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Free Pruning Shears, Free Memberships!

Updated : January 9, 2017
Free Pruning Shears!

Free Pruning Shears!

We are having two Drawings.

Details on how to enter the contest are at the bottom of the page.

On January 3rd, 2017 we’ll draw two names for the pruning shears.  We are giving away two pair of these Corona Pruning Shears.  These are the exact shears that we use a Mike’s Plant Farm to make tens of thousands of cuttings each year.

The two winners for the pruning shears have already been notified by email this morning (1/3/2017).

And . . .

Two Free Memberships!

Then on January 8th we’ll draw two more names for the Free Memberships to Our Private Members Area!

The two winners for the Free Memberships have already been notified by email this morning (1/9/2017).

The Free Memberships are Valuable!

A permanent membership to our Private, Members Area sells for $497 if paid in one installment so I’m not kidding when I say the memberships are extremely valuable.

Why is a membership so expensive?  Because it’s worth it.  Not only can you interact with me and other very experienced growers who are determined to make you successful as a grower, a plant propagator and a plant seller, but we also have a Buy/Sell Area that is awesome!

And of course when we open our Members Area to new members we let you take a 30 day test drive for only $7.00 just so you can experience the value of the members area.

In the buy sell area the members buy and sell plants to and from one another.

Look what I found in the buy/sell area in just one hour;

Unrooted Grape Cuttings

Concord Grapes, 25 unrooted cuttings only $12.00 for the entire bundle.  Need more?  A bundle of 100 is only $45.00 for $12.00 per bundle.
100 unrooted cuttings for $45.00

Niagra Grapes, a bundle of 25 unrooted cuttings, only $12.00, a bundle of 100 cuttings $45.00.

Catawba $16.00 per bundle of 25 unrooted cuttings.

Fredonia Grapes, only $16.00 per bundle of 25 unrooted cuttings.

Cayuga Grapes, only $18.00 for a bundle of 25 grapes.

Vidal Blanc only $18.00 for a bundle of 25 unrooted cuttings.

And of course complete instructions for how to root these cuttings in available in the members area as well.

Hydrangeas!

Bluebird Laceap Hydrangea $1.50 each

All Summer Beauty Hydrangea $1.25 each

Kardinal Lacecap Hydrangea $1.25 each

Variegated Lacecap Hydrangea $1.25 each

Forever Pink Hydrangea $.150 each

Black Stem Hydrangea $1.50 each

Nikko Blue Hydrangea $1.00 each

Lilacs!

Miss Kim Lilac  Rooted Cuttings only 89 cents each

Arborvitae!

Emerald Green Arborvitae Rooted Cuttings only 69 cents each

Japanese Red Maple Tree Seeds!

100 Japanese Red Maple Seeds $7.00

500 Japanese Red Maple Seeds $26.00

1,000 Japanese Red Maple Seeds $46.00

Eastern Redbud Tree Seeds!

100 Eastern Redbud Tree seeds $7.00

500 Eastern Redbud Tree seeds $29.00

1,000 Eastern Redbud Tree seeds $52.00

Chinese Dogwood Tree Seeds!

100 Chinese Dogwood Tree seeds $7.50

500 Chinese Dogwood Tree seeds $29.00

Canadian Hemlock Tree Seeds!

100 Canadian Hemlock Tree seeds $6.50

200 Canadian Hemlock Tree seeds $9.99

Huge Selection of Rhododendrons $2.50 each  way too many to list!

Plus all of these wonderful plants . . .

Gold Mound Spirea $1.75 each

Blue Prince Holly $2.00 each

Winterberry Holly $2.40 each

Sky Pencil Holly $2.00 each

Really nice Burning Bush $1.60 each

Dark Night Spirea $2.40 each

Silver Dollar Hydrangea $2.50 each

Rabiteye Blueberry Bushes!

Austin, Brightwell, Premier, Powderblue, Rabbiteye Blueberry Plants $2.25 each

And of course a Donkey Pic, can’t do a post without a donkey pic.

Sharing a moment with Finnegan.

Sharing a moment with Finnegan.

How to Enter the Contest . . .

To enter yourself into these drawings all you have to do make a comment below to be considered for the drawings.  The winners are picked at random so anybody that leaves a comment is eligible.

Comments

  1. Hi Mike,
    Thank you for your free membership offer. We look forward to hearing from you.
    Thanks Again Vin & LuAnn from Southern New Hampshire

  3. Hi Mike,
    Really enjoy all your suggestions on how to grow the right way. I don’t have the cash to enroll in the Backyard Growers now. So it would be a blessing to win so I can move on. Thanks Make.

  9. Hi Mike,

    The information that you share with all of your readers/subscribers is invaluable! After watching your videos I took hardwood cuttings from various fruit trees on our property (as some are quite old and we already lost some types). Some of them are now starting to get leaves on them but I noticed that a few have this fuzzy white stuff that looks like mold growing on them…should I spray them with a peroxide-water mix or just leave it be? I tried googling it but didn’t find much…someone mentioned something called “barking” but I don’t know what that is.

    God bless and thank you for all of the wonderful information!

  10. THOSE PRUNERS WOULD LOOK GOOD IN MY POCKET. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO MIKE..

    BILL MAITLAND

  11. I love you blogs. I wish I could have a copy of your brain!! Your knowledge of plants is amazing!!! You are awesome and seem to be a very kind man. Thank you for all the virtual help!!!
    Shannon A.

  12. Would like to be entered into the drawing for the Private Member area membership. Thank you for the opportunity.

  13. I would love to be considered for the membership. Thank you!
    I want to get to the point of no longer having a desk job; I think my chickens would agree.

  14. I hate moles. I have killed lots of them but they just keep coming.. Watching my little plants die because their roots got torn off by tunneling moles. Grrrrr! Love your emails mike. Happy NewYear to all.

  15. Thanks Mike for your faithfulness and your love of gardening and your willingness to share so freely what you know with us!

  16. I have kept you’re news letters on here several years now. I have been waiting on retirement so that I can have more time to apply to it. I am interested on ways to have more income to help pay bills and have extra spending money. I intend on checking into you’re post on here.

  17. I would be excited to be chosen for the free membership! Rooting cuttings is a passion of mine and it would be great to be a part of a community that does this and sells them for profit!

  19. I have been watching and reading for years. learned a lot and it is still fun. .I liked the donkeys, I have horses, ponies, chickens, dogs etc. had a wild donkey once. nice. sometimes the owner and the donkey start to look and act alike. I could not be led either. can they plant yet? keep up the fun. thank you, wyndham owens

  23. Thank you Mike for all the great info you provide. Please sign me up for the giveaways! Thanks

  24. A man can always use another pair of cutters and this man could definitely use a membership too. Have followed you for a long time and have loved all that I have learned. May you have a blessed New Year.

  25. Mike,
    Want to say thanks for all you do and the encouragement you give. I’m retiring at the end of 2017 and going to get started this summer with growing plants and hope to turn it into a way to supplement my retirement.I live in upstate NY around the Cooperstown area and figure they can use another plant guy. Hope the new year brings good things for all here.

  26. Hi Mike i absolutely love this site it is so informative i would love to be a permeant member i have a pair a pruning shears but i would love to use the one that you think is best because i learn so much from all of your articles thanks for everything

  27. hey Mike. you recomended waitin till a hard frost to take hard wood cuttings, so i did and then the winter hit vancouver island hard. my cutting beds are frozen solid and will be for a couple more weeks.
    the snow has turned to ice, and i am itching to stick “mock orange” an blueberrys.
    i.ve read all your comments re. pruners. but my favorite are FELCO> from switzerland. costly but they
    are indestructable. i’ve gotten a lot of good out of your site thanks Carl

  29. I have officially become a cutting addict since finding your site! I’m in my first year of growing so would love to learn more! Thank you for all your very special efforts for the world!

  33. Hi Mike
    I’ve been a follower of yours for years, learned a lot from your University, Great stuff. It would be really nice if you had a board membership in Canada. I’m planning of starting a plant nursery for Permaculture plants in New Brunswick Canada next year, those sheers would come in handy!

    Keep up the great work
    Haylie

  36. I’ve been bitten by the propagation bug, but having trouble with which method should I go with for which plant. So much misinformation on the internet and then there is the missing information. I believe I could really benefit from a free membership, Pruners a bonus!

  37. I’m looking forward to growing more plants this spring.Japanese maples ,blueberries,rhododendrons and many other plants will be on my list.Thanks for all the growing tips.

  39. Mike is one heck of a great guy and an incredible inspiration to those of us wanting to make money at home. I eagerly look forward to his postings and review all his material on a regular basis. Especially, I enjoy his personality. It comes across in his videos. There’s an air of confidence and professionalism, blending with an ease of delivery, that lets the honesty of the man shine through. Meeting him in person proves that this is no act. Thank you, Mike. Thank you for just being you and for allowing us to share in that. Hope this new year brings good health for you and all your loved ones. Sincerely, -Jesse

  40. I ve been enjoying your member emails for some time now & been contemplating a driveway nursery sale, but havent done one yet. once I start I ll never stop.

  43. I love your website. I have learned so much you. Thank you so much for all your knowledge that you pass on to us all..

  44. Thanks for your tips and tricks. Now that I am retired i can put them to good use.

  48. Finding your site is a true blessing! I can’t thank you enough for all that you share…God bless!

  49. Mike, I have learned so much from you over the years. I know it comes from experience and practicality. It is honest and it works!

    I like that you show me what to do and what not to do.

    I finally got my second knee replaced and healed, so next spring I’ll be able to kneel and get down to the ground like I haven’t been able to do in over five years. I am so excited! I’m starting now by studying up on some of your advice that I have been saving for years about what to grow and how to do it.

    Thanks so much for all the advice and encouragement you have given to so many people through the years. We really appreciate you.

    Thanks,

    Kathy

  50. I love your site! I really like that you share all your valuable information with those of us who need your help!

  51. Happy New Year Mike and fellow gardeners

    Our planet earth needs “green”

    Thanks

  52. After retiring early to take care of Mom until she passed last September, I finally have time to garden as I have always wanted to. I just built a small (8×10) greenhouse for my tender plants to winter in. I have laid out a 30×30 area with raised beds for veggues and herbs. I have a half acre in front and a half acre in back to landscape as I dont want a bunch of lawn. I want trees, shrubs, and flowers and I would like to grow them myself. I have, following your advice, already rooted some chlerodendrom frim branches broken due to recent hurricane. Being a member would be greatly appreciated as it would guve me access to info and prodycts that I need.

  53. Happy new year.
    I wish all of you good health, wealth and prosperity. God bless you americans. Greetings from Finland. This is our jubilee year celebrating 100 year independence.
    Have a nice day.

  56. Alright Mike, Looking for a pair of those pruning shears you keep in your pocket? This one looks a little different than what I remember you using in some informative videos. Thanks for many tips!

  58. I have found my calling. Humanity owes you a debt of gratitude for the information that you share,thanks Mike!

  59. I’m excited to have found your site while you have this going on! I found you researching some seedings that I found and don’t recall what I planted. Anyway I’ll be back around for sure!!

  60. Enjoy all the information you share. I’ve tried some of your suggestions. Hopefully I’ll get a cance to do some more before spring. Happy new years everyone. If

  61. Today is December 31 almost Jan 1 , I hope in the new year to be able to do more now with some additional help I will have a little more time to take care of my wife with her alzimer and hope to get her out in garden

  66. Thanks for all your inspiration, Mike. Best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful New Year.

  69. Thanks Mike, for a wonderful year of good information. Your encouragement is catching and spurs one on to do more and to do it better. Wishing you and your family a prosperous New Year!

  70. Ireally get a lot of good info. from you. I could use a pair of youe shears for my place. I always giving my plants a hair cut.

  71. i havent been able to get into the backyards growers club yet but nonetheless the money i spent getting your membership to the site and the books were thus far the best money i ever spent. i have learned so much. thanks mike and happy new year

  75. Mike, Thank you for all your insight and sharing on your nursery site. We visit the site often, and enjoy taking on new projects, mainly to develop richer habitat for birds, butterflies and bees.
    Cheers for a good 2017–

  78. Thanks, Mike, for all the great information and how-tos. We are life-long gardeners, and this helps us keep moving to try new ideas and techniques.

    Happy and healthy 2017!

  81. I appreciate all your advice about growing & protecting plants, etc. Happy New Year & God Bless.

  82. I would like to be considered for the Free membership and shear drawings. Thank you and I hope you have an awesome new year!

  83. Mike, your newsletters, advice, and tips make me sound like a pro when talking to my neighbors!! I love your site and adore the donkeys! On the deer eating your plants, plant herbs around them. Deer don’t like herbs. I have a lot of mint so I used that.

  86. Hi, Mike. I live in the Tehachapi Mountains in California. I am retired and ill with kidney disease. But I still garden and start cuttings, just on a much smaller scale than you. Years ago, I paid for a now unknown level of membership in your Backyard activities. Is it possible for you to tell me if anything is still active? And, of course I would love to win the clippers. Thank you for reading.

  87. Hi Mike, I am getting up in years and have trouble walking now, so my landscape is beginning to suffer. We are going to be removing several Ornamental Grasses this Spring to help us cut down on having to do so much trimming. We have a hedge row of Boxwoods along side our driveway and Azaleas across the back of the driveway and down the side of our house. A total of about 60 scrubs that have to be trimmed and shapes several time a year. Do you have any ideas as to what to replace the Ornamental grasses with, that will not need cutting,trimming or pruning.
    I have been replacing some shrubs with Blue Fescue Grass and Hosta’s, and ferns but again you have to gather up the dead leaves of the hosta & fern at years end. Any HELP is greatly appreciated.

  88. Winning a membership would be great! I could use the punning shears too! Thanks for the chance to win.

  89. My new plant room that I established this past summer faces the south. Other day when I went in to get something it was quite nice even thought it is winter here in Kimball Mi. Hope my cuttings don’t get the idea that its ok to sprout!

  90. Love your website! Say hi and give a big hug to all your animal family, (and the human family too!)

  91. Do not own this type of pruning shears and have been saving up for that premium membership. It takes awhile when you working from social security. Until then, we find your emails are extremely informative. They have helped us very much.

    Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!

  92. To all: Happy Holidays and a Blessed Year!
    I spend hours reading and watching your videos. I am retired and on a fixed income, Can’t afford to buy mature plants. You have helped me to propagate and I donate a lot to our church plant sale.

    say Hi to Fergie &Finn for me as the posts wouldn’t be complete without all your kids. Love the goats and all.

  94. Dear Mike, I look forward to your informational emails everyday. I have learned so much from you. Thank you.
    Best and Happy New Year,

  96. Love all your practical gardening advice and tips. Please enter me in the contest!
    Happy New Year!

  97. We also have two mini donkeys. Jenny and Penny. We love them. I love your posts. Thank you for all the information you pass on. It is very helpful.

  99. Happy New Year Mike and All in snow country.. Just got back from Florida to my ranch in the Hill Country of Texas.
    Never miss your email and love to get them…save most of them, Mike.
    I was born in OHIO and feel as though you are a brother…..so I listen-up when you talk!
    Look for more good advice and ‘friendship’ from you & your family in 2017.
    Best,
    GT Anderson

  100. Best Wishes to you Mike, and Family. Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year ! Thanks for giving away some memberships, that is very generous. Thanks for helping to ‘bring back Eden’ as you teach all your tips to everyone. Peace.

  101. Thanks Mike, for all the information you provide! You have inspired me and I am opening my nursery this spring.

  102. Mike, I have enjoyed all of your great ideas. I look forward to an incredible New Year.
    Blessings to you and your family.

  104. Your content is always informational and fun. And freebies are always appreciated =o)
    Thanks for everything!

  107. Thanks Mike for all the great, invaluable information. My husband and I are now retired and looking forward to continuing to the next step with our cuttings.

  111. I would love to be a winner of your contest. I so enjoy reading all your help for various things. It would be awesome to be a winner

  112. I’ve gotten EMAIL about 2 years now. Love all the different was of planting. Keep the Mail coming. Have a Blessed Week.

  113. I hope you and your loved ones had a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thanks for all of your support

  117. Hi Mike,

    The donkeys look like so much fun. I love the bib overall, because they remind me of my dad. Thanks for all the wonderful gardening advice!

  118. What’s a good organic spray for cherries? Had way too many worms in them last year! The wild turkeys were even flying up into the trees

  119. , I have the worst luck with my strawberries must be the soil., what’s a good garden mixture of soil ?

  121. Happy New Year Mike, and the donkeys are cute too. Can’t get them to help pot the plants? Or do they just supervise? (LOL)

  126. Love your insight and willingness to share. Thanks. I just wish there was more info that dealt with the northwest.

  129. Hello Mike! I want to thank you for all your videos and advice you have put out! You have a great team and you all inspire me! Always had a green thumb and you guys helped me take it to the next level.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my family to yours!

  131. Thanks for all the information!
    I can’t wait to get started, I’m a newbie to this but I live on five acres and have a real green thumb!

  134. Mike I’ve been landscaping for thirty years now, and enjoy your knowledge. I have said as I get older and can’t do it like I can now, I’d love to work at a nursery. So much to learn and I feel you can never learn it all. Maybe now I’ll just start my own nursery. Thanks mike

  137. How’d, greetings and happy new year for y’all, I’m on my way to start and give it all to this pursuit , as the Bible says : with all my heart, soul, and strength.

  138. Great inspiration, humor and tons of value…. Happy New Year Blessings for all you do! Love the donkeys!

  139. Used your plans for a potting bench to help raise funds for our horticulture therapy program. Thanks for the freebie.

  143. Please enter me in the contest for the pruning shears. Thank you and happy holidays to you and yours!

  144. Hi Mike, I truly enjoy the info and the teaching you provide. You are really gifted. Thank you, Cheryl Williams.

  145. I’ve followed many of your procedures. I’ve had success with some of the plants. I am considering taking the thirty-day trial membership when the window opens, but, I am concerned I can make enough money to cover the expense of starting up a small business.

  148. hey yall, i sure could use some gardening help. alabama is still in a drought situation. so we need your prayers and a membership to Mikes program. I love your donkeys, we have many in ala.

  150. Please enter me in the contest (would LOVE to win one of the free memberships!).

    Finnegan is so adorable! Makes me miss my own little Jenny Girl (RIP) even more. There is nothing like the sweet sound of donkey braying hello to greet you when you pull into the drive.

  155. i have always loved to growing things, and enjoy your emails very much… if i win i would be very appreciative but not counting on it. i will retire in 2017 and hope to spend more time with my hands in the dirt…
    thanks again for the opportunity and Happy New Year

  161. Happy Holidays Mike and everyone!
    I love this drawing and I am hoping for the free membership. Fingers crossed X

  163. Mike I don’t know how many times we can leave comments hoping to win. the shears sound great, but the membership sounds so much greater.
    since I’m on Social Security and the money is a little tight, I don’t see any way to swing a payment like what it takes to join your membership. I’d love to be in it tho, cause I’d probably be able to buy and sell a few plants.

    Thanks for giving us this opportunity to try to win.
    Hope you and your family have a safe and fun filled New Year.
    Thanks again

  164. I was moving a tray of apple wood cuttings I was rooting when a friend asked what I was doing. “I’m growing sticks,” I said. The look on her face was worth a bit more than a small fortune.

  165. Mike I love to see your donkey’s. I was raised on a farm and we used horse’s every day.
    Great job. Thanks for all of your tips.

  168. I enjoy all the plant news you send and love seeing pictures of the donkeys.
    I would love to have pruning shears and more opportunity to learn about how best to grow plants and trees.

  169. I commented earlier but can’t find it, so here we go again. … I really enjoy reading all of your emails. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and encouragement with us all! Have a blessed 2017!

  178. I would love to have a membership. I am trying to grow Japanese red maples from seeds and by rooting too.

  181. Hi mike, I have a down syndrome son who loves to help, this is definitely something he can do. Thanks Donnie.

  183. Hi Mike, I enjoy your emails so i keep them and look at them over and over i have keep them for years still enjoy looking at them from time to time. Thanks Sam

  185. Merry Christmas and Blessed Happy New Year to you and yours. Thank you for all the good you do and are being in the world

  186. I don’t see my comment from last week so I will ‘fry. fry a hen’ as they say! ;>)
    I would enjoy a nice pair of shears, but LOVE a Membership to your group, Mike.
    Thanks for all the info!

    Donna

  187. Hi Mike,
    Thanks for always keeping us inspired with all your tips, tricks and stories of the trade and much more. It’s like connecting with a good buddy who speaks my language! Keep up the great work and Happy New Year!

  190. Mike, thanks for all the good advice this past year.

    Oh, with all the nice photos, I’m ALMOST ready to get my own donkey and name him…. MIKE!

    Happy New Year
    Jim

  193. Mike, I always enjoy your emails! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and encouragement with us all. Have a Blessed 2017!

  196. I have been reading your column for many years and have learned so many things from you. Instead of making money on my little plants I have chosen to gift them to a local garden club. They raise money on the sales for beatification in our county by adding garden spots for all to enjoy. Keep up the good work and great tips!

  198. Will these work for “pruning” out the white flies in the greenhouse? I can’t seem to get rid of these pests and they’re driving me nuts! Thanks for the opportunity to win. Happy New Year too!

  199. I’m just getting started but I have learned so much from your emails and your book that I recently purchased

  200. I so look forward to your awesome emails every week! They are very welcomed especially now when there’s a foot of snow on the deck, and dreams of spring & summer are distant. It’s all about the planning Right!! Happy Holidays & God Bless you folks!

  201. Great information and looking for land in North Georgia to follow your ideas of a home business. Like the idea of having a donkey too.

  202. Can we enter more than once? I have a need to win. I see how this opportunity could be another income stream for me. Thanks for what you are doing for people.

  205. Thank you for including the dockeys in the pictures and thanks for the information. I am a married college student wanting to use my love of growing things to make some extra money. First for our acres and then start selling once my landscape is finished so I have cutting to harvest. Living in Central Texas and having clay soil I am learning to grow all over again.
    Thanks Mike and family for posting the videos and slide shows.

  207. Hi Mike! Count me in for the pruning shears drawing! Thanks for continuing to educate, inspire, and urge us on!

  210. Have always wanted a nursery! Now I have some land and am about to get started! A membership would be awesome!
    John

  211. I hope you will consider me for the pruning shears. I am already a member of the Private Members area but I can ALWAYS use a nice pair of shears. Please and Thank you

  213. Thanks Mike for all the great backyard nursery tips! I’ve been inspired by you and started growing Japanese Maples. Have about 1,000 Red Japanese Maples seedlings growing in my field.

  214. I love your donkeys. Winning the free membership would sure be a blessing to me and my family.

  216. I’ve heard that most grapes don’t like alkaline soil, which I have.
    Can you suggest some varieties that would do well?
    12″ annual rain, USDA 6B
    Thanks!

  218. I will soon be 77 and probably too old to be wishing for a membership in your buyers club nursery. I don’t have too many regrets but I do wish that I had encountered a Mike McGroarty 50 years ago.

    Jay Dee

  221. Hello. Thank you for all the helpful information., Even though I live in a different area and have slightly different issues in my garden (west coast), many of the things you have posted in your emails have helped me. Thank you.

  223. Your articles keep me motivated!! Looking forward to implementing so much of what you teach in 2017!

  225. I have joined the Backyard Growers group, but if I win could maybe exchange it for the automatic misting system. Let me know. This is a great opportunity for anyone. If I win, but can’t exchange it, could I give it as a gift to someone I choose? Thanks, and best to all.

  226. Have been a fan of yours for years and years. You are a great teacher. Looking forward to what you have on your agenda for the new year. Have a Happy New Year!

  228. I see that one donkey survived the election – better looking than most of them (sarc).

  231. Would love to win. I have been trying to convince the wife in trying this. Thanks for all the info and chance to win.

  232. Your generosity in sharing all that you know about running a nursery is deeply appreciated. I enjoy your video’s immensely! Have a happy, healthy New Year!

  234. Mike, I love all that you say and do! You have almost convinced my husband that I need a hoop house!!! I have a small greenhouse but it never holds all that I plant! I have seen a hoop house at a neighbor’s place just begging for a new home! Lol it has not been used in yrs, so now I have my husband thinking that maybe I should have more space, I share everything I read on your site with him and I think we (you and I) have him convinced to talk with the folks down the road!! Keep those fingers crossed!!! Have a great day and thanks for all the great info!!! Keep it coming!!!

  235. Please enter me in your give-aways. Thanks for all the advice & how-to videos. Have rooted some semi-hardwood cuttings last fall–hoping for good results in 2017.

  239. Hi I’m in south Louisiana and I have tried 2 different times to plant seeds from my Japanese red maple but have failed each time. just collected more seeds, will try again.

  241. I could really use some advice on effective ways to keep my greenhouse warm during the winter. Thanks.

  242. I have two pairs of shears and am not happy with either of them. I’d love to try your kind. any growers in NE Kansas?

  243. Just bought a new house so any new gardening tools or plants would be helpful. Love all your tips. Thanks. Hope you have a Happy and Safe New Year.

    Sandy

  244. Mike,

    Those look like a dandy pair of pruning shears!

    Thanks for sharing your wit and wisdom and keeping the fun in gardening. It would be great to meet you in Perry sometime. I’m sure your place is entertaining for more than just your grand-kids….

    Best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!

    Dave

  245. I came across your sites via a video on propagating wysteria. What you had to offer was so amazing and has me making plans for doing some props of my forsythia and viburnum. I can’t wait to try my hand at it. I am hoping to start some props to sell at our local farmer’s market and perhaps my yard to help support my little single parent family and my pets. I am a teacher by trade and a passionate gardener in my off time. Starting some HW props now would be a wonderful way to garden during the winter, which I miss so much when winter comes. I also have what I believe is a camilia and a quince, but am unsure how to prop them or when. Anyway, I am glad to have come across your site and am hoping to get together enough money for a membership.

  246. I love your videos, donkeys and the family involved in the business. I can’t wait to get started
    Merry Christmas

  249. I love reading all the information you sent me about plants and flowers. I learned a lot of things I never knew. Information you don’t find in gardening books. I need new pruning sheers, so I hope I am the winner.

  250. Mike, your free website is packed with an incredible amount of valuable information. Thank you very much for your time and knowledge. Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

  252. Mike,
    Thank you for of the advice over the past many years. I hope you had a healthy and merry Christmas and may next year be full of the same!!

  254. Thank you for the opportunity for a chance at the prizes and Happy New Year and a Blessed One, too!

  256. Hello mike thanks for opportunity to win these great products. Would like to win a pair of pruning shears.

  260. Mike, I don’t remember how I stumbled onto your site, but I know it was around the time my son passed away. I work alot of hours by myself and would often be so depressed and cry alot. Somehow God blessed me with your site and it helps to lift me out of my depression. I love to garden, inside-outside-here at work-anywhere a plant needs me!!! Reading all your stuff just kinda puts me in a different spot, depending on what your writing about. Alot of your info I have been doing since I was a kid at home (I’m now 59). Anyway, I just love it when I see something from you in my e-mails. I have never purchased anything, cause I just don’t do much of that for myself. I have too many others on my list. So that being said, I love the opportunity for a chance to maybe “WIN” something. Either way, I hope you will read this and know how very much you have helped a heart-broked mom. I pray that God will keep you & your family safe and healthy for a very long time!!! Sheila in Napoleon, Mo.

  261. That would be so cool
    Used to live in Corona where the shears are from.
    The membership is something that I would use all the time.

  262. Please enter me. Someday I might win. Would love to be part of your community! Love to garden.

  263. Mike, THANKS for sharing all of your tips on cuttings. I have tried yours and have many plants (new) from cuttings from my existing landscape. I love your HUMOR; and you stay inspired.

  266. Merry Christmas Mike to you and your family. I always learn so much from your articles.
    Thank you!!

  267. Thank for a great 2016 gardening year of videos and helpful how-tos. Happy New Year, Mike and crew!!

  268. Love your videos and hope to get to your place this spring. Everyone have a safe and blessed New Years.

  270. Hi Mike, wow what a year. I’ve been studying level 3 horticulture this year and have following your post for a few years now. You have definitely given me valuable information and techniques to achieve great results here in New Zealand. Thank you and Season Greetings to you all.

  274. Thank you Mike for all the free information you have given this 80 year old man, I have I think about all of your videos that I look at all the time.. Seems like I should know you. After all these years.. Thanks again Mike, have a great New Year.

  276. I thought I had left a comment but I can’t find it.
    I have learned a lot from reading your articles. Thanks so much for your time and effort to teach us what you know.

  277. Merry Christmas and an a Great New Year!

    Keep on planting…………………….

    Thank you for all the great advice over the years.

    Dale

  279. Thanks Mike for all the great information you continue to offer others. Appreciate what you all do.
    Merry Christmas and Happy, productive New Year!

  280. Dave, I would love a chance to win a membership. Thank you for giving us all a chance at winning one. Hope your New Year is a healthy and happy one.

  281. HI Mike,
    I am from your neck of the Ohio woods in Madison, but have been a NJ transplant for over 20 years. Love getting a little Ohio intel once in awhile from your posts. Merry Christmas!

  282. Thanks Mike for all you do. You are a wonderful guy, spending so much time assisting us all with your shared knowledge. Happy New Year!

  284. Happiest of the holidays Mike,
    Love to receive your emails and I save them to my folder for further references.
    Do take care and give those donkeys a extra carrot.
    Happy and healthy New Year to you and your family
    Kathy

  286. Sure would love a membership and I appreciate the opportunity. Thanks – Merry Christmas and …

    Be Safe! – Kevin

  287. I love your site and emials. ALways look forward to reading them. Please enter me in your contest.

  289. Happy New Year to you and yours! I’m so glad I stumbled on your videos! Thanks for all you share

  290. I have learned a lot from the emails and watching the videos. I have been taking notes and making a notebook with all your information. Took my first cuttings this fall and waiting as patiently as possible for spring to get here. Was researching shears but I will wait until after the drawing now before making a purchase and can only dream of receiving the membership for the Private Members Area. Either one would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all the valuable information, most people are not as generous as you in sharing this information with other people especially when it pertains to their personal business affairs. I hope the New Year brings you many blessings.

  292. Hi Mile and happy and prosperous 2017
    Please enter my request in the drawing.
    I could use the info and advice that you provide Long Term…Thanks

  295. I hope you had a Merry Christmas Mike! I really enjoy getting your emails. I learn something every time I visit your site. Happy New Year!

  298. Mike,
    Have enjoyed all your posts, emails and the information within them. I have a very small space for gardening, but do the best I can with that space.

  299. I am thrilled with your homemade squirrel traps as this past summer I was overwhelmed with squirrels Thank You Mike and a very Happy and Healthy New Year…..

  300. Mike, I always enjoy reading your emails. Although I don’t think I will ever adopt any donkeys, I do enjoy seeing the way your donkeys interact with you.
    I have chickens and cats at my place, and they are a neverending source of joy—although I have to admit that the chickens, ruled by their stomachs, would eat every tasty plant on the place if I didn’t put up fences to protect the plants.
    Looking forward to growing more plants from cuttings this year—thanks for the advice and inspiration!

  301. I never delete your emails until I give them a full review. More often than not there is something to learn.

  302. Hi Mike,

    Please enter my in your drawing!! Enjoy all the post & emails. I have learned a lot and plan on learning more. Have land, water, time & now knowledge from yourself!

  303. Happy New year!!!….I have learned More by Accident from this man, than I have learned On Purpose from All before him….thanks to Mike’s Gentle info & insights, 2017 looks Bigger & better than Ever!!!…..Here’s to Long Life, Mike!!!….

  305. I enjoy your emails, I have .Gotten slot of good ideas from you. Look forward to more hints and adviçe

  306. I would love being able to make money selling cuttings. I have been able to sell rooted plants on a small scale but would love to make it a career. I am never happier than when my hands are elbow deep in sweet fresh soil!!!

