You are here: Home / Archives for Garden Help

Gardening: Helpful Tips to help you ?Grow?

03/06/2011 By

I like to garden and really the only thing that frustrates me is the cold of winter because that means I can not be outside growing my vegetables, herbs and other plants.  If you are thinking about getting into gardening here are some ideas and tips to get you going.

Start off Small

Most new gardeners give up because things don’t work out as planned (or as hoped) or they try to do too much in a single growing season.  I was like this.  My first year with a vegetable garden I think I tried to plant every seed under the sun (and some in the shade).  Needless to say with too much planted a lot of my plants suffered for it as did the quality of fruits and vegetables.  Pick 2 to 3 items you would really love to grow and go with that.  In future seasons you can add on as you get better and more efficient at it.

Maintain Your Soil

Make sure you soil is well taken care of and that means that it is moist and well aerated.  Walking on your soil will pack it down and that’s not good for your plants.  I use one of those garden weasel tools to help break up any hard soil and allow the air to flow.  But also you want to keep in mind to NOT overwork the soil either.  Having some smaller clumps is a good thing as well.

Water

Most people think that you need to give your plants water everyday but less at a time.  That is the furthest thing from the truth (for most plants anyway).  Giving plants a good soaking, but not a drowning, less frequently is much better.  This way your plants must reach deep for those water pockets and that creates strong roots.

Compost

Don’t forget your compost pile or food waste for compost.  Compost adds much needed nutrients to your soil that gets depleted every growing season.  You can compost any type of organic matter, such as leaves, grass, branches and so on.  Keep them in a pile and using a pitch fork turn the pile over every so often.  Soon you will have a nice pile of compost that you mix in with your soil.  If that is too much work for you, take your left over food scraps and bury them about 2 feet down in your planting area.  Worms will eat the compost and their castings will give you some really great compost.  Just remember to turn your over before and after every growing season to bring that compost towards the surface.

Mulch

Using mulch is a great way to reduce the amount of weeds your garden will see and because mulch is a biodegradable organic material it will also add nutrients to your soil.  You could go buy mulch but why would you do that?  Instead shred up some newspaper or cardboard and you are all set.

Say no to Chemicals

One thing I do is avoid using any type of chemical fertilizer.  I do this because there is no need.  The environment provides everything your plant will require to grow, you just have to give it to it such as everything we already mentioned, compost, mulch, water, etc.  I won’t go into it in this article but you can actually double use your compost.  First as a way to brew some compost tea and then when its done brewing you spread your compost out over your plants.  Compost tea is far better than any type of miracle grow or chemical product you will find.  Do a Google search on compost tea and you will see what I mean.

Spending just a few minutes everyday at your garden, I like to visit my garden for about 10 minutes in the morning before I go to work, will do wonders not only for your garden but for your sanity.  Gardens are very relaxing and it is exciting to watch plants grow that you nurtured from a seed.

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is a regular contributor on Bukisa, an online community for writers that pays them for their articles.  You can also follow Bruce on Twitter.

Do not forget you can use this article on your own website or blog by simply copying and pasting the code from the “Syndicate this Article” section located on the right.

Written by btucker

Related Garden Help Articles

Filed Under: Garden Help Tagged With: , , , ,

Audrey Hepburn?s Love of Gardening Helped Her Throughout Her Life

03/06/2011 By

Audrey Hepburn is one of the most famous actresses of all time, but her life was not nearly as glamorous as many may have thought. Her life was actually full of many hardships. Born in 1929, in Brussels, Belgium, Audrey and her mother had to survive World War II on their own, as her father abandoned them when she was only 6 years old. Audrey usually had very little to eat and developed many medical problems due to malnutrition. Even though she would go on to have much success in her many films, she never got over the ordeals of her childhood and suffered from depression and an eating disorder for many years. Throughout her life, she always was happiest when she had serenity, privacy and quiet, which helped to create in her a love of gardening.

According to her son, Audrey’s favorite place in the world was the garden at her home in Switzerland. Audrey owned a 16,000 square mile villa overlooking Lake Geneva. Whenever she could be at the estate, she would spend many hours tending to the garden and filling her house with freshly cut flowers. Audrey loved the property so much that she lived there for her last 30 years. She enjoyed being far away from Hollywood, because she was never bothered by photographers and could lead a normal life.

The last project of Audrey’s life was a PBS television series in 1993 entitled “Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn”. It ran for just nine episodes, as she died the day before the first episode even aired. The shows featured 17 different gardens throughout the countries of Holland, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Italy, France, England, and the United States. The series won Audrey an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Individual Achievement- Informational Programming’ and resulted in Audrey having a rose, tulip and daylily named after her. Audrey gave her salary from this documentary series to UNICEF, for which she was a goodwill ambassador. According to her life partner, Robert Wolders, Audrey stated that this project was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

There is no evidence that Audrey Hepburn ever sought medical help for her emotional problems. During her lifetime, many people were not even aware that Audrey had problems because her types of issues were not openly talked about like they are today. Gardening seemed to provide a means for her to feel at peace. Even according to many doctors and psychiatrists, gardening is a form of therapy because of its calming effects on the mind. Through working in a garden, an individual gets exercise and exposure to the sun, both which release serotonin, a mood-regulating brain chemical. New studies have also shown that there is a bacteria in soil that balances the immune system, leading to overall better health. With her traumatic childhood, it’s wonderful to see that Audrey Hepburn was eventually able to find such tranquility.

Written by Kathie Scheidler
Freelance Writer and Professional Librarian

Filed Under: Garden Help Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Gardening With Your Child

03/06/2011 By

Getting children involved in gardening at a young age can teach them valuable lessons that will last them a lifetime. Children can learn a great deal about the various sciences through gardening. By growing their own vegetables, they can learn about nutrition. By having to water and weed and care for their plants, they learn responsibility. As they watch the flowers and vegetables they have planted grow and mature, children can take pride in their own accomplishments and develop self-esteem. For these reasons and many more, you will want to bring your child into the garden with you. It is not that difficult either.

You should, first, consider giving your child their very own garden plot. Keep it small, though. About a 4-foot x 4-foot area is fine. Also, make sure that they have their own gardening tools and that they are in a size suitable for the child. If you do not have room to give your child their own plot of land, give them a section of their own in your garden. Of course, you will probably be doing most of the work getting the ground ready to plant. However, you will want your child to help, and be sure to let them know that it is perfectly okay to get dirty. (That can be a real treat, in and of itself.)

Let your child help pick out what is to be planted, but you will want to steer them towards plants that are easy to grow. Daylilies are always a good choice. Flowers that are easy to grow from seed include nasturtiums and sunflowers. They might also enjoy vines like honeysuckle and morning glory. You both will enjoy watching a moonflower open at night. I have also found that children really love chocolate mint. (Planting mint might give you a chance to explain a little about container gardening to them, too.) If you plant vegetables, chose those vegetables that they actually like to eat. (If your child absolutely hates brussels sprout, having them grow this vegetable is not going to change their mind.)

Explain to your child the importance of taking care of their garden. Help them weed. Show them how and when to water. (An occasional water fight on a hot summer day should always be an option, as well.) Explain the importance of keeping the garden mulched. Show them how to dead head plants, and explain the reasons for doing so.

If your child wants to label their plants, have them paint flat rocks with the names and colorful designs. The same can be done with wooden stakes. Let your child use their imagination. It is their garden, after all.

Never pressure or nag your child about their work in the garden. You want gardening to be a positive and fun experience. Work together in your gardens. Take breaks together and have a cold drink while you each talk about your plans for your gardens. Take walks together through the gardens to see what is growing, what is blooming. You may discover that you have given the world another gardener and your child a lifetime of memories.

