Of course we teased our son and would tell him he should stand outside in the rain to shower so we could save some money. He didn’t think that was funny at all. But the truth of the matter was that we just used a lot of water to keep our flower, vegetables and container and raised bed gardens happy.

This water problem brought back memories of growing up on a farm. My younger brother and I were always the last to be bathed and we had to use the water everyone else bathed it. Gross.

Eventually Dad had water collection systems, I believe it was called a water cistern system. It was added to the basement and was made from concrete. It didn’t even have a cover over it. That’s not what we have in mind as we would prefer a closed system.

I’m so happy we have the Internet today. I started looking at some solutions to our current problem. The amount of water that comes off the roof of our house and garage is significant yet it’s goes straight into the ground. Why not put those eves to good use and direct the water to a collection system.

We are now seriously looking at plastic water collection systems at www.watertanks.com.

It was Judy the Gardener. She had dropped Jenny off from church Sunday and saw that our vegetable garden hadn’t been turned yet. We had been so busy cleaning up the yard before garbage pickup and then the rain we had turned the garden to mud. Five minutes trying to turn that and I was beat.

She said she and her husband Jean would be over in ten minutes with their garden rototiller. I was immediately speechless as my mind raced thinking about all the other stuff I’d be able to do as it would have taken me at least a week to dig up the entire vegetable garden.

Here is a picture of our vegetable garden a couple of days ago and another an hour after that. I watched Jean tilling the garden from inside our house. I had already done all I could in the yard for the day and was thinking about taking a nap, if I was a guy that took naps.

Vegetable Garden Before Jean Arrived

You might be able to see that I started digging the garden myself. I didn’t get much done as it was just too wet and heavy. I think I worked for ten minutes and managed to turn a section about 1 foot by 1 foot.

Vegetable Garden After Jean Was Done

What took Jean about a half hour to complete would have taken me days and many many rest periods and it still wouldn’t have looked as great as it does now.

Many thanks to Jean and Judy the Gardeners. After seeing how great a job Jean did with their little tiller, which fit right into their car’s trunk, I knew we had to have one, so Jenny and I will see what’s available this fall when they might be a little more in our price range as we need a snow blower as well.

Since the first time Barb gave us jars of her salsa we were hooked on having our own salsa garden so we can make our own salsa. 2012 is that year.

The tomatoes are far from fresh, having been sliced, diced, and pureed far from the grocer’s shelf. A popular brand of salsa tries to gain credibility by claiming that the other guy’s salsa is made in New York City.

New York, San Antonio, San Jose. Doesn’t matter, you can probably come up with a better–and more cost effective–brand of salsa wherever your garden is located.

What’s In Garden Salsa?

What are the key ingredients in homemade salsa? Tomatoes, of course, and peppers (jalapeno or other), garlic, onions, and cilantro. That’s only a basic recipe, though. Feel free to experiment with outside the box salsas too.

I looked through Youtube this morning to find a great salsa recipe I could follow and of course one that made my mouth start watering for salsa and the following page is not only shows you a great salsa canning video but I also added the recipe directly from their site.

Plan on allocating at least half of your salsa garden to tomatoes. As they are the main ingredient, fresh tomatoes will make all the difference, whether you decide to go with a chopped tomato, chunky variety or opt for the more conventional saucy variety that settles onto a chip. My preference is a small dice so I can get some of everything on a dipping chip.

Some gardeners prefer the meatier, but less juicy Roma tomatoes over more watery varieties. Leave the cherry tomatoes for salads though. Tomatoes like long sunny days and well tilled soil to dig roots into, but they’ll grow in deep containers on sunny porches. If you’re using a container, mix peat into the soil so the water won’t drain out so quickly.

Jenny and I are starting a salsa container garden so we will have enough tomatoes.

Jalapeno peppers are most valuable players in your salsa line-up. Jalapenos supply the kick in your concoction, and the amount of heat will be determined by what kind of peppers you pick.

Jalapenos aren’t the hottest peppers, though; Tabasco and habanero peppers pack even more punch. Peppers are hardy growers that like to climb along fences and work well in those odd spaces in the garden. They’re colourful, attractive in the garden, and like a lot of sun to bring out their heat. If you like a little less heat, try poblano peppers; they can be used to make chile relleno.

Home-grown onions will also be a flavour enhancer, not just a decoration, in your salsa garden. These can be started from immature onion sets, which like mild sun–too much and they’ll bolt and go to seed–and well-aerated soil in which to grow plump. You can get two growing seasons, once in the spring for harvest through August and once in late June for fall harvest. When the foliage turns yellow, they’re ready to pick.

Garlic is a must-have in any kitchen, but when mixed with fresh onions, peppers, and a squirt of lime juice, it compliments its fellow veggies, and completes the salsa taste sensation. Everyone has their own tolerance of garlic, but it shouldn’t be left out of home-grown salsa. Garlic plants well in either fall or spring. Plant the largest cloves form the bulb. Harvest when the upper leaves begin to dry.

