Craftzine.com blog: Gardening Archives

Archive: Gardening

November 6, 2009

Gomistyle's Urban Window Garden

San Francisco resident Marque Cornblatt of Gomistyle recently started documenting his indoor urban gardening efforts and he presents some really neat ideas and suggestions. Despite the fact that he does have a little yard, he got tired of sharing his harvests with the neighborhood raccoons and decided to take his garden indoors. He replaced traditional pots with big black plastic storage bins from Office Depot because of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Marque experimented with growing vines, including tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, and peppers, by creating hanging planters from plastic one-gallon jugs.

These soon got replaced by more black plastic bins with holes drilled in them (as seen in the top picture). This is such a great way to maximize his window space and conserve water too. Here's a closeup of his lovely thriving cukes:

My favorite part is that Marque is admittedly no master gardening. He just experimented to see what works best. He even begins his blog post by saying: "Let me begin with a simple admission. I don't know much about gardening. Until a few weeks ago, I had never planted a seed, or maintained houseplants. My thumbs weren't green, they were red and swollen from playing Xbox. " That put a smile on my face. He plans to post updates and details as his garden grows.

October 19, 2009

How-To: Refresh Wilted Flowers

Summer is over in my area. Almost 5 inches of rain have already fallen at my house. To cope with the seasonal change outdoors, I rely on fresh flowers indoors. I keep them everywhere, and they are also all over my Day of the Dead Shrine. Because cut flowers are so expensive and persihable, I use a quick and dirty trick to milk an extra day or two out of the vase life. Take a pair of sharp scissors, as sharp and pointy as you can find, and just trim all the wilted petals from the back. This flower not only has ugly petals, powdery mildew is growing on it- ICK! Carefully cut all the damaged parts of the flower off. Finally, give the stem a fresh cut at the bottom and voila! As you can see in the photos, removing all that gunk from the flower even made the sun come out for a moment!

October 18, 2009

Gourd and Pumpkin Decor Ideas

Get some beautiful inspiration with Better Homes and Gardens' gourd and pumpkin decor ideas. Pictured above are squash blooms and gourd candy dishes filled with my favorite treat, candy corn! You can find more Thanksgiving decor ideas at BHG.com.

October 15, 2009

How-To: Acorn Bird Feeder

This clever acorn bird feeder from Kate at design*sponge is not only adorable in its shape, but also creates a squirrel-resistant feeder. Brilliant!

September 1, 2009

Flashback: Moss Graffiti

Last week, I posted about a 3D painting done on a wall, made to look like the letters were growing. Naturally, it reminded me of the Moss Graffiti tutorial by Helen Nodding that we ran in CRAFT Volume 04. With rainy season just around the corner, here's the full tutorial for you to check out and start making your own moss milkshake to create with.

Moss Graffiti
Try this alternative to spray paint, and leave your mark in the way of gardeners past.
By Helen Nodding

The possibility of growing moss graffiti occurred to me during one of those dull days at work when your thoughts wander. A quick internet search showed me that I wasn't the first person to ask the question "How does moss grow?" In fact, many genius gardeners had even come up with a recipe for a moss milkshake! Next I wondered if you could use this recipe to grow your own designs and create a kind of moss graffiti, and it would appear that you can!

MATERIALS

Several clumps of garden moss
1 can of beer, or pot of natural yogurt, or 12oz buttermilk See which works best for your location.
½tsp sugar
Blender
Plastic container with a lid
Paintbrush and spray mister

NOTE: For indoor growing, you'll also need compost and a seed tray.

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Gather moss.
First gather together several clumps of moss. You can find moss growing between the cracks in paving stones, near leaky drains, on trees … basically, moss loves damp and shady places. Mosses do not have roots but use rhizoids to attach themselves to surfaces, meaning that you can easily collect moss by hand or with a spatula.

Clean off as much of the mud as possible by soaking it in water.

Step 2: Make the moss milkshake.
Put the moss in a blender and add beer (or yogurt or buttermilk) and sugar. Blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency, like a thick milkshake. Pour the mixture into a plastic container.

Step 3: Create your design.
Find a suitable location onto which you can apply your moss milkshake (a good indicator is somewhere that moss is already growing). Paint on your chosen design (either freehand or using a stencil).

Step 4: Tend your graffiti.
If possible, try to water your masterpiece daily with a spray mister. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to recuperate, maintaining your design before eventually colonizing the whole area.

