How to Grow Beets {Start to Finish}

Protect Your Garden with Beneficial Insects

June 18, 2013 6 Comments

Over the years, I have learned that growing a a garden organically does not mean putting the plants in the ground, watering, and waiting for fresh produce to show up. To truly get the most out of your garden, you have to learn to work with nature. Introducing beneficial insects into your garden can help you naturally manage insects that would otherwise destroy your crops. Essentially, you are waging a carefully calculated war in your backyard. You are introducing natural predators of nasty produce sucking insects to maintain the balance in your garden. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to liking the power of it all -ha!

Ladybug {photo credit}

To start, ladybugs are an awesome choice. Believe it or not, it’s not really the actual ladybug that helps to control aphids, etc., as they don’t really eat all that much in their adult state, but rather the larvae that really contribute to the overall health of your garden. Those little babies eat A LOT of soft bodied insects. The key to getting ladybugs to STAY in your garden lies in making it a hospitable place to lay eggs and raise babies. You can order ladybugs online or get them at your local nursery.

The most important factor in getting them to stay is how you release them. Release them just after dusk {that ensures that they’ll at least spend the night, as they won’t fly away in the dark} in a well-watered garden. Typically, ladybugs you buy are a wee bit dehydrated, so a place that has plenty of water might entice them to stay and make a home. Also, unfortunately, an ounce of prevention doesn’t really apply with ladybugs. Your garden needs to have some level of aphid {or other sap-sucking insect} problem. No food, no stay.

If you aren’t into buying bugs for your garden, you can do a lot to attract them. Planting appealing scents {herbs like fennel, coriander, and mint, or flowers like marigold} go a long way in drawing the creepy crawlers in. Most beneficial insects are attracted to nectar and pollen {ah, they have a sweet tooth too}, so providing them a buffet to snack on also keeps them around.

Lacewing {photo credit}

Lacewings are another popular choice. While they look, well, um gross, they have an insatiable appetite for aphids, thrips, scales, moth eggs, small caterpillars and mites. They enjoy a bit of nectar to wash down all of the insects they feed on, so make sure to plant plenty of tasty flowers for them to draw the nectar out of.

Flower Fly {photo credit}

Hoverflies, or flower flies, kind of look like bees. In addition to feeding on aphids, they pollinate strawberries and raspberries. Again, you can draw them in with a healthy flower garden.

Assassin Bug {photo credit}

There is a whole host of predatory bugs that feed on tomato hornworms, thrips, spider mites, many insects’ eggs, leafhopper nymphs, corn earworms and other small caterpillars. Some common ones include pirate bugs, assassin bugs, and ambush bugs {even their names sound tough}. These bugs have been known to attack adult-sized japanese beetles. They are a take-no-prisoner sort of gift to your garden.

Wasps {photo credit}

Wasps are a great addition to your garden as well, because they typically attack unwanted pests at the egg level. Unfortunately they also sting!

Spider {photo credit}

Spiders, if you can get past their shifty startling presence, eat a lot of unwanted bugs, and more often than not, are not poisonous {exceptions to your specific location obviously apply}. They get a bad rap, really, because they are so darn ugly {I said it}, but they really can improve the overall health of your garden.

There are a ton more potentially beneficial insects–knowing which are preying on your plants and which to keep helps the overall balance of your garden. Ah, isn’t being one with nature fun?

Will you be adding any ladybugs to your garden this summer?

Mavis wants to know

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: garden tips, Gardening, Protect Your Garden with Beneficial Insects

How to Care for Rhododendrons

June 16, 2013 5 Comments

One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Claudia recently sent me an email asking how she should take care of a rhododendron shrub her mother in law gave her.

Here in Washington you cannot drive down the street without seeing a giant rhododendron in someones yard. A rhododendron is an evergreen that has beautiful big blooms in the spring. It is very similar to an Azalea {except Azalea’s aren’t evergreens}. They are perfect if you have a shady spot that is in need of some color. {I have plenty of shady spots in my backyard, but Rhododendrons are poisonous to dogs, so sadly, I cannot have them.}

They require just a bit of TLC, but once you get the basics down, they make a great addition to your landscaping.

With Rhododendrons, the first thing to consider is soil. They prefer a slightly acidic soil {kind of like blueberry bushes}. So, some soil amendments might be in order. {I use coffee grounds and pine needles to amend my soil}.

Next, consider placement. They do not like direct sunlight, and can’t withstand a ton of wind. So choose a shady protected area. They are perfect for those shady areas that might be up against the house.

