Garden Stores

There are many different types of garden stores from the ones that specialize in certain aspects of gardening to the small corner garden store to the large nationwide chains. Whatever you are looking for in terms of gardening there is store to fill your needs. Many garden stores are more of the nursery variety as they sell plants, flowers, trees, and soils. If you are looking to add these things to your garden then this is the place to go. If you do not have the best green thumb and want to plant something in which the process of growth has already begun then this type of garden store is the variety for you. The garden stores of this type also generally sell different kinds of mulch and soils which can enhance any garden. In the larger nationwide chains of garden stores there is not as much live already grown garden additions but they do have everything, and more, when it comes to home gardening such as tools, seeds, pest killer, and plant food. This is a great place for someone who wants to start their project with the planting of flower or vegetable seeds. If you are looking to manicure your garden or for general upkeep these are the types of garden stores that you’ll want to go to. An advantage to the larger stores, besides the large quantity of gardening items, are generally they have some employees which are specialists in gardening and any questions posed to them will probably be answered. Along the lines of the large nationwide garden stores there are also large nationwide home improvement centers which have a garden section in them in which to fill your needs. Many times these stores also have a better selection of tools as well. They will not be a specialized garden store but they will carry gardening equipment. The smaller variety local garden stores do not carry as much merchandise as the larger stores but the workers will generally be more knowledgeable and have more time to cater to your individual gardening needs. A good way to pick out a gardening store that is reputable is go to the source and talk to any gardener. What garden stores do they go to purchase their products? By talking to a professional about where they purchase their supplies you can get a good idea which garden store has a solid reputation as the professionals generally use the best products on the market. Garden stores can come in many varieties you just need to find the one that fits your personal gardening needs whether it is buying a packet of seeds, a hoe, or one-hundred pounds of choice gardening soil.

Garden Design Software

Have you ever come across the concept of garden design software? Okay, okay; this is probably a new one for most folks. So many of us learn proper gardening skills from our parents. These tricks of the trade are passed down from generation to generation. Your mother carefully showed you exactly how to plant those carrots and prune those tomato vines. It's a rather particular process. More on topic of garden design software?

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Online Copywriting

Online Copywriting – Tips To Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Site Estimates indicate that the average person today is exposed to between 1,600 and 5,000 advertising and marketing messages every day. That means you better have a compelling message if you expect to get your audience’s attention. Yet website content – also known as copy or copywriting – is often the most overlooked element in developing a website.

Garden Design Software

How were those tomatoes looking this season? Were your green peppers and radishes up to par? When it comes to our personal gardens, we like to work with a little concept called perfection, at least I do. I can't help it. It's just an innate quality we've all been afflicted with since the beginning of time. Okay, so maybe I just made that up. Anyway, the point is we love our gardens, and that's why we prefer to go to great lengths to keep them looking wonderful and producing perfect vegetables and flowers. After all, that's why we have them in the first place. We don't want that nasty, pesticide-coated produce from the local grocery store. However, not all of us know the absolute best and most efficient way to start a garden. Keeping these small patches of dirt in order can be a tad more difficult than it sounds. Fortunately now days you don't have to be a landscaping expert or work in a greenhouse in order to acquire an ideal garden of your own. All you need in a personal computer and some garden design software. Now, who's got the hoe?

Kids Love Composting

Eco-consicious kids can be a big help in making compost happen at your home. A fun and educational chore to assign young children is carrying the house bucket full of kitchen scraps outside to the compost bin. Better yet, try vermicomposting. Placing red worms in a bin with damp leaves and shredded newspaper will turn food scraps into soil conditioner. Composting is a great way to teach children on how our earth works. Worms and insects work through leaves, grass, and other organic materials, creating air shafts and rich worm castings to replenish the earth's soil.

Houseplants Part 2

Watering practice is crucial. More plants are killed by overwatering than from becoming too dry. Most of the big stores will have care tags on the plants. Be sure to read and follow directions. I have found that sometimes the care tags can be misleading. It is best to consult a houseplant book for accurate information if you have one. African violets will droop if overwatered. This is a signal the plant is being kept too wet. The medium should become dry between waterings. Fertilizing properly will keep the plants happy. One can go by the instructions on the label, although you may prefer to make more frequent, diluted applications such as quarter strength, weekly. About once a month it is wise to flush the medium with clear water to avoid buildup of excess soluble salts. Most foliage plants will be perfectly happy without fertilizer application between now and March, when days are short and light intensity low. They can't use the fertilizer during this period. Many of the flowering plants can be fertilized lightly during the dark months. More next time on Pests and diseases.

