One good tip I learned (from trial & error, then much research) is to plant and harvest things at the proper time for your growing zone- even in places like california where people might tell you "oh you can grow anything there all year round"... not true! some plants are warm season, some are cool season, some like to overwinter, some are annual, some are perennial, some are biennial, etc. Research each plant, and also don't assume plants that seem similar will have the same needs, for example peas and beans both come in bush and vining varieties and grow in pods, but peas like cool weather while beans like it hot- except for a few certain beans that actually do prefer it cool... Also, potatoes can tolerate cool weather while sweet potatoes don't. Kale & lettuces grow best in cool weather while chard seems to do fine in hot or cool. You get the idea. If you plant things at the wrong time you'll be wasting your time and the seeds- I tried lettuce when it was too late to be planting it and in the heat of summer it went straight to bolt. I've planted zucchini and tomatoes when it was too cold for them and they grew poorly and didn't produce fruit. Harvest times are just as important as planting times- I planted radishes once and they didn't seem to get big enough by harvesting time so I thought I could just let them keep growing for a while longer- but found out that if you leave them in the ground too long they get tough and too spicy and shrivel up instead of getting bigger! Also it may be tempting to let a zucchini get huge, thinking it will just provide more food when you let a fruit get 2 feet long... No! Harvest them young & tender and about the size they sell them in the grocery store (or smaller), any larger and you get a hard shell, lots of seeds, and very little (and quite tasteless) flesh. Moral of these stories is to research each fruit or veggie you want to grow & follow the "directions", it will mean the difference between success & failure! Also- healthy soil is #1 important thing for plants - no chemical fertilizer! Compost is your best friend. Mulch is your other best friend- use what is available & free- leaves & pine needles are what I use. Good luck!!!

Sounds like some form of landscape fabric to me and as others have stated, been there, done that, and wouldn't do it again. In a blackberry plot I might do it because of their growth nature, but in a perennial bed no. There is a belief that landscape fabric will permanently prevent weeds from spreading, but a couple of years ago at my parent's place we removed a whole section - about 30 feet in diameter. It was the most difficult thing a few workers and I had ever done. She had unknowingly planted a suckering shrub which started coming up through the fabric after few years. When we removed the fabric we saw the extent of the root system of this monster under the fabric and needed a backhoe to get it out! In essence, the fabric hid the growing problem underneath for about 10 years... If the fabric had not been there, the problem would have been noted much earlier and would have been dealt with much easier. My practice of mulching with organics to feed the soil which in turns feeds the plants was confirmed as being a good practice. :O) In the gardens, I mulch with mostly a combo of shredded leaves and UCGs - Used Coffee Grounds... For paths, I use sheets of newspaper topped with wood chips from a sawmill up the road. You can see one path behind the raised gardens it in the following photo.

I've got a mix of "walmart" and garage sale (some very good!) type full sized spades/shovels/long handled "stand up" and use tools and they are holding up fine, as you say. Maybe higher quality would make the job quicker/ easier, but I get by. What I find snaps on me is cheaper hand sized tools (shorter, for sitting and working). Like I said earlier, I do need about 1.5 ft of handle as I do most garden chores from a rolling cart I sit on because my knees are bad. One thing that occurs to me - - I think I've got to stand up more when I garden, use bigger, longer real tools for big jobs like transplanting - perhaps I am asking too much of the shorter ones! And investing in ONE really good quality "medium" handled digger is probably a sound idea. Hoping it arrives for my anniversary gift! Some would not think it romantic, but I do!I am too cheap myself to buy expensive items for the garden, so most really nice elements in there have been gifts from the hubby - slate installed for pathways, a fountain, a stone birdbath. He's a keeper - I just have to point him in the right direction. Nancy

No bry911, that's not cheesy. What I was kind of getting at in starting this thread is learning more about what particular tools people find especially useful and are a joy to use and why it's such a great tool, so I'm interested in hearing what makes a great pencil or pencil sharpener if you care to share. I actually know nothing about pencil sharpeners.