60 minutes or less
60 to 120 minutes
5
8
6
9
Forgo the pesticides and let good bugs keep pest insects under control. Make your garden more inviting to lacewings, lady beetles, and other beneficial insects by growing plants with nectar-rich flowers, such as cosmos, zinnias, alyssum, and goldenrod. Compost in place. You don’t need a compost bin in order to make compost. Simply take your kitchen scraps directly to a bed where you will be growing warmseason vegetables such as peppers or tomatoes. Start by digging several shallow trenches, then fill them up with kitchen scraps during the next three to four weeks. Once filled, rake the soil to cover the filled trenches. The beds will be fertilized and ready for planting come late May or June.
7
Fertilize less often. By mulching with compost and adding organic matter to your soil every year, you can cut back on the frequency and amount of fertilizer. Depending on your soil, you may not need to fertilize at all.
Attract feathered friends. A single swallow can easily devour hundreds of bad bugs in an afternoon feast. Attract swallows and other bug-eating birds by making your garden more inviting. Include birdhouses and a bird bath or two, along with seed- and fruit-bearing plants, shrubs, and vines.
Be waterwise. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation not only water plants more efficiently, they are also one of the most practical timesavers you will ever use.
10
Carpet your paths. Recycle your old carpets and rugs by using them as effective weed barriers in paths between garden beds. Simply overlap sections to cover the area, then cover up with bark chips or decomposed granite for an attractive, no-fuss, weed-free path.
Echinacea Cleopatra
We Can’t Wait for Spring! Our greenhouses are loaded with over 1,000 varieties of perennials and shrubs starting to wake up after their winter’s nap—all grown in natural, plantable pots. Spring will be here soon—request your free color catalog today!
1-800-852-5243 bluestoneperennials.com
GARDENERS!
is a lifelong gardener who lives in Oregon.
KRIS WETHERBEE
HUGE
DR
®
TILLER Models ng Star tist at ju
SALE!
$ 399
99
DIRECT PRICING • FREE SHIPPING!
FREE SHIPPING 6 MONTH TRIAL SOME LIMITATIONS APPLY
CALL for Special Prices and FREE Catalog!
95217X © 2017
New 2017 DR® Tiller line-up includes Rearand Front-Tine Models, Tow-Behind Models, Mini-Tillers—at BIG, Pre-Season Savings!
TOLL-FREE
888-213-2264 It might be a good strategy in your garden to forgo pesticides and let good insects do their work.
OEC-OCL_MARCH 2017 FULL ISSUE pg 1.indd 15
DRrototiller.com
MARCH 2017 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING
13
2/22/17 1:28 PM