Some individuals have pets and small children and feel more comfortable knowing that the products that they are using on their planters and lawn are all natural, so that they are less likely to be harmful to the ones that they love. There are some simple organic gardening tips that can help to make the transition from traditional gardening to organic gardening. Organic Gardening Tips Steps One organic gardening tip is to start to make a pile of organic gardening compost. This compost can be used to help to fertilize the lawn or garden throughout the year. The compost pile can be started through the use of grass clippings or raked leaves. These should be placed into a pile in a remote area of the yard so that they can begin to decompose. As they decompose they create rich fertile soil that can be used to fertilize the soil in planters or on the lawn. This pile can be continued throughout the year by adding to it whenever the lawn is cut or leaves are raked, in addition to adding organic materials from the household, such as the peels of fruits and cuttings of vegetables, since all will add to the vitamins and minerals in the compost pile as it decomposes. In addition to compost, another organic gardening tip is to check the types of pesticides that are used on the garden to make sure that synthetic materials are not used which are harmful to humans, pets and the environment. There are organic pesticides that can be found in gardening shops and nurseries which are safe to use if pesticides are needed. However, often pesticides can be avoided if insects that are good for gardens and animals that are helpful are attracted to the garden so that the harmful insects can be eaten. There are certain plants that can be planted in the midst of the other gardening plants which can help with this issue. Also, the plants in the garden should not be planted in rows because rows are very attractive to harmful insects and animals, making them just like a landing strip for good eating for such creatures. Another organic gardening tip is if a fertilizer is needed beyond the compost pile, there are some non-synthetic, slow release fertilizers that are formatted to add the proper nutrients back into the soil. The soil should be tested so that the right type of fertilizer is bought to add to the garden, making sure that it is good for the particular plants in the garden as well.
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When you first set out to grow a vegetable garden, it can seem like a daunting task. But the editors of the popular series of for dummies books are here to help. Authors Charlie Nardozzi and the National Gardening Association (U.S.) guide you through your first vegetable garden with Vegetable Gardening for Dummies. Planning Your Garden Vegetable Gardening for Dummies starts out helping the first time gardener to plan his or her garden. Planning is the key in nearly every home-improvement project, and planting a garden is no exception. From selecting a location for your garden to deciding on which vegetables to plant, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies guides you through the planning stages with ease. It is easy to follow with practical advice (such as which plants need more sun, and which vegetables should not be grown next to each other). They also tackle pest prevention, garden design, and how to work with the climate you live in rather than against it. What Vegetables to Grow Vegetable Gardening for Dummies understands that even with the best plan, you might not have a garden that produces anything anyone would want to eat. (and isnt that the goal of the garden to begin with?) So the next section of Vegetable Gardening for Dummies guides you through the most popular and easy to grow vegetables for the new gardener. Tomatoes are first up, as they are often the most popular vegetable for backyard gardeners. Varieties, growing tips, pests, and recipes are all included. Vegetable Gardening for Dummies also covers growing other popular garden vegetables, such as peppers, eggplants, carrots, potatoes, peas, and beans. Vine vegetables, corn, herbs, and easy to grow fruits are also included. The Basics of Gardening Possibly the most helpful chapters of Vegetable Gardening for Dummies are in the final third, which covers the basics of gardening. There is a chapter which outlines how to actually plant your vegetables (whether they are seeds or seedlings) and care for them as they start to grow. Soil types and fertilizers are also covered, as is directions for making your own compost. Related Post: How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely 4 Ways To Reduce Traffic Noise In Your Yard The best tools for you garden and weed and pest control each have their own chapters as well. Finally, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies covers the basics of maintaining your garden so that you can enjoy the vegetables you have grown. Each section is easy to understand, and has tips that will help out anyone, whether they are starting their first garden or have been gardening for years. Vegetable Gardening for Dummies is a book that no backyard gardener should be without. So, you’re looking to get started in container gardening, but you don’t know what to grow? We can help! Here is a list of five edible plants that grow well in containers. 