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     I've made no secret about the fact that I am loving my little urban garden this year.  It has produced well and I have been having so much fun with it and dreaming and planning how I will make it even better next year.  
      
      Anything that anyone pursues is always much more enjoyable if you have the right tools for the job.  One thing that I have already shared this year is my harvest apron that I sewed up to wear to keep my hands free as I harvest the food from my garden.  You can see how I did it on this post.  
     Today, I am going to share with you a few more tools that will make gardening more enjoyable and just a bit easier on your hands.  

     My husband picked me up these Fiskars Garden Shears at Lowe's the other day!  You can also order them on Amazon.  (the link is to Amazon)  They are so nice to have when I'm reaching deep into a plant to harvest a zucchini or to prune some damaged leaves.  Clipping is much better for the plant than just ripping something off of it.  Just be sure to watch what you are cutting.  (I accidentally snipped off some green strawberries the first time I used them!  Oops!)  I've been needing and wanting these for awhile.  I'm so glad to have them! 
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     My Wells Lamont Garden Gloves are just the thing to protect my hand from the prickly leaves and stems of some plants.  Squash plants especially tend to poke my hands and there is no getting around lifting those big leaves to find the zucchini and yellow squash.  These gloves were easy to work in and not clumsy feeling at all.  I was able to used my shears while wearing them with no problem. 
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     I just ordered myself these terra cotta watering spikes to use in my garden while we go on vacation for a week.  Alicia tells me that they work great and so do the reviews on line.  A week in Phoenix heat will give them a true test! 

     I picked up this watering timer at Walmart for my front flower/vegetable bed early this year.  It has been a life saver.  I should get one for my back garden, but I haven't yet.  That is why I ordered the watering spikes.  You can find similar ones on Amazon.

     Going along with my timer, is my soaker hose.  The great thing about the soaker hose is that I can move it around as I take out and put in new plants.  It is very easy to do and I can place it right at the base of the plants where the water is needed. This one is from Walmart.  Walmart has the best price on these that I have found. 
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     Finally, don't forget to feed your plants once a month!  Lindsey and I have found that Miracle Gro does such a great job! My plants have never been healthier than they are this year and I have been using Miracle Gro religiously! 

      Two more favs that are less about products and more about DIYs that work against pests: 

• To fight ants, mix a 50-50 mix of baking soda and sugar.  Sprinkle around the plants that the ants like to attack and if you see their holes, sprinkle it there, too.  The ants will carry this stuff back to their nests and it will kill them all.  I've had  a lot of success with this method this year. 
• Also, fight pests with dish soap diluted in water in a spray bottle.  Spray your plants with it and the bugs will not like it! 

Both of these methods are nontoxic ways to battle your garden pests.  I try not to let the dog lick up the baking soda/sugar mixture because too much of it won't be great for him, but it won't kill him either. 

     There you have it! Our current garden favs!  If you have anything to add, please let us know and we will add it to our list of things to try! 
​     Happy Gardening! 
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​Other Gardening Posts: 

• Urban Garden Tips
• What I'm Loving About My 2022 Garden
• World Plant a Garden Day

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     Don't you love it when friends with fruit trees share their wealth with you?  Anita recently picked all of the apricot off of her trees to save them from the birds. She brought me a box of apricots and asked me if I would like to make some jam.  She gets me.  Of course I said yes!

     Apricots are little gems of deliciousness.  They are one of the best fruits to can or to make jam out of because, #1-YOU DON'T HAVE TO PEEL THEM! #2-They are just a delicious canned as they are fresh, maybe even better!  Maybe not, but they are so good either way.  

     I use pectin to make my apricot jam.  It came out really nicely gelled.  Apricots have pectin in their skin naturally, but not as much as other fruits, so it takes a really long time to get jam to gel without pectin.  
     One more wonderful thing about canning apricots or making jam is that you don't even need to get a knife dirty really, because you can just neatly pull them apart at the seam and pull out the pit.  I cannot sing the praises of this fruit enough.  (I need to get my own tree!)
​     So, here is my jam recipe.  I hope you love it as much as I do! 
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If you are really into making jams, jellies and marmalades, like I am, here are some more recipes that I've shared:

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     The other week, I was able to purchase 50 pounds of potatoes for $10.  What an opportunity to add to my food storage!   With today's prices, I am taking every opportunity I can to add to my shelf stable supply of food  in my pantry.  Of course, if you know me at all, canning was my first go to method of storage.  

     I canned my potatoes 3 ways.  

1. Unpeeled chunks that will be great for soups, stews, potato casseroles, etc.
2. Peeled chunks, good for the same as unpeeled, and also mashed, fried, etc. (Both can be used in any or all of these methods.)  I guess the peeled potatoes are a little less rustic looking if I want that sometimes.
3. Potato chunks mixed with sliced carrots from my garden! I loved being able to use my home grown carrots in this way and add them to my pantry shelves! 

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     Our family is going on a week long cabin trip together soon.  One of the nights of our reunion we are going to have a chili cook-off!  That sounds like a lot of fun, except my husband and I really cannot handle very spicy food.  My husband has been especially sensitive to it since he had Covid 19.  So, of course, I am joining the cook-off so that I can make sure that at least one of the chilies will be mild enough for our taste!  

     I decided that the easiest way to make the chili without having to do a long process while on vacation would be to make it at home and can it!  So, that is just what I did!  I came up with the recipe in my head, made a huge pot of chili for dinner one night and then just canned the rest of it, processing in my pressure canner.  Overall, it was even easier than I had imagined.  (I had never canned chili before.)