by Donna Balzer | Jan 8, 2019 | Gadgets, GARDENING, Soil
Right. So it’s is probably true that there is nothing new in Agriculture. And yet I continue to order books both new and old, online and through book stores. The use of minerals by plants is well documented in books like The Intelligent Gardener by Steven Solomon and in Gary Zimmer’s Advancing Biological Agriculture. With hundreds of books launched hourly and all the old ones still waiting to be read there is always something to be learned about gardening from a book. It is the deep dive of learning less common in today’s twiiterverse or caption-driven instagram society. Some tidbit of wisdom or some unknown factoid is waiting to be discovered in every new and old book I order. Or maybe it is only new to me because, as mentioned, there really is nothing new to everyone anymore. Or at least I thought that until I got the call.
by Donna Balzer | Nov 30, 2018 | Food, Gadgets, GARDENING, Soil
What I learn every time I visit a community garden is that there are so many ways to do everything and this Berlin garden is an amazing example of ingenuity and inspiration. As the rain starts falling the group gets up for the site tour. HH gives me the signal he is tired of waiting patiently so I edge my way out of the garden. I hate to leave. These are my people.
by Donna | Aug 12, 2018 | Featured, Gadgets, GARDENING, VIDEOS
Do you journal about your garden? Do you know want to be entertained and learn from your own garden efforts? Of course you do. That is why Donna Balzer wrote the Three Year Gardener’s Gratitude Journal: Part Diary, Part Personal Growing Guide. This guide is packed with fun tidbits and garden information as well as garden stories. Donna shows you how to use it in your garden.
If it is little jobs for little people you are excited about sharing then watch the second half when Donna works with her grandkids in the garden. Tips for getting kids involved? Just do it yourself and they will follow and the messier the better.
by Donna Balzer | Jul 31, 2018 | Bugs & Buggers, Food, Gadgets, Greenhouse, VIDEOS
Here is the Little Jobs in the Garden video about my new drip system. I have been adjusting the system so that I water twice a day. I find the timers easy to set and right now I water at 5 Am and at the peak of the heat at 1 PM. The system runs for 10 minutes now each time.
The second video is all about how plants in the cabbage family are not good companions for my tomatoes. Did you know some plants like cabbage and sunflowers are allelopaths? They can slow down or damage other plants.
by Donna Balzer | Jul 31, 2018 | Food, Gadgets, GARDENING, THE LATEST, VIDEOS
So my grandkids love watermelons. And eating peas. But how do I get them away from their monster trucks and into the greenhouse? I do it with water. All ages love to water and they love to play with the various hoses and sprinklers I have in my greenhouse and garden. I also let them discover the excitement of the treasure hunt when it comes to pulling potatoes.
by Donna Balzer | Jul 24, 2018 | Bugs & Buggers, Food, Gadgets, VIDEOS
So my grandkids love watermelons. And of course I want to please my grandkids so I promised to grow watermelons for their August visit. But this year, more than ever before, the deer are eating my watermelon plants. I even sprayed all around the plants with Bobbex to deter the deer. And that’s when they took a really big bite – of the biggest fruit. So I took the next step and put up a mechanical barrier. Watch the video of me covering and protecting my watermelons from deer this summer