1. Herbs If you don’t have much experience with container gardening, herbs are hands-down the best place to start. With a little care and nurturing, you can keep a basil plant alive on your kitchen windowsill through a winter, and it is even easier to plant a container bed with several herbs at once to thrive through the summer months. I always start my herbs from seedlings. If you have an urn or windowbox, consider planting several varieties side-by-side. I keep basil, parsley, chives, tarragon, oregano, and thyme in mine. Find out what you use most! 2. Tomatoes Depending on how much space you have, you can opt for the right style of tomato plant for you. If you are limited in space, you can grow cherry tomatoes in baskets: they’re both decorative and tasty. Good varieties to try for that include Florida Basket Tomatoes and Anmore Dewdrop Tomatoes. If you have more space, you can upgrade to larger tomatoes in pots and planters of five gallons or more. Roma tomatoes grow very well in pots. Remember to stake and water well, and you can get a great harvest. Trellises in Container Gardens 3. Radishes Radishes can be a lot of fun to grow, especially with children, because they are very quick to grow and don’t need much space. You can plant them in a windowbox or a little planter and have a harvest in 3-4 weeks! Moisten the soil in a pot, plant radish seeds, and cover with 1/4 inch of soil. Cover the pot with plastic wrap until the seeds sprout. 3 weeks after that, your radishes will be ready to eat! 4. Lettuce Lettuce is a pretty plant, and works well as combination vegetable and ornamental container plant. I like to plant it in windowboxes, for a nice bit of greenery. They don’t need too much depth, but be sure to space the plants adequately. Following the instructions on the package should be fine. One advantage to lettuce is that you can find good partial shade varieties, which can help if you don’t get much direct sun. 5. Squash In my experience, summer squashes are a terrifically forgiving plant. You need a good-sized pot for container squash, but if you get a pot of around five gallons or more and try to keep them watered, you can get a fabulous crop from them. Keep in mind, squash plants (especially zucchini) like to spread out and fill space. You need to either prune them back or be prepared for crazy trailing leaves and vines. How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely Nearly any vegetable you can grow in the ground can be grown in a container, provided the container is big enough. These suggestions should help you get started, but feel free to experiment on your own and find what works best for you. Good luck! Managing small spaces for gardening always requires some ingenuity. When you are growing vegetables, and looking to fit large harvests into a smaller footprint, it becomes important to plan carefully and design your container garden to maximize your available space.
One way to get more from a small area is to grow vertically, rather than horizontally, by using poles and trellises in your container garden. Many vegetables are climbers by nature, and well suited to trellises or poles. Peas and beans fall into this category. You can buy bush varieties of peas or beans, but even the bush varieties will usually benefit from staking. The best yielding pea and bean plants tend to be the vining varieties, which can grow to 8-foot vines laden with pretty leaves and plump pods. Cucumbers and miniature pumpkins are other good vining plants that will appreciate a trellis. These heavier plants will often need a sturdier trellis than peas or beans, to support the weight of the vines and the vegetables themselves. You can also sometimes find vining varieties of other plants, such as eggplant and summer squashes. You can use some real creativity with trellising, especially in a container garden. If you wish to make effective use of a wall space, you can mount a simple inexpensive flat trellis on your wall and let beans or teas climb up it. The vines will climb to decorate your wall like ivy, with little flowers and bright leaves, and the produce will be easy to access. You can also buy freestanding trellises for placement around your patio. Bear in mind that if you plan to place a trellis in a container, the container must be large enough and have sufficient weight in the base to resist tipping over. Plan for a deep container, and be certain to place the trellis securely. Related Post: How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely One of the more dramatic trellises for placement in a container are pyramid trellises, which can be placed in the center of a large container. If you start with a container of 24 inches or more , you can plant a pyramid trellis in the center. By training beans up the plant and growing lower-profile plants such as herbs or salad greens around the trellis, you can maximize space for produce and make a dramatic statement. Note that trellises don’t need to be expensive. You can buy simple unframed trellises at your local lumberyard for well under $20, and you can build your own pyramid trellis by building a teepee of gardening stakes and winding rings of twine or fishing line around them. A little creativity and effort can turn raw materials into an attractive and functional trellis. Don’t be afraid to try unusual things in your container garden! An old ladder, leaned up against a wall, can make an attractive trellis. If you are using a shelf for your pots, try letting yoru peas climb the shelf itself. Old chairs, railings, or any piece of furniture can be used as a support for vining plants. The only limit is your creativity! Having a your own vegetable garden can be good for a variety of reasons. Working in the garden can be a great way to bond with your family, especially if you have little kids. It can also help you save money on the produce you would normally have to buy in a store.