  308. Mike, I just finished reading your life story. My life is sooo similar! I just bought an old home with 2 old barns that are falling down. (probably worse than your out buildings). The house needs a lot of work too. It was built in 1899! It is on 7 acres. I have done landscaping all my life. Worked at a nursery for awhile also. I have owed the IRS and have a lot of debt. No bankruptcy yet thank God! I plan on turning this place into a nice little growing farm/nursery. I am 46 years old and landscaping has taken it’s toll on my back and joints. I work all the time just to pay the bills. Growing plants at home will help me to relax and spend time with my 7 year old boy. Thank you for giving me a little push to do something different! Would love to meet you someday.
    John Perry

  309. Thanks for all of the great information you share. I have learned so much by using your methods! Love the donkeys too!

  310. Thank you for doing the contest! You are so generous! I continue to learn from you and appreciate your sharing.

  313. Mike,
    We hope you and your family had a great Christmas, and will have a fantastic New Year!
    Thanks for all the great info!

    Ed & Debbie

  314. I stuck a bed full of hardwood cuttings a few weeks back. They are now under a foot of snow. Looking forward to spring here in Northern Ontario.

    Merry Christmas

  319. Started many years ago watching your post.. Still have VCR’s of yr propagation videos. Always enjoy your work. Also, have learned a lot. Thanks

  320. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Lots of valuable and practical information.

  324. Mike, thanks for all your positive inspiration. I was very down after my father died. Now I get up at 5am and pot plants and make lots of “baby plants”,then I fell like I have achieved something for the day.Not ready for 1st sale yet, but it will happen.

    All the best to you and your family for the comming year,
    from your Aussie,
    Magpie

  326. Thanks for the opportunity. I would love either of these prizes. What you’ve set up is truly inspirational and has opened doors for me in my horticulture endeavors. Would love to be a member!

  332. I have been a member for abit each time and eventualy regardless i win or not i will be back

    Thank you !

  335. Thank you for being such an inspiration , because of you , I have learned so much about plants ..
    would love to win either one , but even if I don’t , sincerely , thank you

  337. I thought I knew gardening until I started listening to you! I then realized there was so much more to learn! Thank you for all of your tips, short-cuts, and powerful information! I have learned so much and I’m truly grateful you are a part of my life! I LOVE the little donkeys! They’re simply adorable and have such affectionate personalities. Merry Christmas to you, your family, and the whole gardening family reading this.

  338. Mike, I am retired 74 old that loves gardening. I live in Miami Florida and one year I grew tulips in my garden. Witch I was told by many people that it couldn’t be done. They were huge and beautiful.
    I am hoping to win a membership for me and my wife.

    Thanks

  340. Mike, I wish for you and yours a wonderful New Year!! You have a great organization and I thoroughly enjoy all your really good information. I’m the son of an old Mississippi delta sharecropper and I can’t keep my hands out of the dirt!!

  341. I have learned a lot from reading your e-mails & watching your videos . Please keep up the great work . I don’t sell anything yet , I give away a lot of what I start to my neighbors who help me out some . Many thanks for your help .

  346. You are truly an inspiration. Thank you for all the info you put out there. Merry Christmas to you & your wife!!

  349. A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    Thank you very much for all the valuable information you so generously share with us budding gardeners.

  350. This is a timely reminder for me that I have options for making a living – thank you, and Merry Christmas!

  353. Thank you for a way to increase my family’s income.
    Right now we live disability check to check.
    My spouse requires 24 hour care so working away from the property is not possible.
    Both the shears or the free membership would be a blessing.
    Thank you again for the opportunity.

  355. Love your blog and your knowledge you so willingly share. All of it do practical and down to earth. I have my favorite hints from you starred and refer back to them before I try to root something or make fudge. Keep up the good work.

  357. I tried to enter but can not find where I did. Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. The best to all. It would be nice to win one of the wonderful prizes.

  358. I would be so lucky to receive either the pruners or the membership. Although the membership would be awesome!

  360. Your videos make it all seem so easy. Its hard to believe but I like to garden and you have taught me many things. Thanks

  364. PS Just looking at the pic, I think the Coronas are the better shears, Yes, I own two sets, different sizes.

  368. Mike, I have been a fan of your site for a long time now thank you for all the information you share, i have learned a lot from you and your site.

    Merry Christmas to you.

  370. Merry Christmas, Mike,, you are like an old and dear friend. I have been following your posts for years. Many thanks for pouring out your gardening expertise to all of us around God’s green earth! Sure could use some decent shears, just sayin’……

  371. You are an inspiration, and a hoot to boot. I have been reading and enjoying your garden tips for years.
    I wish I had more time to spend in the garden. The best to you and yours in the New Year.

  372. With sub=zero temps (w/out the wind), gardening is the LAST thing on my mind right now…lol… However, I am trying to look forward to if and when it begins to warm a bit….Thanks for the opportunities Mike!!

  375. I have always wanted to buy a pair of your pruning shears but they are a little expensive for my blood so WINNING a pair would be better yet!
    Thanks for your articles which always inspire me as I’ve been flower gardening for years now with my nephew in a greenhouse! I”ve learned so much from you as has many others!
    Keep it up Mike!
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!!

  377. I love the info you provide. I have the course. I plan on having a plant sale this spring. My problem is I live in California so most places cant ship to me.

  378. Omigosh I have a pair of my Grandpa’s pruners like these! LOVE ’em, don’t ever want them to break!
    I also buy a pair of side cutter pruners every year and break them! Need at least three pairs of pruners, loppers and 4 hand trowels and have them scattered front yard, back yard and in the car. Yes, car, I gather where I travel. Make bouquets of any plant material I can dry and enter them in the state fair competitions. Me and hand tools, I grew up with them more than toys. My Dad worked at a hardware store and later had his own compressor repair business. LOVE TOOLS!!!

  381. Hello Mike , Please enter me in your contest.
    would really be a happy person to win either prize. I follow you and enjoy all of the info. I live not to far from you just south of Erie,Pa.

  382. Add me to the list. I appreciate everyone that propagates to sell to us who don’t have the time. The buy/sell area is genius. Merry Christmas to all.

  383. Hi Mike; I always enjoy your informative, entertaining videos and post. Happy Holidays to you and your family. Annie

  385. I’m slightly ashamed and a little bashful. I live on a farm and have plenty of space and I am a 65 year old female. I have a little trouble with my hips and am also the caretaker for my 86 year old mother.
    I have been looking at this website for a couple of years. I have purchased the original books Mike put out and watched his business grow. My tiller died last year at the beginning of the spring and I sadly grew what garden I could in pots. It was okay, what I grew did thrive and I presently have green tomatoes ripening on my table and peppers in the frig. “where there is a will there is a way”.

    I’m not adverse to hard work, but taking care of Mother takes time and I never know when we are leaving to take care of my 87 year old aunt in Alabama.

    You could say I’m making excuses, which I probably might be. I desperately need some income other than SS.

    I appreciate all you say and do, the donkeys, and your dilligence. I hve made some efforts, but feel overwhelmed with the idea of trying to sell to people.

    Well, this is my comment. Thanks for everything that you do so generosly and cheerfully. Sharing your lovely family is certainly a blessing.

    Hope you have a Merry Christmas and Blessings above all you can ask or think for the New Year. Sincerely, Anne Wells

  386. Planting and growing is so rewarding in so many ways. It appears the membership provides an outlet to sell seedlings and this is what one needs to sell plants. The more sales, the more one can grow. Start small and grow as time goes on. One can start in one square foot and grow to a greenhouse size project. Once I outgrow my back yard, I can grow with a small greenhouse on my sister’s acreage.

  389. Thanks Mike for all the info. I’ve learned quite a bit reading your emails over the years.

  390. Thanks for your videos and website. I’m trying lots of new things because of you. Merry Christmas!

  402. This is just to say thank you for all your amazing work and to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas .

    Regards .

  404. Give Finnegan a kiss for me! Keep the great instructions coming. And wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a healthy happy new year!

  406. Learned a lot ‘growing with you’ over the years. Definitely enjoy your donkeys! Happy holidays to all. Mary

  411. Anyone with such an inspiring relationship with miniature donkeys can’t be all that bad. LOL Thanks, Mike for all the great suggestions. May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

  413. Thanks for all of the valuable information! I just completed training as a Master Gardener and have been able to share a LOT of great info from you with my gardening friends!! Christmas Blessings to you and your family…including the furry ones.

  414. Hallo Mike,
    I am living in South Africa so I am not sure if I can enter into the draw. I have a shear or two but not that quality. If I am legeble then I wil enter the draw.
    Thanks for all your advice for all our gardeners.
    Frans Muller.

  415. I have enjoyed the website and emails for years. I have ordered what I could and have learned so much ..TY ..I hope I win…

  416. Looking forward to starting this as a business rather than just enjoying it myself! Thank you for your tips and advice!

  417. Mike, thanks so much for the newsletter, I look forward to it every week! I’d love to be entered in the drawings. Thank you for all you do!

  419. You are doing an awesome thing here Mike! My daughters and I have learned lots. Here’s to the next generation who love gardening and plant propagating!

  420. Hoping to grow and sell Plants but so far have enjoyed your posts and learned lots. Thanks! Wishing you and yours and all your fans a blessed Christmas and prosperous new year! From Florida

  424. Enjoy your website and learning how to propagate so many plants. I look at plants at the big box stores and the area nurseries a bit differently now. You’re always onthe cutting edge of what the new, popular plants will be. You presented Tiny Mouse Ears hosta, and suddenly it appeared at our local nursery.

    Thanks for keeping me inspired . . . in everything!

  428. Thanks for the valuable information. enjoy learning about plants ,how to grow and propagate them. Last summer I propagated my first rose plant. Very exciting!! Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

  431. Love your articles. So informative and easy to understand. I could use a pair of pruning shears! and a private membership!!

  432. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

    I have Ducks & Chickens that take care of the yard. And a Chihuahua that is the yard boss. …. So I’ve been wanting to add an Alpaca (black). Aren’t those the same as a donkey, just with a fur coat?

  437. Sorry about the repeat comments
    I couldn’t find the previous comment till i left another comment earlier, and suddenly found all 3….
    (expect this one)
    Sam Mort

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU GARDEN LOVERS :))

  438. I’m 25 years old and I’m literally obsessed with taking cuttings…I only discovered about rooting cuttings, how to and why to, about 2 years ago. But if I could turn that passion into something that will make me $$ in the long run, I would be very happy..

  440. Mike,had been trying to do cuttings all last year with no success until I saw one of ur online video’s. I would have never thought course wet sand in a trash bag would be the thing to do.
    8 out of 10 rooted Rose of Sharon & 7 of. 10 mulberry as a trial this past June 🙂

  442. Thanks so much for your website. I have learned so much from you.
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

  444. I’ve never done cuttings, always started everything from seed. I love growing though, so I’ll give it a shot….I’ll need me a pair of those pruners tho lol

  446. I have a large back yard that I’m trying to landscape or setup an outdoor business. It is sloped so I am having difficulty determining where to start. So read your emails for ideas to assist in this endeavor.
    Thanks

  449. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mike.
    Thank You Mike for sharing your knowledge.
    So far I have taken cuttings of burning bush, azaleas, and boxwood for propagation.

  450. An the membership would help me so much, I am a Prepper, and any way I can up my food securing game would help in soo many unexplainable ways!!

  451. I’m qn old gardener but newbie to uour great website…never get tired of taking gardening advice…thanks much

  452. I would love a pair of pruners, I am currently stuck with having to use regular scissors for garden upkeep and maintenance, it is not the same as a real pair of shears!

  455. Love to hear all your good advice, You sound like a real nice person and wish i would win could win a membership . it would really be a help to our little Herrin Gardeners club, I would share all I learn (Just like a Master Gardener)

  458. Been reading emails since Feb 2008, have over 300 I’ve saved. Always enjoyed them and you book and pamplet. Have a great Holiday Season and keep the info flowing.

  460. My very first hydrangea propagations are looking wonderful in California climate Still green and vibrant.

  464. Hey Mike! This giveaway could answer my prayers in changing my life. Thank you for the opportunity of the giveaway.

  468. I love being a BYG’r, Mike and I really could use a good pair of pruners. Thank you for the opportunity. And I really enjoy all,these extra tidbits from you.

  472. Thanks for all your free advice over the years. Plant propagation is what really sealed my interest. Now I can’t stop and the major problem is finding enough pots! You provide a valuable service to a big community. I really love your down-to-earth manner and hope you continue giving advice for a long while!

  475. Hi Mike………….I know my name won’t be drawn but I don’t like missing the chance of bragging on you for all you have already taught me concerning on taking twigs and getting roots started on them.
    Back in the summer I tried the trial for a month, lil did I know that once you sign up for the trial, you actually are signing for the whole thing. but I called and talked to your son and let me out of it. ohhh how I wish I could afford the membership but being on Social Security I just can’t afford it. But while on the trial basis I bought 25 (what you call sticks) sticks, I wanted to see if I could get them thru the mail and actually get them to root-guess what? They did root! My 87 years old mom helped me do it! She too was amazed! Thank you again……….hope you & your family have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & a safe & fun filled NEW YEAR………………GOD BLESS

  476. Hey Mike,

    I am just starting out and looking forward to developing my farm for a little profit 🙂 Thanks for all the great information and have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

  479. Mike
    Thanks for your website. I have learned a tremendous amount of information and I have put a lot of this new information to work!

  480. Merry Christmas to you and family from Georgia. I have been enjoying your posting’s for a long time. So many great ideas but to little time……when I retire though… Thank you for sharing your expertise.

  481. Thanks Mike for all the information that you share and have shared over time. I have enjoyed reading it and using all that I can. again thanks, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

  482. Mike I love your emails always something new to try . The donkey pic are great. Enter me in the contest. Thank you

  483. Mike–I’m spending more and more time soaking in your valuable knowledge. Thank you, so much!

    Mitch in Missouri

  484. I’ve enjoyed your articles and products for years now. You are truly genuine. If I ever get a chance to come to one of your gatherings I want to bray with your donkey.

    Thanks for all that you do. Seasons best to you and your family.

  485. Merry Christmas from south florida where I am constantly clipping trees and shrubs to hold back the ever encroaching jungle.

  486. I have enjoyed your posts as well as the donkeys. Close to retirement and I get inspired every time I read your e-mails. I hope to start my yard nursery soon.

  487. Last year I didn’t plant my vegetable garden. I really want to plant one this year. Thanks for the tips and inspiration!

  490. Your videos on rooting cuttings are a real time and money saver. Grapes are one of my favorite plants to grow (they are only second to basil), but they are expensive to buy at the store. You have inspired me to grow plants from cuttings and seeds. Your videos have done wonders in my gardening skills!! Thank you.

  491. I just love reading your stories on *How To* do just about anything in the Garden, all your trick of the trade for a successful plantings. I have saved all your stories to my computer so that I can go back to read them if I’m having problems with something and I need your advice.
    So, with that…….have a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you and your whole Family. (even your Fur-Babies).

  493. I could use the free membership to help generate income for a horticulture program for low-income teens, ex-felons, or other needy-but-willing-to-work groups! Learn one / teach one, I always say.

  494. Hi Mike! LOVE everything you do and all the help and inspiration you provide through your website! I know it’s not easy trying to run a business and have a substantial online presence and with a website of my own, I know how time consuming it can be as well. Props to you for making the magic happen!!
    I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year!!

  495. I love your website. I have learned so much from you. I took the Master Gardener course in my area to learn as much as I could, as I have always loved gardening, But I have learned so much more from you, and I always return to your website or literature when I have a question. Thank you for all you put into this project of yours!! I love propagation, and making baby plants, thank you again. Wishing you and your family a joyous Merry Christmas!

  497. Dear Mike:
    I’ve been registered to your newsletter for years. What I’ve learned is priceless.
    You are such a kind soul.
    I wait eagerly for your mail.
    Will love to have the special subscription.
    Thanks so much for all you offer.
    Greetings from Toronto, Canada. Have a Merry happy Holidays, you and family.
    Wilma Yvy

  498. You guys are a constant inspiration to us as we try to eek our plants to grow in the volcanic rock on our N California land! Thank you for your encouraging ideas and helps! Many times they come in the nick of time!

  502. Merry Christmas to all the BYG’rs. Really appreciate the variety of information provided. Love the BYG group.

  503. Hi Mike,I would like to win your shears, I see that you use them all the time. Thanks and Merry Christmas to you, Pam, and the rest of your family. I also hope Santa brings the the donkeys a treat.

  508. Love your donkey pics.
    Great drawing too.
    Thank you for all the inspiration and guidance you give us.
    Merry Christmas!

  509. I love all the things you have to tell, it seems so easy when I”m reading about it but when I go to
    execute I don”t always remember. That’s why I keep the ones that interest me so I can refer back
    to them. I’ve learned so much and would love to have my own greenhouse. Ihave the land. One step
    at a time..Maybe if I get a membership that will move me closer.. Thanks for all your time!!

  511. Mike, winning a lifetime membership would be Awesome, but learning how to propagate my mosquito plant would be an amazing Christmas gift too! Numerous attempts with no luck. 🙁

    An tips would greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Tony from Tennessee

  513. Five years of following Mike’s site and perhaps 120 cuttings later and I have only five successful rootings. Hoping to do better in the future. The eternal optimist…

  514. Thanks Mike. I live in the very northeast of Louisiana and I have a very small orchard, 25 various peach trees, several plum tress, apple trees, and pear trees. I also have 25 various muscadine grape vines, which keep me pretty busy. I would love to win the shears or the membership. Thanks for “helping to keep me inspired”. Your advise and tips are great.

  516. Merry Christmas to you and all the BYG family including the donkeys. It would be a blessing to have a membership. Would really start the year off right for my wife and I. Love your emails

  518. Hi Mike, really enjoy all your posts and tips. I don’t have any room to try most of them but look forward to your emails. Merry Christmas to you and family, donkeys too..

  519. i want to take this time to thank you for all your great advice and to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

  522. We’ve been a fan of yours for a couple of years. Unfortunately, we are very limited with what we spend monthly, keeping us from becoming permanent members. We had the privileged of obtaining a 32 x 70 foot High Tunnel this past summer, and visit our Amish neighbors for plants and seeds for growing inside this tunnel as well as growing almost 3 acres of vegetables in my husbands garden. We also have 1/4 an acre of strawberries growing yearly, and 50-ish fruit trees. I’ve learned a ton of information by visiting your wonderful emails, and thank you for the knowledge you’ve shared with us! We check online in all kinds of areas when to grow certain things, if I’ve missed your email with hints. Being a member would be so very helpful and would save time searching for information on growing/maintaining/fertilizing/and bug control, etc.

  524. AHH…sitting here looking at the snow and cold…and daydreaming about Spring and green growing things!! Would absolutely love to win, but would definitely like to tell you how much I enjoy reading EVERYTHING YOU POST!!! So informative and so much fun (LOVE those donkeys!!) GOD BLESS and wishing you all A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

  525. Everyone need a good pair of pruning shears. I know I sure could. Have a couple already but a third one would come in handy.
    Wish you a very happy Christmas with your family

  526. Enjoy your emails & website. I have shared it with friends & family members. Always good ideas out there for my home gardening.

  527. Hey, Mike and family. Thanks for the very informative newsletters and this great give-away. Count me in!

  534. Hey Mike and Family, have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am proud to be a member of the Backyard Growers Club. It is a good thing.

  535. Mike
    What a useful and down to earth site. I have been inspired to try my first Penstemon cuttings this autumn. I would love to win a full membership

  536. I am a relatively new gardener just starting out with propagating with clippings. So happy I found your website – thanks for sharing!

  539. Mike,
    The pruners shown are my most useful and my favorite. Great for deadheading and small cuts. They are perfect for small hands like mine.. Trouble is that I lose them in the garden and find them again all rusted the following spring. Ha!
    I have been getting your emails for sometime now and even though I live in a Northern California Mediteranean climate, I love them all.
    Happy holidays to your family and four-legged friends!
    Sherry

  545. Hi Mike,
    MERRY CHRISTMAS ???
    I am just starting out in gardening. I have always lovedone the idea of it but never had the know how. I have learned so much from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
    This year my plan is to start a butterfly habitat area, especially for the monarchs. Knowing when and what to plant and the layout has always been a challenge for me. But I’ve done my research.
    I would love to be entered into your drawings.

  546. I enjoy your informative posts and thanks for the great opportunity to get the shears and membership. I have been throwing around starting a nursery business for about a year now just having trouble deciding how to start. Merry Christmas.

  547. I love reading all you write, Mike, and I’ve always thought I would eventually start growing plants for profit. I hope to stay in one place and have at least a tiny yard soon!

  553. Merry Christmas Mike & your family. Still hate I had to stop me membership. I can say you are a man if your word & I thank you. I’m still rooting & trying out things you show & talk about. I’m trying for the free membership. Thanks for a chance at it. Ivey Loftin, Jr

  555. Love your donkeys (and all your great gardening hints!). Today we went to a Christmas Tree Farm that’s nearby and saw the 4 reindeer that they are licensed to raise! Very cool!

    Dottie K.

  558. Starting an Aronia Berry Farm and could use some pruning shears and a membership couldn’t hurt. Merry Christmas. Don

  562. Hi Mike, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your website! You have inspired me to get down and dirty! I enjoy working in my yard more than I have ever before. I”m sure you have thousands of grateful people like myself who have discovered the joy of gardening because of your sharing of your years of expertise in gardening and landscaping. We need more Americans like you! Thank you always! Tom C. R I.I.

  563. Mike, Thanks for all you do. I really admire you. You are honest and sincere and down-to-earth…Literally! I think you have the greatest job on earth, and in your videos you look like you are really enjoying yourself. Thanks to your son and your wife and all who contribute to keeping us entertained, informed and inspired. (That includes the donkeys.)
    I have been a fan since you made the cover of OG.
    Looking forward to next year!!

  564. I love getting the information you share to grow great plants. It is a blessing to have someone with your knowledge being so kind to help snd share with others. Thank You!

  565. Hi and Merry Christmas.Those shars look awesome and they would look even better hanging in my
    work shed.

    Thanks

  566. HiMike and crew,
    I would like to be entered in your January drawings.
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
    Russi

  568. Merry Christmas to you and your family !!
    Thank you for all the valuable information you send out to all of us !!

  572. Please enter me into the contest. Thank you for all the help you have given us all over the years. Merry Christmas.

  573. Love the videos especially with your precious little donkeys! Wonderful tips and great instructions. Thanks for doing what you do.

  577. Only 5 days left until I’m totally retired, at which time, I should have plenty of time to make good use of that membership. It will make a very nice Christmas gift. Thank you Mike, and Merry Christmas.

  578. Dear Mike, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Eight years ago when I discovered your site and continued receiving your helpful emails since; especially all the tips about growing JMs. Thanks to you, I am now collecting over eighty different cultivars of Japanese Maples.

    Happy Growing,

  579. I love you, Mike ? Thank you for all your information to help us learn how to propagate and grow plants. It is a dream of mine to prove to my husband that there is money to be made in our plants

  583. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Thanks for all your helpful information. Keep growing!

  585. I’ve long enjoyed your program and information. I’ve finally had success rooting forsythia!!! Wok hoo!!! Thank you for all you’ve done to help educate us in gardening!

  587. Mike I am disabled as you know.And on a very limited budget .This would help me to live again.I am a Pastor of The great Spirit native American church. {Internet Church} but have a building in Pa.Our members don’t pay anything to join.But if they do they can make a $25 donation . We have a food pantry and help who ever needs help in a lot of different ways. Our main goal is for all to become more self eff. and live and protect Mother Earth . #1 way GARDENING and canning. we are looking to sell our home /office/parsonage and get a small farm.This way we can help more people with food.It is so hard to keep going with the little money I have.Your site is wonderful and I think would be a big plus for our Church. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Pastor Jeff/ Metal Hawk

  588. Mike your the best. I get a kick out of your calm demeanor and great I have gleaned alot of info from you and I have to thank you for it all. One question I have is; How long does it take for the “sticks” to produce roots that will allow the plant to be transplanted into pots? I will be propagating peach, pear, apple and other dwarf trees I have in my yard. Thanks for everything you tell us…

  589. Mike, Can I do Grape cuttings with the Burrito style, just like the Roses? Would it work? Then place out in the Spring.

  592. Mike you inspire so many people. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!

  593. Merry Christmas Mike and your family! Enjoy reading your articles! Thanks for all you do,have a happy New Year!

  595. Mike,
    Receiving you emails help me believe that one day I may actually be a successful gardener instead of a “groupie” to the many gardeners I so admire.

  600. I love watching vegetables and flowers grow. The vegetables are great and make people feel good. The flowers brighten people’s day. This way it will be fun and healthy.

  602. I have enjoyed getting your videos so much and have learned a lot from you. Thanks for all that you do.

  604. Hi Mike,
    I love your emails, videos, and many tips for growing, pruning, and anything else needed to know about gardening! I would love the pruning shears! And an a years free membership, well, I could only be so lucky!
    Merry Christmas from our family to your family

  605. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy, Happy New Year Mike! Thanks for all the tips and news during the year!

  606. Mike, I very much enjoy your newsletter emails, Informative & entertaining, can’t beat that combo! Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year…

  608. Mike: Can’t pass up the opportunity to wish you and your’ a very “Merry Christmas” and to say, “God bless us, every one!” I could really use a new pair of pruners AND the free membership. Hope you draw my name!

  609. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    I enjoy reading all your posts and emails, We live on the other side of the world so our seasons are opposite but it gives me lots of time to plan what cuttings etc I can take several months in advance.

  611. Mike may you and your family have a Merry Christmas. I have enjoyed your emails with your information.

  614. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Looking forward to the new year with all the great ideas and information you have been providing. You are worth your weight in gold. May
    god richly bless you in the coming year a all your members

  615. Thanks for your continued passion and all the sharing you do. Love your emails and I still enjoy the wheel barrow I bought upon your recommendation. Best and longest lasting I have ever had,

  616. I have enjoyed your email for many years now. I really appreciate your passion and sharing. Thanks for continuing the good work.

  617. Thank you for all the great info and tips you give to us!
    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

  618. Mike, hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a very Blessed New Year.
    Thanks for all the wonderful advice.

  619. Mike, Your contests are always fun-your information is always inspiring-and your website is just a joy. All of the best to you folks in the new year!

  620. Hey Mike

    Wishing you and your family many growing seasons.
    And by the way. I’m residing in Texas and take heed to your growing methods. You should host a seminar here about your proven methods to gardening. Will you?

  621. Thank you for all the down to earth information you share. You write in a way that is easy to understand and very entertaining.
    I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

  625. Hi Mike
    Happy holidays to you
    and you extended family (include the donkeys)
    Sam
    San Antonio, TX

  627. Hi Mike,
    I love your posts
    Happy Holiday to you and your extended family (include the donkeys)
    Sam

  629. Mike,
    I don;t know it you got my first msg.; it came back error.
    Again – Enjoy all your articles; very helpful; on the rose bud one
    Keep them coming
    Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year

  630. Gardner Mike,
    I’ve enjoyed and learned from your website for years now, and I want to thank you for the unlimited information and tips you’ve shared with your readers! I’ve been rooting cuttings and landscaping like crazy these past few years because it’s my therapy from working in a financial office all day. So now I’m gearing up for a lifestyle change, give up the corporate BS and focus on selling cuttings, established containers and hosting a stand at the farmers market. Hopeful and scary, but hey – we need to live our dreams. Please enter me in your contest and merry Christmas to you, your family, and your magnificent donkeys!
    Cheers,
    Janice

  631. Mike, thank you for your informative emails. Please enter me in your give-away. I would love to win one of your pruning shears!

  632. Mike,
    I wish you and all your ‘followers’ a very merry Christmas and a healthy, prosperous, and sucessful New Year!

  635. I have gained so much information from your knowlege on such a wide variety of plants

    Thanks and Merry Christmas

  636. Please enter me for a free pair of pruning shears and a gardening membership with this post. Thanks and appreciate all you do for the rest of us poor gardeners.

  639. Mike thanks for your ongoing information. I love , well lets call it farming. I have been soaking up all your info and only got started in a small way by giving away herb plants. But I have promised myself to get bigger this coming spring.

  640. Just bought my business license – “Jimmy’s Backyard Nursery”. Original, don’t you think?

    Haven’t seen any one in the member’s area from Mississippi, so that name won’t have any competition, in my neck of the woods.

    My plan is to build a propagation table 30″ high X 48″ wide X 16′ long and use 5 1/2 x 12 x 22 wood propagation trays (filled with sand) that will hold 200 cuttings – total – 30 @200 = 6,000. With your misting system, I hope to successfully, root two rounds per year, pot, plant in grow out beds or sell as RCS at least 8,000 per year ( allowing for 1/3 failure before making it to market as premium plants). When this vision materializes I will send you some photos – I am inspired ! ! ! Thanks to you.

    Merry Christmas to ALL and a prosperous growing New Year.

  641. There are many of us who are motivated and so am I! I have been wanting to be a member for years but just can’t find the funds to do so.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  642. Hi, you guys….zone 8 here in Texas….I am OCD about growing plants, shrubs, etc. Of course, none of us could grow anything if God did not intervene…..I have been working my acre for about 38 yrs……toiling….hard work….not enough tools or money….I just talked to God and told him if He would help me build something out of nothing I would give him all the Glory…….and, of course…..all we have to do is ask Him…..I have a gorgeous place here……I have propagated many things over those 38 yrs. to see wonderful, blooming plants later…..just give your plants, trees and shrubs LOVE…..they are all living things as we are, and will respond to your positive comments and love just as we do. Thank you, Mike, for your site……it is so good to read just down to earth…regular kind of “stuff”……in gardening….I love gardening!!!! It fills my soul……

  645. I want to enter your giveaway contest. I am already a lifetime member of the private group. Thank you Richard

  646. I am also a miniature donkey lover, in fact I raise them. My plants love donkey manure so it’s a good excuse to have some just to have a constant supply. I sure could use new pruning shears, as mine are old and I’m constantly losing track of them!

  647. Hi Mike, you have encouraged me to take advantage of the plants I already had at the house when we bought it…hostas and rose of Sharon. I have sold and gave away many of both. It’s a rewarding hobby & I continue to learn from the information you share and hope to expand this coming year since we have quite a bit of yard to work with. Thanks so much for sharing! Merry Christmas to you & yours & blessings on your New Year!

  648. Hi Mike,
    Love reading all your gardening hints and info. You make it all sound so easy and your passion for gardening really shines in your posts. I have learned so much from you and the tips you have shared. Thanks! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

  649. Mike: I started following your blogs and emails since you first talked about your dad’s Tomatoes bumper crops and since then its been a pleasant journey with all the information Ive d gleaned from your writings.
    Merry Christmas and a great New Year. All the best.
    Gerry Saint Laurent

  650. Thank you for this great opportunity Mike. It’s blue skies and white ground here in Mn but I’m already planning for the spring!

  656. Hey there!

    Will a cutting from a Red Japanese Maple make a tree? I have heard that some tree branches will only know how to be a branch, rather than come up with an apical meristem to truly become a tree.

    Keep on Plantin’!

  657. I was laid off from my job of 37 + years in December of 2015. All winter and spring I kept looking for a similar job. I started seeds in the early spring in my house for a vegetable garden. The garden was a success. Our fall weather lasted up to about Thanksgiving when it turned to winter almost over night. So I was still trimming flowers and bushes in the yard. My pair of pruning shears was stolen when I left them outside on my deck one night. One night, that’s right.
    Merry Christmas to Mike and his family!! And a Happy New Year!!

  660. I always look forward to your informative and fun emails – please put me in your drawing!

    Thank You

  661. have a wonderful Christmas & new year. I am hoping that I am commenting in the right spot to enter to win. I need new shears badly lol. thank you.

  662. Tanks you for your ideas and encouragement. It seems easier now to keep my plants alive.
    I have a couple of dozen, various cuttings cuttings under plastic now; can’t wait to see the buds in the spring.

  663. Merry Christmas, Mike, family and friends
    I also have miniature donkeys, Bobby and Cocoa.
    Phil

  665. Hi Mike
    I have no pruning shears. I’ve been using aviation snips but I think these pruning shears would work fantastic!
    I really enjoy all your stories and great advice!
    Happy New Year!

    Deb O

  667. Merry Christmas Mike to you and your family. I enjoy your postings throughout the year and am always learning from you. Many Thanks!

