When planning a landscape design, garden structures such as arbors and pergolas are wonderful elements to incorporate. These structures not only provide a strong focal point in the landscape, but they can also be utilitarian as well, serving many purposes that vary depending on the size and design used. Garden arbors and pergolas can range in size from as small as 24 inches to as large as 10 or 20 feet across. In this article, we'll discuss some varying arbor and pergola designs, and how you can use these structures to your advantage when planning an overall landscape or garden design.
When we talk about the design of a garden arbor or pergola, we're talking about the material as much as anything. The type of material used in making the structure will have a big impact on the look and use of the end product. There are three primary materials used for garden arbors and pergolas: wood, metal, and plastic. All three materials have their pros and cons, as we will explain.
Wood is probably the oldest type of material that has historically been used for constructing arbors and pergolas. It is inexpensive, readily available, and can be easily cut. Furthermore, wood can be stained or painted to match another existing structure, such as the house, shed or garage. One downfall of wood is that it does decay over time. Wood can also harbor certain types of pests, and it will eventually rot, splinter, and crack. The types of wood that can be used in an arbor or pergola are almost endless, but generally it's a good idea to look for a wood that weathers well and resists decay, such as cedar. For a rustic look, consider using log cedar. For a very basic, rudimentary structure, you could even use fallen timber, branches, and twigs tied together.
Plastic arbors and pergolas can be purchased in almost every color imaginable. When choosing a vinyl unit, be sure to look for a plastic that is treated with a UV inhibitor, so it won't fade or discolor over time. Vinyl is a good choice if you want your end product to be relatively maintenance free, because it won't need to be stained or painted. A vinyl arbor or pergola typically lends itself to a clean and modern design. White vinyl can be an especially attractive choice for an outdoor wedding in the spring or summer.
Metal arbors and pergolas are probably the most durable and long-lasting choice. In terms of their design and style, many have an almost gothic appearance, and they tend to mesh well with wrought iron gates and fences. There are many types of metal to choose from, including iron, steel, and aluminum. Depending on the type of metal chosen, you may encounter rust on the structure over time. A good powder coat paint finish will slow this process. Aluminum can be a good choice because it will not rust like steel, and it is also lightweight and extremely durable.
Another consideration that will play into your design choice is whether the arbor or pergola will serve a functional purpose. Arbors and pergolas can be merely aesthetic design elements, placed in the corner of a yard or garden simply because they are visually pleasing. On the other hand, if you design them correctly, they can also provide an excellent support for climbing plants and vines. Consider designing an arbor or pergola with horizontal pieces beginning close to the ground and continuing upward. Climbing plants such as morning glory, trumpet vine, and clematis will quickly make the structure their new home, adding another dimension of beauty. Arbors and pergolas can also be used to shade a patio or walkway. If you build a structure large enough to span a deck or patio, consider planting grapes or some other vine that will quickly encompass the structure, as this will help shade the area underneath. Arbors and pergolas can also be designed with garden benches or swings underneath to provide an additional seating area in the yard.
There are as many different ways to design a garden arbor or pergola as there are uses for the structures; the choices are almost endless. By taking into consideration the type of material that best meets your needs and the purpose, if any, that the structure will serve, you will come up with a design that compliments your yard beautifully. Remember, an arbor or pergola is a large and important element in your landscape design. Take the time to choose a unit that's right for you, and you will be rewarded with a beautiful structure that will grace your garden for years to come.
By: Ellen Bell
Ellen Bell works for Home Products 'n' More, a retail website offering a wide selection of garden arbor kits and pergolas. Visit us at www.homeproductsnmore.com/Garden_Arbor_s/629.htm
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
How Long To Make Garden Compost?
Compost can easily be made in a just in a heap out in the open. This is the traditional compost heap used by farmers since time immemorial. A huge pile of organic waste and animal manures layered together and heaped up high then left for months or even years to break down. If you have the space an open compost heap like this built in about a five foot cube will take six months to a year to decompose fully into usable, hummus rich garden compost.
Most gardeners though, need to conserve space so rely on enclosed areas to contain their compost heaps. How long your compost takes to make will depend, in part on the weather. Heat helps get all those micro-organisms working to break down your compost. Cold temperatures slow them down, and in severe cases could kill them altogether.
Moisture levels need to be favorable too. A too dry heap, and the bacteria will not be able to work to their full potential. A very wet heap and the bacteria basically drown and the whole heap may turn to fermenting sludge. This is only usually a problem with compost heaps made with huge volumes of compacted sappy green matter such as lawn clippings. Make sure this kind of content is layered thinly throughout the heap.
So long as the contents of the heap are varied in size and texture you should get lots of air pockets which will help the compost pile remain free-draining. Then, if you do have torrential rainfall, the water will drain through the heap rather than being trapped there.
There are ways to help your garden compost reach its full potential quickly though. If you build, or buy a garden composter which is keeps out the worst of the weather, but still lets air in you will speed up the composting process significantly. Plastic garden composters are great at keeping their contents moist. In fact, with these you should need to add no extra water at all. Likewise fitting a plastic sheet or tarpaulin over a wooden compost bin will achieve the same job. As the compost warms up and breaks down, it gives off moisture. The plastic traps the moisture, which will condense and drop back down onto the compost. So your garden compost should never dry out.
A well constructed garden composter should be giving you fine rich garden compost within three to six months.
By: Lec Watkins
For more information regarding garden recycling and whether to use a compost accelerator visit Garden Composter.
Most gardeners though, need to conserve space so rely on enclosed areas to contain their compost heaps. How long your compost takes to make will depend, in part on the weather. Heat helps get all those micro-organisms working to break down your compost. Cold temperatures slow them down, and in severe cases could kill them altogether.
Moisture levels need to be favorable too. A too dry heap, and the bacteria will not be able to work to their full potential. A very wet heap and the bacteria basically drown and the whole heap may turn to fermenting sludge. This is only usually a problem with compost heaps made with huge volumes of compacted sappy green matter such as lawn clippings. Make sure this kind of content is layered thinly throughout the heap.
So long as the contents of the heap are varied in size and texture you should get lots of air pockets which will help the compost pile remain free-draining. Then, if you do have torrential rainfall, the water will drain through the heap rather than being trapped there.
There are ways to help your garden compost reach its full potential quickly though. If you build, or buy a garden composter which is keeps out the worst of the weather, but still lets air in you will speed up the composting process significantly. Plastic garden composters are great at keeping their contents moist. In fact, with these you should need to add no extra water at all. Likewise fitting a plastic sheet or tarpaulin over a wooden compost bin will achieve the same job. As the compost warms up and breaks down, it gives off moisture. The plastic traps the moisture, which will condense and drop back down onto the compost. So your garden compost should never dry out.
A well constructed garden composter should be giving you fine rich garden compost within three to six months.
By: Lec Watkins
For more information regarding garden recycling and whether to use a compost accelerator visit Garden Composter.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Growing Vegetable Plants From Seed
If you're one of the many Americans who will be cultivating a vegetable garden this year, one of the first decisions you'll have to make is whether to grow your plants from seed or purchase transplants from a nursery. In this article, we'll explore the pros and cons to both methods, and we'll provide a basic how to guide for starting your own plants from seed.
There are two primary deciding factors in whether to start plants from seed. The first is time. Starting seeds certainly requires a larger investment in time and effort than purchasing transplants. However, the knowledge that you have grown the plants yourself from their very inception is also quite rewarding. The other primary consideration is cost. Seeds are far more economical to purchase than young plants. A packet of 50 or more seeds might cost you a few dollars. Transplants, on the other hand, will cost you that same amount per plant. In short, if you have the time and the inclination, growing your own plants from seed is a very rewarding and economical way to start a vegetable garden.
Most gardening experts will agree that the best method of starting seeds is in a greenhouse. Greenhouses provide optimal conditions for germination and growing: long warm days and ample sunlight during times of year when it is still to cold to even consider planting outside. Many hobby greenhouses also feature auto venting systems that help regulate the inside temperature.
If you're not ready to invest in a large outdoor greenhouse, consider a smaller portable unit that can sit on a deck or patio. There are also small indoor greenhouses available that occupy no more space than a shelf or tabletop, and these are ideal for the urban gardener who is limited on space.
It is possible, though sometimes more challenging, to start seeds indoors without the aid of a greenhouse. A large sunny window facing south is ideal. If you don't have such a location, consider purchasing fluorescent light fixtures with full spectrum grow lights. These can be suspended a few inches over young plants and set on timers to provide the necessary 14 hours of light per day. Ideally, the daytime temperature should be approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime temperature around 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. If plants are in warmer temperatures all day and night, they will grow tall and soft, rather than the stock, robust transplants that are hardier for setting outdoors.
Seedlings also need plenty of moisture for germination and early growth. Planting in a mixture that contains plenty of peat moss will aid in moisture retention. In the early stages, before seeds have germinated, fill a spray bottle with water and use this to keep the soil moist. This will prevent overwatering, which can cause seeds to dislodge and wash away.
The last important step in growing your own plants from seed is hardening off before transplanting outdoors. Hardening off refers to the process of preparing plants for the rigors of growing outdoors. Some gardeners harden off their seedlings by placing them outdoors on a deck or patio during favorable weather conditions for a week or so before transplanting is to occur. Other methods of hardening off include lowering the temperature where the plants are located, watering only when plants show signs of wilting, and placing a fan nearby to blow a gentle breeze on the seedlings.
By following these tips, along with a good dose of patience, any gardener can successfully start their own vegetable plants from seed. The process may be time consuming, but it is also very satisfying, and you'll be rewarded with dozens of young plants at a fraction of the cost of purchasing them from a nursery or garden center.
By: Ellen Bell
Ellen Bell works for Home Products 'n' More, a retail website offering free shipping on greenhouses to get your seedlings started. Or, for information how to build your own greenhouse, visit us at www.homeproductsnmore.com/Wholesale_Greenhouse_Supplies_s/146.htm
There are two primary deciding factors in whether to start plants from seed. The first is time. Starting seeds certainly requires a larger investment in time and effort than purchasing transplants. However, the knowledge that you have grown the plants yourself from their very inception is also quite rewarding. The other primary consideration is cost. Seeds are far more economical to purchase than young plants. A packet of 50 or more seeds might cost you a few dollars. Transplants, on the other hand, will cost you that same amount per plant. In short, if you have the time and the inclination, growing your own plants from seed is a very rewarding and economical way to start a vegetable garden.
Most gardening experts will agree that the best method of starting seeds is in a greenhouse. Greenhouses provide optimal conditions for germination and growing: long warm days and ample sunlight during times of year when it is still to cold to even consider planting outside. Many hobby greenhouses also feature auto venting systems that help regulate the inside temperature.
If you're not ready to invest in a large outdoor greenhouse, consider a smaller portable unit that can sit on a deck or patio. There are also small indoor greenhouses available that occupy no more space than a shelf or tabletop, and these are ideal for the urban gardener who is limited on space.
It is possible, though sometimes more challenging, to start seeds indoors without the aid of a greenhouse. A large sunny window facing south is ideal. If you don't have such a location, consider purchasing fluorescent light fixtures with full spectrum grow lights. These can be suspended a few inches over young plants and set on timers to provide the necessary 14 hours of light per day. Ideally, the daytime temperature should be approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime temperature around 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. If plants are in warmer temperatures all day and night, they will grow tall and soft, rather than the stock, robust transplants that are hardier for setting outdoors.
Seedlings also need plenty of moisture for germination and early growth. Planting in a mixture that contains plenty of peat moss will aid in moisture retention. In the early stages, before seeds have germinated, fill a spray bottle with water and use this to keep the soil moist. This will prevent overwatering, which can cause seeds to dislodge and wash away.
The last important step in growing your own plants from seed is hardening off before transplanting outdoors. Hardening off refers to the process of preparing plants for the rigors of growing outdoors. Some gardeners harden off their seedlings by placing them outdoors on a deck or patio during favorable weather conditions for a week or so before transplanting is to occur. Other methods of hardening off include lowering the temperature where the plants are located, watering only when plants show signs of wilting, and placing a fan nearby to blow a gentle breeze on the seedlings.
By following these tips, along with a good dose of patience, any gardener can successfully start their own vegetable plants from seed. The process may be time consuming, but it is also very satisfying, and you'll be rewarded with dozens of young plants at a fraction of the cost of purchasing them from a nursery or garden center.
By: Ellen Bell
Ellen Bell works for Home Products 'n' More, a retail website offering free shipping on greenhouses to get your seedlings started. Or, for information how to build your own greenhouse, visit us at www.homeproductsnmore.com/Wholesale_Greenhouse_Supplies_s/146.htm
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Safe Guard Your Koi - Control Carbon Dioxide Spikes
Algae Bloom Causes Carbon Dioxide Levels To Rise At Night
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) And Oxygen (O2) work hand in hand in a garden pond. As oxygen levels in the pond water increase, the level of carbon dioxide decreases and vice versa. This is a natural process. Oxygen levels are at their lowest at dawn, due to the processes taking place in your pond over night. During the day as sunlight appears the level of oxygen rises, peaking when the sun sets. After sunset the carbon dioxide which is at its lowest at this time of day starts to rise, peaking just before sunrise. It is important to not let carbon dioxide spikes, caused by green algae blooms from killing your pond fish. The best way to do this is to use a UV clarifier or a UV sterilizer.
How Does Carbon Dioxide Get Into My Pond?
Carbon dioxide is produced by aquatic pond life such as fish, snails, algae and aquatic plants through respiration (breathing). It is also produced as a result of rotting organic matter on the pond floor, including leaves, uneaten fish food and decaying algae blooms.
Carbon Dioxide Spikes Cause Fish Fatalities
Here is a question for those of you who have a fish pond! Have you ever woke up in the morning and found several of your pond fish dead? You probably stood there scratching your head, wondering why? There are two likely causes:
* A predatory animal such as a bird or a cat has physically killed the fish. The tell tale signs should be fairly obvious; damage to the body or head, for example.
* If your pond suffers from heavy algae blooms then the most likely cause is suffocation, through lack of oxygen. The pond water will need to have contained high levels of carbon dioxide and extremely low levels of oxygen for this to have happened.
If the cause of the deaths is due to the high level of green algae blooms then the best way to remedy this situation quickly is to install a UV clarifier or UV sterilizer, as these units will usually manage to get the algae bloom under control within about 5 days. With continuous use a UVC light will keep your pond water free from algae bloom. Please note however that a UV will not remove blanket weed or other filamentous string algae types.
What Is Photosynthesis?
Planktonic algae are a form of microscopic plant life that consumes carbon dioxide, during the day and reverts to using oxygen at night time. All plants carry out a process known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis uses the energy of the sun to convert inorganic carbon (gained from CO2 dissolved in the water) into carbonic acid (H2CO3). During sunlight hours plants and algae absorb carbon dioxide from the pond water, causing the level of carbonic acid to fall. This causes the pond water to become more alkaline i.e. the pH level increases.
Carbon Dioxide Problems Are Lower In Winter
Oxygen levels in pond water are at their highest during the colder fall and winter months when there is significantly less biological activity taking place within your garden pond. There is an overall reduction in the level of nutrients (nitrates and phosphorous) present in the water. This is mainly due to the plant life and pond life producing less waste; the plants have stopped growing and pond fish feed less. There is also less sunlight resulting in algae populations diminishing. For this reason the overall fluctuations between oxygen and carbon dioxide levels during the day and at night will be significantly less. The chances of Koi and goldfish deaths are significantly reduced.
It is also much easier for atmospheric oxygen to dissolve in cold water than it is for it to dissolve in warmer water. In addition cold water is able to hold more oxygen than warm water. Have you ever noticed pond fish gulping for air at the pond surface on hot, sunny days? This is the reason why.
How Carbon Dioxide Affects Pond pH Levels
The ideal pH for garden pond water is between a pH of 7.5 to a pH of 9. Carbon Dioxide dissolves in water to produce carbonic acid (H2CO3), which has a pH of less than 7. As a result the pond pH will drop and become more acidic as the carbon dioxide levels increase in line with the increased respiration from aquatic life. This is exactly what happens during the night in your pond. During the day the opposite is true, where photosynthesis boosts the increase in oxygen, causing the pH level to rise and become more alkaline. It is when the pH level drops and becomes more acidic that the potential for carbon dioxide problems increase.
What is Pond pH?
The pH scale which ranges from 0 through to 14 signifies whether or not the pond water is acidic (below pH7) or alkaline (above ph7). A pH of 7 is neutral. The higher the number of free hydrogen ions (H+), the more acidic the water is. A neutral pH means that the number of positive hydrogen ions (H+) are the same as the number of hydroxyl ions (OH-).
Aeration Increases Oxygen Levels and Reduces Carbon Dioxide
Garden ponds can never have too much oxygen. A well aerated garden pond will suffer considerably less from the catastrophic effects of high carbon dioxide levels, such as fish fatalities. Using a waterfall, water feature or pond air pump will add valuable oxygen to the pond environment, which will push the pond pH up and remove carbon dioxide from the pond water.
Pond Buffers Increase Pond pH Levels
A buffer is any substance that reacts with an excess of hydrogen ions (H+). The most commonly used buffer is Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) which is frequently used in garden ponds to prevent the pH from becoming acidic. It is a good idea to add a buffer to your pond filter to prevent fluctuations in pH levels.
CO2 + H2O ---> H2CO3 ---> H+ + HCO3-
In the above example, carbon dioxide + water form carbonic acid. This disassociates into two ions; including a free hydrogen (H+) ion.
CaCO3 + H+ + HCO3- ---> Ca (HCO3)2
In the above example, a buffer such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) bonds with the free hydrogen ion, to form Calcium Bicarbonate Ca (HCO3)2.
As long as you have calcium carbonate in your pond filter, your pond water will be protected against swings in pH. A buffer will also work in reverse; releasing hydrogen ions back into the water should the water become excessively alkaline.
A pond should be a real enjoyment and will be if you are aware of what is actually happening below the surface. My advice to you would be to ensure that you use a branded biological pond filter, a reliable energy efficient pond pump and a UVC sterilizer or UVC clarifier. Ideally you should add additional oxygen into the pond water; water falls and pond air pumps are the best way to do this.
Remember to ensure that you regularly check your pond water for ammonia, nitrite, pH, total Alkalinity and possibly hardness using a suitable pond test kit to quickly identify any potential problems.
By: Sean Roocroft
Want to save money and choose the right pond keeping equipment the first time around? Want to learn the secrets of successful garden pond keeping? Go to www.garden-pond-filters.com to learn everything you need to know NOW! Why not take advantage of my FREE pond calculators to make conversion between imperial and metric measurements quick, simple and accurate.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) And Oxygen (O2) work hand in hand in a garden pond. As oxygen levels in the pond water increase, the level of carbon dioxide decreases and vice versa. This is a natural process. Oxygen levels are at their lowest at dawn, due to the processes taking place in your pond over night. During the day as sunlight appears the level of oxygen rises, peaking when the sun sets. After sunset the carbon dioxide which is at its lowest at this time of day starts to rise, peaking just before sunrise. It is important to not let carbon dioxide spikes, caused by green algae blooms from killing your pond fish. The best way to do this is to use a UV clarifier or a UV sterilizer.
How Does Carbon Dioxide Get Into My Pond?
Carbon dioxide is produced by aquatic pond life such as fish, snails, algae and aquatic plants through respiration (breathing). It is also produced as a result of rotting organic matter on the pond floor, including leaves, uneaten fish food and decaying algae blooms.
Carbon Dioxide Spikes Cause Fish Fatalities
Here is a question for those of you who have a fish pond! Have you ever woke up in the morning and found several of your pond fish dead? You probably stood there scratching your head, wondering why? There are two likely causes:
* A predatory animal such as a bird or a cat has physically killed the fish. The tell tale signs should be fairly obvious; damage to the body or head, for example.
* If your pond suffers from heavy algae blooms then the most likely cause is suffocation, through lack of oxygen. The pond water will need to have contained high levels of carbon dioxide and extremely low levels of oxygen for this to have happened.
If the cause of the deaths is due to the high level of green algae blooms then the best way to remedy this situation quickly is to install a UV clarifier or UV sterilizer, as these units will usually manage to get the algae bloom under control within about 5 days. With continuous use a UVC light will keep your pond water free from algae bloom. Please note however that a UV will not remove blanket weed or other filamentous string algae types.
What Is Photosynthesis?
Planktonic algae are a form of microscopic plant life that consumes carbon dioxide, during the day and reverts to using oxygen at night time. All plants carry out a process known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis uses the energy of the sun to convert inorganic carbon (gained from CO2 dissolved in the water) into carbonic acid (H2CO3). During sunlight hours plants and algae absorb carbon dioxide from the pond water, causing the level of carbonic acid to fall. This causes the pond water to become more alkaline i.e. the pH level increases.
Carbon Dioxide Problems Are Lower In Winter
Oxygen levels in pond water are at their highest during the colder fall and winter months when there is significantly less biological activity taking place within your garden pond. There is an overall reduction in the level of nutrients (nitrates and phosphorous) present in the water. This is mainly due to the plant life and pond life producing less waste; the plants have stopped growing and pond fish feed less. There is also less sunlight resulting in algae populations diminishing. For this reason the overall fluctuations between oxygen and carbon dioxide levels during the day and at night will be significantly less. The chances of Koi and goldfish deaths are significantly reduced.
It is also much easier for atmospheric oxygen to dissolve in cold water than it is for it to dissolve in warmer water. In addition cold water is able to hold more oxygen than warm water. Have you ever noticed pond fish gulping for air at the pond surface on hot, sunny days? This is the reason why.
How Carbon Dioxide Affects Pond pH Levels
The ideal pH for garden pond water is between a pH of 7.5 to a pH of 9. Carbon Dioxide dissolves in water to produce carbonic acid (H2CO3), which has a pH of less than 7. As a result the pond pH will drop and become more acidic as the carbon dioxide levels increase in line with the increased respiration from aquatic life. This is exactly what happens during the night in your pond. During the day the opposite is true, where photosynthesis boosts the increase in oxygen, causing the pH level to rise and become more alkaline. It is when the pH level drops and becomes more acidic that the potential for carbon dioxide problems increase.
What is Pond pH?
The pH scale which ranges from 0 through to 14 signifies whether or not the pond water is acidic (below pH7) or alkaline (above ph7). A pH of 7 is neutral. The higher the number of free hydrogen ions (H+), the more acidic the water is. A neutral pH means that the number of positive hydrogen ions (H+) are the same as the number of hydroxyl ions (OH-).
Aeration Increases Oxygen Levels and Reduces Carbon Dioxide
Garden ponds can never have too much oxygen. A well aerated garden pond will suffer considerably less from the catastrophic effects of high carbon dioxide levels, such as fish fatalities. Using a waterfall, water feature or pond air pump will add valuable oxygen to the pond environment, which will push the pond pH up and remove carbon dioxide from the pond water.
Pond Buffers Increase Pond pH Levels
A buffer is any substance that reacts with an excess of hydrogen ions (H+). The most commonly used buffer is Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) which is frequently used in garden ponds to prevent the pH from becoming acidic. It is a good idea to add a buffer to your pond filter to prevent fluctuations in pH levels.
CO2 + H2O ---> H2CO3 ---> H+ + HCO3-
In the above example, carbon dioxide + water form carbonic acid. This disassociates into two ions; including a free hydrogen (H+) ion.
CaCO3 + H+ + HCO3- ---> Ca (HCO3)2
In the above example, a buffer such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) bonds with the free hydrogen ion, to form Calcium Bicarbonate Ca (HCO3)2.
As long as you have calcium carbonate in your pond filter, your pond water will be protected against swings in pH. A buffer will also work in reverse; releasing hydrogen ions back into the water should the water become excessively alkaline.
A pond should be a real enjoyment and will be if you are aware of what is actually happening below the surface. My advice to you would be to ensure that you use a branded biological pond filter, a reliable energy efficient pond pump and a UVC sterilizer or UVC clarifier. Ideally you should add additional oxygen into the pond water; water falls and pond air pumps are the best way to do this.
Remember to ensure that you regularly check your pond water for ammonia, nitrite, pH, total Alkalinity and possibly hardness using a suitable pond test kit to quickly identify any potential problems.
By: Sean Roocroft
Want to save money and choose the right pond keeping equipment the first time around? Want to learn the secrets of successful garden pond keeping? Go to www.garden-pond-filters.com to learn everything you need to know NOW! Why not take advantage of my FREE pond calculators to make conversion between imperial and metric measurements quick, simple and accurate.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Problems With Water In Your Yard
Do you have one or more areas in your yard that hold water after a rainfall? This is a common problem, and sometimes difficult to solve. Over the years I've talked with dozens of people trying to battle this problem, and on several occasions I have been hired to solve the problem. So what can be done?
Too often people come to me asking what kind of a tree, or what kind of shrubs can be planted in a wet area to dry it up. This is the wrong approach. Most plants, and I mean almost all plants are not going to survive in an area where the soil is soggy for extended periods of time. The roots need to breath, and planting a tree or shrub in a water area will kill it.
Another common approach is to try and fill the area with topsoil. Depending on a variety of variables, this can work, but many times adding additional soil to a wet area will only shift the water to another area just a few feet away.
If you are lucky enough to have some natural fall to your property, or a drainage ditch nearby, this problem is easy enough to solve. If you happen to live in an area that was developed over the past few years, there might even be a system to remove storm water nearby. In many new home developments I've seen stormwater catch basins already installed in backyards. Trust me, this is a good thing. There is nothing worse than having a soggy yard all the time.
If you are fortunate to have some fall to your yard, or a stormwater system that you can drain water into, this problem is easy to solve. Make sure you check with your local officials before you do anything at all with a storm drain.
All you have to do is go to your local building supply center and buy some 4" perforated plastic drain pipe. The best kind for this purpose is the flexible kind that comes in 100' rolls. This type of drain pipe has small slits all around the pipe. These slits allow water to enter the pipe so it can be carried away.
Just dig a trench from the center of the low area you are trying to drain, to the point that you intend to drain it to. Using a simple line level you can set up a string over top of the trench to make sure that your pipe runs downhill all the way. A line level is a very small level that is designed to attach to a string. Any hardware stores sells them for just a couple of dollars. Set the string up so it is level, then measure from the string to the bottom of your trench to make sure you have constant fall. You should have 6" fall for every 100' of pipe.
The highest point is going to be the area that you are trying to drain, so you only want your pipe deep enough at this point so it can be covered with soil. Once the trench is dug just lay the pipe in. At the highest end of the pipe you'll need to insert a strainer into the end of the pipe to keep soil from entering the pipe. Cover the pipe with some washed stone, and then backfill the trench with soil. The washed stone creates a void around the pipe so that the water can find its way into the pipe.
Washed stone is usually inexpensive stone that has been washed so it is clean and free of mud. The only part of the pipe that needs to be exposed is the low end, where the water exits the pipe. Do not put a strainer in that end.
If you do not have anywhere that you can drain the water to, you still might be able to do something. But first consider what is happening, and why the water is standing where it is. Even if you have well drained soil, water cannot soak in fast enough during periods of heavy rain, and it runs across the top of the ground and eventually finds the lowest point, and either leaves the property, or gets trapped.
If you have well drained soil, the trapped water usually soaks in. If you have heavy clay soil, the water lays there, and the soil underneath becomes very compacted, and the problem compounds itself. The more water that stands, the worse the drainage gets.
What I have done in areas like this, where there is standing water, but nowhere to drain it to, is to install a French drain system that actually carries the water away from the low area, and allows it to seep into the ground over a larger distance, where the soil is not quite so compacted. To install this French drain system you do everything exactly as explained above, except instead of draining the water to a lower area, you can send it in any direction you like. Even in the direction from which it came, which is uphill.
When installing this type of system, it's a good idea to dig a number of shorter trenches, all heading away from the area where the water stands. Using the line level, make sure your trenches fall away from their point of origin so once the water enters the pipes it will flow away from the wet spot. What is going to happen is that during times of heavy rain the low area is still going to trap water, but much of that water is going to seep into the drain pipes and eventually leach into the soil under each trench.
Because this soil has not been compacted by the standing water and the baking sun, it will accept the water. It won't happen nearly as fast as if you could just drain the water to a ditch, but at least you will have a mechanism in place that will eventually disperse the water back into the soil. It's a lot easier to leach 200 gallons of water into a series of trenches that total 100 lineal feet, than it is to expect that water to leach into a 10' by 10' area that is hard and compact.
By: Josiah Smart
To read about tulip facts and lily facts, visit the Plants And Flowers site.
Too often people come to me asking what kind of a tree, or what kind of shrubs can be planted in a wet area to dry it up. This is the wrong approach. Most plants, and I mean almost all plants are not going to survive in an area where the soil is soggy for extended periods of time. The roots need to breath, and planting a tree or shrub in a water area will kill it.
Another common approach is to try and fill the area with topsoil. Depending on a variety of variables, this can work, but many times adding additional soil to a wet area will only shift the water to another area just a few feet away.
If you are lucky enough to have some natural fall to your property, or a drainage ditch nearby, this problem is easy enough to solve. If you happen to live in an area that was developed over the past few years, there might even be a system to remove storm water nearby. In many new home developments I've seen stormwater catch basins already installed in backyards. Trust me, this is a good thing. There is nothing worse than having a soggy yard all the time.
If you are fortunate to have some fall to your yard, or a stormwater system that you can drain water into, this problem is easy to solve. Make sure you check with your local officials before you do anything at all with a storm drain.
All you have to do is go to your local building supply center and buy some 4" perforated plastic drain pipe. The best kind for this purpose is the flexible kind that comes in 100' rolls. This type of drain pipe has small slits all around the pipe. These slits allow water to enter the pipe so it can be carried away.
Just dig a trench from the center of the low area you are trying to drain, to the point that you intend to drain it to. Using a simple line level you can set up a string over top of the trench to make sure that your pipe runs downhill all the way. A line level is a very small level that is designed to attach to a string. Any hardware stores sells them for just a couple of dollars. Set the string up so it is level, then measure from the string to the bottom of your trench to make sure you have constant fall. You should have 6" fall for every 100' of pipe.
The highest point is going to be the area that you are trying to drain, so you only want your pipe deep enough at this point so it can be covered with soil. Once the trench is dug just lay the pipe in. At the highest end of the pipe you'll need to insert a strainer into the end of the pipe to keep soil from entering the pipe. Cover the pipe with some washed stone, and then backfill the trench with soil. The washed stone creates a void around the pipe so that the water can find its way into the pipe.
Washed stone is usually inexpensive stone that has been washed so it is clean and free of mud. The only part of the pipe that needs to be exposed is the low end, where the water exits the pipe. Do not put a strainer in that end.
If you do not have anywhere that you can drain the water to, you still might be able to do something. But first consider what is happening, and why the water is standing where it is. Even if you have well drained soil, water cannot soak in fast enough during periods of heavy rain, and it runs across the top of the ground and eventually finds the lowest point, and either leaves the property, or gets trapped.
If you have well drained soil, the trapped water usually soaks in. If you have heavy clay soil, the water lays there, and the soil underneath becomes very compacted, and the problem compounds itself. The more water that stands, the worse the drainage gets.
What I have done in areas like this, where there is standing water, but nowhere to drain it to, is to install a French drain system that actually carries the water away from the low area, and allows it to seep into the ground over a larger distance, where the soil is not quite so compacted. To install this French drain system you do everything exactly as explained above, except instead of draining the water to a lower area, you can send it in any direction you like. Even in the direction from which it came, which is uphill.
When installing this type of system, it's a good idea to dig a number of shorter trenches, all heading away from the area where the water stands. Using the line level, make sure your trenches fall away from their point of origin so once the water enters the pipes it will flow away from the wet spot. What is going to happen is that during times of heavy rain the low area is still going to trap water, but much of that water is going to seep into the drain pipes and eventually leach into the soil under each trench.
Because this soil has not been compacted by the standing water and the baking sun, it will accept the water. It won't happen nearly as fast as if you could just drain the water to a ditch, but at least you will have a mechanism in place that will eventually disperse the water back into the soil. It's a lot easier to leach 200 gallons of water into a series of trenches that total 100 lineal feet, than it is to expect that water to leach into a 10' by 10' area that is hard and compact.
By: Josiah Smart
To read about tulip facts and lily facts, visit the Plants And Flowers site.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Annuals And Biennials
A garden can be quickly filled with color by using annuals and biennials. These plants flower longer than many others and are ideal for filling gaps in a border.
Almost any patch of soil can be transformed into a blaze of color in a matter of weeks by planting nursery-grown annuals, or in two or three months with the plants you grow from direct-sown seeds.
Annuals are plants that grow, flower, produce seeds, and die in one growing season. The most popular kinds provide a longer-lasting display than perennials or bulbs, and they are invaluable for starting a new garden quickly. They can also be used to supply bright accents among shrubs or perennials, under trees, and in containers. Many of these plants provide excellent cut flowers as well.
Most annuals are inexpensive, easy to grow, and available in a broad range of colors and heights.
Plants that are similar in their general effect are biennials. They are started from seeds one year; they flower the next; and then they die.
In mild climates, however, some of the plants grown as annuals may survive the winter (they actually are tender perennials), and some biennials can be grown as annuals.
Annuals are classified in some books and catalogs, and on some seed packets, according to the British system, which divides them into two groups -- hardy and half-hardy. Hardy annuals, which tolerate cold weather, can be sown earlier than halfhardy annuals. This terminology often proves more confusing than helpful, however, because it does not apply to all areas of North America. Therefore, it is not used in this book.
The quickest and easiest way to enjoy flowers in the garden is to purchase young annuals or biennials in plant form in spring (also in autumn in the South) and set them directly in the garden. A wide choice of plants is available, but seeds, especially those offered in catalogs, provide an even greater diversity.
Seeds can be given an extra early start (especially in cold regions) by sowing them in a protected and controlled environment. This is almost a necessity for very fine seeds, such as those of the wax begonia; for seeds that need high temperatures to germinate, such as those of the impatiens; and for those plants that are slow to bloom from seeds, such as the vinca, petunia, and ageratum. Seeds can be started indoors if sufficient light and proper temperature are provided (see p. 193), or outdoors if a cold frame or hotbed that protects them from the elements can be located conveniently.
Seeds can also be sown directly outdoors where they are to flower. This is a popular and practical method for plants that bloom quickly, as well as for those that have large seeds (see p. 191).
Biennials, although fewer in number than the annuals or perennials, have some of the showiest garden flowers. Particularly popular are sweet William, Canterbury bell, foxglove, hollyhock, and pansy. They are usually sown in the late spring or early summer outdoors in a protected location.
When biennial seedlings are large enough to handle, they can be transplanted in rows to grow until late summer. By then they should be sturdy enough for transplantation to permanent positions or to spend the winter in a cold frame.
Many annuals and biennials have been garden favorites for centuries. A worthwhile advance in recent years has been the development of the F1, first generation, and the F2, second generation, hybrids (the F stands for filial). They are the result of selecting and inbreeding different parent lines of the same plant to get the most desirable characteristics and then cross-pollinating the plants to combine the best characteristics of each.
Several generations of this kind of breeding are required to produce plants of the desired quality. Some home gardeners may be deterred by the relatively high price of the seeds, especially since seeds saved from such hybrid plants will not produce plants of equal vigor or identical color the next year.
But the first generation of flowers grown from F1 hybrid seeds will demonstrate such superiority to the less expensive types that they are well worth the added cost. These hybrids offer clearer colors, more vigor, larger size, greater weather and disease resistance, and better, more uniform growth habits than their forebears.
F2 hybrids are the results of the hybridizers' attempts to improve the quality without the high cost of the F1 method. This is achieved by selffertilizing the F1's. In some cases it has worked. Generally, the F2 hybrids are an improvement on standard seeds, though not so spectacular as the F1's. Most seed catalogs do not mention the designations, but the difference in the price is usually an indication that the most expensive seeds are F1 hybrids or a new variety.
Selecting varieties from a catalog or seed rack can be confusing. In an attempt to simplify the choice, All-America Selections, founded in 1932, began growing new varieties submitted by hybridizers in official test gardens throughout the continent. Those awarded the highest number of points are designated as the All-America Selections, and every seed packet of those varieties is so labeled. The buyer can be assured that these varieties have proven to be superior to other plants under varied climatic and soil conditions.
Among most recent All-Americas are petunia 'Opera Supreme Pink Morn', a ground cover that flowers profusely; celosia 'Fresh Look Gold', free-branching and weather-tolerant; dianthus 'Supra Purple', long-flowering and heat-tolerant; cleome 'Sparkler Blush', with pink flowers that turn white with age; gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', with dark red flowers with petals tipped in yellow on a spreading plant; and zinnia 'Magellan Coral', with fully double flowers on a 12-inch plant. Other All- Americas are indicated by an asterisk on the chart beginning on page 197.
The above is an excerpt from the book The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions by Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2009 Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole, editors of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions
Author Bio
Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living. A co-author of Reader's Digest's Vegetable Gardening, she also conceived and edited The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Insect and Disease Control, The Expert's Book of Garden Hints, among others. Bradley is a former gardening books editor for Rodale.
Trevor Cole, co-editor with Fern Marshall Bradley of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, was curator of the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada, for over 20 years. He was educated in horticultural science at the Royal Botanical Gardens in the U.K. Cole's previous offerings include numerous magazine articles and the books Care-Free Plants and The New Ottawa Gardener.
By: Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole
For more, please visit www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Gardening-Editors-Readers-Digest/dp/0762102764/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239152826&sr=8-1
Almost any patch of soil can be transformed into a blaze of color in a matter of weeks by planting nursery-grown annuals, or in two or three months with the plants you grow from direct-sown seeds.
Annuals are plants that grow, flower, produce seeds, and die in one growing season. The most popular kinds provide a longer-lasting display than perennials or bulbs, and they are invaluable for starting a new garden quickly. They can also be used to supply bright accents among shrubs or perennials, under trees, and in containers. Many of these plants provide excellent cut flowers as well.
Most annuals are inexpensive, easy to grow, and available in a broad range of colors and heights.
Plants that are similar in their general effect are biennials. They are started from seeds one year; they flower the next; and then they die.
In mild climates, however, some of the plants grown as annuals may survive the winter (they actually are tender perennials), and some biennials can be grown as annuals.
Annuals are classified in some books and catalogs, and on some seed packets, according to the British system, which divides them into two groups -- hardy and half-hardy. Hardy annuals, which tolerate cold weather, can be sown earlier than halfhardy annuals. This terminology often proves more confusing than helpful, however, because it does not apply to all areas of North America. Therefore, it is not used in this book.
The quickest and easiest way to enjoy flowers in the garden is to purchase young annuals or biennials in plant form in spring (also in autumn in the South) and set them directly in the garden. A wide choice of plants is available, but seeds, especially those offered in catalogs, provide an even greater diversity.
Seeds can be given an extra early start (especially in cold regions) by sowing them in a protected and controlled environment. This is almost a necessity for very fine seeds, such as those of the wax begonia; for seeds that need high temperatures to germinate, such as those of the impatiens; and for those plants that are slow to bloom from seeds, such as the vinca, petunia, and ageratum. Seeds can be started indoors if sufficient light and proper temperature are provided (see p. 193), or outdoors if a cold frame or hotbed that protects them from the elements can be located conveniently.
Seeds can also be sown directly outdoors where they are to flower. This is a popular and practical method for plants that bloom quickly, as well as for those that have large seeds (see p. 191).
Biennials, although fewer in number than the annuals or perennials, have some of the showiest garden flowers. Particularly popular are sweet William, Canterbury bell, foxglove, hollyhock, and pansy. They are usually sown in the late spring or early summer outdoors in a protected location.
When biennial seedlings are large enough to handle, they can be transplanted in rows to grow until late summer. By then they should be sturdy enough for transplantation to permanent positions or to spend the winter in a cold frame.
Many annuals and biennials have been garden favorites for centuries. A worthwhile advance in recent years has been the development of the F1, first generation, and the F2, second generation, hybrids (the F stands for filial). They are the result of selecting and inbreeding different parent lines of the same plant to get the most desirable characteristics and then cross-pollinating the plants to combine the best characteristics of each.
Several generations of this kind of breeding are required to produce plants of the desired quality. Some home gardeners may be deterred by the relatively high price of the seeds, especially since seeds saved from such hybrid plants will not produce plants of equal vigor or identical color the next year.
But the first generation of flowers grown from F1 hybrid seeds will demonstrate such superiority to the less expensive types that they are well worth the added cost. These hybrids offer clearer colors, more vigor, larger size, greater weather and disease resistance, and better, more uniform growth habits than their forebears.
F2 hybrids are the results of the hybridizers' attempts to improve the quality without the high cost of the F1 method. This is achieved by selffertilizing the F1's. In some cases it has worked. Generally, the F2 hybrids are an improvement on standard seeds, though not so spectacular as the F1's. Most seed catalogs do not mention the designations, but the difference in the price is usually an indication that the most expensive seeds are F1 hybrids or a new variety.
Selecting varieties from a catalog or seed rack can be confusing. In an attempt to simplify the choice, All-America Selections, founded in 1932, began growing new varieties submitted by hybridizers in official test gardens throughout the continent. Those awarded the highest number of points are designated as the All-America Selections, and every seed packet of those varieties is so labeled. The buyer can be assured that these varieties have proven to be superior to other plants under varied climatic and soil conditions.
Among most recent All-Americas are petunia 'Opera Supreme Pink Morn', a ground cover that flowers profusely; celosia 'Fresh Look Gold', free-branching and weather-tolerant; dianthus 'Supra Purple', long-flowering and heat-tolerant; cleome 'Sparkler Blush', with pink flowers that turn white with age; gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', with dark red flowers with petals tipped in yellow on a spreading plant; and zinnia 'Magellan Coral', with fully double flowers on a 12-inch plant. Other All- Americas are indicated by an asterisk on the chart beginning on page 197.
The above is an excerpt from the book The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions by Edited by Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2009 Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole, editors of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions
Author Bio
Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living. A co-author of Reader's Digest's Vegetable Gardening, she also conceived and edited The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Insect and Disease Control, The Expert's Book of Garden Hints, among others. Bradley is a former gardening books editor for Rodale.
Trevor Cole, co-editor with Fern Marshall Bradley of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, was curator of the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa, Canada, for over 20 years. He was educated in horticultural science at the Royal Botanical Gardens in the U.K. Cole's previous offerings include numerous magazine articles and the books Care-Free Plants and The New Ottawa Gardener.
By: Fern Marshall Bradley and Trevor Cole
For more, please visit www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Gardening-Editors-Readers-Digest/dp/0762102764/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239152826&sr=8-1
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A Vegetable Garden On My Back Porch
Recently, I was a guest on Cory Farley’s radio show on KBZZ in Reno, Nevada, to talk about my vegetable garden growing on my back porch. It’s called “square foot gardening.” Not as ambitious as our First Lady’s gardening efforts but still will harvest a load of vegetables.
You begin with two 8 X 12 pieces of untreated lumber. You don’t want chemicals to leach into the soil. Cut in half. If you ask, the lumber business will probably do it for you. Now you have four pieces of wood, each 4 X 4, 12 inches width. Nail the pieces together to form a square—that’s your four square planting box. Set on a 4 X 4 sheet of plywood that you drilled three holes in for drainage. Set the planting box where you want to grow your vegetables. Fill with a mixture of topsoil and organic potting soil.
Before I start planting, I line three pieces of string down and three pieces of string across to divide the planting into 16 squares. I now begin to plant: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, green peas, carrots and broccoli. I plant these vegetables because, not only are they my favorite vegetables, but I harvest so many that I freeze what I don’t eat. I am saving money by eating vegetables long after the growing season is over.
I freeze the tomatoes whole, uncooked, to use in recipes later. The bell peppers---green, yellow, and red---I wash, core, and freeze uncooked. The others I blanch in boiling water for a few minutes, and then freeze.
It really is so easy. Give square foot gardening a try. You’re not only saving money, but you’re eating the tastiest vegetables possible.
By: Sandy Powers
A breast cancer survivor, Sandy Powers is the author of the award winning guide to health, "Organic for Health." www.organicforhealthsite.com
You begin with two 8 X 12 pieces of untreated lumber. You don’t want chemicals to leach into the soil. Cut in half. If you ask, the lumber business will probably do it for you. Now you have four pieces of wood, each 4 X 4, 12 inches width. Nail the pieces together to form a square—that’s your four square planting box. Set on a 4 X 4 sheet of plywood that you drilled three holes in for drainage. Set the planting box where you want to grow your vegetables. Fill with a mixture of topsoil and organic potting soil.
Before I start planting, I line three pieces of string down and three pieces of string across to divide the planting into 16 squares. I now begin to plant: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, green peas, carrots and broccoli. I plant these vegetables because, not only are they my favorite vegetables, but I harvest so many that I freeze what I don’t eat. I am saving money by eating vegetables long after the growing season is over.
I freeze the tomatoes whole, uncooked, to use in recipes later. The bell peppers---green, yellow, and red---I wash, core, and freeze uncooked. The others I blanch in boiling water for a few minutes, and then freeze.
It really is so easy. Give square foot gardening a try. You’re not only saving money, but you’re eating the tastiest vegetables possible.
By: Sandy Powers
A breast cancer survivor, Sandy Powers is the author of the award winning guide to health, "Organic for Health." www.organicforhealthsite.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Go Organic To Shrink Your Gardening Budget
Saving the Earth and protecting children and pets from dangerous chemicals are the reasons most gardeners cite for giving up pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, but guess what? Making the switch to organic gardening methods will save you money too! Here are six examples of how going organic will put money back in your pocket.
**Plant veggies, spend less on doctor bills. A recent article by a Texas research biochemist summarizes some bad news: many scientific studies show that the vitamin content of fresh fruits and vegetables is on the decline. That’s alarming, because fresh produce should be an important source of vitamins and minerals in our diets -- without them, we’re more vulnerable to getting sick. Fortunately, there's a simple way to protect your health and reduce what you spend on costly doctor visits, cold and flu medications, and vitamin pills: plant some vegetables. Fresh-picked home garden produce is brimming with nutrition, and recent studies confirm that organically grown produce can be even richer in nutrients than conventionally grown fruits and veggies.
**Fire your lawn care service. How much do you pay for a lawn care company to treat your lawn? Chances are it's way too much. So ditch the lawn service and hire a local teen to mow for you instead. To encourage a healthy lawn the organic way, have your hired help set the mower high -- at least 3 inches high. That way, your lawn grass naturally shades out weeds (no more herbicides needed). Be sure your helper uses a mulching mower that returns grass clippings -- which contain valuable nitrogen -- to the lawn (no more bagged fertilizer needed). Once a year, have your helper spread good-quality compost too, about 1/4 inch thick. The compost will melt into the lawn almost immediately, adding a wide range of nutrients as well as beneficial microbes that help prevent lawn diseases.
**Fight pests with flowers instead of pesticides. More than 90 percent of the insects in your yard and garden are your friends, not your foes. Ladybugs, lacewings, and even many kinds of flies and tiny wasps are an important natural pest control force. Their larvae (the immature stages of the insects) gobble up aphids and other pests, or parasitize the caterpillars that would like to turn the foliage of your flowers and veggies into a holey mess. One easy way to attract these good-guy insects to your yard organically is to plant a garden of perennials and herbs with tiny flowers, because the adult beneficial insects eat pollen, not bugs. Yarrow, purple coneflowers, daisies, tansy, cosmos, marigolds, and zinnias are great plants to start with, and you'll love how they look growing in sunny spots all around your yard. Buying a few packets of annual seeds and several potted perennials is much cheaper -- and much more fun -- than buying pesticides and a sprayer!
**Forget the bagged fertilizer -- buy seeds instead. It's true! A packet of cover crop seeds such as buckwheat or oats will add as much fertility to your garden beds as any bag of synthetic fertilizer can. And that's just the start of the story. Using synthetic fertilizer is a vicious cycle, because the chemicals in the fertilizer kill or repel beneficial earthworms and other organisms that help build a healthy soil. Plus, chemical fertilizer easily washes down through the soil when it rains, ending up in the groundwater we drink! You'll save big in the long term by planting cover crops instead—they prevent soil erosion, they encourage earthworms and other good guys, and they enrich your soil naturally. Simply sow the cover crop seed on lightly loosened soil, rake it in lightly, and water it to speed germination. Within 4 to 8 weeks, you can cut down the crop with shears or your lawn mower, and all that rich green material will naturally break down, leaving you a nutrient-primed planting bed that will produce bumper crops of veggies, fruit, or flowers.
**Reduce your water bill by capturing rainwater. Depending on where you live, as much as 50 percent of the water you use goes to keeping your garden green and growing. That's a big expense that will only get bigger as water supply problems increase around the country. But for less than $100, you can buy and install a rain barrel that will capture the rain that falls on your roof, providing you a free supply of water for your gardens virtually indefinitely. Rain barrels are available from home centers and mail-order suppliers, and it takes no special skills to install one.
**Grow gourmet salad toppings on the cheap. Microgreens are all the rage at fancy restaurants and farm markets, but boy are they expensive! Here's a secret: you can grow your own microgreens at any time of year on a sunny windowsill for a fraction of the price. Simply save leftover clamshell containers from the deli and buy some organic transplanting mix that's enriched with compost. Clean the containers well, use a barbecue skewer to poke several drainage holes in each one, and fill them with moist mix. Then sprinkle veggie seeds (be sure the seeds haven't been treated with pesticides) generously over the soil surface, cover lightly with more mix, and set the containers in a catch tray on the windowsill. Mist daily until sprouts appear, then water as needed to keep them growing. Within three weeks, the sprouts will reach the two-leaf stage, and you can snip them with scissors to garnish salads, sandwiches, and entrees. Use lettuce, arugula and other salad greens, as well as broccoli, kale, dill, cilantro, basil, even peas.
©2009 Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions
By: Fern Marshall Bradley
Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living. A co-author of Reader's Digest's Vegetable Gardening, she also conceived and edited The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Insect and Disease Control, The Expert's Book of Garden Hints, among others. Bradley is a former gardening books editor for Rodale.
**Plant veggies, spend less on doctor bills. A recent article by a Texas research biochemist summarizes some bad news: many scientific studies show that the vitamin content of fresh fruits and vegetables is on the decline. That’s alarming, because fresh produce should be an important source of vitamins and minerals in our diets -- without them, we’re more vulnerable to getting sick. Fortunately, there's a simple way to protect your health and reduce what you spend on costly doctor visits, cold and flu medications, and vitamin pills: plant some vegetables. Fresh-picked home garden produce is brimming with nutrition, and recent studies confirm that organically grown produce can be even richer in nutrients than conventionally grown fruits and veggies.
**Fire your lawn care service. How much do you pay for a lawn care company to treat your lawn? Chances are it's way too much. So ditch the lawn service and hire a local teen to mow for you instead. To encourage a healthy lawn the organic way, have your hired help set the mower high -- at least 3 inches high. That way, your lawn grass naturally shades out weeds (no more herbicides needed). Be sure your helper uses a mulching mower that returns grass clippings -- which contain valuable nitrogen -- to the lawn (no more bagged fertilizer needed). Once a year, have your helper spread good-quality compost too, about 1/4 inch thick. The compost will melt into the lawn almost immediately, adding a wide range of nutrients as well as beneficial microbes that help prevent lawn diseases.
**Fight pests with flowers instead of pesticides. More than 90 percent of the insects in your yard and garden are your friends, not your foes. Ladybugs, lacewings, and even many kinds of flies and tiny wasps are an important natural pest control force. Their larvae (the immature stages of the insects) gobble up aphids and other pests, or parasitize the caterpillars that would like to turn the foliage of your flowers and veggies into a holey mess. One easy way to attract these good-guy insects to your yard organically is to plant a garden of perennials and herbs with tiny flowers, because the adult beneficial insects eat pollen, not bugs. Yarrow, purple coneflowers, daisies, tansy, cosmos, marigolds, and zinnias are great plants to start with, and you'll love how they look growing in sunny spots all around your yard. Buying a few packets of annual seeds and several potted perennials is much cheaper -- and much more fun -- than buying pesticides and a sprayer!
**Forget the bagged fertilizer -- buy seeds instead. It's true! A packet of cover crop seeds such as buckwheat or oats will add as much fertility to your garden beds as any bag of synthetic fertilizer can. And that's just the start of the story. Using synthetic fertilizer is a vicious cycle, because the chemicals in the fertilizer kill or repel beneficial earthworms and other organisms that help build a healthy soil. Plus, chemical fertilizer easily washes down through the soil when it rains, ending up in the groundwater we drink! You'll save big in the long term by planting cover crops instead—they prevent soil erosion, they encourage earthworms and other good guys, and they enrich your soil naturally. Simply sow the cover crop seed on lightly loosened soil, rake it in lightly, and water it to speed germination. Within 4 to 8 weeks, you can cut down the crop with shears or your lawn mower, and all that rich green material will naturally break down, leaving you a nutrient-primed planting bed that will produce bumper crops of veggies, fruit, or flowers.
**Reduce your water bill by capturing rainwater. Depending on where you live, as much as 50 percent of the water you use goes to keeping your garden green and growing. That's a big expense that will only get bigger as water supply problems increase around the country. But for less than $100, you can buy and install a rain barrel that will capture the rain that falls on your roof, providing you a free supply of water for your gardens virtually indefinitely. Rain barrels are available from home centers and mail-order suppliers, and it takes no special skills to install one.
**Grow gourmet salad toppings on the cheap. Microgreens are all the rage at fancy restaurants and farm markets, but boy are they expensive! Here's a secret: you can grow your own microgreens at any time of year on a sunny windowsill for a fraction of the price. Simply save leftover clamshell containers from the deli and buy some organic transplanting mix that's enriched with compost. Clean the containers well, use a barbecue skewer to poke several drainage holes in each one, and fill them with moist mix. Then sprinkle veggie seeds (be sure the seeds haven't been treated with pesticides) generously over the soil surface, cover lightly with more mix, and set the containers in a catch tray on the windowsill. Mist daily until sprouts appear, then water as needed to keep them growing. Within three weeks, the sprouts will reach the two-leaf stage, and you can snip them with scissors to garnish salads, sandwiches, and entrees. Use lettuce, arugula and other salad greens, as well as broccoli, kale, dill, cilantro, basil, even peas.
©2009 Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Planning - Selection - Propagation - Organic Solutions
By: Fern Marshall Bradley
Fern Marshall Bradley, co-editor with Trevor Cole of The All-New Illustrated Guide to Gardening, is a writer and editor whose favorite topics are gardening and sustainable living. A co-author of Reader's Digest's Vegetable Gardening, she also conceived and edited The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Insect and Disease Control, The Expert's Book of Garden Hints, among others. Bradley is a former gardening books editor for Rodale.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Rotary Mowers For The Lawn
What's best will depend on your wants and needs. Gas-powered rotary lawn mowers can be divided into two categories: walk-behind rotary mowers and riding mowers lawn tractors.
The walk-behind rotary lawn mowers can further be classified according to whether they're push-type lawn mowers or self-propelled. Purchase price varies greatly between these types of rotary lawn mowers, with riding mowers / lawn tractors being the most expensive, followed by self-propelled mowers. The push-type mowers are the least expensive because they require you to provide the muscle to make them move.
Self-propelled rotary lawn mowers require the operator to squeeze a bar to engage the mower, which causes the machine to take off -- all you have to do is control the direction in which it goes. If you release your grip on the bar, the mower blade stops spinning.
For the higher-end self-propelled rotary mowers, the drive system does not shut off when you release the bar - a convenient feature, in case you'd like to transport the lawn mower from point A to point B without cutting grass along the way.
The difference between riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors lies in the location of the cutting deck. Lawn tractors have a mid-mounted cutting deck, while for riding lawn mowers the cutting deck is located under the front of the vehicle. The front-end location of the cutting deck on riding lawn mowers makes these machines more maneuverable. Maneuverability becomes an issue when, for instance, a lawn is dotted with shrubs and trees.
With both riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors you can make use of accessories ranging from brushes for spring cleaning to snow-removal attachments.
As with all lawn mowers, caution must be exercised when operating riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors. While providing them with a "vehicle" may seem like a great way to get the kids to mow the lawn without complaining, only those mature enough to handle heavy equipment should be allowed to operate riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors.
Choose a mower that's in your price range that meets the needs and standards that you have assigned to it. Go for comfort, though - in the long run, you'll be glad you did! Now that you've got the equipment, you're ready to put it to work!
Proper mowing, along with proper watering, can be the most critical factor in the appearance of a lawn. Good mowing techniques not only enhance the appearance of the lawn, but also increase the turf grass vigor.
There actually is a right and wrong time to mow. Most people just look at their lawns and decide if it's long enough to warrant a mowing, but you are going for that professionally landscaped look, so you need to pay heed to the expert's advice.
Lawn mowing should not be done when the grass is wet (under which conditions disease can be introduced, plus you incur the risk of slipping and getting injured).
Also, lawn mowing in the evening puts less stress on the lawn than lawn mowing when the sun is pounding down in the afternoon. Mowing during the heat of the day during hot weather may cause the lawn to brown. It is best to mow during the cooler part of the day.
Mowing frequency will change throughout the year with different weather patterns. Cool season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass may require mowing twice a week in the spring, but only every 7-10 days in the summer. Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass may need more frequent mowing in the summer than in the fall or spring.
Aesthetics aside, there's a good lawn-care reason not to wait longer in between mowing, each time simply mowing the lawn when the grass is higher and reducing the overall number of mowing. Sure, such a policy would reduce time spent on lawn care. But you get out of lawn care what you put into it.
It may come as a surprise that mowing the lawn is about more than just keeping your lawn's height under control. If done properly, mowing stimulates the grass of your lawn to lushness and better health, just as pinching a garden plant can improve its appearance. Proper mowing technique is an important aspect of overall lawn care.
So what is a proper mowing technique? Generally, you should alternate the direction in which you mow each lawn mowing session. You will thereby prevent your grass from "getting into a rut" (literally).
If your lawn mower wheels pass over the same area in the same direction each time you mow, they'll form ruts over time. Switching lawn mowing patterns also wisely avoids having the lawn mower blade beating at the grass in the same direction at every mowing.
Novices will just set the mower at the lowest setting to cut the grass as close to the ground as possible thus cutting down on the frequency of needing to mow. This isn't a good practice.
Certain grasses need to mown to a certain height to promote growth and healthiness. A general rule of thumb for almost all grasses is to mow to between 2 and 3 inches in height.
Height is important because the grass uses the extra length to absorb the sunshine it needs to grow and develop into a healthy plant. Never remove more than 1/3 at any one mowing. This may mean you'll have to mow more often during prime growing times (usually spring and early fall).
Turf grass stressed by mowing too low is more prone to disease, weed invasion, drought and traffic stress. Removal of most of the leaf blade limits food production. Limited food production decreases root, thizome, and stolon growth. Plants with limited food production and a limited root system will not have vigorous growth.
A vigorous, dense turf grass area is one of the best defenses against weed invasion. Weak grass plants with a limited root system are more prone to drought damage. It is particularly important to mow high during dry weather. Mowing height varies for different turf grass species:
Many turf grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass should be cut at 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Bentgrass and bermuda grass should be cut at 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Determine the type of turf grass in a lawn before recommending mowing heights. The grass should be mowed so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed. If the desired height is 3", mow the grass when it has grown to 4".
If you let the grass grow too long and then mow it too low, scalping will occur on your lawn. When you do this, excess leaf blade tissue is removed. Such "scalping" of the lawn can cause severe visual damage.
More importantly, scalping shocks the grass plants and growth slows or stops, limiting the vigor of the turf. A scalped lawn may dry out quickly from drought, or may develop unusual weed and disease problems.
You will also want to make sure your mower blades are sharp. A dull mower blade shreds the tips of the grass blades. The shredding opens the ends of the leaf blades for increased moisture loss and potentially provides a site for disease invasion. Lawns cut with a dull mower blade may have an overall white appearance from the shredded grass blades.
By: Jeffrey Seymour
Find tips about fertilizing lawn and lawn weeds at the Lawn Tips website.
The walk-behind rotary lawn mowers can further be classified according to whether they're push-type lawn mowers or self-propelled. Purchase price varies greatly between these types of rotary lawn mowers, with riding mowers / lawn tractors being the most expensive, followed by self-propelled mowers. The push-type mowers are the least expensive because they require you to provide the muscle to make them move.
Self-propelled rotary lawn mowers require the operator to squeeze a bar to engage the mower, which causes the machine to take off -- all you have to do is control the direction in which it goes. If you release your grip on the bar, the mower blade stops spinning.
For the higher-end self-propelled rotary mowers, the drive system does not shut off when you release the bar - a convenient feature, in case you'd like to transport the lawn mower from point A to point B without cutting grass along the way.
The difference between riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors lies in the location of the cutting deck. Lawn tractors have a mid-mounted cutting deck, while for riding lawn mowers the cutting deck is located under the front of the vehicle. The front-end location of the cutting deck on riding lawn mowers makes these machines more maneuverable. Maneuverability becomes an issue when, for instance, a lawn is dotted with shrubs and trees.
With both riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors you can make use of accessories ranging from brushes for spring cleaning to snow-removal attachments.
As with all lawn mowers, caution must be exercised when operating riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors. While providing them with a "vehicle" may seem like a great way to get the kids to mow the lawn without complaining, only those mature enough to handle heavy equipment should be allowed to operate riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors.
Choose a mower that's in your price range that meets the needs and standards that you have assigned to it. Go for comfort, though - in the long run, you'll be glad you did! Now that you've got the equipment, you're ready to put it to work!
Proper mowing, along with proper watering, can be the most critical factor in the appearance of a lawn. Good mowing techniques not only enhance the appearance of the lawn, but also increase the turf grass vigor.
There actually is a right and wrong time to mow. Most people just look at their lawns and decide if it's long enough to warrant a mowing, but you are going for that professionally landscaped look, so you need to pay heed to the expert's advice.
Lawn mowing should not be done when the grass is wet (under which conditions disease can be introduced, plus you incur the risk of slipping and getting injured).
Also, lawn mowing in the evening puts less stress on the lawn than lawn mowing when the sun is pounding down in the afternoon. Mowing during the heat of the day during hot weather may cause the lawn to brown. It is best to mow during the cooler part of the day.
Mowing frequency will change throughout the year with different weather patterns. Cool season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass may require mowing twice a week in the spring, but only every 7-10 days in the summer. Warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass may need more frequent mowing in the summer than in the fall or spring.
Aesthetics aside, there's a good lawn-care reason not to wait longer in between mowing, each time simply mowing the lawn when the grass is higher and reducing the overall number of mowing. Sure, such a policy would reduce time spent on lawn care. But you get out of lawn care what you put into it.
It may come as a surprise that mowing the lawn is about more than just keeping your lawn's height under control. If done properly, mowing stimulates the grass of your lawn to lushness and better health, just as pinching a garden plant can improve its appearance. Proper mowing technique is an important aspect of overall lawn care.
So what is a proper mowing technique? Generally, you should alternate the direction in which you mow each lawn mowing session. You will thereby prevent your grass from "getting into a rut" (literally).
If your lawn mower wheels pass over the same area in the same direction each time you mow, they'll form ruts over time. Switching lawn mowing patterns also wisely avoids having the lawn mower blade beating at the grass in the same direction at every mowing.
Novices will just set the mower at the lowest setting to cut the grass as close to the ground as possible thus cutting down on the frequency of needing to mow. This isn't a good practice.
Certain grasses need to mown to a certain height to promote growth and healthiness. A general rule of thumb for almost all grasses is to mow to between 2 and 3 inches in height.
Height is important because the grass uses the extra length to absorb the sunshine it needs to grow and develop into a healthy plant. Never remove more than 1/3 at any one mowing. This may mean you'll have to mow more often during prime growing times (usually spring and early fall).
Turf grass stressed by mowing too low is more prone to disease, weed invasion, drought and traffic stress. Removal of most of the leaf blade limits food production. Limited food production decreases root, thizome, and stolon growth. Plants with limited food production and a limited root system will not have vigorous growth.
A vigorous, dense turf grass area is one of the best defenses against weed invasion. Weak grass plants with a limited root system are more prone to drought damage. It is particularly important to mow high during dry weather. Mowing height varies for different turf grass species:
Many turf grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass should be cut at 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Bentgrass and bermuda grass should be cut at 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Determine the type of turf grass in a lawn before recommending mowing heights. The grass should be mowed so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed. If the desired height is 3", mow the grass when it has grown to 4".
If you let the grass grow too long and then mow it too low, scalping will occur on your lawn. When you do this, excess leaf blade tissue is removed. Such "scalping" of the lawn can cause severe visual damage.
More importantly, scalping shocks the grass plants and growth slows or stops, limiting the vigor of the turf. A scalped lawn may dry out quickly from drought, or may develop unusual weed and disease problems.
You will also want to make sure your mower blades are sharp. A dull mower blade shreds the tips of the grass blades. The shredding opens the ends of the leaf blades for increased moisture loss and potentially provides a site for disease invasion. Lawns cut with a dull mower blade may have an overall white appearance from the shredded grass blades.
