CONTAINER GARDENING~SOIL INFORMATION~ONLINE SEED DEALERS

  Well I have spent 4 days in alot of pain from a couple bad teeth.  I went in today and they pulled one no problem but the next one took about 1 and 1/2 hours to get out.  It had a round root and it just would not come out easy.  I needless to say have a very sore jaw tonight but I am very happy to have gotten that over with.  So now I have to heal up.  You know how they say no bending down, no overdoing it, Ha!!   Go home do the dishes, pick up the living room, vacuum, make a fruit salad, and much more.  Just another day being a mom.  lol

  My oldest daughter came home from work and made a salad and sloppy joes so that was good.  My younger daughters babysat so I could get my teeth out so I appreciate all of that.  Now its feet up and medicated for pain.

  I found a really good idea on the internet today for my container gardening.  It was one of those "why didn't I think of that moments".   The idea is to cut the very bottom out of plastic bottles and bury them bottom side up level with the dirt in the middle of your container so that if it rains the container fills with rain water and it slowly seeps into the soil as the plants need it. When it is empty you just go out and fill it and you don't have to worry so much.  I am so excited about this new idea that I have already started a collection of small bottles to do this with.

I LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  I am going to spend this weekend searching the internet for good deals on seeds.  I have never grown anything here in North Carolina yet so this will be a learning experience for sure.  I had a beautiful garden in Michigan.  We had bought black dirt and I made a large fenced in garden right off my kitchen.  I could see it from my kitchen window, so cool!!!  I made my own tomato cages and I had 53 tomato plants that got taller than me the ground was so rich.  Miss this so much but life goes on.  I am going to research this to death before I start so I know all there is to know about it cause I want to learn from everyone elses mistakes so I have a good growing season.

  I want to make an herb garden too.  Once you use fresh basil and cilantro you just don't want to use dried again.  When I make the herb garden I want to make it in containers that I can bring in for the winter so I have herbs all winter.

  I found another idea that I just have to do also.  You take an old metal pasta drainer and hook chains to it and make it into a hanging basket for flowers.  I found a couple of them at yard sales for 1 dollar each.  I have seen them at Goodwill for cheap.

  Another great idea and cheap is using a  shoe organizer that hangs on a door for plants. You could hang this on the outer side of your deck also.  That's what I am going to do.

 I found the cutest idea for a little bird house.  You hang a teapot without the lid bottom side against an outside wall or side of fence and the birds build nests inside.  ADORABLE!!!

  Everybody has old shoes or workboots that you end up tossing.  Well fill them with potting soil and plant plants in them and sit them on the porch.  When I met my husband 28 years ago his mom would do this because my father in-law went through workboots so fast in his line of work.  She filled hers with chicks and hens (the plants, lol) which was adorable!  Here's a picture of what it looks like.

  Here's another really cheap idea for a unique container for planting.   These would fit a couple tomato plants or a bunch of flowers  or whatever you want.  What an interesting garden you'll have if  you just use your imagination and think outside of the box!

Great idea for drainage in non-draining containers.  Plastic bottles in the bottom of the pot and newspapers layered over that and then soil over the newspaper. Such a good recycling idea!

  You can roll newspapers into a tube and tape or tie with binder twine, place them in a box or container and fill with soil and plant your seeds in each tube.

  I didn't think I would be able to plant corn but I found a really good idea for planting something like corn or beans. Tote's work perfect!  If planting beans this way you could take tall branches from the woods and stick them in and the beans would climb the branches.  Free and awesome looking!

  The more I find the more excited I get!  Here's a couple other idea's I found.

 You can search the web for soil recipes for vegetable container gardening but everything I found says that Miracle Grow Brand Potting Soil for Vegetable Growing is good, some people swear by Happy Frog too.  I am going to start now buying a large bag of Miracle Grow a week and start stacking it on my deck so I have plenty.  The one thing I seen the most said that you have to make sure it says its for growing vegetables and to squeeze the bag and make sure it doesn't clump.  It needs to be light and non clumping.   If you are more experienced than me then maybe it will be cheaper for you to make your own.  I am not that experienced right now and I want to make sure what I plant grows so I am going with the sure thing.

Vegetable Seed Dealers:

http://www.ruppseeds.com/divVegetable/default.htm

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/c-1043-vegetable-seed.aspx?gclid=CJHq7cSiybUCFQ6ynQodYEAAQw    (free shipping right now)

http://parkseed.com/Category.aspx?c=vegetables&gclid=CILs2_CiybUCFQmxnQodsHkA2Q

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/vegetable-herb-seeds.html?gclid=CI_w0oGjybUCFRA6nAodsUQAYQ

http://www.jungseed.com/

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/?cid=PPC&gclid=CKXfw7SjybUCFQ4GnQodJGgA8Q

http://www.gurneys.com/Default.asp?

  I am sure there are a million other places but here are a few that I found that had deals if you ordered from them.  Some have free shipping and some have an amount off of your total.  Usually buying online is cheaper than going to the store and you have a better selection.

  If you find a super deal or if you have had really good luck with a certain place let us all know and leave a comment.  Thanks!