  668. Hi Mike,

    Wishing you and your family a delightful Christmas and a New Year full of comfort and joy!
    Thank you for all the wonderful information and advice about gardening.

  670. I am always so encouraged by your descriptions of what to do when – it all seems so possible!

  671. My pruning shears were old with a leather holder too. The spring popped out and nothing I’ve put in has worked as well… no figuring. Been wanting to join your membership site for a long time. Your published material changed my life. Please pick me!!! 🙂

  674. Thanks for all the free info you share. I have many of your books . Nice gifrs you are prizes you are giving away, as well. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!

  678. Merry Christmas to Mike and everyone!
    I love the Corona Shears I got this summer from Mike’s recommendation so would be happy to have another pair, but I’m really hoping to win the membership.
    Thanks for all the great information and products you share.

  679. First off Happy Holidays to you and your family. You’ve given some great advice. I’d certainly like a chance at the gardening shears, even though out of a couple I have there is only one I always use. And of course a chance for a membership. That would be a valuable prize. And this so-so gardner could use all the extra help I can get.

  680. I AM 78 YEARS OLD AND STILL WORKING. I HAVE BEEN READING ALL OF YOUR ARTICLES AND AM PLANNING ON FOLLOWING YOUR ADVICE AND BEING ABLE TO START OUT PART TIME WITH THE CUTTINGS AND RESALES, HOPING TO EVENTUALLY HAVE A FULL TIME BUSINESS

  681. Mike, I’ve enjoyed reading your informative articles for many years. Always amazed at the results you achieve.

  685. I would love to have my name entered into the drawings for the shears and the membership!!! Thank you Mike for all the information and videos. The donkeys are always cute too.

  686. Would love to have an entry for the highly recommended pruning shears to replace my cheap ones.
    Merry Christmas to you and all your family.
    I love reading your tips and info and videos, etc! Thank you so very much!

  687. Hi Mike,
    I have been propagating plants for 30 years and selling perennials and small shrubs for about the last 5 years. I definitely do not do this on the same large scale that you do but, with more time and energy, I plan to try to expand. What I really wanted to tell you is that, even though I think that I am quite good at it, I have learned some things from you that have surprised me. Thank you for your videos because I want to continue to learn and be inspired.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

  690. Thanks Mike for all the awesome information you give me. Can’t get enough gardening. I Love plants.

  695. Merry Christmas, Mike thanks for your support, I can’t wait till spring to see if all my efforts pays off. This hobby has given me so much joy!

  696. Thank you for all of your gifts of knowledge throughout the year! Have yourself and your family the most wonderful Christmas of all!!

  697. Everyone should enter the drawing for a free membership to Mike’s Private Members Area. It is without any doubt whatsoever, THE BEST money that we have ever spent. It is worth more than my college education, and I do not exaggerate in the least.

    Mike doesn’t do this very often, so get in on the drawing. Even if you do not win, you should highly consider the test run for $7.00 for 30 days. I guarantee you that you will be astounded at what Mike offers us as members.

    Do yourself a favor and join in the drawing. Then join, if necessary, and experience an education that will last you a lifetime.

    Mike, If you draw our name please give the pruners to someone on the board in need.

    Thanks
    Tim and Cookie

  700. I love getting your newsletter on all the different things to take care of in the yard. Very informative. Thanks Mike and have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. =)

  702. Enjoy your emails so much. I have learned a lot of ideas from you. Especially enjoyed the pics of your backyard. Wish I had one like it. I feel exhausted thinking of all the work you do to make it so lovely and productive.
    Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
    Yvonne

  703. Mike, may you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a very very Happy New year.
    Keep growing and teaching. Thank you very much. John Harris.

  704. Hey Mike, you need to pick me I really want a membership but cant seem to be able to get if. So pick me
    Julie

  705. Thanks for all I’ve learned from you, Mike. Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!

  709. I love getting your gardening tips in my email every week! Thank you for all the great info!

  712. The pruning shears would be a great addition to my gardening tools. Also, a membership would be great. Have a blessed Christmas and New Yea;r.

  713. Mike, maybe you have an idea of how a Vermont resident can have a cold storage area for dahlias without a space within the house. They’ll freeze in my barn and in my garage.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  714. Hey Mike I am a life time member already, one of the better investments I have made! The membership and the family within the group is PRICELESS. I could always use a new shears
    Merry Christmas to all!

  715. Mike, you are famous round these parts for the work you do. Growing perennials is important work that everyone should have their hands in anyway. AND…we all wish that we lived next door! Thanks for being a good motivated caring teacher….who’s also passionate about growing. You got us to get into the habit of posting….thank you! I won already! Now I know the best shears to use!

  716. Thanks, Mike, for all the information and advice you provide throughout the year(s). Extra thanks for this opportunity to win great prizes. May you (& family) enjoy a Merry Christmas and a flourishing new year. 🙂

    Peace on Earth Goodwill to All!

  717. Hey, Mike, I really appreciate ;your website and all of its information. We are in our 60s and 70s looking to move out of the Rocky Mtns. to a lake lot in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Still too many projects to compete before selling. Have been fighting pocket gophers for two years now. Tried traps which didn’t work out, and have used lots of containers of gopher bait placed about two feet down their tunnels. Still have the buggers. So much for having over 100 asparagus plants and over 40 Siberian elm trees. There are what I call gopher condos outside the fence. Have fed bait to them, also. My garden area looks like a minefield. I am hoping I do not have this problem when we move. Could use a new pair of pruning shears, too. Mine get dull way too often. Merry Christmas to you and your family, got to go feed the fire again, it is about 30 deg. and snowing.

  719. Mike, As always you make me smile with your Critter pics too! Finnegan, Fergus and Ally complete the family! Thanks for sharing, Sandy

  720. Merry Christmas Mike to you and your family. ( and the donkeys). You inspire a lot of people!!! Keep up the good work .

  721. Mike, what u do is my dream life. thk u for all the valuable information u have shared. haha and it made my day to see the donkey pic haha because I have always wanted a donkey too!!
    happy holidays thx again!

  723. HO! HO! HO! Mike
    Wishing you and your family a Very Merry Christmas. Those shears would be a nice gift too have.

  724. Thank you, Mike, for all your money making info and for your giveaways. You truly love what you do and want others to have that same joy in gardening. I have learned a lot through the years from you and still I learn new things from your posts. Haven’t had the extra money for membership but am hoping this year will be the year. Keep up the good work!

  726. Merry Christmas and happy new year!! I think it’s great that you share your love of gardening and knowledge with us all. 🙂

  729. Hey Mike! I have enjoyed your website and look forward to your emails.. This year I sold my cafe and moved. I’ve decided that plants will be my next venture. I’m a serial entrepreneur! Cooking and
    Gardening are my two gifts. Thank you for your knowledge. Love the donkeys and the overalls! You keep it real. Please enter me!!

  731. Even though I haven’t taken the plunge yet to be in the rooted cuttings business, I always enjoy your newsletters and that looks like a great pair of shears!

    Thanks for all the good information you share!

  732. I love “waste not, want not” with all my “free cuttings”
    I love it all. Thanks for all you do for us “farmers”

  734. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mike!

    I love gardening and appreciate all the info on your website!

  735. Mike, Thanks for sharing your ideas and expertise in 2016. Best to you and yours for the holidays and throughout the new year..

  737. I would really enjoy new pruning shears. I have used mine to death. Merry Christmas and Happy New year

  741. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
    Thank you for all of the wonderful information.

  742. Merry Christmas to you and your family, including the donkeys! I’m not growing for profit, but I love sharing my plants. You inspire and educate me, Mike! Just rooted an oak-leaf hydrangea for a friend, who was delighted.

  743. Hi Mike,
    I love your site and I get your all your helpful emails. Would love to have a really big garden but Hubby does not share my love of planting and growing things even though he has a fairly nice little tractor. Maybe it should be mine 😉
    Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
    Kisses & Hugs for Finnegan and Fergus – would love some mini donkeys of my own 🙂

  745. Mike you should post more videos! We all miss you showing us around your plant farm and giving us quick tips, seems like ages since your last video.

  755. Thank you very much, for all the Free information! I love watching new plants grow, taking cuttings, trying grafting, and reading your columns. Have a great Christmas!

  757. Mike — I love reading your articles and getting great ideas. You are truly wonderful and very “down to earth” — pun intended!

    Happy Holidays from Maryland.

  758. This past August/September we looked for your place. From Texas just traveling; Could not
    find the street so we stopped at the pub on Main street for a break. The friendly people in there told us the street sign were not yet updated. The pub friends had good things to say about you and your backyard business. Ok, with their directions we still could not find your location so we just kept
    traveling through backroads and finally found a main highway and started toward Texas. A four
    months trip and now much to still do in the yard. I love to read your website. May you and all of
    yours have a Merry Christmas and a God Blessed New Year. Oh 2017 … gosh how life flies by.

  761. Happy Holidays to you and your family! I enjoy your posts and tips. Can’t wait for the warmer weather.

  762. Mike – love your site full of great info. As a Master Gardener I appreciate the straight forward great instructions you provide.

  766. merry Christmas Mike to you and your whole family ,especially those two wonderful donkeys.it makes me so happy when i see them “giving you a hug” i sure whish i had found your web sight when we lived in north ridgeville ohio then i could have come to the nursery and maby gotten a hug from them. well again Merry Cristmas ,and a blessed new year to the whole crew!!!!! noele wimmer

  768. Wow! thought I would never get to the comment section. From Texas we tried to find your place this past August but could not locate your nursery. So we stopped at the Hub on main street and had a drink with the friendly people. They told us about the street signs being outdated and we still could
    not find your place. The people had good things to say about your business. and I really like reading your website. Have a Merry Christmas and God Bless you in the New Year. Gee already 2017 life
    goes flying by.

  770. Merry Christmas Mike and to your whole family too. but especially to those two deliteful donkeys i get such a happy feeling when i see them “giving you a hug” !!!! agaiin merry Christmas and a very blessed new year noele wimmer

  771. My winter project will be the wrap around planter. I cannot wait to get back into growing plants. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

  775. Thank you for your generous give aways! I would love either prize! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
    Lisa

  776. Thank you for all the informative information you share with us. Please consider me for the shears or the membership.

  777. Merry Christmas To Mike and family and to all our members!
    I was out shopping and noticed someone selling rosemary Christmas trees. They had three rosemary plants in a 8 inch decorated pot trimmed like Christmas trees.
    They looked great. I wondered if this is something worthwhile to try. What kind of rosemary, cutting starts or seeds.

  778. Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year to you and your family. I enjoy reading your stories and have learned so much. Thank you!

  779. Hi Mike,

    What do you mean when you said rhododendrons $2.50 each way? What do you sell rhody liners for? I’m still experimenting with my cuttings.

    Merry Christmas

  780. I love gardening and making new plants for my yard from cuttings. I have done it for years. I enjoy your articles as it helps me with new plants to take cuttings . I have a lot of plants in my landscape that came from your advise. THANKS!!!!!!

  782. The plants I have planted so far will be needing pruning shears soon. They need new shears because my old one no longer makes clean cuts. You can save them from pain by pulling my name out of the hat for those new pruning shears..

    Merry Christmas

  783. Hi Mike, I love your site, I love to garden and when I can’t actually be out digging in the dirt, I’m online reading & watching videos about digging in the dirt! 🙂 over the years I’ve been to many sites and yours is by far the most informative. Thank you for all that you do and Merry Christmas!

  789. Thank you Mike and all of your family for the great info through out the year.

    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!

  791. Mike,

    Thank you so much for all your information you provide! You have been a big help and I’ve learned a ton!

  793. Mike, You bless us with your plant insight and wisdom all year. Thanks to you I have learned a lot through the years. Merry Christmas to you and yours and Happy gardening in 2017. May your Christmas be focused on the true meaning of this special season.

  794. Merry Christmas to all of my fellow Gardeners!! May the Light of Christ Shine brightly on your family.

  803. .Would love a new pair of pruning shears. Love reading all your articles. I learned about plants from my grandfather, he had a nursery many years ago when I was a child. He is the reason I am always collecting seeds and growing flowers for my enjoyment Merry Christmas.

  804. thank you for the opportunity again for the drawing. Merry Christmas to you and your family and to everyone.

  805. Very good information I am currently working on growing my herb and vegetable farm and looking into expanding into the plant farm

  806. I am so glad that I stumbled upon your YouTube Videos one day while trying to learn about plant propagation….My Granny was an expert at it and she wanted to show me so many times but I was young and stupid then and now she’s passed away and I’m older and I want to know….I want tons of plants in my yard just like she had….Roses were her speciality….She rooted some plants for me right before she passed away and I still have them growing in my yard today……. I think you are awesome and I sincerely hope that I can learn to do this.

  807. Mike thanks for all the information you share
    Hoping to use this knowledge much more into my retirement years
    Love the Donkey and every time I see yours I miss the one I had years back.

  808. we have so much clay and we have put black dirt in the yard but we also have water problems as we live at the end of the road. Your information has help me but at my age I have to back off so I just do certain areas like edge of my property. You information on planting as been very helpful. Thank you, Have a merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

  809. I love falling you blog wood love a member ship I believe in what your doing lve benn on some of the thing that you teach
    Also love the shears they are one of the best but it keeping where when you need them

  811. What an informative website! I love this place and pruning shears would remind me every time I use them how great it is!

  812. Merry Christmas to all. Hope this New Year is better than last year. Lost so many trees due to no rain here & my well went dry when I needed it the most, my mom at 83 is not doing well so a lot of traveling to visit her along with her hospital visit.
    May the Lord be with all of you this holiday season & the coming year.
    God Bless you this& yours.
    Terry @ happy hill farm & my 5 mares

  814. Christmas Greetings!

    I pray you and all of your family have a blessed Christmas Mike. I do look forward to being very active in your world in 2017. Take care my friend!

  815. I would love a pair of Corona pruners they are great pruners. I used them when I worked at a couple nurseries in Ohio. I had a pair but lost them. I have been following you for about 20 yrs I think and would love a membership.

  817. Hi Mike, Love your tips, videos and donkeys. Would love to be entered and win either pruning shears or the membership would be fantastic. Merry Christmas to You and Yours! CMoore

  818. mike, i have 2 pixie grape plants. how can i winter them over in the basement, water and light? thank you and have a great holiday. frank

  819. I have been a fan of you and your postings for years. Someday going to get the nerve to take the big step. Thank you for all your articles and advice. I truly value them.

  822. Mr. Mike,
    Just wanted you to know, we are planning to use your knowledge and techniques to change our lives! Thank you for doing what you do!

  823. If you would please add me to the list. Hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas Mike and thanks for all you do!!!

  824. I have learned so much from the information you have provided and although my health prevents me from taking full advantage of all the knowledge. Just being able to keep gardening has added so much satisfaction to my life. Thank you Mike!

  825. Mike, Hi!! Merry Christmas to you all!
    First, I live in central Alabama. My tomato plant grew in a pot this year where I had planted a flower in compost, it grew bigger & bigger & finally this fall it grew flowers. I have gotten lots of tomatoes off it! Winter finally came to our area so, I put my plant in the garage. It’s still producing tomatoes. I hope this is an incentive for someone else to try something new..

  826. I enjoy your backyard nursery. It is always full of helpful gardening and planting tips. Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas

  828. Greetings Mike,

    Thank you for the opportunity to enter the drawing.

    Merry Christmas to you and the backyard growers.

  829. I look forward to your emails, they are so informative. I live in Saskatchewan,Canada so some tips don’t apply here .Our conditions are very different than yours.I would love to win the prises you offered.

  834. Hi Mike, Our little farm is growing and we are so encouraged by your posts and videos. Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas!

  836. Dear Mike,

    I appreciate being on your membership list and receiving your emails for the past few years, because I’ve learned such a lot. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned. I’ve got the propagation box ready for the cuttings I am planning to make soon. Thanks for making gardening so much fun!

    Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and yours!

    Best,
    Nancy

  837. Hi Mike.

    I always enjoy your posts and your links to more of your posts.
    Thanks a bunch for having a holiday giveaway. I’d like to enter both, and would be excited to win 🙂
    Hope you and your family have a great Christmas & New Year’s.
    Stay Warm
    Kristen

  844. Thank you for this chance, it’s fun even for those that don’t win :). I also didn’t know cuttings could be started this time of year so I’m going to try and start that right away. I’ll first read up on your recommend posting about it. I appreciate you and your family Mike. Merry Christmas and God’s Blessings to you and yours

  846. Mike, Season greetings to you and yours and as usual great information and thanks for the chance to win such great gifts. would love to have any of them.

  847. I’m hoping I win a membership or shears. I have rooted wildlife shrub cuttings for elderberry and black chokeberry . Planning on doing redosier dogwood and trying spruce next. Mike’s tips and videos are very helpful and informative.

  848. Love your site and Finnegan too. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

  849. Hey Mike. Am interested in information on growing in the challenging climate of central New Mexico. I have an acre of land that I wld love to start a small business on. Free membership wld be a wonderful asset to my endeavor. Thanks for the opportunity!

  850. Merry CHRISTmas and a Growing Joyful New Year. Day after membership drawing I have surgery but I’ll still enjoy the benefits of membership. It hasn’t stopped me before, it won’t stop me now.

  851. Happy Holidays to you and yours! Not much of a grower YET, but enjoy reading the wealth of free information you provide in your emails.

  852. Hi Mike,
    I have been getting your emails for a few years now and I love them. I love your videos, too. I use many of your tricks and techniques to make my yard more beautiful and to propagate gifts for friends.
    Thank you for that.
    I would like to enter the drawing for the free membership. I have always wanted to join, but money has always been an issue.
    Thanks for the opportunity!!
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

  853. Love it when I get your emails about everything to do with plantings and love Finnegan. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

  855. One can never have too many pruning shears! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love the donkey pics.

  858. Dear Mike,

    Thank you for sharing so much information with all of your viewers!

    I feel like you read my mind! I have questions and in a few days you post something that addresses those questions!

    God bless you in the new year!

    Jeanne

  859. Just wanted to say Thank You.
    You sent me some free Japanese Maple seeds last year here in Jacksonville Fl and some of them came up and are growing.
    Thanks again.

  861. Hi Mike,
    I would love to be entered in your contest for pruning shears and membership.

    Thank you for all the information and tips you provide and I love the Donkeys.

  862. Have enjoyed Mike’s website for many years now because of Mike’s expertise and all those that share their knowledge I have become a better backyard gardener thank you Mike you and all your friends have helped me be the guy in the neighborhood that people come to for help it’s because of you thank you again no

  864. Mikes member’s only site is fantastic. I joined about one year ago. I have 4 kids and received a medical diagnosis that stopped my life as a massage therapist and fitness instructor dead in its tracks. I studied and studied under Mikes University and last year decided to join the members only panel and begin bringing in income once more instead of accepting disability. Until, my oldest son got into a small amount of trouble that completely drained our banking accounts..Since then The Mcgroerty Family has generously choosen to placed my account on hold instead of just causing me to loose my investment. I’m so greatful for the hard diligent work you guys have put in to lead families and ambitious minded gardeners toward success. Merry Christmas Mcgroerty Family and thank you for all you do.
    Mandy McLendon
    McClark Family Farms

  865. I seem to be too absorbed with health problems last couple years, but I still read your posts and hope to get back to gardening soon. Thanks for your inspiration.

  869. Oh what a Christmas/New Year’s gift either the pruning shears, as my are so old I can’t get sharpened or membership as I enjoy your posts sooooo much! Wishing you and your family a truly wonderful Christmas and a New Year Blessed with health and happiness!!! Thanks!

  870. I have enjoyed reading the comments. Would like to get some seeds for growing the donkeys…. didn’t see them listed. 😀
    Merry Christmas to you and your whole family! May you be blessed more in the new year.

  872. I put several sticks in the ground a couple years ago and have one 3 foot tall tree now. I probably didn’t take the cuttings at the right time but I did it without having read much of your site yet. I may try many more soon since the temperature will be back into the double digits.

  874. Merry Christmas to all and to 2 a pair of shears and 1 a free membership.

    You should do the 12 days of Christmas with a give away each day next year.
    First could be 12 rooted cuttings, then 11 pampered chickens, and so forth and so on.

    Would be tons of fun for everyone.

    Merry Christmas to all and to all a Its a Wonderful Life.

  875. Been following you and getting your emails for a long time, even had a small partial membership at one time. Wishing you and your family continued health and success in the new year. Wishing I win one of your prizes!

  877. May your Christmas bring you and your family many Blessings

    Please help this poor college student.

  879. Merry Christmas Mike!…Thanks to your tips, I now have a nice variety of plants and trees to share and a few left over to sale.

    Judy P

  880. Mike,

    I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and the best of new years. Thanks so much for all the helpful articles and all the wonderful pictures. That donkey is just too cute.

    J

  883. Merry Christmas, to you and your Family… I would love to be a permanent member, and enjoy doing what I love to do.

  886. Hi, I would love to win one of your items your giving away.

    Also, I would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.

  887. Mike, just would like to say thank you so much for providing this resource. I’ve learned so much from your emails and website. Thanks and have a great Holiday and Nee Year!

  888. Mike, you have such a ‘down to earth’ (pun definitely intended) way with words! I hope I will be able to use some of your help and hints in Spain!

  890. Mike,
    Who couldn’t use a nice new pair of pruning shears?
    More importantly however, I’d like to take a moment to say Thank you. Thank you for being the kind and caring person you are. You have helped, guided and educated so many of us in our attempts of beautifying our surroundings with beautiful plants and trees. Your knowledge is astounding.and you are to be commended!

    Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year!

  891. Mike, I am so sorry to hear about your Ally’s passing. She has many beloved dogs to romp in pet heaven with, including our Phineas and Mattie.
    I enjoy your great, down to earth, gardening tips! Those pruning shears would be a great addition to our gardening tools, and the membership? Wow!! That would be amazing!
    May you and your people and donkey family have a truly beautiful Christmas and New Year!

  892. Hi Mike, you have a great thing going here, keep it up! I appreciate all of the tips and advice,
    Merry Christmas and
    Happy New Year to you and your family!
    Keep doing what you are doing, thank you

  894. Merry Christmas Mike!
    Wishing you and yours a peaceful Christmas and a fantastic New Year!
    Would love to win as I need to get started doing something now that I’m retired.
    God Bless!
    Marie

  899. Hey Mike,

    Would love to have a pair of those pruning shears, or even better, a membership!

    Keep up the good work! Those donkeys have it made!

  901. I have purchased read and watched you program and I really really need this! I’m sick of my job and this will give me the push I need to get my home business started.

    Thank you so much!
    Derek

  904. I’ve learned a lot reading your posts and hope to learn more.
    Good luck with your plants in the New Year!
    Frank

  907. Hi Mike and family

    I am already a member of the Backyard growers group and I love the plants that I have bought they are beautiful. I would love a pair of the pruning shears since I have never had a nice pair, mine come from the dollar store.

    Have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
    Thanks Paula

  908. Id just like to say that I’ve loved all the great tips you’ve shared over the years. Great job Mike!

  910. I like what you do, your helpful insight on plants, and all the training that I get from your know how information you put out!
    Thanks Mike!!

  911. I have found the information on your websites to be completely accurate. I am trying live oak tree cuttings along with crape myrtle cuttings. I also do hibiscus. So far I have had mixed results because I can’t find coarse sand in north Florida that is neutral in ph. Most of the sand is limestone and that kills everything.

    I give my plants to people and they always smile.

    Have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

  913. Thank you for all the interesting information. I would love to win ANYTHING!!!
    Merry Christmas!!

  914. Great information on your site. I look forward to each information full e-mail. I’ve not really thought much about the backyard growers membership, but have used several of your rooting and growing methods with great success.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours.

    Bob

  915. Hi Mike, Just want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
    Yaaaaaaaaaa Go Trump for the next 8 years!
    Mike Buturla
    Voluntown, CT

  916. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog so much! It has really inspired me to try harder on my garden. I think I’m getting my husband excited, too 😉

  918. Hi Mike: Thank you for providing gardening information in a realistic and humorous manner. Your site is the one I reference many times because your explanations are so clear and straightforward. Your positive approach is both helpful and motivating! Many Blessings to your family. Marga Huban

  920. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Is this thing on I cant tell . Just going to go plant something can tell when something there is on Thanks Mike for all the info!!!!!!

  922. Thank you, Mike, for being such an inspiration. Gotta love the spirit of abundance arising from your maximizing outlook on life.

  923. Merry Christmas to you and yours! Just to let you know I save all your newsletters, so I can refer back to them throughout the year..

  925. Hey Mike, I have enjoyed your posts for many years. I especially enjoy the info for roses, and all things fruit related. Would LOVE to win a Membership, but the shears would be a great addition to my stash of plant care tools as well! Thanks for the opportunity!

  926. Have retired from cutting grass . So I’m back for more of Miknowledge!!! Just wanna plant something!!!

  930. will totally make my day special if I win this shear/membership. Good luck to all who will join and Merry Christmas to all.

  931. I really enjoy the articles and information…haven’t got started yet but planning for this year.

  934. Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all!!! Good luck to whomever will be chosen for this contest. Peace LOVE and GOD bless us all.

  936. Merry Christmas Mike! Love these emails and love the donkeys! I’ll be ready to plant my garden anytime after New Years, but in NH I’ll need to wait closer to Memorial Day…I’d love some new pruners! ~~ Linda

  938. Love the newsletters Mike. I’m a golf course superintendent that found your videos when I was looking for affordable ways to upgrade the decorative plantings on the our course. Since I started getting your newsletters, my wife and I have been considering places where we might start growing plants for both the course and to sell. We’re hoping to win the membership to speed things along. Thanks for the opportunity and happy holidays

  940. Wow! What a site! I’m an amateur green thumb that found a nursery in my back yard thanks to you. Starting my first hardwood cuttings this winter. Being just down the road in southern Ohio, I found all your information useful and relevant. Keep up the good work!
    Greg

  942. I have really appreciated information I get from you. I am only beginning to have time to garden like I want to. i am recently retired and could really use a little extra income. Looking forward to trying some of your tips. Thank you for all the help.
    Sincerely Rick carter

  943. Hey Mike I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and happy new year! I look forward to your emails next year with tips…. Thank you for all u do. Will you enter me into the drawing please. Thank you!!!

  944. I really enjoy receiving your emails. Please keep them coming!

    Merry Christmas to you and yours.

  946. I’ve been reading your blog for a long time but never had the time to do anything – I do however use pruning shears all the time, so I would cherish a pair of yours. A membership might just be the thing to get me moving, or keep me spellbound at the computer which would not be a good thing! I’ll leave it in higher hands. Merry Christmas and wishes for a blessed New year.

  947. YOURE A WALKING ENCYCLOPEDIA ABOUT PLANTS, AND IM SO THANKFUL TO HAVE FOUND YOUR WEBSITE WAY BACK WHEN! THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND MAKING ME FEEL LIKE YOURE MY NEIGHBOR WITH ALL OF YOUR DOWN-TO-EARTH REMARKS! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOOD HEALTH TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

  948. I enjoy all of your articles. I learn so much. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into your articles and videos. Thanks for all your help.

  950. Mike – You have lent your talent and supported us patiently with all your knowledge for your fan – fellow growers and gardeners – for all of these years. You are truly blessed and we thank you for all of that knowledge. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  951. Lost my job, need to find a way to make some money, sounds like a membership to your nursery might be a solution?

  956. Your down to earth sensible gardening tips are jewels for me!!! Please enter me into the drawing. Cannot wait to here the final drawing winners.

  957. I thought I’d be bored when I retired, but came across your website and I’m busier than ever now. Love your tips and suggestions but most of all like your videos. Getting my 5 yr old great granddaughter hooked on growing plants from cuttings.

  958. I’m already a lifetime member, but would love to win the pruning shears. The membership has been even more valuable than I ever imagined. Thanks, Mike!

  960. I like the fact that you are so generous with all your knowledge. You show us how to do what you are talking about.

  962. I tried to comment earlier but I don’t see my comment so maybe it didn’t save. Thank you for all you do and all you share. I’m going to commit to starting my backyard growing business in 2017. I will retire after 30 years with the State at the end of 2017 so I want to take the year to get my business up and running. I love the opportunity to possibly win a membership to the Backyard Growing Business Center. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Hugs to all, especially the donkeys 🙂

  965. I really enjoy the instructions and tips you send in the emails.

    Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and continued success in the coming year.

  966. Mike , family ,your crew and the donkeys also. Thanks for all the pictures and advice. And Merry Christmas

  967. What a great Christmas idea! Keep up,the great work, Mike! Your posts are always inspiring to all of us who are just getting started. Thank you!

  969. I snowbird to Belize. How do I tell when it is the best time to take cuttings.

    If you answer will it be to my email or general response area.

  970. Thanks Mike! I really enjoy reading your tips and I love to see pics of Finnegan! I think I’d like to invite you to SC for a mean burger on the grill… or maybe some Eggplant Pizza. You never know what we might come up with, but I guarantee it will be good!

    Rhonda and Joey Howle and Lucky Dog

  971. Thanks for all you do. Your articles and videos have been very helpful. Enjoy the Christmas season.

  972. Mike,

    First and foremost I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and the best of a New Year. You inspire and amaze. Thanks for sharing you wisdom.

  973. Mike, I have read and learned from your newsletters for many years. So much useful information. Happy Holidays to you and your family!

  974. I am so glad I stumbled across Mike’s Backyard Garden site a few years ago. I was a little dubious at first, but now I believe it is one of the best investments I have ever made. This place is great! Merry Christmas to everyone, and Happy Birthday, Jesus!

  975. Actually, Mike, I’m more intrigued by your donkeys than the plants, but I’m willing to try plants-for-profit.

    Please enter me into your drawing.

  979. I am so glad to stumble across your site years ago the journey has been so great! The info and how you simplify, so all, understand is amazing. I used to only wear my cover all’s to hunt then, I would stop by the ( I call garden) greenhouses and nursery to work a little, Now I work a lot at the garden in my hunting cover all’s and hunt just a little ! So much more happiness when you see life growing out of your hard work than to sit hours upon hours to see nothing. Either case it is so wonderful to see The amazing wonders of life and the articles you write and share take out the hardest part of the job and simplify the task so we can enjoy it more. Thanks for everything you do and God Bless !

  980. Thank you Mike for all your updates, I really want to learn to do this…last year nothing rooted and I dont know what I did wrong. I am hopeful this year, Merry Christmas!

  983. Mike’s site is different from anything else I’ve seen in the DIY arena. I really like his writing style.

  984. Merry Christmas!! and thank you for all the valuable information you have shared over the years!

  986. Mike, I enjoy getting your e-mails and watching your videos. I try to use your helpful hints and tutorials in my own yard, I always look forward to you messages

  989. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours (including the donkeys!), Mike. I’m a new follower and quite keen to get my new hobby going. I’ll be making my first cuttings of our burning bush over the Christmas holidays…

  990. Merry Christmas and thank you for all the valuable information you have shared over the years!

  991. Love getting emails from Mike all good information that he sends. Merry Christmas to you and your Family .

  992. I have been growing a vegetables garden from seed since i was a child. I found your website and i learned a lot that I thought I knew. Found out I was wrong. Thanks for all the tips and training. I am retired now and looking at profiting from my love of gardening.

  993. Mike – We really appreciate all the great advise you send out. We hang on to the email and use them for reference. Thanks!!!
    JR

  994. Hope I am not entering twice, I did leave a comment, but am not sure that it was here.

    I’m excited to try propagating some yellow dogwood this winter here in Connecticut. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!

  996. Thank you for the opportunity to enter your contest. On another note so sorry for the loss of Ally and hope that your holiday season will still be a happy one. Have always enjoyed your Youtube Videos. Greetings from Connecticut!

  999. Can I get in on this donkey give-a-way? I live in Texas and have plenty of room. 😉 Okay, pruning shears or membership will do. .. but Finnegan is a very cute donkey. We used to have one on the farm as a kid in northwestern Oklahoma – his name was Radar. Yeah, we were original that way.

  1000. I would very much like a membership. My wife and I have been in need of extra income and that would be perfect. Thanks

  1001. To win a free Membership or win a pair of Pruning Shears would be fabulous! What a lovely gift you are offering. Thanks for the opportunity.
    Katherine Waller.

