[Jenn218]

We have a lot of acreage, but this is the first year I planted anything AND even with that, I just did them in big pots on my deck and patio...tomatoes, sweet peppers and hot peppers, garlic, lettuce, yellow squash, and strawberries. They have all been doing well. I will one day have a huge garden - in fact, last year, we looked into putting up a HUGE green house, but that didn't go very far...ha!

All my grandparents and family (well not all, but most) have nice big gardens that always seem to do well! My grandmother even planted peanuts this year to add to her huge variety.

Shredded newspapers do work well, as does cut up sponges (definitely good for house plants) and I want to say those small styrofoam "dots".

I use the Non-floating cedar mulch (it isn't suppose to wash away or move around in the heavy rains). I like cedar because it helps repel bugs. The pine bark nuggets were always a favorite until it drew in bugs...roaches, ants, even termites (yuck). There are some new products out, like shredded recycled plastics/tires that help retain water and repel bugs and keep weeds down. With most products like that (the "green" recycled, etc products) they are normally higher, but they are better, I guess.

Happy Gardening!!!