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Growing Basil and Tomato

how to grow Basil and Tomato

 

Growing tomatoes together in just one pot is easier than growing plants in the ground, since you don’t have to compete for space and they provide excellent Together with basil, growing tomatoes together in one pot is even easier since they have a similar need for light and will grow well in the same soil.

Basil is needed by many in cooking. It nicely blends with tomatoes, bringing out the flavor of two of the best food combinations in combination. Especially good with tomatoes sauces and pastes.

The easier, of course, is to grow the plants from seed. It’s a little more challenging, but it’s not that difficult to germinate seeds in a grow kit. You will also need to get a grow medium and the appropriate nutrients to get them started. If you’re growing outdoors, then the soil probably doesn’t need changing, but if you’re growing in a hydroponic grow box, the soil will probably benefit from some liquid fertilizer.

Growing tomatoes by starting from seed is best with organic tomato seeds, but you can use any organic seeds. I prefer the heirloom seeds, as they offer the best flavor and the highest level of nutrition. The plants also grow slower, so they’re ideal if you’re looking for a low-maintenance garden. Tomatoes are very hardy plants, and if you don’t get the job done right away, they will still be around for next season.

When growing tomatoes from seed, you will also need to get a soil mix that is specifically for tomatoes. The medium must be light and loose to keep the seedlings from hitting too hard, and the best way to prepare the soil is to mix “sterile” soil and soil together, and then bury the seeds no deeper than a half inch. So much so that the emerging root isn’t able to expand enough to absorb all of the nutrient and water available.

Just water and keep the soil moist. Tomato plants are like sunflowers, they need lots of sunlight, so the location you choose to grow your plants is an important factor. This is why so many people are turning to hydroponic growing in order to get the best possible results with the least amount of effort.

Arborists near me introduced me to Hydroponic growing. Hydroponic growing allows you to grow in any weather as long as you provide some nutrients for the plants. They can be fed with anything from composted manure to dehydrated miracle grow.

Having a hydroponic garden is much easier to mow than if you were to plant in the ground, as you can use a rotary or drip irrigation system to water your plants. These systems control the water intake, which eliminates the use and amount of resources needed. Having a hydroponic garden is the ultimate in efficient gardening.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits to starting a hydroponic tomato garden. Growing tomatoes hydroponically not only allows you to grow your own tomatoes, but it saves you time and trouble.

And, by knowing the best ways to grow hydroponic tomatoes you can feed your family healthy nutritious meals, not the junk food that is served in most restaurants. Your children can become teachers, and they’ll love teaching their friends about the wonders of hydroponic gardening.

Finally, why not become a part of the new wave in gardening and grow your own hydroponic tomato plants. You’ll enjoy all the same benefits as those who are growing organic tomatoes.

Hydroponic tomatoes are worth growing. You’ll be glad you did!

 

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Great Uses For Wood Chips

Uses For Wood Chips

 

Recycling old and unused trees, branches and bushes using a chipper shredder is a great way to add an extra feature to your garden or back yard without too much effort. Chipping the wood into smaller pieces and then using them in a variety of different ways is a great idea, environmentally as well as saving you money, and it can also prevent the spread of disease should wood chips and splinters from infected trees not be properly disposed.

1. Use the wood chip to cover your flower beds to give an attractive and functional look to your garden. Adding wood chips to your flower garden will help attract both birds and insects that will love visiting your flowers and vegetables.

2. Wood chips are great to use on play areas where kids and teenagers can let loose their energies without fear of hurting themselves. Spread roughly 4-5 inches of wood chipping onto the ground near any play equipment, which will help stop any Stability problems that can easily be caused by heavy use.

3. In the same way that wood chips help deter pests, they could also help your children and those around them to stop using the playgrounds for accidents. To prevent this, you should ensure that there are no toy pieces lying around.

4. Adding your wood chips to your compost heap will help promotion of the much needed nitrogen to bacteria, both beneficial and digestive, in your heap. The bacteria will help break down the wood chips, allowing them to be ingested by your plants and the natural microbes ( fungi ) will all but eliminate any nasty bacteria living on the wood pieces.

5. This tip came from a friend who runs a New York Structural Design firm. Using a chipper shredder will help you save time and money and allow you to make the compost that can feed your garden all year. Not only that, but the mulching will also help reduce the amount of weeds taking hold in your garden.

There are a host of other benefits to using wood chips in your garden such as they are an excellent source of carbon. They are also a great way to help with those gardening problems such as weeds. As the mulch decomposes, the nutrients will return to the soil and the soil will continue to feed your plants.

One of the most important reasons to mulch is to stop those weeds taking hold in your garden. utilizing wood chips in your garden will stop The One Love You bot (Aquilegia) breeding ground.

Other reasons for using wood chips in your garden, apart from weed prevention, is that they are an excellent way to encourage woodinate organisms into your soil.

Not only will this allow the wood to get more oxygen into the soil and enrich it with nutrients, it will also help to condition the soil. Once in your soil there are no nutrients to get rid of, but the expanding bacterial activity in wood has the effect of putting the nutrients back again into the soil. In the process it removes the toxins and fertilizers from the soil and ensures that the soil maintains its balance.

Wood will also work to revitalize your soil. The wood will slowly break down and when this happens it will help to bring the soil’s pH ( pH is organisms/plants pH) more towards neutral. So wood is a very good way to help your soil become more balanced.

In summary using wood chips in your garden will help to keep your soil healthy by increasing the amount of oxygen, and helping to condition your soil. It will also provide a better way to dispose of the unwanted materials such as grass cuttings.

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A Beginners Guide to Planting & Growing

A Beginner's Guide to gardening

 

Before you start to plant your garden remember to take into consideration the location.Sunshine

Do not plant in a shady spot.Shady spots prevent the leaves from becoming dry. They also prevent the roots from getting enough water.

If you do not have a place that gets enough sunlight, then you can use fluorescent lights.You can hang these lights above the plant, or use a “grow light” for temporary purposes.

Location

The best location to plant your bush is near a fence or wall. This way you will be able to get to your bush easily.

You want a place that gets at least six hours of sunshine or sunlight. So you want to keep this in mind.

Watering

Remember that your bush is a living organism. And as such, it needs the basic elements of life: water, light, and air.

But water is perhaps the most important element in a bush’s life. The orchid is planted on a pot of water. You should keep the water clean and fresh. It is best to submerge the pot in water then let it sit for a while before you water it.

Once you know the basic needed conditions, you can start growing your own orchids. So keep these in mind. suits the climate of where you live.

Light

You can get your orchids light from a wide variety of sources.

Natural Light

Wetland, strata, and cloud forests are excellent locations to grow orchids. Yields of flowering plants are also higher in these locations.

aves a variety of sizes of single or multi-colored flowers.

The colors may be pink, white, red, brown, orange, yellow or green.

To create a romantic look, try combining several plants with soft colors. Warm colors like red and orange are effective for central focal points.  A San Antonio carpentry contractor showed me how he carves flowers into his projects and it always makes me smile.

aves a variety of natural-colored flowers.

Makes a strong focal point in a large grouping of plants.

aves a variety of handsome and unique flowers.

Some have no scent.

Others have a very slight scent.

You will see a variety of advanced fungi on orchids of a finer quality. A wide variety of scales is also found on orchids. A few are encased in a film that is not in your typical Trout or Com Yakilla mold

Bugs, parasyntactic, and adaptive.

The vertically stiffer Tricholorella batemaniana is going to be the tolerant one.

or other orchids with tent caterpillars.

The suckers will be gathered in the axil. Other than that, it is going to be simple.

You may now proceed to cultivate your plants. As you start out, it will probably be necessary to hold the branch to get the plan to turn toward the light source. In the meantime, you will accumulate more plants.

You will begin to layer, what I call “peanuts”, peanuts being the very thin, string like sections of the stem, just barely poking through. You do not want these to appear thicker than a butter knife blade.

The next layer are called “azines”, excellent for closets, cupboards, or hanging baskets. Not only are they thin but loose.

The last layer are called “layering cobs” they are collected from the rhizomes, where they all came from.

The last is called “udibrigae”, these are the little cabbages, or weeds. I move these around as needed.

This is the time, when you will be trimming off all the leaves, except for the very top of the head. This is to prevent fungal growth.

Now for the fun part.

You begin by cutting everything off white, except the two or three largest leaves and any dead leaves, and save the non-old vital leaves for the underground stem, as they are needed for photosynthesis and transpiration.

Now for the fun part: I chop off all the leaves on the old wood, save the non-old important leaves for the photosynthesis stage, remove the first two redundant stems and put it in a clear plastic bag for the night.

Garden planters work very well for large containers and Electronic circulators. You might also want to try using a bamboo garden circulate miser, that is available from most good garden suppliers. Otherwise, you might get lucky and find one at a garage, probably full of Wet dogs!

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Traditionally Gardening Seeds

Gardening Seeds growing

 

There is nothing quite as special as planting a packet of seeds and watching them germinate and grow, often under the care of avid gardeners who have spent years growing plants. 1979 is, however, Watch out for the first time in history that domestic gardens will be producing vegetable, fruit and herb seedlings.

1979 is also the year that the Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day flowers will be a flower of the month, rather than a complete month of flowers. This makes for a more busy year for flower shops except for the perennial flowers and herbs. Take advantage of the situation and jumpstart your own garden for next year.

The best time to plan your garden is during autumn when the weather is still relatively warm and when any rain is on its way so that the seeds and dirt can be worked easily. Aerating the soil and sowing grass seed are, of course, but there are other measures that can be taken to prepare your veggie or fruit garden for the coming year.

To prepare a garden for winter, the first thing to do is clear away all the chalky debris that has accumulated over the summer and rake flat. Aerate the soil and earth it fine, and rake level. Now is a good time to sit down with a notepad and paper and plan out your vegetable garden for the coming year and any changes that may be required.

If you’re planning to increase your population, use the table to figure out how many more chairs you’ll need, or how many more tomatoes you can grow if you plan to sell them. If the plan calls for trellises, or water butts, make sure you calculate how many there will be and buy enough to finish the job.

By figuring out what you will need this year, you can figure out what you have time to grow and then you can start your planning for next year.

melt the fat from frozen vegetables

Using wholesale buy ammonium sulfate powder will allow you to spruce up your garden on the cheap. The big disadvantage of using this cheap product is that the spreader-type spreader that is sold (for free) is less than adequate for even the kind smallest garden. The best way to use this product (by taking the advice of a Texas replacement roof expert) is with a small spreader that has a built in size control that makes it a cheap and easy way to use.

Use the spreader for as long as you can and make sure that the wind is not blowing the dust that comes off the granular.

Remember that read the warning and label information before using any chemical.

melt the snow and apply the snow to your garden

Use a small flat head screwdriver to knock the snow off the snow blade and stack the blades.

stack the snow around the garden

drive a small nail into the snow

pack the snow around the garden

and fill it up with water

The snow should end up being about 12 to 18 inches high (if you’re lucky enough to be around early enough to see the melting)

After you have finished covering the snow, check for gel and salt level in the snow and recheck the ice coverage. If level is not accurate, melt some more.

Honesty: If you want to save water, this is a great way to do it. Use water from water butt.

Another: If you have a lawn, attack it as soon as the grass begins to grow. At the quickest, you should get a lawn after a month of keeping it alive.

Don to think that poisonous plants in your garden are harming the birds.

Usually, taking a couple of ant ants a piece of earth can bring a life to the lifeless.

For the runner or aphid, the best thing to use is water.

Water is by creating a mist and covering the ground where the aphids and other insects are usually located.

This will make them think twice about going back to their homes.

By creating a continuous of mist and covering the ground where the aphids and other insects are usually located, you will make them think that going back to their homes is dangerous.

By trying to keep the pests at your neighborhood level, you will ensure that the system of your ant control is working properly.

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Growing a Herb Garden Indoors

how to grow an indoor garden

 

Growing an herb garden indoors offers many benefits over a herb garden outdoors. The two main benefits are that the herbs are convenient and they are able to control how much light and water they receive. This control of factors is important to the successful growth of any plant, and especially important for herbs, who at times may be subject to harsh weather conditions and are not always in the best of health.

One of the main things to remember when growing herbs inside is that they still require the same amount of natural light that they would receive if growing in natural conditions. The type of light, of course, will depend on the type of herbs you are growing. Some herbs, such as rosemary, benefit from a lot of natural light, whereas others prefer partial shade in order to protect them from the midday heat.

Potted herbs can benefit from the use of grow lights to simulate those conditions. However, a home grower’s herbs would likely be best served by using only natural sunlight or the fluorescent kind.

Another thing to remember when growing herbs is the moisture of the soil. To create perfect, healthy soil, mix plump bedding materials with light-colored gravel and determine whether it will drain water properly. However, herbs won’t thrive in the type of soil used for roses. Roses thrive in soil that retains water, and herbs likely won’t survive in the same type of soil. Some gardeners mix the soil with sand to make it drain more quickly.

Watering the herbs adequately is important. In some cases, the potted herbs may dry out more quickly than the garden herbs, especially during the summer. Water the herbs until the soil is moist, but don’t leave it soaking wet. You can tell when the herbs are properly watered by sliding a finger from the surface of the soil to ensure it is moist. If the soil feels damp, the finger can easily be wiped without difficulty. If the surface of the soil is dry, it needs to be watered again.

Make sure to use the best potting mix for the herbs you are growing. If the potting mix is lightweight, the herb roots will not be able to penetrate it and it will result in poor growth and poor circulation of nutrients.

Some of the herbs required to be grown in pots are chives, tarragon, parsley, basil, thyme, garden cress, dill, oregano, rosemary, and sage. They are mostly annuals, and they enjoy the hot weather. Make sure that they are placed in your kitchen around the beginning of the summer, so they will be available to you all year round!

Follow the sun advice and make sure to give your herb garden frequent sunlight. Most herbs require sun for between 6 and 8 hours a day, so keep them out of the hot midday sun.

Use nutrient rich soil. Make sure that there is good drainage in the soil. If there is too much drainage, the roots will rot. This is for ensuring that the herbs will receive enough water to grow and expand, but not too much to drown the roots.

If you are growing herbs in pots, the pots must have a good drainage system. You can create a simple drainage system by drilling some small holes in the bottom of the pots, about one half an inch in diameter. Make sure that water can flow freely out of the bottom of the pot.

The pots must have adequate holes to allow the water to drain rapidly and prevent the pots from becoming water logged. If you are growing herbs in wooden baskets, ensure that the baskets have been inoculated with a general fungicide.

One of the great benefits of growing herbs is that you can grow them indoors or outdoors. If you are growing herbs indoors, you must make sure to place the pots in a location with as much natural light as possible.  A friend who handles South Carolina IRS Liens grows herbs in his office and I always enjoy the smell when I visit. If you are raising your herbs outdoors, you will find that herbs require at least six hours of sunlight and they can tolerate partial shade.

As you can see, growing herbs in pots is not difficult and allows you to have a real herb garden.

 

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How to Grow Basil

growing basil

 

Today there are sprays, scented candles, plug-ins, and even discs that promise to freshen your air by putting a variety of aromas into your home. However, when you know better, you know that many of these so-called aromatic herbs aren’t actually aromatic at all. But they make you think that they are! Whether you love the smell of lavender, or love the scent of cinnamon, there is a plant that will give you that delicious fragrance. Basil is such a plant – aromatic, delicious, and works beautifully with almost any food!

yeshas a spice to it – basil anise

The plant grown for its rich culinary uses is called basil. It is actually an annual in the Warmish/Tropical regions of Asia. It grows best in full sunlight, and perfect conditions for this plant include:

– a place that gets lots of sun

– partial shade

– if possible, a sheltered spot

– if possible, rich soil

Basil is also considered worthy enough to grow in a container. These plants can grow anywhere from 12 to 24 inches tall.

One of the first things you need to do is and make sure that the plant gets enough water. Water regularly but try not to over water as that will kill the roots. As the plant grows, trim the suckers that grow in the joint of the stalk and the stem. This will ensure that the plant has fewer stems and more leaves.

You also need to prune your basil a little as it starts to grow. Cut off the flowers as they appear, and clip off the side shoots that try to break away from the main plant. As you trim the plant, pull the leaves gently but firmly from the top of the stalk.

You need to use aphids, thrips, black vine, plant lice, spider mites, and sawfly larvae to control pest issues with Basil. If you find a bad infestation, handpick or spray the insects and spray directly with insect repellant. Be sure to wash your insecticides well before using them on your plants.

Harvesting Basil

When you grow basil, always pick the same stems again and again after the first harvest. This means that you will end up with a continuous supply of leaves. Leaves can be dried as you would leaves, although a better option is to use them fresh. All you do is pick major leaves and clip them off the stem. Basil will still grow, so you can harvest again right through the season.

Basil is used in many dishes such as soups, salad dressings, sauces, pesto and breads. Outside of culinary applications, basil can be used as a common herb and has a long history of medicinal uses. It has powerful anti-oxidant and carcinant effects. Also, it is considered an aid to digestion.

A holistic health wellness Coach showed me Some of the medicinal uses for basil include:

– lowers cholesterol

– relieves stomach pain and improves digestion

-Calming effect for the digestive system

-Lowers blood pressure and reduce hypertension

-An aid to digestion

-An antiseptic effect

-Helps baby’s stomach ache

-flies away if insects are near

Sun, soil and water are the basic requirements for a basil plant, and are considered the best three things to grow when you are growing basil. Sunlight is by far the best for basil to grow. If you are growing your basil in a pot, a nearby window is perfectly alright, however, you can also grow basil in a garden outside if you have enough sunlight. It will grow well in almost any soil, which includes regular potting soil, loamy soils, and sandy soils. Basil will also grow well in containers if it is given the option.

Growing and caring for basil is quite easy and simple. It does not require much fertilizer, and you should not need to do much “manual labour” when tending your plant. Watering is for the most part, all you need to do is pick your basil leaves and be happy with it! Yes, that’s it, water, eat and be happy!

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Why Compost?

how to compost

 

If you stopped to take a look at a smelly heap of garden debris in your driveway this past week you may have wondered what it was and what was so smelly about it. If you walked into your back yard last night you could not see much of anything that it was so smelly about. You are right; it is not composting enough. Not yet!

So what is composting? You invent composting. You break up materials which will and can be composted and let them rot. Then you place that mixture in a heap and allow Mother Nature to do her thing.

Earth worms are the workhorses who do all the work to create the compost and you can depend on them to do a good job. Earth worms breathe through their skin so they do not like open, airy spaces. They prefer a firm, earthy soil which also makes for better composting.

Let’s look at why you would want to compost. It is many. Let’s assume that you are healthy and happy. You enjoy nature and wanted to beautify your yard and garden. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had an automatic system set up so that your lawn would never need to be trimmed? When you use a push reel mower instead of a gas or electric mower it will shorten the amount of time needed to maintain your lawn.

The decomposition of grass clippings and leaves helps to reduce the amount of pollution that accumulates in landfills. Your lawn will be less prone to disease due to the amount of air which is filtered away. You will not need to wash off the cut grass because of the high humidity that it enjoys. inhibited air circulation around the roots of the grass makes for a healthier lawn.

So what does composting mean when you walk into your family’s kitchen and cut a big plate of potatoes? In the kitchen the nutrients that are added to the soil are used to bring flavor to food. In the garden the same nutrients are used to help plants to grow. When you compost your kitchen waste it will add nutrients to the soil, help to keep the plant’s roots healthy and evens the pH level to a neutral average.

So what can you do to help decompose your clippings?

Tip 1 – Fragrant plants or flowers will draw the attention of flies. Trim them before you add them to your compost pile.

Tip 2 – Change the water in the pail when you are changing the liquid fertilizer.

Tip 3 – Of course you can throw them in the compost pile but make sure that the leaves are dry or they will sprout green flies. Remember the less you water the more they will grow!

Tip 4 – Two ahead you can place the leaves in a folded paper towel and fold it closed. Keep it in a plastic bag and make a few sandwiches.

Tip 5 – Coffee ground is a great source of nitrogen.

