Category Garden

Many gardeners are gardening in raised beds. Easier on the back and the ability to improve the raised garden bed soil for better growing are a few of the considerations.The cost to build raised garden beds can be expensive, but they do not need to be. That is where pallets can come to the rescue.Over at the Mom It Forward blog they have a tutorial on building a raised garden out of pallets.

One of the most difficult gardening tasks is managing the water your plants receive. You can easily and cheaply provide the “perfect” mix of soil and water to your plants by taking advantage of diapers amazing absorbency hidden in water absorbing gels.Filling a diaper with water to its capacity and mixing with fresh soil produces one of the best potting mixes available, full of water and oxygen and nutrients, everything a healthy plant needs.

Irrespective of whether you are a beginner or a guru in growing vegetables, making mistakes is inevitable. You might not repeat the old mistakes, but you’ll always commit new ones each and every year. I do!However, the most important thing is to learn and move on. Over the years, in my pursuit of “learning to grow” perfectly, I’ve made many mistakes.

Let me ask… Would you like to have a hummingbird garden? Do you love to watch hummingbirds feeding in a frenzy? Would you like to learn How To attract more of them to your garden?Find out how you can make your backyard become a hummingbird hangout.Start With A Hummingbird Garden PlanIn order to attract hummingbirds to your backyard you need to offer them some hummingbird hospitality.

Let’s face it. Garden mulch plays a significant role in the vegetable garden. But what mulch should you use in the garden?Before narrowing down the type of mulch to use, let’s understand the difference between two terms that confuses many gardeners: Mulch and Compost.For many gardeners differentiating between compost and mulch becomes a blurry area.

The sea holly, Eryngium maritimum, dresses the garden with deeper purple/blue flowers set off by colored bracts. It is a really striking plant for the foreground, if not particularly comfortable to work near.Sometimes called blue thistle, a colorful member of the carrot family. The plants are usually branched, and each stem is tipped with oblong flower heads in varying shades of violet, purple and blue.

Do you know that?… Acid soil determined with a soil test, exhibit differences in texture (or physical condition) and in fertility than neutral or alkaline soil.The degree of acidity or alkalinity has an important bearing on the health of many plants.Acids and alkalis are opposite and if mixed together tend to neutralize each other A combination may be neither acid nor alkaline, but neutral.

We’ve written about when to lime your lawn, and applying it in the garden and landscape as well. The use of lime for soil is a subject many homeowners write off as – unimportant. We’ll continue to bang the drum.What Is Lime Used For?Some garden experts suggest that lime is a soil amendment. Others claim that it is a soil conditioner.

One way to extend the growing season is with a greenhouse or at least some way to protect the garden from seasonal changes. Here’s one of my favorites. In the fall a small covering over a raised bed can help crops continue to produce. In the spring time, a cover can help you get a jump on the growing season.

The use of plastic sheeting or mulch in the garden proves to be a useful tool for some garden crops.Many crops do well with the support of plastic sheeting and plastic mulch. These innovative products have many uses in the garden.In the article we will explore:The advantages and disadvantages plastic mulch sheeting provideThe many different types of polyethylene sheeting usedHow do you use the mulch in the gardenThe Pros and the Cons plastic sheeting offersLet’s get started!

Cold frames help protect rooted cuttings and tender plants in colder months acting as a passive solar energy collector and reservoir.During the day, the sun’s heats up soil and air; at night, the heat absorbed by the soil radiates out, keeping the plants warm.Cold frames have others uses year round. In the spring, they make an ideal environment for hardening off annual flower and vegetable seedlings started indoors.

Boron is a mineral salt with acidic properties. It is naturally occurring, and it is the only ingredient in Borax. This product has been around for ages, but borax uses go beyond its excellent reputation as an all natural cleaner.Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate), also known as sodium borate, disodium tetraborate, or sodium tetraborate, makes a good laundry booster, and it has powerful, natural disinfectant properties.

“But you have such wonderful soil” is the envious complaint of the novice gardener to the seasoned landscape and garden veteran.With this, the beginner discounts the foresight, skill and work that went into developing that “wonderful” soil. Chances are it was very poor in the beginning, probably no better than the soil the novice now has.

Having fresh herbs right outside the door takes fresh to a whole new level.The vertical herb planter has removable shelves and is easy to build. Use bagged potting soil or a raised bed garden soil.Making A “Spicy” Tiered Herb Garden: TutorialHave you ever wanted to have fresh herbs for cooking and wished you could walk out out the back door to get them?

Starting seeds and cuttings is a great way to “grow” your plants or plant collection with minimal expense.One way to reduce transplant shock is to start plants in peat pots or soil blocks which can be planted directly in the ground.You can make your own biodegradable pots using newspaper. Click on the link below for the tutorial and get planting!

Sprouts like alfalfa, fenugreek, radish, broccoli, mung beans, onion, cabbage, mustard seeds, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils, pea sprouts and many others are superfoods.They hold all the “power” of a mature plant, wrapped into raw sprouts. And for you to harness that power, learning how to grow mung bean sprouts in a jar would be necessary.

One of the advantages of drip irrigation is that moisture at delivered to the roots, instead of watering overhead which can cause fungus issues and other problems.There are many products on the market, but this simple soda bottle drip feeder works well and comes from recycled materials. Click on the link below for more…JOIN Our FREE Plant Care NewsletterBy entering your email address you agree to receive a daily email newsletter from Plant Care Today.

Pallets are being used for all kinds of things these days indoors and out.Mavis from onehundreddollarsamonth.com shows how she put together a a pallet garden.She answers the question and shows you with images what many who look at pallet projects what to know.How do you know if a pallet is usable for the garden?

The Alaska Grow Bucket is a Sub Irrigated Planter (SIP) System. Great for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and other vegetables.A wonderful solution for people who assume they don’t have enough room to garden or it is just too time consuming.With little space required, a city rooftop, apartment balcony, patio, deck, porch or backyard greenhouse can all grow veggies.

People are always asking what planting zone they live in. The new updated 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map will help you determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.Now the map is an interactive GIS-based map, for broadband Internet connections.