Cilantro gives even the most pedestrian of salsas a garden-like flavour. Since your fresh tomatoes won’t smother this herb in a lot of sauce, you’ll appreciate its distinctive flavour all the more. This herb does well in containers, with its tasty fern like leaves growing bushy in your pots or herb box. You’ll need to give the plants a pinch to prevent them form flowering, which causes cilantro to lose its flavour. Flowering can also be delayed by moving plants into shade as days grow warmer.

Of course, a selection of simple garden tools–hoe, rake, trowel, shovel–will aid in the process. Soon, you’ll have fresh ingredients to produce a home-grown salsa that is more economical and more flavourful than anything on the grocer’s shelf.

My Best Canned Salsa Recipe Revealed!

First I would like to share the video that drew me to Horticulture and Homes as it makes the salsa making look pretty straight forward. Enjoy and get canning.

Years ago I tried a salsa recipe from a book entitled Canning and Preserving by Linda Ferrari. I checked and you can still buy this book new or used on line. The recipe is very good but I had to do my own tweaking. I looked at canned salsa recipes and studied canning information regarding acidity levels and came up with this recipe which makes 6 to 7 pints.

My Best Canned Salsa

• 5 1/2 Pounds Plum Tomatoes
• 3Cups Chopped Onion
• 7 Ounce Can Diced Green Chilis
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
• 1/2-1 Jalapeno Pepper, Finely Chopped
• 2 Cloves of Fresh Minced Garlic
• 2 Teaspoons Canning Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Bottled Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup White Vinegar, 5% Acidity
• 1/2 Cup of Tomato Juice (This can be made from the skins and seeds of the 5 1/2 pounds of tomatoes. Refer to the following video for more information.)

Working in small batches, plunge the tomatoes into boiling water for one minute and then into ice water to loosen skins.

Peel, seed and chop tomatoes into a large bowl or pot. Reserve skins and seeds to boil. Process skins through a food mill and reserve a cup of the juice for the recipe. Compost the skins.

Combine all ingredients and heat until salsa is hot.

Place salsa into hot sterile pint jars and leave 1/2 inch of head space.

Clean jar rims with a damp paper towel.

Attach lids and rings.

Place in a water bath canner with hot water below 180 degrees and water covering the jars by at least one inch.

Place the lid on the canner and bring to a rolling boil.

Water bath process for 45 minutes.

Turn off the stove and remove the canner lid.

After 5 minutes, remove the jars and place on a towel in a draft free place.

Once the jars have cooled for 12 hours, remove the rings and wipe jars with a damp cloth.

Make sure all jars have sealed and store in a cool dry place.

If a seal has failed, you may reprocess the jar using a new seal or place in the refrigerator for use within a few weeks.

This salsa is fairly mild. If you would like a medium or hot salsa, add more Jalapeno pepper and increase the cayenne pepper to 1 1/4-1 1/2 Teaspoons. I like to make double batches of this since my family enjoys it so much.

Jenny, Stephen and I do like our salsa just a bit spicier so we’ll be adding extra heat to the mix. We can hardly wait until our vegetable and salsa garden is ready to produce salsa for us.

Our son Steve moved out to Saskatchewan for work a couple of months ago and now it’s time to change his room into something Jenny can use herself. A place she can just relax, kind of like how I use my office/den/Mann Cave.

This spring cleaning is going a little further with some interior decor changes as Jenny’s not too interested in occupying a room that looks like a man cave. I guess my office is safe as it looks just like Steve’s room. As you can see in the picture below it doesn’t look much like a room ladies would be able to relax in.

I’ve had my own home office since we moved here in 2005 but Jenny really only has the living room to relax in and never gets any alone time. It’s now time for Jenny to start looking at what makes her happy and relaxed.

Jenny has now been looking for wallpaper that would cover up the wood panelling for us as ripping it out isn’t something we’re ready to do at this time. Her love for flowers means she’s been looking at floral wallpaper that will give he that relaxed feeling as she loves sitting outside looking at our flower gardens and can’t get enough.

Even though I didn’t get much gardening done in the first few years I did start this blog, BackyardGardeningTips.com and have tried to keep fresh content as much as possible. Now that we have more and more going on it’s great I have guest bloggers writing articles for the site.

As our gardens are growing bigger each year it gets more costly to keep buying plants so last year I tried starting plants from seeds. It didn’t go so well because we just don’t have a lot of windows that get much direct sunlight. I’ve already mentioned in another post but we bought a mini greenhouse that has allowed me to move my starter trays out to the garage.

During the day I keep them outside but am able to keep the wind and rain off them with a plastic cover that came with it. They are doing so much better than they did last year. I think it cost us $30.00 so it was less than we spent on plants last year.

