Posts Tagged ‘seed’
Written by admin on 17 February 2010
After weeks of winter weather that has included snow, frosts, ice, hard ground and very cold winds it has been a joy to be able to get back into the garden again if only for a couple of days.
In those couple of days I have been able to get on with some real gardening. What do I mean by real gardening? The answer may come as a surprise when I say starting to clear last year’s debris from the herbaceous borders, pulling up any weeds that have managed to survive the winter months, gathering leaves and cutting out and dead spotted on shrubs while weeding. I have heard so many people say that they enjoy planting up a border but hate the maintenance that follows. I can understand but gardening is not just about planting. Just like a room in the house the garden needs a bit of TLC to keep it looking good, how you plant will determine how much time you need to put into the regular tidying. I plant quite densely so most of my work is late winter / early spring clearing the borders before everything starts to put on a spurt and cover the soil.
Along the edge of one border I planted marjoram (oregano). The golden leafed form is a plant I would not be without; it is like a ray of sunshine in the garden and has the benefit of small but masses of beautiful flowers. Also along the border edge I have the larger varieties with much darker green leaves and these again have a mass of flower. The idea of the planting was to have them close to the kitchen and be handy when required for cooking, so much nicer than dried oregano. This has worked well but there is yet another advantage of growing marjoram. As part of my cleaning up the borders exercise I have been weeding around the marjoram plants and cutting off all the old flower stalks and the smell of marjoram that has surrounded me has made the job such a pleasure.
The garden birds strangely are eating more seed now than when the weather was really bad. I will have to buy a new sack of seed sooner than expected! It is not very often I spot the Blackcap but this pretty little bird has been visiting the fatball that I hang in the Magnolia close to the conservatory. He is quite nervous and as yet I have not managed to take a picture. However, one bird I have been able to picture is the Sparrowhawk. I heard a bang on the conservatory window and also heard our cockatiel going berserk. She must have thought her days were numbered and he that here was a colourful and easy meal. Anyway he sat very conveniently on a bowl not far from the window so although taken through glass I am quite pleased with the results. We humans are taught by our parents what is danger and what is safe. Our cockatiel will have been separated from its mother at a very tender age and yet she instinctively knows danger. We don’t have to look out of the window to know that a Sparrowhawk is flying by or a neighbourhood cat is passing through. Amazing when you think about it.
Another Great Reason to Grow Marjoram is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
Tags: birds, flower, garden, garden birds, garden diary, garden tools, gardener, gardeners, gardening, hints and tips, how to vegetable garden, leaves, magnolia, plants, pot, seed, shrub, shrubs, soil, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
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Written by Vegetable Gardening News on 14 February 2010
A cutting garden is your chance to tear up the rulebook on planting – so mix lights and brights with fragrant posies and wild one-offs
This year I am planning two cutting gardens. The first and smaller of the two is to be planted this month; the second is being built this winter, with the aim to have it up and running for annuals by the summer. In many ways a cutting garden is an extravagant idea, because cutting flowers is the most luxurious way of enjoying them at close quarters, but I have no intention of either of these gardens feeling like an indulgence. They will be workmanlike and take their aesthetic from the vegetable garden or the allotment. You should be able to harvest flowers as you would a row of beans, and leave with an armful – and not the slightest twinge of guilt.
A friend and fellow designer in America has been making cutting gardens for some time, by simply fencing off an area from the garden proper. Within these vermin-proof enclosures, Edwina's vegetables, herbs and flowers are lined out in rows, with paths wide enough for a barrow to pass between them. The paths are mulched with pine needles in her own garden, as she has a wood of pine at the back, but it could just as easily be bark to keep things simple. Everything is reduced down to the most practical way of growing things: the tallest plants are at the back, so they don't put the shorter plants in the shade, and there is not a care in the world for colour – if Edwina likes it, it works. Where most garden owners would never dream of trusting you with a pair of secateurs to pick a posy for the table, it is a different thing for Edwina, and it is standard practice to be issued with a couple of buckets – one to fill with spuds and beans, the other with as many flowers as you see fit to liven up the table for lunch.
In planning my cutting gardens I have enjoyed a certain freedom, with plants that are not easily worked into the garden proper. Because as soon as you pick a flower and take it out of context, it becomes an object that you can look at for itself. Dahlias with stripes suddenly become an option – if the stripes don't work this year, then something else will next. Likewise, if you want to grow "Blue Moon" roses for their scent and curiosity, then do so – a solitary flower will be a delight in a bedside jug.
