Looking for some garden tools to rent/take on loan

[Jan]

Container gardening really saves space

Has anyone tried using tires as planting containers?  I got the idea from this article.

EDIT: Also, I'm eager to try remineralization, which seems to be a simple and sensible method to increase yields.

We tried remineralizing last summer.  We used Azomite for our garlic bed (http://www.azomite.com/atoz.html) and it made a noticeable difference in the size of our garlic bulbs.  I think we'll try it in our other beds this summer. 

Re tires for planting...that sounds like a good idea.  We have a bunch of dead tires behind our garage that we could put to good use!...even if you just used 1 or 2 tires to fill with soil to create a mound for your cukes & zukes & pumpkins.

[KBCraig]

We have a small powerful tiller

Is that what you call turning a 7 year old boy loose with a hoe and a shovel? 

[Tom Sawyer]

We have a small powerful tiller

Is that what you call turning a 7 year old boy loose with a hoe and a shovel? 

No he holds the clipboard and make sure no one slacks off.

[Free libertarian]

I'm thinking this years tomatoes will have some container plants and some directly in the soil. The advantage to portable small containers say like 5 gallon buckets etc. of plants like cherry tomatoes is they remain willing to flower and produce fruit into the fall. Help them be all they can be. You can put them in a shed or basement on the frosty nights and milk another couple weeks of fresh produce from them by putting them in a protected sunny area during the day into the fall. A little bit of work but it's an easy way to extend the season and increase your yield.

Another thing to consider when planting a garden is the soil PH.  Walmart or other garden centers usually offer PH test strips or you can buy the more expensive kind that have the prongs and battery power.  You can waste alot of time trying to grow some plants that aren't in their desired PH range.  For instance Blueberries seem to love the acid soil but some other stuff doesn't. 

Also the consistency of the soil for root plants is a factor. It's hard to grow straight carrots in soil with lots of obstacles like rocks. They get kind of freaky looking.  Sandy loamy soil is good for carrots.  You can even leave some carrots in the groundle into the late fall after frost if you mulch them over with hay.
I still remember as a Bugs bunny imitating grade school kid pulling fresh carrots, spraying them off with the hose and chowing down while I repeated ad nauseum to anyone within earshot, " eh what's up doc?".

Some good magazines to check out for more gardening tips are Country Side and Backwoods Home. Mother Earth News can be good too althought they are a lot slicker than they used to be.
They also discuss basic canning stuff in these magazines too.  Sometimes I experiment with the recipes. In last summers blueberry jam I used honey instead of sugar. It is not nearly as sweet but I made it so I'm gonna eat it.  This year I'm planning on making lots of Salsa.  Which makes me thirsty and think of home brew...anybody ever grow any hops? I'm interested in learning about small scale growing of grains too like wheat and barley if any one has any know how there.   

[Jan]

FL is write, sandy loam is very important - especially in my area where the soil is very heavy with clay.  My dad tills bags of sandbox sand (from garden center) into his soil. 

[Russell Kanning]

must be someone near you that could spare some sandy soil

we have extra sandy stuff  here ... we could use more organic matter or rocky stuff for the road

[Tom Sawyer]

Fired up the rototiller for the first time this season...

Been beautiful weather on the mountain, the excitement shows in the feeding frenzy at the bird-feeders. After the white, brown and gray of winter, the greens of spring are a real joy.

[Daniel Bryant]

I really need to get my rototiller fixed.  It's in pieces in the garage right now.  I think there is something wrong with the carburetor.  Perhaps I can get it running tomorrow afternoon.  My wife and I are in Maine (at least for now) and we had a really good garden last year.  We put some peas and greens in using a hoe but that was in dirt that was tilled last year.  If all goes well we will be needing to till some soil in New Hampshire before too long.