Crocus asked:


Each year it is the same. The perennial garden is too large. I should have divided plants in the spring. It now seems like an insurmountable task. My garden has outgrown my energy! Any suggestions? Zone 3

watercolourheart asked:


I am trying to set up a cottage garden across the back fence. All the seedlings get trampled on and broken by our young dogs as they run and play. The yard is huge and they are only small dogs, so there is plenty of room for them to play elsewhere. Its so frustrating to spend so much money, time, and effort to plant a nice garden only to have it trampled on and torn apart. Yes, I know I could put up fence, but I will have to save enough money for this. Meanwhile, I am working on training them to stay out. During this training and until I get a fence, are there any plants that will deter them from entering the garden? — e.g., things dogs don’t like the smell of, I don’t want to go with cactus or spikey plants that would injure. The get off my garden sprays, etc. don’t work and I cannot afford to keep on trying the various brands. Thanks for your help.

TiredBird asked:


I just bought a house with a terrible back yard and want to rip out some grass (moss, really) and put in a garden. All the books I have seen assume I have a palacial estate and unlimited funds. Anyone know a planning book that deals with reality and not fantasy? I want to start a garden and maybe do some simple landscaping. I am in the Northwest. Thanks!

barefootboy asked:


It rains often where I live and I also have heavy clay soil. Wearing shoes or boots in the wet garden means tons of soil sticks to them and also causes soil compaction. However, walking barefoot in the garden does not cause this if the soil is not totally saturated.

I have found that working in the garden barefoot has made me a better gardener in that I can tend to weeding and harvesting quicker after it rains. To wear shoes, typically we must wait 2 to 3 days before entering the garden to accomplish anything, so weeds tend to grow out of control and produce gets overly mature.

There are still some tasks that cannot be done, for example, beans should never be touched when the plants are wet — that is an old wives tale that is true. But, basically, barefoot gardening is a good thing. If you have never tried it, I recommend it some time.

Alysha B asked:


i recently moved into my house. in the backyard there was a stump tree. i decided to grow a garden around it. After digging up most of the soil my neighbor came by and said i would have trouble growing anything because that stump was a old pine tree. i didnt remove the stump but removed tons of its roots(electric saw:-) that would interfere with planting.
My question would the acidity affect my future veggie garden?