Gardening

Spring 2026 is beating down our door, well almost, so I thought I would shake things up a bit and talk about another one of my loves, gardening, and perhaps encourage you to try your hand at growing something. 

With the way the world is going these days it might come in handy to know how to grow some of your own food. Besides, it tastes much better that store-bought and it saves you money. Yes, it does require a little work, but the happy and the fullfilment far out weighs getting a little dirty or having a sore muscle. Just wait until your grow that tomato that is so big that one slice makes an entire sandwich! It doesn't always happen that way, things can happen to the best of gardeners, but sometimes it all works and its a warm, fuzzy feeling.

The  picture on top is in my greenhouse. We built it a couple of years or ago. Its not fancy and didn't cost a lot , but it does the trick. You can start seedlings much earlier or over-winter some of your plants that would normally just die.

If you don't feel like messing with those tiny little tomato seeds, here's a hack. If you have an old left over tomato in the refrigerator, don't throw it out; cut it into several slices and find something to hold some dirt, like an old take-out tray or maybe a spinach container you were going to throw in the garbage. Put some dirt in the bottom, lay your slices of tomato in the dirt, cover them up with more dirt on top. Next water it in. Then if it's a container with a lid, close it, or else cover it with plastic wrap. Sit your tray in a warm place and forget about it for a few days. Little seedlings will sprout from this terrarium enviroment! After you notice more than one or two, remove the lid or the plastic wrap and sit in a lighted place like a window ledge. And soon you will have tomato starts to put in your garden or a container when the weather finally warms up outside.

Did you know that you could cut the end off your stalk of celery or bok choy that's in your refrigerator, sit it upright in a small container of water and put it in a window to grow? It seems to work better if you don't submerge the whole thing and keep it a little out of the water. You should be able to add this to your garden later as well. You can also cut the tops off green onions and do the same. In fact you may never have to buy a green onion again. There are all sorts of things you can grow this way. You just have to experiment. Some things work and some don't. But it is really cool when it works.

So many varieties of peppers, hot, mild and average, but tasty, but so little time to get them grown to enjoy. 

Peppers from bell to ghost take a long time to mature, but even in February in Mississippi, you can start your peppers indoors under grow lights. 

I have already planted 30 varieties of peppers for 2026, and so far they are responding well. Will keep you updated.

How many people have heard of the Moringa plant? It is quite a plant and supposedly, very beneficial for health. It is full of vitamins, amino acids and antioxidents. 

I am still learning of its benefits and decided to try and grow a few. The above is my first seedling to hatch. Supposedly they are trees, but there is also a dwarf variety. I will let you know what all I find out about this plant as I continue to research it.

More coming . . .