On The 9th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     For the 9th Day of Christmas, instead of the ladies dancing, let's have them preserving all of that glorious produce they will be harvesting!

     Like most gardeners, if yours is any kind of a farmer, they will have an overabundance of fruits and veggies come harvest time. What to do with all of that food?

Preserve it!
     I only have two items for you today, but they can REALLY be nice as gifts, especially if YOU end up being on the receiving end of the final product!

These will be Amazon affiliate links, and I use both of these seemingly constantly.

#1- Garden Master Food Dehydrator- I LOVE making my own pepper flakes, fruit roll-ups, and fruit chip snacks. There are many models available, but this is the one I use. It is expandable. As needs grow, this four-tray unit can be expanded with accessory Add-A-Trays, up to 20 trays (20 square feet.) Drying pressure adjusts automatically to the number of trays. Dries in Hours, not Days.

#2- Bernardin Canning Starter Kit- Maybe your gardener is more into pickling or jam/jelly. I LOVE making homemade Pepper Jelly with my hot peppers. So, if they want to learn how to do some canning like Grandma used to make, get them a starter kit.  This kit contains the essential tools needed for beginning canners or for those looking to upgrade their equipment. It includes a starter set of home canning recipes and a home canning "how-to" DVD (English/French).
Set of 12: water bath canner, canning rack, jar lifter, funnel, lid lifter, bubble remover/headspace gauge, 4 mason jars with lids, pectin, and canning DVD.

     The gift of food is always useful, everybody has to eat. This gift reminds me of the story about teaching a man to fish. You can buy pepper flakes and jelly at the store, but teach them to do it themselves and they save LOTS of money!

     As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 8th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

   
     On the 8th day of Christmas, gardener gift ideas, we are going to imitate day 7 slightly.

     But first, a recap in case you have missed any.
For Black Friday, I discussed my books.
On the 1st Day of Christmas-Citrus Plants
On the 2nd Day of Christmas- Seeds
On the 3rd Day of Christmas- Camellia Plants
On the 4th Day of Christmas- Fertilizers
On the 5th Day of Christmas- Organic Pesticides
On the 6th Day of Christmas- Indoor Garden Kits
On the 7th Day of Christmas- Memberships

So, how are we going to imitate day 7?
This gift will also remind them of you, ALL year long!

Sadly, this one, which was my favorite, went out of business.

Garden Magazine Subscriptions
(These will be Amazon Affiliate links)

Here are my top three, but there are many others.

#1-Birds and Blooms- Most gardeners enjoy attracting birds to their gardens, and "Birds and Blooms" combine the two interests into one magazine. There are tips on plants for attracting particular birds, education for those of us who can't identify all the birds that come to our gardens, and of course, crafts and projects and lots and lots of photos.

#2-Fine Gardening- If you only read one gardening magazine, I recommend "Fine Gardening." They just seem to know what's important at the moment. There are regional departments, and the writers come from all over and from all aspects of gardening.

#3-Garden Gate- "Garden Gate" has no advertisements, just lots of colorful pages of gardening how-to and tips. They have regular features like Before & After, Design Challenge, Container Recipe, and Weed Watch. "Garden Gate" always offers something new to learn.

     I mentioned earlier, there are many other fine magazines out there, it will only take a Google Search to locate them. I am familiar with these three and have enjoyed them in the past.

     As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 7th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     For the 7th day of Christmas, your gardener will be swimming with the swans all year long, if you get them one of these ideas. I only list three, BUT, if your gardener is not interested in any of these, there are MANY others out there. I will explain in a moment.

     The Gift of Membership- Giving them a membership to their favorite plant society or other horticultural/gardening group for a year will have them remembering YOU all year! Every time they get a magazine, e-mail, or something else from the group you will come to mind.

My three favorites are:

#1-The American Horticultural Society- They offer unique gardening information through The American Gardener magazine, seed, and plant discounts, and more.

#2- Azalea Society of America-  The Azalea Society welcomes membership by anyone interested in azaleas, from all cultures and disciplines. They invite those who wish to learn and those who know and wish to share their knowledge. Some of the major benefits of membership is an association with like-minded gardeners, along with a quarterly 24-page color journal The Azalean.

