time saving tips in the garden: reduce mowing time

Cut down on your mowing time by keeping the lawn shape simple—convert sharp-cornered and linear garden beds into smooth, shallow-curved beds. Keep island beds in the lawn with smooth edges so you can mow right up to them also. Place sundials and birdbaths on a patio, in an island bed or in a border instead of on the lawn. To eliminate edge trimming, add a mowing strip.  A mowing strip is a narrow edge of brick, gravel, mulch, sand, or similar material set just below the level of the lawn to allow the mower to pass over it without damage to either.
Replace parts of your lawn—especially hard-to-reach strips of grass between sidewalks and buildings or grass in shady areas—with low-maintenance ground covers or shrubs.

time saving tips in the garden: mulch, mulch, mulch

A properly mulched garden not only adds organic material to your soil, but also discourages weeds from germinating and conserves moisture so you don’t have to water as frequently.
For best results, use mulch at the right time. Spread organic mulches such as shredded bark, leaves, or well-rotted compost onto weed-free soil.
If weeds have already sprouted, mulch creates an ideal environment for their growth. Also, spread mulch at the right depth—if it’s too shallow it won’t smother the weed seeds effectively, and if it’s too deep your plants may develop stem and root rots. Two to four inches is a good depth for most mulches, although lighter materials such as pine straw and salt marsh hay can be spread a little thicker. Keep moisture-rich grass clippings, which mat down easily, to 2 inches or less.

time saving tips in the garden: go native

 

Choosing native plants and flowers is one way to reduce your summer garden chores. Because they’ve evolved in a climate similar to your garden’s, most native plants require less watering.

time saving tips in the garden: clean the harvest

Collect your produce in an old plastic laundry basket. The basket acts as a strainer, allowing you to quickly rinse off dirt and debris from veggies and fruits.

time saving tips in the garden: watering

Soaker hoses save you the time of standing with a hose or refilling a watering can.  With pressure on low, the water can be left on for couple of hours while a section of the garden is slowly irrigated, freeing you to work on something else. Just keep in mind that tender seedlings still need to be hand-watered.

time saving tips in the garden: tools

Minimize trips to the shed by keeping tools you use often close to you. You can wear pants with lots of pockets, a tool caddy, a gardeners tool belt, or just a carpenter's tool belt will work fine.  A 5-gallon bucket also works.  Put tools like gloves, pruners, and a trowel in the devise of your choice for quick use. 

Baked Tomato Crunch

4 medium tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon  pepper

2 teaspoons  butter or margarine, melted

1 cup corn flakes

3 tablespoons finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Remove stems and cores from tomatoes. Crosswise cut tomatoes in half. Place, cut side up, in 12 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle tops with basil, rosemary and pepper. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in small bowl drizzle butter over cereal. Add cheese. Toss to coat. Remove foil from tomatoes. Sprinkle cereal mixture on top. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until cereal mixture is crisp.

get the weeds out!

Trying to control the weeds in gardens can be tough. Use organic herbicides (such as plant extracts plus acetic and citric acid).
The key for me is mulch.   Gardeners try all kinds of mulch -- from cocoa bean, cedar, straw, shredded bark and wood chips.  You can use get wood chips for free from the power companies and tree trimmers.  You can also put black and white newspaper or plain brown cardboard under the mulch for extra protection.  

fried green tomatoes

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2  eggs beaten
2/3 cup bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.