I started them on May 1st which is probably a little late but I felt it better to do that than start them too early to be able to put them outside to toughen up. It’s certainly better than last year when I started over in June.

The starter pots above were easy to use so all I had to do was follow the directions on each seed pack I received from Mike The Gardener Seed of the Month Club. Gave them a little tender love and care along with some water and they grew. So cool.

What a difference from last year as they were about three times as long and still only had the two first leaves.

Now they are even bigger so today I transplanted them into cardboard milk containers I cut in half and recycled instead of putting them in the trash. They may look a bit funny but remind me of school projects we would do as kids.

Notice I only cut three sides. This is so that I will be able to put the lid back on if the weather sucks too bad. I took two others and cut them completely in half and then slit the sides of the top so I could just set it down on top the the bottom section to cover them. That turned out to be the best solutions as the folding lid didn’t work well after just a few days of getting soggy.

I put some stones in the bottom of each and made 5 drainage holes on the bottom and then filled them part way up with dirt and transplanted some starter plants that were out growing their tiny containers.

As you can see I also recycled our juice containers rather than trash them. Maybe well have really juicy vegetables. Okay I admit that was pretty lame but sounded good in my head.

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While I was walking over to the garage I noticed a robin flew in right behind me and started picking up the worms I left behind. I even managed to get a picture of the robin. I think he was trying to tell me to get to work with the shovel.

After I had enough worms for tomorrow’s fishing trip I went over to see how the clematis were coming along. I noticed this huge fat slug. I’ll have to watching them closely. Sure wish that robin was more interested in garden pests like these slugs rather than worms.

I then headed over to Jenny’s Hosta on the north side of our garage to cut the last years stalks back a bit so they looked a bit better. I had planned on splitting them but other things got in the way. As I was cutting the old stalks I notice more slugs there, although they were only a fraction of the size of the one at the clematis.

A good home gardening tip is to pick pests like garden slugs and other garden pest out of your gardens manually and destroyed them immediately. Don’t even leave their remains in the garden.

Baskets can brighten up any barren wall, porch or patio, and offer quite a talking point for guests arriving at your house. Creating a beautiful hanging basket is relatively easy as long as you have the right tools, and you’ll be able to get far more pleasure out of a basket that you created yourself, than from one which you bought that was already planted.

The type of basket that you use is important, and for the best hanging baskets, you need to ensure that you provide room for your plants to breathe and grow. One huge problem with solid plastic baskets is not only that water can build up and rot the roots of young plants, but that there’s not enough space for growth.

Easyfill hanging baskets are an ideal solution to this, and come with carefully developed latticework that allows roots to breathe and grow properly. In addition, easy fill hanging baskets have a number of slots placed around the circumference of the basket, allowing you to plant both out of the top and sides for maximum effect.

When it comes to planting your hanging basket, it’s important to consider watering problems. Some compost products come with water retention and nutrition granules within them, but you can also buy extra water capsules which can be mixed with compost when packing easy fill hanging baskets out.

This means that you can keep your hanging baskets well hydrated, without having to constantly water or worry about pools forming in the bottom of baskets.

The plants you choose are also important for getting the perfect effect. A fantastic range of hanging basket plant varieties have been developed over the years, and it’s important to use these specialised species. They have been bred to encourage trailing and fast growth; two vital requirements for creating perfect easyfill hanging baskets. Unless you’re attempting to create visual impact with just one plant and colour, try to incorporate different flower and foliage types for maximum effect. Foliage, in particular, will help keep the basket bright between bursts of blooms.

Creating your own hanging baskets can be far more rewarding than simply buying them from the shop, with the added advantage that you can customise planting to your heart’s content. And, by choosing the right basket and plants, you’ll bring stunning colour to your home this year.

Author Bio

YouGarden is an online gardening centre run by three horticulturalists who have over 50 years combined experience. They have one simple ethos “Gardening for Everyone” and sell everything for from easy to grow veg and flowers to including ‘mini orchard’ patio trees.

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I get so distracted I trip over my own feet.

My video camera is in the other room but right now it’s 6:30 PM and it’s just stopped raining. The sky is really dark and there are some birds singing their little hearts out, looking for love. There isn’t a breathe of wind at the moment.

As soon as the Blue Jay takes off the squirrels will sneak down from above and scoot right over to the spot and take it home with them. Probably up a tree right now laugh their little behinds off.

I took the image above with my new camera and shot the picture through my office window, screen and all. I have a video of a Blue Jay in the bushes on our backyard property fence. The Blue Jay is bobbing in and out of those thorny branches like they weren’t even there.

It took me a while to figure out how to get the video from the camera and then I had to figure out how to get it into a format I could add to my Backyard Gardening Tips Youtube Channel and that took about two coffees but I got it, eventually.

I’m almost glad I busted my other camera because this new video camera not only takes great video it also takes pretty good pictures and takes almost all the shaking out.