GardenTech - Your Garderning One Stop Centre

Grow Your Own Apple From Seed

2012-01-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

Have you ever tried to grow apple trees from seeds collected from an apple? It certainly makes good sense that they would germinate. They are seeds and seeds are supposed to grow, right?

I've heard people say apples seeds collected from apples are hybridized and therefore can't grow because hybrids are sterile.

They are correct in that most commercially grown apples hold hybridized seeds inside. They are probably incorrect that this is the reason why your apple seeds don't germinate.

Bees bring pollen from one tree to the next. If the bee recently visited a delicious apple tree then visits a granny smith apple tree the resulting apples would produce delicious x granny smith seeds.

You might come up with the next award winning apple variety but don't count on it.

These seeds are not going to produce a granny smith or a delicious apple tree. They would produce a tree with mixed genetics.

Granny smith and delicious are hybrids themselves, this means the new seeds would be ploy-hybrid. This doesn't have much to do with viability; the seeds can still be fertile. The myth that seeds collected from hybridized apples are sterile might be caused by the fact that apple seeds need to be stratified before they will germinate. Stratification means the seeds have to be treated with cool temperatures for a certain length of time before they will germinate. Most people probably don't think to stratify their apple seeds. The seeds never germinate hence the idea that they are sterile or infertile.

If you collect seeds from an apple and put them in soil or a terrarium, your apple seeds likely won't germinate for 2 reasons. The seeds need a dry out period followed by a stratification period. If you skip these 2 steps you probably won't have success germinating your apple seeds.

If you want to germinate apple seeds collected from an apple first let the seeds dry out for 3-4 weeks. Set the seeds on a piece of wax paper etc and roll them over every day or 2. After a month or so the seeds lose that dark shine and get a lighter dryer look. This is a good indication the seeds have dried well.

Once the seeds are dry put them in a container or zip lock bag. You can also add soil if you wish. Place the container or bag in your refrigerator for about 3 months.

If you chose to add soil you can moisten the soil after about 10 or 11 weeks. Keep a good watch on the bag and let fresh air in often. You should start to see leaves popping out of the soil in a few weeks if everything went right.

If you didn't choose to add soil you can try to plant the seeds directly into pots or in the ground. If you time it out you can let the seeds dry over the winter and put them into the refrigerator 3 months before the frost usually leaves. Cool weather seems to help apple seeds sprout as well. Commercially grown apple varieties are usually grafted to a wild variety rootstock. The wild variety will be hearty and adapted to the local climate. This method not only produces more apples, without grafting, certain varieties wouldn't be able to grow in certain climates. Grafting allows commercial farmers to produce more varieties in limited opportunity type climates.

This brings another complication into the whole idea of growing cross pollinated apple seeds. You don't know it the new variety you get will be tolerant to you local climate. The tree might simply die off after a winter or 2.

If you do manage to succeed in starting apple trees from seed don't forget to protect them from critters. Rabbits and deer like to eat fruit trees, especially young tender ones. Put up some kind of fence for rabbits and use other defenses against deer etc.

Deer, rabbits and other herbivores have also very likely been the culprits of that mystical apple tree that appeared in your field or at your cabin and in those areas that don't usually get mowed. Animals eat apples and the seeds that pass through these animals can still be viable. I've seen many apple trees spring up in my aunt's horse pasture when I was growing up. We would collect apples from wild trees growing in the woods and feed the scabby ones to her horses in the autumn. The following summer new apple trees would sprout up around the pasture.

A Good time to collect apple seeds is when mom is making an apple pie. Sometimes I eat an apple I think is exceptional and save the seeds. Who knows I might get lucky or I might just have a little fun.

Growing apple trees from commercially grown seeds isn't really a bad thing. It would make a great project if you are interested in seeing what kind of apples you will get. I suggest starting this project at a young age if you want to see the results though.

Another reason to start apples from seed would be for a science fair project. You could try germinating apple seeds that have been stratified for different periods of time, some that were frozen, some that were never stratified and see which method produced the best results.

Good luck with your apple seeds! Steve Snyder ArticleBase

Tips To Keep Gardening Tools

2012-01-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

What is gardening Tools ?

A garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardens and gardening and overlaps with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture. Garden tools can also be hand tools power tools. and

The hand tools still used by gardeners originated with the earliest agricultural implements used by man:the spade, the garden hoe, the pitchfork, the garden fork, the garden rake and the plough. The earliest tools were made of wood, flint and bone.

The development of metal working, first in copper and later in iron and steel, enabled the manufacture of more durable tools. Industrial metalworking enabled the manufacture of cutting tools, including pruning shears (secateurs) and grass shears.

The first power tool to become popular with gardeners was the lawn mower. This has been followed by a very wide range of power tools, including cultivators, string trimmer, Irrigation sprinklers, hedge trimmers, lawn aerators, leaf sweepers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, and mini-tractors.

Here is a guide for the proper care of your garden tools:

1. Remove all the dirt and any rust that might be on the tool. You can use a wire brush for the surface cleaning. If there are stubborn rust spots, use a rust remover available at most garden centers.

2. Sharpen all cutting tools. Use a file or a whetstone for the job.

3. Check the handles to see if they are tight. Should the handle be loose, it’s necessary to repair it at once. If the handle comes off, use adhesive and set it back on small hand tools.

4. While checking the handle, if it is made of wood, examine it for signs of splits. If there is a split, apply adhesive and clamps, replace the handle (if possible).

5. If the wood is rough, use sandpaper to get it smooth again.

6. Apply a coat of varnish to the wood handles, or rub with an oily rag. They will last longer if you do.

7. Coat all metal parts with oil (I use WD-40), grease or varnish so that the tools remain rust-free during the winter.

8. Store all tools safely in a dry place where they will be out of the way for the winter months – I use a plastic trash can. Protect all cutting edges by covering with cardboard taped to the metal or several layers of masking tape over the sharp edge.

9. Check your lawn mower. Clean it and sharpen it before you put it away for the season.

10. If you have a power mower, it is necessary to put the motor to “bed” for the winter.

Source : Plant-Care

Wikipedia

Homeandgardenideas

Gardening Book

2011-12-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

Gardening books come in all different shapes and sizes and offer more information on gardening than can be found anywhere else. Anything anyone ever wanted to know about gardening can be found in a gardening book. Gardening books are not expensive, and will end up being worth much more than you will pay for one. Not only can gardening books be used for personal use, they are also an excellent gift for a gardening friend.

For the beginner, gardening books are almost a necessity in starting a garden. Books will give step-by-step instructions and easy to understand directions on how to plant a garden, from breaking up the dirt to how much water your plants need. They will give all of the necessary details about every type of plant, such as how much light they need to survive, how often they need to be watered, how much nutrients must be added to the soil, and any other little quirks that plants have.

Gardening books are very informational and range anywhere from just a pamphlet size book with a few pages to a novel size book with hundreds of pages. The information provided is top notch and a lot of it cannot be found anywhere else. Books provide hints and tips on how to make your plants healthier, how to keep your garden free of weeds, and how to prevent against and fight diseases.

Often times gardening books will give readers ideas they had never thought of before. For example, there are hundreds of vegetables and herbs out there that many people would never think of growing in their backyard, but would be very good to grow in your own personal garden. There are also millions of flowers many people don’t think about but that are very beautiful. There are hundreds of people that would probably trade their rose bush for an exotic flower, and with a gardening book they could read about what types of flowers are available and will grow in their area.

Whether you enjoy gardening or not, gardening books are wonderful gifts if you have a gardening friend. It is personalized and you can give a great gift that isn’t that expensive. You could even give it to someone who doesn’t garden. Who knows, maybe they will be interested and decide to plant a garden. (see home vegetable gardening, Vegetable Bible, more 700 gardening tips)

Gardening books are excellent for any type of gardener at any level. No matter how much gardening knowledge and experience you have, I guarantee you there is a gardening book somewhere that has something in it you don’t know. Gardening books can be used no matter what you grow: shrubs, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and trees, even those of you who grow weeds!. Source : ArticleFactory, Nicholas Tan

Grow Your Own Grapes.

2011-12-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone loves grapes. Although these fruit are small in size, they are one of the sweetest and are packed with lots of health benefits at the same time. The question is: what is the possibility to grow them in your own home garden?

Surely you will get to love these fruit more, won’t you? Today, growing grapes at home, is not such an intimidating job anymore, due to the wide range of information available these days. Therefore, the possibility of a sound harvest of your own is now in your grasp and that's what you should not fail to try. The next step is knowing the right considerations first. Though grapes look the same, they are generally still unique to each other in terms of characteristics. So be guided by these fail-safe grape growing at home considerations first:

The Climate
Before you get ahead of yourself, due to the excitement of grape growing, consider your local climate first. You should understand that every grape growing success, depends greatly on climate. Yes, grapes can generally grow in areas with either cold or warm climates, but none of them will survive in areas where climate is too hot or too cold.