Written by Dena Bolton

I thought this bug, might be a kind of beetle, was interesting to look at. It had a kind of green metallic color and a black and white striped belly. I am not sure what it is. Maybe you can leave a comment and let me know whether I need to worry about it or not. They are munching on the leaves, but there are not a lot of them so they are not doing a lot of damage.
Video Rating: 0 / 5

Filed Under: Garden Help Tagged With: ,

Beginner’s Guide to the planting of orchards – Fundamentals

01/01/2001 By

If you have never planted a garden, you will need some basic things about planting gardens and ensure that it becomes easy, efficient and rewarding.
Although you probably have a few houseplants, garden planting can be just as rewarding. Most people do not realize, but it is actually easier to grow vegetables that grow flowers. Flowers that open are very sensitive to drastic changes in time as a heat wave or cold suddenly. Huertas other hand, do very well and are considered resistant plants.
So for your first garden planting vegetables to choose some of the easy, rapid growth is rewarded so quickly. And then happen to those who are a little more difficult to grow.
You must decide how much time you have for your garden, decide on the area, the amount of light or shadow that is in the area to be planted, then finding the best types of vegetables that grow in the region are planting. So is soil preparation. Remember, the soil is the foundation of every culture of plants, prepared correctly the first time gives a good performance. Make sure to talk to a master gardener or someone who is pushing a garden close to what you might need to add the land to give its full growth potential.
Then it’s time to decide on the style of planting. Many people plant in rows, but if you want, you can actually grow in circles, squares, hexagons or plants in beds or raised beds of soil. Planta way you want and what works best for you, but make sure all your plants are easily accessible.
Make sure you do not get overzealous in their first garden. Many people find it takes a little longer than I thought it would then become discouraged because their grounds are always a disaster. Start with a small garden, choose a few good varieties of your favorite vegetables, the plant at the time, and then care for him. Remember, you can always expand your garden next year, but once you took the time to plan your first garden, it can take much longer to take care of him than he can think that it is too large for the time you have to pursue it.

For more information click here

Filed Under: Garden Help

Landscape garden ideas: Convert unused space into something unusual

01/01/2001 By

The normal practice for most gardeners who have to work with a lawn is to select a piece of land that opens and then planting plants and wait until the garden is full. However, there are other ways and better ways to garden and garden can actually be placed anywhere you want. It is interesting to work on some simple ideas landscaped garden that will help you transform your home into a small form of property located in the city.
Pool Patio
If you have a pool that is lying unused in your home, why not make use of landscaped garden simple ideas can help make better use of any unused and pace make it an excellent sunken courtyard which could also have the beautiful vegetation in the vicinity, to further improve the general appearance of the patio.
To make this idea landscaped garden a little further, why not also consider the creation of different levels, helping to improve small parcels of land so that even small spaces seem larger than they really are. And with a little imagination, you can easily develop their landscaping ideas garden as the steps of your pool as a guide to create different levels for the patio.
In addition to the levels, you can try different ideas garden landscaping in relation to the floor of the new deck that can even be made of red brick and tiles can also be used (vertical) to create barriers that keep garden soil intact. To top this bright idea landscaped garden, you can even use a fireplace (outdoor) in the pool that will be more appreciated when you plan a picnic in the night and beyond.
Even Japanese garden landscape, it gives ideas for gardening, especially if you have a fascination with everything Japanese. In fact, you can really go wild with ideas garden landscaping a garden of Japanese style, as there is plenty of room to play with colors, and because the ideas can be very flexible and unique.
However, even with the kind of landscape garden idea you can think of, because there is actually yet another topic worth developing and which is to make your garden attractive to birds visit. In fact, if you find the birds that visit your home and show an attraction to the fruits that could even think of planting a fruit tree for all the birds in large numbers, and will also enjoy the aroma given fruit trees . Also, you can beautify the landscape gardens also add the possibility of changes of birds in the tree, and even installing a fountain in your garden are other examples of good ideas imaginative landscaped garden.
If you like this article, you also love another article written by the author of this article fish pond pumps pond filter pumps .

Filed Under: Garden Help