Organic Gardening Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Growing tomato in container gardens

Gardening for arid landscapes - the beauty of xeriscaping

Best time to grow crocuses

The Benefits Of Gardening

Growing Tomato in Container Gardens

2017-06-17T02:48:00.000-07:00

Growing Tomato in Container Gardens

Homegrown tomatoes are incredibly delicious, but what do you do when you do not have room for a garden? How about growing tomatoes in a container garden? Tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow in containers and even if the only space you have is a 12 inch square on your front porch, you have enough room for a tomato container garden.

Choosing the Right Container

Almost any container will work for tomatoes, but grow boxes are very nice. Grow boxes allow you to control the flow of the water to the tomato plants which improves the chances for growing healthy plants and producing wonderful, ripe tomatoes. If a grow box isn’t an option, try and find a container that is at least five gallons or larger. Ensure there are holes in the bottom for drainage.

You can also try using bushel baskets lined with plastic bags with holes in the bottom of the plastic bags for drainage. Bushel baskets will hold at least three tomato plants and they look very nice sitting on a patio or deck.

Selecting the Tomato Variety

The dwarf tomatoes work the best in containers. If this is your first tomato container garden, try one of the cherry varieties for a patio like a Pixie II or a Tiny Tim. These types of small plants produce very tasty fruit, but don’t need a lot of support in the container. They will also produce very early.

Planting the Tomato Plants

When selecting tomato plants for your containers, choose strong, stocky plants to transplant into the containers. Prepare the containers by filling them with a mixture of potting soil and compost, approximately 50/50, ensuring it is thoroughly mixed. Fill the container to within a few inches from the top. Place the tomato plants in the container, three or four per container with between 3 to 4 inches between plants. Water the container thoroughly, ensuring the soil is soaked all the way down to the roots and below of the tomato plant. Set the container in a location where it will get at least six hours of full sun each day.

Caring for Container Tomatoes

Water the containers more often than a traditional garden because container gardens will dry out more easily. It will be necessary to check the container garden daily to ensure it stays moist and does not dry out. During the heat of summer, it may be necessary to water the plants daily. Check the tomato leaves for brown spots or for insects. Apply fertilizer every other week or so and apply it around the base of the tomato plant. If the leaves begin to turn brown or the fruit begins to get brown spots, try placing crushed egg shells around the base of the tomato plant.

When the plants flower, shake the vines to release the pollen and help pollination along a bit. The tomato plants should start producing fruit within a couple of months.

When the growing season is over, bring the containers inside if you have a sunny place to place them. They will continue to produce fruit as long as they can receive six hours of direct sunlight each day. This can prolong the growing season quite a bit. Growing tomatoes in a container garden is a great way to get fresh vegetables and maximize the space you have available.

Also read:

Gardening for arid landscapes - the beauty of xeriscaping

Best time to grow crocuses

The benefits of gardening

Gardening For Arid Landscapes - The Beauty of Xeriscaping

2017-06-13T14:44:00.005-07:00

Gardening For Arid Landscapes - The Beauty of Xeriscaping

gardening and landscaping efforts to minimize water usage

In many parts of the world, current climate conditions make it more and more difficult to support a traditional landscaping plan involving huge, thirsty lawns. Many homeowners have discovered that it's much easier (and more affordable!) to adjust their gardening and landscaping efforts to minimize water usage rather than fight a losing battle to keep grass alive.

* Low-Moisture Ground Cover

"Xeriscaping" is the common term for landscaping choices made to minimize water usage. This type of landscaping doesn't necessarily involve the elimination of greenery and plant life, either.

Depending on the particular region a homeowner is in, there are many alternatives to non-native grass that can provide attractive and effective ground cover. With the right choices, a homeowner can easily maintain a verdant patch of greenery using just a small fraction of the water needed by a traditional lawn. Low-moisture alternatives for ground cover include vines, herbs, and native grasses.

* Avoiding Thirsty Plants

As noted above, a xeriscape can include plenty of vibrant greenery. Xeriscaping is distinct from "natural" gardening (which concentrates exclusively on native plants) and "zero-scaping." (which involves minimal planting) The chief concern with each plant choice in xeriscaping is water usage.

Plants should be selected with an eye not towards their average water requirements, but their water requirements in the particular region being landscaped. In many cases, plants which may be difficult to cultivate in other areas will thrive when placed in a climate particularly suited to their needs.

* Rocks and Gravel

Although xeriscaping and zero-scaping are different approaches to gardening, the homeowner who wants to minimize water use shouldn't neglect the possibilities of using non-living landscaping elements.

Reducing the total square footage devoted to planting can dramatically reduce water consumption, even when plants are selected for minimal thirstiness. Using gravel beds and attractive rock formations can add visual interest and aesthetic appeal to a garden while also cutting down on its water needs.

* Maintenance

Although the goal of xeriscaping is to reduce water usage, this does not necessarily imply a maintenance-free garden. Hardy xeriscape-appropriate plants still need care and upkeep. While it takes less water to keep a xeriscape healthy, it often requires stricter adherence to a regular watering schedule. Further, homeowners have to keep in mind that xeriscaped gardens and lawns will often have comparatively unusual requirements for soil nutrition.

Keeping a xeriscape healthy and happy may require a homeowner to maintain an exotic soil pH, fertilize with uncommon materials, or perform maintenance tasks (e.g. aeration) more frequently than with a conventional landscaping arrangement. For many homeowners, this minor bother is well worth the trouble when it pays off in the form of a distinctive, eco-friendly garden that catches the eye and keeps irrigation costs down.