The Soil
It is through the soil where these vines get all the nutrients needed in the growing process. That is why you should always make it one of your top priorities. The type of soil you will need for your vines, should be those that are not too moist and not too dry and likewise those that can retain a good amount of water.

The Planting Process
Since grapevines are moisture-loving plants, never forget that when planting, you should at least plant the rootstock as soon as you purchase it from your local nursery, so that it does not dry out. Young grapes should not dry out. When they are young, they always want their feet wet.

The Watering Process
Like any other plants, grapevines will end in nothing if you do not give them regular water. Grapevines, particularly those that are young and newly planted, are in dire need of plenty water. So make it a habit to water them not less than twice a day. Just make sure to let them drain, especially when they are mature enough, because too much water and moisture will make them sick.

The Fertilization Secret
When it comes to fertilizing the vines, you can know whether they are healthy or not by checking the leaves. Once you notice that their leaves appear light and not dark green in color, the immediate response should be adding fertilizer. Add about five to six inches of compost to each plant. Doing this will likely envelope the vines with the complete nutrients they need as they grow.

Growing grapes at home is all about considering all of these facts given above. So what else are you waiting for? Run to the nearest grape nursery and do the planting. One day, you will taste the sweetness of your labor. And once that day arrives, you will surely be proud of yourself for being able to grow your own grapes from scratch. Leon123

See video below,

How to Plant Grapes -- powered by ehow

How To Shred Your Leaves to Create Leaf Mulch

2011-11-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered why some people gather as many leaves as they can, even pick up their neighbors’ leaves and create leaf mulch out of them?

Well there’s a good reason for wanting this leaf mulch (also known as leaf mold) in their gardens. While compost is excellent for improving soil texture and adding nutrients to the soil, the broken down leaf mulch (often referred to as leaf mold) is the best soil amendment you can use:

1) Leaf mulch helps the soil hold onto water even during times of extreme drought.

2) It improves the structure of the soil by adding humus; that is, decayed vegetable matter.

3) It provides carbon, a much-needed ingredient in all good soil types, and

4) It is a fantastic home for earth worms and other beneficial bacteria.

It is important to shred the leaves first before adding them to your soil. The more you break them down the faster the resulting leaf mulch will decompose and turn to soil.

If leaves are dug into a garden without first being shredded, there is a chance that they will not decompose thoroughly. The bad side of that situation is that decomposition requires nitrogen. If you are not planting anything in that area where you have dug in your leaves, there’s no problem.

However, if you want to plant vegetables in the same plot where there are leaves not fully decomposed, the leaves will use up the nitrogen in your soil and the veggies, who also need nitrogen to grow, will suffer.

So if you want to use your leaves as leaf mulch, here are seven shredding methods you can choose from. The first three methods require less work, but the decomposition takes longer (6 to 12 months). The last few methods will drastically speed up decomposition but does require more work (well worth it, I might add .. . and easy to do)

1. You can make leaf mulch by piling all the leaves in a corner of your yard and letting the worms gradually drag them under. Better still, if you have a set up where your garden is bounded on three sides by a fence, you can spread your leaves all over the garden, wet them down and turn them over occasionally by shuffling your feet as you walk through them. Unless you have a super pileup of leaves, most of them should have disappeared by spring. This method is all right if you don’t have that many leaves

2. A second way to create leaf mulch is to pile your leaves into a wire or wooden bin at least three feet square by three feet tall. Then wet down the leaves with a hose, and when the pile is thoroughly moistened let it sit for the winter. The leaves will gradually break down.

3. A third method is to use large plastic garbage bags in which you can store the gathered leaves. At this point you have a choice:

a) with a hose, moisten the leaves thoroughly before you close the top of the bag. Then, to allow air to circulate freely through the leaves in the bag, puncture holes with a sharp object or even a garden fork. Then stock pile the bags somewhere out of the way.

b) A second choice is to leave the bag tops open so that the leaves will dry. Once dry, use the “brown material” for your compost. Mix one part of “greens” (kitchen scraps etc.) to 5 parts dry leaves. You can add an accelerator to your compost to help it heat up.

4. A great way to create leaf mulch is by using a grass trimmer and a big garbage can to shred your leaves. Simply dump an armful of leaves into the garbage can, then shred by running the grass trimmer through the bunch of leaves. Keep repeating the procedure.

When you feel you have a sufficient amount of broken down leaves in your garbage can, transfer the leaf mulch to a plastic bag and choose method a or b in Number 3 to store your shredded leaves. Keep repeating the procedure until all the leaves have been shredded. See the video which explains the procedure of shredding with a grass trimmer and a large garbage can.

5. A variation of the number 4 method is to shred your leaves with a mulching lawn mower. First spread your leaves over the ground about 3 to 4 inches thick and pass over these leaves four or five times with your lawn mower. If your leaves are spread too thick, your mower might choke.

If your lawn mower can be equipped with a bag, you can collect your shredded leaves more quickly and more easily. The only hard part is to empty the bag every so often. To finish, gather the shredded leaves with a rake and put them into a bin or leave them on the ground to decompose. An alternative is to follow instructions in Number 3 above.

6. My favorite method when creating leaf mulch was to gather up the fallen leaves with a handheld electric blower/vacuum. I would set up the blower in such a way that the leaves would be swept up and blown into a bag. As the leaves would go through the system, they would be shredded many times over; thus, the overall bulk of leaves would be reduced tremendously and the decomposition would not take as long.

I would then empty the bag of shredded leaves into big garbage bags.
A few of these bags of leaves would be stored near my compost bins so that I could add some brown matter to my compost bin in the winter time while the rest would be put through the leaf eater to create finer mulch.

7. To further break down the leaves into extremely fine pieces, use a leaf eater through which you would run the already shredded leaves. This seventh method requires more work, but the resulting tiny, tiny pieces of broken down leaf was well worth the extra work. This leaf mulch could be used to top mulch overwintering plants to protect them against extreme cold in the winter. (When I put this mulch around my roses in the fall, I never lost a rose to frost or bitter cold.) In the spring, this mulch will break down more easily into a brown humus which can then be worked into the soil.

If you notice, when leaves fall in a wooded area, the leaf mulch will turn to a dark brown to black soil which has a beautiful earthy smell and a crumbly texture. People who understand cold composting and recognize the value of the leaf mulch will either go to wooded areas and gather up this black soil and mix it with their garden soil as soil amendment and/or shred fallen leaves and make their own leaf mulch which can then be used to supercharge their soil. Isnare, Marcelle Snyder

Improve Your Health by Gardening

2011-10-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Planting a garden of any kind can be a rewarding and healthy hobby for just about anyone. While your enjoying time outdoors you are also getting fresh air and a good dose of vitamin D. While gardening isn’t strenuous it does also provide some minimal amounts of exercise which we can all use. It also gives us something to care for and watch develop into beautiful flowers or tasty fruits and vegetables we can eat.

Don’t worry if you forget to water them, if your plants do end up wilting and dying you can always just plant more. This works especially well for teaching kids responsibility as they can see how their own actions or neglect will directly effect each and every plant. It’s a lot easier to teach them these life lessons this way then with a living breathing animal for a pet.

After you have put in all that hard work and time you get to see the fruits of your labor by having a luscious busy with bees buzzing and blooms showing their beauty to the world. Then, when the time comes you also get to pick the fruits and vegetables you cared for to be used in delicious home cooked meals. You can even give some of your crop away to neighbors as a gift.

The great part about growing your own produce is that once you learn what can be planted during each time of the year you will have fresh and healthy foods right at your finger tips anytime you want them. This is not only better for your health but also cuts down on your grocery bill too!

While these benefits may have already been obvious to you there are also some less obvious ones that many people never think of. Most of already know that fruits and vegetables are healthy for us, especially fresh ones. What you probably didn’t think of is how you will be able to control what chemicals are used on the plants. Produce we buy in the store is great but we still don’t know what was used on the plants during growth because we weren’t there. With our own garden we get to pick and choose if we use any. It’s the cheapest way there is to go organic!

The use of commercial fertilizer and other chemical treatments for mass production usually results in the plants not being able to get all the essential vitamins and nutrients they would normally hold. This means the produce we buy at the local super market doesn’t have near the amount of health benefits that those from our very own garden will have. While your plants may not yield as much as the big business crops you can rest easier knowing that yours is much better for you in the end.

Having your own garden is also a way to practice good environmental habits. For free fertilizer minus the chemicals you can start your own compost pile right in your back yard to give your plants that extra boost they need.

As you can see, the health benefits in planting your own garden are almost endless. You can sit down at each meal knowing what you are putting in your body will have no harmful effects because you grew it yourself. Source : Submit The Article

How To Growing Herbs In Pots

2011-10-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

Growing herbs in pots is a perfect solution to having a garden if you are limited by space or don t have a backyard Although they are specially interesting for people who lives in apartment and have limited space, they are also an interesting alternative even when you have a large dwelling and backyard. Proper pruning practices cause your plant to raise more. Caring for the plants inside is just as easy as herb gardening outdoors.