Next, mulch, mulch, mulch. Rhododendrons have shallow roots that need to be protected from weather extremes, both hot and cold. The mulching will help keep the moisture level consistent too–they like that delicate balance of not drying out and not sitting in stagnant water. Mulching with pine needles or pine straw can help with the soil pH and protect the roots.

Finally, make sure to prune your Rhododendron immediately after they finish blooming {usually June-July}. If you wait too long, they get a bit cranky, and may not give you flowers the next year. To prune, just pinch back dead blooms. Over-pruning can also lead to a couple of years of no-blooms. If you have an established Rhododendron that has gotten too big, you may just have to bite the bullet, prune it way back, and accept a couple of years with no flowers. They are grudge holders, but they always come back around, eventually.

Rhododendrons do not really have a ton of insect problems, and with a bit of routine maintenance, they will provide years of year-round color to your yard.

The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do & When to Do It

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, growing guides, How to Care for Rhododendrons

How to Grow Pumpkins {Start to Finish}

May 29, 2013 9 Comments

Are you growing pumpkins this year? I’m hoping for a bumper crop to help towards my goal of growing 2 tons of fruits and vegetables in my backyard. The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird loves to grow them for her friends and I love to grow pumpkins for decorating the front porch with.

Pumpkins are super easy to grow, just remember you need about 90- 100 days of warm weather to grow them. We typically harvest ours around mid October.

Brief description: Pumpkins are part of the gourd like squash plant. Depending on the variety, it can be used for tons of things from jack-o-lanterns to pies.

Where to Plant : Plant pumpkins in a sunny location with good soil. Pumpkins need a bit of space, so a garden bed works best.

Planting Seeds: Mound surrounding dirt into little hills and plant 3 seeds, about 1 inch deep per hill. Even though most seed packets say to space pumpkins 4-6 feet apart, I have always spaced them about 3 feet and never had a problem with crowding. Make sure to place a plant marker right next to where you plant so you know where to water until seedlings emerge. Once seedlings pop through the soil, you will need to thin them with scissors, leaving only the strongest one per mound.

Growing Tips: If you have the space, I totally recommend growing a variety of different pumpkins. They are super easy to grow and basically just need sun and water. Plus, kids love them, so they are a great way to get them involved in gardening.

How to Harvest: Cut or twist pumpkin off of the vine, leaving enough of the vine for a stem.

Are you ready to start your garden but you’re not sure when you should plant your seeds or set out your transplants? Head on over HERE and you’ll be taken to a handy dandy chart that is broken down into what vegetables should be planted {or transplanted} each month in your area.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Pumpkin recipes:

Individual Pumpkin Pies

Pumpkin Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: growing guides, how to grow pumpkins, pumpkins

How to Grow Sunflowers {Start to Finish}

May 18, 2013 3 Comments

My daughter The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird has been planting sunflowers ever since she could walk. I’m not sure who loves them more, her or the birds that come along at the end of each summer and peck at the seeds. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they are great for summertime bouquets too.

Brief description: Sunflowers are annual flowers with beautiful bright flowers, usually yellow, red, or orange. They are great for attracting bees, birds, and butterflies to your garden.

Where to Plant Sunflowers: Plant in a sunny location in raised beds, garden beds, and/or containers {depending on the variety}.

Planting Seeds: Plant 1/2″-1″ deep about 1-2 weeks after last frost. When seedlings are 2″ tall, thin to 1 every 12″.

Growing Tips: Sunflowers love hot weather. They are extremely hardy.

How to Harvest: To harvest cut flowers as needed and place into water. To harvest sunflower seeds, allow the flower heads to dry out and lightly rub the head to reveal the seeds.

How to Roast Sunflower Seeds: You can roast the seeds by soaking them in a salt water solution overnight. Then drain them, pat dry, and roast them at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes, turning them occasionally.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow, sunflowers

How to Grow Zucchini {Start to Finish}

May 14, 2013 7 Comments

Is it just me or does everyone and their brother start locking their doors around mid-summer because people are trying to sneak sacks of zucchini in peoples cars? I hear church parking lots are a prime spot for this sort of activity.

Brief description: Zucchini is a summer squash. It provides awesome yields and can be used in tons of different dishes or stand alone.

Where to Plant Zucchini: Plant in garden beds, raised beds and/or containers.