Learn about mosses at craftzine.com/go/moss.

The Moss Graffiti recipe was previously published in Interlude Magazine, Issue 2, and Craftivity, edited by Tsia Carson, Harper Collins, 2006.

About the Author:

Helen Nodding is an artist who lives and works in London. As well as her own work (storiesfromspace.co.uk), she often collaborates with the London-based group Spacehijackers, who explore and critique the use of public space.

August 26, 2009

Backyard Garden + Recipe: Individual Strawberry Rhubarb Buckle

CRAFT: Home Sweet Home

Individual Strawberry Rhubarb Buckle
By Katie Goodman

I think whoever made the decision that strawberries and rhubarb go together is an absolute genius. I love the sweetness of the strawberries with the tanginess of the rhubarb, and that's why it was an easy decision to plant both in my garden. Both are perennials (meaning they come back year after year) so it's a well done investment the first year.

The best time to plant rhubarb is during the early spring, but wait until the ground has thawed first. Rhubarb can be purchased as a plant at local nurseries, but is also available as roots. Rhubarb does best in full sun areas of the garden, but it can be grown in partial shade as well.

We didn't see many strawberries our first year gardening, which is typical, but we did see lots of rhubarb! Rhubarb is ripe and ready to harvest when the stalks are red at the base, with lots of red radiating up towards the top. You want it to be mostly red, with little green. Discard the leaves, though, because they're poisonous.

Extra rhubarb can be frozen for use during the winter months. Simply cut the rhubarb into the preferred size for baking, approximately ½" chunks, place on a cookie sheet, and freeze. After the rhubarb has frozen, remove it from the sheet and place it in a labeled freezer storage bag.

The distinction between a buckle and other fruit desserts (cobblers, crisps, crunches, etc.) is that the batter is on the bottom and it's topped with the fruit. The most commonly seen version is the Blueberry Buckle, but that doesn't mean you can't experiment with other fruits.

I like to make this dessert in individual ramekins, especially when entertaining, because it isn't something that dishes up especially pretty when it's baked in one large size. The presentation is so nice when done in an individual serving size, and they also cook faster this way.

For tips on growing strawberries, check out this great article.

Read full story

Altoids Tin Garden

Marque Cornblatt of Gomi Style crafted these sweet miniature gardens in Altoids tins. Marque used tiny succulent cuttings and small herbs in organic potting soil, and suggests misting them a few times a day. My favorite is the little garden he made for Buddha:

There are tons of cool project ideas that involve Altoids tins, and this is a great twist.

August 5, 2009

Backyard Garden + Recipe: Pasta Primavera with Garden Zucchini and Herbs

CRAFT: Home Sweet Home

Backyard Garden + Recipe: Pasta Primavera with Garden Zucchini and Herbs
By Katie Goodman

Pastaprimavera

Backyard gardens are becoming really popular — and for good reason. It's green to grow your own food, it's a great hobby that's fun for adults and kids, and homegrown produce tastes so yummy!

With a landscape project for the rest of the backyard taking up the bulk of our time last summer, I only grew herbs. I know I've saved a lot of money by planting fresh herbs, at $2–$4 per small plastic pouch each time you buy them versus $5 max for a plant that keeps on giving. Herb gardens are simple and an easy way to get started with gardening if you think it might be something you're interested in.

Mygarden
Now that we've had that experience under our belt, we decided this spring that we wanted to grow a vegetable garden. It's probably too late in most places to start anything for the summer season this year, but I hope to offer some helpful tips and ideas for next spring and summer (or for this fall if you are planning on a fall garden).

I think the best advice I could give anyone planting a garden is to plant what you eat. I love being able to go to the garden for cooking inspiration. Some of the things we love most and use often in cooking are: fresh herbs, asparagus (a perennial planted in spring), lettuce (spring), tomatoes, green onions, and bell peppers. Other produce we planted for some variety are: sugar snap peas (in the spring), rhubarb (perennial planted in the spring), and honeydew melon.

Garden-Herbs
This is a delicious recipe that used my garden's zucchini, parsley, green onions, and basil.

Read full story

July 25, 2009

Beach Garden in a Pot

Beach-Garden-Pot-M
Make a mini-beach in your home with this tutorial on how to make a beach garden in a pot from Sunset Magazine. [ via CasaSugar ]

See more Weekend DIY projects in CasaSugar's roundup.