Considering the small space they take, potted herbs can be grown properly on a patio or balcony. Growing herbs in pots is favored since they can be kept at hand and be more accessible when cooking. Lemon balm, mint and lemon verbena are good examples of invading herbs that can be contained in pots. But to sum it up, growing herbs is a marvelous activity. They will fill up the room with a sweet smelling aroma and your grocery bill will drop considerably as you enjoy the heightened flavor of freshness to your meals.

Place your interior herb garden in window boxes, hanging baskets, and pots. A deck, the patio or near the back door often in the kitchen are places of choice. You can organize the pots in a lovely way that will add appeal to the room. Groups them by type, put the accent on one focal piece and work the other pots around it or formulate a composition using different sized containers and a varieties of hosts.

Use a quality potting soil as recommended on the seeds envelope with a proper mix of sand and gravel to assure good drainage. Plants grown in containers do best in good quality potting medium. The mix should be sterile, should hold moisture, and should permit aeration.

Herb gardens have the advantage of being year round, giving a continuous provision of fresh herbs. Containers of aromatic organic herbs comes in all sizes from a few small pots to a interior windowed deck. When growing indoors your first location choice should be any room, like the kitchen, with a south or west facing window when growing herbs in a container. All herbs need a sunny emplacement although some herbs expect different light requirements than others. Outside garden will be appropriate for perennials while indoor pots are well suited for annual herbs.

Plants need 4 6 hours of sunlight per day, so be sure to place your herbs in a place where they can get this light. When weather is either to hot or cold, its a good plus to be able to take the potted plants inside. Be aware that plants in containers will dry out much more rapidly than plants growing in outside ground. The moisture level must be checked regularly in order to maintain suitable moisture so that they do not wilt or get stressed from lack of water. Indoor plants savor to be delicately misted down with water on the leaves.

All herbs thrive in a very sunny location, keep in mind that some plants do not need the same amount. One idea if you cannot get your herbs near the sun inside your home is to apply an alternative light source such as a fluorescent or “grow lamp”.

Growing herbs in pots is a wide subject. This article might have inspired you and would like to find out more on herb gardening in containers. My website contains a lot of supplementary information for you to enjoy, just follow the link below.

Author Resource:- Eustache Davenport is a gardening enthusiast and author. visit http://www.HerbGardeningOnlineGuide.com

The “Ice Cube Method” of Watering Orchids

2011-09-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fascinating new development in the orchid world – watering orchids with ice cubes! There is much discussion about the topic on all the orchid forums. For instance, an expert orchid grower for decades will say that she has never before heard of this method and can’t think of a reason to do it when traditional watering methods work well enough. Then a orchid beginner will post that she recently purchased her first orchid from Walmart with instructions to water only with ice cubes, and it’s stunningly beautiful 3 months later!

So what in the world is going on here? This article explains why this method works, and why I think whoever came up with it should be awarded for the Orchid Idea of the Decade!

The orchid that comes with this simple instruction is a popular and easy to grow variety known as the Phalaenopsis orchid or “phal” for short. It is also known as the moth orchid. Most orchids thrive with a particular kind of watering regimen that does not come naturally for an orchid beginner. Orchids should be drenched once a week or so, but in such a way that the water is allowed to pass completely over the roots and right out the bottom of the pot. Veteran orchid growers are accostomed to achieving this by making sure the orchid is potted in such a way that there is proper drainage and air circulation around the roots.

We often bring our orchid pots to a sink and drench them. But it’s a rare beginner who doesn’t find this complicated. And this is completely different from the vast majority of houseplants that like a saucer full of water at the base of the pot. Do this to an orchid and it dies! Thus the trickle of water once a week from melting ice cubes may just be the perfect way to make orchid watering simple and fail-safe for a beginner.

There is a second aspect of the orchid that makes the ice cube method so interesting. Phal blooms are stunning and last a long time. When the blooming is over, this particular kind of orchid needs a cool period to trigger the growth of a new spike of blooms. This cool period includes a shift in temperature from approximately 80 to 55 degrees which is difficult to achieve in most homes. The cool water of the melted ice absorbed by the orchid roots is just enough cold to stimulate the growth of a new stem of flowers, or as we say in the orchid world, a "spike". Once again the ice cube is a brilliant solution.

How many ice cubes and when? I’ve heard of great results with anywhere from 3 to 6 ice cubes once per week. Place them on top of the orchid medium whether it is bark or sphagnum. I would avoid placing the ice right on top of an exposed root, but some claim that this is no problem. And as you can gather from this discussion, this method is only recommended for orchids. Isnare -Jan Gilbert

Earthworm Function In Gardening

2011-08-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Notice the lowly earthworm, squirming away, going about its everyday business. Simple creatures you may think but they have quite a important use in the garden. Did you know the earthworms are nature's first gardeners? They don't exist just for kids to eat and fishermen to use as bait :)

Some Basic Earthworm Facts

Earthworms are present in almost every type of soil but the healthier the soil the greater the numbers. A healthy soil permits lots of air and moisture, both of which are needed by the earthworm for a continued existence. Earthworms have no lungs like you or me but instead breathe through their skin. Their whole skin absorbs oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. They also need moisture to assist them in respiration but too much moisture is not good for them.

There are four types of earthworm that you may run into:
Nightcrawlers: 8 to 10 inches long and the fisherman's favourite.
Garden Worms: 5 to 7 inches long and found commonly in damp soils.
Manure Worms: 4 to 5 inches long and found in manure rich soils.
Red Worms: 3 to 4 inches long and the most commercially available.

Why Earthworms in the Garden?

A garden without earthworms would miss out on all of the great benefits that they bring to it. Their first job is to till the soil by tunneling through it. Tunnels created allow air and moisture to pass easily through the soil, creating a healthy environment for plants. Tunnels retain water that the plants can take up and also hold air to help bacteria break down organic matter within the soil.

After digestion earthworms produce excrement about the size of a pin head. This excrement is called "castings" or "vermicompost" and is an excellent soil conditioning material. It improves properties of the soil such as porosity and moisture retention, aids plant growth and helps in the fight against pests and diseases.

Increasing Earthworm Population in the Garden

How does one go about increasing the number of earthworms in their garden soil? Well the best way to do so is to add more organic matter to the soil. Earthworms cannot get enough of the stuff.and will seek it out wherever they can find it.

Finally...

The earthworm is just as important to the garden as the gardener that maintains it because they till the soil and add a soil conditioner in the form of castings. They are as much a gardener as you are. The next time you see one wiggling on the ground in front of you bend down and say "got any good gardening tips?" You never know it may answer :)

Fact about earthworm,

These critters are underground farmers who turn over the soil like a plough.
In just one acre there can be a million or more of them, eating 10 tons of leaves, stems, and dead roots a year and turning over 40 tons of soil in the process.
There are 4,400 different species of worms.
There are 2,700 different kinds of earthworms.
The tunnels created by the worms help plant growth by aerating the soil allowing for better water penetration.

The earthworm lives on average one year.
Worms fertilize the soil with their castings, which contain the recycled nutrients from the debris they eat.
Many earthworms are not native to the United States, most were introduced from Europe.
Earthworms do not have eyes, but are light sensitive.
Sunlight will kill earthworms.

Source : GardenStew
Skywalker

Why You Should Plant Your Vegetables

2011-07-24T02:07:00.000-07:00

The thinking behind living off the land as well as being totally self sufficient may be beyond the reach of many of us but it is relatively easy to grow some fruit and vegetables for ourselves. The extent to how you can do this will probably depend on the dimensions of your garden and with a little imagination, you can soon begin to reap the benefits of your efforts. Years ago, the majority of people simply had to grow their own produce. We presently live in a world of superstores and online shopping and thus it is not essential anymore. Yet the wave of growing your own fruit and vegetables is rising again so we will take a look at the benefits.

The main advantage of planting your own produce is money savings particularly because the world economy is in flux. When our economy is in its unstable state, our food costs will increase or we experience a shortage of one thing or another. However, if you decide to grow your own produce, you will find that it can be easy and can have a positive effect on your wallet. There is certainly a great delight in recognizing that the food on your table has been mainly home produced and that the cost to you has been almost nothing.

Recently we have seen a developing market for organic food and you will often see many different types of organically produced items in the shops. You can find many studies done that illustrate the benefits of organic food in terms of our health and general well being. One disadvantage, however, is the expense and if you are on a tight budget it could be that you need to keep your outgoings down. Also, we are not sure if the conditions that make a product certified organic are strict enough. These problems can be easily overcome by simply growing your own fruits, herbs and vegetables.

As we begin to search for natural health options, we are also looking at the foods that we eat everyday to see how fresh and how safe they are. We have to be confident that the food we eat has all the essential vitamins and minerals we need to lead healthy lives. We are unable to depend upon the use by dates since it does not fully explain how fresh or how nutritious the product is. We really have no idea how much time it took from the time it was packaged to the time it reached our store shelves. Additionally, you have to question if fruits and vegetables are harvested to satisfy transportation needs rather than when it is right from a nutritional point of view. When you grow your own, you can pick these fresh from your garden at the ideal time to supply you with the nutrients in their most natural state.

