Okay, the easy answer is to water your garden when there is no water coming out of the sky. However, in sever drought situations there can be water rationing rules and laws that apply during that time that don’t apply when water is plentiful. This means that it’s not only important to water on the days that your property falls on but also watering very early in the morning or in the evening can also help your garden flourish.

There is another somewhat unproven thing you can do that my grandfather practiced when water was short. He would pick the crop a few days early and let them ripen in the house instead of on the vine. His reasoning made sense to me then and still does today though I cannot prove it scientifically. He believed that by taking as much from the plant as early as possible without damage to the vegetable or fruit, it would have more to give to what was left on the stem or vine. You can try it and see what you think.

If it is forecast and you know there will be little water in the growing season, seek out plants and hybrid plants that are hearty in arid or drought prone areas. Science is working very hard to find ways of producing seeds and plants that can thrive on less water thus reducing the amount of water your garden will need over the season. You can check with your extension program at the nearest University to see if they have updated information on these types of plants or seeds for your area.

Finally, you can reduce the size of your garden and contain it in smaller areas like raised beds of pots. You might be surprised just how much you can plant in a small area.

The one thing I hope you never do is give up on your garden for any reason.

There are three things that every living plant needs; sunlight, water and love but not necessarily in that order. Love seems to be the easiest because most people don’t raise plants they either don’t love to grow, smell or eat. If you love what you grow then you will make sure they have ample sunlight throughout the day as well as enough water to flourish. However, sometimes it’s hard to know how much water is enough without being too much. Yes, you can actually give your plants too much water.

One of the things that is important to know is that water releases nutrients found in the soil and the root systems of the plants soak up those nutrients and send it to the rest of the plant. Discovering how much you should water so this takes place properly can be a little more difficult because it depends on several factors that include; your soil type, region you live in and what you are growing.

If you live in a tropical area you will have very different watering needs than if you live in an arid climate. The same thing applies if you are growing a type of cactus compared to tomatoes in your back yard garden. It always helps if you know the consistency of your soil. If you don’t know where this can be found, call the agriculture department to the University nearest you and they can point you in the right direction. If you don’t have a University near you call the US Department of Agriculture and find out if they have a lab you can send a soil sample to for analysis. Most of the time for a small fee you can have the answer back in a few months.

Armed with this information, go to the internet and research to find everything you can find on the type of plants you are either growing or want to grow. You should be able to easily find out everything including how much or little water is required to grow it in your region. You will also discover your regions growing time to make sure you have enough time to grow the plants in your yard and garden.

We talk a lot about vegetable gardens, and herb gardens and how easy it is to grow your own fruits and vegetables. While gardens that provide you food are beneficial on a nutritious level, some will argue that flower gardens are beneficial for your soul.

Flowerbeds are so beautiful, and there is truly no limit to what you can plant! Just as you would a vegetable garden, start your flower bulbs indoors before planting them outside to get a jumpstart on the spring season. Choose from hearty gladiolas and tulips, and perennials like roses and irises, to the daintier baby’s breath. There are so many flowervarities to choose from, that creating a unique arrangement is as easy as picking your favorite colors. Another benefit of flowerbeds is the beautiful smells flowers give off, especially when cut and brought into your home for display. When you use raised beds you also eliminate the pain associated with tending to your garden, because the area is elevated for easier access. Beautiful flowerbeds can provide warmth and happiness to the exterior of any home, and give a welcoming aura to the front of every house. This spring, try a gorgeous flowerbed for your home.

Humans tend to hibernate during the winter, because the weather is frigid and snow and ice make it difficult to get around. However, if you’re feeling stir crazy, explore your creativity and try some fun and easy winter crafts.

There is no shortage of pinecones available in the winter. Gather pinecones around your yard and fill a bowl with them for display. You can also string them together to create garland, or even paint them for a unique look. Other items that can be gathered for the same purpose are acorns and walnuts. If you notice a lot of extra pine tree trimmings, gather them together and create a beautiful centerpiece, or string them together for a winter wreath. Add to the centerpiece with scrap wood, and create a wreath with cranberries and smaller pinecones. Create your own birdseed from various seeds and nuts and enjoy feeding the birds in your own backyard. The weather outside may be frightful, but you can stay entertained while enjoying a bit of nature with these and other great nature crafts for winter.

If you’ve planted several types of hot peppers, you most likely have an abundance of scorching hot vegetables and are unsure what to do with them. It’s easy to dry your hot peppers and crush them for year round usage in all your favorite meals.