By: Jeffrey Seymour
Find tips about fertilizing lawn and lawn weeds at the Lawn Tips website.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
How Earthworms Help Your Lawn
If you're tired of using man made chemical fertilizers and poisons to improve the condition of your lawn, maybe you should take a look at one of nature's oldest and most enduring soil conditioners - earthworms.
Earthworms have inhabited this planet for millions of years acting as a natural control to other insects and micro-organisms. They are not only good for the soil, but their very existence indicates that the soil is healthy. If you find no earthworms in your soil, you literally may not have healthy soil.
Earthworms also help to aerate your soil which is important to the root systems of plants. If your soil is too dense, water and nutrients will have trouble reaching the root systems of your grass or other plants and will lead to them starving or traveling to the surface, which is not good. Aeration has a plethora of benefits to the soil. It helps to reduce and eliminate thatching. It reduces water runoff and improves soil drainage. Aeration helps to loosen compacted soil, especially soil that has a heavy percentage of clay, allowing the soil to "breathe."
Earthworms are nocturnal creatures and you won't normally see them in the daylight hours. They hate the daylight, probably from eons of experience being eaten by early morning birds. They love the dark and that is where you'll most likely find them on the surface. They also seek the surface after long periods of rain where they may come to the surface for air.
If you want to drive all the earthworms to your neighbor's lawn, then use a chemical fertilizer that has a high percentage of nitrogen. Large amounts of nitrogen tend to make the soil acidic which earthworms do not like. If the soil becomes too acidic, your friendly earthworms will seek greener pastures elsewhere.
If, however, you want to help your earthworm friends, leave your lawn clippings on the lawn when you cut it. The grass clippings contain natural levels of nitrogen, which is good for the soil. In addition, lawn clippings are a good source of food for earthworms.
Many chemical fertilizers have trifluralin as an active ingredient. Trifluralin is a suspected carcinogen which the EPA put under special review in the early eighties because of the presence of a contaminant that had been shown to cause tumors in animals. If you use chemical fertilizers on your soil, you are possibly putting the health of your lawn's earthworms in danger.
Eliminating poisons has other benefits as well. Domesticated dogs and cats often chew on grass, dandelions, and other plants in the garden. If the lawn and plants have been treated with pesticides, your pets are also eating pesticides. In the best case, they will not be harmed. But depending on the levels of pesticides used, they could end up with an upset stomach or worse, they could be seriously poisoned. The same applies to your kids if they play on the lawn and put things in their mouth as young kids will often do.
With these facts in mind, you have to ask yourself if using chemical fertilizers is worth it, even if they offer a much easier way of keeping your lawn looking good. If, however, you are willing to try natural means of lawn care, you may find that the lowly earthworm is your lawn's new best friend.
By: Alex Murphy
Alex Murphy loves his lawn and is always looking for ways to improve his lawn. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and interested in lawn care diy (do it yourself) tasks, read more of his articles at his site.
Earthworms have inhabited this planet for millions of years acting as a natural control to other insects and micro-organisms. They are not only good for the soil, but their very existence indicates that the soil is healthy. If you find no earthworms in your soil, you literally may not have healthy soil.
Earthworms also help to aerate your soil which is important to the root systems of plants. If your soil is too dense, water and nutrients will have trouble reaching the root systems of your grass or other plants and will lead to them starving or traveling to the surface, which is not good. Aeration has a plethora of benefits to the soil. It helps to reduce and eliminate thatching. It reduces water runoff and improves soil drainage. Aeration helps to loosen compacted soil, especially soil that has a heavy percentage of clay, allowing the soil to "breathe."
Earthworms are nocturnal creatures and you won't normally see them in the daylight hours. They hate the daylight, probably from eons of experience being eaten by early morning birds. They love the dark and that is where you'll most likely find them on the surface. They also seek the surface after long periods of rain where they may come to the surface for air.
If you want to drive all the earthworms to your neighbor's lawn, then use a chemical fertilizer that has a high percentage of nitrogen. Large amounts of nitrogen tend to make the soil acidic which earthworms do not like. If the soil becomes too acidic, your friendly earthworms will seek greener pastures elsewhere.
If, however, you want to help your earthworm friends, leave your lawn clippings on the lawn when you cut it. The grass clippings contain natural levels of nitrogen, which is good for the soil. In addition, lawn clippings are a good source of food for earthworms.
Many chemical fertilizers have trifluralin as an active ingredient. Trifluralin is a suspected carcinogen which the EPA put under special review in the early eighties because of the presence of a contaminant that had been shown to cause tumors in animals. If you use chemical fertilizers on your soil, you are possibly putting the health of your lawn's earthworms in danger.
Eliminating poisons has other benefits as well. Domesticated dogs and cats often chew on grass, dandelions, and other plants in the garden. If the lawn and plants have been treated with pesticides, your pets are also eating pesticides. In the best case, they will not be harmed. But depending on the levels of pesticides used, they could end up with an upset stomach or worse, they could be seriously poisoned. The same applies to your kids if they play on the lawn and put things in their mouth as young kids will often do.
With these facts in mind, you have to ask yourself if using chemical fertilizers is worth it, even if they offer a much easier way of keeping your lawn looking good. If, however, you are willing to try natural means of lawn care, you may find that the lowly earthworm is your lawn's new best friend.
By: Alex Murphy
Alex Murphy loves his lawn and is always looking for ways to improve his lawn. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and interested in lawn care diy (do it yourself) tasks, read more of his articles at his site.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Getting Rid Of Ants The Safest Way
Ant season is on the horizon.
As the ground warms up in the spring, ants who have been dormant in the earth during the colder weather warm up and come to the surface. Queen ants fly off to find new nesting areas...and before you know it, ants are back in our world.
While ants play an important roll in the ecosystem, it is no picnic when they become pests in our world.
But all too often, when people have a pest problem they run to the store and buy a can of toxic pesticide, come home and spray the pest.
Whoa! Let's step back and take a look at handling ant problems using a least toxic approach.
Perhaps I should first define "least toxic approach." This term means you try to solve the insect problem with the least toxic material. If that doesn't work, then you try something a little toxic but not as toxic as poison. You keep trying to solve the insect problem using progressively more toxic substances until you find something that works. Using this approach, the solution to your insect problem can range from doing nothing to spraying toxic insect killer, if that is the only thing that works.
Why should you bother with a least toxic approach? For one thing, studies are beginning to reveal the serious side effects of the overuse of toxic pesticides in our environment.
Did you know that evidence suggests a risk for some types of cancer and even genetic damage from exposure to pesticides?
And perhaps worst of all, children are especially at risk.
Why wait until science finally makes a direct link to damaged genes and pesticides? By that time, the damage could already be done to your genes and those of your children.
You can help protect yourself, your children and our planet by doing your part to be a good steward of our environment right now. One way to do that is to adapt a least toxic approach to pest problems...and that's what our article series on getting rid of ants is all about.
By: Joey Singer
Visit the Starting A Garden website to learn about how to plant a garden and gardening problems.
As the ground warms up in the spring, ants who have been dormant in the earth during the colder weather warm up and come to the surface. Queen ants fly off to find new nesting areas...and before you know it, ants are back in our world.
While ants play an important roll in the ecosystem, it is no picnic when they become pests in our world.
But all too often, when people have a pest problem they run to the store and buy a can of toxic pesticide, come home and spray the pest.
Whoa! Let's step back and take a look at handling ant problems using a least toxic approach.
Perhaps I should first define "least toxic approach." This term means you try to solve the insect problem with the least toxic material. If that doesn't work, then you try something a little toxic but not as toxic as poison. You keep trying to solve the insect problem using progressively more toxic substances until you find something that works. Using this approach, the solution to your insect problem can range from doing nothing to spraying toxic insect killer, if that is the only thing that works.
Why should you bother with a least toxic approach? For one thing, studies are beginning to reveal the serious side effects of the overuse of toxic pesticides in our environment.
Did you know that evidence suggests a risk for some types of cancer and even genetic damage from exposure to pesticides?
And perhaps worst of all, children are especially at risk.
Why wait until science finally makes a direct link to damaged genes and pesticides? By that time, the damage could already be done to your genes and those of your children.
You can help protect yourself, your children and our planet by doing your part to be a good steward of our environment right now. One way to do that is to adapt a least toxic approach to pest problems...and that's what our article series on getting rid of ants is all about.
By: Joey Singer
Visit the Starting A Garden website to learn about how to plant a garden and gardening problems.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Little History Of Roses
There cannot be many gardens, which do not have at least one rose amongst its list of plants, for few gardens would be complete without the beauty and fragrance of these splendid flowers. Blooming from spring until autumn, they have never lost their appeal and charm; they are as popular today as they have been throughout the centuries. All over the world, gardens devoted to roses have become places of pilgrimage. There are so many different kinds of roses to choose from, to suit tastes, gardens of any size, climate or aspect.
Most of us who grow roses are scarcely aware of the heritage, of which we are beneficiaries, because it has been through selective breeding throughout the centuries, which has given us the overwhelming choice of variety, colour, form, scent and growing habit. Two geographical groupings which, at first, developed separately, have had-both in their separation and in their ultimate combination-the greatest impact on rose history: The European/Mediterranean group of species and their hybrids, and the Oriental group of species and their hybrids.
The European roses are primarily the following: Gallicas, Albas, Damasks, Damask Perpetuals, Centifolias, and Mosses. The mainstream Oriental groups are Chinas and Teas. The European sorts-with one important exception-have only one season of bloom per year, while the Orientals repeat bloom more or less continuously. During the 1830s work continued in earnest on the breeding between the Oriental roses and the Europeans. It was the Englishman Bennett, a cattle farmer converted to rose breeding, who applied the laws of heredity of his previous occupation to the breeding of roses. Due to the laws of genetics, the first progeny of crosses between once-bloomers and repeatbloomers the next generation bloomed only once. As they were crossed with each other, however, and then back to the Chinas and Teas, repeat-blooming hybrids began to appear. These were crossed with Damask Perpetuals. More crosses with the new material were made as work continued in all groups of roses.
Never before the 1830's had such a diversity of disparate roses been available--and never since. Almost every available species, no matter how obscure, had varieties and sub-varieties of varying colour or form due to breeding of sports. A new group of roses appeared in the 1970s originated from crosses made between certain Old Roses and Modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. Combining the charm and wonderful fragrance of an Old Rose, with the colour range and summer-long flowering of a Modern Rose they drew together the outstanding voluptuous beauty of the Old but stretched out the flowering season, providing the modern gardener with the very best of both worlds. These are the English Roses, with strong fragrant blooms; even more fragrant than many of the Old Roses, with colours ranging from white, cream to shades of pink, yellow, apricot to peach, lilac to crimson, purple and many shades of mauve.
By: Juliet S Sadler
Learn about canadian thistle and thistle plant at the Plants And Flowers site.
Most of us who grow roses are scarcely aware of the heritage, of which we are beneficiaries, because it has been through selective breeding throughout the centuries, which has given us the overwhelming choice of variety, colour, form, scent and growing habit. Two geographical groupings which, at first, developed separately, have had-both in their separation and in their ultimate combination-the greatest impact on rose history: The European/Mediterranean group of species and their hybrids, and the Oriental group of species and their hybrids.
The European roses are primarily the following: Gallicas, Albas, Damasks, Damask Perpetuals, Centifolias, and Mosses. The mainstream Oriental groups are Chinas and Teas. The European sorts-with one important exception-have only one season of bloom per year, while the Orientals repeat bloom more or less continuously. During the 1830s work continued in earnest on the breeding between the Oriental roses and the Europeans. It was the Englishman Bennett, a cattle farmer converted to rose breeding, who applied the laws of heredity of his previous occupation to the breeding of roses. Due to the laws of genetics, the first progeny of crosses between once-bloomers and repeatbloomers the next generation bloomed only once. As they were crossed with each other, however, and then back to the Chinas and Teas, repeat-blooming hybrids began to appear. These were crossed with Damask Perpetuals. More crosses with the new material were made as work continued in all groups of roses.
Never before the 1830's had such a diversity of disparate roses been available--and never since. Almost every available species, no matter how obscure, had varieties and sub-varieties of varying colour or form due to breeding of sports. A new group of roses appeared in the 1970s originated from crosses made between certain Old Roses and Modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. Combining the charm and wonderful fragrance of an Old Rose, with the colour range and summer-long flowering of a Modern Rose they drew together the outstanding voluptuous beauty of the Old but stretched out the flowering season, providing the modern gardener with the very best of both worlds. These are the English Roses, with strong fragrant blooms; even more fragrant than many of the Old Roses, with colours ranging from white, cream to shades of pink, yellow, apricot to peach, lilac to crimson, purple and many shades of mauve.
By: Juliet S Sadler
Learn about canadian thistle and thistle plant at the Plants And Flowers site.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
5 Things To Do With An Old Garden Hose
Next time you have an old garden hose that you are just going to throw out, don't! There are many things you can do with an old garden hose - even cracked or badly cracked or leaky hoses. Here are some terrific ideas to reuse the old garden hose and recycled into fun projects.
1. Construct a soaker hose for your plants or garden. Take that leaky hose drill a few more holes in it and attach it to a regular hose with a brass or plastic couple. You'll need to seal off one end of the soaker hose with a plastic cap. Now put the hose near your plants or garden or you can bury it in a shallow trench. Allow the water to flow only as a trickle and leave on for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. You can even use an old hose as a bucket handle. Cut a short piece of hose with a slit on one end. You'll be surprised the weight of the bucket you can carry with the hose as your handle.