In addition to all of these benefits is the sheer satisfaction you can get from this, so go ahead and start growing your own fruit and vegetables today. BaseArticles

How To Control Insects Naturally

2011-07-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Most gardeners are anxious to get out into their gardens as soon as the weather warms up and the first green sprout appears. Unfortunately, plant-eating insects are just as anxious as we are to get into the garden. They seem to think that our beautiful shrubs and tasty vegetables were planted for their benefit!

There are many fine products available in catalogs and garden centers to control insects. But for health or environmental reasons, some gardeners are hesitant to use chemicals in their garden, especially in a vegetable garden.

So what can you do to avoid sharing your beautiful flowers, shrubs and vegetables with every insect that passes through the neighborhood without using potentially harmful chemicals?

Practicing good garden housekeeping should be your first defense in the battle of gardener versus insects. In other words, keep a clean garden and don’t give the insects a place to hide and reproduce. Rake up any dead leaves from the ground and discard them, or better yet, add them to your compost. Harvest vegetables as soon as they ripen, and don’t leave over-ripe vegetables in the garden. Clear out all dead foliage from your gardens in the fall. Prune out any dead or damaged branches from your trees and shrubs, making clean cuts without ragged edges where insects can hide.

If you find insect damage on your plants, there are a large number of organic products that work in a variety of ways to kill insects or discourage them from eating your garden plants. Because many organic insect controls are used for specific types of insects, it is very important to know what insects you are dealing with before choosing the correct organic insecticide. Carefully examine the damaged plant to find the culprits, looking under the leaves and along the stems where they may be hiding.

Your county’s Ag Extension Agent can help identify specific insects, or you can also do an online search for insect identification sites.

Butterflies often lay their eggs on plants, and when those eggs hatch the little caterpillars will stay and feed on the plant as they grow. Caterpillars can be controlled using a common organic insecticide known as Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria that causes caterpillars to stop eating and die. There are several varieties of Bt that can be used, depending on the type of caterpillar you’re after, including one specific to Colorado potato beetle larvae and another for corn earworms. Bt is also effective against tomato hornworms, the little green worms that like broccoli and cabbage, and bagworms. Bt should be applied at 1-2 week intervals to kill succeeding generations of insects. Gardeners with butterfly gardens should avoid using Bt on their plants because it is harmful to butterfly caterpillars. However, Bt is completely harmless to pets and people.

Diatomaceous earth is another natural insecticide that may be used on a variety of insects. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that feels like talc, but it is actually the fossilized skeletal remains of small aquatic critters called diatoms. It is completely harmless to people and pets, but when soft-bodied insects come in contact with it, the tiny sharp edges of the diatoms lacerate the insects, making them dehydrate and perish. Apply diatomaceous earth in the early morning or evening when the plants are wet with dew, which will make the powder stick to the surface of the leaves and doom the insects that walk through it. Diatomaceous earth can be used to control ants, aphids, beetle grubs, box-elder bugs, flea beetles, those nasty little earwigs and many more insects. It’s also safe to use on houseplants, and can even be sprinkled on the ground to control slugs. Insecticidal soap is another favorite organic insect control.

Safe to use around bees, birds, and animals, insecticidal soap is made of fatty acid salts. It can be used in the garden and on houseplants to control aphids, spider mites, whiteflies and some leafhoppers and caterpillars. The drawback to insecticidal soap is that it must be sprayed directly onto the offending insects to be effective. Insects breathe through their shells, and insecticidal soap suffocates insects by coating their shells so they cannot breathe. Insecticidal soap must be applied thoroughly and repeatedly for the best results.

There are also plant-based insecticides available. The seeds of the Neem tree produce an oil that disrupts insects’ reproductive cycle, preventing them from multiplying. The Neem tree is native to Southeast Asia and is also grown now in Australia for its insecticidal properties. Neem works quickly and is effective against a variety of caterpillars, beetles, aphids and borers.

Many insects are actually fussy eaters and they won’t eat plants that are distasteful to them. If you’ve grown garlic you may have noticed that insects leave it alone. You can find insect repellants made with garlic that can be sprayed onto plants to prevent insects from eating them. These garlic-based insect repellents become odorless within five minutes after they’re applied and leave no aftertaste on food crops. The plants actually absorb the garlic and stay distasteful to insects for up to a month. There are also garden insect repellants available that are made with hot peppers. Like the garlic-based repellants, the hot pepper repellants are sprayed on the plants to make them distasteful to insects.

Organic insecticides and insect repellants are becoming available at more garden centers and gardening catalogs every year. It is not difficult to control insects with organic insecticides, but the organic gardener must be diligent with frequent plant inspections and take prompt action to avoid infestations when insect damage is found in the garden. Source : Kathy Anderson

Organic Insects Control

2011-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

So what can you do to avoid sharing your beautiful flowers, shrubs and vegetables with every insect that passes through the neighborhood without using potentially harmful chemicals?

Rake up any dead leaves from the ground and discard them, or better yet, add them to your compost. Harvest vegetables as soon as they ripen, and don’t leave over-ripe vegetables in the garden. Clear out all dead foliage from your gardens in the fall. Prune out any dead or damaged branches from your trees and shrubs, making clean cuts without ragged edges where insects can hide.

Bt is also effective against tomato hornworms, the little green worms that like broccoli and cabbage, and bagworms. Bt should be applied at 1-2 week intervals to kill succeeding generations of insects. Gardeners with butterfly gardens should avoid using Bt on their plants because it is harmful to butterfly caterpillars. However, Bt is completely harmless to pets and people.

Diatomaceous earth can be used to control ants, aphids, beetle grubs, box-elder bugs, flea beetles, those nasty little earwigs and many more insects. It’s also safe to use on houseplants, and can even be sprinkled on the ground to control slugs.

Insecticidal soap is another favorite organic insect control. Safe to use around bees, birds, and animals, insecticidal soap is made of fatty acid salts. It can be used in the garden and on houseplants to control aphids, spider mites, whiteflies and some leafhoppers and caterpillars. The drawback to insecticidal soap is that it must be sprayed directly onto the offending insects to be effective. Insects breathe through their shells, and insecticidal soap suffocates insects by coating their shells so they cannot breathe. Insecticidal soap must be applied thoroughly and repeatedly for the best results.

The plants actually absorb the garlic and stay distasteful to insects for up to a month. There are also garden insect repellants available that are made with hot peppers. Like the garlic-based repellants, the hot pepper repellants are sprayed on the plants to make them distasteful to insects.

Gardening Can Reduce Stress

2011-05-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Credit to: DailyMail

Planting a beautiful garden can be a great way to relive stress! Whether you have a small patio to decorate, or a vast amount of space to tend, the act of making your particular stretch of nature into a haven can be a stress reliever in itself, and the garden that you create can bring you even more peace. Here’s why:

Getting In Touch With Nature: Being in touch with nature and the great outdoors can help you feel more removed from the stressors of daily life. With the amount of time we spend indoors (at work, watching t.v., etc) many people feel an urge to connect with nature that goes unfulfilled. While you may not have the time to go camping or take a nature hike each day, having your piece of nature right outside your back door can help you feel some of this connection. Gardening Without Stress and Strain

Creating Beauty: The beauty of nature is a great stress reliever in itself. (Just think of how many times relaxation has been connected with pictures of stunning landscapes or recordings of nature’s sounds.) Having your own bit of beauty available as a place for meditation, contemplation and relaxation can provide quite a bit of relief from stress. It’s all part of making your home a haven from stress.

Sunlight: Just getting out in the sunlight can actually improve your mood! (In fact, there’s a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder that affects some people during Winter months when there is less sunlight.) Sunlight also provides an influx of vitamin D, and the fresh air that that goes with it is good for your health. Getting outdoors to work with your garden is a great excuse to get more of this good stuff.

Raises Self-Esteem

Gardening requires hard work and dedication. The reward for this effort is a great sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem. Gardening fosters optimism from watching plants grow throughout the season and seeing the fruits of your labor develop into food. The delicious fruits and vegetables harvested give gardeners the opportunity to share them with family, friends and neighbors. A successful growing season provides a great sense of achievement.

Physical Activities and Sensory Stimulation
Gardening provides a variety of exercise for the body. Muscles are developed through digging, lifting and raking. Walking, weeding and mowing can accomplish aerobic activity. Best of all, the focus on gardening tasks makes exercise easy. Dump Your Stress in the Compost Pile: Stress Reduction Through Gardening

Landscapes are a wonderful way to observe nature. The garden landscape helps connect you to the natural rhythms of the seasons and natural cycles. Growing colorful flowers and ornamentals allows for creative expression in decorating and art. Cooking garden produce brings creativity into the kitchen with fun and nutritious meals to share with family and friends. Source : CDCG, About.com

Make Money Growing Rooted Cuttings and Selling them Wholesale

2011-05-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Once you know how to effectively propagate landscape plants, you will soon have more rooted cuttings than you can use. At that time you can decide whether or not you should quit growing cuttings, since you have all you need, or maybe you like to sell some of your cuttings to a wholesale grower.

