Before I talk about this special, let me inform you that this post was sponsored by Kmart. However, all the opinions are mine. But I don’t need that to motivate me to tell you about the good deals you can find at Kmart, I have shopped there for years, and remember Kmart Bluelight Specials of the past, and it’s fun to know that they are back. There was one this weekend, and there are plenty more to come.
As a gardener, I wanted to see what kind of supplies they show online…this gives me a good idea of what I might find in the store before I head out the door. I visited the link above, and used the search box that says “What are you shopping for” along the top, and put in the word “gardening” to see what they offer for those of us who are spending our days in the garden, and here is a partial list of what I found:
Gardening Gloves
Gardening Tools
A bucket organizer
Gardening Aprons
Knee pads
Kneeling pads
Hoses
Shovels
Rakes
Plant Foods
Pesticides
And on the list goes, there were over 40 web pages with many gardening items on each. So, I feel confident that I can find what I’ll need at Kmart. Prices are good at Kmart even when there isn’t a special, so it’s an extra-special treat to be able to shop there when prices are reduced.
This weekend the sale included outdoor items like grills, patio equipment, etc., I wonder what the sales in the future will include?
You can keep up with the latest “tweets” if you’re on twitter by following @kmartdealsnnews so that you don’t miss upcoming specials.
This weekend has been a battle with the little insects that think of my plants and flowers as delicacies. We have had a very wet spring and early summer, so the slugs are thriving and the mosquitoes are biting. I thought we were doing a pretty good job keeping up with these little critters, and then I went and looked at the only rosebud that is on my struggling rose bush. It’s struggling because I decided to transplant it this spring, and didn’t do it with much tender loving care. In spite of that, it has forgiven me, and new green leaves and shoots are growing each day. I am hopeful that there will be pretty red blooms starting soon.
I went outside and saw the first rosebud today, and all the way down the tender new stem there were aphids, not just a few, the whole stem was completely covered. So I came in and put together a solution of water and white vinegar, and sprayed the little bugs…I think it is supposed to kill them…and strange as it sounds, I don’t like killing anything, even little aphids, but it’s the rosebush or them, so we are going to give this natural solution a try, and see how it works.
I’ll let you know. Hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
Sometimes when you’ve been working a blog for a while, great posts get lost at the “bottom of the blog”, and need revisiting, so with gardening season arriving for some of us, and always around for other lucky readers, I thought I’d point out a few helpful posts:
Gardening in Containers - this post contained some thoughts and ideas for those who don’t have space for a garden, or just like the idea of gardening in containers.
Keeping Deer Out of the Garden - another post with some ideas and a helpful article, we have only had trouble with deer during droughts when they try to make their way down to our lake.
Tropical Climate Gardens - for those of you fortunate enough to be able to grow tropical gardens, this is another helpful post.
Here I sit waiting for the first flakes to drop as we wait for March to come in like a lion here in Northern NJ. With a winter like this, one can only continue to dream about what it will be like to begin digging in the soil.
I remember when I was a young girl, I wanted to start my own garden on our property, so my mother allowed me to try to grow in a plot along the side of our house. I remember getting a few plants to grow, but not with the same skill as my mothers gardens. I was pretty much left to learn on my own by asking questions, reading, no one did the work for me. At that time there wasn’t the emphasis that there is now on organic gardening, or using organic gardening products in the garden. In fact, when I was raising my children, there was some awareness of this, but not with the same passion that we see today.
Do you garden with your children? Do you have a site about gardening with children? Please share in a comment. When thinking about organic gardening products, and how important it is to teach children to garden organically for the health of the earth, as well as our own health in the case of vegetable gardening, I was looking at some products at saferbrand.com and liked all the basic products that I saw for killing weeds, as well as organic bug control in the garden or around the home. I but also found the site educational, explaining the difference between natural -v- organic, providing mulching information, and more.
Are you living in a warm part of the country or world where you are dealing with garden and household insect pests? We are in very-cold-right-now northern NJ, but even in the cold of winter, the basement of our cabin has little crickets, cave crickets, that my husband is always dealing with. So far he hasn’t been using a home-made safe pesticide in his war against these critters, but I would prefer it.
I’m a member of a nice new group called “Gals Go Green” an a while back someone posted a great pesticide recipe. I can’t use it until Spring, but those of you that are in climates where you can garden may like to try this:
All- purpose insect pest spray
(Organic Gardening, 1996)
1 tsp powdered red hot pepper
1 garlic bulb
1 small onion
1 liter of water
1 tbsp of soap
Knife
Strainer
Chop onion and garlic. Add powdered red pepper.
Mix the above ingredients into the water.
Soak for 1 hour. Strain. Add soap. Stir well.
Fill the sprayer. Spray plants thoroughly.
Repeat spraying when necessary.