Having a brief is important, because the cutting garden needs to work hard if it is to be truly productive. The larger the area is, the more relaxed you can be about plants that might bloom only once. Bearded iris can be enjoyed without having to worry about the remaining 11 months of the year, when they are doing little more than leaf. And if you have enough room for peonies, there's the creaminess of the "Duchesse de Nemours", which, picked in bud, will rupture to perfume a room. In a decent-sized cutting garden, a whole row of once-blooming Anchusa azurea "Loddon Royalist" can easily be accommodated as a luxury, but in the main the plants should be doers, and able to come again after they have been harvested.
Planning for a long season of flowers (or several seasons) is important, so we are using modern English roses from David Austin to extend the season. We have chosen varieties that are disease resistant, as we want to run the cutting gardens on organic principles because they are close to the fruit and vegetables, but we have been free with colour as long as there is scent. We are also intercropping, using lines of Alchemilla under the roses, as "Lady's Mantle" is good filler in a vase.
The rest of the perennials are set out in rows one metre apart. Within the rows they are planted in a double line, a foot apart, and the gaps between the main rows are planted with bulbs, so you can fill a jug with tulips and not hold back – or worry that they might not come back a second year. The tulips can be dug out after they have flowered and replaced with annuals – Scabiosa atropurpurea "Chile Black", wild gloriosa daisies (Rudbeckia hirta) and mixed cosmos where a mix would never do in the flowerbeds. Whereas the perennials might take a couple of years to come to cropping well, the annuals will provide for you in a matter of months.
The smaller of our two cutting gardens is in the country, so we have decided to go two ways with the brief. The first is to use highly ornamental flowers that are in contrast to the rest of the garden, which feathers to hedgerow. There are lilies in rows that can easily be picked over for lily beetle, blowsy chrysanthemums and dahlias for the autumn. In contrast, the second route is to use plants that have a super-nature quality about them: vivid thistles such as Eryngium "Electric Haze" and Cersium rivulare "Atropurpureum", and the peachy-flowered recurrent Geum "Princess Juliana" to work in among a bundle of native grasses or cow parsley. There will be giant daisies such as Leucanthemum "T E Killin", larger-than-life Scabiosa caucasica "Blausiegel" and rows of Michaelmas daisies so that you can fill a room with them come the autumn.
It is an exciting prospect planning a garden with freedom in mind – our very own trial ground and a place where gardening can break the usual rules. ★
dan.pearson@observer.co.uk
Reader offer Observer readers can take advantage of this offer on flower seeds suitable for cutting. This superb collection contains the following: Delphinium "Pacific Giants", Eryngium alpinum "Superbum", Dahlia "Pompon" mixed, Honesty Purple and White mixed, Lavender "Hidcote", penstemon mixed colours, Sunflower Hallo, Sweet Pea Incense mixed, Shasta Daisy "Alaska" and Cosmos "Sensation" mixed. One collection costs just £9.88, saving £9 on the normal retail price. Buy two collections for £17.76 and save a further £2. Call 0330 333 6852, quoting ref OBDP141, or send a cheque made payable to Observer Reader Offers with your order, to Observer, OBDP141, Rookery Farm, Joys Bank, Holbeach St Johns, Spalding, PE12 8SG. Price includes UK mainland p&p. We reserve the right to substitute any varieties for others of equal or greater value. Dispatch will be within 28 days, supplied as packets of seed
Dan Pearson | Gardens is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
Tags: birds, flower, garden, garden birds, gardening, gardening advice, herbs, how to vegetable garden, lilies, organic, plants, roses, secateurs, seed, seeds, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
Posted in birds, butterfly, fruit growing news, garden birds, kitchen garden news, latest news, vegetable garden news, vegetable gardening news, vegetable growing news, wildlife, wildlife garden | No Comments »
Written by admin on 09 February 2010
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.
Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.
The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.
Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.
In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.
Tags: birds, feathered friends, flower, garden, garden birds, garden diary, garden tools, gardener, gardeners, gardening, hints and tips, how to vegetable garden, lawns, leaves, plants, pot, seed, seeds, shrub, shrubs, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
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Written by admin on 09 February 2010
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
There is a new pecking order in the back garden. Most of the year it is the blackbirds who boss this part of the garden, chasing off the thrushes that are brave enough to attempt a quick meal. But temporarily this has changed with a thrush relative, the Fieldfare, now in charge. The Fieldfare is a long-tailed thrush with contrasting plumage pattern and defends its territory with great authority. With the ground so hard and the snow on the ground it seems unfair that one bird should claim the apple that we throw onto the lawn and so we cut a couple of apples into pieces and spread them around the back garden. That did not solve the problem; it just gave the Fieldfare more of an area to protect!
