clevermonkey wrote:
My two uncles and I are having a gardening contest and they are saying
they can beat me just because they are older than me and have more
experience (I'm very young). Even though that may be true, I think I
can win because I have the help of the Internet on my side. They garden
with advice only from old books and magazines. I already have a bit of
a head start because I've started some seeds indoors already. Plus,
even with school, I have more time on my hands than they do, so I can
garden more often (besides, I have summer vacation whereas they still
have to work in the summer). Our competition is mostly for our
vegetable gardens, so any tips, tricks, and advice you can give me is
really appreciated.

Sounds like fun. One way to take advantage of the internet might be to
browse all the seed catalogs that are now on line, looking for keywords
like "productive" and "disease resistant" and "pest resistant." And
don't forget "delicious." Your uncles might not be up on hybrid
advances.

Don't be surprised, by the way, if a lot of what you find on the
internet is the same advice from old books and magazines that your
uncles have already seen. And don't believe everything you find on the
internet either.

Another way to take advantage of it is to ask, in places like this,
specific questions when you have decided what to plant and when you see
potential problems developing. Make it an ongoing process rather than
a one-time shot.

When summer vacation time comes, resist the temptation to do too much
in your garden. Daily weed and insect patrol is good, for example, but
daily watering is (generally speaking) bad. -aem