Houseplants

Orchids seem to have superseded African violets as the popular flowering houseplant, but we still see the bread-and-butter plant family of Aroids-such as pothos and philodendron, Boston and Dallas ferns, ficus trees and parlor palms. Whatever the choice, there are a few basics that must be followed to keep the plants healthy and beautiful. Determine the preferred light level, temperature and watering schedule. African violets thrive in bright shade or dapple sun in a north or east window. They also do well under lights with warm white and cool white fluorescent fixtures. Popular vining plants will enjoy moderate shade. Ferns don't like it as dark as some believe. They appreciate morning sun. Ficus trees need full sun to thrive, and the palms enjoy bright shade and morning sun. No matter what the gardener's preference, the plants must be kept clean so they can manufacture their food from the applied fertilizer. They can be wiped with a moist soft cloth or paper towel or set in the sink and given a shower. More on houseplants next time.

Things to do in the flower garden for October

In the flower garden:

• Finish planting spring-flowering bulbs except tulips.
• Wait another two wees to begin planting tulips.
• Shred fallen hardwood leaves and use for mulch.
• Finish planting, transplanting spring and summer-fowering perennials.
• Order dormant roses, lily bulbs for November planting.

In the food garden:

• Harvest Brussels sprouts from the bottom up.
• Plant radishes for Thanksgiving dinner.
• Leave leeks, carrots, beets, spinach in the garden for harvest as needed.
• Wait until after frost sweetens kale, parsnips to begin harvest.
• Bundle spent corn stalks for Halloween decoration.

In the house:

• Deprive poinsettias, holiday cactus of all light from sundown to sunup.
• Make succession plantings of paper white narcissus.
• Allow amaryllis to go dormant.
• Water succulents only every three to four weeks, just enough to keep them from shriveling.
• Pinch back leggy vines for fuller grownth.

On the lawn:

• Keep leaves raked from grass.
• Continue mowing until growth stops.
• Treat germinating checkweed with a selective herbicide.
• Lime any time between now and spring.
• Fertilize if none has been spread since September.

Fall composting in the garden

Fall composting in the garden- Leaves, grass clippings great additions to a compost pile By RICHARD POFFENBAUGH News Journal columnist Compost is to fertile soil as clean air is to healthy lungs. Both are vital to our survival. Composting is a process in which bacteria and fungi break down organic matter into humus -- the black crumbly material that improves soil structure. There is no substitute for generous amounts of organic matter in soil for the growth of healthy plants. Generally, it takes a year to produce compost. The process can be speeded up if selected materials are included in the pile. Over the many years I have combined grass clippings (pesticide-free) with shredded leaves as an excellent base for compost. The nitrogen in the clippings gives the compost pile a kick-start to generate heat for the composting process. Keeping the pile moist and turned every week or two will add to quicker break-down of plant material. Urban gardeners lack access to cow or horse manure. Compost from leaves and other plant matter offers an effective substitute. If added to a garden each year, the soil will become fertile, loose and receptive to root growth. The better the soil, the better the roots and more productive a plant. It's that simple! My garlic and sweet onion plants are planted in the same general area each year. It works well without rotation. These two crops are not eaten by deer and thus don't take up valuable space in my fenced-in garden. These are deer-proof vegetables. But each year a generous amount of compost is worked into the onion/garlic patch. This is done in the fall just before garlic is planted (this week). As a result, the soil is loose, fertile and easy to work without tilling. The compost does wonders for the production of these two crops. If you don't have a shredder to chop up the leaves, a rotary mower can be used as a shredder. For a finer product, mow over the leaves once. Then attach a bag to a mower and mow over the leaves again. The bag will accumulate leaves that have been chopped up twice. These will be ideal small-size particles to add to the compost pile. Some do's and don'ts for composting: DO recycle fallen leaves and other plant refuse into compost. It's a cycle that occurs naturally in woodlands and forests. DO start or add to a compost pile each fall. This provides a continual supply of organic matter for soil enrichment. DO make the compost pile at least 4 feet tall and wide, a 4 foot cube. If smaller, the material loses heat and won't heat up properly. DO locate a pile so it is convenient to water and turn the material over. DO begin the pile on soil with a layer of coarse material like corn stalks or other tough stems. This allows some air to enter from the bottom. DO create the pile like a sandwich. A layer should be at least 4 inches thick with a one-inch layer of soil between each two layers. Pest-free grass clippings combined with shredded leaves provides nitrogen and heat that will begin the decomposition process. DO chop or shred leaves, stems and other plant materials to increase their surface area. This will increase the rate of decomposition. DO add several shovels of finished compost to a new pile and mix thoroughly. This will introduce microorganisms to the new material. DON'T add these items to a compost pile: charcoal, meat or dairy materials, fish scraps, bones or fat, pet droppings, pesticide-treated grass clippings of other treated materials; or any materials that will attract rats, dogs, raccoons, skunks or other animals. DON'T compost diseased plant materials. While some pathogens may be destroyed due to heat inside the pile, odds are some will survive and be carried over from year to year. DON'T compost weeds that have seed heads. Seeds are survivors and likely will produce more weeds when the compost is spread over a garden area. DON'T add materials such as poison ivy or black walnut plant residue. This is a case where avoidance is the best protection against carryover of unfavorable chemicals. DON'T worry if you don't have a composting bin or enclosure. All it takes is a pile in a sunny location with a mixture of shredded materials and kept evenly moist. DON'T layer a pile higher than 5 feet. A tall pile is awkward to turn and the organic matter becomes compacted with poor aeration.

