Got an overabundant backyard garden or fruit tree? Don't let the extra food go to waste! In addition to sharing the bounty with your neighbors -- or getting really serious about canning and jamming -- here's how you can put your produce to good use:

Still don't grow any of your own food? Even if you don't have a front yard, backyard, or balcony to call your own -- and even if the waiting list for a plot in your city's community garden's a mile long -- you can still grown your own food, thanks to the generosity of your neighbors.

I've always been a fan of free stuff, especially when that "stuff" equals healthy food for my family. Although we aren't struggling to put food on the table, I can still appreciate using food that would otherwise go to waste. It wasn't until recently that I learned there is a phrase for collecting and using other people's fruits and vegetables - it's called urban fruit (or vegetable) gleaning.

Is growing your own vegetables economical? With many families starting new victory gardens this year, the question is timely. Michael Tortorello analyzed the costs/value of his new garden this year and his conclusion: based only on a cost/savings analysis, growing your own is anything but a money-saving hobby. 

I’m the first to admit: as a kid, I was not all that helpful in the garden. By not all that helpful, I mean that my Dad and I spent a legendary afternoon (or, perhaps, a legendary 20 minutes, depending on who tells the story) when I “helped” pick beans at the community garden plot he cultivated when I was in middle and high school. My pre-teen attitude ensured I was never invited back to the garden again.

When it comes to gardening, July is a heavy lifting month. Heat and humidity encourage disease; pests take hold plants. The intrepid garden blogger carries on..

I read it on a friend's FB page: Now that the plants are all in the ground - they have to be watered too! Is there no end to this project?... No we don't have automatic sprinklers - entire yard, all watered by hand. While it's better to plan watering before a project is begun, many of us run into problems with watering our landscaping during the heat of summer.  Automatic systems can break, watering by hand can be inefficient.  Worse, our water district may inform us of watering restrictions which mean cutting the watering to a minimum.

Feel lucky, Petunia?  Instructables and NatureMill are holding a Get in the Garden Contest running from June 3rd, to July 20, 2009.

Most of my gardening time is spent working my vegetable beds. I like the promise of getting something I can use for my time. However I do have a couple beds dedicated to flowers. Here too, though, I want something for my time and trouble, so I choose my flowers to benefit the creatures around me. Especially butterflies and hummingbirds. One secret whether you're choosing flowers for hummers or for butterflies: do not use pesticides anywhere nearby. HUMMINGBIRDS

Whenever I meet knew people and tell them I'm a gardener, they have questions. Wide ranging questions that vary depending upon that individual's interest and experience.  Today's questions are a sampling of the wide-ranging variety of interests in growing. 1.  What do you think of those upside-down hanging tomato systems?

Victory Gardens. If you read the news, it sounds like everyone is doing them.

It's a sunny, dry Saturday morning here in Northern California. Before the next set of winter rainstorms return, I have a list of gardening chores I'd like to complete. Because for me Saturdays mean gardening chores. Or is it gardening duties? Because "chores" has a negative connotation. Today I'm looking at a patch of mint that has escaped confinement. I fight a constant battle to take back ground from this plant. I planted it for outside-the-door easy summer tea, but why did I let it escape it's pot? When you write a gardening blog, the list grows to include "blog the work." So while I'm out waging war in my garden, why don't you settle in a nice cuppa tea (mint anyone?) and see what other gardeners are doing.