Cay Gardening

Here are three more gardening tips that can make your gardening experience more enjoyable and successful. The difference between pleasurable gardening and hassle gardening is often just a few simple steps and measures.

Birdseed mayhem

Here’s a simple gardening tip that many are surprised at. Do you have a bird feeder? Does some of that seed spill to the ground and sprout. What a hassle! Then you get to spend a few sessions a week pulling up the sprouts. There are better ways to use your time.

Here’s what you do. Put the birdseed on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7 to 8 minutes at 300 degrees. The birds will thank you for the toasted treats and the spilled birdseed will not sprout in your garden.

How clever is that?

Protect Your Birds

While we are on the subject of birds, let’s discuss their safety. If you have a cat that spends time outdoors, then you have probably received the occasional gift on the front doorstep of your pet’s most recent kill.

Don’t have a cat, you say. What about your neighbor? Have they had any luck attacking birds at your feeder? If so, take some steps to protect the feeding birds from predators, cats and others.

Do not put your feeder near to any surface that cats can reach with a quick jump. Porches are often bad place for feeders because predators have easy access.

Compost in the Winter

I love this gardening tip! Do you stop composting in the winter because of the cold? There is no need to do that if you take a couple precautions. First, use a black container and place it in a spot that gets the most sun through out the day. The container can heat up in spite of the cold.

Another option is to find some way to insulate the container. Do you have some sort of greenhouse you could put it in that isn’t used as a porch. Or, you could surround the bucket with leaves, cut grass or hay.

These simple measures, and even others that you may be able to come up with on your own, you will be able to compost through out the whole year.

These gardening tips are just the latest of this series on fun and successful gardening. Implementing these simple strategies can make your gardening hobby that much more enjoyable.

Rose gardening is a dreamy hobby because rose is a type of flower that carries a lot of meanings according to its color. If you want to become a proud gardener, one of the ways that you can do that is by having a garden full of blooming roses. One off-topic tip for male gardeners, if you are good with rose gardening, you might get the attention of romantic females out there.

Rose gardening basics is easy and have been covered almost everywhere. What we will look into with this rose gardening tips article are some essential tips for those who are getting into it. Keep in mind that it is not hard to plant roses in your garden. The hard part is to get them blooming healthily during the spring and early summer. Let’s dive into the tips I have prepared for you.

Color of Roses to Plant

Color of roses are vibrant and may cause immediate visual effect once it blooms. With this in mind, you may want to properly plot the the color scheme of your garden so that roses with the color of your choice will fit in without becoming an eyesore. You may want to “highlight” the existence of your roses by planting those of bright colors such as red and yellow.

If you prefer a green and peaceful garden, you can always opt for roses with soft colors such as pink and white. The prices of roses with different colors will not have much difference. However, some colors may have a higher price due to the higher demand.

Indoor or Outdoor for Roses

Good question there. Roses prefer spots that are exposed to at least 4 hours of sunlight. They usually don’t grow very well when placed under a shady spot. Different places may have different temperatures and sunlight exposure which may or may not be suitable for rose gardening.

You may want to test the suitability of spots that you have prepared for your roses by testing them out in containers. This will reduce your effort of trying to remove them if roses are not suitable for your garden.

Rose Caring Tips

No rose gardening tips will be complete unless they have included rose caring tips because roses are fragile plants. Pests can cause problems to your rose gardens and you must watch out for caterpillars, bugs and parasites that love roses. An organic gardening ways to counter this is to add a predator of these pests into the food chain of your garden.

If you want a rewarding hobby, gardening is a good choice. You can enjoy the benefits of fresh air and creating something beautiful, but when your garden is in bloom and your crops are on the table, you’ll have the satisfaction of improving your landscape and lifestyle, too. Follow these gardening tips for beginners for the best results in your new garden.

You can plop a plant into the dirt and it probably will grow as long as you water it, but if you put a little more effort and planning into your garden, you’ll be rewarded with long-lasting flowers, plants, and vegetables. Here are some quick gardening tips for beginners:

– Make a plan. Decide where in your landscape you’d like to plant your new garden. You need to figure out what kind of sunlight this area receives, because certain plants are suited to shade, partial sun, or full sun. The lighting your new garden receives each day will dictate what kind of plants you’ll be able to grow there.

– Soil. This is one of the most important gardening tips for beginners, because soil is one of the most important aspects of your new garden. You’ll need to know the chemical makeup of your soil (you can take a sample to your local Cooperative Extension office for analysis), and then, what you need to do to make your soil ready for planting. For example, is your soil rock-hard and clay-like? You’ll need to add amendments like sand and peat to make your soil richer and well-draining. If your soil is loose and sandy, you may need to add compost, and even topsoil to get it ready for planting.

– Pick your plants. Visit a local garden center to find out what types of plants grow best in your area, and what they recommend for your growing season. If you live in a mild climate with a long growing season, just about anything may be open to you, but if you live in a cold climate with a short growing season, your options may be a bit more limited. Once you know your options, you can pick the plants right for your garden.

– Irrigation. Decide what kind of irrigation you want for your new garden. Will you hand water with a hose, use a single sprinkler on a hose, or install a drip system? A drip irrigation system is the most effective way to water, but it is the most expensive form of irrigation, too, so you need to decide what’s right for your garden and budget. Another important gardening tip for beginners? Don’t over water your new garden!

– Mulch. Once you’ve planted your garden according to your new plants’ directions, it’s time to finish up with good mulch over the entire garden. Many gardening tips for beginners ignore this step, but a good mulch can help conserve water in the garden, so you don’t have to water so much and still get good results.

Are you interested in creating your own organic vegetable garden? Here are some green gardening tips that will lead you in the right direction:

10 Organic Gardening Tips

1. Test your soil:

If you are looking to have a successful outcome with an organic vegetable garden, you should first test your soil with a do-it-yourself home testing kit before you plant anything. These testing kits can be found at local garden centers and on the Internet at garden speciality stores. The kits use a number scale, 0 to 14, that helps you determine the acidity or alkalinity (also known as pH) levels of your soil. For most vegetables, an ideal number is about 6.5. If the results are too acidic (towards the low end of the scale) or too alkaline (towards the high end of the scale), your plants will not be able reap the benefits of the soil’s nutrients. Once you know the results of your soil, you will be able to adjust the soil accordingly by balancing these levels with the nutrients it is lacking.

2. Make plans ahead of time and decide where and how you will grow your garden:

Before you begin digging up your lawn, take a look at your property and decide where you would like to plant a garden. Location is very important, as you will want to pay attention to the position of the sun throughout the day (your plants will need healthy doses of direct sunlight each day), the rockiness of the ground, the drainage quality of the soil, and the location’s relation to your main water source.

If you have high quality soil in your yard and you have determined a location, you will want to take advantage of the benefits found in it. Healthy soils have upwards of 650 million microorganisms per one gram of soil. These organisms already present, such as earthworms and other forms of soil life are essential to the life of the soil and will help your garden prosper by providing your plants with valuable nutrients and minerals.

What to do if your soil is not healthy or if you do not have space for a garden at home:

• Build a raised bed

By making a raised bed, you will have control over the garden’s soil quality. When building your bed, use untreated wood, stones, or brick as a side border and be sure to make the border at least 16 inches high as the depth is important. The plants’ roots will need room to stretch and grow.

• Consider container gardening

If you are a city dweller, you do not have to miss out on the benefits of growing your own produce. Plant in containers that are large enough to accommodate root growth. Be sure they also have drainage holes. If you are planting organic herbs, pots that are at least 6 inches across are ideal. Another helpful hint is to use plastic pots instead of terra cotta pots. Plastic may not be as aesthetically pleasing, but they will hold moisture longer and will not dry out as quickly as terra cotta pots.

Making your property look more lush and beautiful by gardening is something that has been done through the ages. Novice gardeners may take one look at a beautiful garden that was established years ago and think they want their yard to look exactly like that. Gardening takes a great deal of work and if the beginner is willing to put in the time and effort, their garden will be the envy of everyone in the neighborhood, in time. With these gardening tips for beginners you should have no problem getting up and started.

The first and most important tip for the beginning gardener is start small. This cannot be emphasized enough. Your garden is never going to look like a garden that was started ten or twenty years ago and if you were to ask the owner of the garden they will tell you it took that long to get it to look that way. If you don’t start small you run the risk of being discouraged once you find out all you have to do to have that beautiful and lush garden. If you take it step by step and year by year, it is not half as scary. If you are flower gardening just plant close to the house and maybe down the walkway and driveway. If you are trying to make a vegetable garden make it at the most 100 square feet, no more than that.

The next important tip is to decide what kind of garden you are able to have in the space that is available. If you have a majority of shade you will have to plant plants that like to be in the shade. Do not expect a flower that needs full sun all day to grow in a yard that is shady, it just doesn’t work. You may have just one area in your yard that does get sun daily. Most sun loving plants need 6 to 8 hours of sun per day, so watch that spot during the day and see how many hours the sun hits it. Vegetable gardens do need at least 6 hours of sun per day.

The spot in which you place your garden must be well drained. If you plant where water collects every time it rains your garden will rot and die. Pick a spot where you rarely see water gather when you have a storm. Too much water will rot the roots of your plants and they will not survive. This applies to flowers and vegetables.

Make sure to check the acidity of the soil. You can get a soil testing kit at any nursery or discount store and follow the directions. If there is too much acid in the soil or the soil is too alkaline you will need to add additives to the soil Just take your soil test to a nursery and ask them what you need. They will be happy to tell you what you need and how to add it to your soil before planting.

Don’t start with seeds the first time you plant. This is a big mistake. Most flowers and vegetables take forever to grow from seed and if you don’t put it in the right time the growing season will be over before you see flowers or vegetables. Most seeds need to be started indoors at the end of the winter in order to be ready to plant in the late spring. Do yourself a favor and purchase plants to put in your garden, both flowers and vegetables. Do a search online for each of the items you plan on planting so you can learn how deep to plant and other tips about planting that specific plant.

Your garden will have to be weeded, watered and you will have to feed the plants in it. Nurturing a garden is somewhat like taking care of a child although not quite as intense. You have to be vigilant against disease and bugs and other wildlife that will attach it. Daily walks in the garden to inspect any damage are necessary. Weeding has to be done on a regular basis and if you let that go your garden can become shabby and the flowers and vegetables can be choked out and die. Periodic feeding is also necessary.

Become friends with the people at the nursery during your first few years of gardening. They will be a valuable resource as is information online. Be sure to check information to see if it is for your area before you take any online information. Join a garden club as they will probably be one of the best resources you can find locally. The best tip that can be given to a beginning gardener is to have fun. You will have successes and failures. Learn from both and always ask for help.

There are some obvious organic gardening tips that most gardeners know, such as using compost and organic fertilizers. These are pretty basic organic gardening tips. However, there are a lot of other tips that are just as easy to follow, but not as well-known. The beauty of organic gardening is that it offers you a safe and healthy way to grow the plants that you want to grow, whether they are vegetables or flowers.

You could try organic gardening tips like using a Toad House. Many people do not realize just how effective toads can be in the removal of insects. A toad can eat 50-100 insects in one night. Encouraging these harmless creatures to take up residence in your garden can severely cut down on your insect problems without the use of chemicals. If you have children, they will love watching the toads in the garden too.

Organic gardening tips like using BEE-Allure™ Honey Bee Attractant can also help to increase the yield from your vegetable or flower garden. These can be even more important additions to your garden since so many honey bee colonies have been dying off in recent years. Honey bees are some of the best pollinators you could have in your garden. Many people worry about bees stinging them, but honey bees will generally not sting people unless trapped. However, for those people who are allergic to bee stings, this option may not be a good idea.

One of the most aggravating problems in your garden is keeping down weeds. You could choose to use an organic weed killing product or you could try Weed Barrier Mat. These mats can prevent weeds from growing between your vegetable rows so you never have to break your back pulling weeds again. Even if a weed killer is organic there is always the chance that it may damage your other plants if used incorrectly. The mats remove this worry.

Organic gardening tips can cover a wide range of issues that you find in your garden. Everything from insects that can damage your plants to better ways of ensuring that your soil is full of the nutrients your plants need. Earthworms are a great organic addition to any garden. They are natural aerators and their castings add nutrients to the soil.

The main reason that so many people are changing over to organic gardening is for the safety of their families. Organically grown food does not have the possible danger of chemical residues that can either be left on the outside of vegetables and fruits or absorbed into them. Chemical products also have a chance of leeching into the ground water that your family drinks. Chemicals can either cause illness or death in wildlife and pets that are roaming where they have been used.

As you become used to organic gardening, you will probably find some organic gardening tips that were not covered here. Most organic gardeners have their own favorite methods of ensuring the safety of the foods they grow.

Here are some good gardening tips to follow if you are a beginner and/or a teenage gardener. I am not the most knowledgeable gardener yet, but these are very important whatever method of gardening you use.

1. Weed Control

Weed control is extremely important. You must keep the weeds out, or you will have very little to no produce. When the weeds have control, water can’t get to the plants, and the poor plants cannot get enough sun. The weeds eventually take over even the roots of the plants and seedlings. As you can see, if you do a little hoeing every day, the weeds are under your control. If you do not, a week will pass by and there have you a hundred good-sized weeds. This can be extremely discouraging, because I have been utterly discouraged as well. But this comes at the top of our list of Gardening Tips, because it is definitely most important.

2. Animal/Pest Control

Animal and pest control is very important. My main adversary to my gardening plans are deer and beetle worms. It gets so frustrating when you prepare the ground, turn it, hoe it, even it out, plant, water, and hoe the weeds every day, and one day, as soon as it is edible, it is gone. This is another main reason why many beginners give up. It doesn’t matter how high you build the fence- the deer jump over it. But one thing I seriously recommend is the square foot gardening method. As a result of this method, I have had a hundred times less weeds, and NO pests and deer eating. Why? I bought a net that fits perfectly over the 3×6 bed. Otherwise, my little garden would be a salad bar for the critters. This is an extremely important gardening tip, for without it you WILL become totally discouraged and give up like I almost did until I found square foot gardening.

3. Only 2 seasons?

Most people think that you can only garden two seasons of the year – spring and summer. This is totally untrue. With some newer methods, you can garden most of fall, and some of winter. If you have a greenhouse system, you can garden all year round. With the new square foot gardening method, I can now put a cold cover over the garden and last many frosts and have many fresh veggies throughout the fall. With an herb garden, I can put a simple little herb garden in a plastic bucket and put it in and out for a long time. Thus you see this third of the gardening tips proves the myth of two seasons is totally untrue.

4. Traditional Gardening?

Traditional gardening has been in use for a very long time. Personally, I think it is extremely inefficient, much more work, and much less percentage of seeds to harvest. Just think about it. Someone plants a thousand lettuce seeds in one row of their traditional garden. They end up thinning them out to make some space. So many good seeds wasted. And then, when they are finally ready, who comes? Deer and rabbits come and eat everything in sight. However, there is a solution to the poor planning of the traditional methods. That solution is Square Foot Gardening. So if you want to be a successful gardener, you must take action with these great gardening tips, and soon gardening will be very fun!