It is not all bad news for the blackbirds however as the Fieldfare does not seem interested in the dried fruit that I put into a bowl for them. Yet anyway!
The other bird that has arrived with the Fieldfare is another thrush relative, the Redwing. The Redwing is the smallest of our thrushes but still a pretty bird with distinctive markings. Two things make it easy to distinguish, the first being the cream eyebrow stripe and the second rusty red flanks. The Redwings fed with the Fieldfare when they first arrived but now seem just to patrol the front garden, polishing off what was left of the holly berries.
These two visitors, and that is what they are as they will stay for the winter and then disappear, are welcome but over the Christmas period a not so welcome guest made its mark in the garden. Topping up the bird seed I saw something out of the corner of my eye that did not look right. There had been heavy frosts and some snow so I had not really been taking much notice of the garden borders but it was not hard to see that something had been at work. Soil had been kicked or flicked over quite a distance and it then became clear where it had originated. A large hole had been burrowed and quite deep too. Roots of plants were hanging down inside the burrow but probing with a stick found nothing at home. My first thought was that it was a badger foraging as there is a family with a set in the field behind but the hole narrowed too quickly. It must be a rabbit trying to make a new home although I have not spotted any wild rabbits for quite some time. The hole is now filled in and thankfully no more holes have been dug.
As you might have guessed from the mention of snow and hard frosts not much gardening if any has been possible for a while. At least my seeds for the new season are on order and once the package appears on the mat I can dream of better weather and a new growing season.
I am sure fellow listeners to the BBC Gardeners Question Time radio programme will be as shocked and saddened as I am by the news of the death of John Cushnie. I will miss his sense of humour. Whenever he was on the panel you were guaranteed a laugh as well as sound gardening advice. But he never claimed to be the all knowing gardening expert. A member of the public would ask a question and the chairman would ask John to answer only to hear the words, “I have absolutely no idea”. How refreshing for “an expert” to admit that in front of millions of listeners. When you listen to a voice regularly on the radio you picture what that person looks like. Sometimes you are right but most of the time you are not. I have not heard anyone say that John Cushnie looked anything like what was imagined from his voice. Maybe it is something to do with that gentle Irish brogue. Farewell and thank you John Cushie, may you rest in peace.
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Tags: birds, garden, garden diary, garden tools, garden wildlife, gardener, gardeners, gardening, gardening advice, hints and tips, plants, pot, roots, seed, seeds, soil, wildlife
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Written by admin on 09 February 2010
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
When you go away on holiday in the height of summer it is always a worry that friends or neighbours cannot get round often enough to keep up the watering. Everyone is busy and they cannot be expected to lavish all the love and care that you would yourself. One of the good things about taking a vacation this time of the year is that most things will survive well enough with a watering every other day. This has been the case with my week away rambling in the wilds enjoying the fresh air.
The birds have had to find alternative arrangements for the week but they are slowly finding the food again. Each day is bringing back more feathered friends.
Only a week away but I can see significant changes. Autumn colour in plants, tree and shrubs that was not present a week ago. The grass is not growing so quickly, it is cooler and the days are getting shorter.
There is still plenty of colour in the garden from flowers and the colour from the flowers is being joined by foliage colour.
The Rudbeckias seem to have been flowering for weeks as do the white Cosmos. The large flowered Dahlias have certainly been worth waiting for and have provided good value.
The tomatoes are coming to an end now. There are still tomatoes on the vines but it is doubtful whether they will all ripen. Of course I can pick them and ripen them inside but my preference is to use the green tomatoes in chutney. The theory is that we will eat the chutney through the winter months but believe me it has no chance of lasting that long no matter how much we manage to make!
The Runner Beans are also coming to an end, there are still some to pick but do not look as appetising as a couple of weeks ago. Very likely they will be a bit hard and stringy.
One success of this year has to be the Mini Iceberg Hearts lettuce. Sown close together in a deep box they have done well and hearted up into nice crunchy heads. They stand for a long period and the cut heads will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
I sowed seed of Winter Flowering Pansies a few weeks ago and they are ready to go into their winter locations now. Two containers can be cleared to make way but I am pleased to say that the other containers that will home them are still full of flower. Sorry pansies, you will just have to sit in trays a little bit longer.
Tags: birds, container, containers, feathered friends, flower, garden, gardening, plants, pot, pots, runner beans, seed, shrub, shrubs, tomatoes
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Written by admin on 09 February 2010
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
It is not so long ago that I made an entry in my diary giving an opinion on the tomato varieties that I have grown this year. At the time I stated that I would grow more of the same next year, this being Harbinger and the plum variety Red Alert. I have changed my mind and will only be growing Harbinger next season.