Let's discuss how easy it is to start a business selling lining out stock. That’s what nurserymen call the little plants that they buy to plant out in the field or in containers. Lining out stock, or liners for short.

“Nurserymen buy plants?” You might be asking.

Yes they do. Nurserymen probably buy more plants than any other group of people in the country. Why would they buy them if they know how to grow them?

Because sometimes they can’t grow them fast enough to keep up with the demand. Or maybe they would like to grow a certain variety of plant, but can’t grow it themselves because they don’t have any place to get several thousand cuttings. So what they do is buy in rooted cuttings, plant them in the field or in containers, and then they either grow them on to sell, or they grow them on and just keep them around a year or two longer so they can take cuttings from them.

Then once they have a supply of their own plants they can sell the ones they bought in, that are now landscape size. Does this make sense?

Let’s say that Mary the nursery owner buys 1,000 Variegated Weigela rooted cuttings @ 50¢ each. She plants them in the field in the early spring and they take off growing like crazy. That summer she goes out and takes 3 cuttings from each plant (They need pruning away, right?).

She sticks those 3,000 cuttings under intermittent mist and in about 5 weeks she has 3,000 rooted cuttings that she can plant out that fall, and she does just that. The following summer she can get about6,000 cuttings from the original 1000 plants that she bought, plus another 9,000 cuttings from the 3,000 she planted out last fall.

That’s a total of 12,000 cuttings.

She continues to plant her rooted cuttings out in the field and keeps taking cuttings from them until she has all she wants to grow. From then on she can take as many cuttings as she needs from the plants that she has in the field.

By now the original 1,000 plants that she bought @ 50¢ each are large enough to dig and sell, and they are worth $10.00 to $15.00 each wholesale. That’s $8,000 from a $500 investment, plus she can produce as many variegated weigela as she wants without buying any more cuttings.

Does it really happen this way? Yes it does. I was recently talking to a friend who grows and sells all kinds of plants and he told me that he has been buying Dwarf Alberta Spruce cuttings and growing them on and selling them. He doesn’t even root any himself, he just buys 5,000 every year, pots them up and sells them wholesale. How many other nurseryman across the country do you suppose do that?

To get started you can either buy a stock plant or two, or buy several hundred cuttings of the variety that you would like to sell. Instead of planting them out in the field, I would plant them in beds. Make each bed 4’ wide so you can reach the center to weed and take cuttings, and place the plants in the bed 10” apart.

As long as you keep taking cuttings the plants will remain fairly small, and compact. Then after a two or three years dig them up, put them in pots and sell them. By then you will have thousands more coming on that you can take cuttings from. Start out slow until you know what there is a market for. Gardening Articles

Growing Pumpkins in Your Garden

2011-04-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Almost everybody loves pumpkins simply because they are delicious and nutritious too. They are also baked into the delicious and popular pumpkin pies that every kids love. Pumpkins are gourd-like squash that have yellow or orange thick shell that contains seeds and has pulps. Pumpkins are important to humans as foods and also used as decorations during special holidays such as the Halloween season.

Because of their importance to us primarily as a source of food, they are grown on almost all parts of the world except for Antarctica which can’t produce due to its climate.

Growing pumpkins in your garden is easy and requires minimal maintenance which is suitable for new gardeners. Pumpkins are known for being sturdy where even when they lose their leaves and some of their stems; they easily recover fast and thrive on almost any type of weather. However they do better on warm-weathered places but will do well on even weather conditions.

Basically, when planting a pumpkin, the best thing to do is to know what kind of pumpkin you want to grow on your garden. When you’ve decided on what pumpkin you want, you can now purchase the seeds from your local agricultural store. Pumpkins are ideally planted best on sunny spots because as I’ve said earlier, they thrive on warm weather and the more they get from the sun, the better they grow up. Although you can also put them in a spot where there’s minimal sunlight, they will not grow up as beautiful and as healthy as those that are planted with good sunlight.

You can either plant them in the middle of small hills or mounds that are made with trenches to keep them watered but at the same time free from not getting soaked during heavy rains. This is typical in most garden plants and works pretty well all the time. You can also soften the outer shell of the seeds by soaking them the night before you plant them. This method is used to make sprouting faster and easier. However, you can also plant it whenever you want to even without soaking it overnight. After putting the seeds on the hole you’ve made on the small hills or mounds, you can now cover them with soil to keep them from being eaten by birds and so that they will not dry out from the heat of the sun.

At this early stage, you should keep them moist at all time to make their growth faster and to maintain healthy pumpkin plants. Avoid pouring water so that you will not wash away the soil along with the seeds. All they need for now is gentle sprinkling of water. Refrain from touching and checking out the soil to avoid shaking and stressing out the delicate plant. In just a few days you will see that there are baby leaves coming out of the ground along with the soft stem. Be careful now when you are watering them so that they will not break. This is a simple way of planting your pumpkin on your garden. Enjoy and have fun planting pumpkins! Source : Isnare, Mike Lang

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How To Make Organic Vegetable Garden Patch

2011-03-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

A well-placed vegetable plot will be positioned so that it is in full sun for most of the year, especially from early March to late November. Some vegetables such as Brussels Sprouts continue to grow and need sun in the winter so take this into consideration as well.

Many vegetables are hungry feeders and almost all need a constant supply of water. So don't start your vegetable plot next to trees or hedges both of which will take the lion's share of water and nutrients.

During the summer months a constant supply of water can only be guaranteed by hand watering, either by a hosepipe or watering can. So make sure the plot is near a supply of water. You may also want herbs to be near the house so that they can easily be harvested when needed.

Shelter also needs to be considered. If your area suffers from strong winds it will be necessary to create a windbreak to protect your vegetable patch. A low hedge (not too high or it will take water and nutrients from the soil) can be effective. Strong shrubs such as potentillas will provide some shelter and summer colour.

Consider also using raised beds, they are ideal for beginners to gardening. Click here to go to our page on raised beds.

Clearing The Site
Before planting vegetables you may well need to clear the site. Existing weeds can be a big problem and there are several ways to clear them. Chemicals such as glyphosphate will kill most weeds dead within three or four weeks but the effect on the soil is not fully understood. The best method is digging the soil well and pulling out all the weeds as you go. Destroy the weeds, do not put them on the compost heap

Another "green" method of clearing weeds is to cover the ground with old carpets for a couple of months. This will kill most weeds but not all.

As well as clearing weeds, other objects on the proposed site need to be cleared as well. This includes rubbish and large stones.

Digging The Vegetable Patch
All that is required are a fork and lots of effort. Dig the soil to a spade's depth with a fork, turning the soil and breaking it up as you go. Remove any roots and weeds in the soil.

If the vegetable plot is large, a good compromise is to dig half of it in the first year, and cover the other half with old carpet. Leave the carpet on until next year and then it can be dug over when all the weeds are dead.

Source : http://www.gardenaction.co.uk

Ingredients for Good Compost

2011-02-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Compost is a type of organic material that resembles dirt, but which is very rich. It's more like organic fertilizer than soil, and when mixed in with soil provides gardens with a great source of nutrients for plants.

Many gardeners make their own compost right at home by simply composting kitchen and yard waste. There are many styles of compost bins for sale to make composting more effective and convenient. Some home composters choose to add certain worms to their developing compost to help it along, but if you're composting indoors it's perfectly understandable if you don't want to do this!

Composting using rotating compost bins or fixed ones, creates a great soil additive plus it recycles items that would otherwise be thrown out. Therefore, composting benefits the environment in two ways: by enriching soil and by keeping material out of the municipal waste stream. When it's added to your garden or flower beds, compost continues to break down for many years, giving your soil long-term nourishment that you can't duplicate with chemical fertilizers.

With compost tumblers and other types of compost bins, you do not have to worry about creating a smelly mess. When it's aerated properly, compost takes on an almost sweet smell, that some have described as similar to the smell of a forest after it rains. As long as you keep meat, fish, bones, fat, and dairy products from your compost, you don't have to worry about it smelling bad. Here are some of the main ingredients in good compost.

So-called green matter is the first ingredient in compost. This can be grass clippings, tree clippings, vegetable peels, carrot tops, banana peels, rotted fruits and vegetables, and even weeds. Green matter in your compost gives microorganisms the things they need to break down the carbon.

Brown matter includes shredded or chipped wood (untreated only), sawdust, dead leaves (ground up is best), dead plants and flowers, nut shells, and straw. And as long as it's free of harsh chemicals and colored ink, you can shred up junk mail and use it as brown matter. These ingredients provide the carbon the microorganisms feed on.

