You say tomato, I say no problem

A comprehensive help list for the tomato:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/tomatoproblemsolver/

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02949.html

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Pests/Diseases/tomaprob.htm

http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/TomatoProblems.htm

http://www.gardeners.com/Troubleshooting-Tomato-Problems/5086,default,pg.html

http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/ask/tomato_qa.html

http://www.gardenguides.com/426-tomato-problems.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N70yDwYEyYs

Don't Fret

If your tomatoes haven't turned yet, don't fret.

This week seems to be the week (the first week in July) for tomatoes to turn, especially here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. I have talked to countless people who have seen indications that there tomatoes are turning or have turned just in the last couple of days. I'm assuming if you are further North or in the mountains it might be another week or so for you. Just don't get too excited, by not waiting until the tomato fully turns, they might not be as ripe as you like. You have waited this long, what's an extra day?

If you pulled those squash or cucumbers too soon, don't fret. Or perhaps you left them on the vine too long..... well don't fret about that either.

The motto of the urban gardener should be to not waste anything. That is why it is a perfect time for seed harvesting. So cut those cucumbers up and place the seeds on a paper towel. Then wrap those seeds up in so more paper towels to help them dry. Next step, label that paper towel with the type of plant and the date using a Sharpie, and then store them in a cool dry place. I suggest a drawer in the garage cabinet. When Spring rolls around next year you won't have to spend that $1.35 on each seed packet. By harvesting seeds you will continue to have your own. You can also share them with family and friends. Or perhaps if they are pumpkin seeds you can roast them or prepare some other type of fall treat.

If you have a shredder you can shred that paper towel and use it for mulch in your garden next year too!!

By the way, take the fruit or veggies you just gored the seeds out of and place them in the compost pile for that rich soil you will use to nurture those seeds when you plant them next year.

I am who I say I am

Hello, I'm 30 years old and I'm starting my first blog. Like my many friends and I who have Facebook and Twitter accounts, I'm going to pretend like I have an audience that follows my every move and cares about my dog's constipation. So humor me.

As the name of this blog suggests: I live in the burbs, like urban gardening, and perhaps most importantly, I love bourbon. Like that double entendre? Burban and Bourbon, get it???? When I looked the word entendre up at Merriam-Webster.com to see if I had spelled it right, an add popped up that advertised I might want to look into whether I have Adult ADHD!!! What's that all about? Did that add get triggered because of the word entendre or was it because I look words up? Maybe Google adds somehow knew I had too many windows open.

Anyway, I also like all kinds of beer and just about every sport. Unfortunately I couldn't fit baseball or Indian Pale Ale into the blog name. So Burban Gardener will have to do.

The word "burb" always brings a smile to my face and conjures up memories of the 1989 movie The 'Burbs, starring Tom Hanks. As a farm kid, I watched that movie and thought to myself how crazy it must be to live on top of each other like that and be in one another's business the way those people were.

Little did I know that there was so much truth in that movie. I wouldn't truly know until I moved into the burbs myself and became involved in a neighborhood watch group. The retired folks in my neighborhood still call me to report what they see even though the group doesn't exist anymore. The lesson from neighborhood watch was if you see something suspicious call the police. In my neighborhood the retired people call each other or me instead. Do they expect me to call the police say a guy told a guy who told another guy that he saw a suspicious guy walking around the neighborhood last week?

When it comes down to it I'm really not sure how I became involved in neighborhood watch. While walking my dog one day, I gawked at the police answering a domestic. Another inquisitive neighbor (a retiree) cornered, guilted, and suckered me into founding and heading the whole thing up. I think the conversation actually started out with flattery about how all the young people like me could use technology get other people to do things, like give away their money and help Obama win his presidential election. Now I can't get away from neighborhood watch, even though the group fell apart after my term of office expired.

With all due respect my retired neighbors will do anything for you in the world and are good people. One has taught me a lot about wood working, another a lot about golf. We like to play the generational humor game and when we talk about generational differences to poke fun........its usually the truth.

As you can see I don't expect this blog to be only about urban gardening. I do expect to talk about that topic some, perhaps sharing tidbits I have learned and gaining some knowledge through your comments and interactions as well. However, I also expect to talk about other things such as sports, fine drinks, and other worthy topics such as "Suburbia".

This page is under construction so keep checking back for improvements. If there is really anyone out there following this.......my dog is constipated.