Cathys Hobby Garden

Bearded Irises - Listing them CHEAP on eBay

2009-08-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just a note to let everyone know that I'm busy listing irises for sale on eBay. I am starting the prices out very cheap and I have lots of them to sell. Not many of each variety, often just one or two, but they will multiply for you with sunshine and TLC.

I am downsizing since I can't keep up with everything I have any more and the weeds have been winning out. I will be listing daylilies soon too.

Here is the link to my eBay items:

http://shop.ebay.com/cathys-hobby-garden/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=

Please look inside the listings on the ones that don't have galley photos. I've searched the web and provided a web address within those listings, so you'll be able to copy and paste it into another browser window to view pictures of those irises.

Created my own Facebook Application Today

2009-08-25T21:53:00.001-07:00

It's easy to get side tracked and loose track of time in Facebook. I was supposed to be listing stuff on eBay, but I found myself playing around on Facebook instead. That icon that says create your own application seemed pretty interesting, so I decided to check it out. Now I see why I've been getting all these gifts everyday, LOL. So I created my own application today, and named it Tall Bearded Iris. So four people (my application's limit) received an iris as a gift today. The program is set up to encourage you to send the gifts. Only 30% of what I uploaded is currently showing up as gift potential. More will be available as the application gets used by others (hopefully) too.

My application is called Tall Bearded Iris. Check it out and send some of your friends a very stunning iris.

HOW TO GROW TOMATOES

2009-08-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

While the debate about whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable continues, there is no waning in the popularity of this fruit/vegetable. With over 100's of varieties and many different types to choose from, an average American eats around 22 pounds of tomatoes every year, and this includes the tomatoes present in soups, sauces, and ketchup. Buying tomatoes in the supermarket can turn out to be fairly expensive, and one never really knows how fresh the batch in question is. With the entire country facing tough fiscal times, an increasing number of people are beginning to grow their own produce, and tomatoes feature on almost every of these lists.

Growing tomatoes can be accomplished fairly easily, and if done right, you can have your own batch of juicy succulent tomatoes. What you would essentially need is a good pot or some space outside your home, good drainage, and some dirt/compost In growing tomatoes, try and get a loose dark soil. Acidity levels of around 6.2pH are good especially if you want big tomatoes.

If you intend to grow the plant's in pots as opposed to the ground, make sure that you do not add to much fertilizer; a rule of thumb is that around one tablespoon of fertilizer should be enough for a ten gallon pot, and this fertilizer should ideally be added to the soil a couple of weeks before planting the plant.However, please consider the label recommendations for the particular fertilizer you are using.

Buying your young plants is an important aspect in the final outcome. It is important that you get your young plants from a trusted source, as this would largely affect the produce of your efforts. While there are scores of trusted providers to choose from, try and get you requirements met by providers who specialize in their given field.

Once you’ve planted your tomato plants, it is a good idea to stake your plants as this improves the production and also makes getting to the tomatoes after they’re ready easier. In doing so, use minimal force in pushing the stakes beside the plant because excessive force could hurt the plant’s roots. Use a yarn or a soft twine to tie the stake to the plant, and ensure that you leave some room for the plant to grow.

If you are growing your plants outdoors, make sure that you plant them at least 24” apart, as planting them too close to each other could result in reduced air circulation, and can result in diseases breaking out. Since tomatoes have a very high percentage of water (around 95%), it is necessary that you water your plants every day. In growing your tomato plants outdoors, try and cover the soil with hay, mulch, etc, so that evaporation in minimized.

With the following details taken care, you should have your own batch of fresh tomatoes in no time, and might probably never have to buy a tomato again.

Organic Gardening Articles: http://www.organicgardenarticles.com/

Daffodils Announce Dawning of New Spring

2009-03-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

The first signs of spring proudly show their pretty faces, and a warm day brings the garden gal home from work early to play in the dirt.

The snow has melted and the earth is nice and moist. Not a day for tilling - though I must confess I did try to jump the gun and encased the tiller in a coating of mud.

Since it was too wet to till, instead I set myself to the task of returning all the heaved up tags back into their places. Yes, and it is supposed to rain again Sunday night, so in all likelihood, I will soon have to do this all over again.

No one has commented yet in the blog - I suppose that I will need to send out some invitations and invite all the gardeners I know.

If you're reading my blog, please take a moment to leave me a comment.

Thanks,

Cathy

Favorite Iris Photos - Which is your favorite?

2009-02-28T15:46:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd post some of my favorite iris photos.
Let me know which ones you like the best!

Gaelic Jig

Candy Apple Classic

Explicit

The iris photos in this posting are reusable by attribute to: www.CathysHobbyGarden.com

Welcome to Cathy's Hobby Garden Blogspot

2009-02-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

It is February 25, 2009 and this is the beginning day for Cathy's Hobby Garden Blog.

My vision for Cathy's Hobby Garden is for it to become a place for online gardeners to gather together to share information, photos, ideas, interesting news, promote products, contribute and find valuable marketing and networking information and resources relevant and profitable for farmers and gardeners in growing our businesses or just perhaps sharing hopes and dreams with others who understand our passion for gardening.

If you have internet web albums with your garden photos and they are pretty good quality, I would love to be invited to link to those. Please do share, photos, events, links to your sites, articles and items that I can showcase for you on my site.

Spring is right around the corner and I'm so eager to get out there and start planting the 400+ daylily seedlings that have been growing in my kitchen over the winter. I think this must have been my way of chasing away the winter blues, so that I could experience the bright warmth of spring a little bit earlier.

Now isn't it odd that by the end of summer we are ready for fall and winter to rescue us from the hot heat of late summer, but then when winter arrives, we can hardly wait for spring to get here so we can get back to working in our gardens again. Iris in photo: Block Party. Photos copyright by atttribute: www.CathysHobbyGarden.com.