This Week's Bounty: Keep Deer from Eating Plants, Compost Breakdown, Naked Gardening, and More!

Our weekly roundup of advice and tips for growing good food at home. [Food Gardening Network Weekly]( May 8, 2022  Enjoy this newsletter? Please forward it to your friends Featured Weekly Video [10 Herb & Vegetable Seeds to Plant in May]( [10 Herb & Vegetable Seeds to Plant in May]( Every month we love to share the best fruits, vegetables, and herbs you can plant, but since May is such a big month for planting, it would have been a shorter list of what NOT to plant in May. In most four-season planting zones, May is the most appreciated time to start on your garden; The ground is thawed, and the risk of frost is virtually gone. What else May has going for it is that you can finally start sowing seeds directly in the ground; So those vegetables you weren’t able to begin germinating indoors can get their footing now. Below are ten vegetable seeds to plant in May, once the ground is warm enough to grow. [Read More...](  [Magazine Issue]( [May 2022 Issue Available Now!]( Enjoy the latest issue of Food Gardening Magazine and find out which 10 herbs and vegetables to plant in your garden right now. Accept your Food Gardening Network membership so you can get started today! [Read More ...](  Pests and Diseases [How to Keep Deer From Eating Plants Naturally]( [Deer]( I love deer. They’re such graceful, beautiful creatures, and I love looking out of my window and seeing them stroll through the yard. However, I also love my garden and I’m always looking for new ways to keep deer from eating plants, herbs, and fruits. [Read More...](  [Melons]( [Marvelous Melon Guide Available Now!]( Melons come in a wide variety of flavors and textures sure to please any palate. With a little TLC, you can look forward to harvesting marvelous melons on the vine in your own garden—there are even varieties that are perfect for small spaces! With this collection, you get all the details that go into growing and harvesting bodacious, delicious melons. Get recipes for dishes that make the most of the melon’s flavor that will make it so satisfying to grow your own melons. Get it all in this Marvelous Melon Guide Collection right now! [Read More ...](  Garden Tools [The Best Tool for Digging Holes for Plants Revealed]( [Digging Tools]( Some years ago, when I was a kid, I planted my first “garden.” It wasn’t exactly what you might recognize as a garden, and unless you count rocks, there wasn’t really anything growing in my garden. But the holes I dug were world class. Probably because, in all the wisdom of my single-digit years, I knew I had the best tool for digging holes for plants: a stick. [Read More...](  [Tomatoes]( [The Everything Tomato Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Tomatoes are the most popular plant for home gardeners! With The Everything Tomato Gardening Guide, you’ll have everything you need to know about growing and enjoying this versatile food, from the history and background of the mighty tomato to specific advice on growing, harvesting, and enjoying your hard work! [Read More ...](  Composting [Ways to Make Compost Break Down Faster]( [Asian Jumping Worm]( I know the feeling. You’re excited about your compost pile; you’ve tried to keep the mix right between browns and greens. Finally, you’re ready to get some finished compost and work it into your garden, so your plants have plenty of nutritious soil. And you can’t use any of it because the compost break down process seems suspended in time. [Read More...](  [Beets]( [Beautiful Beets Guide Available Now!]( Beets are the crown jewels of vegetables. Not only do they come in jewel tones of ruby and amber, but they are easy to grow and so nutritious! A cool weather crop, beets can be enjoyed from late spring into deep fall. Learn what it takes to add beets to your garden. We’ll explain how to choose the beets that are right for you, how to get them started, and how to enjoy them after harvest. [Read More ...](  Container Gardening [How to Make DIY Plant Containers from Recyclable Materials]( [Basil]( I have a confession. I get a major thrill when I repurpose something I have lying around the house. So when it comes to homes for my plants, I’m all about that [DIY plant container]( life. What’s even better, is when I can repurpose plant containers out of recyclable materials. Because it’s basically free AND I’m using sustainable materials! I’m willing to bet that if you looked around the room you’re sitting in right now, you’ll be able to find at least one bit of recyclable material that could easily be turned into a DIY plant container. Here are some tips and ideas to remember when making your DIY plant containers from recyclable materials. [Read More...](  [Lettuce]( [Leafy Lettuce Guide Available Now!]( Growing lettuce is as easy as BLT. A cool-season annual, this leafy crop grows readily from seed, and you can sow seeds every few weeks to have a season full of salad! With hundreds of varieties, there’s a lettuce for you. Grow it indoors or out, in your garden or on your balcony. With this collection, you get all the details that go into growing and harvesting delicious, leafy lettuce. Get recipes that go beyond the salad bowl and see what’s possible when you grow your own lettuce. Get it all in this Leafy Lettuce Collection right now! [Read More ...](  Vegetable Gardening [How to Celebrate Naked Gardening Day]( [Naked Gardening Day]( The first Saturday in May is a special day for nature-loving gardeners. Since 2007, the day has been celebrated as World Naked Gardening Day. The holiday itself began in 2005, but for those first two years, the day was celebrated in September. And in spots like New Zealand, the date shifted to accommodate the season. For the most part, though, the first Saturday in May is when we celebrate it. [Read More...](  [Magazine Issue]( [Recipe Lion Magazine May / June 2022 Issue Available Now!]( In this issue, you’ll discover 43 Sweet and Savory Salads including “Fresh & Simple Dressings” and “Lettuce-less Bowls”. For your BBQs and Pot Lucks we have “The Best Pasta and Potato Salads Ever”, and for those with a sweet tooth, we have included “Sweet Fruit Salads for Dessert". [Read More ...](  Member Favorites - [The Best Way to Freeze Butternut Squash for Soups & Stews]( - [How to Start Growing Cantaloupe Vertically at Home]( - [How to Stop Vegetable Blight from Ruining Tomatoes]( - [How to Grow Tropical Fruit Plants in Any Zone]( - [Fertilizing Fruit Trees: Why, How, and When to Start]( - [How to Store Leafy Greens and Other Produce Without Plastic]( - [What to Do About Basil Leaves Turning Yellow]( - [How to Set Timers for Sprinklers in a Vegetable Garden]( - [7 Benefits of Fish Fertilizer for Tomatoes and Other Vegetables]( Premium Recipes of the Week - [Perfect Pickled Gooseberries]( - [Gooseberry Mixer]( - [Gooseberry Fool]( - [Gooseberry Pie]( - [Shrimp and Cucumber Rounds]( [FREEBIES: Get Them Now!]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ](     You are receiving this email as part of your free subscription to email updates from Food Gardening Network. 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