Easy Peasy Project – Mint Garden

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Outreach Contributor

Mint is an herb that has been grown for thousands of years for its medicinal properties, as a soothing tea and as a flavoring for many foods. It roots quickly in water and is easy to grow when planted in soil. It is best to plant in a container because it can become invasive in your garden.

Sources for mint for cuttings, in the grocery store, friends, gardens and nurseries.

This is a picture of a bunch mint stems that have been rooted in a plastic container
Container after 3 weeks in shade with summer heat.

Picture showing many roots after only a few weeks in water.
Roots strike (develop)  in water – ready to plant in soil.

Close up photo showing all the roots on one cutting of mint that have grown in water.
Many roots have formed on this piece of mint after
4 weeks in water.

Photo showing that roots strike along the stem of the mint cutting where it was under water
Roots strike along stem where it was under water

Separate each stem and plant in good potting soil.
You can plant several in each container or individually.

  • Photo showing a small pot filled with potting soil.
    Fill small pot with potting soil
  • Photo showing how to make hole in soil in container large enough to hold all roots from stem.
    Make a large hole to hold all roots
  • Illustration of newly planted mint with roots covered in soil.
    Plant in soil and covering roots

Photo showing new plant in pot with gently firmed soil with suggestion to water well.
Gently firm soil around the new plant and water well.

Keep your new plants out of direct hot sun for one week and then gradually – over another week – move the plants to half day full sun for another two weeks and then to full sun. Water containers when they feel dry to touch. If they start to look wilted in full sun, give them an extra drink of water.

Trimming the tops of the plants will encourage side branching. It is safe to harvest a few leaves from the little plants immediately but just two or three leaves to start. Pinch or cut the tip of the plant just above a leaf node.

  • Photo showing the blossom tip of mint.
    Blossom tip of mint
  • Illustration of where to cut above leaf node.
    Cut above leaf node
  • Photo showing the remaining leaf nodes where the plant will develop new branches
    Remaining leaf nodes will develop new branches
  • Photo showing another example of where to cut above the leaf node to encourage side growth
    Cut above leaf node to encourage side growth

Download free PDF  for easy to follow illustrated directions for successfully
creating your mint garden.

 

Posted in Accessible, Better Gardening, Container Gardens, DIY Do It Yourself, Easy, Gardening Tips, Herb Gardens | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Easy Basil Herb Garden – How to Start

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Outreach Contributor

How to Start Your Garden

  • Start by purchasing hydroponically grown herbs from your favorite grocery store.

  • We will start with Basil, but could also use Mint of any type.

  • Purchase one pack or container of hydroponic (grown in water with nutrients) plants.

  • Each pack may yield up to 12 plants.

Basil in container from grocery store.

Basil in container from grocery store.

Each container consists of many plants

Each container consists of many plants

Gently pull plants apart - keeping roots attached.

Carefully tease clump into individual plants – with roots intact.

Place soil – bagged potting soil or clean soil from garden into containers. Make hole in soil to place division.

Place soil – bagged potting soil or clean soil from garden into containers. Make hole in soil to place division.

Carefully place basil division into prepared hole - don't push in soil or you will rip tender roots right off.

Carefully place basil division into prepared hole – don’t push in soil
or you will rip tender roots right off.

Cover hole with soil, patting gently. Plant a bit higher in soil – it will settle when watered.

Cover hole with soil, patting gently. Plant a bit higher in soil – it will settle when watered.

Water new plants very well - from bottom of containers.

Water new plants very well – from bottom of containers.

Put newly potting plants into a larger container with an inch or so of water. Place the plants in a shady spot in the garden or covered patio – no direct sun. The plants were grown in just water and need time to adjust to living in soil. Slowly –  in 4 or 5 days reduce the amount of water in the outside container till the soil is very moist and then over the next few days it can drained out completely. But, for the first month or so, make sure the new plant is quite moist but not soggy. Once the new plant is strong, you can put it in morning sun and later – all day sun, but if it looks like it is wilting, back into the shade it should go. (This is called ‘hardening off’ and may take a little time!)

The new plants can be harvested by removing the top few inches or by removing the bottom 2 or three largest leaves. Remove the top if blossoms start to form. You want the energy of the plant to make new roots, not flowers.

Your plants will continue to grow all summer and fall. Late fall the plants can be brought in to a cool spot (they will die if they freeze) and will regrow next spring.

Download PDF of this page to your computer to save for easy access and to print

Posted in Accessible, Better Gardening, Container Gardens, DIY Do It Yourself, Enabled Gardens, Gardening Tips, Herb Gardens, Resources - PDF Files - Catalogs, Theme-Gardens | Leave a comment

Not For Kids Only!

