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Joy Blooms in the Garden
What I learned about Gardening from Daddy

Last Edited on:  05/01/2016 01:03 PM
05/26/2016 05:18:11 AM

Daddy is no longer with us, so I can't call and get his advise.
These are some of the lessons that I learned from him.  
They will be with me forever.  I hope you find them helpful too.

Garden onions are ready to be pulled when the green tops begin to wither or turn brown or fall over. In Denver, Colorado this begins sometime in late July or August.   Daddy always harvested before heavy rains.  He said the onions could rot if left in wet soggy soil.

My Daddy and his Old Maids (Zinnias)


Buddy's Old Maids.    I never really understood Daddy's fascination with Old Maids (zinnia's to the rest of us).  He could have been the 'Johnny Apple Seed' of these classic favorites.  He must have bought a package of seeds, who knows when.  The seeds from that first crop generated more blooms at our house, at church, and numerous of other yard.  He saved every seed head and planted them the following year.  Zinnias play a dominate role in my garden.


Stop tomatoes splitsI complained to Daddy that my tomatoes were splitting one the vine.  He told me that I needed to be more consistent in watering them.  He said tomatoes tended to split when there is too much water.


Second Cabbage Crop.  Daddy had a curious habit when harvesting cabbages.  He always made two shallowcuts. When you cut a cabbage, make two nicks crosswise on the top of the stump, and within a month or six weeks it will sprout again and give you a crop of tender greens.


Storing Onions.  Daddy stored onions in a bin in his garage.   I don't have such a bin so I just put the newly pulled onions on paper towels or sometimes newspaper and leave them on my kitchen table.  I let them "cure" that way for a few days.  I wait until the outer skins are completely dry.   They have the papery crisp skins like the onion I buy in the grocery. Leave undisturbed until the outer skin becomes papery and crispy dry. Daddy kept his onions in the bin for several months.   I don't produce enough to worry about storing them.   I use them as soon as possible.   Can't bet the flavor of home-grown onions.


Never bought Blooming Plants.  On the rare occasions that we went to the nursery, Daddy would never let me put blooming plants into our shopping cart.  He told me to look at the plants with blooms and then pick ones to plant without them.  He said these plants would do because that had better roots.  This is a "rule" I still follow.


No More Aphids.  Daddy had the curious habit of burying banana peels at base of rose bushes.  As I recall, he just covered them with dirt and didn't burry them every deeply.  He claimed that the composting banana peels prevented aphids.


Daddy's garden from time to time would be invaded by snails.   He put a shallow dish of beer next to the snail's favorite plants.   I guess the snails love beer because they would drown themselves in the beer.


Attracting good bugs.  Daddy never harvested all the carrots that he planted.  Living in Texas where winters are "mild" he left some in the ground.  Next season they made the prettiest flowers and attracted the good bugs that eat the bad bugs to the garden.  If you have never seen carrot flowers, they look a lot like Queen Anne's Lace. 


Sunflower Plants as Supports.  Daddy was always one to "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak.  One example of this was that he planted six pole bean seeds in a triangle (2 seeds at each point) and then planted a mammoth Sunflower seed in the middle.  The Sunflower provided an excellent support around which the beans grew.  I suppose you could do the same thing with cucumbers.  Dad had a big garden and always left the cukes to sprawl out on the ground.


Marigolds Keep Bugs Away.  Daddy scattered french marigold seeds throughout his garden.  Not only were they a pretty surprise but also helped keep the bad bugs away.   I know now that is an accepted companion gardening practice.  When I was little I just thought it was pretty.  He also planted garlic throughout the garden for the same reason.


Wet Newspapers.  To solve the emergence of weeds around his vegetables, Daddy put down a layer consisting of several sheets of newspapers.  Keeping them wet, prevented weeds from coming through.


Epsom Salt for Tomatoes.  After the tomato plants were established, Daddy mixed a little epsom salt into the soil at the base of tomatoes & pepper plants. He claimed that it made them more productive and taste better.  I know that the tomatoes from his garden certainly tasted better than store bought.  I later learned that epsom salt adds magnesium and that is a good thing. As I recall he also buried most of the young tomato plant because it sent out more roots from the buried stalk.


Keep Gardening Tools Sharp.  Daddy took great care of his garden tools.  He kept a bucket of sand in the garage.  At the end of his gardening day, he would plunge the heads of your garden tools into the bucket of sand to keep them sharp.  He would also wipe them down with an old oily wrag.  He said that kept them from rusting.


Joy Blooms . . . in the garden!

The seed is hope; the flower is joy

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