Here are a few more questions readers have sent in over the last few weeks. I’ve answered the best I can, but a few could use your input {pretty please!}.
I have been following your blog for a couple seasons now and am very impressed! My question has to do with watering. I have very good intentions every year but never fail to kill most my garden & watch all my hard work be for nothing. How do you water and how often? Is everything on drippers or?
~Tracey
That’s such a tricky one to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, where watering isn’t quite as essential as in other areas of the country. I’ve never used a drip system, but I have friends and fellow gardeners that do and love them. Also, watering timers are wonderful I’ve heard as well. I just do the old fashioned watering can and hose route.
I don’t water every day; if it’s drier than usual, every other day. I always choose garden paths that are porous and use gravel, bark, etc. for garden paths, that way run-off water is not wasted, but returned to the ground and surrounding root systems. That helps in a place like Seattle where you get sufficient rain, but might not be that helpful in, say, Arizona. I realize that’s not much help, but I’m hoping some of my readers can speak up with their watering tips!
Hello Mavis, I was wondering if you might consider a day of the week for us to post our remodeling questions and photos? Your diy’ers and remodelers could use some support. I would be happy to get the ball rolling with photos and questions if it helps. You have amazing responses to your queries and I’d love to get some feedback to my questions as well.
~ Suzanne
The smarts of my readers always blows me away, so I’m sure they could help! There are a few ways to go about this. Because I get so many emails and submissions sent in, I can’t guarantee I could post what you send, but give it a shot. Send it on over to me at onehundreddollarsa month @ gmail.com {spaces removed}. In the mean time, try posting your questions on my facebook page or in the comments of a relevant remodeling post. Often people will chime in there with some really great answers!
I cannot find the post now, but I mixed up a batch of my own taco seasoning following a recipe I saw on here. I am wondering how much to use per pound of ground meat? Is one batch the equivalent of one store bought packet?
~Mindy
I always keep a big jar of my DIY Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe in the cupboard for an easy peasy taco night. I like to use about 1-2 tablespoons of spice mix per 1 pound of meat {depending on how rich you like it, you’ll want to adjust}. I’d start on the low end and then add until it tasted perfect to you. Then label the container so you knwo for next time. Works for me. Enjoy!
I love your ideas & fun spin you put on gardening. Thanks for giving me new ideas & throwing randomness in there too. I have to say I really enjoy your blog! Keep throwing it at us.
~Sarah
Awww shucks. Thanks for the compliments. And I live for the random. Life is pretty dang boring without it. So glad someone finds my quirks charming! 🙂
You may have answered this question already but I have just found your site. Have you ever done any container gardening if so what was your success? I have can no longer get up and down so the typical garden is out of the question. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
~ Dorothy
I love container gardening and I really think you will too. I’ve blogged about it a number of times, but this post on Tips for Container Gardening might be the best place to start. Container gardening is great because it can be done in any climate and with any skill set, novice on up! I’ve had really great success with it. Keep me posted if you give it a try. I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Kristina Z says
I am a reformed garden serial killer. 🙂 Everything changed for me when I installed a drip system with a timer. Where I live in central CA, we have very hot summers, with zero rainfall. So it’s a no-brainer to set that timer for deep watering every few days and go about my business. Slightly less complicated and expensive to set up is a set of soaker hoses with a battery operated timer, and that works pretty well, too. If you use a hoe in your garden like I do, just watch that you don’t hack through the hose without noticing (cough).
Rochelle says
Tracey,
I sure understand about good intentions and then killing off my garden. I live in the Sacramento valley where we stay in the mid 90ies to 100+ days are the norm for months on end. Right when my garden is supposed to be at its peak is when I’m most likely to get burned out. -ha ha
My garden/veggies were saved when I started using a combination of a cheapie dial timer, soaker hoses for each bed, and shavings from the feed store to use as mulch. (Shavings are much cheaper than bark; easier to move and compost faster too) That way I only have to dash out iof the house, move the garden hose to the next bed, hook it up to that bed’s own soaker hose, turn the timer dial, and dash back in. How much you water depends greatly on what your growing and where you live so you’ll have to just keep plugging along with it and be ok with maybe having to try again.
Another thing that really helped me was the TEN year garden journal from Lee Valley. Exceedingly well made and thorough. Pretty enough to be left out in the coffee table so it’s always in use.
Here’s a link for the journal…
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=43043&cat=2,58054,46147,43043
I’m not affiliated with them in any way.