Author: Melinda Myers

Cancer prevention starts on your dinner plate; actually, it starts in the garden. Growing your own nutrient-rich cancer fighting vegetables allows you to grow pesticide-free vegetables, harvest them at their peak, and use them right away, ensuring the highest nutrient value and best flavor. Be sure to include some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and turnip greens. These cruciferous vegetables release cancer fighting substances that help fend off lung, breast, liver, colon, and prostate cancer. Three weekly servings of these vegetables can greatly reduce your cancer risk. Include these vegetables in your stir fries, as a side dish, as an…

Add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. This technique allows you to create a raised bed garden on the patio, lawn, or poor compacted soil. Straw bale gardening has been around for centuries, but thanks to Joel Karsten’s book Straw Bale Gardens it has gained new popularity. All you need are a few straw bales, fertilizer, a bit of compost and time to condition, plant and water your garden.  Purchase straw bales made from alfalfa, wheat, oats, rye or other cereal that have less weed seeds than hay. Start a few weeks before you…

Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet.  Consider growing edamame (edible soybeans) in this year’s garden. Soybeans help promote overall health reducing the risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.  Plus, the high fiber in soy helps fight colon and some other cancers. Edamame is an ancient Asian vegetable and is often eaten right from the pod-like peanuts.  Edible soybeans are also used for making tofu, tempeh, soy nut snacks, and more.  In addition to their high fiber content, soybean’s high protein content has made them a popular meat substitute. Soybeans can be…

We love watching the bunnies hopping across the lawn or ground squirrels scurrying away with a cheek full of seeds. That is, until they dine on our favorite shrub or take just one bite out of each red ripe tomato in the garden. Finding a way to coexist is critical for wildlife struggling to survive and our enjoyment of nature and our landscapes. As gardeners, we know that digging in the soil and tending a garden is good for our mind, body, and spirit. Researchers discovered the same is true when we take time to observe wildlife. Our need for…

You created your wish list, ordered some or all of the seeds you will need, and they are beginning to arrive.  Make the most of your investment with a bit of planning. Starting seeds at the proper time, indoors or directly in the garden, ensures a good start to the growing season. Check the back of the seed packet for planting times and directions. Consult your local Extension Service’s website for more details on the best time to plant in your area. Organize your seeds by when they need to be started. You can create your own system or invest…

Whether planning your first, second or tenth vegetable garden it can be overwhelming. There are so many tasty vegetables and never enough space and time to grow them all. Start with a plan. Locate your garden in a sunny location with moist, well-drained soil. Save those partially sunny areas for greens like lettuce, chard and kale as well as root crops like radishes and beets. These prefer full sun but will tolerate more shade than tomatoes, peppers, squash, broccoli and other plants we eat the flowers and fruit. Review your favorite recipes and make a list of family favorites and…

A sticky substance on plant leaves, plant stands, and the floor are often the first clue alerting gardeners to a problem. If a closer look reveals bumps on the upper and lower surface of leaves and stems, it means scale insects have moved in to dine on your houseplants. Severe infestations can cause leaf yellowing, stunting and dieback of the plant. If you have battled these insects, you know they can be challenging to control. Arm yourself with an understanding of their lifecycle and be persistent to successfully manage these pests. Scale insects have needle-like mouthparts that allow them to…

The beginning of a new year finds many gardeners preparing for the growing season ahead. Clearing space to start seeds indoors, inventorying seeds and supplies, and ordering seeds, plants, and more are usually part of the process. While organizing, you may uncover seeds from past seasons. Do not discard these just yet. When seeds are stored properly, many can last from one to five years or more. Seeds stored in a cool location like the refrigerator in an airtight container maintain their viability best. But even those stored in less-than-ideal conditions may surprise you. Older seeds may still sprout once…

As the seasons change, we adjust our gardening tasks and plantings to match. Animals also make changes this time of year, often changing their eating habits and dining locations. These adjustments can impact your gardens. Reduce the risk of damage by starting in fall to protect your landscape from hungry animals this winter. Take a walk around your landscape to evaluate plants and plantings for their susceptibility to animal damage. Look for pathways that animals use to access your landscape and areas of potential damage. Note new plantings, animal favorites and those special plantings you would hate to lose. Make…

Make your meals just a bit more special with homegrown garnishes.  You invest time and money growing, purchasing, and preparing quality ingredients. But do not stop there.  Add a nutritional and decorative flair as you plate your meal by adding a garnish of homegrown herbs. Parsley is a traditional garnish that is usually left behind on the plate. But the dark green leaves should not be ignored.  This herb is high in Vitamin C and A, has cancer and inflammatory disease-fighting qualities and promotes heart health.  A perfect fit for your healthful eating goals. Although the curly varieties add texture…

It’s time to think spring. Fall is the time to plant tulips, daffodils, crocus and other spring flowering bulbs. Use these early bloomers to welcome spring to your landscape. You’ll appreciate the color and cheery blooms after another long winter passes. Extend your enjoyment by including early blooming bulbs like snowdrops, squills, and winter aconites. Add early, mid, or late spring blooming tulips and early and mid-spring flowering daffodils for a continuous display of color. Check the package or catalog description for bloom times. Gardeners in milder climates should look for low chill varieties that need a minimal cold period…

Whether it is the hot weather, the age of your landscape or simply the need for change; a late summer makeover can help you increase your landscape’s beauty. Put the “wow” back into your garden with a few new plantings, garden art, or other simple improvements. Many established landscapes have a few or many overgrown plants. Sometimes the plants you purchase perform better than expected or oftentimes we try to squeeze too many plants into a garden or too large of plants into small spaces. Remove overcrowded plants that have outgrown the space or lost their ornamental appeal. Replace these…

You waited all season for that first red ripe tomato only to discover less-than-perfect fruit. Don’t worry, you can still have a great harvest and improve things for next season. Blossom end rot is a common problem on the first set of fruit. The bottom of the tomato turns black. This is not caused by a disease but is the result of a calcium deficiency in the developing fruit. This deficiency is usually caused by fluctuations in water uptake by the plant. Fluctuating soil moisture, damage to the roots, excessive nitrogen fertilizer and high humidity can all impact water and calcium uptake…

Pollinators are responsible for about 75% of the food we eat. The European honeybee is the most well known but our native bees are also critically important. We can help our native bees and gardens by reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides and providing shelter as well as food and water. About 70% of our native bees are ground nesting. Reduce the risk of conflicts with ground nesting bees. Create an inviting habitat away from prime gardening areas. Leave warm south facing spaces open for bees to establish their in-ground nests. Wood and cavity nesting bees, like the leaf cutter bee, make…