You’ve all heard about my black thumb before (and, in case you’re wondering, I finally gave up custody of that ill-destined terrarium). But I’ve recently moved to a new pad with a pretty fantastic balcony that gets all kinds of wonderful sun exposure…and I’m thinking tomatoes. Is there anything better in the middle of summer than wandering out to your garden, picking a few fresh tomatoes for your salad? I can’t imagine.

With all of those beautiful outdoor planting containers available now (have you seen the options at West Elm and Crate & Barrel lately?), I’m seriously tempted to try my hand at growing edibles in a container-style garden. But, as ever, I have no idea where to start…or, really, if such a thing is even possible.

So, here’s the question: what do you green thumbs know about planting tomatoes in a container? Is it do-able? Any tips, tricks or rules to follow? Can a beginner even grow tomatoes, or is this a project best left to serious gardeners? Leave me your best ideas in the comments!

Photo via Farmscape Nursery

Chances are, your yard work stories are a lot like mine:

Part 1: I know! Let’s plant some heather along that awkward retaining wall in our front yard. It will soften the wall and give the dogs a visual clue not to fall three feet into the gully behind it.

Part 2: Hmmm, now that we’ve dug out a planting strip along the wall, I am reminded of how uneven and lumpy we left our yard from the last big project. Maybe we should just level out this part a little bit…

Part 3: We are now digging up and leveling our entire yard. This work will never end. Ever.

The good news is, this story has a very happy ending: the broadfork. After spending hours using shovels and hoes to level out just a tiny section of yard, we decided to a tiller would make the work go faster. The tiller was already checked out of our local tool library (more to come on those), but the volunteer suggested we give this big, heavy, slightly ominous looking steel fork a try.

I’m not kidding when I say, the broadfork completely rocked our yard work world! This one in particular is one piece, forged from steel by Meadow Creature on Vashon Island, a charming island 15 minutes off Seattle’s far southwest shore. You can find them in a combination of steel and wood, but the one-piece construction will no doubt last longer, and the heaviness (although it was NOT too heavy for me to lift, and my upper body strength is pretty pathetic) made the process super easy in breaking up hard-packed dirt and grass:

First, lift the broadfork up about a foot (being careful of your own feet — those tines aren’t exactly friendly) and then drop it down, letting gravity do the work.

Second, step onto it and wiggle it back and forth in the dirt — this is the fun part.

Third, push down on the handles, lift dirt

Then move the whole thing a half-step over and repeat.

Using the broadfork was a revelation: in just three hours, we’d completely leveled three times what we’d struggled with the day before. Once the dirt was loosened, it was easy to rake it into our yard’s lower section.

Best of all, using the broadfork was fun and gave me some exercise, too — kind of like doing light step aerobics, only with some upper-body work involved.

At nearly $200 each, broadforks are not exactly cheap, but if you have a lot of tilling work to do each year, they do come recommended. Or you can look into joining a local tool library like ours! — Mary T.

In a blink of an eye, spring is suddenly in full bloom! Blossoms are on the trees, the bulbs have all sprouted — even the mosquitoes have come out. Hopefully it’s not too late to get my act together and prepare for the growing season ahead. Last weekend I gave the grasses in our front yard a haircut, and this Saturday it’s time to prune the crepe myrtles. I also want to get some herbs and veggies growing inside the house. I love this idea from Cottage Hill blog: recycled newspaper seed pots. They’re made using a tin can as a mold. Once the pot shape is formed by the folded paper, fill it with soil and compost. When the seedlings are ready to be planted, you can put the whole thing — newspaper pot and all — in the ground. Genius!

What are you doing to get your garden ready? I need tips!

I went to the lovely Green Table for lunch the other day, and was immediately struck by a refreshing aroma when I walked in. No, it wasn’t the squash soup or the insanely good chicken pot pies, but something lighter. Sitting down I noticed little bell jars of rosemary on all the tables. It smelled better than any candle or oil you could buy. I replicated the effect last night during our Oscar shin dig, and it did wonders to get rid of the slightly doggy smell our house had.

What do you like to set out on tables to make your place smell good?

Can you tell that we have spring on the brain? There’s still frost on the ground in the morning, but we are already plotting our gardens for springtime, and herbs are on our the top of our must plant list. We spotted this idea the other day on RecycleChicken.com: gutter gardens! We’re not sure how we’d attach this to the house, but the elevated position would be great to prevent ground critters from nibbling, and new puppies from digging. What do you think? Could you rock these sprouts?

