Carrott Companion Planting

Carrots have a few plants that will help to benefit them during their growth. Beans provide nitrogen that carrots tend to need more than other vegetables do. Sage, Rosemary, and Radishes are under controversy as some recommend them as companions for carrots (they help repel the carrot fly) but other sources list them as incompatible.Alliums also help to confuse the carrot fly. If you are using carrots to attract beneficial insects to your garden then you will need to allow them to flower or plant Queen Anne's Lace (a wild carrot) in your garden. Flax is believed to help carrots since it produces an oil that is thought to protect root vegetables like carrots from some pests.

Debating planting with Beans as a companion? Visit: Bean Companion Planting and Companion Planting with Beans.

How you preserve your carrots is up to you, but many are pickling more different types of vegetables. And the carrot has not been left out. So get out your mason jars and check out this recipe for pickled carrots.

Companion Planting with Beans 2

After our original post on Companion Planting with Beans we learned a little bit more about plants that should not be planted with beans, etc. So here is our new Companion Planting with Beans image:

When harvesting your beans you may want to have a harvesting basket on hand. Hope this helps you with your summer gardening!

Companion Planting with Sweet Peppers

Sweet peppers have a few companion plants that will help them in the growing season.

Basil: this plant helps sweet peppers by repelling flies and mosquitoes and also by promoting growth and flavor of the peppers.

Parsley: attracts the beneficial parasitic wasps and hover-flies that help the sweet pepper stay healthy.

Okra: this plant shades the peppers from being burned by the sun and also helps to keep wind off the fragile stems.

Avoid planting sweet peppers near fennel, kohlrabi, and apricot trees.

When harvesting, it is best to cut peppers off using pruning shears, rather than breaking the stem.

Cucumber Companion Planting

Thinking about your 2012 summer garden? Are you planning on planting some cucumbers? If so you should keep the best companions for cucumbers in mind.

These cucumber companion plants consist of:
Radishes, Peas, Beets, Corn, Beans, Carrots, Dill, and Sunflowers.

However, you should not plant your cucumbers near potatoes or sage as they tend to grow poorly when planted next to these plants.

When growing cucumbers, you might want to consider using a trellis with them as most cucumber plants are vines and the trellis gives them the space they need to climb.

Most people like to pickle their cucumbers for storage, there are many pickling mixes on the market to help you do this if that is how you wish to store your cucumbers.

What are your cucumber growing recommendations?

First time garden? Read: Starting a Garden.

Companion Plants for Tomatoes

It is still a little early to actually do any gardening, but winter is a great time to reflect on how you want your garden to look, and what you want your garden to grow. Companion planting is a great way to allow plants to do their best while benefiting one another during the growing season.

Since tomatoes are a very popular plant in gardens, we will start our companion planting series by discussing different plants that complement tomatoes.

These plants help the tomato in a myriad of different ways. Each has its unique benefit to the tomato.

Basil attracts butterflies and repels other pests.

Oregano repels aphids.

Carrots attract insects beneficial to the garden particularly the tomato. (See more Carrot Companions)

Onions/Chives repel pests.

Many of the companion plants help by repelling pests, however, if you still have pest problems in your garden you can use sprays (chemical or organic) in a garden sprayer to help keep your plants pest free.





January Gardening Tasks

A few things that you can be doing in January to prep yourself for the gardening season:

• If you need to purchase any seeds, plants, replacement tools, etc. go ahead and start placing your orders.
• If your garden design wasn't quite right last year, rework your design to something that is more suitable for your needs.
• If you kept a garden journal review it, and start a new journal now being sure to record the plants and seeds that were ordered.
• Check any stored bulbs or vegetables that you may have.
• Take a class on gardening.
• Sharpen, clean, and test your gardening tools.

How to Cut up Firewood

With winter coming closer with each passing day, many people who have wood stoves or fireplaces are preparing their firewood for the winter.

So how does one chop wood exactly?

Before you begin the task to cutting up your firewood you will need to choose the correct axe for the job. There are single bit, double bit, splitting maul, splitting wedge, and even more tools available for wood chopping.

Be sure that there aren't any people in the vicinity that could be injured, also be aware of the level of the ground, you don't want to get off balance or fall while holding a sharp object.

If you aren't the one chopping, then do NOT stand behind someone who is. Actually it is probably best to steer clear of the axe wielder all together. Better safe than sorry.

Be sure your axe is sharp. As with knives, a dull axe is more dangerous than a sharp one as it can slip or bounce due to the dullness, and an axe that slips off its mark can result in injury.

Let the axe do the work for you. This means that you need a swift controlled swing and relax just before the axe hits the wood. For the last split second you are only guiding the axe. By relaxing it prevents the shock of the striking blade from being transmitted back into tensed up muscles. If you relax then you will allow yourself to be able to chop wood longer.

When splitting wood with an axe, if you strike with the axe head very slightly off perpendicular, it will be less likely to get stuck in the block of wood, but will cause pieces to pop free, these pieces can fly off in any direction so appropriate safety wear is needed (safety goggles, etc.).

1. Balance the piece of wood that you want to chop (or split) on a chopping block or level ground.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
3. Hold the axe with both hands. Slide one hand up near the head of the axe, and practice letting it slide down the axe handle toward the other hand as the swing is executed. This maintains control and delivers a more powerful blow.
4. Put the axe in the spot you want to hit. Study the piece, and note any knots or limbs. You will want to hit a spot between these, as it is much harder to split across these, since they hold the wood together like nails or pins.
5. Pull the axe carefully over your head, allowing the upper hand to slide up near the ax head. Hold it with the head back over your shoulder with a firm grip.
6. Bring the axe quickly and firmly down, allowing your hand to slide down the axe handle to the other hand, aiming to hit the exact spot you selected.

It is always a good idea to let someone know when you are going to be chopping wood. You never know what could happen, and having someone aware of your location and what time you began and should be done is always a good thing.

Be safe, if you feel uncomfortable chopping wood, you can purchase it already chopped, or talk to someone who is experienced that could help to teach you the proper method. Never do anything dangerous that you feel uncomfortable about.

Source:
http://www.wikihow.com/Chop-Wood