Planting Bulbs

October is a great time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. The soil temperatures in early fall are ideal for good root development. With a little planning and effort this fall you can be enjoying their cheery bloosoms next spring. A soil temperature of 60 degrees is ideal. To learn more on how to plant bulbs correctly...

Planting Tulips

Tulips prefer part to full sun. Soil should be well aerated and well drained, sightly acidic., and cultivated to a depth of 8-12 inches. These spring favorites require a cool period of dormancy before they'll bloom. In colder Northern climates, plant bulbs in October and let Mother Nature take care of the cooling. In the South, provide the cooling period by placing bulbs in a refrigerator at 40-45 F for 6-8 weeks (or up to 16 weeks if necessary) and plant them by early January. When planting tulip bulbs, make the job easier by digging trenches. Space bulbs 3-6" apart, depending on the desired effect.

Flood Relief Contest « Knittymama

Flood Relief Contest « Knittymama

Its time to do some chores for the Fall Season

In the flower garden-

• Plant minor bulbs without delay.
• Dig gladiolas with brown foliage. Dry, clean and store in brown paper bags.
• Transplant peionies in full sun no deeper than 2 inches deep from growing points.
• Order lily bulbs, dormant roses for November planting.
• Compost spent plant parts that are free from insects and disease.

In the house-

• Be sure potted plants are pest free beflore retuning them inside.
• Pot herbs for the winter windowsill.
• Give poinsettias full south sun.
• Withhold water from amaryllis, store in a cool, dark place for the winter.
• Keep leaves clean with a weekly bath in tepid water.

for more flower garden tips

My Skinny Garden: Corn Glutening The Yard

My Skinny Garden: Corn Glutening The Yard

Gardening in layers : Home and Garden : Commercial Appeal

Gardening in layers : Home and Garden : Commercial Appeal

Get rid of squirrels

get rid of squirrels Those who love to feed the birds often get aggravated when it seems the squirrels are scaring away the birds and eating all the food. Though it could be seen as the battle of the fittest, I can understand the frustration. It can be hard to get rid of squirrels, and most of the time it’s next to impossible. That is why it is a good idea to focus on redirecting the squirrels rather than wishing them away. This is something I have been doing for a long time. To find out more about getting rid of squirrels

Backyard Leaf Composting

Fall is coming and so do the leaves. One alternative for dealing with leaves is backyard composting. Leaves may be composted by piling them in a heap. Locate the pile where drainage is adequate and there is no standing water. The composting pile should be damp enough that when a sample taken from the interior is squeezed by hand a few drops of water will appear. A shaded area will...

Spring Bulbs

Spring Bulbs Expand your bulb plantings with blooms other than the usual tulips and daffodils. Winter aconite, for instance, blooms faithfully by Valentine's Day in the coastal area; snow drops often flower even earlier. Scillas are commonly found in spring gardens in many forms, the most common are not hardy but are great for forcing. One is Ornithogalum dubium, first cousin to star of Bethlehem, which has bright yellow or orange flowers with a black eye. It can produce up to 25 flowers per stem. The other is Veltheimiak called winter red hot poker, with foot-high stems topped with clusters of drooping tubular flowers. This oine will thrive in an east window and flowers in late winter or early spring. Plant fall-flowering bulbs on arrival Order minor spring-flowering bulbs for September planting Order daffodil bulbs for October planting, tulips for November planting

Making Compost tea

Making compost tea is not difficult and has many benefits. Compost tea-When plants need some immediate care, perk them up with nutrient-rich water made by soaking a cloth bag full of compost in a watering can or barrel for a couple of days. Dilute the resulting solution to a weak tea color-reuse your tea bag a few times, then apply the remaining solids to your garden. Here are some resources for you. http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html/105-0647806-1860457? http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/compost-tea-notes.html