  1004. HI I appreciate all that you do and want you to know as we get older and our bodies get weaker things get harder . So make everyday count. :).

  1006. Mike,,, I have received your email newsletters for several years now,,, and have referred to your book numerous times,,,, thank you!
    We moved to a coastal area in the last couple years and am having difficulty finding what plants are salt tolerable,,, help!

  1007. Look forward to every email from you. I’m in the process of creating my Butterfly Garden, and planning out a Japanese Garden. Sure could use the Japanese Maple Seeds.

  1008. Hi Mike,

    Thank you for all of your great info. I have a love for donkeys too. So it is a win win for me! I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

  1009. Mike, I ‘ve been reading and following your website for several years. I absolutely love it. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned. When we moved, the house had not been lived in for about 4 years. The yard was a mess. I have finally gotten it to the point it is looking good again. Thank you.

    I would love to have a pair of shears or a membership. I wore out a pair of shears here that I had had for many years. I love gardening and am looking forward to moving forward with your help (and the donkeys, too). Merry Christmas to you and all your family!

  1011. Looking forward to retirement to use the information I’ve learned from you, Mike. Have a very Merry Christmas and good luck in 2017!

  1012. Always enjoy your newsletters and advice. I hope I win the contest! I’m looking into getting more into cuttings!

  1013. Hello from Wilkes County NC! I have enjoyed your emails and have learned a thing or 2. I am currently in the process of starting my own greenhouse and have a plan to bring the Jacaranda Tree into the colder parts of the US. Thanks for all you do!

  1014. Thank you Mike for all the great info I have gotten from you! I’m passing it down to my grandkids who are learning to garden, too!

  1017. Thank you, Mike. I’ve learned a lot from all your information. I’m passing this on to my grandkids who are learning early!! Thanks again!!

  1018. I SO ENJOY READING YOUR ALL YOUR COLUMNS AND ADVICE. yOU GIVE OUT SUCH GREAT ADVICE. tHANKS FOR ALL YOU DO. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. BLESSINGS!!!

  1019. Hi Mike,
    Love your lil buddies!! Love gardening. Will the Eastern Redbud Tree’s survive in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula ? Do these Redbud trees look like the Redbuds in Tennessee?
    Merry Christmas to you & all your family!!

  1021. Hi Mike
    I’ve been enjoying your emails for several years. Thanks. I bought the $7 trial a couple of times before I retired; really inspiring. Last year I successfully rooted a few cuttings from one of my shrubs and some roses, so I know I can do it. Both of my sons will be retired military in the Spring, so hopefully I will have the muscle to get started.
    Diana, Central OK

  1022. Have been following you for many years! Really enjoy your invaluable gardening advice and many interesting anecdotes. Keep it up and Happy Holidays! Thank you!

  1026. I enjoy reading all the postings that you do. They are very helpful and educational. I would love to win any one of the gifts. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

  1027. Hi Mike and everyone else I grow a lot of indoor house plants so the membership would not help.But I would like to congratulate you and your team (family) for having the best web site in the world,also I live in France so obtaining the plants you mention is not possible.thanks again,paul’Merry xmas to all.

  1028. Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom and knowledge in caring for and propogating plants.
    Have a blessed Christmas!

  1031. Love you website! Thanx for all the inspirations! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  1032. I have used those type pruners before and they are great! I always learn from your newsletters and

    your posts. Keep up the great work!

  1034. I really enjoy your emails. Thank you, Mike, for all the work you have put into sharing this gardening treasure.

  1036. Hi Mike,
    I’m new to your site and happy you provide a wealth of great tips and ideas. Wishing you and your’s a very Merry Christmas, God Bless!

  1037. I have used those type pruners before and they are great! I enjoy reading your post and always learn

    something from your newsletters and and website! Keep up the great work!

  1041. Hi Mike, I love your newsletter and your website. I rely on your wisdom to help me with my gardens. I would love a pair of shears or a membership. Thanks for entering mean your contest!

    when is the best time to Prune lilacs and yew back?

  1042. Hi Mike

    Thanks for all the great tips and ideas….
    I would like to pick your brain OR anyone else who read here…
    I’m in South Africa and are having problems with Ganoderma on an established Fever thorn tree
    I can’t seem to find anything to apply to combat the problem
    Any ideas?
    Kind regards
    Jaco

  1043. Hi Mike! My husband and I live on the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We get some real winter up here! I came across your incredible wealth of knowledge while searching on how to do cuttings so we could create some privacy and wind barriers. I have several trays of “babies” waiting for spring thanks to you guidance. All the best to you and your family this Christmas season!

  1045. Mike, thank you for all you do! I really hope to be a real member one day! Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Hugs to all, especially the donkeys 🙂

  1046. Mike,you are a great inspiration, to me as well as to many others. .
    You are also a great teacher, guide, and my gardening mentor. .

    Please enter me in both of your drawings. ..

  1047. Count me in for the drawing! I did a small amount of cuttings last summer and got some scented gernanium and stevia starts going. Now I’d like to go to the next level Been watching/reading you for years and your pep talks definitely inspire me. Can’t wait to see my name in print as one of the winners!

  1049. Love your little donkey! I have started hydrangea and rose of Sharon cuttings and they have grown beautifully! This year I want to do more fore sales! I love your posts!!!

  1053. I’ve enjoyed your posts for years now. Your advice has been extremely valuable to me. I would really love to have those pruning shears to work in my yard and gardens.

  1054. Mike’s comments and tips have not only helped us in picking plants, but the ideas have spurred further ideas for a business and kept the hops alive. Thanks

  1055. Merry Christmas! Excited to see what the new year will bring! I’m 29 and a new mom. I’d love to start a BY business! I dont have any plants to propagate as my husband and I just built our own house. I also worry about propagating patented plants… Don’t want to get into trouble with that. What’s the best way to start out in this circumstance? Buy from private group?
    Thank you!

  1056. I need new shears wore mine out clearing up from hurricane Matthew

    Trying to get my small plant business started

  1057. thank you for the opportunity to try for the free membership, we keep trying, we tried the sample membership a couple of years ago, still follow your emails and have gotten alot of wonderful advice, hopefully we will be chosen , again thank you, linda

  1058. New member and really excited to use your advice and suggestions to help us
    with making our backyard garden and landscape all we could ever of dreamed of.
    Thanks

  1060. Oh the cuteness with those adorable donkeys lol. I love your site and all the great information 🙂

  1061. I help a landscaper during planting season. I have started plants as you suggested and within a few years he is purchasing them from me for clients yards! It is a win win situation, especially for me! Thank you!

  1062. I live in Fla. Adore my neighbors twobdonkeys named moose and noisy. Yes noisyjis noisy. Ha. I use their droppings as a tea for some plants. Most plants look puny because of sand. Few $ for amendments. Live your site. Stay well merry Christmas n happy new year!! Marti

  1063. Mike,
    Thanks for all you do for the plant world. I have fun reading your posts, and love the donkeys!

  1066. Love your emails and you tube channel. It would always be nice to be the winner but either way keep the info coming ?

  1067. Thanks for all you do. Two years of using the misting system I got from you has yielded more cuttings than I could have imagined. Merry Christmas.

  1068. I really like your site and the great info you provide. Once I get settled into the new house , I will be putting this info into practice. Thanks for all you do!

  1069. Hi Mike, I took advantage of your suggestion to make cuttings from my English boxwood. I have 24 cuttings sitting in soil on my deck, hoping the snow and ice won’t kill them. Hope to get enough rooted cuttings to sell at our next community garage sale. Wish me luck. Thanks for all the advice via email!

  1071. Please enter me in your Drawing.. Could use a good pair of Shears,..

    Thank you for all your info during this last year.

  1072. Love reading your stuff, Mike. Appreciate your expertise and the willingness to share. Happy holidays and best regards for you and yours.

    Ps. I recently tried your fudge recipe and it was a huge hit!

  1074. I’m looking forward to finally getting a garden off to a good start! There are so many tools here and I am ready to kick it into high gear!

  1076. ?Merry Christmas Mike and to the rest of your family, flora & fauna! Happy to be in your drawing. I’ve been propagating with you for several years. Everything looks great though has been on hold to sell for a few years as I’m caring for 2, actually 3 loved ones. Can’t forget my 15 year old pup. God bless. Have a beautiful celebration with your loved ones.

  1078. Please enter me. I’ve been following you for several years. Love the wealth of knowledge that you share.

  1079. Hi Mike, I love your posts and videos, Thanks to you I have so many new trees I don’t know what to do with them all! I also have a great start on an English laurel hedge, but does anyone want Norway maples?!?! Merry Xmas to you and your family.

  1081. i hope this time luck will be with me 🙂
    Thanks for giving this great chance to everyone!
    Happy celebrations!

  1082. ‘Always find something informative, Mike , thank you for all you do. Merry Christmas and a Happy prosperous New Year.

  1084. Wonderful opportunity for all plants lovers. Happy Holidays to all ? ?⛄ If I win something I would like that present get some of my friends from US.

  1086. Mike, I always read your posts and the advise you give. I am so glad you share your cute donkeys with us. I was given some pruning shears a few years ago but I have used them to death. They are totally trashed. I so a lot of pruning so I sure could use some. Thank you for the chance to win some. Merry Christmas. Marsha

  1087. I find your posts inspirational. One day I hope to make some extra income propagating plants up here in Canada. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  1090. I have been reading your stories And garden tips since the beginning , and I miss seeing your Mondays with mike Videos you use to post. Wishing your family a Merry Christmas . Frank upstate,ny

  1091. I appreciate all the wonderful emails sent to me with fabulous ideas for gardening, growing & propagating plants! I dream of one day retiring and enjoying making money at it
    Lin Caddell

  1092. can not wait to see how many of my cuttings have roots come spring. Thank you for all the information

  1095. hi mike I have been a member for a few years and been struggling with irrigation I saw in your post last week you were selling the watering system how much to send this system to NZ looking forward to your reply have a great Christmas and happy new year with your family including Fergus and Finnigan
    Jim Ingram

  1098. Hi Mike, Sure I would love a new pair of pruning shears, and whatever else you have to offer. I am a fan in Washington State. Love your website, You Tube Videos and all. Thanks for being there for all of us. You are a great inspiration.

  1099. Good luck to all who enter. I am not in any need for the shears so I hope who ever wins enjoys them.

  1103. Mike,
    I’ve really enjoyed watching your videos on YouTube and reading your book from online. I’m a firefighter full time and hope to one day be like yourself running a great nursery business. Thank you for the encouragement throughout your book!! Look forward to following your footsteps and hopefully seeing sprouts in the future!
    Tj Worrell

  1104. Hey there, Mike I’ve been reading a lot on your article and I gotta say – I love them. thanks so much for your free advice I sincerely appreciate it. Thanks again!

  1105. Love your info and personality Mike! Have found “how to’s” on many jobs in my yards, both in western FL and N.E., WA where we summer. Keep up the good work and very successful business.

    Thanks, Gary

  1106. Hi Mike!!! I moved back to Florida from Missouri. I had to leave over 30 different rose varieties. I’m heart broken. If you have any advice about growing roses down here, I’d love you even more.
    I’m in Fort Myers.
    Thanks for all the great tips you give us!

  1107. Hi Mike, thanks for all the grew info and advice. Please enter me in the contest. Thanks,
    Tony

  1108. Looking forward to spring time here in the Northwest. Its been pretty cold here for our neck of the woods. Merry Christmas to one and all.

  1109. Mike,
    Your emails full of help and tips inspire and energize me toward my goals. Sometimes I question why I bother playing in the mud, and then along comes Mike with encouraging words that make me believe I can succeed. Thanks Mike

  1110. Looking forward to spring time already here in the Northwest. It’s been pretty cold here for our neck of the woods. merry Christmas to one and all.

  1111. Thank you for sharing gardening information in your emails & website. And thank you for sponsoring the contests. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

  1113. Merry Christmas, Mike. I’m looking forward to more helpful info from you and pictures of the donkeys. Happy New year.

  1115. Mike I really need a new pair of shears since my husband tossed mine thinking they were trash, ok I am sure it was somehow my fault, although I do need a new pair I would rather win one of the memberships, I have followed you for years and truly love seeing your emails pop up from time to time and your videos make me laugh so hard sometimes people ask me what I am laughing at. Your donkeys crack me up, always sneaking into your photos. Thanks for the consideration and have a wonderful holiday and remember the most important part of the holidays is spending time with family and friends. Judi

  1117. I’m so impressed to see the postings for the different varieties of grapes! I can do that! We have 7 types on our property, 5 appropriate to sell.

  1118. Hi Mike
    Thanks to all your wonderful advice I have rooted numerous cuttings from ALL kinds of plants. It’s so inspiring to see all these amazing plants thriving. I would very much like to be a very lucky winner. Love the donkeys! Best wishes Mike & a very merry Christmas.

  1119. Are raised beds better than ground gardening? I have heard a lot of hype about raised beds and I just wondered if it really makes a difference? I have always just ground gardened, I am considering raised beds for next year though.

  1120. Hi Mike! I have rooted some azaleas and gardenias off and on over the years for my own use, but after getting hooked on your newsletters I decided to try a few more this past summer. I did about 120 azalea cuttings, about 10 or 12 gardenia, and some abelia. The abelia did not do too well at all, and of course some azalea and gardenia did not make it but I am encouraged that maybe I can do this on a regular basis. We have had a drought here in our area and at present we are about 15 inches below normal even though we did have a couple of days of good steady rain a couple of weeks ago. Therefore, I was not inclined to do more as I had enough going on to keep my current plants alive. We were on a voluntary water conservation also. Hopefully the weather will improve and I can do better next year.. I have a Concord grape vine and 2 blueberry bushes I want to try the hardwood cutting method this winter.
    Thank you for all your valuable advice. I will keep my fingers crossed that I will have luck on your drawing, even for those pruning shears you have mentioned before!

  1123. Hi Mike,
    I have a degree in horticulture/nursery mgmt, and I‘ve always found your advice spot on, and the suggestins have been very helpful. Please enter me in both of the drawings. Merry Christmas all!

  1124. Mike,
    I dont think people realize how you truly want to help us learn how to be independent and prosper in this great buisness! How there is room for us to all prosper! Thank you for all you do helping us all reach our greatest potential!
    Lee

  1125. Hi Mike
    I sure enjoy reading your comments and advise on cuttings and rooting plants. I use a lot of the advice you recommend and it really help me to stay out of trouble most of the time. If I win I would surely use the pruning shears, an I would be very thankful for them and the free membership would be the greatest gift to receive and put it to use. I love doing cuttings and watch them take root an begin growing in plant that I can sell to people in the area I live.

  1126. Well Mr. Mike and Family. I’m expressing my gratitude to you and yours as my husband recently passed and I was in a situation, contacted you and your kindness sent me my money back. That is what I want the readers and all know just how kind you are. Once again Thank You and a Heartfelt Merry Christmas to you and your family. Many Blessing Always. Sue

  1128. Hello Mike,
    The contest you are having sounds really good. Please enter me. I have used many instructions you were giving on plant propagation back in 2003 and 2005. Information like that never goes out of date. Thank you for all of that and recent information and videos. I will be moving sometime to this summer and plan to use your information again and again.

  1130. Mike, I’ve read and taken your advice for years. I’m retired now and have thought about trying my hand at raising plants for sale and for decorating my acreage. Please include me in your drawings. Thank you.

  1131. I adore reading Mike’s pages! They are always informative and delightful! I learn so much!

    Thank you Mike! Leslie

  1133. Thank you for your work of enlightening us. I’ve applied a lot of your insights and learned from your examples. You’re the secret sauce that spices up the horticultural community.

  1134. Tried rooting burning bushes for the first time this year. Was amazed at how easy it was and how little care was required. Your postings are invaluable. Keep them coming Mike. Have a very Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.

  1136. I’m trying to get some elderberry and upright fuschia cuttings to root – my previous success rate has been about 30%. Seems disappointing…

  1138. I love all your help and teachings. You give so many ideas plus they are doable! Merry Christmas and all the best in 2017

  1139. Merry x-mas!!! Found your website last month, love it! I’m starting a small back yard nursery in sw Florida, am doing hibiscus cuttings now, that are doing great
    I find plants in the woods and swamps and take cutting from them but some I don’t know what thay are and have not been able to identifie them (have looked every where I can think) any tips? Thank you for doing all you do we all love it!
    Diana

  1140. Mike,

    Me and the old ball coach enjoy reading the emails immensely. I’ve learned much and continue to learn always. Thanks so much.

  1142. I am so hoping this works in Montana! I grow microgreens for myself but would love to make a career out of what I love doing.

  1144. Hi Mike,
    Merry Christmas to you, & thanks for all you do!

    I’d love to be entered in the contest for new pruning shears. My father farmed his whole life & always talked about the importance of having the right tools for the job at hand. What’s the difference between an okay pair of pruners & a great pair of pruners? Hours of pain-free work accomplished!

  1145. Would love to win your contest!
    And how about more info on propagating more desert-y type plants
    Red maples, hydrangeas, heuchera and many of the plants you talk about are soooo beautiful, but fried out here near temps closer to Vegas than your area.

    Keep up the good work!

  1146. I have learned so much from Mike’s postings and it had freed me to try so many different species with success. One of the real benefits though was to believe that I could – and now I can!
    Thanks a million Mike and here;s hoping for 2017.

  1147. Dear Mr. McGroarty,
    This is Brandon Allen again. It’s always a pleasure to receive your emails and messages! I enjoy them so much! I love plants and gardening so much that I just cannot tell you in words! My greenhouse is full of orchids coming into bloom! You should see my fall garden! I just planted carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and English sweet peas today! My confederate roses and camellias have been fabulous this fall! I harvested a lot of satsumas and tangerines too! I have two Descanso lilacs I ordered two years ago that were actually developed to grow in climates with mild winters like I have here in zone 9 in Orange, Texas. I have a white one and a purple one. Believe it or not they are actually thriving and growing! I am so excited! They haven’t bloomed yet, but I hope they will one day! I have never smelled a real lilac blossom! They are not common here in the south. I have heard they are wonderful! Anyway, it’s getting late! I need to close. Thank you for emailing me again! I hope to win a prize one day! Thank you, Good evening! Sincerely, Brandon Allen.

  1149. I am going into the winter with dozens of different species cuttings taken this year – even Daphne odora, one of which is showing flower buds already!
    I am just about to help a young couple move their grandad’s plantings to a new and larger property. Grandad was from Italy and brought Figs, grapes, plums and other fruits, so they are anxious to maintain Grandad’s heritage.

  1150. I enjoy your information and sense of humor just as much! Merry Christmas to you and your family! God bless!

  1151. Awwww still loving your donkeys even though neither of them is going to make it to the white house. Maybe in 4 years they can run again?

  1152. So much useful info. Thanks.
    Would love new shears and a membership would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

  1153. I appreciate all the tips you give, especially about grape vine pruning. Thank you and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

  1154. Loved your Little Yellow Dog posting. What a blessings she was to you, your family, the farm, the donkeys, and to your readers through the story and pictures. Parts are precious. They never really leave us. Thank you for sharing about her ?

  1155. I love reading about your gardening! Throw my hat into the ring. Maybe a new business to go with the upcoming new house!

  1157. Thanks Mike for all your teachings and heart felt interest God bless you and your cuttings Merry Christmas 🙂

  1158. Thank You Mike,
    I find your advice & tips extremely helpful and enjoy reading your articles immensely. Steve & I would like to wish you and your family a Blessed Christmas and prosperous New Year! God Bless!

  1160. Thank you for all of the knowledge that you have shared with the world and for the opportunity to sign up for this giveaway.

  1162. Hello Mike, Please include me in the drawing! I love your blog and hope to someday learn how to make some income by propagating plants. Dream Job!

  1163. I discovered your website many years ago and have ordered several items from you. Have just purchased a new property and we are looking forward to finally working in the backyard and selling plants, just like Mike does! Pruning shears would certainly be helpful.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours. . . and the donkeys, of course!

  1164. Oh I would love either gift, ! I can always us pruning shears and I’ve often wondered if I should be joining your backyard membersip group! Thanks for a great idea!

  1165. I really enjoy all the advice you post, it has helped me out many times. It’s difficult growing plants on these rocks in North Central Arkansas but I always have good luck with my fig bushes.
    Mary Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

  1166. Mike,
    have you every used worm dirt for your plants before? I am using some for my rootings and for just about everything else in the garden got some lettuce comming up in the house in cups.

  1168. I love your web page & learn a lot of new things! I also love your donkeys & pics of them; just wish I had a place to have them. Whether a beginner or long time gardener your info is always complete & answers the questions I have. Thanks you so much ! Wishing your family a very merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

  1170. My husband and always enjoy hearing from you and your knowledgeable information with such a personal touch – thank you!

  1172. Thank you for your kind efforts on our behalf. I find your websites and Newsletters quite informative and the videos are amazing.

    Dave Mason

  1174. Thank you Mike for all the great info on so many different plants. I love gardening but have not been able to do much this year because of a bulging disk in my back. Doing better now & looking forward to going out in the yard & getting my hands in the dirt!!!

  1176. drop my name in the hat for either one of the great things your offering. Could always use those wonderful shears and would love to win the other. I was on your site when you offered it for one month and loved reading all the wonderful advice . Hope to start in the spring but moneywise cannot get on your site……

  1177. This sounds like a golden opportunity. I’ve been following you and taking your advice for several years and it’s about time for me to get really serious. Retirement leaves me some free time to develop the back yard productively!

  1178. A Blessed Yule to you and yours, Mike, and a very Merry Christmas in a few days time. I hope you all have a great one. (Give your donkeys a hug from me, won’t you, sir?)

    Mick

  1179. Mike,
    I’ve followed you for a couple years now and you have some really fantastic information. I’m always trying to find ways to improve my tree nursery business. Keep up the great work.

  1180. I really have enjoyed all the information you share and look forward to a day when I am working again so I can save up for your program. Absolutely love Finnegan. Looks like such a sweet boy.

  1182. Love the donkey’s Mike, thinking about getting a couple myself someday! Thanks for all the great info and the giveaways!

  1183. A Blessed Yule to you and yours, Mike, and a very Merry Christmas in a few days time. I hope you have a great one.

  1184. I really need these pruning shears and I love winning the private members only membership, this would be a MARRY, MARRY CHRISTMAS for me.

  1185. Mike, You are such a great inspiration, we enjoy you sharing your methods and knowledge so that we too can accomplish our goals. Thank You and Merry Christmas to you and Yours.

  1187. Plants are relaxing and life should be as well so surround yourself with plants and loved ones for a wonderfully life! With that being said a nice pair of pruning shears helps keep the plants happy and all relaxed.

    Please add my name.

    Chris W
    Myrtle Beach ‘SC

  1188. Happy Holidays to you and your family. I really enjoy your sense of humus er humor and all of your great experience and tips. Whether I win a prize or not, I cherish your newsletter and tips. Thank you.

  1189. I have loved this site since it’s early years and am always finding new information.
    Thank you for putting so much time into sharing 🙂

  1191. Love your donkey photo! I’m a animal lover too. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of gardening!

  1192. You’re the best Mike! Always look forward to reading your emails and have learned so much. Merry Christmas to you and the family.

  1194. I enjoy both your columns and your gardening suggestions. I live near the coast in Southern California, so I cannot use a lot of upper tips, but I still enjoy reading about what you are doing. thanks and Merry Christmas.

  1197. Have loved every minute of your inspirations. Those two furry friends are pretty cute too!
    Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your generosity. Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

  1200. Hi mike ,
    I am in south Africa, proud to be a member of the elite bug, I am 72 yrs old and you tips and ideas has brought life back to me ,wish I was 20 yrs younger .
    Merry Xmas and bled. New year .

    Karan Rai

  1201. I found your site accidentally and love it. I save all the articles you post. and often share it with friends. Please keep up the good work! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

  1202. I’ve been a fan of Mike’s for soooo many years and have learned a lot. Love working with plants. So generous of Mike to give these prizes. And love the donkeys!

  1203. Hi Mike I have been watching you for about 10 years or more and a few more before I subscribed You have a lot of great Ideas of which I have used. I love the propagation of different plants and seeing them grow it is exciting when one takes root. Keep up the good information for I will be needing it soon.

  1205. You’ve encouraged me to plant LOTS of trees from cuttings. ‘Course that’s provided shade to limit gardening but people sit here when it’s hot…

  1206. Thank you Mike. I wish to return the kind words and wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and I would love to be entered in your sweepstakes. I am disable, but with your knowledge I do what I can. Please keep sharing your videos and priceless information with us all. Thanks again. William

  1207. I would like to enter the contest, my pruning shears are so old,It will not cut a toenail Like all of your advise,live in zone 7. Have learn a lot from your videos,and like the pictures you put on her too. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

  1208. Mike, I love reading your emails! They are so informative, interesting AND encouraging. After the holidays I want to get started making baby plants, so it would be great win the drawing for a free membership!

  1209. Hey Mike, thanks for the Christmas wishes. I would like to return the same back to you and your family. I have learned a lot from you this past year and as I am disable I do what I can and would love the get in your sweepstakes and win something as valuable as the sheers or the membership. I wish to thank you in advance even if I don’t win I have won by the knowledge you have shared with us all. I pray that you will keep up the videos and valuable information. Thanks again might. Sincerely William.

  1213. Been reading your newsletters and watching your videos for the last year, and have learned a great deal. I’ve been trying to put that new information on into practice. I’m enjoying sticking hardwood cuttings. Thank you for teaching me.

  1214. Thanks Mike for the fun and informative e-mails and stories. Growing things is sometimes a challenge here in South Texas with the abundance of very hot weather and sometimes shortages of rain water. Your tips really come in handy. Have a Very Merry Christmas and Safe and Fun New Year to you and your family.

  1215. I enjoy reading your informative newsletter and look forward to receiving it. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.

  1219. Thanks Mike for all the things you teach. So many things you would consider little are big to me and the happiness they create watching stuff grow. The most important is your signoff of ‘stay inspired’ which seems to be the extra needed to go forward many times. Thanks again..

  1221. Dear Mike,
    We and Our Cats -Finn and Fergus- wish you, your family, and of course the Donkeys, all a Very Merry Christmas, with our best Wishes for Peace and continued Blessings in the New Year!
    (p s. ; The cats were named long before I knew about your donkeys, but great minds must think alike!!!)

  1224. Mike,
    We watched your video on building the propagation box from a fish tank a few years back and the first time got 16 Blueberry bushes, several azaleas and a few fig bushes .This may not seem like a lot to most people but we are moving from our home of thirty years to a new home and will be taking some of the old garden with us. Can’t thank you enough for all the information and helpful e-mails.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family,

  1225. Hi Mike, I have been a plant and nature lover since my childhood. And I am always all EARSwhen the subject of plants is discussed., especially when an expert like yourself is advising about different ways of propagating plants etc.. I love to find out particularly how to propagate the michaelia champakvas plants as they are so expensive. I would be so grateful if you can give me some advice about how to go about it. My neighbor has a champaka tree and I am so envious. I can always get cuttings from him but I am not sure how I can propagate from those cuttings. Thank you so much..

  1229. Hi Mike, I have been receiving your emails for over 3 years. I enjoy your wisdom and expert advice and have wanted to purchase your membership but have not had the extra money. I am interested in starting a small business.. Thank you for this opportunity!.

  1230. I am always amazed at what we learn from your emails!! I have never seen anyone who is so willing to share his knowledge with anyone who will agree to receive your newsletter. Thank you for all you teach us.
    May your Christmas be merry and your New Year the best one ever!
    Will be watching for the drawing and hoping I am lucky this time.

  1236. Hi Mike!

    Happy Holidays to you & your family, from “warm & sunny, Cleveland, OH”!! LOL I would love to be entered into your contest for those awesome pruners!! I’m always buying a new pair or 2 every spring, by fall, I’m ready to pitch them and buy again!! I guess I’m too tough with them! I also would love the free membership!! WOW….this is great…would love to Win something from “Mike the Garden Man”!!

    Thanx!!:

  1238. I hope to have a place to do cuttings next spring! I’d love to enter for the two drawings! Thanks! And the very merriest of Christmases to all.

  1241. I planted a garden, all in containers, last year, for the first time since moving off the farm over 50 years ago. Amazing what we forget…my father would have been ashamed to claim me! Late in the summer, I found you. Next year my little garden will be better. I’m already getting great free information from you, but I really appreciate being able to try for that membership. You are a blessing. Happy holidays.

  1242. I’d like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with love, health and prosperity. You deserve them all for all the help and hard-won tips you continue to pass on to us. Thank you. You are truly appreciated!!

  1243. Hi Mike – Merry Christmas to you and your family – and thank you for all the great advice you’ve offered over the years!!! I’ve found some GREAT information on your blogs/website – it’s really helped me to grow a beautiful yard!!! keep up the great work!

  1244. I have been following Mike for some time now and he has helped me “TREMENDOUSLY” with my gardening and lawn maintenance. Love ya Mike!! Keep up the good work. It’s really appreciated.

  1246. If gardening knowledge was donkeys you would be overrun! I look forward to each email from you. I have to translate to southern speak cause the climate is WAY different here in Houston!

  1251. Am hoping to see more articles on drought resistant edible plants as I live in So. CA. Not interested in anything that is not edible.

  1254. I would love to win a new pair of pruners. I’m hoping to get some cuttings of shrubs from some friends so I can start my own.

  1255. Love all the tips and help videos you provide. have tried a lot of things out and most have worked very well. Thanks

  1256. I love your fudge recipe and all the info you post.Please enter me in the game for the shears.

  1260. I love your site and have learned very much from you. Live in FL.. have a very small yard just big enough for me to grow a few flowers. Love your site and all your info and of course the donkeys.

  1261. Mike- thanks for all that you share. I’ve an avid reader and look to your posts for great gardening advice. Keep ’em coming!
    -Matt from Rochester NY

  1262. What a sweet little donkey friend! I’d love to have one someday. Planning on rooting some hardy fig cuttings here in Vermont… hopefully they will make it through our rough winter!

  1263. Mike,
    It is funny, but I was thinking of writing you to let you know how uplifting you are BEFORE you made this offer this last Spring or Fall, I can not recall which. So this comment was actually prompted by you and the person you are, and your promotion is simply a very nice thing you do.

    My husband and I lost our California home in a foreclosure process a year and a half ago. We had purchased our home with one Bank, that became a different bank and became a different bank, and we asked the last bank to provide their proof of the assignment of our loan to them. We had a forensic research done on this, and it was ascertained that there was no assignment to thisbank. Kind of like we owe Bill some money, he disappears, and along comes Larry and says we need to pay him, then Larry disappears and Wells comes a long and says we owe him.

    Cut to the chase we lost, and all our equity, with no proof provided by Wells at all. We had three days to get out, and everything we owned that would fit was thrown in a in a big trailer,and by the Grace of God our son had bought a house in Washington that was large enough for us to live with him and his wife, and watch our grand kids in exchange and help, as we can, with the payments.

    My darling son informed me “You know mom, no one wants to live with their parents.” He is darling, he just doesn’t understand, and I hope he never has to.

    I am a super plant lover, all my life. I became, before our foreclosure, a certified landscape designer. But,I never learned what you teach,the growing side. When I came across your site, it was so uplifting. I loved it and looked forward towatching you teach this aspect of starting and growing of plants from cuttings and seeds that I had never learned.

    Watching you in your overalls and hugging your donkey, making the process so simple and fun, and encouraging. And,I needed something encouraging. You shared how possibilities are everywhere,even if you don’t have money, and that was heaven to someone like me, who felt all of life’s opportunities no longer exist.

    So a VERY Merry Christmas to you and your family Mike, human and furry.

    Sincerely,

    Peggy

  1264. I have learned a lot from your posts and videos and enjoy reading all the information.
    Happy New Year!

  1268. I would love to have the Free membership. Also I think that we are going to be adding some goats and sheep to our micro homestead this year. Merry Christmas everyone!!

  1269. Mike, I am so glad i found your website. I am a 70 yr old sr citizen and learning all of your planting techniques has put a little zip in my step. I have developed a new hobby and a little income from something i love doing and i learned it all from you, keep it up, you are an inspiration to all of us.

