Seven Gardening By the Yard Tips

If you have a tiny yard and would like a simple but well-maintained garden, you only need two things - determination and know-how. Here are some tips on how to keep your garden by the yard looking spruced up and glamorous.

1. Deadheading

Keep your border free from wilted flowers and dried leaves. Deadheading or removing dead flower heads will encourage the plants to produce more blooms for longer. Many perennials such as geraniums and dahlias, and some annuals benefit from having spent blooms removed

3. Pinch out tops.

Certain plants - especially foliage plants like Coleus - respond with a spurt of growth when their tops are pinched out. Pinching out makes the plant much bushier and so more blooms are produced. Fuchsias are prone to becoming leggy unless they are pinched out.

4. Fertilize lightly.

A minimal amount of fertilizer will further boost the growth of your vegetation. If you water your yard frequently, you have to fertilize it more regularly because of nutrient depletion. A fortnightly application of liquid fertilizer is sometimes more beneficial than granules as it is more readily absorbed by the leaves. Container plants will be considerably healthier with a half-strength solution of liquid fertilizer applied regularly.

5. Weed out.

This is one of the best ways to preserve the beauty of your garden by the yard. Remember, weeds compete with your plants for both nutrients and moisture. If the weeds are not close to seeding, leave them on the bed to rot down for mulch. If you must use a weedicide, try and get a wick applicator, rather than a spray. This will protect you plants from spray-drift.

6. Water them well

One good tip when it comes to watering your garden by the yard is to give it a thorough soaking once a week, making sure there is no run-off to cause erosion. Deep watering will encourage the growth of deeper roots that will be able to withstand dry spells weatherwise

7. Say no to chemicals

Chemicals are dangerous to humans and often kill the natural predators of the pest in your garden, so avoid them if possible. There are many organic alternatives that work almost as well.

With these simple tips, your garden by the yard will soon be the envy of your neighbors.

Picking the Right Gardening Tools

If you’re thinking about taking your gardening seriously and getting out

there every day to increase the attractiveness of your garden, then you

will want to get the right tools to help you in this. You might be tempted

to go out to the store and just buy the nearest things you see, but you’ll

be much happier if you put lots of thought into the styles and types of

tools you’re buying. There are styles designed just for gardening, and

you’ll be better off buying those.

You can find most of the tools you will need at your local gardening or

home improvement shop. Usually the employees will be simply thrilled to

assist you in finding the ideal tools. If you go to a shop that

specializes in gardening, you can usually get some advice in addition to

service. Gardening store employees are usually an untapped wealth of

wisdom, and they are how I learned almost all that I know about gardening

today.

If you are having a hard time finding the right tool or if you want to

save some money, you might try looking online for the supplies you need.

You’ll have to pay the shipping costs and wait an extra week or two, but

often if you buy more than one tool, the total savings will be worth it.

You should always buy from a reputable seller, though, and search around

beforehand for anything negative that people had to say about their buying

experience.

As far as basic digging tools go, you might already have all you’ll need.

There are several types that you should get though, for different specific

tasks. A round point shovel is good for digging holes for plants. A spade

is necessary for all the more intricate work. A garden fork you might not

use as much, but I have one in my tool shed and I’ve been thankful for it

on multiple occasions. Having these different varieties of digging tools

can help you to minimize the work you have to do. For example, if you try

digging a big hole with a little spade then you’ll end up rather tired.

The same goes if you are attempting to do more detailed work with a big

clumsy shovel.

A rake is an absolute necessity. You most likely already have one, but I’m

guessing it’s a lawn rake and not a garden rake. There is definitely a

difference, and if you try to use a lawn rake in a garden then you will

not be happy with the results. Same if you buy a grading or a contractor’s

rake. You’ll want to look for a bowhead rake. I’ve found these are the

best for gardening purposes. They will provide you the maximum control and

accuracy, so you don’t accidentally tear up your precious plants.

As far as hoes go, I don’t believe any gardener should have less than 3.

There are so many useful varieties on the market that I have a hard time

recommending just one, and that’s why I’ll tell you all the ones I usually

use. The one I use the most is the onion hoe, which is very lightweight

and ideal for small cultivations and weeding. The Warren hoe is a larger

model, with a pointed end. If you need to make a hole or dig out a pesky

weed, this is the one for you. There are several other varieties, but I

recommend starting with the ones I mentioned. As you progress in your

gardening savvy, you will find the need for more types.

Most people believe that gardening just consists of a simple spade. But

there are many, many tools with many more variations that you will use in

your gardening career. Usually you can start with just a few different

tools, but you’ll always find that you can use more varieties for special

situations. It’s just a matter of recognizing when one tool could be more

efficient than another.

Preparing Healthy Soil

If you’re getting ready to go on a new garden venture, you need to prepare

your soil to ideally house your plants. The best thing you can do in the

soil preparation process is to reach the perfect mixture of sand, silt,

and clay. Preferably there would be 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt, and

20 percent clay. There are several tests used by experienced gardeners to

tell whether the soil has a good composition. First you can compress it in

your hand. If it doesn’t hold its shape and crumbles without any outside

force, your sand ratio is probably a little high. If you poke the

compressed ball with your finger and it doesn’t fall apart easily, your

soil contains too much clay.

If you’re still not sure about the content of your soil, you can separate

each ingredient by using this simple method. Put a cup or two of dirt into

a jar of water. Shake the water up until the soil is suspended, then let

it set until you see it separate into 3 separate layers. The top layer is

clay, the next is silt, and on the bottom is sand. You should be able to

judge the presence of each component within your dirt, and act accordingly.

After you’ve analyzed the content of your soil, if you decide that it is

low on a certain ingredient then you should definitely do something to fix

it. If dealing with too much silt or sand, it’s best to add some peat moss

or compost. If you’ve got too much clay, add a mixture of peat moss and

sand. The peat moss, when moistens, helps for the new ingredient to

infiltrate the mixture better. If you can’t seem to manage to attain a

proper mixture, just head down to your local gardening store. You should

be able to find some kind of product to aid you.

The water content of the soil is another important thing to consider when

preparing for your garden. If your garden is at the bottom of an incline,

it is most likely going to absorb too much water and drown out the plants.

If this is the case, you should probably elevate your garden a few inches

(4 or 5) over the rest of the ground. This will allow for more drainage

and less saturation.

Adding nutrients to your soil is also a vital part of the process, as most

urban soils have little to no nutrients already in them naturally. One to

two weeks prior to planting, you should add a good amount of fertilizer to

your garden. Mix it in really well and let it sit for a while. Once you

have done this, your soil will be completely ready for whatever seeds you

may plant in it.

Once your seeds are planted, you still want to pay attention to the soil.

The first few weeks, the seeds are desperately using up all the nutrients

around them to sprout into a real plant. If they run out of food, how are

they supposed to grow? About a week after planting, you should add the

same amount of fertilizer that you added before. After this you should

continue to use fertilizer, but not as often. If you add a tiny bit every

couple of weeks, that should be plenty to keep your garden thriving.

Basically, the entire process of soil care can be compressed into just

several steps… ensure the makeup of the soil is satisfactory, make sure

you have proper drainage in your garden, add fertilizer before and after

planting, then add fertilizer regularly after that. Follow these simple

steps, and you’ll have a plethora of healthy plants in no time. And if you

need any more details on an individual step, just go to your local nursery

and enquire there. Most of the employees will be more than happy to give

New Web Site

Just a wee post to let you know I've got a new site Learn Guitar 365.

How to Do Indoor Gardening

Plants are just as popular as furniture when one is deciding on furniture and soft furnishings.

Aside from the aesthetic value plants provide your home with, there are also health benefits - grade school science class tells us that plants cleanse the air through utilizing the carbon dioxide and producing more oxygen. Here is some important information on how to care for your indoor plants to gain the optimum health and aesthetic benefits.

Lighting

Most indoor plants need good lighting. You can provide this through natural lighting in the room of your choice or there must be electric lighting. Darker leaved plants usually don't need as much light as others.

Here are the varieties of plants (usually those that only require medium to low light) that are known to be suitable for indoor gardening:

a. Philodendrons

b. Boston ferns

c. African violets

d. Cyclamens

e. Creeping Fig

Watering

A common mistake most people make in indoor gardening is they tend to over-water the plants, which may lead to rotting roots. Make sure to research the type of plant you have, because each kind of plant varies on their watering needs.

Potting

Choose good quality and attractive container for your indoor plants. Make sure that the pot is clean before placing your new plant into it to prevent infection and to encourage healthy growth.

Humidity

In indoor gardening, humidity is a big issue. The amount of moisture in the air has effect on the growth of the plants. During mornings, you could spray the plants with water for their much-needed moisture. Make sure the leaves don't get covered in dust.

Fertilization

Just like watering, fertilizing depends on the type of plant. If you have managed to supply your indoor garden with the right amount of light, water and humidity, fertilization may not need much attention. A good indoor fertilizer can be bought from most home depot or hardware stores. Orchids need the special fertilizer available.

Installing a Drip Irrigation System

If you’re looking for ways to keep your garden watered without wasting too

much time and money, you’ve probably gone through a lot of options in your

mind. Maybe you’ve considered a sprinkler, a hose, or a good old-fashioned

watering can. All of these methods might be convenient, but most of the

time you will end up wasting water on plants that don’t need any more. If

you live in a drought stricken area like I do, you know that every bit of

water counts. I ended up getting a drip irrigation system. I haven’t

regretted this decision at all.

When you install a drip irrigation system, you can choose one of two

varieties: above ground and below ground. The above ground version drips

small amounts of water continuously onto the ground, and allows it to soak

in. It is all regulated from a pressure controller, which ensures that the

water just comes out at a drip instead of a spray or a stream. These

pressure regulators are very inexpensive. The whole drip system can be set

up with a pressure regulator and a garden hose with holes poked in it

(although it is ideal for you to get a pipe designed for this type of use,

I’ve found that the hose method works acceptably).

The underground system is a bit more of a pain to install and maintain.

But if you’re really into the aesthetic aspect of your garden and don’t

want any visible watering system, then you might consider it worth it.

It’s essentially the same as the above ground version, only a small trench

is dug for the hose or pipe prior to any planting. This allows the water

direct access to the roots for the most watering efficiency. Plus, you can

impress your neighbors by having a beautiful garden without ever going

outside to water it! They’ll be baffled.

To choose between the two systems, you need to take several things into

account. Do you have the same plant layout year round? If it is always

changing, you probably won’t want to bury your hose. It can be a pain to

dig it up and re-align it with all your new plants every year or so. Even

if your plant layout never changes, you need to consider how much you

really mind seeing a hose in your garden. If it really bothers you to the

extent that you’re willing to work for a few hours to get rid of it, then

by all means bury it. But otherwise I would suggest staying above ground

if for nothing else than the convenience of repairing and rearranging.

One of the main advantages of the drip irrigation system is its

efficiency. Instead of spraying large amounts of water willy-nilly like a

hose does, it makes the most of your precious water by putting it exactly

where it is needed. It can also provide your garden with constant

watering, instead of just having to go thirsty whenever you’re not around

to water it.

So if you’re looking for an easy, cheap, convenient, and efficient

alternative watering method, you should go out to the gardening store

today and purchase the necessary items to install a drip irrigation

system. I think you’ll be surprised at how much easier it is to maintain a

garden after you have it.

Mulching for Free

I’m sure that if you are reading this, you have used some form of mulch during your gardening career. However, you probably didn’t know that there are many other options for organic mulching that you can explore. These days, many gardeners are discovering new sources of free mulch that has been there all along; an untapped resource. These include clippings from a lawn, or woody prunings from other plants in your yard. You will be surprised by how beneficial all these things can be, and how often the opportunity arises to use them.

Many gardeners have taken to spreading out their excess grass clippings across the rest of their yard. You may think this will look tacky, with big piles of grass just sitting in your yard as if you were too lazy to rake them up. However, if you spread them out enough then you won’t even be able to tell that there is an excess amount. Leaving the extra grass on the yard acts as a sort of mulch by preventing evaporation and weed growth. With this extra water, you won’t have to water nearly as much to keep your grass green. When I started leaving my grass clippings, I had to adjust the frequency of my sprinkler system because I was worried my yard was getting too much water!

If your garden is in more need of mulching than your yard, it is not unheard of to rake up all the grass and transport it to your garden. By making a small layer around the vicinity of the plant, you’ll apply all the same benefits from leaving it in your yard. My yard is rather green on its own, but I often have trouble with my plants staying green and healthy. So, rather than leave the grass clipping in my yard, I move them all around my plants. It is just a matter of choosing what your highest mulching priority is.

Sometimes, our pruning activities will lead us to have an amazing amount of branches and twigs. If this is the case, you should consider renting a wood chipper to put all of those branches to use. After one day of intense pruning, you would be surprised at just how many branches you end up with. Rather than throw these away, you can turn them into a huge amount of mulch for your plants. However, if your pruning has not left you with that big of an amount, you should bundle it all up and save it to add onto the next batch. This is because the chipping machines can be slightly expensive to rent, and you want it to be absolutely worth it!

Over time, all organic mulches need to be replenished. This is because they will naturally decompose in the conditions of your yard. Usually you can tell for yourself just by looking at it, but sometimes it can look perfectly regular but still have problems. If you start to notice any poor plant growth whatsoever, you should replace your mulch. Always keep in mind that during the process of decomposition, your mulch will use up the valuable nitrogen in the soil. Without this, the plants will be missing a key nutrient. There are several types of fertilizers available on the market that are specifically designed to deal with this problem.

The use of mulches in the yard and garden is something everyone should try. Not only can it save lots of time by reducing the amount of garbage you have to transport out, but it increases the healthiness and integrity of your plants by putting that so called garbage to good use. So if you think you would be able to save a good amount of branches and twigs for chipping, or if you think that you are ready to stop raking up all your grass clippings, then I think that mulching is for you.

EASY TIPS ON HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR PLANTS

Many people worry a lot when it comes to caring for their plants. When talking about house plants, there is no need to worry. There are just a few things you need to consider.

1. Watering

Overwatering kills most houseplants. Looks can be deceptive, so to see if your soil is dry enough to water, try the finger test. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, don't water it.

2. Feeding

Foliage plants usually have high nitrogen needs, while flowering plants, K2O is needed. Slow release fertilizers can be mixed with the compost. However, certain plants like cacti and orchids need special fertilizer. Feed plants during their most active growth period.

3. Lighting

Plants like Sanseveria and Aspidistra require no sun. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Check the label to see what your plant needs.

4. Temperature

Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm conditions, don't put it near an air conditioner in the summer.

5. Humidity

Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. Grouping plants together often creates a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the temperature.

6. Re-potting

Some plants require re-potting for optimum growth but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their roots system may be small enough that they don't require re-potting. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot. Sometimes the roots will come out of the pot. You should either cut them off or re-pot the plant.

You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you'll reap the benefits. Indoor plants not only add to the beauty of your décor, but also give much pleasure to the indoor gardener.

Care of the Flower Garden

Knowing how to care for your flower garden can make a big difference in the look and over-all health of your plants. Here are some simple hints to make your garden bloom with health

1. The essentials must always be given major consideration.

Your flower garden must have an adequate supply of water, sunlight, and fertile soil. Any lack of these basic necessities will greatly affect the health of plants. Water the flower garden more frequently during dry spells.

When planting bulbs, make sure they go at the correct depth. When planting out shrubs and perennials, make sure that you don't heap soil or mulch up around the stem. If you do, water will drain off instead of sinking in, and the stem could develop rot through overheating.

2. Mix and match perennials with annuals.

Perennial flower bulbs need not to be replanted since they grow and bloom for several years while annuals grow and bloom for only one season. Mixing a few perennials with annuals ensures that you will always have blooms coming on.

3. Deadhead to encourage more blossoms.

Deadheading is simply snipping off the flower head after it wilts. This will make the plant produce more flowers. Just make sure that you don't discard the deadhead on the garden or mildew and other plant disease will attack your plants.

4. Know the good from the bad bugs.

Most garden insects do more good than harm. Butterflies, beetles and bees are known pollinators. They fertilize plants through unintentional transfer of pollen from one plant to another. 80% of flowering plants rely on insects for survival.

Sowbugs and dung beetles together with fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms are necessary to help in the decomposition of dead plant material, thus enriching the soil and making more nutrients available to growing plants.

Other insects like lacewings and dragonflies are natural predators of those insects that do the real damage, like aphis.

An occasional application of liquid fertilizer when plants are flowering will keep them blooming for longer.

Always prune any dead or damaged branches. Fuchsias are particularly prone to snapping when you brush against them. The broken branch can be potted up to give you a new plant, so it won't be wasted.

Modern Gardening Equipment

The types and quality of equipment you use to take care of your plants not only have an effect on your plants' health, but your own as well.

Defective tools could cause damage to your plants, but it is worse if they are so uncomfortable to use that they give you blisters or a bad back. To avoid this, look for the gardening equipment that will do the best job for your type of gardening. It must have the right amount of power to be energy efficient while also being able to do the job without causing you any more strain than necessary.

Here is a review of gardening equipment from the gardening experts themselves.

1. Garden Shredders

JCB SS2400 received five stars out of five from the gardening equipment reviewers from recommendedbuys.co.uk. It has a 2400 watt motor and comes with a silent gear crushing system. It is one promising tool to improve and hasten your shredding activity.

Ryobi ESR - 2240 Electric Shredder is an easy to assemble garden shredder suitable for prunings up to 40mm. It comes with built-in wheels and a plunger for increased portability.

2. Hedge Trimmer

Bosch AHS42-16 Electric Hedge Trimmer also received five stars out of five rating from the gardening equipment reviewers from recommendedbuys.co.uk. It has 420 watt output.

3. Cultivators

Mantis Tiller Cultivator comes with patented tines to aid in cutting smoothly through hard, compacted soil. It is perfect for preparing vegetable plots, flower beds, etc. It also helps in thatching, aerating and cleaning moss. It also comes with a free border edger.

4. Lawnmowers

Brill 78370 Luxus Push Reel Mower rated 4.5 out of 5 stars Tools-hills.com customers. It has a large top cover that protects shrubs and overhanging flowers.

American Lawnmower Deluxe Light Reel Mower 1815-16 received 4.5 stars out of 5 from Epinions.com buyers. A push-mower, it does not cause pollution, but is not suitable for tall grass.

5. Leaf Sweeper

Agri-fab 26 Push Leaf Sweeper is for smaller lawns and is available with 200 litre collector. It also comes with an infinite height adjustment feature.

Choosing a Garden that is Perfect for You

If you're thinking about starting a garden, the first thing you need to

consider is what type of garden you will have. There are many different

choices and often it can be hard to pick just one, but hopefully you can

narrow it down. But by narrowing it down, you'll make the gardening

experience easier on yourself and the plants. If all your plants are

similar, then it shouldn't be very hard to care for them all. So here are

some of the main garden ideas for you to choose from.

If you're just looking for something to look nice in your yard, you'll

want a flower garden. These are usually filled with perennial flower.

Perennial flowers are flowers which stay healthy year-round. They're

basically weeds because of their hardiness, only nice looking. Different

areas and climates have different flowers which are considered perennials.

If you do a quick internet search for your area, you can probably find a

list of flowers that will bring your flower garden to life. These usually

only require work in the planting stage - after that, the flower take care

of themselves. The only downside to this is that you don't have any

product to show for it.

Another choice for your garden is to have a vegetable garden. These

usually require a little more work and research than a flower garden, but

can be much more rewarding. No matter what time of the year it is, you can

usually find one vegetable that is still prospering. That way you can have

your garden be giving you produce almost every day of the year! When

starting a vegetable garden, you should build it with the thought in mind

that you will be adding more types of veggies in later. This will help

your expandability. Once all your current crops are out of season, you

won't be stuck with almost nowhere to put the new crops. A vegetable

garden is ideal for someone who wants some produce, but doesn't want to

devote every waking hour to perfecting their garden (see below.)

One of the more difficult types of gardens to manage is a fruit garden.

It's definitely the most high-maintenance. When growing fruits, many more

pests will be attracted due to the sweetness. You not only have to deal

with having just the right dirt and fertilizer, you have to deal with

choosing a pesticide that won't kill whoever eats the fruits. Your fruit

garden will probably not produce year-round. The soil needs to be just

right for the plants to grow, and putting in another crop during its

off-season could be disastrous to its growth process. If you're willing to

put lots of work into maintaining a garden, then a fruit garden could be a

good choice for you.

So now that I've outlined some of the main garden types that people

choose, I hope you can make a good decision. Basically, the garden type

comes down to what kind of product you want, and how much work you want to

put into it. If you're looking for no product with no work, go with a

flower garden. If you want lots of delicious product, but you are willing

to spend hours in your garden each day, then go for a fruit garden. Just

make sure you don't get into something you can't handle!

Optimizing Your Garden for Drought or Water Conservation

Living in Colorado and being a gardener has been rather stressful in the


past few years, as this state has been undergoing a rather severe drought.


The city is imposing watering restrictions which are not giving enough


water to lawns and plants. I’ve had to renovate my garden to make it more


water efficient. Now, because of the techniques I’ve employed, I’m the


only one in my neighborhood with a garden that isn’t completely brown. So


if you live in an area that is going through a drought or if you just want


to save water, I suggest you use some of these techniques as well.





First, I took out all my plants. The soil I was using didn’t retain water


very well, so I had to water about twice as much as necessary in order to


get it to actually absorb into the roots. If you have this same problem,


you can fix it by loading the soil up with lots of compost. This not only


prevents water from escaping, but encourages the plant’s roots to be


healthy and able to survive more.





Once I was done optimizing the soil for my new low water consumption plan,


I was ready to replace all my plants. I decided that the placement of all


my plants would reflect the amount of water necessary to keep them alive.


All the plants that don’t require much water I placed in on one side of my


garden, and then just progressed in the amount of required water to the


other side of the garden. As a result of my new arrangement, I don’t have


to waste water on plants that don’t need it as much.





The installation of a drip irrigation system was another move on my part


that reduced the amount of water I needed to fully water my garden. The


great thing about these systems is that they constantly drip into your


plants, so that every single drop is absorbed. With traditional watering


systems, usually the roots get too overwhelmed with the sheer amount of


water in the soil. Thus, lots just seeps right past. This is all taken


care of with the drip system.





If you still seem to need more water than you can supply to your garden,


you might consider which plants you could replace with less water


dependent plants. If you want a good shrub that doesn’t use up more than


its share of water, look for Heavenly Bamboo. It is not only tolerant of


droughts, but looks rather decorative in any garden. Herbs such as


rosemary are useful in preparing meals, and are rarely thirsty.





If you’re trying to find flowers that will still be lush and beautiful


despite the lower amounts of water, look for penstemon varieties like


Garnet, Apple Blossom, Moonbeam, and Midnight. You can attract


hummingbirds and butterflies with varieties like Cosmos and Yarrow. The


best part about all these plants is that they don’t look rugged and


withstanding, but they sure are. Your neighbors wont be saying “Look at


them, they downgraded their plants just to withstand the drought. What


chumps!” Instead they will be marveling over how you keep your flowers so


beautiful in the midst of the watering regulations.





One of my favorite drought resistant plants is the Lavender plant. I could


go on for pages about it. A large group of Lavender plants looks


unbelievably gorgeous in your garden, and hardly requires any water to


flourish. Pineapple sage is another personal favorite. It is a 2+ foot


shrub that smells strangely of pineapple. It’s another major attracter of


hummingbirds, and the leaves are also useful to add taste to drinks.





So if you are in the position I was, and you’re dealing with a drought and


perhaps watering regulations, I suggest you try some of the things I’ve


mentioned. Even if you’re just trying to conserve water or be generally


more efficient with it, I think you’ll still be able to benefit.