Other things you can put in compost include crushed up egg shells, tea bags, and coffee grounds. You can even use manure from plant-eating animals (cows, sheep, chickens), though it is not necessary. Never use feces from carnivorous animals. People have successfully composted dryer lint, vacuum cleaner dirt, feathers, cotton rags (cut up), and bedding from pets like hamsters and gerbils.

See how to make a good compost

For compost to break down properly, you need both green and brown matter. When there are sufficient quantities of each, the compost will be warm and damp. The best way to keep the process humming along nicely is to rotate the composter regularly, or turn it with a pitchfork or shovel (or even a gardening fork for small plastic compost bins that don't have turning cranks). It takes anywhere from six weeks to several months to get the marvelous end product, but you'll know it's "done" when it's nearly black in color, and has a crumbly texture and pleasant, earthy smell. Isnare, Jason Bacot

How to Plant Successful Vegetable Garden

2011-01-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

If you think about having your own vegetable garden where you can pluck them out with your own hand, fresh and full of vitamins and minerals, there is nothing really, to compare or even come close to it. They taste better and they are much more nutritious than the produce that is shipped and travels long distance.

For convenience, you probably used to go to the supermarket to buy your fruits and vegetables, but honestly, they just cannot compare with what you can grow and eat raw or cooked from your own garden.

If you never had the experience to create your garden yet, and all you have eaten was the produce from your local supermarket, or from the roadside fruit stand, than you are missing out, and you owe it to yourself to think very seriously to start your garden, if you really want to eat fresh and healthy. It is not really that hard, and it sure is not complicated at all. And once you have it, you will be glad you did.

Just think of the benefits to be outdoors, in nature, and work in the tranquility of your little paradise. Not withstanding the free exercise you are getting in the process. That's good for your body, mind, and soul.

And of course you want to do it right. So it is a pretty good idea to make a little plan, draw it on a sheet of paper and stick to it.

First, choose a good sunny spot, where you don't get too much shade or no shade at all if possible, and the plot should be free of rocks or debris. But it should be close enough to the house to be able to water with a hose hooked to a spigot, when you need to water if and when it's not raining.

Prepare the soil. This is very important, and your success will very much depend on how well you prepare the site for your garden. If the soil is clay or sandy and lacks nutrients, it must be amended and enriched with composted material, like cow manure, organic fertilizer and minerals if needed. To make it even cheaper for next season, collect the leaves and other vegetation, kitchen leftovers, grass clippings, and make your own compost. The soil will need nutrients to replace those used and depleted by the vegetables as they feed from the soil.
The best thing is to spread the compost all over your garden site, and till it in the soil, in the fall, so it will have enough time to decay and blend in the garden.

This way the ground is resting over the winter, and will be more nutritious in the spring for the planting time.

Now think of what vegetables would you like to grow, something you enjoy eating the most. So, buy the seeds for the vegetables you choose, and go from there. A few examples just to get an idea, would be; tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, squash, radish, cucumbers, lettuce, onions (sets).

Maybe a few herbs to spice up your cooking with, like, dill, parsley, oregano, basil, arugula, rosemary, cilantro, etc. It all depends on how much space you have, and how large a garden you want to have. Herb plants don't take too much room, and they are fun to grow. Just think of that nice aroma, flavour and fragrance they so freely give, in exchange of just a little LTC.
Loving Tender Care.

To have a good and early start with your garden, start your seeds indoors, and plant the transplants after the danger of late frost is past. It depends on where you live.
One of the best methods would be to start the seeds in little peat pots, like the Jiffy-pots, so that when you plant the little plants outside plant them with the Jiffy pots, thus not disturbing the tender roots of the transplants. If you prefer, you can plant the seeds directly in rows, according to the instructions on the seed packets.

Plant the plants according to their size, and group them together. The low growing ones, should be separate from the tall growing ones, as to not block the sun light from reaching evenly on all the plants.

Water well and keep the soil moist. Don't let the soil dry completely out between watering, nor keep it too soggy either.
Once they started to grow, you can water them good, and then leave them alone and give them a chance to drink and feed. Water again before the soil dries out completely. Just kind of feel the soil to see if it is still wet, by sticking your finger in the dirt about 2 inches, and if it is still moist, leave them alone for a while. Once you get familiar with your garden, sometimes the plants will let you know when it is time to water. They will start to wilt a little, and as soon as you water them, they perk right up. But do not let them wilt beyond hope!

Now sit and relax on a bench, somewhere in the shade, and watch how the little seeds sprout out of the soil. It is very rewarding to see, as the hard part of gardening is pretty much over, except that now and then watch for them pesky weeds to pluck them out, and don't let them invade your little paradise. Wait patiently for the time when you take out of your garden, with your own hand, and enjoy those healthy, juicy vegetables. It is simply wonderful. Isnare, Mike Borlovan

Choosing the Best Plants For Your Climate

2010-12-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

If you want your flowerbeds to be the envy of the block, you need to choose the right plants for your climate. You see, when you choose plants that are well suited to your climate they are better able to take root and produce beautiful foliage and vibrant blooms. On the other hand if you fill your flowerbeds with plants that are not ideal for your climate, they may not grow or they will struggle and not look their best. Luckily, there are many great plants for every climate. Here are 5 helpful tips to help you make your picks.

Know Your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

The USDA has provided a very helpful tool for determining which plants grow best in which area. The entire United States is broken into 11 distinct zones which are determined by temperature. Take a look at this map and determine which zone you are. Often when purchasing plants or bulbs online or in a catalog information about the ideal hardiness zones will be included.

Look Around You

Another great tip for choosing plants that will grow well in your climate is to simply get out and take a walk. What plants do you see growing in your neighbor's yards? Seeing what people actually grow is a great way to find plants that will prosper in your climate.

Shop at Local Nurseries

Shopping local is a great way to find plants and flowers that will prosper in your neighborhood. As you browse your local nursery, don't be afraid to ask for advice. Ask questions like, "Will this grow well here?" and, "Which plants would you recommend?" to get great advice about the plants that will flourish in your yard. Don't be afraid to speak up and ask for advice. Often nursery owners and employees can be a treasure trove of quality gardening information specific to your local area. They are one of the best resources that you can find.

Follow Planting Instructions

Finding plants that will do well in your local climate is a little more difficult than just finding plants that can grow in your area. Each plant has ideal growing conditions which must be followed if you want to achieve optimal results.

For example some plants need full sun to grow. Others do well in the shade. Some need lots of water and others just a little. In addition to finding plants that grow in your area, make sure that you also follow guidelines for planting and caring for these plants. These recommendations can change depending on your climate. For example, tender bulbs like dahlias and begonias must be stored over winter in a warmer indoor environment; however, in warmer climates they can remain planted outside.

See What Works for You

One of the biggest joys of gardening is experimentation. Not every plant that you choose will work out in your soil or climate. Try a variety of different plants and flowers. This will expose you to many options and you can determine which work best for you.

Using these tips and a little perseverance you can quickly find great plants that will prosper in your specific climate. Have fun and always remember that gardening is a journey that will take years to master. Isnare, Gabriel Meriwether

Growing Vegetables

2010-12-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

There are few things as satisfying to gardeners than harvesting home grown vegetables and enjoying how great they taste when compared to many bought varieties. Growing vegetables at home is not difficult but there are a few basic guidelines to follow if you are to avoid some of the more common mistakes. Stick to tried and tested methods, select reliable, hardy varieties and look forward to serving up your own vegetables just a few weeks or months later.

The television gardening programmes sometimes make things look very simple and growing vegetables is one task that the TV experts seem to accomplish with relative ease. Certainly producing a good crop of potatoes or a healthy looking bed of lettuce is not beyond the reach of most home gardeners, but those TV experts are calling on many years of experience. It certainly pays to put a little thought into your vegetable growing project before you start putting plants into the ground.
Producing a good crop of garden vegetables starts with good planning and careful consideration of a number of key points. How much space do you have? What type of soil do you have? Which varieties do you hope to grow? Do you have the right tools for the job? Have you thought enough about protecting your plants from pests? All these points are worth thinking about but perhaps the most important consideration is whether you’ll be happy eating what you produce. There’s no point in growing several kilograms of perfect Brussels sprouts if no-one in your family likes them.

If you are new to growing vegetables it will pay to keeps things relatively risk free to start with. Choose vegetables that are not difficult to grow like potatoes, cabbages or courgettes and do your research into which varieties are best suited to your soil conditions. Also get as much help as you can before you start. Books are a great source of information but nothing beats speaking to someone who has done it all before. Think about joining a local gardening club or allotment group. People will be more than happy to pass on their experiences to you.
Next comes selecting and preparing the ground for your plot. Will you need plenty of sunshine or will your vegetables prefer shade? Also is the plot fairly accessible? Your plants will benefit from much more attention if they are within sight and easy reach of the house. For many gardeners, pests can be the undoing of much good work and will often dampen any enthusiasm before it becomes established. A population of slugs can easily demolish a row of lettuces overnight, so be prepared to put some protective measures in place before they strike.

