Garden Tips & Resources

Archive for January, 2009

Before you know it, winter will be over, snow will be melted and the lawn weeds will once again rear their ugly heads. Will you be ready? Maybe you’ll just call your local lawn service GA, but maybe you should consider doing it yourself.

Chances are if you are like most people, you will wait until the last possible minute to get out and start applying the proper products to make your lawn thick, green and healthy this season. If that is you, then you definitely need the following tips to ensure you don’t make any mistakes along the way.

First off, you need to consider the fertilizer you will apply. I never recommend super high nitrogen fertilizers as they do nothing but over-push the growth of the lawn. It is best to find something with a better balance of potassium and phosphorus to help the lawns root structure. It is also a good idea to apply organic fertilizers in the hot summer to avoid burning. You will find that organics also release nutrients slowly, feeding the lawn over time and not all in once quick burst.

Next comes the weed control (don’t you just love grass care?). You are going to get weeds and you need to kill them. If you don’t, they will spread to your neighbors and that is a bad situation! I never recommend homeowners use products labeled as “weed and feed” as these products offer absolutely no control over where the chemical goes. You don’t want to throw weed control in areas where there are no weeds present.

You should look to spot spray weeds using a pump sprayer. Mix concentrated weed product with water and only put it where necessary.

Finally come the finishing touches. You will need some sort of insect control and probably a fungus treatment for the later spring. I’d also recommend you get some type of product that contains an iron additive as that will turn your lawn dark blue, giving you the edge you are looking for!

So if you are reading this at the last minute, and you are about to go nuts because the weeds are invading your brown lawn, get out this weekend and get started. You’ll be surprised how fast your lawn will respond.

Composting is defined as the single most important process for a healthy garden as it is a process that naturally returns all the essential components back into the soil. Good compost can be created in the home entirely from natural by-products from the garden and kitchen. Good outdoor ingredients for quality compost include bacteria, earthworms, crass cuttings, and fungi. Developing your own compost is environmentally friendly, reduces waste and overall produces an excellent organic and natural soil improver. Should you compost at home then you will be delighted to know that 40% of actual household waste is from the kitchen and garden. Rather than throw this waste away to fill a landfill you can actually create good compost for use in the garden.

Simply by using compost at home you don’t need to consider fertilisers or soil improvers. Home developed compost made at home is just as effective for the soil as factory compost products. Composting at home can be made in a specially made compost bin or as a compost area at the bottom of the garden. No matter what method is used it is important that air is able to circulate as this is very important when composting particularly in summer when it is hotter and dryer, always adjust the compost just to allow air to circulate. The compost mixture should always have a wet look and if it seems dry you can add a little of the H20 to keep the developing compost moist.

Check online for all the latest helpful advice and techniques as well as information on the latest gardening products. There is plenty of garden information available on home composting, lawn maintenance and pruning. Whatever your garden problem, the solution is available on the internet. Whether you are just thinking about starting gardening or a green fingered expert there is always something new to learn about the garden.

A gardens health is very dependant on how you maintain it. The best gardening advice any gardening expert can offer to maintain a healthy garden is the use of quality compost. Good quality composts feed and nourish the soil to turbo charge its condition ensuring all your plants grow to their best ability. But green fingered experts will also advice that home developed compost is even better to feed your garden as almost 40% of composting materials come from garden and kitchen waste.

Composting is a natural process of the breaking up of organic materials such as grass cuttings, twigs and kitchen waste including peelings, egg shells and tea bags. Making our own compost involves a slow breakdown of these materials into a dark, rich and crumbly soil. The final product is a substance that will boost your soil and plant growth as it replenishes nutrients and breaks down erosion as well as feeding your plants and stopping disease to set in. Once your compost is ready then you can introduce it to use in the garden, by offering a layer of compost around the base of all your plants you will introduce nutrients deep into the roots. As well as using compost in the soil it can also be mixed with normal soil as a mixture that can be used in potting plants.

High quality composts are available in many different types and blends and if buying your compost from a shop always check for compost material that is of a dark and crumbly texture and a mild earth fragrance. Although home compost will look different to compost bought from a garden centre it will do the same job.

If you are buying your compost then it is advisable to seek advice from your local resources before buying composts and fertilisers. Always follow guidelines when using any chemical based product in the garden.

For the heirloom organic seeds information – please visit this blog.