#3- American Camellia Society- Being as heavily involved as I am in the Camellia world, I saved my absolute favorite for last. There is SO MUCH associated with being a member of this society, things like Quarterly issues of the Camellia Journal, A copy of the American Camellia Society Yearbook,  Free admission to Massee Lane Gardens, and Free or reduced admissions to participating gardens available through the American Horticultural Society's Reciprocal Admissions Program. There are over 300 gardens that participate in this alone!

     Like I said, these are my favorite three, but there are literally dozens, if not hundreds more. A simple Google search of their favorite plant(s) will give you a nice list. For example, do they like Cactus and Succulents?
     What about Daffodils?
If you can think of a plant that they like, chances are there is a group they would LOVE to hear more from.

     This might be a great gift for somebody on a fixed income that would enjoy the magazines, meetings, and other things that membership can bring.

As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 6th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     On the 6th day of Christmas, we will discuss a little indoor gardening. There are many folks that want.....no, scratch that.......NEED to garden all year long! Sadly, if you live in parts of the north, you may get one good week of gardening a year. (I am, of course, joking)

     Today's gift ideas are for those that LOVE herbs, want to do more year-round gardening, or perhaps, can't get outside to garden anymore and truly miss it.
     Indoor Garden Kits are lots of fun and can even be educational for those kids and grandkids that want to learn more.
     (As I have mentioned before, these are Amazon affiliate links, I do make a small percentage off of them.) I have also actually tested all of these out and wrote a review ARTICLE on them.

#1-Click and Grow Smart Garden- Love gardening but your space is limited? Get yourself this self-watering garden. Ideal for indoor use, either on the kitchen counter, window or living room. Place it anywhere you want and grow your favorite plants and herbs all year long!

#2- AeroGarden Harvest- Grows Naturally in Water, 5X Faster Than Soil.
Save yourself the hassle and mess of growing indoors with soil. You'll use less water and your plants will grow faster, getting everything they need from the water and plant food in your AeroGarden.

This was Buttercrunch lettuce after only 10 days in this thing.

#3- Ideer Life-Indoor Gardening Kit Hydroponics Growing System Kit w/Natural Bamboo Frame- If you go and read the Review Article that I wrote, this was going to be a link to my favorite one. Sadly, everywhere I looked they are temporarily unavailable. Keep checking the link from the article, hopefully they will have it back in stock soon!

     There you go, no geese a-laying, though the last item is a big Goose Egg for right now. Reminds me of the Cabbage Patch Dolls from the '80s

     As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 5th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     Normally, the 5 Golden Rings would be the ultimate gift today, but who can afford THAT much gold!?
     No, we are going to deal with the ugly side of gardening today, pests. The ones that want to eat your plants before you get a chance to eat it yourself. All three of these are organic in nature, so there is no worry about toxic chemicals, recalls, or personal safety. Two are actual products to put under the tree, one is a gift certificate because, well, it could get ugly on Christmas morning.
(The first two are Amazon affiliate links, so, while you do NOT have to use them specifically, I always like to notify you of them.)

Photo Courtesy of NC State Extension

#1-Neem Oil- This is my absolute #1 go-to product for pests. It has many uses. It controls black spot, powdery mildew, rust, spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, & other insect pests. The link will take you to my favorite brand, but any Neem Oil is excellent to use.

#2- Bacillus Thuringiensis-The active ingredient of this product is Bacillus thuringiensis, also known as Bt. Bt is a natural occurring, soil-borne bacteria that has been used since the 1950s for natural insect control. I don't even bother trying to say this one, just use BT. This is what you use on Caterpillars that are munching down all of your plants. 

#3- Gardens Alive- THIS is the one that getting them a gift certificate would be MUCH better on Christmas morning. You can BUY live GOOD bugs! Things like ladybugs, lacewings, and others that eat the bad bugs. While some people would find it cool or funny to have hundreds of ladybugs flying around Christmas morning, it might not go over very well with most folks. Best to stick with a Gift Certificate here.