So what has changed?
Harbinger has proved to be the best cropper by far and in my opinion Harbinger has the better flavour. In addition Harbinger tomato plants have proven to be much healthier.
The blackbirds have disappeared as they usually do at this time of the year to moult. I spotted one in one of my rhododendrons and he hardly had a feather left on his head.
The great news on the bird front is that we have more sparrows this year that we have had for a very long time. They are doing their best to eat me out of bird seed but I have no complaints. Flocks of them arrive on mass and disappear together. I hear them in the bushes near the feeder waiting for a refill. Their numbers suddenly declined dramatically one winter and it has taken years for them to make a comeback. The funny thing is, last winter was the harshest we have had for many years and yet it is this summer that we have had the biggest increase in numbers. Long may it continue.
For the first time ever I have had problems with caterpillars on my salad crops grown under cover. I recognised the caterpillar of the cabbage white but I must confess my ignorance when it comes to identifying the other thug. Whatever it was it had a voracious appetite!
This autumn I must give some thought to my vegetable garden layout. I have already made some alterations that will help next years crops which has entailed cutting back shrubs and trees that had put on more than expected growth due to good growing conditions.
My begonia hanging basket is looking good at last. For the first time this year I have grown tuberous begonias from seed that are recommended for baskets and containers, having only grown the fibrous rooted varieties from seed. They have taken a while to reach flowering size but the wait has been worth it. Hopefully I can over winter the tubers and have earlier flowers and a cheaper hanging basket next year.
Tags: birds, container, containers, flower, garden, garden diary, garden tools, gardener, gardeners, gardening, hanging basket, hints and tips, how to vegetable garden, plants, pot, salad, salad crops, seed, shrub, shrubs, tomatoes, trees, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
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Written by admin on 27 January 2010
Do my garden birds know more than me and the weather forecasters? Sometimes it makes me wonder. This is the most severe winter we have had for years. Snow, freezing temperatures that have not even reached as high as the norm for this time of the year and yet as soon as the snow and ice have cleared the birds are singing like spring is just around the corner. Not only are the garden birds singing to claim their territories but the Jackdaws are trying to build a nest in my chimney. With the winds coming from the north temperatures are still below what they should be so what is it that instils so much encouragement in them? Maybe it is the lengthening days.
Food for our feathered friends must be in short supply; a Greater Spotted Woodpecker is visiting and feeding on the large fatball I hang in the tree near the seed feeder. I have had them visiting and taking peanuts from the feeder but this is the first time I have seem them take fat. The Blackbirds are still coming to me to beg for dried fruit but even they are now taking peanuts from the feeder.
The garden birds may be preparing for spring but I think it is going to be a while before I can do any gardening outside. The lawns are looking a bit sad after the snow and I have never seen so many shrubs, including hedging, with such burnt leaves for a long time. Mother Nature has a way of recovering from these setbacks but it would not surprise me to find the odd shrub and perennial plant not putting in an appearance this year.
Probably another week and I will be making a sowing of tomato seeds. As decided after last years growing season I will just be growing Harbinger. There are newer tomato varieties that will produce fruits all the same size. However that is not a consideration for me, my
tomatoes can ripen at many different sizes and I can put up with that in exchange for the excellent flavour.
In spite of the very bad weather my early flowering Mohonia is still providing colour. I have met gardeners who do not like this group of shrubs but I am a fan. There were a couple in the garden when I moved here and I have added to the collection. Very accommodating, nice yellow flowers with a pleasing perfume that can fill a garden. They make great “full stop” plants in a border or can be used as architectural plants due to their shapely (and spiky!) dark green leaves.
Do My Garden Birds Know Something That I Do Not? is a post from: How to Vegetable Garden
Tags: birds, feathered friends, flower, garden, garden birds, garden diary, garden tools, gardener, gardeners, gardening, hints and tips, how to vegetable garden, lawns, leaves, plants, pot, seed, seeds, shrub, shrubs, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
Posted in birds, butterfly, fruit growing news, garden birds, kitchen garden news, latest news, vegetable garden news, vegetable gardening news, vegetable growing news, wildlife, wildlife garden | No Comments »
Written by admin on 17 March 2009
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
If you want a wildlife garden you should only grow wildflowers. These are not my words or my belief but something quoted in conversation to me this week. It is a fair enough view I suppose although incorrect. Where do you start when answering this argument?
