Hello and welcome back to the garden!

Oh boy, things are really popping in the garden now.  Here in Tidewater Virginia we've had a lot of rain lately which has caused everything to erupt. Right now there's an abundance of green and purple but that'll change soon.

The photo you see to the right of this text is a picture I took on April 28 of a late-blooming Spring bulb.  Anybody know what it is?

I also want to welcome all of our new subscribers to The Frugal Gardener.  This month, we've added about 15 or 20 new friends who are joining us in the garden and I'm so glad you have decided to come and hang out with us. By the way, I'm in the process of creating a Frugal Gardener archives of all the past issues so you can reference an older issue.

We're going to talk about two key things this month: creating a healthy organic garden by building up your soil and starting your own garden insectary.  Not sure what a garden insectary is?  Well, read on and you'll find out.

This month, the mailbag has a question from Donna in New Jersey about what she could do with leftover bulbs from flowering gifts she received at Easter.  And the To-Do list has everyone getting ready to plant warm weather veggies.

Ready to rock and roll?  Let's shake it!

An insectory is a small companion plot of flowering plants that encourage and sustain insects that are beneficial to your garden.

I know it probably sounds strange to want insects to come into your garden but this philosophy is a great way to keep the insect population you don't want from getting out of control.

In order to have a successful insectory you need to have bad bugs around.  Bugs like aphids, Japanese beetles, and cutworms are just a few of the pests that gardeners have had to put up with for generations.

But good bugs like lacewings, ladybugs and parasitic wasps feed on those bad bugs and keep your pest population manageable.

This companion planting does not have to be a large garden.  Plant just six or seven plants that have small flowers and you'll attract a lot of good beneficial insects.  Why small flowers?  Because insects like lacewings and parasitic wasps like to feed off the nectar in flowers and if the blooms are too big they could drown.

You can also interplant the insectory plants in your vegetable garden just as you plant marigolds next to tomatoes to keep them insect free.

As you begin to plant your garden this year, check and see what kind of insects like to hang out.  Then do a little research and find out what beneficial insects are best for managing those pests, plant the plants they like to have available and you have yourself an insectory.

This month we have a question from Donna D. in New Jersey: "I got a lot of flowering bulbs at Easter this year and don't want throw them way.  What can I do with bulbs like hyacinths, paperwhites, and tulips after they're done blooming?"

Donna, that's a great question and probably something we've all thought about after receiving flowering bulbs as a gift.  The answer is don't throw them away.  Let the foliage dry out and fall off.  Then, take the bulbs out of the soil and wipe them with a paper towel so no soil remains.

After that, store them in a cool dry place until fall when you can plant them into your garden.  If you're going to plant tulips directly in the garden and have any problems with moles, voles or squirrels, make sure to plant the tulips in the center of a ring of daffodils so they are eaten before you enjoy them next spring.

Now, I do have to at least mention that not every bulb you plant is going to come back up next spring.  But it's certainly worth putting them in the ground because you never know.  If they do come back next year you'll have another chance to enjoy the beauty of their flowers and remember the person who gave them to you.

Good luck and let me know what happens.

Got a question for The Frugal Gardener?  Send off an e-mail and I'll use it in next month's issue.

May is a busy time for every gardener.  For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we're getting ready to plant warm weather vegetables and cut back all of the spring bulb foliage.

Southern Hemisphere gardeners are at the end of their seasons and have fall leaves raining down to protect their gardens from a harsh winter.  Give yourself a pat on the back and take a much-deserved rest.

Here are some things you can do to be ready for summer:

• Garden clean -- Every time you snip back some foliage that may have been infested or diseased, make sure to wash your clippers with hot soap and water to keep from spreading the problem
• For many of us in the top third of the United States, were getting ready to plant warm weather vegetables.  Pay particular attention to your frost free date and do the best you can to keep yourself from planting sensitive annuals before then
• Keep your garden free from debris and turn your soil over to start warming it up
• Plant at least one species or variety you've never planted before

Well, that's about it for this issue.  Have a great month in the garden and I'll see you back here in June.

Victoria
The Frugal Gardener

It seems as though every time we turn around these days we hear about another celebrity or TV network "going green".  Gardeners have been on the organic bandwagon for years. 

Everyone else is just catching up.

Doing your best to grow healthy flowers and vegetables as naturally as possible is always a good idea.  Oh, it's convenient to run to the home center and pick up a synthetic pesticide to get rid of whatever insect is bothering you at the time.  But that synthetic pesticide comes with a far higher price than the one you paid at the cash register.

You see, synthetic pesticides tend to remain in the environment for an unlimited amount of time.  The blast of Roundup you spray on weeds will be with the earth for a long time.  Synthetic pesticides tend to leach into groundwater and get into lakes, streams and riverbeds which affects a lot of wildlife.

Organic pesticides, however, do their jobs and then degrade into a harmless compound.

But what do you do if you're on a budget and you want to do things more organically?  The answer starts with your soil -- build it up to make it as strong as it can be every year in order to resist pest infestations and soil born diseases.

The first thing you're going to want to do -- especially if you have not done this before -- is test your soil.  This comes as a two-part exam: determining what kind of soil you have and finding out what nutrients it contains or lacks.

The Soil You Have

Go out into the garden and dig a hole as though you were going to plant.  Pick up the soil in your hand and squeeze it.

If it clumps together and forms a sticky dough, you probably have too much clay in your soil.  If nothing happens when you try to compact it with your hand, you probably have too much sand.  If you can compact it with your hand and the soil is still crumbly, you have perfect loam and I'm movin' to your house!

Nutrients

Testing your soil for nutrients will take just a small amount of your time.  In the garden, dig a hole approximately 6 to 8 inches deep. Create a nearly vertical side to the hole.  The point is you're trying to take a slice of earth with your trowel.  Go around the garden and take these soil samples in about 12 or 15 spots.

Put the combined soil in a plastic bucket.  It's important that the bucket is plastic because if you use a metallic one it will react with the soil and give you a false reading for things like copper and aluminum.

Allow the collected soil to air dry for a day or two.  Then you'll want to put it in a ziplock bag or in the bag your test kit came with, label it and send it off to the testing center with your payment and any other directions you need to give them. You can get soil test kits from home and garden centers as well as your local extension agent.

Within a couple of weeks you'll receive a report from the testing lab telling you what nutrients were found in the soil and which ones need to be amended.  If you run up against some letters that indicate extremes like VL for very low or VH for very high, you'll want to pay close attention to them. 

Once you know what kind of soil you have then you can start making amendments.  One of the better soil amendments you can use is compost.  Whether you make compost yourself with yard or kitchen scraps or you buy dehydrated manure from the garden center, compost is one of the best ways to amend soil tilth.  Tilth is the structure of your soil and that is as key as the nutrients that are found in it.

If your soil has too much clay, water will not get to the root system and help the plant grow.  If you have too much sand water will run right through it and take the nutrients too.

Next month, I'll go into more detail about how to create a compost pile as well as what kinds of things work well to add nutrients to your garden organically.