Garden time: 2013 {Some tips I've learned}

  

It's officially warm weather!  Woohoo!  I'm so excited because we have been cooped up for so long!  Only problem with warm weather: huge mess outside, huge mess inside.  Also, the neighbor kids are swarming since we have a brand new play set up.  (That's a whole separate topic...)

This will be our third year of gardening.  I am hoping this year is a winner.  Quick recap: First year: we were in our apartment and tried those hanging planters.  Our upstairs neighbor decided to sabotage all attempts of growing by throwing toxic water off of his balcony daily.  Last year: drought = dead plants.  I cannot say that I haven't tried!

So what do I do when I become obsessed with a topic? Check out books from the library and scan Pinterest.  Ricky always makes fun of me because I check out 10 books at a time and skim them all.  When we started planning the wedding I DVR'd every wedding show and checked out every book.  (I also have an issue with reading books that have been made into movies).  

From all of this research I have learned some great tips for building a (hopefully) successful garden.

Here's my favorite tips:

(If my garden crashes and burns this year, I'll blame Pinterest)

1.  Save egg shells to help nourish your soil.  I kept them in a bag, crushed them up and dried them at 200 in the oven for about 45 minutes.
2. Before laying down your soil, place 3-4 layers of newspaper to help keep out weeds.  I sprayed each layer with the hose between to help it from blowing away.
3.  Before planting your tomato plants, put a banana peel in the ground with some extra egg shells.  
• Also, make sure you put your cages around your tomatoes when you plant them NOT later as they grow.  Learned that the hard way last year!!
4. Keep mint away from EVERYTHING.  It spreads like wildfire.  
5. Compost! It's a super easy way to feed your garden.  We throw everything in a bowl during the day and then take it out to the compost at night.  We use an open tub with holes cut in the bottom (to help drain water).  We aren't' perfect at it yet (I forget to turn it), but it seems to really help our soil!
• There are many lists online which go over what items work.  One word of advice: no pits and break up citrus peels.

I am NO expert, so any tips are much appreciated! 

Do you have a green thumb?