  1271. Hi Mike,
    I tried your program this last year. I didn’t think it could be this easy. I now have over 100 hydrangeas and wegelias growing on my back porch. I’m not selling anything yet but no one in my family has had to buy landscape plants since I started growing plants. .I retire in 3 years and this looks like a great way to make some extra money..

    Thanks!

  1273. Please enter me into your drawing for the Pruning Shears. I could use a new pair!

    Thanks and Merry Christmas!

  1278. Thank you for all the information, inspiration, motivation and connections.
    Proud to be a member.

  1283. Hi McGroarty Clan,
    Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from West Tennessee. I’m already a permanent member, but I could always use a pair of pruners. Stay warm and tell those little critters hello for me.

  1284. Wow this is awesome.
    Just want to say thank you for everything you post and talk about. Looking forward to the membership drawing!

  1286. I grew up on a farm, but I think I have learned more from your posts and blogs than I did on that farm. Now that I am retired I have more time to experiment and to learn new things. I will continue to “grow” regardless of whether I win any of the prizes!

  1289. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I have learned so much. My plants are my therapy!
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
    Rhonda Boone

  1292. I enjoy your website and email. I regularly check out plants to see how to deadhead different plants
    A pair of those shears would be fantastic for that!

  1294. Thank you for entering my name into the drawing. I wanted to know how I can take a cutting from a pineapple pear tree and root it. Is it possible?

  1295. Mike,
    Your knowledge/advice has been a blessing to so many. We cannot thank you enough for sharing with us.

  1296. I could really use the pruning shears too. Thanks for the opportunity to win. I love your website and right now, I love your fabulous dirt farmer fudge recipe. 😎

  1297. Every time I see a donkey, believe it or not, it reminds me of my childhood. I grew us with the nickname Jack, though I am a female, short for, well you know. I wish I had a fraction of the talent you have with growing plants. I enjoy reading your posts and have learned a lot. Thank You for sharing your talent. I am no longer able to perform my duties as a nurse so I have taken up gardening. Your advice is invaluable.

  1299. Thanks for all your great advise Mike. Merry Christmas to you and your family, and to all of your ever-growing gardening family (pun intended)!! 🙂 Best wishes, Ken

  1300. We really appreciated meeting you when we went through Ohio on the way to our son’s in KY a year and a half ago. Would appreciate some information on what bushes are good in upstate NY for landscaping in front of a house. Would have to be deer resistant and something that stays rather small. We grow our own seedlings for our garden and can’t wait to get our hands into the dirt in the springtime. Thank you for all your information. We enjoy your emails. Have a nice Christmas and new year.

  1303. Hi Mike….Merry Christmas from Nebraska. We had the pleasure of meeting you last year on our drive through Ohio. Keep up the good work…and yes, you keep me inspired. Best wishes to the family and your furry friends.

  1305. I always go to your site for info on how to plant prune and root my plants. I don’t do sales because of time restraint (retired) and travel a lot. Your site is a godsend for DIY projects. Thank you for all you do to help people like me.

  1309. I have enjoyed so many of your great articles that pertain to our zone, you always come up with so many great ideas.

  1314. Mike,

    The information you give on your post is so useful and the Donkeys are a hoot.
    The Private members area membership would be a great way to start the new
    year. Even the pruning shears would be nice.
    Thank you and your family for for sharing your knowledge with us. A Merry
    Christmas and a blessed New Years to everyone at your nursery.

  1316. Thanks for all of the valuable information. Trying to start fresh with my son after a divorce and he wants to start sa new home with me. This type of learning really make his eyes light up and make us have hope

  1317. I have not read in a while, and just gleaming your email….I had forgotten how neat your info is!
    Please enter me in the contest…and have a very MERRY CHRISTmas and a safe and Happy New Year!!!

  1318. Hi Mike….Merry Christmas from Nebraska! I enjoyed meeting you last year on our trip through Ohio. Keep up the good work that you do. And yes, you do keep me inspired. Best wishes to the family and your furry friends!

  1322. Have gathered many ideas and suggestions on growing of our roses of which we have 65 at last count and actually belong to a rose society. still I was having a problem and sent for mikes booklet and it had great ideas and helped a lot , my wife is a great gardner and horticultural person and we work side by side and this keeps us fit and our marriage together

  1326. Thank you Mike for an opportunity to win the membership I have wanted fir several years but been unable to afford.

  1327. In Florida we can’t grow most of the plants you talk about because it’s so hot & humid! Unless you have a special trick to use to grow lilacs down here I would love forever!

  1329. Love your videos especially when you have the donkeys in them. I’m always inspired by your enthusiasm for gardening…very contagious!!
    Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family?

  1331. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All. Looking forward to getting started in the new year and will have all my permits and licenses by spring.

  1332. Mike, it’s always a joy to see your updates in my email inbox. thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  1340. I am very much a beginner and thank you for the advice on pruning things back for the winter. We’ll see if the mums survive to flourish next year! Happy Holidays!

  1341. Merry Christmas! I am a member of bygrowers it has been great! I have learned so much, everyone is helpful . The memberships will be a blessing to the winners! I placed my first two orders this week and am looking forward to getting licensed , in the New Year. THANK YOU, Mike and family! You are extremely generous, Your story, your e-mails and videos are all so helpful, you share your life (successes and failures) with anyone that reads, watches and listens. Gods Blessingsover you and your family.

  1344. Thanks for all your Email advice !
    I enjoy your comments and other folks questions.
    Please enter me for the pruning shears and the
    membership.

    Thanks,
    Steve Draper

  1348. Mike,

    Thank you for all your wonderful articles.

    Please enter me in the drawing.

    Thank you.

    Doug

  1349. Your frequent email messages inspire me and frequently surprise me. I appreciate you easy to understand instructions and obvious desire to help others. Keep up your good work!
    Merry Christmas and best wishes of good health, joy and peace for the coming years.

  1351. My daughter would faint with delight if she was a winner in your contest. She is currently in winter gardening withdrawal and will be back outside as soon as the snow melts..

  1352. Merry Christmas Mike and family.. Hope you have a great holiday and thank you for all your inspiring words of wisdom…

  1354. Happy Holidays to Mike & Clan and to all of you who keep Mike’s fingers worn-down to stumps writing posts and managing his informative sites.

    The prizes are great, but I’m a winner every time that you post something. It just keeps me going.

    Let’s have some fun in 2017, and by all means, everyone needs get those hardwood cuttings done now!

  1355. Mike,
    I love reading your stories about your donkeys and your gardening exploits. Please enter me in your drawing! I still work full time but I’ve gardened all my life. At 66 I dream of retiring but I will need to continue to earn a living. I live in Austin, Texas so I garden all year long.
    Joy

  1357. Your site and emails have been a huge blessing to me this past year. Thank you for sharing so generously! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

  1358. I’ve read where the Law of Living is Giving. Your frequent emails continue to inspire and surprise me. Keep up your good work. I wish for you and yours a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and years ahead peace, and good health.
    P.S. I love your photos of family and pets.

  1359. Dear Mike: Really enjoy all your helpful information…. Merry Christmas and a Healthy 2017….

  1361. Thank you for all your expert advice it has been a real help. I would love the chance to win a pair of pruning shears. Thank you and Merry Christmas 🙂

  1362. The seasoned guidance you give for free, let alone your freely accessible back-list, is worth more by itself than any “course” or blog out there. Long may you and your two wooly farmers wave. Best of success in 2017, Mike. You are becoming an icon.

  1367. Mike I would like to thank you for all the advise I have found on your site My wife and I have started are Perennial farm as full time now and I have found many helpful tips from you. So thanks again Have a wonderful holiday season .But most importantly keep growing.

  1368. Thank you for all you great information about gardening. I live in Victoria, BC, Canada, so some of what you go through is different from what I do, as far as location goes. I do appreciate all your advice.

  1370. I am so excited I found your website. I have been tinkering in my yard for years. I have planted bushes and shrubs and am interested in propagating a verbernum that some how has snapped of at the ground level. While looking on line for information I found your web site and couldn’t put my iPad down, I fell asleep exploring so many options, and getting ideas. I hope to win one of your offers, the membership sounds fantastic. Thank you for all the information!

  1372. mike, Had a wonderful year at the nursery. the Good blesses me and my family and I hope everyone in the growers assn has a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Note: Always think positive.

  1376. Please……I have tried to win many times. I would like to start the new year right. My husband tried really hard to provide.
    Please and thank you.

  1378. Mike, what a beautiful birthday present the shears would be for me. I will be 82 on 1\9\17 and my yard is not landscaped- just find a space and enter any kind of plant-they are all beautiful-when I was a child and we sharecropped, we moved the flower pots with the little furniture that we had-God has given me a talent for growing beautiful flowers-I do not sell them-I share them-anyway-I am a winner in God’s eyes-maybe you can make someone else happy. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to cheer you on.

  1380. I’ve enjoyed fooling with plants all my life. I enjoy rooting cuttings and have tried my hand at grafting. Love your tips and would love a chance to win the pruning shears or a permanent membership….Thanks!

  1382. Mike,

    I so enjoy the information you give out and always look forward to your emails. I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

  1383. I love to read your posts! Thanks to you we successfully trimmed and propagated babies from our very old grape plant this year!!

  1385. I”d like to be entered in the drawings for the pruning shears as well as the membership to your web site.

    Thanks in advance!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    Robert Counterman

  1388. I love Concord grapes! I would like to grow a few near Oneida Lake, N Y next spring. I am not much of a gardener but I can learn!

  1390. Merry Christmas to all the McGroartys! May the joy of the season continue through 2017, the numerological year of New Beginnings!

  1391. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, your family and (of course) the donkeys! Or do you include them as family?

    I love all of the very valuable FREE information you give, so if I’m lucky enough to win any of the above, I’ll consider it a late Christmas Gift.

    Thanks so much – ALWAYS

  1392. Please pick me ! I’m trying to get started rooting cuttings we will see how well I have followed instructions.

  1393. Been following your site for 4 yrs. Love all your helpful hints.I am no longer a plant mass murderer! LOL!

  1394. Merry Christmas everyone. Been using the same pruning sheers for many years and they are getting a little dull. I, too, could use a new set. Thank you, Mike, for all the great videos and advice that you so generously share.

  1395. I love your site but will be able to use your site even more when i move to my new home on an acre. More space to do more! Thank you for your great site, and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  1396. Enjoy reading all of your advice. Made many garden mistakes before coming across your site and slowly correcting them. Biggest mistake was 30 years ago using landscape fabric and rock…BAD NEWS! Best thing I did was severely cutting back overgrown shrubs…to the point where I didn’t think they would come back. They are now fuller, better shaped and flowering profusely again.
    Thanks!

  1398. I love to read your emails and posts. You are inspiring! Thanks for all that you do and share!

  1403. Merry Christmas, Mike! Thank you for all that you do. I’ve really appreciated all of the great articles, pictures and videos over the years!

  1405. I would love to receive such a gift. If it’s as good as you say, I would be willing to pay for membership for someone else after a test drive and using the program making money.

  1412. Hi MIke,
    I just retired due to some health problems. But I hope my health can improve so I can get back into gardening. Love your idea of a home business.

  1415. Mike,
    I have to confess…after running our own nursery and landscaping business for ten years, and constantly trying and learning as much as possible, we still look forward to your posts. You’ve given us new ideas, corrected a lot of our ideas, helped us through some “down” times, and been a constant source of info that we freely gave (and give) out to our customers and friends.
    Sadly, we had to close our retail nursery this past year, but we’re still planting, taking cuttings, cross-pollinating, starting things (TONS of things) from seed, and looking for better ways to do what humans have been doing since the beginning. You help. Not just us, but everyone who visits your site.
    We wish you a Merry and Happy Christmas, and hope that the New Year is the best year ever.
    Thank you.
    Paul and LouAnn in Missouri

  1416. At 77 years of age, I’m still hustling up my landscape and garden. Planted 10 new trees, moved 6 larger burning bushes, and resculpted berms, adding 25 cubic yards of soil this last season. I expect to add another 10 come spring, though I’m feeling a bit slower every new year.
    I read all of your emails, and watch every film clip, Mike, and enjoy seeing your mini livestock in them.
    You’re a great wealth of info, I wish you and yours a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous Christmas Season and New Year.
    Thanks for all you do!
    Art

  1418. Have been lurking for some time and will be trying some of your techniques this winter. Thanks for helping me get started.

  1423. I am already a permanent member, but I wouldn’t mind being enteted for the shears. Merry Christmas.

  1428. Thank you for all your timely advice!

    We’ve just had a good hard freeze, so I’m going to celebrate the Winter Solstice by sticking a bunch of hardwood cuttings in big pots.

    Celebrate the lengthening days!

  1431. Hi! I get your news letter all the time. I am an avid amateur gardener and I love your tips and advice! My name is Karina and I live in Michigan so we have a very diverse climate. I would love the chance to check out your membership.

  1432. Thank you for all the emails you have sent me over the years. You are so knowledgeable and get so much information from you about gardening, etc.’
    Would love to win a pair of pruning shears.

    Wishing you and your family a Blessed Christmas and a good and healthy New Year

  1433. Here in the south, gulf coast Mississippi, we can usually grow year round. Your site helps me increase my growth in my garden. Thanks for the help.

  1437. Love your website, your regular inspiring emails,, and your love of gardening and people and the donkeys!!!

    Thanks Mike. I hope you choose my name! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
    Nancy Jo

  1438. I would love to win a membership! We have 2 rescue donkeys, along with a young mule. One is a mini and the other is a mammoth,. The little guy is definitely the boss! They are such a joy.

  1439. You R My Gardening Hero Mike, U bless me with all kinds of free articles that R worth a lot of money and time, Thank you. You even give me/us an awesome scrumptious, Low Calorie (lol) Fudge recipe How can anyone beat that Mike? No one can.. I totally LOVE those donkies. They are so beautiful and Precious. H+Give them big hugs and kisses from me.

    We and your family are blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for all You do for us.

    The Membership is worth more that what you charge for it.
    .Pruning shears are worth theri wight plus some in Gold.

    Thank you again for this awesome Give Away.

    Hugs, blessings and a Merry Christmas to you and your family

    Geri

  1441. Thank You for all the e-mails you have sent me over the years. Your so knowledgeable and appreciate all the information about gardening etc..
    Would love to win the pruning Shears.
    Wishing you and your family a Blessed Christmas and a good and Healthy New ‘Year.

  1442. Hey Mike,
    I was just thinking last year I needed some pruning shears, so that would be great if I won them and did not have to buy them. And if I won them, that would take care of the problem of standing in front of the rack trying to figure out which ones are the best since you can vouch for them because you use them..

    Merry Christmas!
    Dorothy Roush

  1443. Disabled 62 year old vet would like the membership to ha e somthing to with sare time. My cuttings last year. Really enjoy doing this.

  1445. Merry Christmas! Going to try sticking cuttings this week. Thank you for all your encouragement and simple to understand instructions!

  1447. I would love to win either prize, but especially the membership. I have the room plant my garden every year along with growing different types of plants. It would be great to learn how to make money from it to help myself and animal rescue organizations!

  1449. It is always great reading Mike’s tips and advice. Learning from someone who does what he does well is a real treat.

  1450. You have taught me many things about planting, pruning, gardening, etc., etc. I always look forward to your emails and always save them for future reference.

  1451. Thanks for all the information and helpful ideas on how growing plants can help make you money. Grow money like growing plants!

    Merry Christmas

  1452. Thanks for all the great advice and stories this year, Mike. Always look forward to your emails.

    Merry Christmas to all.

  1454. Since Jan. 3rd is my birthday, I would be happy to accept a gift from you, Mike.

    P..S. I love how you love your donkeys. It shows us how big and warm your heart is.

  1456. I plan on 2017 being a year that I do things. Growing my own plants, and plants for sale is the #1 things on the list.

  1457. I’d love to be entered in the drawing. Thanks for the opportunity. Merry Christmas to you, Mike!

  1459. I would like to be entered into your generous giveaways.I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

  1460. Mike u have not only touched many ppls lives, but have shown many ppl, myself included, a new way to b creative and profitable just by enjoying growing plants.

    Thank u n Merry Christmas to u n your family

  1461. Hi Mike! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours, as well as all our members and their pets!

  1464. Hi Mike. I have learned so much from your site. There is a lot of information out there on many different plant sites. I tend to follow your’s closer due to your passion and knowledge on so many different topics. You haven’t steered me wrong yet. Besides, you are the only one with a cute donkey. I just love him.

  1465. I always look forward to your shares experiences and stories. You such an encouragement to me, a try-to-do-better grdener

  1466. We have been working on getting our area fenced in (heavy deer populations) and set up for our cutting business this year and are finally ready to get going. A membership would sure mean a lot to us – we had to discontinue last year due to family circumstances beyond our control. Thank you for sharing all of the free information that you do – it is a lifeline for so many people!

  1468. I enjoy reading about different methods of growing and propagating plants and even like watching the videos with the donkeys.

  1472. I recently moved to a 5 acre lot that has been neglected for years and is overgrown with wild blackberry vines, Nandinas that send runners everywere, lariope that grows everywhere I don’t want it and can’t be killed with Roundup, English ivy and about seven other kinds of invasive weeds. I am desperate for help and you are the one to give that to me! I LOVE your emails.

  1473. Mike, I’ve finally landed in the Pacific Northwest and am looking forward to learning
    about plant specifics and the bounty I can grow here, for pleasure and business.
    I’d love to finally have a membership to your valuable wealth of information.

    Merry Christmas!

  1475. Mike,

    Thanks for all you and your family in providing this e-mail tricks, tips and suggestions. I have purchased one of your primer books about a year or two ago. My focus for 2017 is going to be fruits and vegetables. Presently, I have 11 various types of fruit trees. I want to expand into vegetables and wanted know if your programs works for fruit trees and vegetables. I know vegetables are usually short-term during the spring – summer months but I want to expand to into vegetables and eventually a year-round herb garden. We have great potential in my part of the state. Look forward to your feedback. I’m in Zone 7-8.

  1476. I really enjoy your articles. Reading them I can sense desire to teach others. I hope to have a small nursey up and going next year. Count me in on the drawing! Thanks

  1477. Mike, I recently moved to a 5 acre country property that has been overgrown with wild blackberries, English ivy, wild strawberries, and several other invasive weeds that I can’t identify! I spent three months just pulling this stuff out until I have an area to plant, and I need all the help I can get. I transplanted from Missouri, and am not at all accustomed to working in southern clay. I have no one to help or guide me, but I was able to plant several roses that thrived this past summer. As far as anything else, my only success was the Elephant Ears I brought from Missouri, which were huge here. I want hydrangeas, bridal veil spireas butterfly bushes, lilies of all kinds, and Japanese maples. I’ve never had to work in shade before, so dealing with clay and shade is a huge challenge!

  1479. I really appreciate your sharing your valuable knowledge with us. I have space in my yard and would like to try to beautify my world. Thank you.

  1481. Oh Mike, I so enjoy all the emails filled with tips and tricks on video. I would love to be able to win a pair of these great pruners. I have seen you use these and they are by far, better than any I have. Altho, the ultimate Win would certainly be one of the 2 Free Memberships!! You’re the best!
    Thanks again for all the advice you share.

  1482. Sure do enjoy reading your posts and watching your videos!! And sure could use a new pair of shears! My son keeps taking mine!

  1484. Mike I appreciate all your advise. I am selling my house and will need lots of cutting soon. Putting house on the market in February. Leaving some great stuff. Please enter me into the contest.

  1485. Thank you, Mike! I am absolutely gobsmacked at how much information you provide and how amazingly confident I am becoming with your guidance. I mean, who knew? Such great information-really, thank you so much. Blessings to you and yours.

  1486. Happy Holidays to you and your family Mike…

    Love your gardening site…and thanks for all the help
    and tips…you’re the best!

  1489. Looking forward to “firing up” your new automatic mist system next spring. I built a “sand bed” that is big enough for 6500 cuttings @ 1×1″. It’s next to the 16 x16′ greenhouse I built from free used lumber, free used power poles, and other Craigslist materials for about $1500. I also have built (8) 30′ long raised beds out of concrete blocks. A Private Members Area membership would dovetail nicely with my new retiree startup business.

  1490. Well, here it is the first day of Winter and I’m thinking about the garden more than what comes under the tree in four days. Thank You for being an inspiration and wish you and your’s a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

    Thank You!!!

  1491. Hey Mike, merry Christmas. I am following your book I purchased a while ago, working very well for me and learnt a lot from it.

  1493. I’m interested in information about reclaiming domestic grape vines that have “gone wild.” I live in eastern South Carolina and the woods on my property are loaded with wild grapes that bear heavily and reliably, but are climbing up into the trees. I’ve traced back to the original (HUGE) main roots, but am unsure how far back I can trim them without killing them.

  1496. Your wealth of knowledge and willingness to share and encourage everyone at all levels is commendable!!!

  1498. I love your website. I am rooting some rosebushes using your directions. Will be excited for them to take root.

  1499. Mike, thank you for giving me a place to put my gardening interest. propagation is fun for me .many of the plants in my yard come from propagation, you could say I’m cheap gardener.. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours. Kathryn.

  1500. I bought a pair of corona pruning shears but they have a different blade profile. Is the straight scissor like the best for cuttings?

  1501. I’m a single, unemployed grandma living in Converse, TX. I’ve zero income and am trying to learn all I can about growing/raising my own food. I need all the help I can get and a permanent membership would be awesome. I don’t know how I’m going to make it beyond the new year without a job. I do have a bit of a green thumb but nothing spectacular.

    If there’s anyone in the NE San Antonio/Converse/Universal City/Live Oak/Cibolo/Schertz-Selma area that loves to garden, I’d love to learn from you and maybe trade cuttings. I also have a little worm far (gave my big worm farm to my daughter and grandsons). They like to fish.

    Please enter me into your drawing.

  1504. Your wealth of knowledge and willingness to share and encourage everyone at all levels is commendable!!!
    By all means keep inspiring!

  1508. I love my e-mails from you. I have learned a lot from them. I check out every thing you post.

  1513. Mike,
    I look forward to your weekly e mails, so much info. Have you ever thought about allowing a volunteer apprentice to work with you for a week ? A drawing for a chance?
    Thanks for the info.
    Danny

  1514. I’ve decided to propagate some of my roses the two different ways you talked about recently. I’m excited to see how they turn out. I enjoy all the information you give us on your website. Thanks!

  1520. First of all, merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Thank you for offering us a chance to win some good stuff for the new year.
    I hope I win but if not I think it’s time to for me to try the Backyard Gardeners’ private members area for a month. It’s a good price for something I’ve put off too long.
    I really appreciate the informative email and publications you’ve sent through the years.

  1524. I so enjoy everything you send to us, your faithful followers! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. May blessings be showered upon you!

  1526. I enjoyed visiting your nursery last fall. I have enjoyed working with all of the plants that I got from there and look forward to having the time to do more..

    Thanks for all the helpful materials you put out.

  1527. Merry Christmas Mike to you and yours. I have one question: Is it true that curly willow root cuttings put in water, will enrich the water as it roots and the water can be used on other plants as a nutrient?

    I’m 70 yrs old, I live on SS and it’s meager. I’m in senior subsidy housing aka Apt, in a senior complex it would be ok but I can’t have a garden and there are a lot of OLD people around me! lol
    I’m moving in April to NC and hope to find a suitable sm. house or cabin to rent so I have space for my organic garden once again, I’m a vegetarian and I also eat some flowers that are quite tasty on salads. I love plants and trees, I’m hoping to find a place just out of town for the quiet.
    It would mean the world to me to have a chance to join for free. My second husband of only 3 yrs. robbed me of my retirement and was abusive. I left him at 61 yrs old.
    Now I’m 70 none will hire a retired 70 yr, old pediatric surgeon. It’s either age or my education they object to, one or the other, However I have a green thumb and I have no idea of how many seed sprouts I’ve tossed away, thousands over the yrs. I know I can sell and would like to do that to keep me occupied,

    So I won’t rob a bank or get a senior gang together to beat up on young punks, lol So I’m so pleased to enter this contest. Thank you for all of your info, over the yrs, and also for this opportunity once again to become a member for free. Thank you. Doc

  1528. Hi Mike, I would like to say that since joining and receiving your newsletter I have learned a lot of great things and look forward to learning a lot more.

  1529. I am already a member of your Backyard Growers, So the more information I can get the better my chances of being successful. Thanks for all your posts and e-mails they are very helpful to me. I hope you have a Merry Christmas & a Happy & Prosperous New Year.

  1530. Hello Mke!
    I love your website and enjoy reading about all that you have to say about gardening and starting a business.
    I would love to enter both of your giveaways for the shears and the membership.

  1531. Another great contest Mike!
    Thanks for what you do and all the best to you and your family all year long.

  1532. I anticipate your emails with great delight. I have learned so much. Would love new pruning shears but would love to be a member of this club; Thank you for all that you do.

  1534. Hi, Mike. Absolutely love your site. I’d love a membership but just can’t afford it on my very limited disability income. I’m just starting to get into propagation. The whole idea fascinates me. A permanent membership would help supplement my meager income, and in fact could be life-changing. Maybe you’ll draw my name from the hat!!!

    Thanks for the opportunity!

    Have a glorious Christmas and a most prosperous new year!

  1535. We enjoy your helpful advice to the gardener. My husband always makes it a point to read you posts. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  1536. Cannot thank you enough for your generosity in sharing free gardening knowledge, of course the Donkey pic’s keeps it all light as well.

  1538. Hi Mike, how are you? And the fam? I hope all is well.

    What’s the best way for a newbie to get started growing their own food?

    Thanks for all the lessons and inspiration.

    God bless,
    Marie

  1539. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holiday’s everyone! I’m a intermediate gardener due to a disability. However, as much as I depend on help from my family, gardening has kept me positive, mobile (as much as I can be mobile, and sane. I love visiting your site and can’t wait till spring to buy some of your lovely plants. I learn so much from their community and will continue to do so moving forward. Good luck to all, and again..Happy Holiday’s!

    Linda Grant
    Roselle, Il.
    Zone 5

  1542. I’m trying my hand at pruning Rose Bushes. Not to confident yet. Hope the ones I have which we’re doing pretty well, will make it through the South Dakota winter?
    I enjoy all of your lessons. Thank you

  1544. Love your site and appreciate all your wonderful advice. And thanks for the encouragement to get this thing going!!!!

  1545. I’m going to find a way to get into that private area, one way or another. Hopefully, this is the way. Love your articles for years now.

  1546. THANK YOU again Mike!
    Your advice is invaluable. Every time I need help
    I know I can find the answer from you, Thanks again!

  1551. Thank you for your generosity! It is fun and helpful to check out your emails.

    Christmas blessings from the Pacific Northwest!

    Marian Hinds

  1552. Looked back as suggested and I have a yard full of plants that weren’t there 12 months ago. A new pair of shears would come in very handy next year! Merry Christmas to you and yours Mike and to all the members too.

  1554. Still trying after all these years to win into your biz family. Hope this will be the year I am blessed.

  1555. Enjoy and use ideas from your gardening comments. I have ordered some materials. Everything is of exceptionally good quality. Thank you for all the work and effort to help me.

  1557. I enjoy reading your email and posts (as often as my limited free time allows).

    Merry Christmas and Happy new year to you and your family!

  1558. Always thankful for what you do. May you a d your family be blessed always.

    Richard von Burg

  1559. I enjoy reading every article you write. I’ve gathered so much worthwhile information. I have so many of your articles in my bookmark section and refer to them often. Living in Georgia, I sometimes have to revamp the advice a bit.
    Thank you and have a Merry Christmas.

  1561. hi mike, a very merry christmas and a happy healthy prosperous new year to you and your family and finnegan

  1563. I am a single mom raising two little kids on 2.5 acres in the desert. Your emails are like a glimpse into a far off dream for me. The idea of someday having a business based off using the land and passing it to my kids instead of the work I am doing now, gives me hope.

  1564. Thanks for what you do.Enter me in the drawing..Merry Christmas and may God bless you and yours….
    ..

  1566. mike– i have followed your posts for years now, and really enjoy them and the videos. i have started to root some varigated wiegelia this fall [1st try] but haven’t tried anything more ambitious yet. please keep the information coming! thanks!

    also, please enter my name in your drawings.

    best to you always,
    kitty m.

  1569. I hope to visit your nursery this year. I’ve wanted to for a long time. We’re from Lorain. I love all your helpful advice. Thank you so much!

  1570. Mike,

    I love all the info you provide for plants & the plans for the tool shed too! I’m hoping to get organized this next year (seriously this time!) & hoping to start the propagation process. I have the pink Smoke Bush that drastically needs pruning-could I do cuttings in these next few months? Would love to visit your “nursery” some time also (I’m on the west side of the Cleveland area).

    Please enter me in your drawings & may your family have a wonderful Christmas & New Year!

    Thanks again for all the info you give us!

  1572. I love your site and have learned so much, thanks for all the info.
    What a great give away!
    Merry Christmas!

  1573. Wow! I just read a lot of these comments and have realized how much more information is available from you and your website. I am so impressed!

  1576. Hi Mike,
    I truly enjoy your ideas and wit. You’re down-to-earth style is refreshing. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Donna LeBlanc

  1578. I always enjoy this pose. It has helped me and improved my gardening and landscape. Thank you for your valuable experience and insight.

  1581. Today being the shortest day of the year means it’s all downhill from here. Thanks Mike for all you do.

  1582. I always enjoy reading the post but haven’t started any type of business with it. It has improved my gardening and landscape though. Maybe 2017 will be my year to take the plunge. Thanks for all of your valuable insight and experience.
    Bill

  1583. For a brief moment I thought you were hugging a moose. Ran into a couple of siblings today on my walk with the dogs. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and thanks for all the great information!
    Diane Ekstrom

  1586. What a generous offer. Thank you for the opportunity you give many to work at something they love.

  1587. Hello Mike, Merry Christmas to you and yours. I’ve followed you for many yrs. and feel I’ve been blessed with all you have to contribute to my knowledge. I’m 70 yrs old in good shape and can pretty much do what young people can do. However no one will hire me at my age, So I live on SS alone and it’s meager to say the least. Not in the my future will I ever have enough to pay for your club. I can’t even get a car with excellent credit rating. So I would be thrilled to death to get a membership, I’m a retired pediatric surgeon, I repaired cleft palates and hare lips on babies. My second marriage was abusive and I lost all to him in three yrs, I left at 61, that’s why I don’t have retirement he gambled it away. It was a large retirement, gone in less than 3 yrs. So I scrape by. I’m in public senior subsidy housing and soon in April I’m transferring to NC to stay for the rest of my life. I hope to find a small house or cabin to live in as I’m a vegetarian and miss my organic gardens. I know I could sell plants as I’m still ambitious. And I have a question as well. Is it true that curly willow roots set in water can put a strong and good nutrient into the water that the curly willow clippings set in, So it can be used for other plants as well? Thank you, Sandra or aka Doc.

  1588. Merry Christmas to everyone. A nice after Christmas present would be a membership. Thanks

  1589. I feel so guilty. I’m getting all this great free info and tips even tho I haven’t quite gotten the $$ together for a basic membership. Very generous I must say. Thank you so much, Mike!!

  1590. Mike, thanks for sharing so many great ideas! I have Japanese Maples in my yard thanks to you. This past year I rooted a bunch of Nikko Blue Hydrangeas, and will plant them on a steep slope come spring, also thanks to your advice.

    Merry Christmas to you and your whole family!

  1592. Mike, you always deliver the most information that we all need for everything gardening. Please sign me up for the clippers!

  1593. I found your site a few yrs ago, Them cut stims work better than seed. I use them when ever i can just for my own use.

  1594. I have learned a lot of useful information. I have done some starting projects and have bought some trees and plants he highlights. A set of these pruning shears would be most welcome.

  1595. Have a Merry Christmas Mike. Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  1596. I am looking for something to add to my low income and am intrigued by the prospect of your back yard nursery. I appreciat the opportunity to add my name to your list of candidates who might win it for free. My husband has been out of a job for 5 years, almost 6 years and we live below the poverty level. Thanks for thinking of those not as fortunate as you!! Merry Christmas to you and yours:)
    Madge

  1598. Thank you for this most generous give away. I enjoy reading your truly user friendly gardening hints.

  1599. We would love to be a member. We have enjoyed reading all the informative articles. We have a lot of plants and cuttings that maybe of interest.

