Archive for the ‘vegetable gardening’ Category

March in the Garden
Regional Gardening Tips

Right
about now, many of us are wondering if spring will ever come. I can
smell the first whiffs of springtime mud and I’m fighting the urge to
shovel the remaining snow off my vegetable garden and plant some peas.
A regional gardening calender for the month of March can give you
general tips on what to plant and what to wait for, but spring in the
garden is unpredictable and won’t be hurried. Gardeners will have to
use some common sense. Take advantage of warm days, but don’t trust
your coddled seedlings to a weather report. And try not to do too much
walking on wet soil. That will only compact it and make it harder for
plant roots to breathe and grow. Here are some reminders of what you
can be doing in the garden in March, now that winter is on its last legs.

Read more on March in the Garden here

Technorati Tags: vegetable gardening, spring gardening

This is a good tip, and will work for many other pests in your vegie garden. Don’t know about you but before I started my vegie garden there wasn’t a pest in sight, they were all lurking over the fence I think. Hope this tip helps you out too. I found it here

Japanese beetles on beans

Q: Japanese beetles are eating my climbing green-bean vines. What would you suggest I use to get rid of them?

A: If you have time and patience, pick them off and smash them or drop them in a can of soapy water.

An organic-spray option is to treat the plants with neem oil or with the new VeggiePharm, which has a variety of mint oils that beetles don’t like. Garden centers should have one or both, and they’re both labeled for use on edibles.

A third option is temporarily covering the plants with floating row cover. These light-weight blankets let air and sun through but exclude flying bugs like Japanese beetles. Smack the plants around a little before draping on the row covers to make sure the plants are beetle-free. The cover won’t do much good if you’ve trapped feasting beetles inside. A few garden centers sell these, and they’re also available through a variety of garden-supply catalogs (www.gardeners.com, www.gardensalive.com, www.planetnatural.com) and even some seed catalogs

Technorati Tags: garden pests, pests in the vegetable garden, vegetable gardening

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

Vegetable gardening can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Eating your own fresh vegetables picked straight off the plant or fresh from the ground with the real taste still intact beats store brought produce every time.

I grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and gardening on the slopes of One Tree Hill, an extinct volcano, with perfect dark volcanic soil, it was merely a matter of chucking some seeds onto the ground, raking it over with soil and coming back and harvesting the bounty. With very regular rainfall there was little need to irrigate, abit of pest control to keep down the snails and abit of weeding was about it.

What a shock to come to the Gold Coast, Queensland and attempt to create a vegetable garden here. The soil is poor and solid clay with a rock not far below with little or no top soil.

Clay is one of the most difficult mediums to grow plants in. The particular mix is so fine that oxygen and water have a hard time getting to the roots of any plant. Hard as concrete in the dry and waterlogged in the rainy season. Without special preparation you will be lucky to even get weeds to grow.

As you can see in the picture above success can be achieved but work is required.

To prepare the garden a maddock was used to break up the clay into smaller pieces. It is actually better to do this when the clay is dry, rather than waterlogged. Its just heavier when wet and sticks to the maddock. This is time consuming back breaking work. But take a small patch at a time and come back after a rest. Take several days to complete the vegetable patch, gardening is to help build the muscles, not destroy them. Whilst doing this task many times rock was hit, however most rock on the Gold Coast shatters when hit and breaks into smaller pieces. While many of these were removed pieces smaller than half the size of your fist were left in on the advice of garden manuals. Why? It is said that small rocks help drainage and add minerals to the soil over time. So long as the don’t make up more than 5%-10% of the soil, leave them in. Eventually a base of the patch was layed out.

To further soften and break up the clay store brought clay breakers were added. Easily available at your gardening or hardware store they are added to water and sprayed on the garden though they work best over a period of time.

Next Gypsum was added. This comes in large bags and is easy to spread out by hand, mix in with the clay and it too will further help ‘relax’ the clay.

Some would say, why not just buy a bunch of topsoil and dump it down. Well for a couple of reasons, firstly I have yet to find a good provider of topsoil in Queensland. Most just provide sand with a minimum of organic material mixed in – just enough to darken the sand. The sand is actually poor draining because it is much too fine. Some argue that you can help clay soil by adding sand. But unless the sand is a fine to small gravel I believe you are wasting your time. Sand that is too fine, acts just like a clay soil, it repells short spells of rain or irrigation or becomes waterlogged during a tropical downpoor or solid irrigation. The second reaason why I don’t just buy the topsoil is because if the topsoil is not mixed in and bound to the subsoil it will just wash away.

To really bring the clay soil up to grade you need to add bio matter. Quality top soil is made of plant and animal materials decomposed or in the state of decomposing. Compost made of of shredded leaves, wood, grass clippings and vegetable/food rubbish is good. But the best material I had available for this garden was straw and chicken waste. With a pen of twenty chickens plenty of nitrogen rich matter was produced. Every three months the coup was cleaned out, the straw smelling strongly of ammonia. However once put on the garden the smell quickly went and the straw and its ‘added’ contents quickly broke down into the soil. I can reccommend nothing better to add to the soil. If you must add something else to quickly create a topsoil and can’t wait for compost or have no chickens then I recommend products such as worm castings or 6 in one products (includes blood and bone, fish compost, etc), they come in 20kg plus bags and range in price between $5 and $15. Several of these, or if your budget handles it 10-20 of these really help to condition the soil.