Invest in some simple fishing twine, or string that is thin, but very sturdy. Then, thread the line or string onto a thick needle. Wear gloves, or be sure to wash your hands afterwards to avoid getting oil from the hot peppers onto your face or in your eyes. Next, thread the fishing line or string through the stem of each pepper. Don’t overload the line, so the hot peppers have enough space to dry, and hang the line or string up in your kitchen. Choose a cool, dry place and don’t place them over the stove (it’s too hot and the peppers won’t dry). Enjoy your hot peppers in chili, stew, pastas and more once they dry – just pick a pepper off the line and crush it in your favorite dish!

Like many, I got some much wanted Christmas presents that now that I have them, I don’t really know what to do with them! The dehydrator is one such gift this year. It’s not that I have not had some success with it, it’s the fact that it takes so much time to cut stuff up, dry it and then you have to eat it pretty soon before it spoils because you’re not using preservatives, which is the reason you get a dehydrator.

Once you look at it you think that’s cool, I’ll be able to do quite a bit at a time but the reality is you need a lot of rows of racks to do any amount of drying at one time and they cost a pretty penny. In fact, at close to twenty bucks per set, after you buy five sets you could have bought another dehydrator. So after you realize that’s how they make their money, you have to decide if the time and effort is worth the overall cost (I find that with most things these days you have to count the costs) and for me that’s still up in the air.

Several years ago I owned a house that went through a tornado and damaged a lot of the house. One of the major repairs had to be done to the kitchen. Once we got everything that had to be done, we looked at the space and decided we could use a pot rack and my friend and roommate almost croaked when I told him I could build one out of aluminum. His statement was something like this; “right.”

I had worked in a company that made security cages out of aluminum and one of the things we did was built the jigs to create the right bends in the material. So I measured the space and designed the pot rack on paper, built the jigs, drilled the desired holes where I wanted them, took a round file and cleaned the holes up and made them smooth before I bent the aluminum strip to form the design I had decided on. I joined the two ends together with a couple of simple small bolts, nuts and washers. I hung the rack from the ceiling with nice chain and the pots and pans with s-hooks. What I built for less than $50.00 was going for $350 or more at cooking stores. Simple, easy and done.

I was recently thinking about gifts my mother has given me. I have a great mother and she has fortunately given me several wonderful gifts, but one gift that I sometimes overlook just because it is almost so obvious, has really had a profound effect on me is the gift of travel. If someone were to ask me where I got the traveling bug from, it would be a no brainer – my mom. We were exposed to new cultures and new environments early on in life. As a child, I may have not been the most receptive and excited about all the trips, but in retrospect I see how they have influenced my life and taught me so much about the world and those around me.

First hand exposure to new places and people are the best way to learn about them. I believe everyone should have that chance. In a world where so many people can be so close-minded and ignorant, the opportunity to interact with different cultures and people enlightens us. Traveling is a tool we can all use to open up our minds. One day I will have the chance to spread my love of traveling to my children. I can hardly wait!

In this day and age when the economy is getting hit hard and we are getting hit harder with bills, it just pays to start thinking green. I recently got a notice in the mail that the water department was going to start charging extra if we went over the allotted water limit per household. I guess at that moment, my beautiful green luscious yard was a curse although I had never seen it that way previously. How was I going to stay under my limit when my veggies and grass need its daily watering?

Thank goodness for the internet and searching for ‘green gardening’ because I found a couple things that have worked wonders for me. First I ordered a collapsible rain barrel that could easily be set up to catch runoff from the gutter and be hooked up to the lawn hose – a simple way to recycle water! And why stop with just recycling water when there is so much that I was throwing out from the fridge that could be used in a compost bin. I’m glad to say my yard has been able to stay ‘luscious’ even in these hard times thanks to these products.

I’m not sure who came up with the term stay-cation and I will let you know once mine is over with if I think it has the same relaxing factor as a real life go away somewhere different vacation. From the sound of it, it won’t but I am willing to be open to the possibilities.

Now if our intent was to go visit somewhere different each day where we live it might be different. What we are doing on our stay at home vacation is re-painting the inside of the house and part of the outside areas such as the doors and porch. This requires me to work during the time I would rather be playing or relaxing. However, since I am a bit of a workaholic, it may end up being right up my ally. On most vacations, I tend to read a lot because there is not enough going on to suit me. Anyway, I will let you know in about two weeks how it ends up.