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Growing Tomatoes

Anyone can grow really delicious tomatoes by following these garden suggestions!
Tomatoes need sun, all day. Pick a sunny area where water does not stand after a heavy rain and trees do not cast shadows. Start your seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Use sterile seed-starting mixture for best results. Provide 12-18 hours of light daily from fluorescent fixtures 6-8 in. above the plants. Turn the lights off at night. Raise the lights as seedlings grow.
Use a fertilizer dissolved in the water, at about half strength, each time you water, starting when seedlings have 2 pairs of leaves. Thin plants as suggested on seed packet. When frost is past, take your seedlings outdoors during the day, shading them from direct sun. Bring seedlings in each evening. After a week or so, the plants have "hardened off" and you can plant them into the garden.
Outdoor planting time varies. In Zone 9-10 (far south), plant outdoors March-May. Zones 7-8, March-May. Zones 5-6, April-June. Zones 2-4, May-June.
Plant seedlings a little deeper than they were in the pots. Provide stakes about 6 in. from plants, and tie plants up as they grow.
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Greenhouse Basics

They shelter the first seedlings of spring and harbor the harvest well into winter. Greenhouses, once the domain of the professional gardener, are now popular year 'round with home growers and professionals alike.
But growing greenhouse plants requires more than placing pots in a clear building. A greenhouse must be put in the right place and its interior must be controlled to provide the right environment for plants.
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Vegetable Gardening

Almost all vegetables need full sun — from morning through the end of the day. Soil must be well-drained. Add organic material to the soil and dig in. Mulch garden area. Water at soil level, at least 1" of water per week. Keep leaves dry, or water in morning if using sprinklers.
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Container Kitchen Gardening

A Simple Way to Grow Vegetables, Fruit, Herbs and Flowers

Container kitchen gardening is a convenient and productive way to grow good things to eat without the work of a large garden. More and more folks are discovering this quick and easy means of gardening.
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Add Beauty to your Home with Fresh Flowers

Fresh flower arrangement beginning with leaf stems.

There's nothing quite as special as a beautiful arrangement of flowers cut fresh from the garden.
It's something Sharon Yantis, a Portage, Mich., floral expert understands very well.
"A fresh flower arrangement brings a spark of joy," Yantis says. "I think we need a lot of joy in our lives."
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Make Vegetable Gardening a Family Activity

Growing fresh vegetables with your family is fun and rewarding. Vegetables you grow yourself can taste much better then those bought from the supermarket, and they're certainly fresher. Best of all, growing vegetables isn't difficult and it's a great family activity. All you need is space for a garden, sun, soil and water.

Getting Started

First, locate your vegetable garden in an area that receives six to eight hours of daily sun and has access to water. Vegetable gardens need at least 1 in. of water weekly. Apply an all-purpose fertilizer when you plant and again when your vegetables are half-grown, following package instructions. The depth of your garden soil should be about 10 in.
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Expand Your Growing Space

Growing tomatoes on a trellis in a vertical garden

I love it when I hear someone say, "I don't have room to garden." Small-space gardening is a passion of mine and so containers play as much a part in vegetable gardening as the ground does.
When planning a small garden, using space everywhere is important. Looking up and growing vertically will expand your growing space.
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Common Vegetables and Growing Conditions

An index of Common Vegetables and Growing Conditions

Learn how to optimise your growing conditions for vegetables ranging from Beans to Watermelons
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DIY Greenhouse Seed Starter

Packet of seeds being poured into the soil

If you want to start a garden one of the cheapest ways to do so is to start your own plants from seeds. You can go out and buy a mini-greenhouse kit, but why do it when you can make one from easy-to-find materials and supplies.
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DIY Raised Bed Kitchen Garden

Build Your Own Raised Bed Kitchen Garden

Raised bed gardening is a quick, easy and very productive way to grow veggies, herbs, small fruits and flowers in a small space. In just a few hours or a weekend, you can be well on your way to growing healthy food for your family.
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