Spring Gardening Tips
By admin | July 1, 2008
It’s April, the sun is shining, and there is this sudden feeling of panic in your body, its gardening season once again. Many people feel overwhelmed when gardening season hits, and they aren’t sure how best to get things going. Gardens are such complex, intricate plant and flower groups that it becomes a challenge to find the right way to start your spring garden off right. A few tips are below to help the average stressed out part time gardener be ready for the spring season. So take a deep breath, put down the miracle grow, and read on for insight into the wonderful world of gardening.
Make a plan that actually won’t require a greenhouse for this year. Some of us gardeners have a tendency to go over the top with our gardening plans. If you’re garden is to include trees, exotic plants, or science experiments you may want to reconsider. The hardest part of gardening is dedicating the time to plant, nourish, and tend to your garden on a daily basis. By making realistic plans you will save yourself hours of stress. For those over achievers that can’t help themselves, try over simplifying your garden plans for insured success.
Search magazines, and the internet for inspiration. Don’t be afraid to get ideas from others when it comes to gardening. There are many credible sources available online, and in books and magazines that offer many innovative ideas for gardens. Be sure to take advantage of such resources before planting your mixed garden of whatever you could find on sale at the local hardware store.
When in doubt, create a theme for your garden. There are many popular themes for gardens these days, including Asian, desert, and rock themes. Give your garden some personality and come up with a theme. Once a theme is chosen it should become much more clear as to what, and where, and how to plant certain things in your garden.
Plant something you can eat for instant gratification. Don’t be afraid to do it. Plant some mint, grow it, and put it in your ice tea. You’ll feel like a true American living off the land. If you’re daring, try planting some pepper seeds, those never tasted as fresh then from your own garden. When you put them in your kid’s fajita’s they’ll look at you with great admiration, if they don’t just tell them if they don’t save their lunch money everything is coming from the garden.
It’s now spring and gardeners are out of their burrows to plant, and watch their seeds grow. Be sure to follow these tips to allow for a pleasant gardening experience
Clark Covington is a professional writer who provides information on gardening for Home Decor 101 and also contributes to A1 Gourmet.
Tags: flower, garden, gardeners, gardening, home, plant, plantingStart Your Seeds Indoors For A Jump On Spring Planting
By admin | June 1, 2008
Spring is creeping in, hallelujah, and it’s time for us to start digging in the dirt. For all of you frustrated gardeners that live in colder climes I bet you can’t wait to start planting your garden beds with flowers, herbs and vegetables. Over the long winter you forget how much you miss those showy blooms and the riot of color a beautiful garden can supply.
If you live up north, there are a variety of ways to cope with the short growing season. Frost, which can happen as late as May or June, delays your plans for planting seeds. With the many quick growing plants this does not pose a problem but with vegetables and ornamentals a little head start is very helpful for healthy, lush plants.
Starting those plants indoors solves the problem of unwelcome frost. Getting an early start indoors will really make a difference for frost intolerant plants. Another benefit of starting seeds indoors is that as soon as the frost danger has passed, you can plant your seedlings into your garden giving you a good extra month of gorgeous blooming flowers.
When starting seeds indoors, you must simulate the same conditions as those planted outside. Your basics for all plant life, whether inside or out, are soil, water and light. The difference is that your indoor seedlings will need a little more attention and each plant will have its own considerations.
Always start with sterilized soil, this is essential. There is a fungus known as Damping-off-Disease that can wipe out your hard work in a matter of days. For some reason the propagation of plants indoors allows just the right conditions for the spores of these fungi to grow rampantly.
You can easily avoid this plight by using sterile soil or a sterile medium. You can use your own soil but it involves a lot of work and may not be worth the effort when commercial mediums are readily available. To use your own soil, you must sterilize it in the oven after sifting out the clumps and debris. Most commercial mediums sometimes referred to as “soil less” are usually a combination of peat moss and vermiculite. When using these mediums make sure it is clearly marked on the bag that they are sterilized.
After deciding the medium that you will use, there are a variety of containers available to start your seeds. I have used flats, peat pots, dixie cups and even egg cartons successfully. As with any plant, the size of the container used is determined by the plant you are growing and only experience can guide you here.
Seedlings require an enormous amount of light, either sunlight or artificial light or a combination of both. If they don’t get sufficient light the plants will get “leggy” or “spindly”, denying them a healthy start on the way to your garden. Even in a bright window with a lot of sun you may still need to use artificial light. If you do need to use artificial light, buy bulbs that are manufactured specifically for that purpose. Even though they are for the singular purpose of growing plants you still must keep them on for at least fourteen (14) hours a day. No artificial light can compensate for the intensity of direct sunlight.
The most important element of growing your seedlings indoors is watching the moisture. They must be kept moist but not soggy. The most advantageous way to water is from the bottom. Set your pots in a tray and pour the water into the tray allowing the pots to soak up all of the water. Never let your pots stand in water as this will cause them to rot. If you have your pots in a very sunny window place them in a tray with gravel. Keep the gravel “watered” just under the pots to keep them from drying out.
When you first start your seedlings cover them tightly with plastic wrap. This helps to maintain warmth and moisture, but be careful to uncover them when they begin to sprout so they don’t smother.
I know you may become anxious in January to start getting ready for planting season but it is important not to start you seeds indoors to early. If they outgrow your pots, you will have to thin them and transplant them to bigger containers. This is not the best scenario. For best results, you want to transplant them once outdoors as soon as they are large and healthy enough to survive. A good rule of thumb to start with is four to six weeks after sowing the seeds, making sure they have at least two sets of leaves. Right before transplanting your thriving seedlings, feed them with a very weak solution of a water soluble fertilizer to give them strength through the transplanting process.
Keep a diary on what has worked for you, since experience is always the best teacher. Experiment a little each year with one or two new flowers, herbs or vegetables, this will add variety and spice to your garden. Go to gardening forums on the internet and join the group, the experiences of others is always helpful and the spirit of community is enjoyable and satisfying.
Happy Planting!
Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She writes eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Gardening and Cooking. Please visit her websites at: http://www.GardeningLandscapingTips.com http://www.GardeningOutside.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com or contact her at mailto:mhanna@gardeninglandscapingtips.com
Tags: flower gardens, garden beds, gardeners, gardening, herbs, planting seeds, spring garden, vegetableMulch Your Spring Bulbs In The Fall For A Beautiful Spring Display
By admin | May 15, 2008
Flower bulbs need a good, long, winters sleep. Like some people we know, if they wake up before they are fully rested, they get kind of cranky, and then they don’t bloom well at all.
Actually what happens is during a mild winter, the soil stays too warm, and the bulbs begin to come out of dormancy early. They start to grow, and once the tips emerge above the soil line, they are subject to freezing if the temperatures dip back down below freezing. And that’s usually what happens. After the bulbs have emerged, they freeze and then don’t bloom at all, or if they do it’s a very sad display.
Another reason this happens is because the bulbs are not planted deep enough. They may have been deep enough when you planted them, but as the soil goes through the freezing and thawing process, the bulbs can actually work their way up in the ground.
One way to keep your flower bulbs sleeping longer, which will protect them from freezing, is to mulch the bed. In the fall just apply a 3-4″ layer of well composted mulch. This layer of mulch will do a couple of things. It will maintain a higher moisture content in the soil, which is good, as long as the soil isn’t too soggy. Well composted mulch also adds valuable organic matter to the planting bed. Organic matter makes a great natural fertilizer.
A 3-4″ layer of mulch also acts as an insulator. It will keep the soil from freezing for a while, which is good because you don’t want the bulbs going through a series of short cycles of freezing and thawing. Then when the temperatures drop below freezing and stay there for a while, the soil does eventually freeze. Then the mulch actually works in reverse and keeps the soil from thawing out too early. Keeping it in a frozen state is actually good because the bulbs remain dormant for a longer period of time.
When they finally do wake up it is spring time, and hopefully by the time they emerge from the ground the danger of a hard freeze is past and they will not be damaged. If you can keep them from freezing, they will flower beautifully. The extra organic matter will help to nourish the bulbs when they are done blooming, and the cycle starts all over again.
We also plant annual flowers in the same beds with our spring bulbs. By the time the danger of frost is past and it’s time to plant the annuals, the top of the bulbs have died back and are ready to be removed. The mulch that is added in the fall also helps to nourish the annual flowers, as well as improve the soil permanently.
Anytime you add well composted organic matter to your planting beds, you are bound to realize multiple benefits. The key words here are “well composted”. Fresh material is not good.
About The Author
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of the popular gardening book “Free Landscape Plants!” as well as the owner and author of the gardening website http://www.freeplants.com Visit the website and sign up for his free gardening newsletter, and learn how to start your own money making backyard nursery on 1/20 acre or less.
Tags: flowers, garden, gardener, gardeners, gardening, gardens, greenhouse, greenhouses, hothouse, planting, yard