Allotments are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, especially for people who live in city flats and apartments and don’t have the luxury of their own gardens. They also make a great starting point for vegetable growing even if you do have your own space at home. Allotments are full of friendly enthusiastic vegetable growers and are perhaps your best source of help and information in the early days. Even if you don’t intend to use an allotment space yourself, a quick walk around one that is local to you will give you lots of ideas about what you might try to grow and you’ll also be able to see the kind of plants that are thriving in your local conditions.

Having prepared your plot, thought about pest control and selected your varieties all that remains to be done is get some plants into the ground. Choose a reliable source of seed or purchase pre-sown plugs for a quicker start. Nothing beats standing back and admiring weed-free rows of newly planted vegetables that promise tasty and low-cost crops in the weeks ahead. Isnare, Marc Bartley

Organic Gardening - Organic horticulture Organic gardening systems.

2010-10-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Organic Horticulture employs the crucial principles of organic agriculture for the successful herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants growing. These principles concern the management of pests in the garden, soil composition and conservation, etc.

General Notes

Mulches, Double Digging, compost, Vermicompost, cover crops, mineral supplements and manures are the main constituents of the soil mixture in this kind of gardening in contrast to the commercial farming.

Organic horticulture expects to minimize the risk of insects, fungi, and diseases development with the help of maintaining the high quality of the soil. Nonetheless, sometimes it is still necessary to use insecticidal soaps and sprays, pheromone traps, or other pest control means, created especially for organic farmers.

Experts define five fields of horticulture:

- olericulture, which stands for the production and marketing of vegetables;

- pomology that means the production and marketing of fruits;

- floriculture, which is the production and marketing of floral crops;

- landscape horticulture that includes the production, marketing, and

maintenance of landscape plants;

- and finally, post harvest physiology that studies and practices the

preservation and maintaining of the quality of horticultural crops.

All these areas can utilize the key principles of organic gardening.

Organic horticulture employs the methods and uses data, which have been collected for thousands of years. Generally speaking, this type of gardening is based on the natural, long-term processes and eco-friendly, global approaches, in contrast to horticulture, based on the use of chemicals that speed up the processes and aim at the separate results and reductionist strategies.

Organic gardening systems

There exist various formal organic gardening systems that utilize peculiar methods. They are listed among the general organic standards, but are more specific than them. For example, Rudolf Steiner developed the so-called biodynamic farming. Masanobu Fukuoka, the Japanese writer and farmer, practiced Natural Farming, based on the so-called no-till system for the small-scale production of grain. Finally, intensive and biointensive techniques and SPIN Farming (Small Plot INtensive), developed in France, also belong to the small-scale gardening methods.

A garden in a container or growing box provides healthy, organic, and highly nutritional food. Moreover, it is also the means to share one’s experience, to improve local economy, and to offer better and more sustainable way of living. A small raised bed garden of 32 square feet is capable of supplying tasty, healthy, and organic greens to a family, requiring, at the same time, less water and fewer nutrients if it is based on the postulates of bio-intensive planting and square foot gardening.

In addition, the existing garden can be improved with the help of composting or vermicomposting. These methods allow getting the best organic fertilizers by reusing organic matter, which provides necessary nutrients to the organic garden. Besides, compost and vermicompost are always an easy way to improve the results. Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com

Propagation Methods

2010-10-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

As a home gardener, fall should be a very special time for you. Fall is the best season of the year for plant propagation, especially for home gardeners who do not have the luxury of intermittent mist. The technique that I am going to describe here can be equally effective for evergreens as well as many deciduous plants.

The old rule of thumb was to start doing hardwood cuttings of evergreens after you have experienced at least two hard freezes. After two hard freezes the plants are completely dormant.

However, based on my experience it is beneficial to start doing your evergreen cuttings earlier than that. So instead of doing “by the book” hardwood cuttings you’re actually working with semi-hardwood cuttings. The down side to starting your cuttings early is that they will have to be watered daily unless you experience rain showers. The up side is that they will start rooting sooner, and therefore are better rooted when you pull them out to transplant them.

To prepare an area in which to root cuttings you must first select a site. An area that is about 50% shaded will work great. Full sun will work, it just requires that you tend to the cuttings more often. Clear all grass or other vegetation from the area that you have selected. The size of the area is up to you. Realistically, you can fit about one cutting per square inch of bed area. You might need a little more area per cutting, it depends on how close you stick the cuttings in the sand.

Once you have an area cleared off all you have to do is build a wooden frame and lay it on the ground in the area that you cleared. Your frame is a simple as four 2 by 4’s or four 2 by 6’s nailed together at each corner. It will be open on the top and open on the bottom. Just lay it on the ground in the cleared area, and fill it with a coarse grade of sand.

This sand should be clean (no mud or weed seed), and much coarser than the sand used in a play box. Visit your local builders supply center and view each sand pile they have. They should have different grades varying from very fine to very coarse. You don’t want either. You want something a little more coarse than their medium grade. But then again it’s not rocket science, so don’t get all worked up trying to find just the right grade. Actually, bagged swimming pool filter sand also works and should be available at discount home centers.

Once your wooden frame is on the ground and filled with sand, you’re ready to start sticking cuttings. Wet the sand the day before you start, that will make it possible for you to make a slit in the sand that won’t fill right in. In this propagation box you can do all kinds of cuttings, but I would start with the evergreens first. Taxus, Junipers, and Arborvitae.

Make the cuttings about 4” long and remove the needles from the bottom two thirds of the cuttings. Dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the sand about an inch or so. Most garden centers sell rooting compounds. Just tell them that you are rooting hardwood cuttings of evergreens.

When you make the Arborvitae cuttings you can actually remove large branches from an Arborvitae and just tear them apart and get hundreds of cuttings from one branch. When you tear them apart that leaves a small heel on the bottom of the cutting. Leave this heel on. It represents a wounded area, and the cutting will produce more roots because of this wound.

Once the weather gets colder and you have experienced at least one good hard freeze, the deciduous plants should be dormant and will have dropped their leaves, and you can now propagate them. Just make cuttings about 4” long, dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the bed of sand. Not everything will root this way, but a lot of things will, and it takes little effort to find out what will work and what won’t.

This is a short list of just some of the things that root fine this way. Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Blue Boy/Girl Holly, Boxwood, Cypress, Forsythia, Rose of Sharon, Sandcherry, Weigela, Red Twig Dogwood, Variegated Euonymus, Cotoneaster, Privet, and Viburnum.

Immediately after sticking the cuttings thoroughly soak the sand to make sure there are no air pockets around the cuttings. Keep the cuttings watered once or twice daily as long as the weather is warm. Once winter sets it you can stop watering, but if you get a warm dry spell, water during that time.

Start watering again in the spring and throughout out the summer. The cuttings should be rooted by late spring and you can cut back on the water, but don’t let them dry out to the point that they burn up.

By fall you can transplant them to a bed and grow them on for a year or two, or you can plant them in their permanent location. This technique takes 12 months, but it is simple and easy. Isnare, Michael McGroarty

Beneficial Garden Pest That You Want to Live in Your Garden

2010-09-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

Not all garden pests are harmful for your garden. Some garden pests, in fact, provide excellent pest control to protect your plants from other quite harmful insects. Isn’t nature wonderful? Here are 5 well-known garden pests which you wouldn't object to having in your garden. Some very useful techniques are also offered on how you can attract these insects that are in your area over to your garden.

1. Praying mantis. Praying mantises are regarded as the consummate small-sized predator. They are something to behold in their natural environment. The manner in which they hunt down their prey is methodical and meticulous. This makes them efficiently dangerous for other garden insects, but they are never dangerous for your garden. They harm it not at all.
Praying mantises can immediately put a stop to any pest infestation that may have started in your area. As a matter of fact, most gardening shops sell praying mantises for this purpose alone. That’s how useful they are.

2. Ladybugs. If you're living in North America, then chances are very good that your garden will host this kind of bug. They are extremely widespread and so are very common.
Ladybugs feed on soft-bodied insects. These soft-bodies are harmful for your garden. Ladybugs will even feed on the eggs and larvae of these harmful garden pests. This is what makes ladybugs an excellent feature of natural pest control.

3. Spiders. We all know what many spiders do. They capture insects with their webs and feed on them. In this way, these spiders help to manage pest infestation. Those that dwell in gardens are usually not poisonous or lethal, and there is virtually no risk of these creatures ever creeping into the household.

If you want to attract spiders in your garden, grow some permanent perennials. These kinds of spiders find perennials very suitable for a home.