Chicago-based Sprout Home has been one of our favorite garden sites and stores for ages. They make gardening seem accessible and possible in even small urban spaces. They recently relaunched their site and we have to say the new and improved sprouthome.com has us counting the days until winter’s thaw hits. Now blogging from their outposts in both Brooklyn and Chicago, they offer fun, informative posts on everything from Venus Fly Traps to tips on how to choose the perfect house plant . If you’re looking for inspiration, click around their garden area for some of the gorgeous projects they have designed. And, if you’re thinking of planting something, check out their collection of mod containers, which will make even the brownest thumb seem mildly chic.

After the grocery store I popped into Home Depot to buy some flower bulbs to plant over the long weekend. The unseasonably warm weather means there is still plenty of time to get them in the ground. Again, I found myself lured by some lovely blue and white packaging that bore the Martha Stewart name. Unlike the other bags of bulbs, hers were organized by single colors. She just knows what it is I’m looking for, doesn’t she? So despite feeling slightly duped, I succombed and purchased the MS bulbs.

Can I recommend them? We’ll just have to wait until next spring to see. But I will say, the turkey was a fine bird. — Angela M.

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Things to do with Martha Stewart’s home keeping handbook (besides home keeping)

Are you planting bulbs this fall?

A couple of years ago, one of our most commented posts asked “Would you keep chickens?” Overwhelming you said, heck yeah, we’d love to raise chickens, and quite a few of you already did. Suddenly advice was flowing on breeds, coop building and egg quality. Fast forward a couple of years, and suddenly it seems that literally everyone around me is talking chickens! Many in our little New Jersey town have had their feathers ruffled recently (can’t resist the pun, sorry), after an ordinance was passed allowing backyard chickens starting this spring. People are worried about bad smells and that the foul will attract rats. We already have racoons, skunks, groundhogs and squirrels up the whazoo. What’s the harm of a few chickens? I love the idea of teaching our child where her food comes from, and it will certainly help us be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately, our own little patch of grass is much to small for a coop (what with the puppy and the playground we have planned — more on that later), but I sincerely hope one of our neighbors gives it a go. If you’re inspired, you must check out Tilly’s Nest, which just won a Blue Ribbon Blogger Award from Country Living mag. Its dedicated to the joys of raising chickens. These birds look downright huggable, and their owner, Melissa, offers amazing advice for the novice. — Angela M.

Tell us: Would you mind if your neighbors had chickens?

Photo by Laura Pandaru

I’m always remarking how much safer I felt living in the city rather than the ‘burbs. On dark and stormy nights, I miss being in close proximity of other apartment dwellers and having only one point of entry into our home. I also miss sleeping in a 12-story brick building that I know can’t be toppled by a falling tree. This weekend we were figuratively blown away by an extremely rare October snow storm. It was cold, wet and dangerous: The still-green leaves clung to tree branches, catching the damp heavy clumps as they fell from the sky, adding tons of weight to branches. Isadora and I sat inside, watching the spectacle out of the windows. POP! Down a limb would come crashing, just missing our neighbor’s car. Luckily no serious damage was done, but now I can’t help but look at the massive oak tree in our front yard with trepidation. It seems criminal to chop down a tree that’s been around hundreds of years. How do you know when it’s time to say good-bye tree, hello chain saw? This slide show, How Safe Are Your Trees at iVillage, offers some handy assessment ideas. Be on the lookout for warning signs like dead branches, splits in the trunk or even mushrooms growing out of the roots. — Angela M.

Have you ever had property damage caused by falling limbs or trees? Share your horror stories here!

Image from iVillage/Getty

If you’re like us, you spent a glorious fall weekend leaping around pumpkin patches and picking apples right off the tree. Divine! But before we start carving our jack-o-lantern masterpieces, we thought it’d be a good idea to remind ourselves what we learned last year. As you may recall, our 2010 porch pumpkins had a tough time. First, they got nibbled on by some squirrels. Then, they got moldy and basically caved in.

1. Don’t put your pumpkins out too soon. Rainy damp days can be deadly. Take them inside when it’s moist out!
2. After you carve it, soak it in cold water for a bit.
3. Smear some Vaseline on the carved, exposed edges.
4. If you’re worried about hungry critters taking a bite, mist it with a diluted cayenne pepper mix or try some Bitter Apple.

Got any other tips? Tell us here — and send us photos of your carved pumpkins! We’ll be sharing ours soon.