    Thank you and HAPPY HOLIDAYS

  1601. If i actually won the membership it really would be a dream come true! I’ve dreamed for awhile now of having my own small plant nursery business and just this summer took the leap and started some cuttings. For the last several years I’ve just started vegetable plants every year and sold them and decided this summer to take a step into expanding into the shrubs and such. Actually had a decent amount of success for a first try! Like a lot of others I would love to purchase a membership but money is very tight. I’m actually working on expanding into a bigger greenhouse for my vegetable plants, the little 6′ x 8′ just isn’t big enough anymore, and every spare dollar I get goes into it. As I said when I started the post it truly would be a dream come true so I’m going to cross my fingers and hope its my time to be chosen.

  1603. Have been propagating plants since the 70’s and still manage to learn something new from your email’s.
    Dennis

  1604. My leaving a comment
    I’ve left a comment
    Please pick my comment, this is for my wife and she would absolutely fall out for this, so….PLEASE lol

  1606. Merry Christmas to you and yours Mike and Thank you for all that you do – great stuff !
    Our donkey’s name was Honkey – he was an adopted donkey and we had him for many years = lots of fun, stubborn as all get out and noisy in the winter if you didn’t get him his breakfast on time 🙂

  1608. Thanks for all the tips throughout the year. The info is always helpful. And…those pruning shears would be even more helpful.

  1612. Trying hard to make this my twilight career……free membership would be a heck of a kick start.

    P.S. We have 6 mini-donkeys, keep the pics coming!

  1613. recently moved to Arizona and trying to garden there, looking for all the help I can get!

  1614. Mike,
    Your knowledge and guidance has saved me hours of stress and anxiety.
    Thank You for Sharing All You Do!

  1620. Hi Mike, Just wanted to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas. I appreciate all the information you give out to us amateurs!! Thanks so much!! Oh, Happy New Year too!!

  1621. I was just telling my husband I could use a new pair of pruning shears…but I don’t think he’ll remember, it would sure be nice to win some!@

  1622. I’m 83 and I had a bad year in my garden because of our disgusting weather. I lost my strawberry plants and hope to find some to replace them this spring. .Rain (too much) of it caused a lot of lost crops. I try to raise enough vegetables to sell at Farmers Market. I rely a lot on your information all season. Thanks a lot. I hope to win in your contest.

  1625. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
    Thank you for all the infomation you have shared, I have always enjoyed your emails.

  1628. Now that I have finally gotten back in a house (after unexpectedly having to leave) I’m hoping to get back into gardening and propagating!

  1630. My husband passed away this past March. I moved from my home of 47 years to be near my son. I joined your group so I could take some cuttings from my flowers and hopefully plant them at my new home. My new place sits on an acre of land. My previous home sat on 25 acres. So you see…it is a big adjustment for me. I’m reading all your emails and making notes and actually trying to root some things. I appreciate you and I love this site. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!!!

  1632. Mike…you give us so much during the year, and now you finish the year giving us even more…
    many thanks from all of us

    dan

  1633. Amazing what you can do.. you never cease to amaze.. thanks for all the ideas!!! and Miss Kim lilacs are the best.. don’t get too big and never get leggy… and they thrive at our WV cabin property on top of a mountain w/ no care whatsoever!!

  1635. Love your emails, I’ve learned a lot from you! Please enter me in both drawings, and thank you for having the contest! Merry Christmas!

  1636. Interesting site. I will be retiring soon and then perhaps I will have the time to really explore it. Are there any from Texas?

  1637. Entering your contest, Mike. Thanks for all your past help with cuttings. Looking forward to more of your posts. Thank you…

  1638. Mike,
    Always love to see what the donkeys are up to. Wish I could have some animals like that. Maybe in the future if I get some land. Really appreciate all the info you share. Very helpful. Thanks

  1640. Pick me! Pick me! Only days before Christmas, and we still have open sea water. None of the elders can recall seeing or hearing about anything like this. Sea ice is usually feet thick by end of October. Really odd weather.

  1643. it would be great to win one of these prizes so we can start our journey into a gardening business..

  1646. Thanks for all the helpful information. I’m getting started as a grower for much less money than expected.

  1648. I enjoy all your postings. Great website! Great information! Made some cuttings from my Fig Tree and Black Lace shrub today.

    Thanks, from Vancouver Island.

    .

  1650. Growing Red Raspberries for over 25 years. Still love them fresh and in a Berry cobbler ! mmmmmmmmm GOOD !

  1651. Mike, I enjoy all of your postings and emails. I have spent hours and hours learning and reading everything you have to offer, thank you for everything you do for us. I am amazed at everything I have learned through the BYG’S board.
    Merry Christmas

  1653. Hello Mike
    would like to be considered for you drawings
    Love what you doing
    Roger McNutt
    Portales NM

  1654. Hi Mike, been following you on and off for a few years. I like the way to teach it makes learning easier.
    Our family is looking for a way to start a small business and this would be a great one, especially with the membership. Merry Christmas to all.

  1656. Thanks for running these contests, Mike. You are always thinking of us, and I for one certainly appreciate YOU!
    I love your videos and posts. They help me know what to do. Please keep up the good work.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    Louise in Texas

  1661. Jan 3 is my birthday winning your giveaway would be a wonderful way to celebrate I so enjoy reading your emails your advice is incredible. MERRY CHRISTMAS

  1662. I too, was out of work and joining Mike’s Backyard Group really helped me connect with nature and focus on the beauty surrounding me, instead of wallowing in pity. Great people and great advice.

  1664. Ricky
    Thanks for all the info through out the year.Enjoy the reading and knowledge . Buy the way I have chickens instead of donkeys love them just the same.
    Thanks

  1665. I enjoy your video’s on you tube. I am considering adding Dexter cattle to our place. Not miniature donkeys but not much difference in size. hope they can be as friendly as your donkeys.

  1668. Hi, I do enjoy and salivate over all your posts and information. Really enjoy the donkeys and think they love you just as much as you love them. Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy New Year to you and yours.

  1670. I’ve worked with Hard cuttings but Now I’m working on Semi-Hard
    How often do I water them? Ty

  1673. Getting my nursery license in the new year. Looking forward to starting this new adventure.

  1676. Hi I sent you an e-mail about a local home and garden center going out of business. I would love to go in with someone and work part-time to get a home and garden center going again. I was raised on 60 acres and it was the Best years of my life. God Bless and Merry Christmas LN

  1680. Merry Christmas!
    I love growing plants!
    I follow & learn from your writing. I enjoy sharing this information with others.
    I looking forward to making Dirt Farmer’s Fudge again this year!
    I would love to receive either of your give aways!

  1681. I so enjoy reading your news letters and of course love seeing the donkeys I would love to be able to start a little farm

  1682. Thanks Mike for all the great tips! I look forward to your Emails! Please enter me into the contest!

  1683. I would like to be entered into the two drawings. I also appreciate all of the information that you send out on a regular basis. It is very helpful.

    Thank You

  1684. Thanks Mike for this opportunity to win a membership and the shears. I have been wanting in the membership area for about 5 years. I will eventually get there but it stay’s in the future for now. I have been applying the info you share and see it really is productive. I just have not been able to settle my location to build the business. I love propagating plants especially fruit trees, grapes and berries. My business I am planning for will be a nursery and vineyard.I hope join some Alabama Vineyard groups I have located. I have acquired the land about 6 acres to grow plants and my new home. At the age of 66 years I have 33 types of grapes, 11 types of figs,2 types of persimmons, Rosemary, kiwi, abelia,bush Holly, Tiger lily, sweet bush, and others. Anyway thanks again.

  1686. I just love your site. You give such good advice and they always work. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and the family.

  1689. Total Photosynthetic Assimilation provides energy for
    system maintenance and stability and the
    accumulation of food and fiber.
    The more leaves you have the stronger your life support network.

    Raindrops of water and light pour down, and rivers are streams of light.
    A great love it is that pervades the world.
    Give us grace enough to lift our eyes that this beauty shall not flow by unheeded.

  1690. Mike, may you and your family have a blessed Christmas and continued great success planting and growing in the New Year.

  1692. I rooted some cuttings just as you said and they rooted beautifully. Now I’m nervously waiting for spring to find out if they’re viable. Right now they’re just little sticks. Thanks for your advice and the opportunity to win a great gift!

  1693. We are starting our first garden next year–just retired to 23 acres. Looking forward to all of your advice and helpful tips.

  1695. Hi Mike, Up here in the Northeast it’s now winter and cold, but looking forward to the warmer weather so I can go outside and start using some of your gardening tips and tricks. I always learn something new from you!
    Thanks!

  1697. I enjoy your newsletters and I’ve really become inspired to get my grow on! Thanks, totally enjoy your videos on YouTube also…I’m not sure but I think I’ve watched them all..a few more than once ! Thanks again

  1698. Thanks Mike for sharing all the interesting gardening tips and tricks. Really enjoy receiving your blogs and watching the video clips. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and prosperous and healthy New Year! ps Give the donkeys a hug for me!!

  1699. Thank you Mike for sharing many valuble tips and information that I wasn’t able to find any other place.

    I hope I win a shears!

  1702. I love your advice on pruning fruit trees. I’m 75 and the GARDNER at my daughters house. I could use a good pair of pruners as the fruit trees grow like crazy in our virgin soil.

    I’d welcome anyone to come get overbearing raspberry starts in the spring. They are so yummy.

    [email protected]

  1703. Hey Mike,enjoy the information you give.I’ve used some of it and has helped.I have to keep refering back because I forget THANKS.

  1709. Thanks for all of your helpful information, Mike! I’ve been called a cloning expert based on some simple tips that you have shared with everyone, so my ego thanks you!

  1710. Merry Christmas Mike. I always enjoy reading what you write. I really like when you show how to do things in videos. Thanks for the chance to win the pruning shears or membership.

  1711. I would love to win either, but the Permanent membership would be fantastic!! I have been working on building my backyard nursery…cutting beds, with misting set up done. practicing on many different plants I have. but know I would be able to grow much quicker if I win a membership!!!

    Thank you Mike for openly sharing so much of your knowledge!!

  1713. Thank you Mike for all the great tips you provide for gardening, especially the propagation of plants.

  1714. Mike I’m looking for a tree that will grow in poor sandy soil, in middle Michigan. I want to use it as a wall so the deer can not see me walk in and out.

  1715. I am having so much fun doing this! I am developing the whole thing, slowly, it’s a matter of getting people to know you’re doing it. Love it, though. I have tried to find some of your videos about propagating herbaceous plants, but not much success.

  1718. I retired last year so I’m going to get the nursery up and running this year. I’ve been working towards this project for a number of years and have participated in some of your on line packages, but had to wait until I had more time to jump in!! A membership would be outstanding to receive, but I still like watching your vlogs as I’ve learned a lot from your website. Keep up the good work!!

  1719. You helped my hydrangeas look so beautiful. Love all your information and good
    sense you send all year round!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

  1722. Glad to see al the comments on this drawing post. Great to see the following your Blog has generated over the years. Its been fun and educational and inspiring to follow you. Merry Christmas Mike, wish me luck on the drawing we will all need it.

  1724. Mike,
    Thank you so much for your inspiring stories. I love reading all of them and, truly, wish I knew more to start a part time business when we retire in a few years. We can’t afford a full membership, So winning would be a godsend for our uncertain future.

  1726. Thank you for all your valuable information and tireless spirit. Happy Holidays! May we all take care of the earth that takes care of us!

  1728. Those pruning shears are fabulous !

    Thanks Mike, for all your hard work and maintaining a great site.

    Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.

    ~~KL .

  1731. Shears Cheers The many Years of Tears and Fears are wiped away by the beauty of Beautiful Plants

  1732. Mike, you’re the man! I started propagating last year. Mostly perennials, but also tried my hand at some shrubs. I had mixed results with those, but the point is that doing this has made me very happy…and a couple thousand dollars!

  1735. Hello there,
    Thank you for my chance to win one of your two wonderful prizes. Maybe both!
    Merry Christmas!

  1736. Mike and his comments are so useful. Keep ’em coming.
    Thanks, and happy holidays to you and yours.

  1739. Shears Cheers The many Years of Tears and Fears are wiped away by the beauty We all find in Beautiful Plants

  1740. Hi Mike,

    Merry Christmas and Haappy New Year to you and your family.

    Enjoy your emails – they are interesting and educational. Loved the Fall photos.

  1743. Hey Mike,, Love the videos and written articles. Please keep us informed so we can enjoy gardening again. Thanks for the giveaways. I certainly would not be upset if I got the shears. Best to you and your’s.

  1746. Hi Mike,

    A new business partner and I have a gardening company in Southern Ontario and we’re starting a tree farm this spring!!! There’s a fellow who already has FIVE THOUSAND trees planted and mature (5-10 feet tall!) and we’re going to sell the trees, take over the operation, and start growing our own plants there. I bought your backyard cash machine and the information from that and your website has been awesome. We’d love to win the Christmas Competition!

    Hope you have a good winter break…. Merry Christmas!

    Michael and Matt

  1748. Hi Mike,

    A new business partner and I have a gardening company in Southern Ontario and we’re starting a tree farm this spring!!! There’s a fellow who already has FIVE THOUSAND trees planted and mature (5-10 feet tall!) and we’re going to sell the trees, take over the operation, and start growing our own plants there. I bought your backyard cash machine and the information from that and your website has been awesome. We’d love to win the Christmas Competition!

    Hope you have a good winter break…. Merry Christmas!

    Michael and Matt

  1754. Would love those shears Mike. I bought Fiskar shears twice from Home Depot and was disappointed both times. 🙁 Please make me happy again Mike!! 🙂

  1756. When I discovered your website, Mike, I thought I was in heaven. The help you have given me the past few years has been priceless. I love your attitude. It’s refreshing. I hope to win a spot in your special member’s area as I simply can’t afford to buy it outright. I could give you the -only-on-low-social-security-income speech but I’d rather say “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

  1757. Mike, I would like you to enter me in your contest. And thanks for being so generous with all your knowledge of plants and growth. I have enjoyed all your posts. Merry Christmas!

  1759. Really like all the info here, love growing things and the donkey pics are really fun to see! Happy New Year to everybody!

  1760. Mike Although I’m not in the business of selling, although I’d like to , I’ve used your propagation methods to enhance my property with many beautimous shrubs. Thank you so much for all you do.!!!

  1761. Love your newsletters. Appreciate the garden tips. Would love a free membership. Merry Christmas to everyone there.

  1762. Thank you for the chance to win. I enjoy the information that you share with everyone. Merry Christmas

  1763. Dear Mike,

    We really enjoy your emails and videos; I will say though that the donkeys are much more famous than you (at least in my home)! We learn so much from your books too.

    We harvest our own earthworm castings and we cannot wait to get started with cuttings (both rooted and unrooted). Thanks for the opportunities you give us. Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year to you and yours!

    Respectfully yours,
    Ben Gallegos & Fam.

  1764. Hi Mike,

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

    Enjoy your emails very much – educational and interesting. Loved those Fall photos and movies of your little guys!

    Happy Holidays!

  1766. My last comment didnt post..trying again!! (it was long and full of love but i dont have tine to retype it all) Bottom line…LOVE (And save) everything you send my way and would LOVE to win either of those awesome prizes!!! Thanks Mike!!!!!

  1767. Love all your great advice and instructions. I started selling some of my plants i took from cuttings this summer!

  1769. Mike,

    Thank you for all of your great advice. This past year was a tough one and I didn’t get to do much, but I have read and reread your tips and giggle at the videos. When things are tough you make everything seem possible. Love your donkeys and yellow dog. Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

  1770. Mike: I use a lot of your propagation methods and appreciate them.. Although am not in the business of selling, I have a lot of land/gardens to fill with beautiful shrubs and plants. Thank you so very much for all yiou do!!!

  1772. I liked the article about planting a mango seed. My neighbor has a mango tree growing in his yard here in Bradenton Florida. Lovely tree.

  1773. Hi Mike,

    Love your website and all the info you offer-GREAT JOB!! I never won anything in my life and I always said the only luck I have is knowing that I’m not lucky! I feel lucky enough just finding your website alone. Winning a membership would be a dream come true! Keep up the great job you do making your website my favorite all time website!

  1774. I could sure use the sheers, even though I already have a full membership.

    Appreciate all the help you give, Mike! The donkeys add a nice tough also! We had a donkey at the school I attended in Brazil in the 60’s, called him “Hote”. (As in Donkey Hote). ?

    Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a very Prosperous New Year!

  1775. Hi Mike, we had a hard freeze here (Carolina coast) several nights ago, and I am going to try hardwood cuttings for the first time. Your articles have been very helpful, many thanks! The hardest part for me will be having to wait until Spring to see new growth.

  1777. Thanks Mike for all your tips. Visiting your nursery in on my bucket list – probably not in 2017, but for sure in 2018. Would you please enter me into your contest?

  1780. Hello and Merry Christmas! I am so enjoying your emails and great photos. There is so much pure value and great advice here. thank you and may 2017 be another year of the same kind of wonderful stuff for you.

    Shazzorama

  1781. Hi Mike…
    I have followed you for a long time…Thanks for the chance to win…I enjoy the many articles and great advice…my little mini farm is a blessing for me…I love my garden every year and have learned so many things from you…hope you have a very special Christmas and a wonderful new year…
    God Bless you and your family,
    PJ Miller

  1784. Hi Mike trying to start a nursery business for my retirement really enjoy your emails Merry Christmas ?

  1786. You truly are awesome Mike…SO MUCH VALUE! I only hope I will find more time to devour your information!!! I’ve saved every email because I know how valuable it is!! The pruning shears or the Membership would be THE BEST!!! If I dont win, I will def be trying out your 30 day trial soon!

  1787. I am planning to build a garden trailer similar to yours so I can trailer my push mower and a generator to the far ends of the property. I’m in the pine belt area of Mississippi and have pine straw and pine trees to trim.

  1788. Hello Mike,

    Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas. Big fan of your website.

    Please enter me in your free membership give away.

    David

  1789. I love your stuff, Mike. I live in Az and in a small apt. with NO yard… for now. But have thought about propagating for extra cash for years, based on your web site, info, and kits and patterns etc. Just love it!!!

  1790. Oh Great. . I do a lot of out door work and can always use pruning shears.
    Thank you and enjoy you e-mails.

  1792. Hi Mike, the pics and videos with you and the donkeys are always real enjoyable and the information you provide and the way you present it truly is priceless… Keep up the GREAT WORK man! I’m sure our Lord is very pleased with you and he definitely has every right to be.

    I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for one of those Lifetime Membership but even if I’m not lucky enough to win one I think I’m still coming out ahead…

    Have a great day Mike…
    Jim

  1794. Hi Mike!
    Always enjoy your emails and learning new tips for my backyard nursery! The donkeys also add a nice touch! We had a donkey at the school I attended in the 60’s in Brazil that we called “Hote”. ( as in Donkey- Hote).

    Merry Christmas to all! Thanks for all try do.

  1795. Hey Mike,

    I greatly appreciate all that you do and I want you know that you’ve been a big inspiration to me as my business continues to grow year after year!

    Thank you!!

  1798. Thank you for all the great tips you have provided over the years. I love getting your emails. Yours is one of the first that i open.

    I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

    Take care.

  1799. Hi Mike,
    I’m real envious of the setup you have in Ohio, I know you worked real hard to make your dream come true. I have worked for myself most of my adult life and I know the commitment that it takes,so congrats to you! One day I hope to make it up your place., I hail from Sevierville,TN, very near the wildfires (2 miles),so I’m not far away from you.My garden beds dried up this summer from the drought plus I had rotator cuff surgery and lots of PT,I’m itching to put everything right in 2017. Have a Merry Christmas and Keep On Gardening…
    Regards,
    Pat

  1801. Mike,

    I enjoy receiving your emails. They have been very helpful to me in starting cuttings for my own use and in pruning my grapevines and other fruit trees. Your story about how you started and developed your business is very impressive. I truly appreciate the hard work you put into preparing your videos and passing that information along for free. Your positive attitude and optimism are always a pleasure for me to experience.

    Wayne Nuss

  1802. I love your Finnegan! My husband and I rescued four donkeys from slaughter nearly 11 years ago and they are the lights of our lives- hysterical, loyal, and loving…who could ask for more? We use their manure in our compost pile with great success.

    Everyone needs a donkey…or three?

  1804. I always learn from your emails. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with beginning gardeners. I like trying to make more plants for my yard. Thank you for your generous sharing of tools and tips.

  1805. Happy Holidays Mike. I just want to thank you for sharing all of your knowledge and expertise with us. Over the years I’ve learned so much from you. Please keep up the good work. I’d love it if I won something during the holiday season. That would be great. Thanks.

    Oh and a Happy Healthy New Year to you and your family, friends, and donkeys too.

  1806. I love the information you provide on your website. It encourages me when I working in the garden designing. You have a wealth of information and I thank you for it. Thanks for the opportunity to win a freebie. I hope I win. Merry Christmas to you and you family.

  1808. I have loved your site for years. Thanks for the great advice!
    Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year!
    Lynn

  1810. I always enjoy reading your emails and learn so much. Thank you for being so generous in your sharing of knowledge and tools.

  1811. I am so glad I found your site! Looking at the pictures makes me homesick for Pennsylvania. I have lived out West in Arizona and Colorado for the past 30 years. It is really hard to garden here in Colorado because its so dry. I am reading everything you write so hopefully I will learn something. I’m new to gardening but would love to have flowers everywhere! I planted a bunch of bulbs in October and will be astonished if any of them come up in the spring since I have no idea what I am doing. Your articles are very inspiring! Jan

  1814. Goodness gracious I am learning so much from you and other members. A week or so ago I read so many testimonials and inspirations. It was just what I needed to get of my buns and get busy. Thanks so much.

  1815. I have enjoyed every information you have written If I were not in my 90 years plus I would be in business I love trying everything you post Keep up the good work for all your followers

  1817. I am super passionate about growing plants and I appreciate the opportunity you provide for people to join the membership at no cost.

    -Cheers!

  1818. Hi Mike! Merry Christmas to you and your family! Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year too! I cannot thank you enough for all the valuable information you have shared with us. i have been following you for years! Cannot wait to get into doing this type of business. I feel it is something I will be able to do now that I have a much larger piece of property.

  1819. Love the little yellow dog! Love all your emails! I seldom delete them so after all these years I’ve quite a few. While entering your drawing, I wonder what you think of fig trees in zone 5b. I planted pears last year so verdict still out on those, but I have been successful with apples, if the deer don’t get them first.

  1820. Now that the kids are grown and mostly out of the house, it’s time to get going on my second favorite hobby – gardening. Sorry, my rescue dogs will always occupy favorite spot#1! Thanks for all of the wonderful advice and entertaining videos.

  1821. Merry Christmas Mike,
    I hope you and yours are enjoying the Holidays
    Thank YOU for ALL of your efforts and information.
    I come for the Donkey pics (Please post more) and stay for your Farmer’s Fudge.

    Keep; up the TERRIFIC JOB !

    Thanks again,
    Bill

  1825. Thanks Mike for this opportunity! I appreciate so much your sharing with all of us your knowledge and experience.. I enjoy your videos. Love seeing your grandkids helping & learning. Thanks for sharing your family with us. Merry Christmas to you & your family! And a Happy New Year!

  1828. I have enjoyed your web site, sounds like you really enjoy what you are doing and that is a blessing, keep up the good work .

  1830. Merry Christmas to you and your family and thank you for the opportunity to enter the contest!

  1832. Thanks for offering someone a nice Christmas gift,
    Would love to be entered for a chance to win.

    I have always appreciated your helpful guidance!

  1833. Would love to win a Members Only, membership, but another pair of pruners never hurt! Enjoy your videos and instructions on plant propagation.

  1834. What a wonderful year in the garden thanks to your tutoring. Thank you for you very helpful advice. Now on top a new year. Merry Christmas.

  1837. Mike, Thankyou for the opportunity to become a member. I could put the coronas to good use too. Merry Christmas to you and yours?

  1838. There’s nothing like a good pair of pruning shears! I take a lot of cuttings from my lavender and better ones would be awesome! Also, the membership would be an amazing New Year’s gift!

  1839. A blessed MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and all your family and friend.

    Keep up the wonderful work and news letters of interesting facts that help/

    Longtimer Paul in Gods ocuntry

  1840. Mike,
    Every time I see your picture or a video I am reminded of my grandpa. My grandpa had a farm in Bethel, Ohio that we would go to on weekends. We planted acres and acres of Cana’s. Grandpa always had the dream to supply nurseries with Cana’s,but for some reason he never did. Every year we would plant them and then dig them up and store them until the next year and do it all over again.I plant my own Cana’s these days,but not acres of them.They are one of my favorite plants.

    Thanks for all of the information you share.

  1842. Merry Christmas ??to you Mike and your family. Would love to win the shears and if luck is with me the membership.
    Happy New Year too?
    Thank you,
    Chris

  1844. Love your website. I’ve learned a lot of basic as well as advanced techniques. Have tried a few and they all work. Looking forward to planting sticks to see them grow. Love those donkeys, too.

  1845. I always enjoy your newsletters, they are full of great information. I have used many of your ideas. I would love to enter your drawing. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

  1847. I have learned from your website for years!
    Amazing to see how your business has grown!

    Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year

  1849. What size are the arbovarte trees? Give me an idea how long for them to reach 6 feet so I can have a windbreak?
    Do you ship to Ontario, Canada?
    Walt

  1850. Hey Mike..I have enjoyed your website and i look forward for next year…Merry Christmas…

    Cary in Texas

  1851. I Looked everywhere to find out how to propagate roses because the ones I had planted smell incredible but I couldn’t find them anymore – and then I found your posts and have been hooked ever since. Thank you for all my beautiful roses lining my fence. – and for the ones lining my friend’s driveway and my sister’s deck area and my son’s garden and my neighbor’s entryway etc etc. Thank you!

  1854. I have been reading your posts and had been a member of the Group with a paid membership for many months until I lost my job and could not afford to pay the balance — and I SOOOOO miss not being on the inside. My love of plants extends into the winter season and currently have blooming Ghost Peppers and tomatoes in my house to work with throughout the winter just waiting to plant my seeds to get seedlings for Spring sales. Keep up the very informative and wonderful information, Mike. I would LOVE to win the membership, but even if I don’t, I will always look forward to your informative e-mails and insight. Have a very Merry Christmas and a most Blessed New Year! I raise my trowel to you in salute across the beautiful State of Ohio! (I am in Norton.)

  1859. Merry Christmas ?to you and your family Mike. Please enter me for your fantastic contest. Would love the shears and if luck is with me the membership.
    Happy New Year too! ?
    Chris

  1860. Mike,
    Awesome that you are giving back to your followers. The way you instruct in the videos, using common sense, is by far the best I have crossed yet. Love the donkies.

  1867. I look forward to your weekly videos and posts. I have learned so much and have enjoyed putting your information to use.

  1868. I really enjoy your site. It really is very informative and I appreciate all the posts you put on.

    I look forward to each and every one and want to thank you for doing such a great job and being the good person that you are.

    Have a great Christmas..

    Thanks again

  1872. I love watching the plants I have bought from you mature more and more each year, It is kind of like having many kids but I can leave the house and much cheaper too! So many reasons but we won’t go there I love my kids (2)..Have a Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year!!

  1874. Thank you for this opportunity. I love your newsletters and look forward to them. Winning the shears would just be icing on the cake. Thanks too for all of the valuable tips.

  1876. Mike, so wish that I could talk 1:1 on my deer problems. They are the worst ever this year! My light sensor showed 3 deer working as a team project to use their hooves to scrape the snow off my plastic deer/bird netting and then pulled back the netting to eat underneath. Their prize? Holly! They are supposed to hate holly! How can that be?
    Hope To win your trimmers like I see in your videos. I’ll need them in the spring for sure!

  1878. I have been a reader for some time now .. Just purchased 4 acre in Elkin Nc and will ready to get growing and selling come spring .. Can’t wait

  1879. Love the down-to-Earth stories, and the donkey pictures.
    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !

  1880. Hi Mike, I have really been enjoying all the information you share. My husband enjoys seeing your donkey pic too!

  1882. Mike,

    Thanks for all you have done through the years with this site. Also thanks for the opportunity to win a membership.

    Thanks

  1884. Hi Mike,

    Thank you for teaching me how to make new baby plants!

    You have given me new hope for the farm!

    Thank you so much!

  1886. I love this website and have been following it for many years. I just moved to a 2 acre farm and am retired so maybe this will be my year to propagate!

  1887. On a limited income hence not able tobuy stuff sighs and love all your advice and emails and would love to win a membership . I wish you and yours a very Merry Blessed Christmas .

  1888. Hi Mike,
    I love reading your tips and posts. You have such and endearing, chatty way of conveying information. It makes it fun and easy for everyone! Thanks for doing all that you do to support gardeners at every level!

  1889. Hi Mike, I have just been a reader. just moved a year ago. Have a BIG yard now.

    Thinking a raised garden in the spring. I am84 years young so may not be too active.
    I am sure going to try.

    Thank you for all the good advice.

  1892. I love reading your posts, have learned so much over the years. Thank you for all you share.

    Happy Holidays!

    ~Carla

  1893. Retiring and moved to a small home on a few acres. Can’t wait to get started and currently in design process for my garden area. A membership would be a great help. Happy holidays to all.

  1895. Happy Holidays, Mike! we love your generous advice and offers. Hope to get a chance at membership!!

  1896. Hi Mike,
    I’ve been in the landscape industry for about 30 years. I’ve my own business for the last 10. I have always wanted my own nursery/growing farm. I recently was fortunate enough to buy an old farmhouse on 7 acres! When i started searching around for ways to start i found your website. I bought the “Backyard Cash Machine” book just the other day. Just want to thank you for the inspiration for me to jump right into growing. I look forward to spending more time with my family instead of fighting this Atlanta traffic trying to run my landscape business.
    Thank You and Merry Christmas!

  1897. I already enjoy reading your e-mails and have picked up on several very usable suggestions from them. It would be really nice to get even more insider information from a membership. Also, I am a full time student right now and could use some extra income to help with school cost and regular bills!!!

  1900. Hi Mike,
    My sister and I have really enjoyed being a member. We are starting slow but we are just about ready to start selling some stuff this spring. Thanks for all the instructional info that you and the other members give on the board. Y’all are great!

  1901. Hi Mike, Watched another one of your videos today. I learn something every time I watch one. Thank you.

  1903. With the shortage of shrubs and trees, this site is an excellent source of information on propagation and maintenance. Tell your family and friends about this site and Mike.

  1907. I always enjoy the videos and your advice. And the miniature donkeys!

    Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year.

  1908. Hi Mike, Thank you for all you share! I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

    Julia

  1909. Hi Mike,

    I would love to be entered for the drawing for the shears but also the Membership! It would be awesome. Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

  1910. Mike, we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for all of the information you make available to all of us.

  1911. Finnegan, tell that guy in the photo with you to be sure and get some good food for Christmas. Maybe some nice barley straw. Mmmm…

  1917. I think this is a great contest that you are doing for all of the people that follow your site. Information is extremely valuable for novice gardeners like me and the chance to won something useful is a bonus as well.

    Thank you for all that you do and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

  1919. Hello Mike,
    I have enjoyed and benefitted from your emails. And videos that teach many practical things having to do with the outdoors.
    2017, I am retiring and will have time to get into using shears and a membership.

  1920. I love your posts. We cleared about an acre of maple trees and their stumps this last year using just a digging bar and some serious “elbow grease”.

  1922. Enter me in the two contests and Merry Christmas and may all the hardwood sticks you and the girls have been sticking show their roots in 2017.

  1923. This would be a big help, as I an trying to get my own home garden going. Even though I don’t have a donkey to post pics of (yet!) 🙂

  1926. just when i think Mike is settling in for a winters nap here you are again. great goings. Its always youa delight to here from you no matter the time of year. hope you and your family have a Blessed Christmas,and happy new year from all us folks in Alabama.

