Q:What is best to plant in a home garden? Keep in mind it is not huge and we would like to plant things that will take up the least amount of space but yield a nice harvest. So I guess I could ask, what plants give you the most bang for you buck?What are your thoughts?

Tomatoes and zucchini are the most prolific by far. It's a little too late for radishes (they get too hot), spinach and lettuce (they'll blite), but they're pretty cheap at the store anyway. Peppers will give you a lot, too, and only take about a foot or two of space, while tomatoes take 2-3 feet and zucchini take about 3. Carrots will give you a lot of seeds per packages, and you thin them to about 2 apart. The same is true for beets, onion sets, and Swiss chard, but the problem with these is that once you've used that one, it doesn't reproduce, while with tomatoes, zucchini and peppers the one plant will keep producing all summer long.

Q:to control insects etc, on vegetables and herbs.

1 cup of cig butts,soak in 1 qt warm h20 over nite,,strain,use spray bottle,,wks great

Q:My mom and I are growing some summer squash in our garden. All of the squash up untill this point have rotted and then eventually develop this white (yeast like) fuzz on them with black tips. Now we have three very nice and harvestable sized squash on the plant now. Are these healthy looking ones safe to eat?I'm worried my plant has some disease and I know nothing about gardening as this is my first year with a garden. I'm sure as long as they don't show any signs of rotting, odd coloration, mushiness etc they are fine to eat but you never know. Thanks for any help

The healthy-looking squash are safe to eat. Probably what was happening was the earlier squash blossoms weren't getting pollinated, so the little squash embryos rotted and fell from the plant. Female blossoms produce the squash, and a female blossom has a tiny squash embryo directly behind the blossom. A male blossom is just on a stem. If there are no male flowers on the plant, or their pollen isn't reaching the females, the little squash embryos cannot develop and mature, and they end up shriveling, rotting and falling from the plant. No big deal, you can pollinate the female blossoms yourself so long as there are some male blossoms also. Go out to the garden in the morning, while the pollen is still fresh. Find a male blossom and rub some of its pollen onto a Q-Tip or small paintbrush. Then transfer the pollen to a female blossom. This will pollinate the female blossom and its little squash will mature and be edible.

Q:Making fertilizer using home ingredients for a school project

you can make a home fertilizer by a compost.

Q:I am new at gardening, this is only my second year. Last year a flood destroyed the whole yard in mid july, in the begining of this season I was fighting with the groundhogs and bunnies and now the bugs! They are eating all of my chinese cabbage and lettuce. What can I do? I don't want to use chemicals on my food but does anything else actually work? I have a good garden book that has some homemade recipes but these didn't seem to have much effect. Any sugestions would be very appreciated! Thanks

Plant marigolds around the entire perimeter of the garden and intersperse them throughout the rows a little. The bitter aroma repels most bad bugs. Also occasionally buy and release ladybugs.

Q:what can i use to scare away stray cats from my garden. They have turned the grounds into a loo.?

Check and see if your local hardware store or home and garden store carries granulated pet repellent. I used some under a bush where my cat decided to make a potty and it really kept the cat away, he never went back. Check the label to see if it is safe for garden use. Bonide makes one called ''Go Away'' which can be used in gardens...it repels dogs, cats and rabbits.

Q:Someone asked the question a few days ago about the possibility of changing the name of garden and landscape or creating another category for the the youngsters that are always asking about caring for their weed. I hate to think of anyone contributing to these kids ruining their health, or worse, and maybe those questions should be banned altogether. But while we're at it, how about another new category for answers only, titled quot;Don't have a clue, but feel compelled to answer anywayquot;?

Or how about I don't know, but thanks for the 2 points....lol. Yes, those mary jane questions which seem to pop up on a daily basis are quite annoying aren't they? I assume they can be reported as dangerous to kids' well being eh? And they are suppose to be are fearless leaders of tomorrow!. What is the world coming to.... ...Billy Ray

Q:even quot;challenging onesquot; and probably won't get one answer bashing me or what my beliefs are on my home or my gardening? But i come here on RS and can get bashed from all sides with even the most neutral questions and suggestions! Why oh why people is that the way it is here? REALLY!? This imo should be the place where the least bit of that is found, right.? Anyone with me? I think we should challenge ourselves in the interest of, whatever you wanna call it, and see how many answers we can give without attacking the persons Character or Answer in anyway. Can it be done? Surely! Will we do it? NOPE! Why not?

Because the great Gardener did not give his peoples several contradictory texts by which to live. Wait, do you believe in the great Gardener?

Q:Its my fav. recipe my mom use to cook as a kid. An she of course let my sister use the page. An now none of know what the recipe is lol.. does anyone else know?

I don't have a 1981 Better Homes and Garden cookbook but I do have the Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Recipes from 1979. They don't have a recipe called Chicken Pot Pie but they do have a recipe called Carolina Chicken Pie which sounds just like a chicken pot pie. Here's the recipe: CAROLINA CHICKEN PIE 1 (4 1/2 to 5 pound) stewing chicken 8 cups water 1 medium onion, sliced 2 celery stalks with leaves 2 parsley sprigs 2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped 1/2 c all-purpose flour Plain pastry In a 5-quart kettle combine chicken, water, onion, celery, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Drain chicken, reserve broth and 1/4 cup chicken fat. Strain and refrigerate broth. Cool chicken enough to handle. Remove meat from bones; discard skin and bones. Cube meat; place in 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan. Sprinkle chopped hard-cooked eggs on top. In a saucepan combine reserved chicken fat and the flour. stir in 4 cups of the reserved broth. Cook and stir until bubbly; pour over the chicken. Prepare the Plain Pastry for a double-crust pie. Roll pastry to 14 x 12 rectangle. Place pastry over chicken; seal and flute edges. Cut slits; bake at 375 degrees until filling bubbles and pastry browns, about 45 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings. PLAIN PASTRY 1 c all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 c shortening 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water Stir together flour and salt; cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the mixture. Gently toss with a fork; push to the side of the bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Form dough into a ball. Continue as directed in recipe. This makes one crust so double it for the above recipe and roll it out as it says above. Hope that helps.

Q:why is it that there are more people interested on home gardening now adays?

It's a good way to get some fresh air and exercise. Plus people are starting to realize that you don't need to be an expert or have a green thumb to have pretty flowers. All you need to do is look for easy care, hardy plants and plant them in the proper spot. Gardening can be as easy or hard as you like. If you're like me and don't have the time, there are easy care plants available that look lovely. If you like a challenge, there are plants for that also.