3. For those who love camping, try this one to add some cool colors to your next campfire. Take a half-inch copper piping and cut into small sections. Insert the rubber hose into the copper piping and cut it down. Place in the fire and wants the beautiful colors. Kids love this one.
4. Tree support. You have an old tree that is leaning? Try using an old garden hose is as a support. Slip over old port cable through the hose then the string the hose on the tree. This will prevent rope or cable burn onto the tree itself.
5. We would not recommend this one but you can use an old garden hose as a gas siphon. Only in case of emergency though!
By: Jim Martin
For more information on garden hoses, garden hose reels and gardening in general, visit www.garden-hose-guide.com
1. Construct a soaker hose for your plants or garden. Take that leaky hose drill a few more holes in it and attach it to a regular hose with a brass or plastic couple. You'll need to seal off one end of the soaker hose with a plastic cap. Now put the hose near your plants or garden or you can bury it in a shallow trench. Allow the water to flow only as a trickle and leave on for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. You can even use an old hose as a bucket handle. Cut a short piece of hose with a slit on one end. You'll be surprised the weight of the bucket you can carry with the hose as your handle.
3. For those who love camping, try this one to add some cool colors to your next campfire. Take a half-inch copper piping and cut into small sections. Insert the rubber hose into the copper piping and cut it down. Place in the fire and wants the beautiful colors. Kids love this one.
4. Tree support. You have an old tree that is leaning? Try using an old garden hose is as a support. Slip over old port cable through the hose then the string the hose on the tree. This will prevent rope or cable burn onto the tree itself.
5. We would not recommend this one but you can use an old garden hose as a gas siphon. Only in case of emergency though!
By: Jim Martin
For more information on garden hoses, garden hose reels and gardening in general, visit www.garden-hose-guide.com
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Benefits Of Greenhouse Gardening
For those of us who live in colder climates, experiencing five months or more of winter each year, the benefits of greenhouse gardening can be enormous. Gardening with a greenhouse allows for an extended growing season that can begin and end months outside of the traditional outdoor growing season in your climate. Greenhouses may even allow you to grow plants year round. Greenhouses can also provide a warmer mini-climate for plants that typically would not grow in your zone, allowing you to cultivate many varieties of plants that are unique to your area.
When growing plants in a greenhouse, it's important to remember that the air temperature inside can be as much as 30 to 40 degrees warmer than the outside air temperature. While the warmer air is wonderful for your plants during the cool months of late fall, winter, and early spring, in the hot summer months, these temperatures can pose a real threat to your plants. When the temperature inside a greenhouse gets too high, your plants can actually burn. In the hottest part of the summer, it's a good idea to add a shade cloth to your greenhouse to help keep the inside temperatures down. When building your greenhouse, consider aligning the roofline in an east-west direction so that the largest area of the roof is exposed to the south. This will accomplish two things. First, if a shade cloth is required, you'll likely only need to cover the southern facing side of the roof, saving you time and money in materials. Second, by having more roof area exposed to the intense southern sun, you'll get maximum solar gain in your greenhouse during cooler months, when you need it most.
For those of us who enjoy vegetable gardening, another benefit of gardening with a greenhouse is the ability to start vegetables from seed early in the year. While many nurseries and garden centers to sell vegetables as young plants in the early part of the year, these small plants can be expensive to buy. Certainly when planting on a larger scale, starting your plants from seed is a much more economical option. Additionally, when planting some certain types of herbs and vegetables, starting plants from seed may be a requirement, as most nurseries don't grow the more obscure varieties and hybrids.
In the case of vegetables that grow well in containers, such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, strawberries, and many herbs, a greenhouse can be a way to grow your own produce year round and save money on your grocery bill. One option is to begin your vegetables in the greenhouse early in the year, and then move then outdoors during the warm summer months. When the weather cools off again in the fall, the plants can be brought back into the greenhouse to extend harvests for several more months, or as long as the lifespan of each individual plant will allow.
While a greenhouse can be a significant up front investment, the rewards of greenhouse gardening are almost endless. Your greenhouse will pay you back with new and unique varieties of plants, bigger and better harvests, and a wealth of invaluable gardening experience.
By: Ellen Bell
Do you want to build a greenhouse? Home Products 'n' More offers free shipping on all greenhouse kits and greenhouse supplies!
When growing plants in a greenhouse, it's important to remember that the air temperature inside can be as much as 30 to 40 degrees warmer than the outside air temperature. While the warmer air is wonderful for your plants during the cool months of late fall, winter, and early spring, in the hot summer months, these temperatures can pose a real threat to your plants. When the temperature inside a greenhouse gets too high, your plants can actually burn. In the hottest part of the summer, it's a good idea to add a shade cloth to your greenhouse to help keep the inside temperatures down. When building your greenhouse, consider aligning the roofline in an east-west direction so that the largest area of the roof is exposed to the south. This will accomplish two things. First, if a shade cloth is required, you'll likely only need to cover the southern facing side of the roof, saving you time and money in materials. Second, by having more roof area exposed to the intense southern sun, you'll get maximum solar gain in your greenhouse during cooler months, when you need it most.
For those of us who enjoy vegetable gardening, another benefit of gardening with a greenhouse is the ability to start vegetables from seed early in the year. While many nurseries and garden centers to sell vegetables as young plants in the early part of the year, these small plants can be expensive to buy. Certainly when planting on a larger scale, starting your plants from seed is a much more economical option. Additionally, when planting some certain types of herbs and vegetables, starting plants from seed may be a requirement, as most nurseries don't grow the more obscure varieties and hybrids.
In the case of vegetables that grow well in containers, such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, strawberries, and many herbs, a greenhouse can be a way to grow your own produce year round and save money on your grocery bill. One option is to begin your vegetables in the greenhouse early in the year, and then move then outdoors during the warm summer months. When the weather cools off again in the fall, the plants can be brought back into the greenhouse to extend harvests for several more months, or as long as the lifespan of each individual plant will allow.
While a greenhouse can be a significant up front investment, the rewards of greenhouse gardening are almost endless. Your greenhouse will pay you back with new and unique varieties of plants, bigger and better harvests, and a wealth of invaluable gardening experience.
By: Ellen Bell
Do you want to build a greenhouse? Home Products 'n' More offers free shipping on all greenhouse kits and greenhouse supplies!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Growing Garlic
While we all know that garlic has many health benefits such as being a natural antibiotic, you may not know that they can also be healthy for your garden as well. As a companion plant, when they are planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your plants. It has the added benefit of deterring Japanese beetles and aphids. Garlic is easy to grow and each planted clove will produce a full head of Garlic with between 8 to 20 cloves per head. To get started in with planting your garlic, first purchase your garlic of choice. Since the garlic from grocery stores has anti-sprouting chemicals added to it, be sure and buy your garlic from a reputable source rather than a grocery store. One variety that you may enjoy that is popular here in the Mid-South is the mild flavored 'Elephant' garlic which has large clusters.
Planting Garlic
One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). Check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best.
Next, decide where you will plant your garlic. A raised bed is suggested if you do not have good soil or if you live in a wet climate. Good soil means loamy soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Composted manure for essential nutrients incorporated into soil a few weeks before planting is helpful. If you are planting your garlic directly into your soil, plant in wide-rows 10 to 12 inches wide. Timing is important when planting garlic. Bigger bulbs will be produced if you plant in the fall and let it grow and mature until the following summer. If you find that it's springtime already and you haven't planted yours yet, go ahead and plant if you like, just realize you will get smaller bulbs. Since garlic bulbs like cool weather, the earlier you can plant it the better it will grow and the bigger the bulbs will be.
Garlic is not susceptible to disease, but as with any plant, having good air circulation is the key to a healthy plant. If your garlic develops thrips, apply insecticidal soap. In cold climates, add more mulch a month after planting to prevent extreme temperature fluctuations. When growth appears in late winter, pull back the mulch and begin monthly applications of an organic fertilizer such as blood meal or fish emulsion. Stop fertilizing in mid to late spring (depending on what type of garlic you have). Mulch again as summer approaches.
Harvesting Garlic
It takes about 100 days for bulbs planted in the spring to mature. Harvest between late may in warm climates and mid-August in cooler areas. Stop watering two weeks before harvest. One tip that garlic is ready to harvest is when the leaves on the lower half of the plant turn brown. To harvest, dig the bulbs up rather than pulling them up, Being careful not to damage the outer skins.
Let them cure in a dry, shady, well ventilated location for three days. Don't wash them yet. If you want to braid your garlic for a decorative touch, now is the time to braid the foliage of softnecks. Cure bulbs for 2 to 3 more weeks until foliage is completely dry. Once foliage is dry, clean the bulbs by wiping or peeling away the outer husk. Trim tops to 1 inch and roots to 1/2 inch.
Storing Garlic Bulbs
To store your garlic bulbs, place them in mesh bags or braided strings in a dark, cool place. Garlic will keep up to three months if stored at between 32 degrees Fahrenheit and room temperature. Humidity level of 65 to 70 percent is best.
Don not refrigerate.
Troubleshooting
Common causes of small or no bulbing include high temperatures, excessive watering, wrong cultivator for your climate, and weed competition. Your local extension service can advise you as to what varieties grow well in your area.
Both you and your garden can benefit from growing garlic. Checking online catalog sources, your local extension service, or with your local garden center will give you many varieties that are fun to try and that will grow well in your area.
By: julia stewart
For more expert gardening advice from Julia Stewart, a Master Gardener, and her husband who had been a professional landscape contractor for over 30 years, visit their web site at www.flowers-plants-gardening-advice.com/
Planting Garlic
One half pound of garlic seed is a good start and will produce about 15 plants. Garlic is divided into hardnecks (Allium sativum var. ohioscorodon) and softnecks (Allium sativum var. sativum). Check online catalogs or your local co-op for the variety that will suit your needs best.
Next, decide where you will plant your garlic. A raised bed is suggested if you do not have good soil or if you live in a wet climate. Good soil means loamy soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Composted manure for essential nutrients incorporated into soil a few weeks before planting is helpful. If you are planting your garlic directly into your soil, plant in wide-rows 10 to 12 inches wide. Timing is important when planting garlic. Bigger bulbs will be produced if you plant in the fall and let it grow and mature until the following summer. If you find that it's springtime already and you haven't planted yours yet, go ahead and plant if you like, just realize you will get smaller bulbs. Since garlic bulbs like cool weather, the earlier you can plant it the better it will grow and the bigger the bulbs will be.
Garlic is not susceptible to disease, but as with any plant, having good air circulation is the key to a healthy plant. If your garlic develops thrips, apply insecticidal soap. In cold climates, add more mulch a month after planting to prevent extreme temperature fluctuations. When growth appears in late winter, pull back the mulch and begin monthly applications of an organic fertilizer such as blood meal or fish emulsion. Stop fertilizing in mid to late spring (depending on what type of garlic you have). Mulch again as summer approaches.
Harvesting Garlic
It takes about 100 days for bulbs planted in the spring to mature. Harvest between late may in warm climates and mid-August in cooler areas. Stop watering two weeks before harvest. One tip that garlic is ready to harvest is when the leaves on the lower half of the plant turn brown. To harvest, dig the bulbs up rather than pulling them up, Being careful not to damage the outer skins.
Let them cure in a dry, shady, well ventilated location for three days. Don't wash them yet. If you want to braid your garlic for a decorative touch, now is the time to braid the foliage of softnecks. Cure bulbs for 2 to 3 more weeks until foliage is completely dry. Once foliage is dry, clean the bulbs by wiping or peeling away the outer husk. Trim tops to 1 inch and roots to 1/2 inch.
Storing Garlic Bulbs
To store your garlic bulbs, place them in mesh bags or braided strings in a dark, cool place. Garlic will keep up to three months if stored at between 32 degrees Fahrenheit and room temperature. Humidity level of 65 to 70 percent is best.
Don not refrigerate.
Troubleshooting
Common causes of small or no bulbing include high temperatures, excessive watering, wrong cultivator for your climate, and weed competition. Your local extension service can advise you as to what varieties grow well in your area.
Both you and your garden can benefit from growing garlic. Checking online catalog sources, your local extension service, or with your local garden center will give you many varieties that are fun to try and that will grow well in your area.
By: julia stewart
For more expert gardening advice from Julia Stewart, a Master Gardener, and her husband who had been a professional landscape contractor for over 30 years, visit their web site at www.flowers-plants-gardening-advice.com/
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Gardening With The No-dig System
The idea of do-dig gardening was developed by an Australian named Esther Deans. It was originally both developed both as a labor saving idea, and a method to rejuvenate badly depleted soil in a vegetable garden.
The process involves starting with layers of newspaper, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you can create a growing medium without resorting to heavy digging, and one that is rich in nutrients and which will simplify weeding and encourage your much desired plants to grow. The layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and should not be dug up, as this will undo the good work. I have used this approach to creating vegetable gardens, and it certainly does work.
The principle of not digging has sound foundations. Excessive cultivation of the soil, especially when very wet or very dry, will damage the structure of the soil, and lead to compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage the earthworms, and they are the best free labor a gardener has.
Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated no-dig into never-dig, which I believe is sadly mistaken. If you start with a base soil that is badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially work well, but you may find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you have built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They have been found to seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometime many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, it is my contention that they will die out or move out.
My belief is that an initial cultivation of the soil before you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a better environment for the worms, and thus a better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.
By all means give the no-dig approach a try – you will be pleased with the result.
By: Juliet Spalding
Want to find out about japanese lilac and pruning lilacs? Get tips from the Lilac Flower website.
The process involves starting with layers of newspaper, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you can create a growing medium without resorting to heavy digging, and one that is rich in nutrients and which will simplify weeding and encourage your much desired plants to grow. The layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and should not be dug up, as this will undo the good work. I have used this approach to creating vegetable gardens, and it certainly does work.
The principle of not digging has sound foundations. Excessive cultivation of the soil, especially when very wet or very dry, will damage the structure of the soil, and lead to compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage the earthworms, and they are the best free labor a gardener has.
Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated no-dig into never-dig, which I believe is sadly mistaken. If you start with a base soil that is badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially work well, but you may find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you have built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They have been found to seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometime many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, it is my contention that they will die out or move out.
My belief is that an initial cultivation of the soil before you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a better environment for the worms, and thus a better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.
By all means give the no-dig approach a try – you will be pleased with the result.
By: Juliet Spalding
Want to find out about japanese lilac and pruning lilacs? Get tips from the Lilac Flower website.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Quick Gardening Improvement Ideas
A beautiful garden adds great value to the home and creates a restful place to recoup your energy, somewhere to entertain all those guests, or a wonderful place for the children to play safely. Most houses on a block of ground will have some kind of garden, but if yours is a bit bland, try out these budget-wise ideas to improve it.
1. Add a water feature. But be sure you really do want one - in that particular spot. They can be hard to move once installed. A birdbath is an easier option.
2. A curved path will add elegance, even if it only leads to the clothesline. But yours could lead to a hidden seat or statue - or that water feature.
3. Paths can be made from brick, cement, flagged rock, stepping-stones, gravel or woodchips. The last two options are the cheapest.
4. If you don't use your lawn much and are tired of mowing it, then replace with gravel or cement, add a few pot plants for coolness or statues and a seat.
5. Discard that old, unused shed or half dead shrub that you hate.
6. Do your own makeover; tidy up the back yard and get the whole family to suggest ideas of what they would like.
7. Hanging baskets, a vine-covered pergola, or a row of pot plants may be all you need to jazz up your garden.
Once you get your garden into shape, you'll be amazed at the difference.
By: Mel C
Homes built on land in Victoria outside the CBD generally offers more space for landscaping. If you're thinking of a buying a house with a garden, it's worth investigating land for sale in outer city suburbs.
1. Add a water feature. But be sure you really do want one - in that particular spot. They can be hard to move once installed. A birdbath is an easier option.
2. A curved path will add elegance, even if it only leads to the clothesline. But yours could lead to a hidden seat or statue - or that water feature.
3. Paths can be made from brick, cement, flagged rock, stepping-stones, gravel or woodchips. The last two options are the cheapest.
4. If you don't use your lawn much and are tired of mowing it, then replace with gravel or cement, add a few pot plants for coolness or statues and a seat.
5. Discard that old, unused shed or half dead shrub that you hate.
6. Do your own makeover; tidy up the back yard and get the whole family to suggest ideas of what they would like.
7. Hanging baskets, a vine-covered pergola, or a row of pot plants may be all you need to jazz up your garden.
Once you get your garden into shape, you'll be amazed at the difference.
By: Mel C
Homes built on land in Victoria outside the CBD generally offers more space for landscaping. If you're thinking of a buying a house with a garden, it's worth investigating land for sale in outer city suburbs.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Deadly Plants In Your House & Garden
If you have pets or small children and like to keep a garden or indoor houseplants, it's important that you know which varieties of plants are dangerous to have around. While there are some well known toxic plants such as Poinsettias and Deadly Nightshade, there are also many common household plants that are potentially deadly to both pets and humans.
Daffodils, Hyacinths, and Narcissus plants can all cause serious stomach upset, high blood pressure, tremors, and irregular heartbeats if the bulbs are eaten. In some cases, digestion of the bulbs can even be fatal.
Ingesting Lily of the Valley shrubs, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas will cause nausea and vomiting, and can go on to trigger cardiovascular collapse, coma, and death.
Oleander is well known for its toxic properties, as is Foxglove. These plants cause gastrointestinal upset, affect the heart, and are deadly. Just handling these plants can cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals, so it's best to avoid direct contact with these plants. Foxglove is especially dangerous because their bell shaped buds are very attractive to children. Ingesting just a small amount can be deadly, and prior to death, the toxin can cause severe abdominal pain, hallucinations, and tremors.
Castor Bean seeds and the Rosary Pea are extremely dangerous to have around the house if you have pets and small children. It takes just a few seeds to cause death in both animals and humans. The berries on the ornamental Daphne plant are also very toxic—especially to children—and touching the twigs can cause skin irritation.
Even the childhood favorite, Buttercup flowers, can cause gastrointestinal disorders if eaten and can trigger blistering if the sap makes contact with the skin.
The Yew tree has poisonous berries and foliage, which are very attractive to pets and livestock. Symptoms of Yew poisoning may include convulsions and difficulty breathing, but death has been known to occur without warning.
If you have some of these plants in your house, and you have pets or small children, try to keep the most dangerous plants out of reach by setting them on high shelves or on plant hangers. As soon as your children are old enough to understand, teach them to always check with you before anything from a plant or tree.
To keep your cats from devouring toxic greenery, keep edible grass in the house so that they have something safe to nibble on. Then, either keep hazardous plants out of reach, or make them less enticing. You can try rubbing something bad tasting on their leaves, or spray your pet with water every time they go near the offending flower. They'll soon associate the plant with unpleasant consequences, and leave it alone.
Outdoors, dangerous plants and shrubs should be fenced off to protect your pets from accessing them.
If your pet exhibits some of the following symptoms, then you should suspect poisoning: vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and shivering. If you think your pet has come in contact with something toxic, call your veterinarian right away. The Animal Poison Control Center is also available for assistance for a fee over the phone. Their 24-hour emergency line can be reached at 1-888-426-4435.
If your child has ingested something toxic, they will likely exhibit pain around their mouths, vomiting and stomach cramps, convulsions, and an irregular heartbeat. In the case of ingestion, you should immediately call Poison Control or call 911.
Plants are a lovely addition to any home or garden, but they can be deadly if precautions aren't taken. Do your research before purchasing a plant to make sure that it won't put your children or pets at risk. If you do have a plant or shrub that's toxic, do your best to teach your children and animals to stay well away from it.
By: Tim Ryan
Amerivest is a realty company based in southwest Florida, and specializes in Naples real estate. Search for Vineyards homes and view property listings in this highly coveted Naples community by visiting us at NaplesGuru.com.
Daffodils, Hyacinths, and Narcissus plants can all cause serious stomach upset, high blood pressure, tremors, and irregular heartbeats if the bulbs are eaten. In some cases, digestion of the bulbs can even be fatal.
Ingesting Lily of the Valley shrubs, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas will cause nausea and vomiting, and can go on to trigger cardiovascular collapse, coma, and death.
Oleander is well known for its toxic properties, as is Foxglove. These plants cause gastrointestinal upset, affect the heart, and are deadly. Just handling these plants can cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals, so it's best to avoid direct contact with these plants. Foxglove is especially dangerous because their bell shaped buds are very attractive to children. Ingesting just a small amount can be deadly, and prior to death, the toxin can cause severe abdominal pain, hallucinations, and tremors.
Castor Bean seeds and the Rosary Pea are extremely dangerous to have around the house if you have pets and small children. It takes just a few seeds to cause death in both animals and humans. The berries on the ornamental Daphne plant are also very toxic—especially to children—and touching the twigs can cause skin irritation.
Even the childhood favorite, Buttercup flowers, can cause gastrointestinal disorders if eaten and can trigger blistering if the sap makes contact with the skin.
The Yew tree has poisonous berries and foliage, which are very attractive to pets and livestock. Symptoms of Yew poisoning may include convulsions and difficulty breathing, but death has been known to occur without warning.
If you have some of these plants in your house, and you have pets or small children, try to keep the most dangerous plants out of reach by setting them on high shelves or on plant hangers. As soon as your children are old enough to understand, teach them to always check with you before anything from a plant or tree.
To keep your cats from devouring toxic greenery, keep edible grass in the house so that they have something safe to nibble on. Then, either keep hazardous plants out of reach, or make them less enticing. You can try rubbing something bad tasting on their leaves, or spray your pet with water every time they go near the offending flower. They'll soon associate the plant with unpleasant consequences, and leave it alone.
Outdoors, dangerous plants and shrubs should be fenced off to protect your pets from accessing them.
If your pet exhibits some of the following symptoms, then you should suspect poisoning: vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and shivering. If you think your pet has come in contact with something toxic, call your veterinarian right away. The Animal Poison Control Center is also available for assistance for a fee over the phone. Their 24-hour emergency line can be reached at 1-888-426-4435.
If your child has ingested something toxic, they will likely exhibit pain around their mouths, vomiting and stomach cramps, convulsions, and an irregular heartbeat. In the case of ingestion, you should immediately call Poison Control or call 911.
Plants are a lovely addition to any home or garden, but they can be deadly if precautions aren't taken. Do your research before purchasing a plant to make sure that it won't put your children or pets at risk. If you do have a plant or shrub that's toxic, do your best to teach your children and animals to stay well away from it.
By: Tim Ryan
Amerivest is a realty company based in southwest Florida, and specializes in Naples real estate. Search for Vineyards homes and view property listings in this highly coveted Naples community by visiting us at NaplesGuru.com.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
AeroGardens: The Newest Thing In Gardening
Maybe you've seen them on an infomercial. The AeroGardens
are an awesome new product allowing you to grow plants in
your home the easy way. No bugs, no weather issues, and no
waiting forever.
AeroGardens rock, and here I'm going to tell you why.
AeroGardens have changed the way people garden. You
definitely don't want to miss out on this awesome product.
#1: You can grow stuff all year long. You do not have to
worry about getting messy, pulling weeds, or even
pesticides. Also, if you're in an apartment, you can have a
garden still!
#2: No dirt needed since the plants grow in air and water.
Because of this technology, the plants grow up to five times
faster. You can have a harvest in only 28 days!
#3: No matter what room in your house, or in your cubicle
even, you can grow plants. For most indoor plants, you need
to place the planter near a window to get enough sunlight.
The AeroGarden has a lamp included to provide just the right
amount of light needed.
#4: You can grow the full garden inside or not. You can
choose to use the Aerogarden as a starter. Just grow them
inside and transport them to your outside garden if you
want!
#5: Automatic release of Nutrients. The AeroGarden provides
over sixty micro and macro nutrients that will help your
garden grow nicely. If you plan to use the fresh herbs and
tomatoes from the AeroGarden, then you'll have healthier
herbs!
The Aerogarden's popularity is huge for tons of reasons.
People are enjoying no mess, fresh herbs, and they are
enjoying them throughout the year! Don't be left out on the
enjoyment of a brand new AeroGarden. - 13418
If you are looking to by an (http://aerogarden-reviews.com)
AeroGarden, then why not check out: AeroGarden-Reviews.com.
They have great reviews of all of the different models of
the AeroGarden, including the
(http://aerogarden-reviews.com/aerogarden-pro-200/)
AeroGarden Pro 200.
are an awesome new product allowing you to grow plants in
your home the easy way. No bugs, no weather issues, and no
waiting forever.
AeroGardens rock, and here I'm going to tell you why.
AeroGardens have changed the way people garden. You
definitely don't want to miss out on this awesome product.
#1: You can grow stuff all year long. You do not have to
worry about getting messy, pulling weeds, or even
pesticides. Also, if you're in an apartment, you can have a
garden still!
#2: No dirt needed since the plants grow in air and water.
Because of this technology, the plants grow up to five times
faster. You can have a harvest in only 28 days!
#3: No matter what room in your house, or in your cubicle
even, you can grow plants. For most indoor plants, you need
to place the planter near a window to get enough sunlight.
The AeroGarden has a lamp included to provide just the right
amount of light needed.
#4: You can grow the full garden inside or not. You can
choose to use the Aerogarden as a starter. Just grow them
inside and transport them to your outside garden if you
want!
#5: Automatic release of Nutrients. The AeroGarden provides
over sixty micro and macro nutrients that will help your
garden grow nicely. If you plan to use the fresh herbs and
tomatoes from the AeroGarden, then you'll have healthier
herbs!
The Aerogarden's popularity is huge for tons of reasons.
People are enjoying no mess, fresh herbs, and they are
enjoying them throughout the year! Don't be left out on the
enjoyment of a brand new AeroGarden. - 13418
If you are looking to by an (http://aerogarden-reviews.com)
AeroGarden, then why not check out: AeroGarden-Reviews.com.
They have great reviews of all of the different models of
the AeroGarden, including the
(http://aerogarden-reviews.com/aerogarden-pro-200/)
AeroGarden Pro 200.
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