New Garden Aps for Smartphones

Winter in our garden at Long Creek Herb Farm is generally mild. Our first actual freeze came on Nov. 15, finishing off the last of the hot pepper plants and knocking the leaves off the hardy bananas.

Hardy banana, November.

So much of the garden is put to bed for the winter. Plants, like the bananas, will come back up next spring. And the seed catalogs have started arriving. Have you seen the amazing new Baker Creek Seed Whole Seed Catalog? It's reminiscent of the Whole Earth Catalog of the 1970s. It's 356 pages, filled with not only a more extensive seed assortment than their regular seed catalog, but also information about canning, preserving and lots more. (And an entire page dedicated to Long Creek Herbs and my books! What an honor). Click on the link above if you want a copy of their new catalog.

Baker Creek Catalog, order early before they run out.

Our page in the Whole Seed Catalog

There are some amazing and handy new smartphone aps for gardeners, too. Check out these, below. They're all free aps and easy to download and are good help for the garden.

Leafsnap Leafsnap, an app created by researchers from Columbia University, University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Insitiution, allows users to take a picture of a leaf then use the app to help identify the species. FREE

Plant Diagnostic Sample Submission This app allows users to submit digital photos to a university diagnostic lab for identification of plant diseases or pests. FREE  Our Rose Garden A smart phone app specifically for rose lovers, Our Rose Garden features information about roses, how to plant and prune them as well as how to overwinter your favorites. Created by the University of Illinois Extension, this app also includes a gallery to track favorite roses and includes several videos about rose care.

Garden Time Planner This planning tool helps gardeners know when to sow, transplant and expect to harvest vegetables and herbs specific to their region. A recent addition is that the app now includes annual flowers in the database of plant listings. FREE