My Gardening Wish List for 2014

As I sit around my house, tapping my feet, waiting for January to come to an end so I can start preparing to start seeds, I find myself thinking about the fun new garden accessories I want this year.

I realize my list is really simple, but I am very practical about things - as I'm only in my third year of gardening. Yet I have realized how much of a nerd I am when it comes to gardening, I am excited no matter how vanilla my list.

Here are five:

1. Tomato Cages
So simple, I know, but I love the fact the cages linked above are square, and not cone-shaped like a lot of tomato supports. They also appear to be much stronger than those I’ve used in the past. My tomatoes always get much higher than I expect – a good thing I think – and more unruly than I expect. So having a stronger cage is worth paying a little more. And with my plans for increasing my tomato yield significantly this year, I need a consistent support.

What a Difference Mulch Makes

We were lucky enough to inherit nice front-yard landscaping with our new house, which we bought a little over a year ago. The landscaping came with the extra bonus that every week or two, something new would be blooming, something we didn't know was there!

This year, as we have settled in, we've started to know the yard and what's there. Through lots of cleanup at the end of the fall and the start of spring (somehow all the leaves on the block get caught up in our bushes, etc.), I also got to know the plants I have. My father also did me a great favor by walking through all of the bushes and flowers and whatnot and informing me what they were, if he knew, and what I should do with them.

Fast-forward to today, and we did what badly needed to be done: remulch, I'm new to this having a yard thing, but it was clear to me by the sheer number of weeds popping up in areas of the landscaping that it was time to get some fresh mulch in there.

I went for red mulch, which scared me a little. But after it was finally all down, it was amazing what a difference it made. The greens popped and everything just looked cleaner and more organized.

Here's a few before and after pictures: