Gardening Tips – Ways To Maintain A Healthy Garden!

November 14, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Achieving a healthy and good-looking garden is difficult but not an impossible task. There are some gardening tips that come quite handy in reaping a rich harvest. Following are some useful tips from the seasoned gardeners who may also have faced similar situations while moving up on the learning curve.

Every gardener faces unique problems in regard to the soil condition of the regions he is striving to succeed in. Coming to the gardeners rescue, the United States department of Agriculture (USDA) has prepared a Zone Map for Plant Hardness. It comprises of all regions divided into 11 different zones, 1 being the coldest to 11 being the warmest. Referring this zone map can help you a lot in finding out the best plants suiting the specific region and soil type.

The basic ingredients – Sunlight and Water

Plants require a regular diet of six to ten hours of sunlight daily for healthy growth. Your garden can produce wonders if it is supported by soil with rich and sandy loam. You can also consider feeding nutrients in the form of manure and compost to the soil bed of your garden. Adhering to the directional tips like planting the rows from north to south, and having complementary plants side-by-side will ensure good results. You must always use fresh and new seeds while sowing fresh plants. Watering the plants regularly will get rid of all forms of air gaps in the soil, thus, roots will be able to travel far down and wide ensuring a strong root system.

Gardening manuals suggest that bulbs require at least twelve weeks of low temperature for flowering, thus, you may consider refrigerating them before planting. The ideal time to dig-up perennials is fall. Once you have dug them up you must split the bulbs up to keep them fresh and productive. It is ideal to have four or more splits resulting in as many plants. It is also suggested to undertake such splitting procedure every three years to keep the bulbs productive.

Fall is also the time for over-wintering or vernalization of the bulbs to ensure speedy seed development. As per this practice, one should place the bulbs under the soil during fall and let them be there the entire winter. This will result in them blooming wonderfully during the spring season. Laying chicken wire over the planted bulbs and then putting mulch over it will help keeping the rodents away from digging out the bulbs.

Spring time is busy time for gardeners all over the world as it is during this season that most of the weeding, mulching, fertilizing, composting, pruning and planting is undertaken. Spring is an ideal time to begin grass seeds. You should also deadhead the blooms during springtime as it will help strengthening the plants and also control the self-seeding plants from venturing out into the other parts of the garden.

The above mentioned gardening tips will make sure that you create breathtaking views in your garden year after year.



Basic Gardening Tips

September 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Tracy Ballisager asked:


Are you looking out for ways to enhance the exteriors of your home? However, at the same time, do you feel a little lethargic? Well then, you are lucky. There are some basic gardening tips that can help you to add a decorative touch to any deck or patio area, plus add some greenery to it. Once you decide on decorating your garden and if you are a beginner at it, then you should understand some basic gardening tips, to make it a delightful pastime.

Gardener’s gain satisfaction when they see their creation, smell the blooms and sit in the fresh air. Just imagine spending a weekend in the yard that you have created with a lot of love. As a beginner, you need to understand and follow some basic gardening tips that can help you create a masterpiece. In the beginning, you have to go quite slow and start small, by using your imagination. Therefore, choose a task that does not take long to complete. Initially you have to start of by controlling the weeds and pests, but first enlarge the garden. There are some key considerations for successful gardening like-

Soil

Initially you should always start with good soil and you may have to purchase some testing tools from the local gardening shop to find out what your soil needs. If your present soil has clay or shale, then you need to treat the soil before planting. You might have to treat around 60% of the soil to make it fertile enough to start your gardening. You need to include peat moss, garden compost, planting mix, perlite and composted manure.

Water

The condition of the soil determines the amount of water it needs and if you treat the soil properly then you will need less frequent water. If you have decorated your garden with lawns, then you should water them every 2-3 days during the first week and then stop watering them every day during the next week, as too much water usually prevents oxygen from entering the soil space and this suffocates the roots. Shrubs and roots need frequent and deeper levels water ever 7-10 days. Once the plant settles into the ground, then it requires less watering. You should saturate the root thoroughly; water only after the soil dries up.

Fertilizers

Basic gardening tips suggest that you should not fertilize a dry plant. You should always mix the fertilizer with water and then gradually pour it over a plant. You should first water the plant before fertilizing as the fertilizer burns the roots of the dry plant. You should fertilize the plants every week or after every third watering session. Perennials should be fed late in April or through August.

Pesticide

After planting, you should keep the plant pesticide free. Good quality pesticide can be made in a jar, by combining 1-teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty bottle that has a spray nozzle attached, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture with 1 cup of water and then you can use this solution every ten-days to avoid whiteflies, aphids, mites, scales and other pests.