The Best Weeding Tool I’ve Tried

The weather yesterday was nice enough to start Spring cleaning. What a treat. Who knew raking leaves and picking up twigs could feel so great?

I tried out my new Kusakichi Nejiri Scraper.  Oh my goodness! I love this thing.

It’s an excellent tool for weeding and fluffing the soil. It’s light weight and has a 13.25 inch long handle. You use the pointy end for weeding and the flat end for scraping.

So far, I’m smitten. Well worth the $12.90.

I bought mine HERE.

*Not an affiliate link or sponsored product.

Seed Starting Begins

I started growing seeds under grow lights in my basement. I never get tired of watching baby plants poke their heads through the soil.

I mentioned in my Dec 9, 2022 Newsletter that I’m growing several annual vines.  I was inspired after reading about Matt Mattus’ annual vine trials.

Thanks to a friend who shared seeds, I am able to grow Firecracker vine. Here’s the complete list:

• Blue Crown Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea)
• Canary Bird Vine (Tropaeolum peregrinum)
• Blushing Susie Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata)
• Purple Bell Vine (Rhodochiton atrosanguineum)
• Firecracker Vine (Ipomoea lobata syn. Mina lobata)

They are planted, and now I’m waiting for the seeds to germinate.

To my astonishment, the Firecracker vine germinated 3 days after sowing. We will see how long it takes the others to catch up.

New (to me) Seed Growing Products

This season I found a great resource called Gardener’s Workshop.

The site offers tons of free resources for home gardeners.  I binge watched their online videos.

Thanks to Gardener’s Workshop, I started using Neptune Harvest fish and seaweed fertilizer and Gnatrol (a non-toxic biological control to kill fungus gnat larvae).

I’m happy with both products so far.  I still see fungus gnats, but there’s far fewer than years past.

I need to be clear that I’m not watering with gnatrol every week which is recommended. I didn’t buy a big package so I’m using it every other week.

Resources and Inspiration

Garden Moxie Gardening Community – I’d love you to join the garden community on my YouTube channel. It’s a great place to share our love of gardening.

Fertilizer Calculator – Helps you figure out how much fertilizer to add based on your soil test recommendations.

Amazing Bonsai YouTube Channel – I’m in love with this YouTube channel. I’m now inspired to grow Japanese maple seedlings to grow tiny trees.

An Artist’s Walled Garden – You’re going to love touring this amazing garden and listening to the story of how it was created. So inspiring!

That’s it for this week’s newsletter.I hope you found something interesting and helpful. Hit reply and let me know what you think. Thanks for being here.

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