About James Steck
My name is James Steck and I come from a long line of gardeners and farmers that goes back many generations. They all had kitchen gardens to provide for their families and canned their surplus to put away for the winter months. There were no supermarkets in those days, so families needed to be self-sufficient.
I am the writer and webmaster of Garden-Spikes. All photographs are taken by me, no stock photographs are used. I grew up in a suburb north of New York City where my parents were avid gardeners. We grew all of the usual vegetables as well as currents, gooseberries, raspberries and grapes.
We also had 36-fruit trees, most of them being the semi-dwarf varieties. We grew several varieties of apples, quinces, peaches, nectarines, cherries and figs. We covered the fig trees each winter to protect them and got a lot of figs each year.
If you like making your own apple sauce, try adding an equal amount of quinces in a 50/50 ratio. The quinces have a wonderful flavor and can be found in many orchards that grow apples.
I now live north of my childhood home and carry on the gardening tradition. I do not have the space for the fruit trees, but the vegetable garden will always be there.
Through personal experience and research I strive to give you the complete and accurate information you need to be a successful gardener. Always follow the grower’s instructions or the seed package instructions for the requirements of the specific variety you are growing. Also keep in mind that your soil conditions and climate from year to year have an important effect on your gardening success.
Most gardeners have their favorite vegetables they grow each year, which might be tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, peppers, cucumbers and summer squash. If you have the room, try something new each year. The inspiration might be at the dinner table. If you just cut an acorn or butternut squash in half and are scooping the seeds out prior to cooking it, save some of the seeds. Put the seeds in a strainer, rinse the seeds to clean them and put on a single layer on a paper plate. Let them dry for several days, and put the seeds in a labeled envelope or jar. In the spring you will have something new to plant, remembering that the squash vines will need the room to spread out.
My vegetable garden has a fence around it to keep the deer out. Deer do not bother rhubarb, horseradish and most herbs so they are planted in another area outside the vegetable garden.
My flower beds have perennial flowers and shrubs as anchors and each year I plant annuals for long season color. Deer pass through my yard and it is necessary that I plant deer resistant varieties.
Since there are so many kinds of plants to choose from, select the ones that require the least amount of work. If you are not sure what to plant, go to your full service garden center and ask them.
Whether you have a garden in your back yard or just a few containers on your deck or patio, gardening is a popular and relaxing hobby.
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