knight – bright colors

Ahhh, Friday!  Let’s celebrate today  by talking about bringing beautiful colors to your garden.  I’ve talked before about using the colorwheel to help design your garden.

Color wheel 2

Keep in mind the colors of the surrounding elements like your home, garage, fences, trees, shrubs and what not.  Some new offerings for shade will brighten the area!  White Flower Farms offers a new mix of Hellebores also known as Lenten Rose called “Fluffy Ruffles”.   That  … [Continue reading]