July 22, 2009

Geodesic Dome Solar Greenhouse

Solar-Greenhouse-Geodesic-Dome-Finished-Product-Teaser-Photo
Treehugger has a great feature on building a geodesic dome solar greenhouse so you can grow your own food. The slideshow is really amazing!

Collin Dunn at Treehugger writes:

What do you do when you want to grow your own food, but live more than a mile above sea level in Colorado? That's the question my dad wanted to answer when he started this project about a year ago: Living at 7,750 feet above sea level, with a summer growing season of about 80 days between killing freezes, how can you grow your own food? His answer: A geodesic dome solar greenhouse.

July 21, 2009

Grass Couch

Here's a neat outdoor couch made of bricks, dirt, and grass! I would love to go to a BBQ featuring this fine piece of "furniture."

July 17, 2009

How-To: Create a Simple Houseplant Wicking System

CRAFT: Crafty Travels

My friend Goli recently went on a solo backpacking trip. When she returned she discovered that an unexpected heat wave had taken a toll on some of her plants. I volunteered to show her two very simple ways to keep her houseplants watered while she's off on her adventures. Cotton strips buried in the soil of each plant slowly wick water, keeping the root zone moist without leaving them soaked. A crafty little setup like this is super easy, and it's way cheaper than a house sitter!

Setting your plant directly into a tray of water might seem like a good solution when you are out of town, but that technique can easily "drown" the roots. Roots love oxygen, so sopping wet soil can cause rot, mold, and infection to set in. Using a simple wicking system means the dirt will have just the right amount of moisture. But always choose cotton — polyester just won't work the same.

Read full story

July 10, 2009

How-To: Vertical Vegetables

Lacking a yard? Try this vertical vegetable garden by Instructables user pippa5.

June 24, 2009

How-To: Seed Bombs

if you want to liven up a local vacant lot or other area but don't have easy access for guerilla gardening, make some seed bombs and throw them over the fence.

June 22, 2009

How-To: Make an Herb Garden from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Yiddle Herbgarden
Yiddlenet shows you how to make an herb garden from recycled plastic bottles.

From the site:

Lately I’ve been drinking SoBe Lifewater 0 Calorie after my workouts. It comes in these really cool spiral shaped bottles. The bottles are really sturdy and I’ve been trying to figure out what (other than recycling) I could do with them. I thought the first thing I’d try was an herb garden.

I live in a townhouse, and I don’t have a lot of yard. What I do have is really really shady, so I can’t get much to grow back there. I do love using fresh herbs, so this was a good solution for me.

How-To: Upside-Down Hanging Planters

Instructables user velvel shows us how to make these inverted tomato planters with a water-wicking system for balcony gardening.

June 15, 2009

How-To: Seed Tapes

I had never seen seed tapes before, but here's a handy way to make your own seed tapes for fast planting of all kinds of seeds. Instructables user DebH57 reports that this is a kid-friendly activity as well!

June 13, 2009

Coffee Sleeve Transplanters

Here's a clever use for recycling your cardboard coffee sleeve: turn it into an inexpensive way to give away garden seedlings or cuttings.

May 26, 2009

Flyer Box Planters

As we see more and more empty, abandoned street newspaper boxes, street artist Posterchild converted this one into a lovely planter with a simply-shaped plywood insert.

May 21, 2009

How-To: Bike Handlebar Planter

Instructables user FriendOfHumanity made this cheeky handlebar garden for a bike. Never lose your bike in a crowded rack again, and park it in the sun or shade depending on what plants you grow!

Gardening Home | Next >

Craft:

Gomistyle's Urban Window Garden

How-To: Refresh Wilted Flowers

Gourd and Pumpkin Decor Ideas

How-To: Acorn Bird Feeder

Flashback: Moss Graffiti

Backyard Garden + Recipe: Individual Strawberry Rhubarb Buckle

Altoids Tin Garden

Backyard Garden + Recipe: Pasta Primavera with Garden Zucchini and Herbs

Beach Garden in a Pot

Geodesic Dome Solar Greenhouse

Grass Couch

How-To: Create a Simple Houseplant Wicking System

How-To: Vertical Vegetables

How-To: Seed Bombs

How-To: Make an Herb Garden from Recycled Plastic Bottles

How-To: Upside-Down Hanging Planters

How-To: Seed Tapes

Coffee Sleeve Transplanters

Flyer Box Planters

How-To: Bike Handlebar Planter

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