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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Garden Give-Away

For the first time, I am doing a give-away here on Every Day Frugal, Every Day Green. The prize is:







Burpee's Eco-Friendly Seed Starting Kit.
I chose this give-away because I want to encourage everyone I know to try to grow something edible this year...whether it's a full-scale vegetable garden or a few herbs in pots.

The seed starter kit, which comes with 25 planter cells, a watering bamboo watering tray, growing pellets (these take the place of regular soil), 6 plant markers and a some organic fertilizer. The entire kit is made of sustainable and compostable materials. Starting some seeds indoors is a great way to ease your way into gardening if you're a novice. And if you're an old hand, you can always use some new equipment, right?

For an opportunity to win this item, simply leave a comment at the end of this post. You will need to include your email address in the post, or check back later to see if you have won and then get in touch with me. I'll announce the winner on Saturday, March 6.

Good luck!!!

17 comments:

  1. I got a Burpees Gardening book for Christmas and I have started composting. I'm so excited to finally have a place to start a garden! Any tips for keeping the alley cats away?

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  2. Hi Taylor,
    I'm thrilled that you are starting a garden...and good for you to be composting. Your garden's going to love all that rich organic matter. Cats can be a challenge in the garden. There are a few things you can do: when you see them, squirt them with a water pistol or hose...they'll hate that. Get bird netting to place over the garden rows when you're not there...this will keep them from digging. Plant very densely so there's very little open ground for them to dig in. Put a little sandbox at a distance from where you are planting and plant catnip around it...the catmint will attract them and they'll think the sandbox is a cat box. Put a fence around the garden high enough to keep cats from jumping in - maybe 6 ft. or more. Use one of the spray-on products designed to keep deer and rodents at bay...most of them will also deter cats. These sprays smell terrible so if your yard is very small, it may deter you too. Good luck. I've entered you name in the give-away.

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  3. I am hoping to start my first garden this year. I've had varying luck with individual plants in years past, but look forward to learning and experimenting this year. In my new yard! [We've just started the process to buy our first home.]
    My email is esrliverman (at) gmail (dot) com
    Thanks!

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  4. Hi Swiggett,
    Thanks for visiting, and congratulations on your up-coming home purchase...that's really exciting! I hope you'll let me know how your new garden grows. I've put your name in the give-away hat.

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  5. Dee Dee do you know where to find those old manual lawn mowers? Do they still make them?

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  6. Just about any good hardware store, garden center and home improvement center will have a push mower. I like the http://www.cleanairgardening.com/reelmowers.html website for garden tools. They have a really great selection of push mowers. You can also try posting on Craig's List or Freecycle...someone might be getting rid of one and be happy to give it to you!

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  7. Hi Dee Dee! Can you put my name in the bucket for the giveaway? Mary OBrien.

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  8. Mary, your name is in there!

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  9. Planting a garden is something I consider every Spring. My biggest impediments are lack of time, not sure where to put a garden, or how to protect it against an abundance of critters. I see that a lot of gardening websites and garden shows recommend raised beds. I imagine you also recommend based on your picture. Where do I place a garden for optimal growing? We have a large yard with woods on 2 sides. The backyard faces Northwest and I am not sure that is an ideal place. Also, how do you protect your garden from wild life - particularly deer and rabbits?

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  10. Hi Nancy,
    Since you're new to gardening, I suggest you start small. Raised beds are great, but they take a little effort to set up. You might want to try growing some veggies in big pots or whiskey barrels. The most important thing about where is sun...you'll need at least 6 hours a day of full sun, and 8 would be better. To protect against critters, fencing is pretty essential. You can use netting around pots on a deck or terrace. I suggest you get a few books from the library on gardening for beginners. Or you can look for my book "the Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegetable Gardening (my author name is Daria Price Bowman. In the meantime, I've put you name in the hat for the give-away. Good luck.

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  11. I'm working on my third year of rehabilitating a long-abandoned garden in the yard of my apartment. This year I'm hoping to attempt herbs (yum!) and hopefully dry some for winter use. I'm also crossing my fingers with tomatoes and potatoes--got the blight last year :(

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  12. Hi Eatenword,
    What a great project. I hope you'll let me know how it progresses. I've entered your name in the give-away. Good luck.

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  13. To protect my raised garden box from cats and critters, I use a small grain chicken wire and place hooks on each corner of the box to tie down the wire.

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  14. Count me in for the contest - Jan wants to try this kit out! Kerry F

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  15. Your name is in the hat Kerry!

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  16. Last summer I had a small garden in the only sunny part of the back yard. The pervious 8 years I was overseas w/o space, 5 years in a yard w/ a wall all around, 3 yrs in an apt. Success with the tomatoes, a few eggplants, basil and one hot pepper only from a puny plant that never went anywhere..
    Carolyn

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  17. Hi Carolyn,
    My garden is sun deprived too, so it's a challenge to get things growing! I'll put your name in the give-away hat.

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