Tip 6 – Grass clippings you can throw out if they have grown too long. They will provide the plants with extra nitrogen

Tip 7 – Synthetic fertilizers or man-made may be harmful to the plants. If you do decide to use a synthetic fertilizer avoid using the older, highly concentrated forms. Use the 25-50-0 combination.

Tip 8 – Remember don’t overload your pail. A lot of compost filler comes out of the container as wilted plants and matter. Just be proportionate to the amount of material in the container.

Tip 9 – If your container is leaking make sure you line it with mesh or carpet.

Tip 10 – If you are using digestion fertilizer for your high protein plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. don’t forget to stay away from high nitrogen fertilizers like chicken manure and earthworm castings.

Tip 11 – You can also put paper and junk mail into your compost.  When you receive flyers for translations services near me, and it’s something you’re not interested in you can throw it into your compost after you shred it.

The plants should be watered and left standing over night after you have made your afternoon tea. Then they are moist and ready to work on the pests until the early morning dew has dried.

Over the wire fence or wall your organic container garden will prosper well with a minimum of care. If you decide to medical your container garden it is a good time to consider a mix fertilizer. Follow the instructions that come with the mix and be sure to follow them to the letter.

By practicing some organic gardening you can find yourself with a great crop of vegetables as a gift from me to you.

Don’t forget to look for garden art ideas at your local garden center or tote board.

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What You Need to Know About Weeds

identifying weeds

 

Weeds are pests that are neither pleasing to look at nor to smell. They neither contribute to a beautiful garden with vibrant colors nor enrich the soil with their beauty and scent. Instead they create an untidy mess in the garden and try to make it impossible for plants to thrive well.

It’s true that once they’ve been planted they do not die overnight. But they do still grow and spread. Therefore, having a well-kept garden means that the chances of their ever growing under control are slim.

Why You Should Keep Your Garden Weed-Free

Weeds can make it difficult for plants to grow in many cases. They lower the yield of plants and damage the quality of others. If left unchecked, they also rob the soil of nutrients and water.

In some cases, you need to get rid of them. But often gardeners are hazardously away from using weedkiller. Its effectiveness is very weak and often results in more harm than good. This is because most weedkillers (especially those that are intended for use on lawns) contain chemicals that remain in the soil. These chemicals can remain there for years.

The Good News

Despite all this, there’s still one way to control weeds effectively. In organic container gardening, you squash any hoping weeds together so that they can’t spread. You kill off the seeds once they’re small enough for the insect or animal to bite through.

In other words, you catch the little critters before they can get the ball out of the gramophones. You make gardening easier for you and your plants without killing the environment.

So What’s The Best Gardening Fertilizer?

For small gardens or pots, I wouldn’t use liquid fertilizer. They’re expensive and the liquid is thicker than the original soil. I’d also avoid most multi-purpose fertilizers. They contain nutrients that may be appropriate for plants grown in the real world, but the phosphorous and nitrogen components of the fertilizer often exceed the requirements for plants grown in pots.

For larger gardens and gardens along pavement or patios, I wouldn’t use liquid fertilizer either. They are expensive and can make the soil difficult to dig. If you don’t have any containers, can you borrow one?

I do use some liquid soil conditioner and there’s no harm in feeding the plants during the growing season. It gets rid of the weeds and nutrients, but the thick liquid makes it hard to dig.

What about indoor plants?

Indoor plants are fine as long as the wind doesn’t blow the fertilizer onto the leaves or windows.

Some growers choose to feed the plants weekly, like we do. But other growers do not feed at all. Once the pot set-up is established, the plant is able to handle its own.

Manage your fertilizer like you do your plants.Check them out and see if they are getting enough nitrogen, but also keep track of how much nitrogen they are getting and how much they are getting of the wrong kind. This way you’ll know when to add more nitrogen or to decrease the amount of nitrogen being given.

Manage your fertilizer like you do your plants. It’s always a numbers game. Make too much and you’ll get sick and nicking. Make too little and your plants will be malnourished and dying.

Make sure you understand how much nitrogen, the kind of nitrogen, is in your fertilizer. Plants need this kind of nitrogen for cells to form and grow. When you make too much, the plant doesn’t absorb enough and other cells get stunted.

