6 Simple Garden Projects

If you like the soft, weathered look of moss-covered pots but don’t feel like leaving the process to the whims of nature, try this trick. Search cool, shady spots for moss and gather two or three cups. Put equal parts moss and buttermilk in your blender and mix it up to make a moss milkshake. Paint the moss solution onto any porous, unglazed masonry pot or planter. Place the pot in a shady spot and keep it moist by misting once or twice a day. Depending on the temperature and humidity, you’ll start to see moss growing in a month or two. You don’t have to wait to add a shade-loving plant to the pot.

Space-Saving Tomatoes

If you’re short on space and want to grow tomatoes in pots, you can train them to grow upward like a vine instead of sprawling all over. Make sure you don’t buy the bush-type “determinate” tomato, which won’t get tall enough to be trained as a vine. “Indeterminate” plants are later maturing, but they will continue to grow and branch until the growing tip (central leader) is cut off. If the label on the plant doesn’t say which type of plant you’re buying, ask the salesperson.

Buy a roomy pot so roots can spread out and the soil won’t dry out too quickly. (The 24-in. dia. plastic tubs that hold young trees at the nursery are ideal, although 12- to 24-in. pots will do.) You’ll need five 6-ft. long by 3/4-in. dia. bamboo stakes. Cut one of them into 12-in. lengths. Tie these pieces with twine to the nodules on the vertical stakes, like rungs on a ladder. Push one end of each trellis 1 ft. deep into the pot, placing one trellis in front of the tomato plant and the other behind it.

To train the plant to grow upward like a vine, wind the stems through the trellis and secure with twine. Pinch out some of the side shoots to encourage growth of the central leader.

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Tomatoes need lots of food and water, but even more when you grow them in pots.

Thyme In A Stone Patio


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If you’re planning to lay a flagstone or brick patio, leave cracks between the stones for thyme. It creates soft, subtly hued mats that visually soften the stone and release a wonderful fragrance when you step on them. Expect to pay about $5 per plant at a garden center. Buy the types that grow well in your region. Space the plants 6 in. apart and let them fill in.

Stay-Put Vinyl Edging
Black vinyl edging is easy to install and economical. But after a few seasons it can start to look shabby, especially at the seams, where it tends to buckle and pull apart. Here’s how to splice lengths of new edging to prevent them from separating or lifting.

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1. Saw through the tubular top and about 5 in. from the end of the edging with a hacksaw. Use a utility knife to complete the notch as shown. Cut off the bottom flange even with the top notch. Slip the plastic connector into the top tube and slide the two ends together.

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2. Dig a trench for the edging with the vertical face on the grass side. The top of the edging should be flush with the grass. Drive a steel edging stake at about a 45-degree angle through the overlapping section of edging into the ground. Bury the lower 2 in. of edging, but leave about 3 in. exposed on the garden side to make a pocket for mulch.

Crevice Weeder

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Three-tine hand cultivators are easy to find at any garden supply store ($6 to $9), but I’ve never liked them for breaking up hard soil or getting into tight spots between plants. So I decided to convert mine by cutting off the two outside tines. Now the cultivator is easy to pull through hard soil and works great for weeding the cracks on the stone patio.

Clamp the hand cultivator in a vise and saw through the weld with a hacksaw. File off any sharp edges with a mill bastard file.

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Sidewalk cracks are a weeding nightmare. Make short work of those tenacious crack-hugging weeds by slicing off their tops with a string trimmer. You won’t get the roots, but at least it will look good until the next time you trim.

You might not be able to grow a pumpkin the size of Cinderella’s coach—but with a bit of custom care, you can grow a monster. Pumpkins take three or four months to mature, so if Halloween is your target date, plant your seeds in May. Follow these steps:

1. Purchase seeds developed to grow big pumpkins; most nurseries and mail-order sources have them.

2. Dig a hole the size of a bushel basket and dump in compost or rotted manure. Then cover the area with a 4- to 6-in. layer of black dirt.

3. Plant three seeds about 1 in. deep. After the seeds sprout a few leaves, thin to the single healthiest plant.

4. When three pumpkins begin to develop, remove any additional female flowers—the ones with the pumpkin-shaped bulge immediately behind them.

5. When the three pumpkins are softball-size, thin to just one pumpkin.

6. Keep the plant weeded, well watered and fertilized with a high-phosphorus fertilizer.

7. Harvest your pumpkin before the first hard frost, leaving the stem attached. Place it in a warm room for a week, then store it in a cool place until you’re ready to carve it.