LATEST NEWS 

3/19/10  Cold Weather Seed Sowing: Hey Veggie Gardeners!  It’s time to start sowing your cold weather vegetable seeds.  Direct seed sowing is so simple and cheap, and you will have fresh vegetables straight from the garden.  And if you sow seeds every 10 days, you can have a constant supply all spring!  Cold weather crops can be sown as soon as the soil is ready for cultivating.  They prefer cool growing temps and can withstand some freezing temps and in fact lose flavor once the weather warms up.  Here are some cool weather plants that grow very well from seed:  peas, spinach, radish, arugula, kale, collards, lettuce, turnips, and muslin.  Get those seeds planted and enjoy eating your garden fresh veggies!

PREVIOUS NEWS

10/19/09 Bulb Planting with Diggers: Diggers are great tools to use for planting spring and fall bulbs.  And now is the time to be planting those fall bulbs!  The best method to use to plant many bulbs in one area is to dig a large section instead of several small holes.  Using a T-14 large Digger trowel, pull the tool towards you with the bevel pointing away.  You will be scraping and pulling the dirt towards you in a pile.  This is more efficient that pushing the dirt.  Once you have reached the required depth, simply place all the bulbs in the area, spacing according to the directions, and backfill the dirt.  If you have bulbs that require different depths, dig the area to the deepest requirement and backfill only the inch or two needed for the bulbs that require shallower depths.  Then place those bulbs on top and backfill.  The result in the spring will be beautiful and lush beds with bulbs that crop up at different times, constantly replacing the old color.

Summer Recipes 8/19/9 This is the time of year when our vegetable gardens are producing faster than we can eat or giveaway!  I have found two great recipes that use many of the vegetables and herbs that we grow in our gardens.  Use more or less of each ingredient ot taste.

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE: 4T Olive oil, 8 Tomatoes chopped, 1T fresh basil (pounded to release flavors) 3 med onions minced, 1 green pepper minced, 3 cloves garlic minced, 3T white wine, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a saucepan with the oil and add all ingredients.  Cover and simmer for 30 mins.  Serve on pasta or bread or even crackers!  Its fresh and so many of these ingredients can come straight from the garden!

GAZPACHO:  1 1/2 lbs tomatoes seeded (retain juices by seeding through a strainer), 3 cloves garlic, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 small cucumber, 1 green bell pepper with seeds and stem removed, 2 sprigs parsley, 4 T chopped fresh basil, juice of 1 or 2 lemons, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 t paprika, 1/2 t ground cumin, and a pinch of cayenne pepper if you like it hot!  Work in batches pureeing this in a food processor or blender until smooth.  If necessary strain to remove solids.  Chill and serve!

6/30/9 Diggers is having its SUMMER SALE!!  Featured trowels are marked down 10% from their retail price!  Hurry!  Offer ends soon!

6/19/9  Diggers Website is fixed!  Sorry to all our loyal customers who experienced issues with our website and thanks for your patience as we worked through our bugs.  No fertilizers were used in eliminating these bugs just a lot of hard work! :)   

5/19/09   Diggers Garden Tools is on Facebook!  Check us out for more gardening tips and for links to other gardening resources!  We'd love to hear about or see pictures on your latest gardening miracles.  We always enjoy hearing from our Diggers users and from gardeners alike and are happy to answer any questions!  

4/3/09    Spring is upon us and now is the time to make sure you are prepared for your spring and summer planting.  Gather up all your tools and make note of what is missing or broken.  Order your Diggers garden tools now to replace any of your broken or worn out tools.  Look at your garden and figure out your plant and tree needs and order perennials and trees for spring planting.

3/10/09    Now is a great time to start on your vegetable gardening indoors from seeds that can easily be transplanted to your containers or garden in the spring.  Start by filling your container (any kind will do - so long as you have good drainage) with about 1 inch of course gravel to improve drainage.  Then fill the container with a synthetic soil purchased from your local garden center with the seeds at a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch below the surface.  Make sure to place the seeds in a warm area with good sunlight, allowing for roughly 4-8 weeks germination before you plan on transplanting to the container or garden area.  Transplant your seedlings when the first two or three true leaves develop using the Diggers^tm  T-10 garden trowel for best results.  Until the seedlings emerge, use only tap water to keep the soil moist and after the plants emerge, begin using a nutrient solution about once a day.

2/23/09  WELCOME to the Diggers^tm new website . Find our gardening tool products and ordering information here. 

PREVIOUS GREEN TIPS

Stop heating the outside! This green tip is to remind you to seal up windows and doors that are letting your heat escape this winter.  You can save money in the long run by checking for drafts on your doors and window and then replacing weatherstripping, caulking, and painting any areas in need of repair. 

Weed your garden the natural way! The Diggers W-12 dandelion weeder is the perfect tool for weeding your lawn and garden using no pesticides!  Dandelions cannot be killed by simply yanking off the tops, you must remove the root too.  The weeding tool is designed for easy removal of hard to kill dandelion roots and works great on other invasive plants.  Place the weeding tool close to the stem of the plant, push the blade into the ground and press down on the handle to pop out the entire weed.  There is little disturbance to the surronding soil, you will save money on expensive weed killers, and save the environment

USE NATURAL PEST KILLERS:  If you have a problem with aphids in your garden, bring in ladybugs!  These beautiful bugs eat aphids.  Set up bird feeders in your garden to attract birds to your to eat the other pests.  If you live in rural areas, bring on the chickens!  One or two in your garden will take care of grubs and other devastating bugs.  To keep those birds from eating your berries, tie tinsel to the plants that will blow in the breeze and scare the birds from eating yuor ripe fruits.

USE NATIVE PLANTS AND SAVE TIME, MONEY, AND RESOURCES:  Using native plants both in your lawn and in your garden is a great way to make gardening easier on you, your wallet, and our natural resources.  Native plants can withstand the temperature and climate variations of your area and require less or no fertilizers to keep them looking good.  To find out information about what plants are native to your area, you can start with a web search for native gardening in your state or check out your state native plant society.  A great website that has comprised all this information together is: http://www.enature.com/native_invasive/  We can all do our part to be less of a strain on the environment!  Happy green gardening :)

TRANFORM YOUR LAWN INTO AN EDIBLE GARDEN:  The average lawn uses 88 gallons of water a day and for most, the lawn is seldom used making this investment hardly worthwhile!  Save money and natural resources by turning some of your lawn into an edible garden.  Plant gardens filled with herbs, vegetable plants, and fruit bearing trees.  Not only will you save money, but you will have created something that is more beautiful and more fun than a lawn.  Involve the entire family in creating this edible garden!

HOMEMADE WEED KILLERS:  Keep chemicals and pesticides in your garden to a minimum by using homemade weed killers!  Try pouring boiling water on larger areas to kill off weeds on your driveway or walkways - but be careful because this will 'cook' all the surronding vegetation as well!  Also try vinegar, either white or cider.  The vinegar kills off the leaves on the plant.  If they are small enough, the plant will not have enough energy to revive the leaves.  On larger plants, several applications are necessary.  Finally, try smoothering your weeds by layering at least 4 sheets of newspaper over them.  The weeds that are there will die from lack of sunlight and weed seeds will be unable to sprout.  Happy Green Weeding!!