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Shirley Sidell

Not For Kids Only!

Make a special present for a child or child-at-heart – use plastic or metal abandoned toys; trucks, doll carriages, pots or anything that will hold soil.

This truck was found in thrift shop for only $4.00.

Once cleaned up, the truck looked almost real.

Make several drainage holes in the bed of truck or base of the toy where the soil will be held. Do not use rocks or other pot scraps to cover the holes.

Prepare the soil: use potting mix specific for plants or add sand to soil to help with drainage. We are planting succulents – had extras in our garden – so we added sand for good drainage. Any small plants can be used but they should be easy to grow.

Moisten the soil well. Don’t water again until soil feels dry two inches below surface.

If using plants from your garden, remove old leaves but be careful of any white delicate roots. Cut off large roots but leave small plants attached to mother plants.

Place the plants into the soil and firmly tap down.

Carefully wash off the plants in the truck bed and be sure to clean off sides of the bed. We used a sprinkler set on light spray.

Add a favorite plastic action figure or two. I found this one at a garage sale for 10 cents.

The Truck Garden is ready for action. Be sure to stabilize the wheels if they move. We lost one truck when it rolled off a wall in a wind storm.

Please send us photos of your garden!  Send to outreach @ accessiblegardens.org  (remove the spaces from the email address)

 

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Brighten the Dark Days of Winter

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Outreach Contributor
  • Download free beautiful and educational catalogs from our favorite on-line nurseries, Plant Delights and Joy Creek. Find rare and unusual plants and all the information needed for successfully growing them in your garden.
  • Disclaimer:  accessiblegardens.org is not connected to the following sites. They are listed as our favorites after many years of successful purchases,  reading their delightful and informative catalogs, learning more about our gardens and our desire to share interesting projects for your garden.


– Plants Delights Nursery  – specializes in rare and unusual plants, as well as old favorites.
– Many new cultivars have been trialed in their gardens for years to insure that your plants will come true as seen in catalog.
– Catalog is a great read and the love of plants and humor can be found throughout the pages.


– Joy Creek Nursery specializes in plants for the Pacific North West, Zone 6 – 9.
– One of the most complete collections of Hydrangeas, Epimediums and woodland plants for on-line purchase.
– Identify all those mystery plants in your garden using this as a free resource and text book.
– Philosophy of Joy Creek Nursery  “OUR PLANTS We grow our plants from seeds, cuttings and divisions. To ensure against soil-borne diseases, all seedlings and cuttings are raised in various soil-less mixtures. All plants are wintered out-of-doors or in cold green houses to make them hardy and ready to grow in your garden.”

“Garden Myths is a blog dedicated to unearthing the truth about gardening. It will look at common and not so common myths and debunk them. The blog will go one step further and explain the science around the ‘truth’. Don’t let the word ‘science’ scare you off. The blog is written for the general public with no science background.”

  • Get out your crayons, color pencils, or paints and create beautiful color pages from our free Butterfly Color Book!

Posted in 2017 eCatalogs - On line, 2018 eCatalogs - On Line, Better Gardening, DIY Do It Yourself, Free Color Book, Garden Designs and Plans, Gardening Tips, Science, Seed Catalogs | Leave a comment

Pullit DIY

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Outreach Contributor

 How to make your Pullit

Every body needs help in the garden now and then. Here is an easy to make and use helper for all kinds of chores.  Here are instructions to turn a plastic sled into a device that can be used to easily pull heavy or awkward items across your yard.  We call these a Pullit or Pullits for plural.

We have used it to move everything from bags of soil to heavy boulders. It works, costs just a few dollars and stores easily. The directions are simple to follow and are included below.

We use a disc or toboggan shaped plastic snow sled. They can be bought new or if you are lucky you might find one in a thrift shop or garage sale.

New sleds can be purchased on line at many sites like Amazon, or sport shops.
They come in various colors, styles and prices.

If you find a sled with holes for the pull rope that is a good way to start. If the handles are raised off the sled, then you will not need to drill at all. But, it is easy to drill.

No hard and fast rules for holes – one or two for each rope works just fine. Just make sure the hole is large enough to easily pull the rope through.

If you use plastic rope or cord, melt the end of the rope so it does not unravel.
Be very careful and use gloves. The melted plastic is very hot and will burn your fingers.

The Pullit is easy to make and easy to use. The side tie downs are optional but help to stabilize large loads.

Samples of Pullits

Our Garden Club made these in two hours and had a great time on the project.

It Works!

Send us photos of your Pullit in action. Send to outreach @ accessiblegardens.org  (Please remove spaces)

Posted in Accessible, Assistive Tools, DIY Do It Yourself, How - To | Tagged | 1 Comment