Helpful Tip No. 4

This post can now be found on my current blog here.

Helpful Tip No. 3

This post can now be found on my current blog here.

Soaking Up the Last of Summer

I love fall and I'm glad the sticky summer heat seems to be officially over. I'm excited for the leaves to change and to get my sweaters and boots back out; but I'm really going to miss my little garden. If you follow my instagram feed (@retr0phot0), you've seen how excited I've been to harvest all those glorious tomatoes and cucumbers! I've spent the summer feasting on cucumber and onion salad, BLT's, and pasta with fresh sauce. Yum!

While I've been preparing for winter dinners by freezing tomato puree and transplanting some rosemary and basil to pots indoors, I'm really going to miss the harvesting ritual. There's something so rewarding about picking from the garden you spent so much time planting and nurturing.

It's also become a nice bonding time for my youngest niece and me. She's 9 and such a helper. She loves to work in the garden and is very particular about which tomatoes are ripe enough to pick. She eats a good portion of the harvest as she goes and tells me about her day. It's nice. I hope she still thinks it's cool next summer.

For now, the garden's still producing veggies and I intend to take full advantage! I think there are some fried green tomatoes in my future. (Stay tuned for the recipe!) I'm also stoked that my peppers seem to love the cooler weather!

Green Gardening for Pest Control

The weather has been just gorgeous here lately! I've been taking advantage by gardening my little heart out! So, I thought I'd pass along a couple cool tricks I've picked up along the way that have saved me a lot of aggravation.

Ever heard of a mosquito plant?

Mosquito Plant

A friend told me about them a few years ago and now I can't make it through summer without them! The real plant name is Citrosa Geranium and it's a geranium that smells like (you guessed it!) citronella. I like to plant mosquito plants in pots and keep them on my porch and patio. It's a great natural way to keep pesky mosquitoes away. I'm an absolute mosquito magnet and not a fan of bug spray so I even like to rough up the greenery a little to get the scent moving in the breeze and, while I'm at it, I rub the oils on my arms and legs for an all natural bug repellent. Works like a charm!

I'm sure you've seen these guys before....

Marigolds

Marigolds are easy to grow and take care of. I'm not crazy about the way they look. I generally think they look like dandelions. ( Although, the orange in the pictured flowers IS rather nice.) They do have a secret power and it's in their scent. Have you ever taken a whiff of a marigold? They stink. like. skunk. Totally gross, right?

EXCEPT...We're not the only creatures repulsed by the skunky smell. Plant some marigolds around the border of your vegetable garden to deter rabbits, squirrels, and other thieving varmits and keep your tomatoes safe!

That's all I have for today! Do you have any green gardening tips of your own? I'd love to hear them!