I suppose the first point is where do the plants in our gardens originate? The species originated in wild from seed sown by Mother Nature and many have entered our gardens as nature intended while others have been “improved” by plant breeders. Some improvements have resulted in larger flowers or longer flowering periods but at the cost of loss of perfume or no longer being capable of producing the food source intended for companion insects or birds. I may be in danger of sounding like Charles Darwin when saying that plants, insects, birds and animals have adapted over millions of years to live together and provide mutual benefits. If there is a problem with our modern wildlife gardens it is that our gardens include trees, shrubs and plants that have been imported from other continents and have adapted along with their homeland wildlife.
Of course this introduction of flora is not new. Many species we think of as British natives were brought over by invaders, sailing ships seeking new continents and the modern day plant hunters. If it were not for these intrepid adventurers our garden would not be as colourful or diverse. So what has changed? Transport, the world has become smaller. Imagine being a plant hunter finding a new species and having to find a way to keep seed viable, a plant or cutting alive for two or three years as your ship found its way home. Nowadays once back to base the collection can be home in a matter of hours. In addition so many plants are bred abroad and imported by the thousand.
Do you have to let your garden run wild to be a wildlife friendly garden? No but a garden can be too tidy, so tidy in fact that it looks and probably is sterile. I can remember the bad old days when we were encouraged to spray chemicals as soon as the first aphids or other pests appeared. In fact with some treatments we were told to spray before they appeared. Believe it or not I saw a neighbour digging up a perfectly healthy plant that was in full bloom and looked beautiful. When I enquired as to the problem the reply was that that it was covered in bees and he could not stand insects of any kind. A sad but true story.
We are advised where possible to grow a small patch of stinging nettles in a corner of the garden as they are the staple diet of certain caterpillars. In a small garden it has to be recognised that this is not always practical, especially where young children play. But does this mean you do not have a wildlife garden? Absolutely not, this is only one part of the ideal. I am lucky that I have a field backing into my garden and in one corner I do have a nettle patch – the other side of the hedge. Am I cheating? No, they do grow into the hedge so I do have to be careful that they become too invasive but if I was a very tidy gardener I would find a way to kill off the lot.
Last year gale force winds blew down a few branches from a Hawthorne tree. They have not been wasted and in fact some of the smaller diameter parts are stacked in a corner for insects and hedgehogs.
If you are interested in attracting bees, butterflies and other insects into your garden there are specialist websites that will advise the best species and varieties to grow. But don’t go away with the impression that the required plants will be expensive to acquire. A good example is the native foxglove, readily available, will seed themselves without becoming invasive and the bumblebees love them. It is a pleasure to sit by a foxglove in summer and see a bumblebee disappear into a foxglove and then come backing out with pollen sacks full. A word of caution however, foxgloves are poisonous so care should be taken if you have a young family but this also applies to many other plants.
Wildflowers are all weeds. There are those who look upon wildflowers sown in their gardens by the wind or the birds as weeds. If you define a weed as a plant growing in the wrong place I bet there are not many of us who do not have a weed growing in our garden. There are certain “weeds” that come up in my garden each year and I leave them. They may have small flowers but are exquisite in their own right and are usually easy to pull up if in the wrong place. Pernicious and invasive weeds are another matter.
Water is a medium that we are encouraged to have in our wildlife garden. Not all of us can have water in the garden especially if we have young children but even a small bird bath can be very beneficial. Site the bird bath close to safe cover so that a well bathed and heavy laden bird can easily make it into cover to preen. A wildlife garden pond does not have to be huge; a friend of mine has a very small pool with cover planted on the edge that has frogs and tadpoles every year.
To finish here is a story from this last week. A gardening friend went out into his garden to turn his compost heap and was going well until he came across something he did not expect, a field mouse nest with very small young. Did he think that it was only a mouse nest, maybe a pest that needed to be removed? No he carefully covered the nest with compost in the hope that the parents would return to look after their young. Now this is what I would call a wildlife gardener.
Creating a wildlife garden can be fun and very rewarding. Design and tend for your garden with garden wildlife in mind and you will attract wildlife that will make your garden come alive and be a more enjoyable place.
Tags: bees, birds, bumblebees, butterflies, flora, flower, garden, garden diary, garden wildlife, gardener, gardening, plants, seed, shrub, shrubs, trees, wildlife, wildlife garden, wildlife gardens
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Written by admin on 03 December 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Restricted space in your garden should not deter you from growing vegetables; there are ways to achieve this even in the smallest garden.
We like our farmers to grow organically and so should we home vegetable growers. There are those who argue otherwise but common sense suggests this is the healthy approach.
Buying organically grown vegetables in the supermarket usually results in paying more for your produce but fortunately if you consider having your own vegetable garden higher prices is something that you do not have to worry about any longer.