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Although xeriscaping isn't for everybody, homeowners who choose to investigate it typically find it highly rewarding. It involves a more rational, reasonable approach to cultivating the residential environment. Employing xeriscaping principles is often the first step on the road to a home that's more ecologically conscious and sustainable.

Also read:

Growing tomato in container gardens

Best time to grow crocuses

The Holistic Gardening Handbook

Gardening For Arid Landscapes - The Beauty of Xeriscaping

Composting For Beginners

2017-06-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

Composting For Beginners

Composting is one of the most important gardening tasks you need to learn if you want to become a successful gardener. It will help you grow healthy plants. In addition, composting is a very earth-friendly way of caring for your garden.

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GeoBin Compost Bin

Contrary to what some people might think, there is really nothing complicated about composting. Even a new gardener who has no experience can do it.

All you have to do is take organic waste from your house and garden and put it back into the earth. Eventually, the waste will decay and become part of the soil, making it richer and better fit for growing different kinds of plants.

Technically, any organic matter can become compost, but the best ones to use are those that can decay quickly and become fertilizer faster. Some of the usual compost materials used by gardeners are dry leaves and cut grass from the garden, manure, fruit peelings, and vegetable cuttings.

Composting is done on a large scale in farms and commercial plantations, but you can also do it on a smaller scale in your own backyard.
You can begin by digging a small pit in a corner of your yard where you are going to throw in your organic waste.
Try to find a place in the garden that is easily accessible for you but not for small children who might fall in or pets that might take out what you put in.

Composting For Beginners

Organics Compost Starter 4-4-2 Organic Gardening Compost Accelerator

Once you have filled up your compost pit with organic waste, cover it loosely with soil. The idea is to create a environment that is conducive for bacterial and fungal growth because these organisms are what will cause the organic waste to break down. Over time, the organic matter will decay and turn into a blackish, crumbly material with an earthy but not unpleasant odor, which is exactly what you want your compost to look like.

If you want to speed up the decomposition process, try combining greens with dry leaves and adding a layer of garden soil in between every few inches of other organic matter. Also, make sure that there is room for air to circulate and that the area is always kept slightly moist or humid.

As you can see, you don't need to have special skills or buy expensive equipment to build your own compost pit. Everything you need to put into the pit, you already have in your garden and kitchen. You simply need to remember to throw these things into the compost pit and not into the trash bin.

Once your compost fertilizer is ready, all you have to do is mix it in with the garden soil and see what happens. With all the nutrients contained in your new environment-friendly fertilizer, your plants will grow healthier and bigger than ever.

Don't worry if you are not able to produce the perfect compost fertilizer right away. In time, you will be able to improve your techniques and come up with better results.

Composting For Beginners

Retro Kitchen Food Waste Compost Bin

Composting for Dummies 219 pages

Happy composting :)

Cheers,

Michel

Best time to grow crocuses

2017-06-08T04:28:00.002-07:00

Best time to grow crocuses

The crocus is a popular flower for flower beds and borders. The flowers are yellow, purple, or white, with cup shaped flowers on a three to six inch stem. Most crocuses bloom in the spring, although there are varieties that bloom in the fall. Often crocuses are the first flowers in a garden to bloom, bringing an early touch of color to your flowerbed after a long dreary winter.

There are more than 80 species of crocus, with about 30 varieties that are raised on a commercial basis. One of the most common varieties of crocus is the crocus vernus, or Dutch Crocus. This flower has the largest bloom out of the crocus varieties. Some of the early blooming crocus varieties are crocus chrysanthus, crocus sieberi and the crocus tommasinianus.

Crocuses are easy bulbs to plant.

You can plant them indoors or outdoors, in beds or containers. Crocuses will grow well in full sun. You can grow crocuses in poor soil if necessary; just make sure the soil is well drained. Mix a little bit of sand with the soil if necessary to improve drainage.

Best time to grow crocuses

The best time to plant the crocuses outdoors is in the fall. Plant the bulbs when the weather cools down. Make sure that they will not be disturbed during the winter. Make sure that the bulbs will not be accessible to small animals. Squirrels, mice, and rabbits may dig up and eat the bulbs. The best place to plant them is a sunny and protected flowerbed.

Plant the bulbs in shallow holes, under a half inch of soil.

Cover the bulbs with mulch, such as leaves, straw, or grass clippings. Water the bulbs regularly through the winter if you do not have much snow. If you do live in a climate with snow, then water the crocuses until snow starts to fall. The flowers will start growing, sending up shoots when the snow melts in the late fall or early spring.

If you choose to plant the crocuses indoors, plant them in small flowerpots.

Put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the pot, and then fill the pot with potting soil to within an inch and a half of the top of the pot. Plant the bulbs an inch apart, with the pointed end of the bulb facing up. After planting, water the flower bulbs thoroughly, allowing the flower pot to drain.

Move the flower pots to a cold, dark space for six weeks.

They should be in a place about 45 degrees F. Check on the pots once a week.

When you see roots appearing through the drain holes in the bottom of the pots, then you can move them to a sunny area of your house. The crocuses will bloom in about three weeks
Planting the crocuses indoors will provide a nice touch of color to your home. Planting them outdoors will provide a nice touch of color to your garden early in the spring. The sight of crocuses blooming is a sure sign that spring has arrived.

Also read:

Growing tomato in container gardens

Gardening for arid landscapes - the beauty of xeriscaping