Gardening Tips and Stories
from our Readers!
Share yours at gardeningtips@howtogardenadvice.com
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Recycle K-Cups as Seed Starters! (see picture above)
Joan D'Imperio (OH) found a clever and creative way to put the spent Keurig cups to use! "Some of them have a little plastic strainer at the bottom which provides additional drainage and you can write what you've planted right on the cup, so they're pretty convenient. 
Oh, and I saved the grounds for the garden too!"
Gardening Tip - Snail & Slug Solution
Snails and slugs can do extreme damage to a garden. Use cornmeal to get rid of slugs. Plan to place a small jar in the garden where they attack your plants. Place some cornmeal inside the jar and lay it on it’s side where they can enter. They will eat the cornmeal, it swells inside their bodies and kills them. I got rid of most of the slugs around my garden using this technique. One can also use vinegar. At night when they are out munching or going to feast pour the vinegar over them. I would find them easily when they come out from under my house at night headed for my garden. They had to cross my back concrete deck so I poured the vinegar over them there. Be careful and do not pour the vinegar on or near your plants. Do not dilute the vinegar. Keep in mind vinegar is 5% acid and will kill any plant it contacts. It is a very natural weed killer. Get rid of snails using the old fashioned way with beer in a buried cup.
(C.D. - An avid gardener from KY)
Gardening Tip - Another Snail Solution!
I have used ammonia mixed with water and sprayed snails (which I have a ton of), but it also helps the soil especially with corn. (Charlotte Stroud)
Gardening Tip - Growing pumpkin as a houseplant!
Kyle from NY City & his grandma Diane had great fun growing this pumpkin plant indoors as a container plant!
Gardening Tip - Protecting plants in colder climates
We have such chilly nights during the spring, summer and early fall that it hinders plant growth. I built my raised bed garden out of stones, and then added a stone wall behind them (on the north side). The rocks gather and store the heat from the sun during the day, and then release it overnight when the temperatures are cooler. I’ve seen a great change in the production of my plants since doing this! (Carl from Pellston, MI)
Gardening Tip - Raised bed garden better for those with physical challenges
I love to garden, but have limited mobility. I was afraid that I’d lost my ability to garden. When I discovered raised bed gardens, I had mine built so that I can access them easily from my wheelchair! I’m so happy to have gardening back in my life! (Joe from Hamilton, OH)
Gardening Tip - Growing Rosemary
I live in Hot Springs SD, our winters are usually on the dry side and can get to --10 below so I bring my plant inside and it sits in a large pot on an south east window. I do not water until it feels dry when I push my finger into the soil. I think the main reason it survives is that I mist it every morning. I think where it grows outside year round, there can be a mist from the ocean so the plant hydrates from the air as well as occasional watering of the roots.(Ginger, Hot Springs, SD)
Gardening Tip - Make seedling pots
I save toilet paper tubes all winter long. Then in the spring, I make 1 1/2" cuts in the tubes at the bottom, and fold them in, pushing them up a little inside, so there's a flat edge on the bottom. They should make a container with a bottom, and stand flat when you place them on a table or tray. I then use these as my seed starting containers, like you would a peat pot. When the plants are ready, I just plant the whole thing outside and it disintegrates in the garden as the plant grows. (Louisa from Norfolk, VA)
Gardening Tip - Controlling cabbage moths
Hi - this certainly worked for me. Scrunch up a few squares of white kitchen paper towel & place around the broccoli/cabbage. The white cabbage moth thinks the territory is already owned by another moth and won't lay eggs. You can also use white eggshell halves instead of the kitchen paper. Happy gardening. .... Maggie
Gardening Tip - Growing Artichokes
Nope, they're not hard to grow, had one in my yard five years now!!! Found it again this Spring when I was weeding. True story. It has survived in spite of me. Our winters get down to 17 degrees and up to 105 in summer. When a friend told me they freeze, I said, no way! I thought they were easy to grow with mine just happening to have been planted evidently in exactly the right place with rocks and steps all around it to help hold the heat in winter. We are sure enjoying it's produce and have gained in our family members becoming artichokaholics. Can't keep up with them being eaten and have already devoured 9 and have 13 more coming off. Anyway, now that I have learned how lucky I am to have it in my yard and it coming back annually now I am scared and probably will kill it with TLC! I sure hope not as they are delicious. (Betty Claypool, Kingman AZ)
Gardening Tip - Growing Artichokes
Several years ago, loving artichokes, I tried to grow them in my zone 6 garden near Annapolis, Maryland. After carefully starting the seeds and transplanting them into my garden, I was amazed at how quickly they were growing. Then one fine morning I was looking with pride at some of the artichoke plants when I noticed some were missing. Well this continued over the next few days until none were left. I was so flattened by the experience. Later on, I notice two fat deer - a mom and a fawn - walking through my garden and then I realized the problem. I am using black pepper now to keep them away but still missing some green tomatoes in my garden this summer. (From Bill Huebl)
Gardening Tip - Another use for Radishes
Just wanted to give you some information about radishes that your readers might like. When radishes (any kind, red, white, purple) aren't used and are allowed to go to seed, if the tops are left to turn "wild" rather than cutting them back when they bolt, the seed pods have a mild peppery flavor that is delicious in salads or canned in a spicey vinegar brine. When canning, rinse well in cool water, pack in quarts or pints with chopped garlic, etc. (I use a red-pepepr flake dilly green-bean recipe) and cover them with brine. I processed mine for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. (from Monica Morris)
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