Just think by growing your own vegetables you only have to step out into your garden and bring that ultra fresh produce into your kitchen for preparation. How much better is that than driving to the supermarket for veggies that may have been flown half way around the world?
Any vegetable can be planted, grown and harvested in your garden or backyard, even on your patio. Restricted space means choosing the right varieties and maybe ensuring that you have containers with sufficient depth. For instance, if you do decide to plant a squash you should know that this vine type plant can be trained up supports instead of letting it take its natural course which would take up too much precious ground space. Carrots can be grown in any old container as long as the container has sufficient depth.
Sit down and consider the varieties that you would like to eat. Choose the seed carefully; there are varieties of plants available these days that are a lot smaller when reaching maturity. Choose wisely if you garden in a limited space.
Buy your seed or buy plants ready started. It is far better to buy and start from seed which is the cheaper option but in your first year you may find that it is too late to sow seed of one of your favourite vegetables. Whether you buy seed or plants make sure you are buying from a reputable source.
To find out more read gardening tips for growing vegetables in a small space or town garden or read these articles:
- The Right Way To Grow Organic Vegetables Your Garden – by Greg F Williams. Weeds are the central drain on your gardens resources, such as, nutrients, sunlight and revenue for farmers. So the earlier you annihilate them, the better it will be for your garden and crop growing. …
- grow your own tasty and healthful organic vegetables – fortunately, anyone with a vegetable garden can grow organic vegetables of their own for much less than they could buy them at the store. this is great if you have the lots of room in your yard, but many people feel that an organic …
Tags: container, containers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, growing vegetables, growing vegetables in small spaces, plants, seed, shrub, shrubs, small spaces, trees, vegetable, vegetable garden
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Written by admin on 20 November 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Home Hydroponics for Growing Vegetable Plants
Grow your own vegetable plants indoors using hydroponics.
Growing vegetables year round can be a challenge in most of the US. The winter
months won’t support any type of outdoor gardening in most of the US, and
in the southern states many types of vegetables won’t survive the summer heat
and drought.
But Indoor Gardening can be a real challenge as well. Proper lighting is always an issue, as most vegetables want 8 hours or more of sunlight a day.
Of course many vegetables such as corn or large vining plants like cantaloupe are just not practical even if you could create enough lighting to support them.
But it’s not at all out of the question to grow small leafy vegetables for salads,
and many herbs can be grown indoors as well. These generally are not heavy feeders, so they are also well suited for a Hydroponics Systems.
One of the more popular systems for growing container vegetables indoors is the Aerogrow Aerogarden system. It includes room for several seed pods and a built in adjustable height grow light. With a microprocessor based controller, the flow of nutrients in the hydroponics system and the timing of the grow lights are optimized for the specific type of plant that you are growing at the time.
By varying the height of the grow light as the plants increase in size, you
are able to maintain the optimum growing conditions for weeks at a time.
Another advantage to the Aerogarden indoor garden system is the variety of seed
types available for the system.
You can grow a variety of lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili
peppers and even petunias.
With this large a variety of plants, some folks find they need more than one Hydroponics system
to keep up.
Tags: container, garden, gardening, growing vegetables, plants, salad, seed, shrub, shrubs, tomatoes, trees, vegetable
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Written by admin on 12 November 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Why a Vegetable Garden?
Being aware to what you eat is what physicians would usually suggest to you. If you have been eating sufficient quantity of healthy foods such as fish, meat, fruits and vegetables, then fret not. Because some of these hold harmful chemicals, perhaps you should start switching to organically grown vegetables
and other food products.
Essentially, the mainstream of these organic vegetables and other food products have been genetically changed making it a smart choice for buyers. For reasons of better production and profit, some farmers may tend to employ some assorted techniques which may include the use of chemicals and fertilisers to make them look and feel larger even if they are aware that this can be damaging to your health. Producing organically raised crops is not that difficult and needs nothing magical whatsoever, but having some productive soil, sunlight, water and some fertiliser can just do the trick.
Home Garden By following this simple plan, a study shows that eating foods and vegetables on a regular basis which have been grown organically can help maintain a heartier life because those may contain fifty percent more vitamins and minerals than those made from conventional methods. These organically grown vegetables taste better compared to other processed or commonly produced products giving you the feeling that you will live longer by consuming these everyday. This is because although fertilisers and pesticides have their benefits, they get rid of essential vitamins and nutrients so you are not getting the required daily allowance that your body requires. Another benefit of eating organic vegetables and food is that you help the environment which happens because farmers are no longer using harmful chemicals and put these into the ground. The land which they have cultivated on can be established by the next generation because the land that has been educated for so long, is still fertile.
