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Welcome to Park's Garden Notebook
In this edition of the Garden Notebook, we share your advice on making gardening easier, discouraging unwanted garden pests, and ways to recycling various household items for use in the garden. These tips are some of our favorites sent in by subscribers and customers.
We'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to share their gardening knowledge and useful tips with fellow gardeners. If you wish to submit your favorite gardening tips, see the bottom of this email for more information. We'd love to hear from you!
Park's Gardeners' Handbook is Online!
Are you getting ready to sow seeds this fall too? Check out our new online Gardeners' Handbook for detailed, easy-to-read information about starting seeds, transplanting, planning next season's garden, and more!
Help Your Back and Your Seedlings!
 For those of us who love to raise our little patches of veggies, it's not always convenient for us to 'plow a spot' and then bend  over to tend to it. So I decided I needed to have a garden spot, high enough for me to walk up too and around, so I could enjoy growing my few things, without having to do all that bending, kneeling and weed pulling. As you see, "Mama's Garden" has the large white planter containers that I can place in and around my 'Frame' as needed. I fill these containers with my potting soil and as the seedlings grow larger I can move them out to another place if it gets too crowded. My garden area will hold 11 large, window box type containers. It can also serve to be a great place to start your seeds, as well as raise your seedlings into larger plants, whether it's flowers or veggies..Of course, as the hot sun bears down and your plants need a little shade you can place a large umbrella in the middle and raise it as needed, to keep your plants from getting scorched in the middle of the day.
— Dianne C. Langley of Ninety Six, SC 
Keep Critters Under Control!
 I always had trouble with birds ruining my tomatoes. They would peck the tomatoes just enough so that they were not edible. One year after Christmas, I bought several boxes of red Christmas balls of varying sizes. As soon as my tomatoes were large enough, I would place several balls on each tomato. When the birds came to test what they thought were tomatoes, they would peck at the Christmas balls, decide that they didn't like them and leave. As long as I put the balls on my tomatoes early in the season, I never had problems with birds in my tomatoes
— Allan Lang of McCormick, SC
We were having nocturnal insects attacking many of our young plants, especially the peppers and egg plant. We tried a variety of insecticides to no avail. We wanted to garden organically and were discouraged when every thing we tried failed, even the commercial insecticides. We even tried bamboo to collect the critters and destroy them later. What finally worked was tobacco tea with soap. Enough old butts to make a brown tea colored liquid in about three gallons of water and one tablespoon of dish-soap.It worked great. We sprayed the plants and the surrounding soil. No more damage to the plants, and lots of dead earwigs, sow bugs, and small beetles!
— Jay Higbee of Morgan Hill, CA
 I have had trouble with birds pulling up my corn and eating the grain from the root when it gets to an inch or two out of the ground. I tried tin cans, can tops only, aluminum foil and scarecrows but nothing worked. I was told by several different gardeners to drive stakes into the ground in the row from end to end, then tie string about 2 to 3 inches above the ground over the corn. You only use enough stakes to hold the string tight. This has worked for me. For the past three years I haven't lost any corn to the birds. Try it and you will never use anything else, ever.
— William Hill of Dana, NC
Double Their Use!
 When I changed my garden size I needed a way to have my cucumbers climb and run but not use much space. I use the largest tomato cages turned upside down. Secure with 15 inch pieces of medium to heavy weight wire bent in the middle and I use about 3 or 4 of these ( more if needed) to secure the bottom round in the soil. The tops (normally bottoms) I tie together with twine. These cages are heavy enough to handle vines and cukes. They also last years with a little care.
— Nancy Hunsaker of Emmetsburg, IA
One of the grand old gardeners in this area used to use "willow tea" to help all his bulbs and transplants get off to a good start. He would take willow branches and cut into small pieces and add to a bucket of water. After setting overnight or longer he would use this "tea" to water bulbs to get them off to a faster start. I often soak the bulbs in this solution overnight before I plant them and then pour some of it around the bulbs. I have used it on callas, cannas, etc and it really does get them rooting faster.
— Park Gardener, Jim Mendenhall  Seems we are always replacing our phone cords around the house for one reason or another. For years now I have cut them in various lengths, usually from about 2 to 4 inches or more and I keep them in a bucket with my gardening tools. I use them to tie up vegetable garden plants - tomatoes, beans, any of the vining plants and also tall or unruly perennials and annuals. Just a twist of the curly cord around the plant and a stake and the plants stay in place. The plant is protected by the coated wire and it rarely comes untwisted. I collect them in the fall or if it's a perennial just leave them with the stake out in the garden for next year's use. They last forever.
— A Park Gardener
Keep a pot of dirt handy when you are weeding. As you come across volunteer
plants (those that have come up from seeds dropped, or spread by roots) dig
them up and put them in the pot. They will be ready to share with friends, or
to be transplanted elsewhere. I always have pots of perennials ready to be
sent home with a new gardener or a visting friend.
 — Jo Anne Appel of Bradshaw, MD
I have planted my tomatoes and other vegetables right in the flower beds with other permanent and annual flowers. Friends love to walk my yard and snack on delicious cherry tomatoes. As I ride my lawn tractor, I am forever snacking on fresh fruit and veggies...plus you eat less at the table!!
— Bill Kissam of Decatur, AL
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