     Pests will eventually happen to every gardener no matter how good they are. That is nature. Give your favorite gardener a little advantage, they may not need any of these products until later in the season, but when the pests rear their ugly heads, it is nice to know they are ready!

     As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 4th Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     Here we are, one-third of the way through the list. Everyday Christmas gets closer!
     I have discussed my BOOKS.
     I have told you where to buy CITRUS TREES
     I have seeded your interest with SEEDS
     I have enticed you with CAMELLIAS

     Now, let's just say that you have bought any or all of those for your beloved gardener.
(LUCKY STIFF)
     Those plants are going to need to be fed.
      Today, I bring you some of the BEST fertilizers I have ever used.
(Please be aware that these affiliate links will take you to Amazon and I do get a small percentage of these sales.)

     You will see a pattern to these products, they are all made by the same company, Espoma. You will not go wrong using ANY product by them, but I wanted to list the 3 favorites that I use all of the time.

#1-Bio-Tone Starter Plus-Bio-tone Starter Plus is an all-natural plant food enhanced with biostimulants, beneficial bacteria, and mycorrhizae. It contains hundreds of thousands of living microbes and both endo and ectomycorrhizae plus humates that have been proven to promote faster establishment, deeper roots, and superior soil structure.
     I add this to all of my plants when I pot them up or when I plant them in the ground.


#2- Holly-Tone-Make sure your azaleas and evergreens have all the nutrients they need, use Holly-Tone. This environmentally friendly compound introduces 15 essential nutrients to the soil without containing any sludge or toxins. Because it offers a slow-release formula, this product will not burn your plants.
     I use this on all of my Camellias and in a pinch, can be substituted or replaced with the next product on the list.

#3-Citrus-Tone-  An all-natural and organic plant food enhanced with thousands of living microbes and is approved for organic gardening. It is perfect for all citrus, fruit, and nut trees and provides a safe, continuous, and complete balanced feeding. It helps in the development of the entire tree.
     Of course, The Citrus Guy uses this stuff!! I actually use it on ALL of my fruiting plants. PLUS, like I mentioned earlier, I have been known to sub this with and for, Holly-Tone.

#BONUS-Tomato-Tone-  It is perfect for all tomatoes, helps prevent blossom end rot and provides a safe, continuous, and complete balanced feeding. It is specifically formulated to produce consistently plump, juicy tomatoes.
     If you are going to attempt to grow tomatoes, you owe it to yourself to have every advantage. This stuff works!

     Well, there you have it, give the gift of fertility. You DO NOT have to buy it through these links, these products are available at any good garden center. While it is always nice to make a few dollars, the intention of these posts are to give you ideas for gift giving.

 As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren

On The 3rd Day of Christmas-Citrus Guy Style

     Welcome to day 3 of Gardener Christmas gift ideas.
     Today, I want to tell you about one of my other passions and how you can get some of the ones I grow and show.
Camellias

     There are four selections today, and again, I know these places and they only sell top-notch plants.

#1-Camellia Forest Nursery- These folks have been in business for over 40 years and are located in North Carolina. They offer gift certificates and you can pick what camellia you want by many different ways, either by name, color, bloom size, bloom time as well as others.

#2- Larry Bates Nursery- Coming out of Louisiana, Larry has over 300 different grafted camellias available. His site has pictures, ordering information, growing information and links to other good information and societies. There are a couple of his that I have on my wish list and will hopefully be ordering soon!

#3- County Line Nursery- CLN is a world-class grower of camellias down in Georgia. He ships smaller camellias for the folks that are having a hard time finding certain plants. His plants are beautifully packaged and will show up at your door without a scratch.

#4-Nuccio's Nursery- This is the Nirvana of the camellia world! They are in California and have been in business since 1935. This company has created and registered more camellias than I can remember. If you want something really unique, check these people out.

     As I have mentioned in previous Christmas gift posts, there are many other camellia growers and sellers online, a quick Google search will reveal them. These four I have had personal dealings with and love them!

     If a new Camellia is on your gardener's wish list, I urge you to check these folks out.

As always I am available to answer any questions, please e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com or .net.
You can also follow me on FACEBOOK or check out my WEBSITE

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!
Happy Growing!
Darren