Hydroponics techniques comparison.
Cultivating your garden by use of hydroponics is becoming one of the more popular choices for gardeners both novice and advanced. The reason behind this trend is that a plant that is grown using hydroponics will develop faster and have a higher production yield than identical plants grown in soil.
Hydroponics Systems
That roots are supplied with a pre-mixed nutrient solution and to grow hydroponically means only to grow in a soil less medium. Gardeners can choose among a wide variety of hydroponic growing techniques (flood and drain, passive, drip or sprinkler, etc.) to find the one that fits them best. Each system has its advantages and its disadvantages. One can pick a hydroponics garden that is best suited for their situation and have that garden thrive,with the proper know-how and maintenance.
Hydroponics
Passive hydroponics is the simplest and lowest production method of growing hydroponically. The receptive plan of cultivation of plants by placing the roots in a medium is with a “self-watering” pot.
“Self-watering” pots do not actually water themselves. Capillary action is the magic behind this new plant pot which takes nutrients from a pre-mixed solution and puts them down into soil where the plant needs them most. All growing mediums are adequate for passive hydroponics. Technically not hydroponics but rather terraponics is using soil.
Hydroponic Nutrients
You will find that there are many positives to growing plants with the passive hydroponics method. Growing hydroponically, in “self-watering” containers is the easiest way. These pots do no have any moving parts. This means there is nothing to breakdown or get clogged. Whenever the growing medium dries out,the gardener only must refill the reservoir or top-water the plant. Those who raise orchids really love this way to grow their flowers, because it is very similar to the natural conditions orchids prefer in the wild.

That being said, there is a disadvantage to growing plants using passive hydroponics. One of the problems that can arise is that the plant’s root system can become bound in the pot and not allow the plant to reach maximum yield. There is no limit on root space when you grow things hydroponically, which is one of the method’s many perks. To passive hydroponics,this benefit does not apply. This limitation is the main reason why passive hydroponics yields the least production compared to the other hydroponics growing methods.
Next on the production scale of hydroponics is the deep-water culture technique. This method of hydroponics is done by using a growing tray that is built on top of a reservoir. In baskets, the plants are placed in top tray. They are surrounded by a harsh medium. The plants’ roots are allowed to grow down into the reservoir. Just reach the bottom of the baskets containing the plants,the water in the reservoir should. This will force roots into the water in the soil to look for its necessary nutrients. In order to aerate the water supply, you should use air-stones.

With many species becoming extinct and lots others depleted because of our short sighted and selfish style of living, conservation is one thing that all of us need to pay attention to. Butterflies, with their varied range of bright colors attract most of us. The sad part, however, is that many species of butterflies are fast approaching extinction. Their natural habitat is either being destroyed or is not being favored by gardeners. Butterflies need specific plants and flowers as well as an environment congenial to laying eggs to thrive.

Those interested in providing an environment which will encourage butterflies, for conservation as well as enjoying seeing myriads of colors that butterflies come in, can make a small contribution by making a butterfly garden. Like any other garden, butterfly garden requires a little bit of effort, a lot of care, and a fair amount of knowledge about the plants to choose from.

Making a butterfly garden will add to the global conservation effort along with beautifying the garden and make it more aromatic. There are hundreds of plants and flowers that will attract butterflies and contrary to popular belief, shrubs and bushes too play an important part in butterfly gardens. The icing on the cake is that it will provide lots of avenues for some exotic photography too.

Autumn Sage, Marigolds, Sweet Pepperbush and Phlox are the most popular plants but the list is long. Plants like Morning Glory and Butterfly Bush, also known as Buddleia, too catch the attention of butterflies. Among shrubs and bushes one can choose New Jersey Tea Tree and/or the Hawthorn Bush. Wildflowers, like Spearmint, Ironweed or Thistles also encourage butterflies.

Once the choice is made one has simply to consider carefully as to where to plant them for maximum benefit. With this half the job is over, one can turn to taking care of the plants and the butterfly population that they will encourage.

Insects like, spiders, ants, flies, wasps, and birds are dangerous for butterflies. The difficult part is that one cannot use pesticides indiscriminately to kill these insects as pesticides are harmful to caterpillars, larvae, and butterflies. The blood-sucking insects, aphids, cannot be controlled by pesticides. It is a tricky situation but nature provides answers where human efforts become unviable. Whereas other insects can be controlled by the use of traps, the natural way to control aphids is to release ladybugs and other bugs that do not harm butterflies. Sometimes a simple spray of water on aphid infected plants will do the job.

Butterflies are even attracted by what we call garden snacks and mashed up fruits like watermelon, bananas, and oranges too will help with making the garden more conducive to butterfly population.

One need not worry that something wrong is being done by increasing the population of the butterflies in this manner. Mother Nature has its own logic and balances every thing in its own way. Butterflies too are vulnerable to disease and viruses.

The Butterflies Of Angel Mounds

For the tips about heirloom organic seeds, please read this publication.