Now the garden is ready for sowing. In the garden pictured above sweet corn, snow peas, peas, beans, garlic, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, beatroot, lettuce, cabbage and much more were grown in such abundance it meet our needs. A small vege patch with good soil, well planned can add to massively to your diet.

Unfortunately this garden no longer exists as we moved on from my parents lifestyle block. But as testament to the quality of the soil and the work put into it this small area needed mowing twice as much as the rest of the lawn with quality, healthy, green grass growing quicker with more water in the soil than the rest of the lawn. Showing the truth in Queensland and hard clay soils that if the effort is put in the results will live on for years and decades. Poor soil in Australia is just an excuse for laziness. Yes with have drought conditions at times. But if we prepare the soil well we need less water. If we work with our environment, keeping back water in the times of plenty and molding the environment correctly wonderful results can be achieved.

Poor soil should not hold you back, it merely presents a challenge.

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Successful vegetable gardening involves far more than just popping a few seeds into the ground and waiting for a tomato to appear. I’ll briefly cover the basics of vegetable garden design, but you might also want to get some gardening books.

Planning your garden is one of the most important parts of vegetable gardening, and it’s quite simple. Whether it’s a vegetable garden, a flowerbed, indoor houseplants, or some combination, successful gardening requires planning, patience, and a little detective work. Whatever you do, do not choose garden soil, no matter how rich it might be, for indoor vegetable gardening! No matter what gardening zone your garden is located in there are catalogues with myriad variety of vegetables. Use these vegetable gardening tips to prepare your garden and keep your home full of fresh vegetables. Preparing your garden soil for planting is the most physically demanding part of vegetable gardening and may also be the most important part.

The patios and balconies of apartment buildings and condominiums often have good exposure for container vegetable gardening. Container gardening makes it possible to position the vegetables in areas where they can receive the best possible growing conditions. Container gardening can provide you with fresh vegetables as well as recreation and exercise. Although vegetable production will be limited by the number and the size of the containers, this form of gardening can be rewarding. Soilless mixes such as a peat-lite mix are generally too light for container vegetable gardening, since they usually will not support plant roots sufficiently. MEDIA A fairly lightweight potting mix is needed for container vegetable gardening. Soil Conditions The right type of soil for the right type of plant is key to successful vegetable gardening. Clay and sandy soils must be modified for successful vegetable gardening. Proper fertilization is another important key to successful vegetable gardening.

Buy seeds, seed starting kits and gardening supplies for vegetable gardens. If you are new to gardening, starting vegetables from seed may be too huge an undertaking, instead purchase plants. Practice crop rotation in your vegetable gardening by planting tomatoes and other vegetables in a different spot every year. Mulches can be used effectively in all types of gardening situations from vegetable gardens to flower gardens and even around trees and shrubs. I know an eyebrow or two might be raised at the suggestion of indoor vegetable gardening, but it can be done, within limits.

Added to the pleasure of gardening will be satisfaction derived from relishing vegetables freshly picked from your very own plot. Learning is a process, vegetable gardening needs time. As in so many other pursuits, so it is in the art of vegetable gardening: practice does make perfect.

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vegetable Gardening Tips

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Container vegetable gardening is so simple even your kids will love it. Vegetable gardening in versatile garden planters is easy and enjoyable for everyone.

It’s your perfect answer!

In only weeks you could be enjoying the first quality harvests from your container vegetable garden. Stop buying expensive and bland produce at the grocery store (think tomatoes). You can grow your own natural and tasty food.

Your family will be delighted with fresh salad greens everyday. Imagine ripe tomatoes, colorful vegetables, and fragrant herbs, sweet, red strawberries and even a cheerful flower bouquet for your kitchen table is always just out your door.

You’ll be delighted with the quality garden planters, unique flowerpots and windowboxes that are available. Your container vegetable garden can be bountiful and a joy to look at.

So, why is container vegetable gardening the hottest new gardening trend? Let me show you…

* Growing vegetables, plants, herbs, and flowers in containers, offers all the benefits of a “traditional” garden but without all the exhausting outdoor work (weeding and more weeding).

* A big plus is how easy it is have an organic container vegetable garden. Organic gardening is healthy for you, your family, and your plants and is good for the environment.

* Container vegetable gardening is ideal for balconies, terraces, patios, porches, decks and other small spaces.

* It is easy to choose stylish containers for your plants that complement your outdoor furniture, decor and landscape design. Some garden planters even have attached trellises to instantly create your own private courtyard.

* It’s a great choice for everyone. Even if you have a large yard available, you will enjoy the ease of container gardening throughout the seasons.

* The innovative new features of gardening products and accessories like self-watering planters are a great solution for gardeners with busy lifestyles.

* Container vegetable gardening is the perfect choice for the lazy gardener (my hand is up!). It’s less work, so there is a lot more time to spend outdoors in the hammock; with a cold glass of lemonade watching your plants grow.

* Everything is so simple to manage and requires only a few tools to start. Best of all, your garden is only steps away.

The Simple Solution!

Are you ready? OK, put on your gardening gloves and let’s get started. In no time at all you will have a productive vegetable garden grown entirely in your beautiful outdoor garden planters.

It really true — even if you’re a beginner, you can create your own beautiful and abundant vegetable garden that is grown entirely in containers.

Donna Hill is the owner of http://www.ContainerVeggieGarden.com, a site for beginners. Check out our free step-by-step container veggie gardening guide at http://www.containerveggiegarden.com/container-gardening-guide.html and get started on your container veggie garden today!