Happy Gardening!

                                                                                                         Week 23 (Save $23)
                                                                                                         Week 24 (Save $24)



Look what I am growing!  Click on the image for a larger view.  

With this great weather,  I find myself spending more time actively outdoors gardening. Whether it be digging, trimming, cutting, watering or planting.   Gardening is so great for the mind, body and soul.

I find gardening very relaxing, soothing and therapeutic.  It gives you that personal stress free time to be outdoors, creating, nurturing and caring for all those blooms and greenery beauties. 

Get outside, grow what you love, and enjoy the fruits of your labor ! 


Here are a few safe home remedies to get rid of those insects in your garden:

Aphids, mites, white flies
Mix 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap (ivory, Palmolive,etc), 1 minced clove of garlic, and 1 chopped onion in 1 litre of water.  Soak the mixture with a cotton ball and make sure you soak both sides of the leaves for full effectiveness.  Hose the plant off after a few hours.  Repeat the application a few days later.

Slugs and Snails
If you see holes in your plants or glistening slime trails, it's a sign the slugs and snails are present.  Pour beer in a shallow pan or flat container so the lip is at ground level.  Change the beer every 3 days, for full effectiveness. 
Crushing egg shells or spreading copper pennies around the plants also ward off slugs and snails.

Fruit flies
Fill a short tumbler with wine and cover the top with clear plastic wrap and poke a hole.  Fruit flies  love wine and that will be the flies last drink before it departs its life.

Sow bugs and pill bugs
These bugs emerge mainly in the spring from compost spread around the garden.  These insects can be trapped by placing loosely rolled up damp newspaper in your garden.  In the morning, pick up the newspaper with the bugs hiding inside the paper in the garbage.  Repeat with new rolls daily.

Ants
For larger ants, sprinkle cornmeal in the area where you see the ants.  The ants will consume the cornmeal and later their bellies will swell.  Need to say no more.
Smaller ants, sprinkle bath powder or salt around

Fungus
Sprinkle cinnamon powder directly to the affective part of the plant generously.  This is a useful way to control mold and mushroom in the mulch and outdoor flowerbeds too.

Weeds
Salt or vinegar removes weeds on pavements or between cracks.  Repeat the application a few days later until the weeds are gone.

Happy Gardening!