In stores, you may compare the prices of those conventionally grown products to those with those organically grown vegetables and other items and you will see that the latter can be found really expensive. Your life is one invaluable treasure and something that you should take care of, so budgeting yourself towards eating the best foods can just block you from acquiring the quality of life that we all want and need. You should think about going organic as this will profit not only you but also people around you especially your family and friends in the future, more than you think it could.
Garden Tools
Home Garden The price of organic vegetables and other products will go down in time if more farmers resolve to take part in its production thus introducing and selling it to the markets. It is only because there is a tiny department of this available now in the store but when it becomes an industry standard, things
will change.
Until that happens, you can probably plant and grow these in your backyard, you just need the supplies especially the seeds or the fully grown plants to help you get started. You should take part in assisting these grow not only by splashing water every morning as there are still a lot of other matters that you should recognise to take good care of them and that is by doing some thorough research about it. One of the numerous things that are getting the introduction of organic foods and vegetables in the market a challenging deal is the fact that US imports from many nations that are not yet practicing organic
planting. For everyone here as well as other countries to enjoy the benefits of organically raised vegetables and fruits – encouragement, proper help and introduction should be started and driven to bring it to the surface.
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Written by admin on 23 October 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
I give a lot of lawn tips, but that can get boring sometimes as grass is always green and that’s about it. But gardening with annuals in flower beds is easy too and rewarding, and offers tons of alternatives. Flowers bring color, interest and sweet scents to the garden landscape. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. It can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally. Many businesses pay big money for “seasonal color rotation.”
There are some decisions that have to be made before you plant your first seed or sprout. You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the spring. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well as the sun requirements. In most stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, they have the perennials displayed separately from the annuals so as not to cause confusion.
When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style.”
You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogs or buy them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them as this gives instant results with no waiting. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting. When using seeds, just sprinkle them in the flower bed. There is no need to space them or even bury them. Just buy a lot of what you want and let them “fall as they may” to create a wild flush of color. For planting transplants, dig a hole just bigger than the flower pack, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water. You may want to amend the soil first with some peat moss and mushroom compost as this will aid in flower production through the season.
Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they might make it on their own, a sprinkling of organic compost or Milorganite will help your flowers proliferate. Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.
Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.
You can also get information on Do It Yourself Pest Control here.
Tags: container, flower, flower bed, flower beds, flower garden, flower gardening, flower gardens, garden, garden landscape, gardening, lawns, organic, plants, pot, roots, seed, seeds, soil
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Written by admin on 22 October 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Organic gardening is generally considered to be any method of gardening that does not utilize any chemicals or pesticides to maintain the garden. One can practice organic gardening in a vegetable or flower garden – or in any other area in which someone is trying to grow things.
There are many reasons that people want to practice organic gardening. Many people like the idea of wholesome, fresh vegetables that don’t have any form of chemical, possibly poisonous residue on them. Many people like to have plants which will attract a variety of small wildlife, such as butterflies and bees. Many people have small children or pets and don’t want to take the chance that the chemicals frequently used in non-organic gardening could hurt their children or pets.
Organic gardening is not “simple gardening”. Effort is needed to have successful gardens in most situations and this is no exception. One needs to plan the garden before starting it. It is necessary to consider what kind of garden one wants, where it will be kept, how it will be organized and if companion plants are to be included.
Organic gardening needs compost. How to make comppost? Compost is a mixture of topsoil and a variety of organic matter such as leaves, vegetable refuse, manure air and water. This mixture needs to be turned or mixed frequently, so there needs to be room to work with the developing compost. Once the compost is ready, it is used as the basic medium into which the plants or seeds are placed. Generally, the compost is created before the garden is planted.
The location of the garden is important. Does the area get a lot of sun? Will it be high enough so that it won’t be frequently flooded in major rain storms? Will it need any protection if the weather suddenly turns too chilly? Is there easy access to the garden? The location of the plants in the garden must also be considered.
Companion plants are plants that have some kind of natural chemical that repels a variety of insects or diseases. Garlic, for example, planted near roses tends to repel the aphids that frequently attack roses. Oregano is thought to repel the cucumber beetle. Some plants can help repel nematodes. If planned well, it is possible for a gardener to be able to have a flower garden in the exact same spot as a vegetable garden. The geographic location of the garden – is it in Alaska, Nevada, Florida or elsewhere? – will need to be considered when deciding what to plant in an organic gardening.
Tags: bees, butterflies, cucumber, flower, flower garden, garden, gardener, gardening, leaves, organic, organic garden, organic gardening, plants, pot, roses, seed, seeds, soil, vegetable, vegetable garden, wildlife
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Written by admin on 09 October 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
It seems that home improvement stores are making their gardening supply and nursery stocks more expansive year by year. I think this is because DIY lawn care and gardening is the easiest to break into as a homeowner.