4. Tachinid flies. Grow some pollen and nectar plants, and you'll be able to attract this variety of flies. Once in your garden, these Tachinid flies will feed on small harmful insects. We're talking about armyworms, cutworms and cabbage loopers. How about caterpillars, gypsy moths, squash bugs and sawflies? All of these pests will eat away at your plants and give you a decaying garden. Tachinid flies to the rescue!
5. Parasitic wasps. Again, by providing pollen and nectar plants, you'd be able to attract these beneficial garden insects. They really will help your garden because these parasitic wasps will attack and feed on the eggs of harmful insects. With parasitic wasps inhabiting your garden, you'd be able to stop the infestation of dangerous insects by eliminating their very source: their eggs.
Isn’t that wonderful to have insects that will help your garden grow instead of damaging it? There are more kinds of insects that can help you in dealing different types of pest invasions. Take the time to learn them. Your garden will be better for it. Isnare, Len Q.

More information view the video

Build a Greenhouse For Yourself

2010-09-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

A greenhouse is a place made of plastic or glass to trap the energy of the sun and grow various kinds of plants in that place. In order to build a good enough greenhouse you are going to need some important stuff. The aim is to build a place to nurture those plants which cannot grow in colder climates. This place should be such that the plants can get adequate ventilation, warmth and humidity so that they can grow in a healthy manner. Since the greenhouse is an intensive system you would want to grow as many fruits and vegetables possible in that place. Otherwise it will simply not be a cost effective system.

People think that as they depend only on sun rays to give warmth to their plants and do not need an alternative system of heating, no more equipment is required. There are a lot of utilities that are needed to maintain a good greenhouse. The most important of all is a good ventilation system. If on some days the sun is hot, the plants will receive too much heat and they will suffer. On the other hand, if it’s a cloudy day the plants will not be able to receive adequate sunlight and they will again suffer. The ventilation system if good can help tide over this problem. The cheapest way would be to go there and open the doors and windows on a hot day.

It is essential for you to decide how you would want your plants to grow. They can be grown on the ground and also on benches. The best place to grow plants is on the ground but as you grow them year after year in the same place the soil will lose its nutrient content and the risk of diseases to plants also goes up. You can either replace the soil annually or use commercial potting compost. The latter is a better bet as it is very easy to handle compared to the former. Changing whole of the soil is not going to be an easy task.

If you are in a position to spend some extra bucks then you can get an automatic system installed. There are various varieties in automated ventilation system also. It can be a complex involving fans and a simple one in which it controls the opening of windows. The trigger for working is the temperature in the greenhouse. Having a good watering system in place is also very important for the health of plants. You can water the plants by carrying a can of water or have an elaborate system of maybe drip irrigation in the greenhouse.

A proper lighting system is also essential in it. It will help in extending the growing season for you. Get an electrician to get the fittings done so that power can reach the greenhouse. A properly planned greenhouse will delight many especially if the gardener has limited mobility in the greenhouse. Having benches can be useful. They help in freeing up space for re potting plants and mixing of compost. A path of well laid stones can have the fairy tale effect on the greenhouse. Isnare, Simona Rusnakova

Repotting Orchids

2010-09-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

Don’t repot unless you have to! There are two reasons to repot your orchid: poor drainage and overgrowth. If orchid growth extends beyond the edge of the pot, leaving brittle and easily damaged young roots dangling in the air, it’s time to repot. If the growing medium has decomposed, appearing sodden and mushy and no longer draining quickly, it’s time to repot.

When in doubt, put it off for another year! On the other hand, an orchid that remains in the same pot too long will flower poorly and may even die. Although it isn’t a difficult task, it is different from repotting other kinds of houseplants. The good news is that there is no need to hurry and cover the roots before they dry. Most orchids like their roots exposed to air. So take your time. If you need to take a break or do an errand, just cover the roots with a damp cloth.

When To Repot: In general the best time to repot is late spring and early summer before the onset of vigorous new growth. Particular orchid types such as those with pseudobulbs - the bulbous growths - such as the Cattleya, prefer to be repotted just after new growth but before new roots have begun to elongate.

If your orchid type lacks pseudobulbs, such as a moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) or a slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum), repot any time, except when blooming. Roots that grow exposed to the air for any length of time will most likely die when packed beneath the bark surface, so try to repot just as new growth is beginning to appear. If you wait too long and your plant is already well into its new season, hold off until after your orchid has bloomed, otherwise you will lose the flowers and you’ll run the risk of killing the plant’s entire new root system.

Repotting should be done every year-and-a-half to two years, before the potting medium begins to break down into peat and loam. Waiting longer than two years allows the broken-down medium to retain too much moisture, which cuts off air circulation around the roots causing root rot. Follow these general repotting guidelines: Annually for Dendrobium, Miltonia, Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis, and their hybrids. Every other year for Cattleya, Dendrobium, Oncidium, Odontoglossum, and their hybrids. Every third year for Vanda and Cymbidium.

Cleanliness: This is the most important precaution, because orchids are particularly susceptible to diseases. Repotting will inevitably involve breaking a few roots and even cutting the plant. You will be coating all these cuts and breaks with medicine as described below. Repot into new or sterilized containers only.

Sterilize your instruments by placing them in a solution of 1/2 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water for 10-15 minutes and letting them air-dry. Or wipe every surface area of your tools with rubbing alcohol. Or pass them through an intense flame such as a plumber’s torch. Wash your hands before you begin.

If you are a smoker, Tobacco Mosaic Virus will likely be present on your fingertips so additionally rinse your hands in the bleach and water solution. Thoroughly wipe your work surface with the disinfectant solution you’ve chosen. Repeat wiping the work surface after each plant that you repot.

Pot: Orchids like to be a little tight in their pots. Overly large pots tend to direct orchids into root growth and delay new foliage and blooms for months. Orchids may be potted in plastic, clay, or decorator pots, and the type of pot selected may influence watering frequency. For instance, plants in clay pots will need more frequent watering since they dry faster. Orchid pots must have drain holes.

Orchid soil in the center of larger pots may remain wet for long periods and kill orchid roots. This can be avoided by placing pieces of clay pots in the bottom of the pot. My favorite way to repot orchids into large pots is to place a small inverted pot in the center of the larger one, with the roots of the plant draped over and around the smaller pot. This provides excellent aeration and drainage. The roots of some orchids, such as Phalaenopsis, carry out photosynthesis. For these plants, clear pots are popular, allowing light to reach the roots.

What You Need

1. Pot. Choose a sterilized pot large enough to sustain at least a year or two of new growth. Remember, if the pot is too large to allow the medium to dry enough between waterings, the roots of your orchid will rot.

2. Soil. Bark, sphagnum, charcoal, perlite, “sponge-rok,” chunk peat, tree fern fibers, oyster shell, coconut husk, or combinations of these depending on your type of orchid, are found at your local garden center. It’s important to use the correct medium for your particular type of orchid. Just look up the name of your orchid online for quick information.

3. Shards. Sanitized clay pot shards, non-biodegradable styrofoam peanuts, or lava rock will cover your pot’s drainage holes without obstructing water from draining quickly.

4. Tools. Sanitized pruning clippers or a sharp knife will be used to divide your plant or trim dead roots.

5. Stake and Ties. A bamboo stake and wire plant tie will hold your newly potted plant steady until its roots grow enough to anchor it.

6. Medicine. Pruning sealer, anti-fungal powder, or antibiotic ointment from your medicine cabinet should be applied in a thin layer to any open cuts on the plant – leaves, stems, or roots – to prevent illness.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. The Day Before You Repot: Water your orchid thoroughly. A good watering the day before will create pliable roots which are easier to work with and less susceptible to breakage. Wet the medium with boiling water and allow it to soak in a container overnight. The mix will absorb moisture allowing it to be easily placed around the roots of your plant.

2. Un-pot Your Orchid: Prepare your work area by spreading out several sheets of newspaper. Turn the plant upside down over the paper and tap the sides and bottom of the pot to dislodge it. If roots stick to the pot, use a sterilized kitchen knife to loosen them. The plant will not be harmed if you inadvertently damage some roots. Carefully pry the roots apart and shake off as much of the old potting mixture as possible. Don’t worry if some still clings to the roots.

3. Trim: Before repotted, trim the roots. Be sure to sterilize these and all implements used. Remove any dead or damaged roots. Dead roots are mushy and light brown. Healthy roots are firm and white with light-green growing tips. Also cut off any old leafless pseudobulbs. If there is more than one new growth, or "lead," you can divide the plant by cutting through the rhizome. Each division should have at least three pseudobulbs and a new lead.

4. Place Shards: Orchids need excellent drainage, so place a generous layer of broken clay pot or plastic foam peanuts in the bottom of the pot.

5. Add Soil: When placing the plant in the pot, position the older pseudobulbs against one side so that the new lead has room to expand. Pack the dampened mixture around the roots, firming it with your thumbs as you go. Don’t pack the medium – remember orchid roots like aeration. The top of the rhizome should be level with the top of the bark.

6. Aftercare: To keep the plant upright while its new root system is getting established, stake it securely with a loop of twine or use any kind of plant clip that attaches the stem comfortably to the stake. Put the orchid in a lightly shaded location and mist both the plant and the surface of the bark twice daily until new root growth is evident. Once the roots have penetrated the bark, move the plant into brighter light and resume normal watering and fertilizing.