  1927. Love your instruction and willing to help us.
    I thank you for that.
    You also have a Merry Christmas as well.
    Patsy

  1928. Please enter me in the drawing. Merry Christmas to you, Mike! I’m grateful for your generosity in sharing your expertise with all of us.

  1929. I have been following you for several years and have learned so much. Thanks for sharing your techniques and knowledge. I would love to win either of these drawings. Love your donkeys. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  1930. A membership would be a wonderful way to start off the new year! Thanks for offering this raffle!
    Happy holidays.

  1933. I always love to see your emails. I almost always learn something. Thank you for all that you do and for this generous drawing. Merry Christmas.

  1935. Love your advice – Keep the wonderful info coming! Your blog was a great find. I have recommended you site/blog to friends.. Merry Christmas to you & your family!

    Deanna Correa

  1939. Hello! I am new to gardening and eager to try to grow roses and tomatoes. I am learning a lot from your videos but wow there’s just so much to know, I am a bit overwhelmed and afraid I’ll screw up. You sure do make it look fun! Thank you for all the info you put out for us. I’m in Langhorne, PA. I am looking for the most fragrant roses to grow in a big pot. I am reading up now so I will be ready in springtime.

  1940. I wish that I had the room and the energy to do half of the things, plantwise, that you describe in your newsletters.

  1942. Mike,
    The info you are providing all of us is unmatchable. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to meeting you in person.

  1946. I keep loosing my pruning shears in my garden and I would love to have new one. I enjoy very much your mails and tips! I am an avid gardener always searching for new solutions and ideas.
    Thanks and…Merry Christmas!

  1947. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and for giving us the chance to ask questions about our gardening concerns. I especially enjoy the plant propagation and grafting articles and your donkeys.

    Please enter me in the drawing you are currently doing.

    A very Merry Christmas and the best for the coming years to you and your family.

  1948. Everyone should enter the drawing for a free membership to Mike’s Private Members Area. It is without any doubt whatsoever, THE BEST money that we have ever spent. It is worth more than my college education, and I do not exaggerate in the least.

    Mike doesn’t do this very often, so get in on the drawing. Even if you do not win, you should highly consider the test run for $7.00 for 30 days. I guarantee you that you will be astounded at what Mike offers us as members.

    Do yourself a favor and join in the drawing. Then join, if necessary, and experience an education that will last you a lifetime.

  1952. I very much enjoy your newsletters – good practical advice for my little garden and interesting stuff to remember in my next life….
    Thanks, Mike!

  1957. Hi Mike, Merry Christmas to you and yours. We religiously follow you’re advice. We start or root, Hydrangeas, Cottoneaster, Roses, besides the veggies, and we sell of in the spring, The neighbor all around ask when plants are available. Being a retired couple, this hobby has ,especially my hubby,given us a very joyful spring and summer. We only wish we had planned our house better to be able to have a winter greenhouse. Blessings be upon you. Hoping to also enter your contest, thank you
    JoAnn

  1959. I think you have the best plant site on the web.I really want to win a membership and the pruners. I enjoy your post’s very much. Keep them coming!!!

  1960. I love that you have so many grapes! you don’t normally see that anywhere. happy holidays everyone!

  1961. I am a hoarder! I can’t get enough hybrid daylilies and especially iris. No matter how full my gardens are, there’s always room for another one, and another one and so on and so forth. That’s why each year I offer multiples to family and friends to open up a small space for another color here and there. It’s to the point that I have to take pictures of all my iris and lilies so I don’t repurchase or trade for something I already have.

    I guess I could hoard worse things. Best part…they are beautiful to look at.

  1963. Would love to be considered for your give away and thank you for all the helpful information you provide.

  1965. Enter me in the two contests and Merry Christmas and may all the hardwood sticks you and the girls have been sticking show their roots in 2017.

  1966. Hi Mike and donkeys and family (of course)

    Love all your info – have one landscaped acre in Connecticut. Did it all by myself.
    Now my husband and I have a very large veggie garden and end up giving food away to our neighbors.
    Your tips have been invaluable to us.
    Thanks so much for your articles and the fun stuff you write.

  1969. Love to read your posts and watch your videos, mike. I have learned a great deal about plant propagation from you, and i really appreciate it. Keep up the good work my friend!!

  1971. Merry Christmas to you and your family. I love all you share a d I love gardening.
    Plan on getting into creating some nice plants. Good for the heart and soul.

  1973. I’m a sucker for contests! If I win, I’m donating my membership to William Reed! He’s ahead of me on the gardening path to heaven by 17 years. But it would be awesome if he join your club. Now, when it comes to the shears…I may get a little more selfish. In desperate need of a new pair.
    Happy Holidays!
    John

  1976. Thanks Mike:)! I will be starting my business this week. Everything you’re doing has helped me get going.

  1977. Thanks Mike for all your tips and things you send to each of us on the internet. I Look forward to you newsletter and I too could use a nice pair of pruning shears. Merry Christmas to you and family. Best wishes for the New Year!

  1978. I certainly enjoy your tips and instructions. Please enter me into the contest. Thanks for the opportunity. Merry Christmas.

  1979. Hi Mike, I did take your advise and stuck 100 + Leland Cyprus cuttings in a sandy box (3′ X 3′) That was on Saturday, they are all looking good, so I added some fresh shredded juniper branches to keep them cozy over the winter.

  1980. I would love to be entered into the giveaways.
    I need a good pair of pruning shears and Corona makes a smaller one that fits my hand.
    The membership is truely a gift of generosity! I look forward to my emails full of tips and advice, imagine all I could learn as a member! Sheer bliss!

    By the way, my Hydrangea cuttings are doing awesome! Have learned so much from you.

    Thank you,
    Charmaine

  1981. Thanks Mike for all the valuable information that you share with us. I would like to have a chance at the drawing. Have a wonderful Christmas with your family!

  1983. Just would like to say Happy Holidays! Thank you for all your sharing. You are very inspirational. 🙂

  1984. Mike,
    I really enjoy your videos and tips. Even though I am just a homeoner that enjoys seeing what I can start from cuttings I always find something new in my Emails from you to try. Perhaps when I get into the next house I will try the plant propagation business for profit. Hopefully that will happen in the spring
    Thanks Mike for the tips.

  1988. Merry Christmas to you and yours and my fellow plant lovers Been a good year, but hope we all enjoy a better year with all the roots we can manage. Love some blueberries but I’ll text later. Thanks for entering me in your contest. Again Merry Christmas to all. Barb

  1990. Hi Mike – I enjoy picking up your great tips and plan on making your “Dirt Farmer Fudge” to share with my kids for Christmas. My son is 29 and my daughter is 28.

  1991. T
    Mike,

    Thanks for your emails and all of your helpful tips. Hoping that you have a very Merry Christmas!
    Please enter me in your contests. Thanks
    Greg

  1993. I don’t think we can keep donkeys in our yard in Hawaii—but it would be fun!
    Thanks for all your advice. Don’t ya just love working in the earth!!

  1994. Thrilled for the opportunity to win shears or a membership. Thank you Mike for your generosity!

  1995. I would love to be entered into the contest. I have been receiving you emails for some time. I really enjoying the posts about your donkeys. ?

  2000. Hi Mike, I ‘d love to win a membership, although I am intimated by what I don’t know compared to ya all… I will thrive for my dream of therapeutic gardens and feeding homeless blah blah.. Even if I don’t win… There’s plenty of lovely people whom probably deserve it more so. Have a blessed Christmas & new year.

  2001. We have a miniature donkey farm just up the road from us. They are so adorable and I would really like to get one.
    Since we live on the West Coast, we have a wonderful, generally mild climate here. We can grow almost anything except citrus. That being said, I would like to get into this business as I have many avenues to get specialty items such as rare Japanese Maples, Rhodes and Hydrangeas. Those are in high demand in out location as we live in the Skagit Valley in Washington state. Thank you Mike and family for being an inspiration to me and getting me back outdoors to do what I love best

  2003. Believe in Mike fully! I ask a friend a gardening question than always check this site to make sure they are right. Hehe.

  2005. Thank you so much for all the priceless morsels of information you always are sharing with us. I have been reading what you share for a long time and wish you all good things in the new year. Simply Thank you!

  2007. Hi Mike! Thanks for your great emails. Though I live far from you (La Crescenta, CA) I enjoy your stories and planting tips. Happy Holidays to you and yours!!

    Very best,
    Whitney

  2008. Developing a new garden spot. Actually it’s a new yard and a new house. So there’s lots of work to do. Could really use both of these.

  2009. I have always considered growing plants and cuttings to sell at retail n my area. I just figured that it would be too expensive to get started. I read your posting to help me grow my plants as a hobby.. Thank you Mike for your postings.

  2012. I have been reading your emails every time they show up for a long long time.
    I have learned a great deal and have had more than many laughs and smiles
    Thanks, Mike.

    Tom in Santa Barbara

  2014. It’s always fun to read your emails. I cannot do a lot of gardening for physical reasons, but I am inspired to keep going and trying. Lots of good ideas and have used many in my yard.
    As a former horse owner for many years, your miniature donkeys are wonderful and bring a smile to my face. I enjoy your including them. Given the size of our house lot in a city, such pets would not work for us. If you like animals, you like the stories of other people’s animals!
    Thanks for your help and inspiration.

  2020. Merry Christmas, Mike and all (including donkeys)! I’m transitioning my business from landscaping to something less strenuous, so will be paying closer attention to your posts now that I have time to start the gazillions of cuttings that I plan. Sure could use a good pair of pruners.

    Sorry if this duplicated. I hit the wrong key…

  2021. Thank you for all of your informative e-mails, tips and tricks throughout the year! You keep us inspired to grow, grow, grow. Thank you too for the opportunity to win your drawings.

  2023. Hello Mike and thank you for an opportunity to win something! Either way, we always win with the wonderful way you provide so much helpful information. Thank you for that.
    Suzanne

  2025. A membership would give us a great start to the new year. Please consider me for one of the memberships. Got my fingers crossed!

  2026. Merry Christmas, Mike and all (including donkeys)! I’m transitioning my business from landscaping to something less strenuous, so will be paying closer attention to your posts now that I have time to start the gazillions of cuttings that I plan. Sure could use a good pair of pruners.

  2027. Well not sure if this is where you do the entry for the give away shears n membership. This would be a great gift to myself since we had a storm come through n broke some branch I had to use my shears to cut back branches to get to the shed door to get the chainsaw out. My poor shear snapped saying they was done with working. They was my favorite n dependable got the job done tool. I love your stories n all your idea. Look forward to seeing your next email always brighten my day. …

  2028. Hi Mike,
    Thank you for doing what you do!
    Awesome information, really appreciate it.

    Have a wonderful Christmas and an awesome New Year in 2017.

  2029. I have been reading your news letters and find your advice. Valuable. Some successes and some not. But still trying Thanks, Larry

  2030. Merry Christmas to all!!!! I’m a semi retired military veteran. I’ve struggled to find a job post military for last 5 years. I’m finally taking the plunge into the Backyard Nursey business. I’ve thought about it for years and just couldn’t justify not jumping in. While finishing my Bacholars Degree in Business or a colloge research projects. I’m building my landscape and backyard infrastructure. Hoping for both a succesful business and therapy for myself and others. Hoping to incorporate functional skills into our program to help our children and veterans with severe disabilities. Thanks for all the input and resources. Keep them coming. Give the Donkeys a big hug from me for Christmas.

  2031. Hi, Mike!

    Thank you for teaching so many valuable lessons (and thanks for the donkey pics, you’re right, wouldn’t be a great post without one LOL)

  2032. Having grown up in NE Ohio and now away for 30 years, I can relate to the genuineness of what you offer Mike. Thanks for the blog. I look forward to reading it. Happy holidays and Happy 2017 !!

  2035. I am hoping to do a plant sale in the spring with two of my older daughters. This has been a great life skill working on doing cuttings since last summer. They just did some hardwood cuttings yesterday.

    Can’t wait for spring!

  2036. After losing my home and garden in July, I have just moved into my new home 2 days before the winter storm hit (about a week ago). I have started paying for a membership and trying hard to get started but would like someone to help me figure out how to do that.

    Wishing everyone the very best of holidays and a prosperous new year.

  2037. Merry Christmas Mike to you and your family. I look forward to reading and learning from your emails. Please enter me in your contest. Shirley Chalker Evans Ga

  2038. Dear Mike,
    You are a blessing in disguise.
    All I ever wanted was to be out in the open working with Mother Nature – after 34 years of indoor work as a electrical design engineer.
    Your website and valued advise keeps me going for my retirement years.
    More Power to you Mike!
    Thanks,
    Joe

  2040. Good pruning shears are hard to find. We have tried a number of different brands and have not been very happy with the results. It would be interesting to try the ones you use.

  2041. Hey Mike
    I need your network of happy gardeners to expand sales of my perennial wisteria. That’s my starting point since they are my passion.

  2042. I would love to win. Thanks for the opportunity. Love this site and all the videos. Keep em coming Mike.

  2043. I like your stories and your advice. Just move into a retirement village so I don’t have a lot of room for planting anymore.

  2044. Hi Mike please enter me in the draw love all the emails and videos great inspiration merry Christmas

  2045. I enjoy your emails when I have the chance to read them. Best to you, your family and associates in 2017.

  2046. Really enjoy your reports Mike. Keep up the good work
    and Thanks for all you do. Merry Christmas.

  2050. I love reading Mike’s emails daily his information is always valuable and I always learn something from his information

  2051. Hey Mike,
    Up here in the chilly region of Vancouver, BC, Canada, I can feel your chill. But after buying a few acres of land I now feel your passion for growing. I have convinced the hubby that the front sunny flat spot is for my gardens and he gets the heavily treed back to dirt bike in. Wanting to do something that helps with $$ but also want to stay a stay-at-home parent. Wish me luck.
    Please enter me in your contest as I need all the help I can get…
    Thanks
    Vikki

  2052. Hi, Mike. I have followed you for years and have always enjoyed your tips, but I’ve not been able to afford to invest because I had a full-time job and very little extra money. I have tried many times to start plants from cuttings after studying other sources and have failed miserably every time. I would really love to have this knowledge, so would like to enter your membership contest.

    Oh, and the pruning shears. I lose about one pair a year. I suspect there are quite a few buried under mulch somewhere in my yard. Chuckle. Please enter me in that contest, too.

  2054. I will have Concord grape cuttings available in the Spring, if someone wants to pay the shipping.

  2055. Thank you for the opportunity…Bee here….do you think I could QUIT my day job and go into this full-time with 10,000$ and make a living ???

  2056. Mike I have just come across your website and it is fantastic. I have been thinking about growing more plants at home to make a little bit of money, and in order to help out my husband-to-be who has recently started a horticultural business. Your story and all the information you provide is really inspirational. Thank you!

  2058. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Thanks for taking such good care of all of your fans!

  2063. Always love seeing the donkeys. I volunteer at an equine facility for mentally and physically challenged people. I don’t have much, but it makes me feel great to help someone who needs it. And besides, I get to spend time with these wonderful four-legged critters. Oh, love your site too. Have a wonderful Xmas and best wishes to you and yours.

  2064. I love reading your emails and the many things you can grow from clippings. I have several rose bushes that I have grown from clippings. Thank you for your videos and information.

  2065. I just want to wish everyone Happy Holidays!!! Mike I so appreciate all of your information. I learn a lot and use what I learned from you all the time!! Thank you so much!!

  2066. I am looking forward to trying those air-grafting plastic balls. Think they would work for heirloom apples, or would those have been grafts?

    Brian

  2068. I have a new greenhouse, and I would love to connect with others who have hobby greenhouses.

  2074. Would love the pruning shears, mine are always where I am not. Need an extra pair to save me from climbing stairs so much. Thanks and give the donkeys a Xmas kiss from me.

  2075. Mike you are all that!!! Your knowledge and advice about the blessings of the Lord are priceless!!!

  2076. Thanks for all the inspiration and great planting tips. Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

  2079. Hello Mike,
    I’ve so enjoyed all your articles and clips, learning so much. I’m working on a blog and I’m artist, so I painting things as I post.

    Thanks,

    Beth

  2081. Have started yet, but I’m looking to start growing trees in my backyard. Either of these gifts would be a blessing.

  2082. Thank you for all you have done to promote gardening to all is us. Please enter me on the drawing.
    Cjarlie

  2084. My wife thinks I’m nuts that we are making the things I have learned from you our reality. She’s a teacher, I’m a suit and tie businessman with a 2 acre professional back yard motocross track who will never grow up. I’m getting her involved with the website and paying the kids to help with the new business! So far so good! We can’t thank you enough for the priceless knowledge you have given us! Thanks Mike!

  2087. Hi, love the articles and tips! When is the right time, and about how much do i prune a really old crepe myrtle tree? I’ve been told to cut back to just below any off-shoot limbs?

  2088. This is probably the one email I consistently open, read and enjoy the moment it hits my screen. Have been enjoying your posts for at least 6 or more years! How long have you been sharing your knowledge and gardening glee?

  2090. Merry Christmas and Happy New year’s to you and your family as well ! I have had to quit gardening for past few years but am now able to once again as soon as snow melts away anyways ! So my to do list is getting huge . I would love to win either of your gifts . Do you have a section in your membership for Canadians .

  2096. I run a Doberman rescue outside of Houston and would love some landscaping ideas to keep the yard looking great but still allow the dogs to run on the two acres. Need some yard help ideas.

  2097. Hi Mike – love to read your emails and your website. Please enter me in your contest for the Free Pruning Shears and Free Memberships. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  2098. I’ve wanted to get your members only site for a long time but they keep cutting my extra money by not giving me a SS increase. They live on a different planet than me if they think it doesn’t cost me at least 10% more to live every year.

  2102. Please consider me for one of your memberships or pruning shears. Thanks for all the great tips.

  2105. I run my own Doberman rescue in the Houston area. HOW can I “dog proof” the yard to keep landscaping looking great but all two acres still available for the dogs? Need some help on what to plant and how to keep the grass looking good.

  2114. Mike, I appreciate your videos and all of the information that you make available. It is all of the little things that a person can do that makes gardening so much more interesting.

    Have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

  2121. Mike,

    I love your posts. On of these days I am going to use my membership to start my plant business.

    Regards,
    Cindy

  2123. We started a goat farm from scratch three years ago in the uk and now have enough does to go into cheese production next year. I am also trying to start a small plant growing business, as a sideline as i enjoy gardening. A membership would be great as advice and help is always needed.

  2124. Merry Christmas! I don’t have a green thumb but my little girls loves to plant so I love your site!

  2125. I love the Backyard Growers Member’s only site. I wouldn’t have a business without it. Thanks!

  2127. Amazing information, videos, humor, sincerity and value! Thanks Mike for doing this!

    Love the Donkeys!

  2128. Hi Mike I am Judy Brame I read all of your emails and really enjoy reading how you do the cuttings and planting information.Your donkeys look like they really enjoy your attention..

  2129. You’re amazing. Every time I learn something new from your posts, I mentally apologize for the eye-rolling I did viewing my first MMG video. Turns out you’re right, you’re right, and did I mention you’re right? I’ve learned (and shared) so much – Thank you! Now I hope to win Corona pruners; I need some more self flagellation time before begging up a membership.

  2131. Hi Mike,
    I hope I win this time………Thanks for all you do!……… Keep leading the way, I have learned so much in the last few years from you……… Thank You!!

  2133. I have been a member for several years and have gained invaluable information on your site and posts. Merry Christmas, everyone and happy planting…

  2134. I am trying to learn all I can about plants and propogating them. Your emails and videos have been extremely helpful. Thanks for all the advice and ideas.

  2136. Hi Mike
    Have been buying and sticking hwc from the board. Looking forward to spring to see them grow

    Thanks for all you do.
    Love the donkeys. Super cute!
    Merry Christmas

  2139. We have a new homestead with very few trees or plants. I’ve been wondering how I will afford to buy all the plants I want to put in. Your site is such a great resource for learning how to propagate everything! And the potential to start a nursery is very appealing. Thank you Mike!

  2142. I am so happy I joined your board years ago. It is well worth it. I would love to win a membership for my daughter who is excited about doing this so she can stay home with her two little boys instead of teaching for 38 years like I did. The donkeys add a nice touch to your videos on You Tube. Have a very Merry Christmas with your family.

  2143. I keep trying your methods on my own and hope someday to be able to join. I read everything you post.
    Thanks.

  2144. Dear Mike, Between your books, videos and emails my son and I have been learning so much! You talk down to earth so we understand everything you explain. We are hoping to grow plants, and sell them to make enough to join your private member club. Thank-you so much Mike for giving us all this information for free and making my son and I feel we can achieve our dream of growing and selling plants. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. MAY THE NEW YEAR BE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY ONE FOR YOU ALL.

  2145. Dear Mike,
    I’ve always had an interest in gardening and have toyed with the idea of making extra money selling plants. While doing a little research on line, I came across one of your videos on you tube by accident. You came across as so refreshingly down to earth and knowledgeable, that I had to explore more. It was then that I opened your website and was stunned and amazed. I read your personal story out loud to my wife Debbie, but found it difficult task, as I got choked up a number of times. It was a great story, thanks for sharing it. I plan on using a lot of the information I derived from your site and your you tube videos to get started propagating plants and hopefully get a little business started and make it grow!
    You got me excited about this! You have inspired me! Thank you!

  2146. Thanks for the chance to win the shears and a membership! Would be so grateful if I won! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Mike and family!

  2147. Great Deal Mike!
    I have enjoyed my membership in a very limited way but I will be more active in the coming year,. Thank you and you whole crew for what y’all do, especially the misses who must hold the gang together.
    Merry Christmas, God bless and Avery Happy New Year.

  2148. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all Mike! I would love to expand my small nursery by being a part of the Back yard Growers.

  2149. Been laid up better part of this year but just love to sit here and read all the discussion on the board..
    Hope to be in full swing this coming spring.
    Been a member since last year and enjoy every bit of it. If I can just stay healthy it would be more fun..
    Have to stay off one foot and that makes it hard to do anything., keep up the good post and the discussions.

  2150. Thanks Mike for all the knowledge you have shared with us over her years, it has been a wonderful thing. Really enjoy all the pictures videos and information you give. My wife and I have recently bought a small farm and re in process to get it ready for green houses and beds for propagating plants like you do. Pray for us we Wil need it and God bless and merry Christmas to all.

  2152. I just bought your books and joined the University. I am overwhelmed with all this information online. I’m a retired, health challenged, senior citizen but I believe I can do this regardless. The one thing I want to know is what’s the first and best thing to do to get started on this opportunity in order to make money?. I don’t know much about all this yet but from the sounds of it you gotta be on the inside to get the inside info and situated to earn the money. I believe in investing in ones self to get ahead. but i need to earn back the money I just spent on your books and tuition. Not lookin for a get rich quick or somethin for nuthin, nor a pig in a poke, just need to know right away what action i need to take to get to makin some investment money to further my education. I’ve been lookin at your videos and webpages til my heads a spinnin. I really need to come up with a plan to get started. I just know you can help. I understand this doesn’t happen overnight but there is a way it can happen quicker if you know what to do right now and in this season to make it happen. My experience is that timing can be critical and this seems to be that way not that i know much. I might be slow but im persistint. If you would bless me with the answer to this request it would be like winning the lottery. And I wouldn’t need to win your drawing. But if you don’t mind… please enter me anyway… just in case. Thank you! Merry Christmas!!!

  2154. If I bend a blackberry bush tip into a bucket and let it root, how much do I need above ground? Or is it better to start with new plants from the nursery?.??
    Thanks for the articles
    Dw

  2155. Love your videos. I have rooted a few types of plants and love to start a small business. A membership and pruning shears would be great.

  2156. Hi Mike, I would like to be included in your draw, but I’d much rather see a little more recent content on your YouTube channel – I know you’re in the money making business, but a little goes a long way and you have helped in my inspiration in starting our own little nursery here in Ireland.

    Above all, I hope you and your family are well and you continue to grow in your business.

    Many thanks for the tips and advice you’ve given me since coming across your channel seven months ago. We now have a couple of thousand cuttings growing in the form of trees, shrubs and herbs.

  2157. Mike I love your website,wish I could visit your nursery,I have so many questions. My hard wood cuttings,such as the purple smoke tree,always rot,Don”t know what I’m doing wrong. I love growing things,you would be a wonderful neighbor. My daughter wants me to move to northern Kentucky,maybe one day I will make it to Perryville?
    Edward from Denton Texas

  2158. Mike,
    Do you know anything about the 7 sister rose bush? My friend has one, and everyone tells her its extinct. Thank you, Karen

  2159. I would very much like to grow plants here in Tennessee. Ive been trying for many years and enjoyed every minute. Donkeys would be fun, too. ! Theres room here, even with rabbits. My shears need some attention, but at least work. Im interested in local plants, their heritage and uses, and hopefully will have success at wild edible foods, and herbs. My grama used to make salve for cuts. I enjoy your site and look forward to getting dirty, lol Merry Christmas! Karen Gadbury

  2160. Love reading your articles and have relied on them many times in my garden. New Pruning Shears are always appreciated in our garden but a membership would be like winning the motherlode!!!

  2161. Mike:Very useful info-looking forward to your tips and love the chance to enter your contest!!!Have a great Holiday!!!

  2164. I have been saving your blogs since you started. I am enjoying gardening a lot better by using your information. Made the Farmers Fudge every year since you gave the receipe. Merry Christmas.

  2165. Mike, I love all of your videos and advice! WIsh I lived closer to come visit sometime! I would love to have your hand picked pruning shears! I really need them!

    Hope you and your family and the donkeys too, have a very Merry Christmas and prosperous new year!
    Sincerely,
    Renee

  2166. Hi Mike, please enter me in your contest. I love all your posts and information. Just retired and love gardening and looking forward to starting a new backyard gardening business. Happy Holidays to you and your family. Thanks again, Gail

  2167. Mike,

    It is great reading the wealth of knowledge you have made available on your website. Currently in the process of returning to the US from overseas, and looking forward to putting some of this to good practical use.

  2169. Gfree

    Live in stark county ohio, retired.,Have 20 acres of open farmland.What would you suggest to grow that the critters wouldnt chew up and i could sell for profit? Looking for ideas! Thanks

  2170. Hi Mike! I enjoy your website and all of its helpful advice. Winning a drawing would just be the icing on the cake! I hope you are having a blessed Christmas season. Thanks!

  2171. Will be leaving a retail job I’ve become burned-out on and focusing on home and my passion for growing plants. Hope to be selling them too. Winning either one would be great. Thanks Mike.

  2172. Hey ! i’ll be starting a nursery in Quebec, Canada in the next months, to fund the creation of a new food forest. This site has been a lifesaver, great job and thanks a lot !

  2173. Mike, reading your posts is encouraging. I’m saving to be able to get a permanent membership. I’m trying to start a backyard garden in the hope of earning extra to make ends meet. Thank you and merry christmas.

  2176. I would love to have a free membership ! I follow you on-line all the time .

    Thank you for all the great advice !

    Sammy

  2177. Getting my plant business off the ground to provide an income during my retirement years. Self employed all my life and have had the goal for years to turn my backyard into a family income with plant propagation. Been following Mike for years now.! I want to be part of the “backyard family”!

  2178. It is freaking COLD out there. Thanks Mike for warming up my morning by changing my focus to what I love learning about…and that’s gardening.

  2179. I found this site and shared it with many friends but after ”i paid the dentist, could not afford to join.

  2180. Hi Mike,
    I’ve been looking at the site for some time now and have really found it helpful. I’ve taken some cuttings and have successfully rooted them with your sand and bag technique. Just a waiting game now for winter to be over. Thanks for all the great advice.

  2181. Mike, I have been reading your web sites for a couple of years now 3 or 4 maybe more. I seem to lose time when I am learning more from you and your family.. It is a great family to belong to .thanks,
    Chris Rea

  2182. Great advice to help keep things growing in a coastal town south of Boston, Massachusetts. Many thanks

  2183. I”ve become addicted to propagating plants and am exciting to try making hardwood cuttings grow this year. Thank you for sharing all your experience, enthusiasm and knowledge–I look forward to a lifetime of propagating plants!

  2184. I enjoy your site & would absolutely love to win this drawing!! Merry Christmas to you & yours! ?????

  2185. always trying to find plants that can tolerate minus 30 degrees on the high plains just east of the rockies…. love reading your articles, tho…. going to try some cuttings next spring if i survive this winter….. already been abnormally cold so far…

  2186. Hi Mike, I hate house work. But I love getting my Hands dirty outside. Work 10 hours a day. Not home till dark until they change the time back. So glad I get your E-mails. They all bring a smile.

  2187. Mike,
    Simply stunning is all I can say. Great articles and absolutely the best SIMPLE advice. Simple is best, nature is our true instructor. I have gained a lot of knowledge in a short time reading your articles and watching only some of the videos. I believe we all should learn to garden and grow as nature demonstrates. We share a lot of common values and strategy. Love the mini’s, They are adorable. Thanks For what you are doing.

  2188. I love all your plant advice and I keep them all in a special folder in my email account for reference!!! Thanks for the great tips!!

  2190. What can I say? I am a plant lover with the worst soil in the South for planting the plants I love so well. If I had the money back from all the plants that have died, I could retire.

    Love your website and all the good sensible advice given!!

  2195. Mike,
    I love your newsletter and always look forward to it. Thanks for the great information you share.

  2197. Mike, this membership would help change my life. I live check to check and trying to find something to supplement my income. Thanks for this opportunity!

  2198. I look forward to your emails. Always filled with useful information and uplifting in nature. Keep up the great work.

  2200. This info really works. My dad was amazed at the bushes I started for him from cuttings. Ready to start a business that my husband will enjoy too. He doesn’t like poultry so much what with all the Avian Influenza scare and the constant testing costs. Hey Chris, I can’t wait to hear how well your huckleberries root! Update us again in the spring!

  2201. This membership would change my life. Im living from check to check and need security. Please enter me in drawing.

  2204. I have a 15 yr old RED TRIPLE BLOOM CAMILLA, can’t find the original tag. Is there any way for me to find the original info, so I could possibly propagate and sell plants or cuttings? Mike

  2205. Hi Mike,
    I love your site and advice and all information you provide is brillant.
    I look forward to receve your email.
    Thanks and Merry Christmas to all of you from Italy

  2206. Aloha from Hawaii. Thank you, Mike, for your dedication and inspiration and willingness to share your experience and expertise with all of us plant lovers. Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙂

  2207. Hi Mike
    I love your site and advice, all the information you provide is brillant.
    I look forward to recive your email.
    Thanks and Merry Cristmas to all of you from Italy

  2208. Love your site. Lots of great ideas and tips. Bought a house last year with many mature maples,Norway spruce, and aborvitae. Lots of dry shade. Could planting hydrangeas under them work? Merry Christmas to you and yours!

  2209. I have read your articles since you came on line. I have now retired for the third time. 30 years military,20 yeDr’s I suffered they civil service an finally 5 years of ru ding hsrleys, an learning how to fish. I can’t fis so I would like to try gardening. I have always loiled to play in the dirt. Just maybe I could start a small business. I have always liked Japanese maple trees. Maybe that’s my secret.

  2210. I always enjoy reading all the information you share and the tips are much appreciated. A Private Members Only Membership would make me a very happy gardener for sure. Thank you for being so generous for the lucky winners!

  2213. I enjoy reading your posts and blog. What great information. These articles give me hope that I may someday retire and still make money doing something I love. Thanks for all you do!

  2214. Im a fan, gardening has always been a hobby of mine and you have opened my eyes to a lot of great ideas and practices. Thanks Mike!

  2215. I have enjoyed learning about plant propergation. I have had success with some plants and am looking forward to more this year. I am retired and could use a side income.

  2216. “THANK YOU” for sharing your years of valuable experience. What a great gift you were blessed with. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

  2217. As always your expertise about plants and “how too” is really great.
    I have used the “clamshell” propagation last year on fig tree and it really does work
    Merry Christmas to all.
    Al and Gary Simpkins

  2219. I’ve been reading and saving most of your posts since Feb 2008, bought your book around then. I do a little propagation here and there, just for family and friends. Sometimes, I regret not becoming a member, I know it would have been a valuable asset. Retired from AF in 2004 after 32 years, bought a hardware store and started an embroidery business, so I was already way too busy. I turn a lot of family and friends your way when I can, especially if I don’t have the answer. Still inspired and enjoying the post.