You can buy gardening products in various stores or nurseries, or you can order gardening products from catalogues, or even order them online. The trick is in knowing what you need for the jobs you plan to undertake.
You will obviously need the basic landscape garden tools no matter what you are planting, such as a hoe, spade, and maybe even a shovel. You must have watering supplies, like a hose, sprinkler and watering can. Other possibilities include a spade, a pot (if you are pot planting), and a pair of gloves for comfort, some pruning shears and a rake. Then, of course, there are the essentials such as the lawn mower and weed whacker, but we are mainly going to focus here on the basic landscape/gardening tools and leave the grass for another day.
When first starting a garden you will definitely want some type of mushroom mulch, manure or peat moss to properly amend your soil. There are a few types of potting soil that you can also add into your slurry including organic potting mix, seed starting potting mix, cactus potting mix, and root development potting mix, just to name a few.
Once you have your garden planted, you must have gardening chemicals so that you can add nutrients to the soil to ensure a healthy plant life. Miracle-Gro is one of the most popular growing enhancements for plants. There are many different types of Miracle-Gro to choose from and what kind you choose will depend on what you are trying to grow. The good thing about Miracle-Gro is that it is labeled very well with easy-to-follow instructions. This same brand name can also be found on insecticides and fungicides with that same easy-to-follow labeling.
If you are growing vegetables or herbs, you may need different gardening tools than regular flower gardens require. If you are growing tomatoes for example, you will need a tomato cage and ties to protect the plants against the wind. Many plants, mostly vines, are designed to grow on something and you will have to have a fence or trellis of some sort.
You can also find tools for the landscape that serve a greater purpose than just “function,” and that being “form.” In other words, they can also come in the form of decoration. There are decorative flower pots, sundials, plastic figurines, stones or bricks for a pathway or looks, and even lawn furniture. The big trend in country gardening is to find old, weathered and rusted garden tools and plant those in and amongst the greenery. Decoration will add to the charm and uniqueness of your garden and is an excellent way to give it a personal touch.
The winter months will bring a whole new set of gardening products to store shelves. When the frost hits the prime place to put your plants are in a greenhouse. However, if you do not have a greenhouse for whatever reason, a tarp of some sorts can be used to cover plants up at night. You also might need a light source, like a heat lamp, to both keep plants warm and give them extra light. In addition, you are going to need a snow shovel or maybe even a snow blower, as well as some good quality snow melter.
New and upgraded gardening products are always popping up on the market. It seems like every day there is some gardening product that claims to be bigger and better than the last. While many gardening tools are not a necessity, they sure make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable. Fall time is a great time to pick up deals on lawn and garden tools as the season is nearly over and they are often found on clearance. Check them out today!
When the basics of your new garden are in place you will want to enjoy it, Summerhouses and Garden Rooms are ideal places to relax.
Tags: flower, flower garden, flower gardens, garden, garden tools, gardening, gardening products, greenhouse, growing vegetables, herbs, lawn mower, lawns, organic, plants, pot, pots, seed, soil, tomatoes, vegetable
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Written by admin on 01 September 2008
Want to Know the Complete Grape Growing System?
Last weekend we had visitors who took a walk around the garden. One stopped and said, “That is a weed”. My reply was “No that is a wild flower and I like it so it stays”. A few minutes later the second visitor remarked, “What a beautiful flower, where did you get it?” I explained that it was a gift from Mother Nature and she decided that it should be planted in that spot. The view of this visitor was totally different, agreeing with me that a weed is only a plant in the wrong place, why assume that every wildflower is a weed.
I am enjoying the great show of berries in the garden this year while they last. The birds will soon see them off but I know I cannot have everything. I want the birds to visit the garden, I love the berries as they extend the season of colour in the garden but I have to trade one against the other. The trees and bushes want the birds to eat their fruit and distribute the seed; I want to see the birds so I make sure that I enjoy the view of the berries each day knowing that one day the inevitable will happen. After all, my feathered friends provide me with so much joy and amusement the year round and not just for a few weeks.
We now move into September and there is still so much to do and that can be done in the garden. Vegetable gardening in September is still a pleasure as is enjoying the late show of followers in the flower garden.
There is one tree in the garden that is showing autumn colour but I noticed last week that just six miles up the road there was a street lined with Acers and parts of the trees were already in full autumn glory.
This week’s garden diary is about Nectar Bars and Berries
Gardening and Wildlife Related Sites
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