One of the most useful tools that I use in my garden is a garden knife. I couldn’t do without it. I could use a hoe, but I found this garden knife to serve my purpose better. I use it for a little digging to make holes for planting, digging out some unwanted grass, or even cutting cabbage for dinner. I don’t mind getting down on my knees in the garden as long as I can still get back up. My daughter loved my knife so well that she had to purchase one for herself. Sometimes, when I misplace mine, the first place I look is in her garden, and I ask, “Have you seen my knife?” rather than blaming her by saying, “Did you borrow my knife?” If you want to do some serious gardening, you need one of these knives. Click on the link to see it on Amazon. https://amzn.to/465xtS0
The garden fabric saves a great deal of hard work trying to control the grass and keep the herbs and strawberries clean. I couldn’t garden without this. We use the garden fabric for even paths around the different patches in the garden. It helps me to use the golf cart and save more energy for gardening instead of walking. When I was young, my Dad grew lots of strawberries, and during that time, pine straw was used around the plants to keep them clean. I guess that is why they are called strawberries. I remember going into the woods every fall with the entire family to rake straw that had fallen under the pine trees. I was young and thought it was fun, but I’m sure my older brothers and sisters thought it was too much like work. I highly recommend the garden fabric for gardening. Click on the link to see it on Amazon. https://amzn.to/467CjhG
Another important part of the garden is the electric fence. We have found that the chicken fence works well for small patches. We can move the fence or roll it up and save for the next year. In the last post, I told you about the deer that ate my carrots. Maybe it is not too late to save a few; we extended the electric fence around the strawberries to include the carrots. There are some Horseradish herbs and asparagus in between. It isn’t tall enough to keep the deer from jumping over the fence, so we use bamboo sticks to extend above the fence and tie fishing string above the electric fence. So far, for 2 years, we have been able to trick the deer. The deer touch the electric fence with their nose, see the fishing string up higher, and since they had not planned to go fishing, they decide to move on to another area of the garden. We have an 8-foot electric fence around the entire garden area, but the deer jump through the wires or walk in near the house, which is not protected. We have 2 chicken fences, and once a crop is finished, it is moved on to another area, except the strawberries, the deer love them anytime. They will even dig the plant out of the snow in the winter. Click on the link to see the fence on Amazon. https://amzn.to/46pVqCu
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My daughter lives across the road. She is building up her garden, and it isn’t so overgrown as our garden. Most of our herbs are in both of our gardens. Notice the greenhouses are anchored down because we get strong winds. The small greenhouse is used for planting seeds and growing the plants to be transplanted into the garden when the warm weather arrives in the spring. This greenhouse also serves as a great place to enjoy the sun during the winter. Too cold to plant spring seeds, but a warm place to sit when the sun shines on a cold winter day. Click to see a similar greenhouse on Amazon https://amzn.to/4mnHmz7
The large greenhouse is good for all year. At present, there is celery growing, and cold-hardy plants are just getting started for the winter that will soon be here. There are plenty of windows and screened doors for the summer. Notice the blocks and heavy bags around the edge, even if it isn’t windy it is better to be safe than sorry. This greenhouse in the link has a water spraying system that I highly recommend. Click on the link to see similar items on Amazon https://amzn.to/4prtnuV
In the cover picture at the beginning of the post, you will see other handy tools we use, such as water barrels, sprinkler pots, wheelbarrows, and a compost box for making good soil. Some of the herbs are sensitive to bugs so they are under special covers. When the cold weather comes, we use the white frost-resistant cloth to cover the plants. We use bamboo hoops and the special cloth that can be reused from year to year. Click on the link to see the plant covers on Amazon https://amzn.to/4gsVnui
Take care of your hoops, and they will last several years. Excellent choice for organic gardening. Click on the link to see the bamboo hoops. https://amzn.to/4prs9jj
Happy Gardening!