Thanks to everyone for their great garden tips following yesterday’s blog entry!
Here’s a quick-hit list of the advice for first-time gardeners:

– Don’t plant too early.
– Try watering with used dishwater.
– Don’t overwater your plants.
– Mix in top soil and/or manure if your soil isn’t already rich and dark. (This is a particularly helpful tip for me because my soil is almost straight red clay. Yuck!)
– Hot peppers are a great beginner’s plant because they are quite easy to grow.
– Grow what is expensive in the grocery store in order to maximize the benefits to your grocery bill.
– Try Liquid Fence to ward off deer. Hopefully, I won’t have a big deer problem in the heart of Northwest Roanoke, but those little buggers will find a garden if there is one, I know.
– Prepare well. Don’t rush into the garden because if your soil and fertilizers aren’t great, you’ll have a big weed problem.

My next question has to do with controlling pests of the smaller variety. I know bugs can be a big problem with a home garden, but I don’t want to use any harsh chemicals. If possible, I’d love to be able to use organic methods. Does anyone have any suggestions on that front?

Conveniently, I just received a big, beautiful cookbook in my mailbox called “Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden” by Jeanne Kelley. I’ll attach a recipe after the jump.

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