It’s also just a great way to relax and enjoy the process of growing something right from the ground. Having a successful garden all depends on the style you choose and how you care for it. There are a few popular styles of vegetable gardens, most common in backyards. No one style is any better than the others, but one might be more convenient or aesthetically pleasing for your garden space. Depending on what you want to grow and how your backyard space is laid out, you can pick the style that’s right for you. Also Read: How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely Planting seeds straight in the ground is the easy, tried and true way to plant a garden. Creating rows of the plant of your choice and watering at least twice daily is simple and effective. As long as your soil is rich and nutritious, you shouldn’t have a problem getting simple plants like squash, carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes to grow. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of creating designated planters for each plant, growing from the ground is easy. Raised vegetable gardens are usually made up of box planters raised up from the ground. Typically made out of wood and formed into square or rectangle shapes, the planters are filled with fresh soil for gardening. You can plant virtually any type of seed in the planter boxes, vegetables and flowers alike. The plants will require consistent watering and sunlight. Depending on how much space you have, you could use one large planter for all of your seeds or create several boxes for different plants. It all depends on how much space you have and how much you want to grow. Fencing in your garden is just one way to keep the area looking neat and tidy. You can have a wire or wood fence, or even create a lattice awning to let vines grow up around your head. When you have a designated area for your vegetable garden, you can plant any way you want. You can choose between using planters, growing in the ground, or a mixture of both. Either way, everything will be contained in the fenced off area. Depending on where your home is situated, noise from traffic could be problematic, especially while attempting to enjoy your yard. Fortunately, you can use landscaping to your advantage to drown out some of the noise of traffic. Here are some tips for not only reducing noise, but also adding privacy to your yard.
Add Screens The right screens in your yard can help to protect it from prying eyes, but also had some level of noise reduction. Screens composed of wood panels or lattice that are anchored by posts in the ground can help set visual boundaries for your yard. When you are entertaining guests, you do not have to worry about the visuals from traffic interfering with the vibe you want to create. Install a Water Feature One of the best ways to reduce yard noise is to install a water feature. Water features not only help with drowning out noise, but they also help to create a serene environment. If you spend a great deal of time in your yard, this could be extremely beneficial. The addition of a water feature does not have to be as complicated as building a mini-rainfall in your yard. A simple garden fountain is sufficient. When shopping for the right fountain, it is important to keep in mind that when the water has to fall from a large distance, it can be disturbing. Look for a garden water fountain for sale that offers the ability to adjust the recirculating pump so that you can make adjustments to find the right level for your yard. Add Greenery Greenery does more than just dull the noise from outside your yard, but it also boosts your garden’s appearance. Not all greenery is effective in blocking sounds. For instance, the leaves of an evergreen work well in shielding sound. Work with a landscaper to find the right greenery for your yard. Reduce Hard Surfaces Hard surfaces in the yard, such as concrete patio, can help to amplify the noise from the traffic. If it is in your budget, consider replacing hard surfaces with softer materials. For instance, you could have the patio removed and just rely on the grass lawn. Smaller steps could be simply covering hard patio furniture with an upholstery covering. There are many other ways that you can reduce the noise from traffic in your yard. Consult with your landscaper to find out which methods work best. Dilute the pesticide from outdoor Don't take a risk by mixing the pesticide from interior of your home. Get outdoor with good air ventilation to mix up the pesticide. Indoor has very low air circulation, and there is a chance of the accumulation of pesticides inside the house. This may have some serious effect on people living inside. Use safety accessories Use safety accessories like goggles and masks while mixing up the pesticide and spraying it in fields. Open exposure to chemical pesticides may cause loss of vision, breathing problems and skin irritations. Give importance to safety of your health. Keep people and animals away It is important to keep animals and people away from the spraying field. It secures them from open exposure to pesticides that may loss vision loss, skin irritations and breathing difficulties. Always select least toxic pesticides It is better to select least toxic pesticides that have lesser side effects. High toxic pesticides may cause serious problem to the population living near the field and to the people that consumes these farm products. Clean every equipment after use It is very important clear all chemicals from the equipment as soon as possible. Make sure that the rinsate is not passing to the water sources nearby. Make sure that you don't spray herbicides in the same container used to spray chemical pesticides as this would eliminate the effects of herbicides. Design your garden landscape with the help of handy landscaping service. |
AuthorI'm Kenneth Evans. I've been taking care of lawns since I was eight –that was over 40 years ago. Archives
August 2020
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