  2221. I am so jealous of your knowledge, and your donkeys! please enter me in for the win…thanks Randi

  2222. Love you Mike and all your tips. I tried this past summer to sell plants that I grew from babies or seeds and they grew very well when I had a problem i learned from you what I did wrong. I love my plants and love hearing from my customers how well they are living and growing Your a great guy Mike and I love the donkeys too !

  2226. This would be a great start to starting my own business. Its time to stop working for someone else and be my own boss. Thanks

  2229. Love your site. Love gardening. Would love to grow. Cant afford the costs. For your membership.

  2233. Thanks for offering this tremendous deal. It looks like a great opportunity for not only young folks looking to take charge of their future, but especially for recent retirees like myself in supplementing their income and staying busy. Thanks !!

  2234. Thanks Mike for all you do. You have a layed-back approach and I like that. I also like your simple low-teck methods to accomplish what others are doing spending thousands of dollars. Keep up the good work.

    Chris

  2235. Thanks for the news letter and all your great advice…

    January 8th is my birthday! What a great present it would be to win a membership on my birthday.

  2237. Hey Mike, Love reading your info and the great videos on everything, Being disabled I adapt how I do things to get the results I want. It might take a little longer but it’s worth it. Keep up the good work !

  2243. Mike
    You truly are an inspiration to lots of folks.
    You make it look so easy….keep on being awesome!

  2244. Hi Mike!!!

    been following you for years. I’ve even purchased from you. I’m ready to do my hardwood cuttings here is Washington State and would love some new cutters….Thanks and keep up the awesome work!!! STAY SAFE AND DRY!!!

    Charlene McGinn

  2246. Thank you Mike for all the knowledge you have shared with me. I have learned so much from your books and your newsletters and video’s.
    I only have one regret and that is that I didn’t find you on the internet while my dad was still living. He loved fooling with plants. I remember as a very young kid growing up in Ky. that my dad was so interested in grafting fruit trees that he had a minister friend to come to our house and teach him how to how to graft fruit trees. I watched also and after I grew up, believe it or not I grafted a pear onto an apple tree. Dad did the same thing. In the 3rd. year it had pears and apples on it and they held on, but afterwards, the whole tree died.
    Again, Thanks Mike for all you’ve shared. Merry Christmas to you & your families!

  2247. This would be a great opportunity for me. I love to work in my garden and now that I’m retired I need alittle bit of extra money. And doing something that I like would be fun.

  2249. Have enjoyed all the gardening tips – they are so practical.
    Tried propagating kaffir lime but have not had any luck.

  2250. I met my husband because he was growing Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. I have followed your advice, Mike, and a week ago, when we needed more tea to drink, I trimmed the tea shrubs away from the path, dried the best of the leaves from the trimmings, and made hardwood cuttings from the remainder. Over a hundred cuttings are now sitting in our unheated greenhouse. I would not have done it if not for you. Thank you so much.

  2251. A pair of shears would be very nice. I have a couple of hydrangeas that I am attempting to propagate and it would be great to have a pair of good shears to make cuttings next year.

  2253. Forty years ago, I took the time to get a Master Gardener’s designation, because I’ve always loved plants. It’s been along time since I’ve been that immersed in plants and gardening, but I still love it. I just retired and now have time to get back to the world of plants and raising them. I’d love to supplement my retirement income and can’t think of a more enjoyable way to do just that. I hope you consider me for a membership.

  2254. Hi Mike – Throwing my hat in the ring for another shot at a free membership. Thanks for the opportunity. – Dave

  2255. Hi Mike,
    I’ve used your method for rooting some rhododendrons, after 30 years of trying I think i will finally be able to share with family. Thanks for all the info, you’ve rekindled a passion i almost forgot I had.
    I’ve been self employed for 40 years, now I plan to have my first plant sale in 2.5 years.
    Thanks again.
    Danny in North Georgia

  2256. Starting my own business would be incredibly helpful and a Godsend considering everything is going up except my income.

  2258. Always enjoy your e-mails, links, Great Growing advice, etc. Mike ! Still not the greatest at cutting’s yet myself..but ‘practice, practice, practice’ as they say ! Would love the Membership into the ‘Private Members Area’.. (the shears would be a great addition also !)

  2267. I love growing things! I have some annuals and perennials in my small unheated greenhouse. I water them and hope they will make it through our cold Maryland winter!

  2268. sharing knowledge and preping for future generations to carry on and have the means to do so is very important to me. for that reason and to the point that I am working for my grandkids future. Hopefully I can get the membership into the members only area to help advance my buying and selling power!
    Terry

  2274. I have been reading your newsletters since 2009, and just want to thank you for all the time you put into them, and for all the wonderful information you’ve put into them. Would love either prize, especially the membership!!

  2276. Looking forward for a chance at a free membership, since I can not afford one. I would appreciate the shears also.

  2278. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE. I AM NEW TO THIS AND JUST TRYING TO LEARN EVERYTHING I CAN.

  2279. Hello Mike, I would love to be considered to recieve a free pair of shears. I look forward to each of your teaching email messages.. I will attempt to root more of my roses your way. PS I love your donkeys.
    Barbara Worsham

  2283. I love the regular newsletters and have obtained so many ideas. Now I just need a place for my greenhouse or figure out how to sell hundreds of seedlings. I guess “how to sell” means find buyers for the product.

  2284. Your video on mulch was extremely informative! this fall I put a bunch of leaves around newly planted hydrangeas as mulch. Should the leaves be taked away from those plants in spring?
    Thank you So much for all of your articles!

  2285. Mabe I can get lucky this time. I would love to be a member of this great family, and learn all I can for my retirement thanks Mike. And merry Xmas to all.

  2286. Thank you for offering these generous drawing prizes and for entering me in the drawings. I would love to win anything, but especially the membership. I did purchase your program and also a trial membership a while ago and absolutely loved it. I wish I could have afforded additional membership and especially the permanent membership then. It was really amazing and helpful. Thank you for all the great information you provide. You are a great gardener and excellent businessman.

  2287. Interesting article on growing hydrangeas from cuttings. Thanks for the info!
    I look forward to your drawings in January.

  2290. I follow your posts and I dream of having a membership to the Backyard Growers’ and have a small nursery of my own.

  2291. Everything you offer is of real value, Mike! I tr.y to pass on some of your ideas.
    & lots of your interesting stuff – always love to hear from you. and see what is new to learn. Now that I am back in Nevada, the plant growing is more challenging than it was in SW Missouri – but still interesting & fun with much to learn

    Happy winter from Faith in Pahrump

  2292. I have been a member for 2 years of BYG . I would love to win a membership to business center.

  2293. I really enjoy your articles. My teenage grandsons help me a lot. They are really interested in learning gardening and propagation. It really pleases me that they are so interested.

  2294. I have been a member of the BYG for 2 years i love the education i am receiving. I would love to win a membership to the business center.

  2295. Mike, thank you for all videos. The information you provide has helped me start planning my own backyard business. I’m excited about the prospects and all that I stand to learn as I develop my own business.
    God bless and have a Merry Christmas!

  2297. I have been following you for years. I have made a few purchases from you. I would love to join the Private Members Area but I simply cannot afford the money.

  2302. Mike, I’ve really enjoyed learning from your website, my niece found you online and was so enthusiastic that I had to check
    It out. So glad I did.

    Beth

  2303. There is something about growing plants that is so magnetic. It is a miracle every time, what a blessing. I wonder if we could do this.
    Would like to try!

  2304. Great information about starting cuttings in the winter (late Fall).
    Who would have thought that was possible.
    Keep up the informative articles
    Thank you

  2305. We have been growing and selling flowers for several years without making much of a profit. We would like to have one of your memberships and hopefully find a way to make a profit.

  2309. Curious, where do you ship? I live on the coast of Georgia and would really enjoy some of the plants you have. Also, do you have any ornamental grasses?

    Thank you!

  2311. I,ve recently was give some japanese maple seedlings. I really didnt know how to go about the process from seedling to trees but after reading your letter on your web site it was so helpful

  2312. Hello Mike, I have never given much thought to rotting anything in the winter, now that I follow your post I’ve learned much. And I Thank you for my growing knowledge. <> I would love to be the person blessed to win your shears and Membership. <> Growing different kind of plants is amazing to me. Right now I have many Hosta, they are beautiful. Looking forward to all of your Post, Again thank you for being so helpful about potted plants and much more.

  2314. In the short time I’ve been receiving your newsletter and watching your videos, I’ve learned to value your knowledge as a necessary source. Thank you

  2315. I would love to be entered in your drawing. I’m disabled and this seems like something that can benefit my family and myself.

  2316. I would love to be entered in your drawing! I’m disabled and this seems like something I can do to benifit us elf and my family.

  2323. Mike Im a member of your BYG since 2011. I have sold a small amount of plants but because I have worked full time I haven’t had the time to put into it that I wanted, but because my house burned down in 2015 I now have the time. (did daycare. No house, no daycare) Just got done building the new house and have moved into the new house so 2017 is going to be the year for me working full time on the nursery (and our u-pick berry patch!) Thanks for all you do!

  2324. I look forward to Mike’s weekly e-mail. My new hobb6 this summer consisted of snipping cutting here and there–at the bank, at friend’s gardens, etc. to “see if they’d grow”. What fun–many did. This summer I hope to be more serious and see what can be added for my own and our garden club’s listings. Those snips would sure come in handy.

  2325. I j;ust joined the UNIVERSITY and,WOW,so much great info.I would really like to join and get a membership in the growers section before 1/10/17 to start buying plants so I can get started in the business.This is right up my alley.
    Thank you Mike

  2328. Winter cutting sound like a great idea, especially in Coastal North Carolina. I’m thinking of doing about a hundred Leland Cyprus. Today the temp. is in the 60’s, but 2 nights ago it got down to 24. I will let you know the results. Thanks again for the idea and push to make it happen

  2329. At my age I’m not sure that I can handle the labor involved any more but I still love to “putz” in the yard and garden. We don’t get a lot of winter down here in Florida and very little freezing weather. The ground never freezes solid. In the spring I plan to ‘stick’ a few cuttings to see what I can do.

  2330. I have been trying for awhile, maybe 2017 will be my lucky year. I know I could make it work.

  2331. I sure do love your site, so much information. I want to be put into the drawing for the pruning shears. I really would love to someday be a part of the Private Members club, but I don’t think I’m quite ready yet. I have been keeping ALL of your e-mails, and sometime spend way to much time looking instead of doing. Thanks for sharing your information with people.

  2332. Hi Mike
    Not quite ready yet to jump into your program but getting close. Sounds very interesting though. Maybe 2017 will be the year.

  2333. Being a retired veteran myself and my boys are going to turn our 8 acre farmstead into an income producer based on your system. Have been following you for years but raising 4 kids and many grandkids have not had time to do much. Now time is becoming available.

    Have a Merry Christmas.

  2335. Awesome !!! One of these days I’ll have enough $$$ to buy my own membership but til then … I love the opportunity to win one. Thanks !!!!

  2336. I took your advice and started up a backyard nursery… I have zero dollars to put into it, so I’m ‘finding’ materials anywhere I can to build a Hoop House Frame for the nursery area.

    I’m putting a layer of ‘Hex Wire’ over the frame to prevent a snow load or high winds from ripping the plastic. Then I thought of the weight of the snow collapsing the frame… so I’m putting in an inner frame of 4X4s, 2X4s, and cattle wire up along the celter-line as a trellis to keep the hoops from buckling under any snow load.

    That will give me plenty of space for veggies, too! I can put trays of ‘starts’ up on the top of the trellis for added production! I have to get the plastic on yet.

    I’m also installing another 400 square feet of rooting beds under cover this weekend. I expect to have 10K cuttings in by the end of January… that should bring in some extra cash…

    I Could use a break!

  2339. Have already learned how to do cuttings using 10 gallon fish tanks painted white. I have started about 75 shrub cuttings so far, and some Apricot tree cuttings too.

  2341. Used Mikes it ideas to start my 100% online specialty nursery. Enter me please in the drawing

  2344. I will hopefully be having my first plant sale next spring , thank for all the help your videos have given me.

  2347. Sounds like you’re giving away the store and I want to be right there to take you up on it ! ! !
    Love your site. Keep up the good work.

  2350. Enjoy all your articles on gardening and landscaping and have followed a lot of them.I do say you know how to explain things to show how to do it properly. Everything i have tried has been a success.

  2352. Mike, First of all “Merry Christmas” to you and your family with a prayer for God’s many blessings for the “New Year” ahead…Have so much enjoyed your news letters and have found them to be most helpful. Thank you for the invitation to participate in the free membership and pruners giveaway. I’m a retired pastor who enjoys growing…a considerable garden & starting plants. At 75 years young I have been reduced to growing in raised beds(7 4×16 & 3 4×8 beds) & find it ideal for your method as well.

  2354. Mike’s Backyard Nursery is a fantastic place to get a ton of information on how to and planting. If you want to root cuttings, this is the place to go. Follow his instructions and you will be on your way to being a good gardener. You go Mike and take care of those “nosey Donkeys”.
    Even in Florida we follow his advice!!

  2356. Mike, You inspire me! Thank you for all of your great advice.
    Merry Christmas to you & Your family!

  2358. Thank you very much for all your tips for gardening.I enjoy receiving them all.Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  2359. Hi Mike: Just started reading your advice and I love your website – WOW – am I ever impressed. Thanks so much. I believe I will become an avid follower!

  2360. Hi everyone! Thank you Mike for all the wonderful info you put out! I save it all to read and reread later.

  2361. Mike and family, thank you so much for your wonderful site. It is jam-packed with informative and wonderful projects and educational material for the home gardener as well as the backyard grower. Love all your projects, the information you so freely share and the superb step-by-step videos that you generously offer with practically every email you send out. Awesome site, awesome information, awesome educator! I’ve been a fan for a few years now and always enjoy coming back for more information. Keep up the great work! Love your site!

  2363. I love getting the news letter. I have propagated plants in the past but would love to increase my skills and learn about selling and buying cuttings. I am a senior citizen and cancer survivor. Disabled so unable to get a “normal” job so would love to make money with cuttings.

    Thanks Mike for publishing this information.

  2364. Hey Mike, I’m just getting started and really appreciate the information that you present on your site. Keep up the great work.

  2367. What a Wonderful informative site .. For me Maybe a Blessing from GOD…. I Love Gardening and you have taught me so much already.. I know I can make some extra surely needed Cash with this knowledge
    Thank You
    Dean

  2368. Your advice, encouragement & instructions are valuable to us. Keep up your good work. Good health to you and yours.

  2370. I am hoping I will be one of the lucky people to win a membership! I learn best “using hands on”techniques. Being a part of the Backyard Growers would mean the world to me! Thank you for offering this opportunity to all of us who would love to start up a backyard nursery!

  2371. Hallelujah! You’re always helping us, perfect strangers, Mike. I’m planning for my 4th Spring Sale thanks to all you’ve taught. Cannot thank you enough. Would love the shears or a membership. God bless you all!

  2372. I love your site! It’s chock full of timely information & great ideas! Thank you & have a great holiday!

  2374. Hi Mike! Please consider me for the Corona pruning shears or free membership giveaways. I’ve been following you for years and have learned so much from you! Merry Christmas to you, your family and the donkeys. Thanks.
    Gayle Werner
    Ontelaunee Township, PA

  2375. I love to grow things. And I’ve been told I have a green thumb.
    Thanks for your info and encouragement. The world would be a better place if everyone grew their own plants.

  2376. Wanted to tell you that I thoroughly enjoy your e mails. I have already learned a lot. I live in a mobile home park so it will take some planning to make beds.

  2381. Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge. I have learned so much reading your site. At this time in my life I’m at a crossroad, and you have inspired me immensely. Thank you so much!
    ~~Lori

  2385. MIke,

    I am really enjoying your posts as I work on my home garden, mostly flowers and shrubs. As yet I am not selling plants but it looks like a great retirement project in the near future.

  2386. I am really enjoying your postings as I develop my home garden, mostly shrubs and flowers. As yet I am not selling plants but it looks like a great retirement project in the near future.

  2388. I would so love to win either one of these drawings! I need the shears to make the cuttings so I can sell them!

  2390. The more I read about your membership the more I feel I need to join so that I can make money doing what I love best – growing plants!

  2391. Hello Mike, i am a very interested amateur groer and i read all your messages. i recently grew mums and dusty millers from green cuttings by simply cutting an “x” in the bottom of the cutting and cutting away some of the lower bark. i am very proud of this success. i currently have all my plants in the garage in a heated plasticed in area. hopefully they will make it for a rescue in late March. 90% of them made it last year.

  2396. I love getting instructions for plant cuttings to start new plants. I am looking forward to trying it this winter.

  2397. Hi Mike,

    Thank you so much for the contest and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

    Christine Mustazza

  2399. Seasons Greetings Mike and family.

    I have been following along for about a year now and am now experimenting with about 20 cuttings each of a few different trees already growing on my property just to see what happens. Looking forward to the spring of 2017.

    Thanks for the videos

  2400. Mike and All
    I love your newsletters. You have given me some great information to expand upon in my own gardening experience. Please keep up the good work!
    Ron German
    Roca, Ne

  2401. I’d love to get started in this but I’m live on a disability and don’t have the money to start.

  2402. I have follow Mike for many years. He has taught me a lot about plants as well as how to plant them.
    I really enjoy his video’s. Thank you Mike for all your help.
    Patsy – Texas

  2403. Mike,
    Already wrote a comment that doesn’t seem to be ‘valid’, so (in a nut shell) your Emails have been so exciting and valuable to our small shrub, herb, and native plant business, We have survived the harshest drought (June to mid-Nov.) along with blinding smoke from largest wild fire in Georgia history that blew through our valley for weeks.. We live 10 miles from this on-going fire that is now out! Also these conditions were a 1st. in living here 45 yrs.! Whew!!
    Thank You for all your valuable articles, and Hoppy Holidays to you all,
    Sue Campbell

  2404. thanks for all the great tips on Plant propagation
    Have a Merry Christmas.
    We’ve got tons of snow up here in Canada!
    God bless you all.

  2405. I love your emails they are very informative. You have exposed me to some different plants that have worked out very well in the garden. I was able to root some plants this year and I was really pleased with that.

  2411. I am Leaving a comment to enter, love the website and would love to be a member; fingers crossed!

  2415. Have been a fan for a while now and have been ‘on the fence’ almost as long… Having purchased books/video in the past I would love to have a full membership but being north of the 49th (Prince Edward Island, Canada) but (basic underlying truth) most of the time I really wonder about the cost… since near as I can tell the vast majority of info and contacts (the biggest benefit IMO) applies almost exclusively to the US market.

    would there be enough relevant contacts etc to justify the expense of purchasing myself….. and now that the exchange rate adds about 30+% on top it really would be a (painful) stretch.

  2416. Enter me. My cheap shears are almost worn out. I’ll have to think on the membership.

    I have been using your site for info for a few years now. Love it.

  2417. I just found your website and I am excited to have the opportunity to join. Merry Christmas, Sam ‘The Maple Lady’

  2418. Mike, Your frequent Emails have been so interesting that saving this info to ‘digest’ over these winter months has been a priority! Our North Georgia area of 2,000 ft. altitude really took a ‘hit’ with severe drought starting in June with no ‘measurable’ rain until into November – first I’ve experienced in the 45 yrs. of living here. Along with the largest area impacted by a wildfire in Georgia’s history, we have been busy. With the wild fire 10 miles away our valley had so much smoke for weeks until just a couple weeks ago. Again a 1st. in my history here.
    However blessed with the large spring head from which to obtain water, we feel our small shrub, herb, and native plant business will e sustained. We’ll know when the magic of Spring returns.
    Bless you for all your valuable sharing and Happy Holidays to you all there on the farm!

  2419. Mike’s posts are always informative and detailed enough to get you started in a lifelong “addiction” to plant propagation. Way to go, Mike!

  2420. Your post are very informative and helpful. I love your detailed stories and photos. And your prices are so reasonable. How could anyone pass up a good buy. I have my eye on a few when spring arrives. Cold and snowy right now here in Michigan. Can’t wait for spring to be out digging in the earth and planting.

  2421. Would love to win. Course so would everyone else. We have learned so much and hopefully will continue to learn. Just love all the info.

    Happy Holidays to you and all.

    Thank you
    Georgia

  2422. I enjoy reading the articles on your website and getting your emails.
    Thanks -much appreciated and very helpful – Have a peaceful day.

  2425. I really appreciate how Mike is inspiring to us. He is encouraging and lets us know that we CAN do this! Thanks Mike!

  2426. Wow, great offer with this drawing! And great info all around this site. I’ve been a long-time subscriber, just not enough money for the membership.

  2428. Mike, I enjoy and appreciate all the wonderful information on your website. I too enjoy watching things grow. With winning your free membership, I’m sure I could improve my joy of growing, and increase my income. I have already tried to start plant from cuttings with some success. With the help from other growers, I could learn even more from the backyard growers. I wish you and other growers the best in the work they love and hope I can become one of them.

  2430. I have been receiving your inspirational emails for several years now. I have learned so much and look forward to the day when I’m able to leave my full time job and follow your program to grow and sell plant for my full time income. Thank you!

  2432. Having a group like this does several things for me. 1. A source of good variety of reasonable priced plants at a minimum I can afford and handle. 2. URC with advise on rooting – another means of getting baby plants. 3. Members area where success and failures are shared….both of which are valuable. 4. Encouragement from like peers.

  2433. Mike, I love your newsletter and have used or passed on a lot of your information. You make me sound like a Master Gardener, but I always give you the credit.. Thanks to you I have no qualms about trimming my lace-leaf Japenese maple and I am now enjoying coral bells in my garden. Maybe someday I will sell baby plants and regret not doing it sooner. Anyway, thanks and keep up the good work. Merry Christmas and Happy 2017 !

  2434. Just popped back onto your site after a lengthy absence due ti illness. Excited about getting back to my plants!

  2435. I’d really love to have access to the buyer-seller option. I’m a 78 year old retiree, and dapple with plants as a hobby. Being able to order cuttings would enhance my ministry of giving away viable plants.

  2437. I HAVE BEEN ON YOUR EMAIL LIST FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND FOR MOST PART HAVE ENJOYED MOST OF THEM. THIS HAS BEEN THE ONLY WAY I COULD LEARN FROM YOUR KNOWLEDGE. I HOPE I WILL BE ONE OF THE TWO PICKED FOR The Free Memberships . KEEP GOING WITH YOUR PASSION.
    WITH CHRISTIAN LOVE
    DESI M

  2438. Mike,
    I continue to read your info and it is amazing I am hoping to be able to save the money to join the backyard growers Association, I am hoping to retire in a few years and would like to start soon to do plants, not so much for the extra money but it is what we have always done together and will keep us active. Keep up the good work you and your family does, and have a Merry Christmas..

  2439. It’s nice to hear from and talk to people with the same goal of helping one another for the sake of helping, and not to get something out of it Thanks to Mike and the peeps who use this site.

  2441. Have enjoyed learning and finding a new passion to enjoy. Plants !!! Built a propagation box. Purchase some specimens at end of season at nurserys. Mike love your communication style. Stay inspired. Love it. Thanks for all you do.
    Greg

  2446. Hi Mike,
    Struggling starter here…We just moved to southwest Michigan and are planning to start a lavander farm next year. Looking forward to finally having some land to work with. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge…Great content.

  2447. So awesome that you do giveaways like this. Grateful to get the emails and be able to check out so many great deals on the buy/sell board and even better to get help with my questions on the forum for discussions.

  2448. I like you site very much. I give you a lot of credit for the information that I collect from you from time to time that has given me a lot of knowledge..Tks again

  2449. Mike,
    I am 67 and always wanted to farm. Recovering from a couple of big cancer operations and a minor heart problem, I still operate a small business. I enjoy your e-mails and informative videos and some day I hope to transition to a small back yard nursery. Keep up the good work.

  2452. I love growing plants and have gotten many tips from you over the last few years. I live in Florida and have lots of questions so would love the membership to interact with other gardeners from the area. Farm raised girl from Illinois who loves planting seeds and watching what grows!

  2453. I have been following you for years! Thank you so much for all of your valuable information. One of my favorite things about gardening is the fellowship with other gardeners. I love to share plants with people who share my passion.

  2455. Mike,
    We have been following your work for some time now and the continuing process of your great efforts always keep us inspired.

    We are nearing our time of completing our main lifelong employment careers and are merging into plant propagation and creating crafts compliments. Our long time plan is to take what we will have produced thru the annum and travel the Craft-Fairs circuits here in Northern California to visit places we have not seen in bountiful Nor Cal territory.

    Our plan is to take our stories out on the road as we travel around the countryside meeting the vast array of many crafts-fair goers here in this territory. We enjoy meeting people from all walks and traditions. We so enjoy listening to their life’s stories and learn how they enjoy their adventure.

    Plants are like dogs and donkeys as they simply require our Mother Earth her water and her nutrients and most of all a simple loving and nurturing relationship with us. What a simple formula.

    They are genuine relationships that last a lifetime.

    Stay the continuing course as you hav inspired us and we are enjoying being a part of your never ending energy and expertise in all you do.

    Thank you for sharing your gift to all of us who have followed Mikes Backyard Nursery.

    Keep inspiring!

    Richard and Valerie Keating
    Woodland Ca.

  2456. High I would love to have a free membership. I use your techniques in all my gardening. Thanks for the news letters.

  2458. I bought your books & videos years ago and read all your email articles thinking one of these days I’ll get started. But it just never seems to happen. Maybe this year…… Thanks for all the great info & training.

  2459. Love, Love LOVE your video instructions!! Mike is so knowledgable and speaks like he is talking to me. He keeps things simple and eay to understand. Love you, Mike;)!!

  2462. Mike, I love all the tips that you put out on your site, they are so helpful and things that I have wondered about, somehow you read my mind and the next thing I know you are posting about it! I would love to start selling starts from my own small greenhouse and you make it possible with all the great info you put out! Thank you for what you do and I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very prosperous New Year!!!

  2463. Hi Mike. Thank you for all you freely give to others–very helpful information, your time, as well as these other giveaways! I look forward to getting my place ready to plant and propogate and share. I love the idea of providing baby trees and shrubs for others to enjoy. May your generosity be well rewarded.

  2467. Hi Mike,

    I’ve been reading your newsletter, watching your videos and *drooling* for a couple of years now. But I live in Canada. Moving plant material across the border is difficult and expensive, as anyone who has tried it knows, and basically, once you add the customs, duties, quarantines and risk of having your shipment seized the .69 cent rooted cutting, and therefore the membership in BYG, becomes, um, not so attractive.

    So, my question is: Is there a Canadian branch of Backyard Growers? We could trade amongst ourselves w /o the border problems. It would be a smaller group, no doubt, but would be plants that grow in our climate.

    Regards and happy winter,

    Dawn

  2469. I love reading your posts. I have moved to a new place that actually gets sun. I am thinking of starting the BY GS.

  2470. I would love to learn these techniques and prepare for a small business venture in nursery growing. Thank you.

  2471. I have already learned so much from the ebook and would love access to the members area. Thanks for all the info you post on the blog!

  2473. Mike, I’ve learned a lot from your posts and videos. You’ve helped me get a small nursery set up here in Cambodia.
    Thank you so much

  2474. I think miniature donkeys would be a great addition to our Cape Cod Farm. How do I convince my wife it is a good idea. I tried the Zonkey idea for coyote control but couldn’t sell it. I have not broached the Chuppacabra idea because climate change wont support the species yet. Im feeling like a winner today!

  2475. Mike,
    We love reading your stories, and find your tips very informative! We definitely need extra help; we have a 6 month old daughter, and our 6 year old rescue dog needs acl surgery. Thanks for the opportunity!

  2476. I love all of your great advice, Mike. I just tried propagating for the first time and can’t wait to see the results. Awesome site!!

  2479. I would love to have a Membership. I’m now 80 years old living on a very fixed in come from social security. I still love gardening.

  2481. Thank you, Mike! All the information you provide is brilliant… keep up the great work! I look forward to every email. I’ve recently purchased 5 acres and I’m looking forward to spring.

  2483. I would so appreciate a membership as I cannot yet afford one full membership. I do still try to keep up with your informative posts. Right now I am growing Rose of Sharon Seedlings. I do not know what color or species but love to see them grow.

  2484. Mike you always have such interesting tidbits of information and I really like getting email with your videos . Especially like seeing the pets. Mine like to help too!
    Thanks for all you do.

  2486. Thanks Mike,
    I have been a hobby nurseryman for many years, giving away my rooted cuttings and seedlings. Now that I’m retired, I’m entering the foray for real. Your site has been a go to place for knowledge and entertainment. Thanks for all you do.
    Joe

  2488. Mike,

    Thanks for the giveaways. The wealth of information in your blogs is fantastic. Offering these shears and memberships are icing on the cake!

    Happy Holidays!

    Ken

  2489. Earlier this year I took the test drive and paid the seven dollars to navigate through your Backyard. LOL,
    I found so much information that blew me away I was very impressed. I have since started to play around with cuttings from my yard, both bushes and tress, just to see what I could produce. The options are almost limitless. I was waiting to join the Private Members area when I unfortunately lost my employment. I would love to continue this amazing quest to start my own small backyard business and hopefully take it to the next level. You have been a big inspiration to me and hopefully with a new job here soon I can afford to join and take my dream to a whole new level. Thanks and Happy Holidays.

  2491. I WATCHED YOUR VIDEOS ON YOU TUBE, SOME SEVERAL TIMES, BEST DOWN TO EARTH ON YOU TUBE. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE AND HARD WORK MAKING THESE VIDEOS.

  2493. DirtBoy Dave from pa here… I’d love to be among those being considered for your club drawing….. As a permanent membership in the members area and access to the market place to buy and sell cuttings would be the Cat’s Meow! Is that picture of the pruning shears the actual ones? Those are really good for a leaf cutting? Also… if anyone can say…In the spring do you just dip the base of your hydrangea leaf or do you cut a stem section with a leaf…then trim up your leaf a bit? Thanks much, Merry Christmas to everyone and your loved ones and families, Big Dave from Pa!

  2496. Since retirement I have been looking for something that is interesting to me and something that I enjoy doing. I have built several raise beds for growing vegetables in my backyard. I have purchased your book on “small Plants Big Profits”. I am reluctant to grow and sell on a large scale in my community where city ordinance does not allow a business. But on a small scale of mail order purchases I belief I would not have a problem.
    Thank you for the opportunity to become a member.

  2498. my husband, bill, enjoys all your emails and is learning a lot from them, even at age 76. he’s very active in the yard and garden.

    a year ago he did the stick planting, really enjoying things like that.

    for bill gandy, wife linda gandy

  2499. Just started propagating with stem cuttings of different annuals in small greenhouse as well as
    Three different types gardenias. Could really use either. Need all help I can get!! Want to try hydrangeas next.

  2501. This site is so exciting…I love growing, propagating (64, now a grandma) plants and the continuous learning gardening offers.! When God said go forth and multiply, I believe he had gardeners in mind too.!

  2507. Mike,

    Love your site and advise. I’m a blueberry grower getting into propagation with my new greenhouse. I would love to join your back office to share my deals and experience.

  2508. I have used some of your tips to root Huckleberry, which I am told are extremely difficult to root.

  2511. Hi Mike. I heard you wanted to give me a free membership for christmas… how thoughtful of you:)

  2514. There is always valuable information in your posts. I read and re-read every one.
    I especially enjoyed the one on Liriope cultivation and separation..
    I sold over 1,000 plants in October.

  2517. A Private Members Only Membership would be a great after Christmas Suprise. Please consider me for one of the two giveaway memberships.

  2518. Wow Mike!

    You continue to amaze me with your enthusiasm and creativity. I’m proud to be a member of this family called BYG. Merry Christmas to you and to all who read this post.

    Respectfully,
    dan

  2519. Enjoy your post’s and look forward to doing some tip’s of yours in the spring ……..too late—-too cold here in Nova Scotia, Canada

  2523. Ohmygoodness ! I am in serious need of pruning shears, as I lost the ones I have been using for years ! Thanks !