Planting Seeds: Plant seeds 1/2″-1″ deep 2-4 weeks after last frost. Make sure soil temperatures are above 60 degrees.

Growing Tips: Zucchini is a warm weather crop. It prefers full sun to partial shade. Plant with plenty of quality compost. When watering zucchini, be careful not to water the leaves, it will prevent a lot of potential problems down the road {i.e. powdery mildew and bacterial wilt}.

How to Harvest: Harvest when fruit is about 4″ or longer–though letting them get too big can cause them to taste a little woody and tough. Frequent harvesting will encourage new growth.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Zucchini recipes:

Baked Zucchini Fries

Fried Potatoes with Peppers and Zucchini

Vegan Zucchini Bread w/ Chocolate Chips

Fun Fact: A zucchini has more potassium than a banana.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, growing guides, how to grow, how to grow zucchini

How to Grow Cumin {Start to Finish}

May 11, 2013 9 Comments

Photo Credit

This will be my first year growing cumin and I’m pretty excited. I don’t know about you but I absolutely LOVE cooking with cumin. Yum Yum!

Brief description: Cumin is an herb grown for the seeds. It adds a unique flavor to Indian and Mexican dishes.

Where to Plant Cumin: Plant in full sun in containers, garden beds or raised beds.

Planting Seeds: Plant 1/4″ deep. When seedlings are 1″ tall, thin to 1 plant every 4″-6″.

Growing Tips: Cumin requires a pretty long growing season, so if you live in an area with a short growing season, you will want to start them indoors. Transplant outdoors when temperature LOWS reach 60 degrees.

How to Harvest: Let seed pods ripen and turn brown. Remove the pods and let them dry. Then, rub pods to remove the seeds. You can also cut entire stems and place them upside down in a bag to collect the seeds.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here is my Favorite Cumin recipe:

Chickpea Salad with Cumin and Lime

Fact: Cumin is the second most popular spice in the world, next to black pepper. It is essential to curries, and dates back as far as 4000 years.

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow

How to Grow Beans {Start to Finish}

May 5, 2013 5 Comments

I don’t know one person who doesn’t like green beans. My son Monkey Boy will only eat them raw, but everyone else in our family could totally eat a plate full of delicious green sticks for dinner. There is now doubt about it, beans are cool!

Brief description: Beans have long edible pods and beans inside that can also be eaten. They are great for snacking on raw, cooking, or canning.

Where to Plant Beans: Plant in full sun after danger of last frost. Plant in raised beds, garden beds, and even containers if they are big enough.

Planting Seeds: Plant seeds 1″ deep. Most packets say to thin them to every 4 inches, but I think that is crazy and typically space them every 2″ to maximize my crop.

Growing Tips: Beans are awesome for succession planting. If you plan it right, you should be able to get a crop from June all the way through September. I sometimes have troubles with the birds getting to my bean sprouts, so I tend to over plant them to compensate. If the birds don’t get to them, I go back and thin them later.

How to Harvest: To harvest, snap beans off the plant by hold the plant firmly {so that you don’t damage it while picking}. Beans taste better when they are thinner than a pencil, so try to pick them before they get too big.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Bean recipes:

Green Beans with Sweet Onions and Bacon

Pasta Salad with Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Roasted Peppers

How to Can Green Beans

Fact: Beans have been found in Egyptian tombs–apparently they thought they were easy to grow too.

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: beans, Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow

How to Grow Cucumbers {Start to Finish}

April 27, 2013 4 Comments

This morning I planted my cucumber seeds! I started 2 flats using some of my DIY Potting Soil blend. This year, I am growing Marketmore, Lemon, and Burpless. It’s been a while since I’ve grown lemon cucumbers so I’m looking forward to them.

Brief description: Cucumbers are part of the gourd family. They grow from a creeping vine plant. They are broken into three varieties: pickling, slicing, and burpless.

Where to Plant Cucumbers: Plant cucumbers in a sunny spot. They prefer warm weather {soil temperature should be at least 70}, so make sure to plant after the last frost. Cucumbers can be planted in raised beds, garden beds, or containers using a trellis.

Planting Seeds: Plant seeds 1/2″ deep, 6 seeds per pot or mound. When plant has 3 leaves, thin to 3 per mound.

Growing Tips: Cucumbers like rich soil, so mix a little compost in with your planting. You can train cucumbers to grow up a trellis if space is an issue.