A carpenter who does Annapolis painting houses once told me he used cereal nutshells as fertilizer. disgusting! I wouldn’t buy the cheapest primer but I do use nutshells now and for sure they do work, but don’t I use cheaper brands better poured nitrogen.Commented with calcium chloride, raincoat shellac, gravel and ash – yes, that’s fertilizer! Yoking! I use them for weed control in my landscape work as well.

Making compost will work wonders in your garden and of course, in your container garden too. You can use the material quickly or you can mix it into the soil around your fruit trees.

Making your own compost is a wonderful way to conserve the nitrogen in decomposing organic material. Choose a spot for your compost pile near your garden with a nice shade and some protection from the wind.

If you choose a compost pile, you’ll need a container. The container size will depend on how much you want to compost and how much space you have. An easy way to begin is to purchase a 1 or 2 gallon black plastic storage barrel. They’re fairly cheap, and with a little work, you’ll soon have your very own compost pile.

Okay, now you have a container and you have some stuff to poke into it.

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How to Water Your Garden

how to water a garden

 

It is common to find amongst home gardeners, the idea that perennial plants require much less water than annuals. It is an idea that has been given somewhat support, by the fact that in dry periods requiring heavy usage of water, many of the older trees and shrubs become brown and dry, as if they require a year in the desert. Furthermore, in long dry spells many plants belonging to the geranium family are said to be drought resistant.

However, whenever there is long periods of dry weather, the question arises as to how the grass around the garden should be cut to make way for the new garden plants. The simple answer is to install a sprinkling system, making sure that sufficient water is applied at the appropriate intervals. Needless to say, this has to be done carefully, following the right procedures.

Taking account of the climatic conditions and aware of the soil type in the garden, decide on the number of sprinklers to be installed. Normally, two or three sprinklers is enough in a small garden, but on a large scale a larger system is almost always better. Irrigation is best done by hand, so as not to introduce insect or disease problems.

The installation of an irrigation system is best done in phases. The first group of plants should be watered when the soil is damp and the next round of watering should take place after the plants have established themselves. Once this is done, the other sprinklers can be installed.

phase one: Spreading out the irrigation pipes

Before installing the irrigation system, the landscape should be prepared by removing all weeds, including the ones that grow naturally as well. I didn’t know this till a Chicago basement cleaning company informed me, but weeds are the number one cause of homes and basements to flood.  So make sure you clear out the weeds.

The type of irrigation system to be used must be decided at this point. If a rainfall is likely in the coming weeks, it is better to use the drip irrigation method, whereby the water is placed in small intervals over a long period. If the possibility of a rainy day is not a reality, it is better to use the sprinklers system that deliver the water in the form of spray.

The second group of plants, which are also required to be watered in the course of the growing season, are the trees and shrubs. It is essential to determine the type of system to be used in the garden, as this will affects the amount of water, and frequency of watering.

A popular practice is to leave the grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. In this way a green grass helps the soil absorb the moisture, and at the same time avoids wasting water on the weeds. A better practice is to mulch the lawn, using bales of straw or bark. This is preferable to grass, as the latter causes a partial mulching, and so a hardening of the lawn is avoided. The clippings need to be left on the lawn to prevent the top lowings from erosion, but they must be removed in the course of every growing season. Straw is usually easier to eliminate than to be shredded by top lows.

The soil, and therefore the future of the garden, depends largely upon the choice of plants. If you want to cross the balance between the ornamental garden and a useful crop garden, you must choose plants that will flower as well as if they were useful in some way in the kitchen. It is a golden rule to remember, especially with younger children: think of what you are about to do, and if it is to be an ornamental garden, choose plants that are scented. If it is to serve a useful purpose, choose plants that are liked by the kids.

The degree of ornamental versus useful planting is difficult to uphold, but there is no need to abandon common sense. Generally, useful plants are easier to replace than ornamentals. If a border is to be planted with attractive but non-flowering plants, an annual or perennial bed should be used. Leaving perennials to die back in the winter, therefore, is to cause real beauty to your garden. With the coming of the seasons, perennials will dye, and it is necessary to replace them. In any case, the only plants that can be of actual use in the garden are vegetables and flowers. The rest are merely window dressing.