Archive for the ‘gardening’ Category

Breathe. Relax. Be nice.

When I walk I notice:

* Trees are cool. Literally. The temperature drops noticeably between treeless areas downtown, even areas shaded by buildings, and the leafy East side. That’s like nearly free air conditioning.

* Plants like water. Believe it or not, a lot of people neglect to water, and plants die. Plants are particularly vulnerable early in the season. Sometimes the weather report promises rain, and doesn’t deliver, so check on them, Stick your fingers down into the soil if you need to.

* Overwatering is bad though. A mature tree is fine with about an inch of rain or watering a week. Even a vegetable garden in peak season requires only about 2 inches a week. A slightly dry plant will bounce back, but a waterlogged one will probably die. Don’t water the sidewalk, deck or other hardscaping, or create runoff.

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Technorati Tags: garden watering, trees, flower gardening, vegetable gardening

You know things are changing when gardening is highlighted in the New York Times Dining And Wine section. People are discovering they can garden and grow their own vegetables, even organic ones, for just pennies.

Marian Burros the author of the article says the major seed companies and garden centers have seen a 30-40% increase in the amount of vegetable seeds and plants sold this year. With the cost of gas affecting grocery costs it’s no surprise.

One interesting point was many of the people gardening this year were first timers.

Well, if you happen to fit in the first time gardener category welcome aboard. There’s all sorts of ways to grow vegetables no matter the size of your yard or balcony or patio

Read more here

Technorati Tags: gardening, vegetable gardening, first time gardeners

This is a question often asked and one I’m interested in as we are doing a huge makeover of our yard and the gardens all need to be redone. Conditioning the soil takes some time when you are starting from scratch or replenishing, so read on my friends, I found this question and answer here

I want to plant a green manure, but how do I choose one?

You can plant numerous green manures in June. You simply need to decide which soil quality you’re shooting for and how quickly you want to replant your garden plot. If you’re devoting this summer to renewing the soil and won’t replant until next spring, you have lots of choices. Some green manures, such as alfalfa, are particularly suitable for breaking up heavy soils. Its deep roots will open up and aerate the soil once the crop is rototilled back into the earth. If you’re after nitrogen, choose one of the legume varieties, such as vetch, fenugreek, red clover, or black medick. Keep in mind that red clover is a perennial, which means that it might continue to come up in future years. If that’s a problem, choose one of the others. After two to three months in the ground, these crops can be rototilled into the soil or cut and left on top of the soil as mulch. Either way, they will release their nutrients slowly into the soil, improving it for future use. Wait at least three to four weeks, or until the following spring, before planting anything else in the area.

Technorati Tags: green garden manure, garden manure, green manure

Every garden needs ground covers, even large potted plants can benefit from having a ground cover planted around them, saves mulching and can be more visually appealing. Find the right one and your plants will love you.

Ground Covers

Though they get scant attention and often go unnoticed altogether, ground covers are really important and a problem for most of my coachees. Adrian Higgins writes that in his garden, ground covers are “the glue that holds the garden together,” “providing some visual relief from the more exalted specimens in the garden.”

First and foremost, ground must be covered, either by plants of some size or with hardscaping, like pavers for a patio, or by mulch. Large plants cover ground, of course, but on this website, ground covers are short of stature. (Not precise, I know.) Some can survive being walked on occasionally, and some not at all.

Uses

Read more here

Technorati Tags: ground covers, ground, cover

Welcome to our new gardening website, we are doing a makeover of our old site, same name but better info for you.

Give us a few days to get started and we will bring you all sorts of hints, tips and information for your gardens.

See you very soon