How to Harvest: Read your seed packet to find out length of a full-grown cucumber for the variety you chose. It’s better to pick them at the specified length–any larger and they will start to taste bitter. Most cucumbers are ready 55-70 days after planting. To harvest, pull or cut the cucumber off of the vine.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Cucumber recipes:

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Quinoa Salad with Cucumber and Mint

Fun Fact: If grubs start to eat your cucumber crop, slice a cucumber and put it in an aluminum pie tin. The cucumber will react with the metal and put off an odor {undetectable to us} that will drive the slugs away.

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow

How to Grow Fenugreek Sprouts {Start to Finish}

April 19, 2013 8 Comments

Do you grow your own sprouts? My online boyfriend Ryan from Botanical Interests Seed Company asked me if I had tried fenugreek sprouts before {I hadn’t} so I decided to give them a try. The verdict? Delicious!

Have you tried them?

Brief description: Fenugreek is a legume typically used as a spice. When sprouted it provides high levels of vitamins, flavonoids, and antioxidants.

Where to Plant Fenugreek Sprouts: In glass jars or sprouters indoors. Keep out of direct sunlight, and make sure you keep them in a place with good air circulation.

Planting Seeds: Fenugreek seeds must be disinfected and soaked prior to sprouting in order to minimize potential E. Coli. To do this, simply soak in 1 tsp. bleach to 1 cup hot tap water for 15 minutes. Then, rinse thoroughly.

I use a Victorio 4 Tray Kitchen Sprouter, but you could also use a canning jar to sprout. Once you have disinfected seeds, soak them in plain old tap water for 6 hours. This softens the exterior of the fenugreek seed. Finally, spread your seeds out in the sprouter trays {or in the bottom of your jar}. Fill the top tray with 2 cups of water and wait for it to trickle through. Repeat the process every 12 hours using fresh water. For a jar, rinse seeds and drain completely every 3-4 hours.

Growing Tips: Once sprouts are ready to eat, you can slow down their growth by placing them in the fridge, giving you a longer time to enjoy them. Also, make sure during the rinsing process, you don’t let your seeds dry out completely–it will make them very angry.

How to Harvest: When sprouts are ready, you simply rinse and eat the whole thing. Fenugreek sprouts are best eaten before green leaves appear, though.

Cool Fact: Fenugreek is a widely used spice in India, especially in curries. Fenugreek sprouts have an equally desirable flavor, with all of the nutritional benefits.

Because I’m all pumped up about sprouts these days, I just ordered the new Botanical Interest Seed Sprouter. I like the design of this one a little better than the one I have right now, plus it has 4 see through compartments which I think is pretty cool as well.

I’ll let you know what I think about it once I get it and try it out.

Peace Out Girl Scouts.

~Mavis

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow, sprouts

How to Grow Beets {Start to Finish}

April 17, 2013 8 Comments

Growing up I only liked pickled beets. As I’ve learn to cook them over the last few years I’ve really fallen in love with them. The Handsome Husband and I both love them, but the kids? Well, they haven’t exactly acquired a taste for them just quite yet. But I’m sure at some point they will.

This year I planted 3 varieties:

Gourmet Blend {My favorite!}
Bulls Blood
Detroit Dark Red {Great for canning}

Brief description: Beets are a sweet and delicious root veggie.

Where to Plant Beets: Plant in raised beds and/or garden beds.

Planting Seeds: Plant outdoors 2-4 weeks before the average last frost. For best results, soak seeds for 8-24 hours before sowing–they will germinate faster. Plant seeds 1/2″ deep {about 3 seeds every 4″}. When seedlings are 2″ tall, thin to one every 4″.

Growing Tips: Beets are a cool weather crop. They can be sown in early spring or late summer for a fall crop. They like even moisture, so don’t let the soil dry out–mulching in the hot months will keep them cool and happy.

How to Harvest: Harvest when beets are 1-1/2″ to 3″ in diameter. You can harvest the leaves for salads, cooking or garnishes. You can also, obviously, harvest the actual beet. You can either pull them out or dig them out–it’s really a personal preference, though, if you dig them out, make sure not to slice the beet with your shovel. Wait to wash your beets until you are ready to use them, they will last longer that way.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Beet recipes:

Roasted Red Beet and White Bean Hummus

Roasted Beet, Potato, and Walnut Salad

Grated Raw Beet Salad

Interesting Fact: About 10-15% of all U.S. adults experience beeturia (a reddening of the urine) after consumption of beets. This is important stuff to know, don’t you agree? Ha!

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: beets, Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow